---

The siren blared, and the participants, who had been sprawled out, began to open their eyes one by one.

“Ugh, my head… What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“A siren? On an uninhabited island? What kind of siren is this…?”

“Hey, I think the production team tricked us.”

The atmosphere of the island and the alcohol had already messed with their heads, making it hard to think straight.

They were just startled awake by the loud noise, completely bewildered.

Jeong Gyeoul, who had been looking around the vast forest, smiled faintly.

‘It’s finally starting.’

Did they really think the cast of a variety show would just eat and play around? With PD Choi directing?

In Jeong Gyeoul’s common sense, that was impossible.

Sure enough, just as the atmosphere of the company dinner was getting cozy, PD Choi and the writers started moving around, explaining what would happen in the early morning.

It was a secret to the participants.

Only the judges and heroes were given pre-interviews and excuses, moving in secrecy.

Not telling them in advance was a brilliant choice.

‘They’re not celebrities, they would’ve definitely noticed.’

Thanks to that, they managed to fool the participants.

If the heroes had been tense or hiding something from the start, everyone would’ve been suspicious.

But with everyone slightly tipsy and the initial tension long gone, PD Choi’s plan went off without a hitch.

Jeong Gyeoul, who felt like she’d burst out laughing if she kept watching, used a walk as an excuse to roam around the island.

As soon as the siren sounded, she quickly returned.

And the first thing she did was grab some food.

She figured something fun was about to start, and it’d be a waste to watch empty-handed.

There was no popcorn, just leftover snacks, but that was enough.

Jeong Ha-yul seemed to have the same idea, holding a few skewers in her hand.

Lee Ha-yoon must’ve warmed them up with magic, as steam was rising from them.

“…Sis, this is getting really serious?”

“…You’re one to talk. How much are you planning to eat?”

Jeong Gyeoul had ten plates floating around her.

Including the two plates in her hands, that made twelve.

For others, it would’ve been enough to last all day, but for Jeong Gyeoul, it was just snacks to munch on while watching.

Meanwhile, the Awakened Ones, who had just woken up, began to panic.

“…Where did all the heroes who were drinking with us go?”

“Didn’t they pack up most of the cameras earlier? Why are there so many now?”

Each person had a camera attached to them, and there were drones in the sky.

Even the vests in the center had action cams.

The vests were divided into red and blue teams.

Cha Seo-rin and Hwang Bo-seung’s red team.

Shin Hyeon-joo and Ragna’s blue team.

“The heroes who arrived on the island with you have been attacked. Some have been kidnapped, some are injured, and some are still fighting. You’ll need to split into red and blue teams and move accordingly.”

Geum Yu-na spoke quickly in an urgent tone, but her pronunciation was perfect.

Finally grasping the situation, the Awakened Ones reacted.

Some were annoyed, while others sparkled with interest.

“…Can we ask questions?”

“No questions. It’s an emergency. Put on the team vests in front of you and move quickly. Teams 1 and 3 are red. Teams 2 and 4 are blue.”

Behind Geum Yu-na was a scoreboard.

As the Awakened Ones rushed to grab and put on the vests, Geum Yu-na continued her explanation.

“We won’t tell you how to earn points. We also won’t tell you the identity of the enemy. All we can say is that the heroes who came with you to the island have been attacked. Now… move!”

Beep—

A buzzer sound came from the speaker that had emitted the siren.

The clock on the scoreboard changed to 11:59:59.

The time limit was 12 hours.

The stage was the entire island.

***

“What’s going on… Were we kidnapped? This doesn’t look like the island we saw during the day.”

“The scenery during the day and night can be different. It’s not like a hundred people were kidnapped at the same time without anyone noticing.”

The weather was sweltering, and the humidity seemed to have peaked, making it incredibly sticky.

An environment with a 100% discomfort index.

Just walking was enough to make anyone feel bad.

“What’s that smell? Is it the stench of a rotting corpse? Monster secretions? Something like that?”

“…I think I can faintly smell blood too.”

From the first preliminary round to this company dinner, the Awakened Ones had gotten to know each other and had become somewhat friendly.

They were still using formal speech, but some had already dropped formalities.

Cha Seo-rin, who was leading the way, suddenly crouched down and poked the ground.

During the day, the ground had been dry.

It hadn’t rained overnight, but it was strangely soggy.

“…Everyone, watch your step. This feels off.”

“Is there a problem?”

“If it were me, I’d set traps in this kind of ground. Since we don’t know the enemy’s identity, we should consider the possibility of villains.”

Cha Seo-rin recalled the production team’s deliberate vagueness.

‘Those production team guys got us drunk, put us to sleep, and then suddenly dropped this on us. There might be both monsters and villains.’

If it were monsters, fine, but humans use tools.

It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious of traps.

Sure enough, hidden in the soggy soil were barely visible snares.

“Everyone, be careful…”

Cha Seo-rin turned around to warn them, but some had already been caught in the snares and were being pulled up into the trees.

Almost simultaneously, they cut the snares around their ankles and landed on the ground.

The soggy ground made their feet sink in a bit, but it was just an unpleasant feeling.

For ordinary people, it might’ve been a problem, but for the Awakened Ones, being pulled up to tree height was meaningless.

No matter what the enemy was, it felt like they were being toyed with.

“Right now, it’s just snares, but next time it could be blades or bombs. Everyone, be careful.”

“…Let’s be cautious.”

While Cha Seo-rin and Hwang Bo-seung’s red team slowed down due to the traps, Shin Hyeon-joo and Ragna’s blue team found a hero.

“Are you okay!”

“Ugh… You’re here! My leg’s broken! Get me to headquarters quickly!”

The first hero the blue team encountered.

His acting was so bad it was clear he had no talent as an actor.

Even he seemed to know it, as his face turned slightly red.

He was clearly embarrassed.

It was obvious he was acting and didn’t actually need first aid.

Ragna ordered a team member to take the hero to the base camp where Geum Yu-na was.

“Wait a second.”

“…?”

Shin Hyeon-joo stopped them and approached the hero.

“There’s a reason for the injured setting. Let’s at least give him first aid before sending him off.”

“That leg. He’s faking it.”

“…Who doesn’t know that? He’s faking it, so let’s play along.”

Ragna looked confused, but the rest of the team understood.

The identity of the enemy and how to earn points were both unknown.

First aid wouldn’t take long anyway.

It wouldn’t hurt to try.

Leaving the bewildered Ragna behind, the team moved.

They gathered wood nearby to make a splint for the injured leg and a makeshift stretcher.

Thanks to Jeong Gyeoul, dead trees were scattered all over the island, so gathering materials wasn’t a problem.

“When you take him back, check the scoreboard. If it’s 1 point, it’s just for the rescue. If it’s more, it’s for the treatment too.”

“Got it. We’ll drop him off and catch up quickly.”

Two people transported the hero, and the blue team resumed their search.

How much time had passed?

Shin Hyeon-joo raised her right hand, clenched in a fist.

It was a signal to stop.

Some team members spread out to keep watch, while Shin Hyeon-joo and the rest gathered in the center.

They moved naturally, as if they’d discussed their positions beforehand.

The two who had gone to transport the injured hero hadn’t returned yet.

‘We even marked the ground as we moved, so they couldn’t have gotten lost. Something must’ve happened.’

Shin Hyeon-joo glanced at Ragna, but it didn’t seem like he’d be much help in this situation.

He was a useless team leader except when it came to fighting.

“…Did they get caught?”

“Are you talking about the two we sent? It’s been way past the time they should’ve returned.”

The location where they found the hero wasn’t far from the base camp.

They were supposed to use magic to regroup on the way back, so even with some leeway, it should’ve taken 10 minutes.

But it had been over 20 minutes, and they still hadn’t returned.

“I think… this might not be a rescue mission.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Not a rescue mission?”

After hearing Geum Yu-na’s explanation, everyone had assumed it was about rescuing heroes.

Each team would earn points for successful rescues.

The team with the highest score would get benefits, or in the worst case, an entire team might be eliminated.

But Shin Hyeon-joo felt something was off.

“Think about what the MC said. Where in that sentence was the word ‘rescue’?”

The heroes had been attacked.

Some were kidnapped, some injured, some still fighting.

In that situation, the Awakened Ones had to move in teams to earn points, but… the method of earning points was undisclosed.

The identity of the enemy was also undisclosed.

The only thing they could say was that the heroes had been attacked.

“You’re right. Looking back, she never said to rescue them. She just kept urging us to move quickly.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“That’s the problem. We don’t know what to do. There’s too little information.”

Everyone had naturally assumed it was a rescue mission.

After hearing Shin Hyeon-joo, the elf girl, it felt like their heads were ringing.

‘We shouldn’t have sent that first hero off like that…’

 

---