Surviving Restructuring

The audience descended into chaos in an instant.

“Lee Eun-Ho! Where did he go?!”

Though many had come with genuine conviction, far more had shown up out of curiosity. The Labor-Management Cooperation Team had become something of a legend within the company, especially the rookie employee who had risen to team leader at record speed.

Thus, the mission’s sudden appearance felt more like an event than a crisis.

[Trial: Proof]

[Objective: defeat Lee Eun-Ho]

[Reward: Promotion]

In fact, it was a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an outrageous reward attached.

“He did look cool up there. But I’d still have to find him and defeat him, right?” muttered a man seated in the fifth row.

He raked a hand through his hair, visibly conflicted. As a side note, he worked in Channel Sales Team Two under the Sales Department.

During OJT, Lee Eun-Ho had set a legendary record and earned the title Employee of the Year. The man had been a quiet hero among their peers. He was proof that even rank-and-file employees without connections could succeed with the right strategy.

Someone hissed beside him. “Of course we go after him!”

“The reward is promotion!” A coworker growled. “Do you even know how many decades it takes to earn enough points for that?”

For killing a single man, they would be granted a reward that normally demanded a lifetime of blood and risk.

“It’s a group trial.” The coworker pressed. “Everyone who participates gets it. If you feel bad, just stab him once before he dies.”

“Fine,” the man muttered at last. “I’ll look for him.”

It was like a winning lottery ticket lying at their feet, assuming they could grab it.

“Wait! He was just there!”

“Damn it! He bolted!”

While they had been reading the trial, Eun-Ho had vanished from the stage.

“If you saw that trial, you’d run too!” Someone snapped. “You think he’d wait around?”

“I thought it wouldn’t pop up for him.” Another speculated. “I didn’t see anything on his face.”

“Doesn’t matter! Move! Before someone else claims the kill!”

Feet pounded against the ground. The trial was as simple as it could get. One target with thousands of enemies. Unless someone selfishly cornered him and killed him alone, completing it should have been easy.

Then, a roar slammed into the plaza in front of the Castle.

“You worthless bastards!”

“Huh?!”

A shockwave tore through the seating area, chairs rattling and crashing into each other.

“Where is that coming from—”

“You lived your whole lives like obedient dogs, guarding the house you were told to guard! And now that our team leader steps up, you swarm him like vultures!” Swear-Master shouted.

Someone choked, clutching their ears. “It’s a megaphone!”

The sound hammered their skulls like a sledgehammer.

“You filth who can’t even seize what’s handed to you!”

Black phlegm burst from the speakers mounted around the stage, splattering onto the ground and wrapping around ankles.

“You’ll spend your lives as corporate slaves!”

The sticky black mass slithered upward over their calves, knees and thighs.

“You’ll lick the chairman’s shoes till the day you die!”

People’s faces were drained of color.

[Caution!]

[Due to severe cursing, your Stamina has been reduced.]

[Stamina has been reduced by 10%.]

“What the hell is this guy?!” someone screamed.

Their legs were bound in place.

“Is this Shadow Bind?!”

“No, I think this is his ability!”

Even if the debuff would fade eventually, what kind of curse drained ten percent of their Stamina instantly?!

“What kind of broken skill is that?!”

“Get away!” Swear-Master’s voice boomed from the Castle Walls. “We will not attack if you do not approach!”

Some people seemed to hesitate.

“This feels wrong—” one man murmured.

“Are you stupid?” another barked. “It’s a promotion! That’s decades—no, centuries of effort handed to you!”

“Enough talk,” someone else cut in. “If you’re in, break the gate first. That barrier’s tough! Everyone focus—ugh!”

Bang! Bang!

Projectiles including catapults, cannons, and arrows struck the barrier, but then bullets tore through them.

“Agh!”

The man at the front collapsed with his leg pierced clean through.

“Gah!”

An archer in the rear clutched his shoulder, blood spraying.

“There’s a sniper! Cover your heads!”

“Fuck! We can’t hide from her! What kind of sniper curves bullets like that?!”

Shields were useless as the bullets bent around them. Defensive barriers were flanked from behind. Attempts to flee only caused the trajectory to shift midair and pursue.

“This isn’t sniping! It’s insanity!”

Aren’t they supposed to be rookies? They aren’t pushovers!

As soon as that thought crossed their minds, everyone began calling for reinforcements.

“Call reinforcements!” someone shouted. “Get trap disarmers! No, just bring the entire team!”

“Yeah! That’s right! It’s a gold mine if they get here!”

The employees hurriedly summoned anyone with expertise in trap dismantling, PvP combat, and siege warfare.

Everyone was greeted by the same bright red message windows.

[Would you like to share the group trial?]

[Y/N]

“That’s enough! Let’s fall back until reinforcements arrive!”

“Back up! Fall back! If we’re far enough away, the bullets won’t reach us!”

“No one rush in first and take him down! Got it?”

They planned to storm the gate together after the reinforcements arrived. With the Castle surrounded, Eun-Ho should have nowhere to run, or so they thought.

[Wailing Castle has been activated.]

[Defense protocol has been initiated.]

However, the Castle had no intention of giving invaders time.

“L-look up there!”

The gunfire abruptly ceased, and something atop the protruding bastions began to rotate.

Click. Clack.

Following that, a massive barrel slid into view.

Rumble—

It was a 360-degree rotating turret.

“Fuck! It’s turrets!”

“Ruuuun!”

What followed was pandemonium. Cannons roared from every angle. The invaders never even reached the wall as they scrambled like panicked animals, dodging artillery.

“Summon! Summon! Summon! Activate!”

“Defend!”

“Hide behind the trees!”

Some defensive specialists tried to hold steady behind the towering trees surrounding the castle.

Rumble—!

However, the massive trunks tore themselves free from the earth.

“The trees are moving?!”

“By the master’s will!”

“By the master’s will!”

“By the master’s will!”

The trees, each as large as a building, hurled the intruders into the sky. It was already raw, unfiltered hell, and it had only begun.

[The King of Snowfield Realm has appeared.]

[Special effect Frost Veil has been activated!]

A blizzard of freezing air swept through the battlefield, stiffening limbs and locking fingers and toes in place. The suffocating fog made fighting and escaping nearly impossible.

[Blizzard of Eternal Frost has been activated!]

Then, the Ice Golem emerged, radiating killing frost.

“Our Commander...”

“You won’t even scratch a bone of him!”

Red-black energy surged skyward as Skeletal Warriors unleashed blade aura that split the air.

“S-Skeletons?!”

“What Skeleton uses Sword Force?!”

The invaders’ will collapsed completely.

“Maybe we should just head back...”

***

Eun-Ho could feel that the deeper he moved into the forest, the fewer pursuers followed.

He estimated under his breath, Eight? Maybe nine.

While most of the intruders were still held at the castle gate, he fled through the passageway and quietly slipped into hiding. Having invited them over, he already knew the general level of the people gathered there.

“Trial, Eun-Ho! You’re the target!”

“Hyuuuungnim!”

“Ruuun!”

“Acceleration.”

“But there are a lot of uninvited guests.”

After the Eyes were destroyed, around thirty fighters slipped into the Wailing Forest. Even with his Acceleration skill, they moved fast enough without falling behind. Every single one concealed their identity tightly with masks and robes. Their movements had been suspicious from the start, as they had approached not from the audience seats, but from behind the stage.

“Did the chairman send you?” Eun-Ho asked.

Instead of answering, two masked men lunged at him simultaneously.

[Activate!]

Swoosh—! Swish!

Eun-Ho hurled Brahmastra while swinging his Flame Sky-Shattering Blade.

Boom!

The arrow pierced through one man’s forehead, while the blade separated the other’s neck from his shoulders. Their bodies exploded like bombs, chunks of flesh and gore scattering like red petals.

Suicidal fanatics, Eun-Ho thought.

They had intended to die with Eun-Ho from the beginning. Then, as he prepared to finish the rest quickly, a chilling voice slithered through the trees.

“... grant this young lamb your gloomy blessing...”

Then, the chunks of flesh clung to Eun-Ho, burrowing inward.

[Severe curse has been transmitted through the grudges of the dead.]

What the hell?

[Your body heaviness is increasing.]

[Your Agility has been reduced by 30%.]

[Your Strength has been reduced by 30%.]

His head started to throb and his limbs felt soaked in water, heavy as lead. Suddenly, his sword felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Even the ground seemed to swallow him whole.

“Tsk. This sure is annoying.”

Eun-Ho had only intended to clear a path and withdraw through a portal once the area was secure. However, if these were truly the chairman’s hands and feet, crippling them now would be wiser than letting them regroup later.

“Sword Force.”

He plunged through the brush, forcing his way between trees. Instead of pushing forward, he thrust his sword ahead like a blazing torch, blue-black aura surging outward.

Fwoooosh!

“Please accept the hellfire that burns with the netherworld’s yin energy and souls—keugh!”

The aura pierced straight through the heart of the enemy who spread curses through a corpse.

“S-spare me...”

A bluish, decayed hand with blackened fingernails stretched toward Eun-Ho. However, the one who answered that final gesture wasn’t Eun-Ho, but his comrades.

“You bastard!”

There were two swords and two spears. Then, from front and back, a barrage of arrows and fireballs poured down in succession. Six lethal strikes converged at once.

“Sword Gale Tempest.”

A storm of blades erupted outward. The forest was shredded, branches splintering and bushes torn apart.

“Watch out! If you get caught by the tempest—keugh!”

The tempest swallowed two spearmen whole, shattered the poisoned arrows into splinters, and devoured the fireballs to grow even stronger. In the heart of the dense woods, a barren clearing was carved open. Eun-Ho twisted away from a greatsword slashing in from the left.

The attacker’s shoulder was exposed for a fraction of a second. The Sky-Shattering Blade thirsted and plunged into the man’s collarbone. Blood sprayed like red silk.

Wrenching the blade free, Eun-Ho flung the blood arc toward the swordsman charging from the right, slicing across his exposed eyes. A scream tore through the clearing.

At last, only one enemy remained capable of fighting. “Flame Sphere.”

Just as Eun-Ho aimed to pierce the man’s heart cleanly, fire filled his vision. “Huh?!”

Dozens of blazing orbs descended. Eun-Ho instinctively spun aside. The embers scorched his suit and bit into his skin.

“Sword Threads.”

From the raised sword, strands of radiant light spread like a net, slicing the fireballs apart midair.

Then, a ragged and bloodied woman stepped forward. “Team Leader, Lee Eun-Ho.”

“You know me?” he asked.

“Very well.” Her hair reached down to her hips, burning like a living flame. “Heal.”

Green light enveloped her wounds and they closed instantly. Her regeneration was on an entirely different level from Sol-Ah’s. Clearly, that was how she survived the storm.

She walked forward as if emerging from hellfire itself. “Conflagration Swamp.”

The moment the woman spoke, the ground beneath Eun-Ho collapsed. Pillars of flame surged upward, swallowing his field of vision.

At the same time, warning windows flashed before his eyes.

[Caution!]

[You are entering a state of severe Soul Burn.]

[Your Stamina, mental power, and energy are rapidly decreasing.]

[Exit the hellfire zone immediately.]

Damn it!

Eun-Ho petrified his right arm and leg, turning them to stone to resist the flames. However, those were the only parts of him that were protected. His skin burned as if it were being peeled away layer by layer.

She’s definitely strong! .

She was nothing like the opponents he had faced until now. Was this the level of power wielded by the chairman’s closest aide?

If I burn through all my cards, I could take her, Eun-Ho thought.

Still, this could not be the extent of her abilities. He forced himself to predict the rhythm of their exchanges. Resource management would determine survival and every skill had to be measured.

As he ran calculations in his head, the woman said again, “Foolish one.”

Her voice carried the same tone the chairman had used days ago.

“Foolish child.”

Eun-Ho let out a short breath through his nose.

“The chairman’s aide,” he said evenly. “You’re fast, but your attack frequency is low. You entered late, despite your strength. Careful. Patient. If I had to guess, you’re more suited to being a follower than leading an organization.”

“What are you—”

“I heard there was a flame user in the Chairman’s office,” Eun-Ho continued, “I didn’t realize her healing ability was this impressive.”

She flinched. Her lips parted, then snapped shut as she bit down hard.

“We’re not here to chat.” She raised both arms above her burning hair as if offering a prayer to the heavens. “Meteor Fire!”

The sky answered and streaks of blazing light tore downward.

“This ends now!” she declared.

Instead of retreating, Eun-Ho shot forward. His raven wings unfurled, heavy with heat and smoke from the burning swamp below. He had already escaped the effective radius of the Conflagration Swamp.

It did not matter if meteors struck him nor if he burned. The instant her firepower pierced him like a spear, he was ready to seize her and return every ounce of damage.

Cutting down corrupt executives and executing the Personnel Bureau director had granted him a lot of Resistance stat. If he converted all of them into Counterattack, he couldn’t even imagine the output.

Nevertheless, there was no guarantee she was his only enemy. The chairman would not be so careless.

He glanced at her remaining Stamina, which was at 61.5%. Then he calculated the precise counterforce needed to carve away only that much.

I have to deal with her quickly and surely.

He read her breathing, the angle of each incoming meteor, and the shifting air currents distorted by heat. The moment everything aligned in his mind, golden message windows burst into the center of his vision.

[Special reward search has been completed!]

[Unknown gods rage at the Revolutionary’s peril.]

[Bestowing a Hero’s Armament.]

“What?”

Thunder exploded across the clear sky, and a deafening crack rattled bone and soul alike. Something streaked downward with a tail as long as a rainbow.

Is that a person? No that’s...

Blinding light cascaded from above. It was not flame but sunlight. Radiant brilliance poured down in a torrential flood, too bright to behold directly.

[The Armor of the Sun, Kavacha, accepts its new master.]

[The Solar Armament, Kundala, heralds the birth of a hero.]

Burning gold enveloped Eun-Ho’s head, shoulders, torso, and legs.