Surviving Restructuring

It was 8:00 AM. Morning broke over the Night Island. It was a little earlier than usual, but eleven of them, including Eun-Ho, had finished getting ready.

“Yul, did you sleep well?”

“Hoaahm... I’m still sleepy...” Yul replied with a wide yawn, her small mouth stretching open.

She had gone to bed late because of the herbs they’d found the night before. They had spent half the night gathering and brewing them. Even though maintaining their condition was important, they had still pushed themselves.

The reason was simple. It was because they had decided on an impromptu round of herbal tonics.

“Ugh! This is so bitter!” someone exclaimed.

“It’s good for your body. Down it in one go, all of it!” the cleaning lady insisted.

“Damn, this stuff tastes fucking worse than poison. You sure it ain’t an execution draught?” the Swear-Master muttered.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it,” Eun-Ho said.

“Chill, I didn’t say I won’t drink it!” he shot back. Grumbling, he tilted the bowl and gulped the whole thing down.

Watching him, Eun-Ho raised his own bowl and drank as well.

Ding!

[You have absorbed the Stewed Young Flemingia Root!]

[Your muscles have grown stronger.]

[Strength stat has been increased (+1).]

[Your Strength stat has increased from 20 to 21.]

After his Strength stat had increased, he could feel a faint tension run through his abs and thighs.

It really worked!

Eun-Ho had been skeptical, but the effect was undeniable. It was like stumbling across a wild ginseng root on the roadside.

“One more cup, please,” Eun-Ho said.

“Of course! Drink it down!” the cleaning lady encouraged him.

[You have absorbed the Stewed Young Flemingia Root!]

“Another one please.”

[You have absorbed the Stewed Young Flemingia Root!]

“More!”

[You have absorbed the Stewed Young Flemingia Root!]

[Your muscles have grown stronger.]

[Strength stat has been increased (+1).]

[Your Strength stat has increased from 21 to 22.]

His shoulders, back, and hips tightened like a whip drawn taut. His core muscles seemed to bind together, forming a solid foundation.

“One more pl—”

“Go on, drink!”

However, once two points of Strength had been added, the tonic’s power had run out.

[You have exceeded the maximum absorption limit.]

[There will be no further effects from Stewed Young Flemingia Root.]

“It doesn’t raise my stats anymore,” Eun-Ho said.

“Same here,” another replied.

“Looks like it’s not unlimited,” said Ji-Eun.

“Man, I was planning to push my Strength all the way to a hundred with this,” Jae-Hyuk complained.

“A hundred? You’re way too greedy,” Ji-Eun replied.

Two stat points seemed to be the cap on what herbs could give. However, shuffling quickly, the woman brought out another pot filled with a golden-tinged brew.

“There’s more,” the cleaning lady said.

“What do you mean?” Eun-Ho asked.

“There are three kinds of herbs here.”

“Wow, this land is good for them.”

“Young Man! Have a cup of this. Quickly now!” she urged.

“Thank you,” Eun-Ho said.

“That’s it, drink up!”

Eun-Ho didn’t refuse. He drank, and a familiar message appeared.

[You have absorbed the Stewed Groundsel Root!]

[Your vision has sharpened.]

“How is it? Doesn’t it make your eyes snap open?” the cleaning lady asked.

She was right. When he looked up, the leaves of an unfamiliar tree caught his gaze. They had never appeared so distinct before.

“Yes, everything looks clearer!” Eun-Ho admitted.

It was as if the resolution of his vision had been upgraded. Every edge, every vein of the leaf stood out.

“Want more?” she asked.

“Yes, please.”

[You have absorbed the Stewed Groundsel Root!]

[Your resistance to infectious diseases slightly increased.]

Eun-Ho kept drinking, cup after cup, until he couldn’t take no more.

[You have exceeded the maximum absorption limit.]

[There will be no further effects from Stewed Groundsel Root.]

“This one here is stewed Puffball. Keep it with you. It’s good for stopping bleeding,” the cleaning lady said, handing him a grayish liquid stored in an empty water bottle.

It was supposed to speed up recovery whenever they were injured.

“And this one too! This is the best of them all.”

Last of all, she handed over a clear liquid tinged with light brown.

[Stewed Ginseng Root]

- Root of a young ginseng raised under a concentrated energy barrier.

- Absorbing it permanently increases Stamina.

- Because the exposure time to the barrier was short, the effect is limited.

Stamina increase?

Eun-Ho knew how vital the increase in Stamina was, to the point he took classes from the Training Institute. Nothing could be more useful at this moment. Without hesitation, he lifted the cup and drank it all.

Eun-Ho tilted back the bowl and drank it all.

Gulp.

[You have absorbed the Stewed Ginseng Root!]

[Stamina stat has been increased (+1).]

[Your Stamina stat has increased from 28 to 29.]

The tonic carried a slightly bitter taste, followed by a warm burn down his throat. It wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, knowing it boosted his stats made it almost sweet. He asked for another bowl and downed it in one go.

[Your base Stamina is already sufficiently high.]

[The effect of Stamina increase will be minimal.]

“Hm?” Eun-Ho muttered.

“What’s wrong?” the cleaning lady asked.

“It says my base Stamina is already high,” he explained.

There was a limit.

“Wow! My Stamina went up! That’s incredible!”

“You can keep drinking, but it doesn’t rise forever,” another pointed out.

“Same here. I only got two points and then it stopped.”

Everyone seemed to have reached their limit, though plenty of the tonic remained. It felt wasteful to leave it behind.

I’ll take some with me, just in case, Eun-Ho thought.

Either way, they had come to the Night Island to rescue the elders, and perhaps also to give their group more combat experience. In the end, they had gained something far greater than they’d expected, including adaptability from defeating the giant cockroach and these potent herbs.

“Thanks to you, we gained a lot,” Eun-Ho said gratefully.

“Ah, don’t mention it! No need for thanks,” the cleaning lady replied, waving her hand as if it was nothing.

Eun-Ho bowed in gratitude, but the cleaning lady shook it off with a laugh. “Young man, you’ve already saved our lives several times. This little thing doesn’t even come close to repaying that!”

“No, I still need to thank you genuinely,” he insisted.

“He’s right! We’re grateful too!”

As their warm exchange filled the early morning air, the familiar broadcast voice cut in, announcing the true start of the day.

[... an announcement.]

“The announcement is on!” someone shouted.

[Attention all survivors in the Seoul District.]

[At 9:00 AM, the project Physical Examination will begin.]

[All subjects are required to proceed to the designated examination site.]

“Where is the examination site?” one person asked.

“Hopefully not too far...” another muttered nervously.

“It’s fine,” Eun-Ho reassured. “It’s only 8:30 AM right now. We should have enough time.”

[The examination site has been generated!]

Fwoosh—!

A map unfolded before their eyes, centered on the Han River that split Seoul north and south, with the Night Island right at its heart. On the map, a strange circular space appeared, drawn like computer graphics and clearly unnatural.

“So that circle must be the examination site?” someone guessed.

“Looks like it. It’s the only part marked in green.”

However, according to the map, the examination site wasn’t far from where they stood on the Night Island.

“Wait... Isn’t it close to us then?” Eun-Ho asked.

“I don’t see anything,” someone murmured.

All they could see around them was the familiar Seoul skyline and the frozen lanes of the Riverside Highway. As they looked around, searching for the round structure that appeared only on the map, a massive shadow fell over their heads.

“A shadow?”

[Please proceed to the Sky Island!]

Then, an island appeared in the sky.

“Shit! What is that, a spaceship?!” the Swear-Master shouted.

The Sky Island floated in silence, soundlessly drifting above them, as if swimming across the air. No words came to anyone’s lips. Instead, something else revealed itself.

[The Eye is now open.]

The sky split apart in a way that felt both familiar and alien.

Ding! Ding! Ding...

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

[A new observer has joined!]

...

The sound of bells and overlapping messages drilled into their ears.

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management waves to a friend.]

[The Newbie from the Bureau of Corporate Relations cheers, as they’re glad the event has finally begun.]

[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation marvels at the fact that it’s already time for the physical examination.]

“It’s been a while,” Eun-Ho murmured.

It had been some time since the crowd of spectators had reacted this noisily. Maybe because he had been too absorbed in extra trials, and then at the Training Institute afterward, he hadn’t noticed.

“Ji-Eun...” he began, thinking he might need her help figuring out how to reach that floating island.

Fwoosh—!

Just then, a new path appeared before them.

A narrow staircase now stretched skyward toward the island. It gleamed with white marble, wide enough for one person comfortably, two at best. A single misstep, and it’d be a long fall into the Han River or the hard streets of Seoul below.

“Stairs?” Eun-Ho whispered.

“Let’s go up!”

[Anyone who does not arrive by 9:00 AM will be considered rejected and deleted.]

No matter how long or dangerous the climb was, they had no choice.

“Yul, get on Daddy’s back,” Han-Wool said gently.

Other than hoisting a small daughter onto one’s shoulders and climbing, there was nothing they could do.

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management flares with determination at the sight of golems lining up.]

[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation crosses his arms, remarking that the view here isn’t so bad.]

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Two Sky Islands had appeared over Seoul in total, their white staircases spreading outward like spiderwebs.

I can see them clearly, Eun-Ho thought.

Perhaps due to the herbs he’d consumed, even though the stairways stretched kilometers away, they looked as sharp as the veins of a leaf just above his head.

“Looks like they split us into Southriver and Northriver.”

“So we’re part of Northriver, right?”

“Seems there are still people in Yeouido too.”

The Night Island, located in the middle of the Han River, had been designated as the Northriver territory, while the neighboring Yeouido fell under Southriver territory.

[The Ferry Man from the Bureau of Management wonders when exactly they managed to cross the river.]

“What about your younger brother?” Eun-Ho asked.

“He’s in Southriver. Last time we talked, he said he was at the Express Bus Terminal.”

It was the last contact she’d had. To an outsider, the natural question would have been, “What about now?”, tinged with dread. However, her face wasn’t shadowed with despair. She likely felt that her brother was still alive.

“You’ll meet him soon,” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes. I’m choosing to believe that,” Ji-Eun replied with a small smile.

The morning sun was sharp overhead, forcing Ji-Eun to squint as she lifted her gaze. “How many people do you think there will be?”

The question was somewhat vague, but no one asked for clarification. Clearly, she was asking for the number of survivors—those who had clawed their way through trial after trial, managing to stay alive until now. Those they were about to meet, unsure if they’d be allies or enemies.

[The Ferry Man from the Bureau of Management clicks their tongue, saying too many have survived.]

[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation insists the number will far surpass the average of sector 13.]

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management clenches a fist, declaring they should all become subordinates now.]

“I think at least five hundred, just for the Northriver territory,” Eun-Ho estimated.

“That’s far too few. There were at least five million people in Northriver...” Ji-Eun said softly.

“Well, the numbers have been cut down,” he answered.

Everyone climbing those stairs had done so by pushing someone else aside, one way or another.

“It’d be nice if we ran into someone we know,” Ji-Eun said lightly.

Eun-Ho stayed silent. At first, he thought just because he knew someone didn’t mean they’d be on his side. Then, he realized that his world and Ji-Eun’s world could’ve been very different to begin with.

“It won’t necessarily be a good thing,” he said at last.

“What do you mean? Wouldn’t more comrades be a good thing?” she asked.

“Well, I suppose so,” he conceded vaguely.

With that noncommittal answer, he continued up the endless stairs.

It was 8:45 AM and only fifteen minutes remained until nine o’clock.

“We should hurry a little,” Eun-Ho said.

“Okay!”

“Got it!”

He quickened his pace after warning the others, who were walking alongside him on the same path. It was then that unfamiliar figures began to appear.

“Look! Where did they come from?” someone whispered.

“They were climbing up from the Han River, I think,” another answered.

There were new faces. The closer they drew to the looming Sky Island overhead, the more strangers they encountered. Then, when less than a hundred meters remained to the island’s surface, the sound of his own name froze him.

“Lee Eun-Ho? It really is you! I knew it!”

Years of contract jobs had left Eun-Ho with countless shallow acquaintances.

Yet, the moment he saw this man’s face, his head gave a reluctant nod. “Ah...”

It wasn’t as though they had ever been close.

“So you still recognize me, huh? I thought you’d have forgotten everything by now,” the man said with a grin.

Truthfully, Eun-Ho had forgotten until recently not by choice, but by circumstance. However, now here he was, dredged up again.

“It’s been what... We haven’t seen each other since senior year of high school, right?”

From memory, a voice resurfaced.

“What are you doing? You’re not even warming up?”

“You think you don’t need to warm up if your records are good?”

“What an arrogant bastard.”

It was the same guy who kept appearing in Eun-Ho’s dream. He was one of the guys from a neighboring school who used to pick fights with Eun-Ho.

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management asks why that guy showed up again.]

“Yeah, I guess,” Eun-Ho replied.

“But tell me. I heard you became crippled after your leg got ruined. But you look fine now. What happened?” the guy asked with a smirk.

In friendly matches or official tournaments alike, he had always lost to Eun-Ho. Still, Eun-Ho had heard he’d done well after entering a physical education college, even making it to the Asian Games. Meanwhile, Eun-Ho had been crawling through the mud after his accident.

[The Newbie from the Bureau of Corporate Relations asks what he means about the leg.]

[The Night-Shift Fairy from the Bureau of Audit wonders what detail they missed.]

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management clicks their tongue, saying the fool can’t keep his mouth shut.]

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management advises snapping his neck this time instead of his wrist.]

So he’d been at the Taereung training center, Eun-Ho thought.

Judging from the muscular men and women grouped around him, he guessed which district they hailed from.

They’re still weaker than Park Gong-Chan, he thought.

The national team captain could deadlift over a thousand for his combined lifts. Compared to that, this man wasn’t a threat.

Meaning, this guy is nothing to be afraid of.

“Did the system fix you up? I guess you’re lucky after all,” the man sneered.

“It’s not something you need to know,” Eun-Ho replied flatly.

“Wow, Eun-Ho replies to me now? You’ve changed,” the man jeered.

Back then, Eun-Ho hadn’t bothered answering. His only focus had been on records, and nobody dared to touch the unrivaled number one.

I was a fool back then. I was almost like a racehorse running blinders-on, Eun-Ho thought.

“So I guess after being a cripple and recovering, your personality shifted, huh?” the man prodded.

Eun-Ho’s lips curled. “And you’re the same as ever.”

“What did you say?”

“Still barking without knowing your place.”

He had no patience to humor such nonsense anymore, especially not when his companions were watching with worried faces.

“What the hell did you say, bastard? You still think I’m the eternal number two you used to trample? I went to the Asian Games—”

“Yeah, you still look like number two,” Eun-Ho cut him off.

The interruption startled the man, his bravado faltering. “... What?”

“What’s wrong? Got a trauma or something? You’re the one who called yourself eternal number two first,” Eun-Ho pressed.

“T-trauma? You’re the cripple, not me!”

Eun-Ho’s memory of him was hazy, but one thing stood out crystal clear.

Yeah, his mental resilience was weak, Eun-Ho thought.

No matter how fast he started, if Eun-Ho overtook him even once, he would collapse, giving up on the match. Therefore, Eun-Ho pushed harder.

“Hmph. I remember your skills being pretty mediocre. Did you sneak into the Asian Games just because I wasn’t around?”

Right on cue, he exploded in anger, exactly as expected. “How dare you, you fucking bastard!”

“You realize if we fight here, we’ll both fall?” Eun-Ho pointed out coldly.

“That’s—!”

Before the man could lunge on the steep stairs, Eun-Ho quickened his stride.

Tap!

His foot landed on the final step.

Tap!

Just like the stairs, the floor was white, but it was made of a more slippery tile material. He stepped onto it with his other foot. It seemed the entire Sky Island was some kind of safe zone, as he moved into a space bordered like a frame with green lines.

“Fuck, do you still think—”

“Quiet,” Eun-Ho cut him off.

[You have entered the Physical Examination area!]

Before him stretched a strange looking arena entrance. With no hills or dips, the ground lay flat, as though measured by a ruler. The crowd of people only made the space feel even tighter.

What exactly are they going to test here? Eun-Ho wondered.

He couldn’t even guess what kind of physical examination they were about to conduct, or how.

“Don’t fucking ignore me!” the man screamed.

[All subjects have entered.]

[The inspector is now arriving!]

The clouds spread out at eye level, suddenly drew together, thickened, and then dispersed.

Swoosh—!

Then, a stranger appeared. It was a man with filthy white hair and a gaunt face, yet with eyes blazing sharp as blades.

“Ah... Finally!” His voice slithered out like a snake, drawn-out and tinged with unsettling delight. “I’ve been dying to see you!”