Chapter 131

The Blood Fiend’s Lair is one of those clichés you see in romance novels or dramas—where the S-rank Awakener hero dramatically rescues the heroine in danger. Protagonists always fall in love or confess their feelings there. Sure enough, Anna clasped her hands and blushed.

“Blood Fiend’s Lair? So romantic~!”

Romantic...? Does that word mean something different in the Wildlands? Roy had no idea what Anna was on about— to him, a Blood Fiend’s Lair was just a deadly dungeon out of a fantasy story.

“How is a Blood Fiend’s Lair romantic?”

Does this woman have weird tastes? Then he remembered: Anna could crush a Fiend’s skull with one hand.

“Hm. Maybe it is romantic...?”

Realizing he’d misspoken, he snapped his lips shut. Anna clicked her tongue in exasperation.

“Tch. That’s why men...”

“...”

“Roi, the Blood Fiend’s Lair is, like, intense emotions blossoming under extreme circumstances. Got it?”

What was she saying? Roy wondered if they were even speaking the same language. When he blinked in confusion, Anna patted his shoulder kindly.

“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to get it now. When you’re older, you’ll understand naturally.”

What? He had no desire to ever understand whatever it was. Tae-eon sidled up with an embarrassed look and whispered,

“It’s a common setting in romantic-comedy dramas.”

Why would that ever appear in a rom-com? Though he didn’t say so, his expression must have betrayed him—Tae-eon went on.

“Like the knight on a white horse showing up. Girls’ ultimate fantasy...?”

Roy thought, “They come up with the craziest fantasies.” In reality, a Blood Fiend encounter meant instant death, not a romantic rescue. He grudgingly chalked it up to dramatic license. Production wouldn’t have chosen a romance theme just for fun—they’d surely load an unreasonable mission on them...

He refocused on Han-gyeol’s announcement.

“All eight teams will enter simultaneously. Only the first three to complete the mission advance to the final round.”

Would the mission only become clear once they were inside? The vague explanation made him uneasy—production had tricked them before.

“And we have one request for our live audience, too. We’ve prepared a small event so you can participate indirectly in the survival challenge.”

At the word “event,” the audience murmured.

“In a moment, a QR code will appear on screen. Scan it and vote for the one contestant you look forward to most on each team.”

They’d then draw five winners to receive final-round audience passes. Phones came out as the audience scanned the code—standard fare, but Roy felt a bad premonition.

‘Don’t they usually do this at the end of filming?’

If it were just a popularity vote, why at the start?

‘There’s got to be something else....’

Jun-seo was unpredictable; Roy couldn’t guess his intent. But this feeling in his gut... As Roy frowned at Jun-seo, the audience voting closed.

“Thank you all for participating. We’ll notify winners by text in a week.”

Then a massive door bathed in blue light appeared on stage—a grandeur unlike anything they’d seen before. The audience stirred; even onstage people fell silent. Roy stared in awe.

‘It’s huge.’

In a virtual space, the more expansive and detailed the interior, the larger the entrance. This door dwarfed those from the level test and first survival. The scale of this third challenge was off the charts.

‘What did they do inside?’

Well, they had to fit forty-eight people in at once—perhaps this was only natural. Flustered, Roy forgot he’d doubted production a moment ago.

“Team 1, please enter in order.”

Snapped back to reality by Han-gyeol’s call, he realized all eyes were on them. His teammates looked at him with equal parts tension and anticipation.

“Should I go first?”

They all nodded without a word.

“Alright, then.”

This time, he’d prove his worth with a standout performance. Roi strode confidently through the blue portal. The instant he crossed its threshold, a blinding flash enveloped him. He had to close his eyes, then reopened them to find—

“...?”

He was alone.

✧

“Huh?”

Swish—

He looked one way.

“Whaaat?”

Swish—

He looked the other.

“...”

There was no one here but him.

“Whaaaaat?!”

His teammates should have been here, but they weren’t. What was this? A glitch? Han-gyeol had clearly said they’d all start together. Team 1 had scraped through five of seven daily missions to recruit every member. Of course they’d all be here.

‘So why just me?’

He wanted to alert production, but didn’t know how... Ah! He spotted a micro-drone filming him. He approached, looked straight into its lens, and calmly called out,

“PD-nim, I think I’ve ended up in the wrong place—could you check, please?”

The drone bobbed left and right, as if shaking its head.

“Huh? What’s that mean?”

Time ticked by with no response. Worry creased his face.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

He waved at the air, vying for the camera’s attention. Just as he reached to catch the drone, a translucent window materialized before him—unlike any he’d seen.

[Team 1’s Roi ranked first in live voting and will begin in a special zone. Stay hidden from Blood Fiends until rescued!]

“????”

So this must be the “romantic situation” Anna talked about?

“...Ah.”

Roy pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed. This was his golden chance to shine. No, he had to shine!

‘I want people to talk about something other than my face!’

Awakeners earn respect by skill, yet every search result about him was about his looks. Hence all the ridiculous chatter about debuting and such. And if he didn’t revamp his image now, he’d be roasted even as an S-rank.