Inside the library—Ji Won had fallen asleep, snoring loudly as the moon had risen high into the sky, the clock showing that it was a bit past midnight.
The mission had been completed—the system screen still floating in front of him, the Gambling Token counter in the corner showing that he had acquired two gambling tokens.
The night was peaceful but Ji Won was roused from his sleep by a small creak of the wooden floorboards, it was faint but. There.
The smell of leather mixed with musk—it was all there. His senses were stronger due to completing the mission and gaining an Intelligence stat.
But instead of just jumping up and trying to run away like a coward. He opened one eye just a bit—to be able to see who or what was inside the library with him.
He saw someone move towards him, they were wearing the school uniform along with a black face mask but the mana that was emitting from them was far too much to belong to a student and—inside their hand was something that gleamed in the moonlight.
Exactly like a knife would.
Ji Won remained calm—keeping up his act of being asleep but his heart was pounding against his chest like a drum.
What the hell? Why is everyone suddenly after me?! I ain't do shit!
Just before the unknown person could bring down his knife upon Ji Won—the latter instantly jumped up, headbutting the person in black as he saw the system screen change.
[New Hidden Mission Unlocked!]
[Mission: Defeat the enemy within 10 minutes! Killing is not allowed]
[Reward: +10 EXP]
[Penalty In Case of Failure: You get killed by the enemy :D]
Ji Won looked at the screen before reluctantly readying himself—facing the person in black as the latter rubbed his nose.
"Who are you?"
Ji Won tried to ask in a demanding voice—but he came off as sounding nervous and scared.
The person didn't answer, instead they just lunged at him—knife in hand and pointed towards Ji Won.
Ji Won's eyes widened before he instinctively dodged the attack—years of getting punched and beat up by classmates had given him the ability to see the attacks coming—but he could never dodge them.
Until now.
Well.. I guess I won't die that easily, I'll need to make a ruckus so that the guards that patrol the campus will come inside.
They both stared at each other in a tense and electric silence—like a taut string that would break at the slightest tug.
The person in black slowly lowered themselves before suddenly—making a dash towards Ji Won.
"Wow. You're pretty basic."
Ji Won muttered before simply side-stepping the person who crashed into a bunch of shelves—making them crash down the ground.
The person let out a small groan, the knife now on the ground as Ji Won approached them but he himself slipped on a loose shoelace and fell to the ground.
The person noticed this—taking the opportunity and getting on top of Ji Won and they started pummeling him.
The only sounds in the library were the sound of Ji Won getting punched repeatedly for a few minutes.
The person finally stopped looking down at Ji Won who was smirking from below—bloodied but still taunting.
"I've had far worse... Especially from fellow students"
He shouted before slapping the person off of him—temporarily stunning the fake student. Ji Won immediately kicked him in the face.
I don't care if I gotta fight dirty—its all about winning!
The person groaned holding their face—going into a fetal position as they endured kick after kick from Ji Won who relentlessly attacked them like a feral animal.
The person let out a small shout of anger—grabbing Ji Won's leg before they threw him towards the table—breaking the table.
Ji Won had the air knocked out of him as he gasped for air, eyes rolling up to the back of his head—but the person jumped up and punched him in the face.
His nose breaking with a soft crunch.
"Oof..."
The person grabbed him by the hair and slammed their knee into his face a few times as they finally spoke—their voice masculine and definitely too old to be a student.
"DAMN IT! GO DOWN ALREADY YOU LOG!!"
Ji Won grinned once more—despite the pain he was experiencing, he had experienced much worse.
"Never."
He punched the man's throat—making the man stumble back as Ji Won tackled him to the ground, putting an arm around his neck and pulling him in a chokehold—wrapping his legs around the man's waist.
The man put up quite a struggle—even slamming the back of his head against Ji Won's face but—Ji Won didn't give up since if its just pain, he would never stop.
The door of the library opened as a teacher wearing a black dress shirt and tailored pants walked in. His long black hair tied up neatly in a ponytail and his gray eyes immediately landing on Ji Won with the unconscious man in his grip.
"Oh.. Nice job kiddo. You've improved. But let go of him. He's school faculty."
Ji Won's eyes widened at the teacher—he let go of the man who rolled off of him.
"School.. School faculty? How? He tried to kill me! Sir Ji Hye! Does the school hire assassins?!"
Ji Hye shook his head—leaning down to check the pulse of the man—once he felt it. He stood right back up, nonchalantly putting a hand inside of his pocket.
"Well, no. The school has a 'Green' and 'Red' list. Its basic ya know—the students in the Green list are passing and the Red list are failing. You're in the failing list."
Ji Won slowly stood up—wiping the blood off of his nose, taking a few, stumbling steps towards Ji Hye, looking up at his teacher.
"I am but.. Do you really have to kill me?!"
His eyes were wide and filled with anger and a sense of insecurity—if he wasn't safe in the school where would he be safe?
Ji Hye nodded—patting Ji Won's head in a reassuring and almost fatherly manner—he always did that to every student.
"Don't worry, the knife was fake and the man was specially given orders not to kill you. We try to improve the students in the Red list by surprising them with ambushes. But if your parent's don't give us permission. We can't do it."
Ji Won reluctantly calmed down—pushing the man's rough and calloused hands off of his head—it felt weird for a man to ruffle his hair.
The school got permission from mom and dad? I guess.. Then I can't complain, after all I didn't read the fine print of the admission letter before coming into this school.
He exhaled through his nose in annoyance—yet he was somewhat understanding.
"Yeah but after this—I want out of the Red List. ASAP. Got it?"
Ji Hye shrugged—putting both of his hands inside of his pockets before the unconscious man floated up, his body coated in a wispy blue light as he floated along with Ji Hye.
"Well, I'll try my best so—later kiddo. You got a B+ from me. You'll get a reward if the higher ups see it as good growth."
He said in a blunt and concise manner before walking out—leaving Ji Won alone in the library.
Ji Won immediately fell to the ground, his body exhausted and battered.
I'm just gonna sleep. I ain't got enough energy to leave. The librarian will probably come...
His eyes slowly closed—the system screen closing as well as he just lay there on the cold concrete ground. Falling into a deep—dreamless sleep.