The Gates Opened on the First Day of Debut Chapter 33

I lowered my gaze and checked the rest of the rankings.

 

Aside from Kang Haesoo, another name caught my eye.

 

[75th Place: Han Theo 

Grade A: 0, Grade B: 1, Grade C: 1, Total: 2]

 

75th place, Han Theo.

 

Since the sub-quest for producing PR videos doesn’t directly affect the main quest, it wasn’t a major issue.

 

However, Han Theo had never received such a low ranking before, so the trainees who saw his placement were shocked.

 

“Han Theo is 75th?”

 

“That’s unexpected. I thought he’d be good at games, but I guess not.”

 

“Do you think he ever played games like Cham-cham-cham while living in the States?”

 

The trainees whispered while glancing at Han Theo’s back as he sat toward the front.

 

But Han Theo either couldn’t hear them or simply didn’t care; he just fiddled with his balls with a serene face.

 

“Unfortunately, receiving a high ranking doesn’t come with any special benefits or rewards! The ranking I just showed you is simply a record summarizing your clearing performance.”

 

At the MC’s words, the trainees who had received low rankings breathed a sigh of relief.

 

‘Of course not, because these balls themselves are the reward.’

 

I thought as I peered into the translucent gold ball.

 

The MC spoke to the trainees, who couldn’t stop fidgeting with their rewards.

 

“Aren’t you curious to see what’s inside the balls?”

 

Instead of answering, the trainees looked at the MC on the platform with sparkling eyes.

 

The MC smiled meaningfully and continued.

 

“Before we check what’s inside! I will announce a special event prepared for our trainees who worked so hard clearing the dungeons.”

 

A special event?

 

The trainees’ eyes lit up at the MC’s words.

 

‘It is a special event… technically. But still….’

 

I thought, clenching the ball in my hand.

 

“Trainee Kim Chowol!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Would you like to open one of your balls?” 

 

“Yes.”

 

The MC pointed to me, as I held the most balls.

 

Without hesitation, I opened one silver ball.

 

A small scrap of paper fell out from inside.

 

[+30 seconds]

 

Every trainee gathered in the auditorium watched me with eyes full of curiosity.

 

“Trainee Kim Chowol, could you tell us what is written on the paper?”

 

“It says… plus 30 seconds.”

 

“My sincere congratulations! Trainee Kim Chowol, you can add 30 seconds to the basic 15-second PR video, allowing you to produce a 45-second PR video!”

 

Gasp.

 

The trainees sucked in their breath as they listened to the MC’s explanation.

 

They grew restless, wanting to open their own balls immediately.

 

“Let me explain clearly once more. Inside the balls are ‘Time Rewards’ to extend the length of your PR video, and ‘Monetary Rewards’ to purchase items for your PR video production!”

 

The higher the rank, the better the reward inside. 

 

In the case of the Time Rewards I just mentioned, Gold gives +1 minute, Silver gives +30 seconds, and Bronze gives +15 seconds of additional footage.

 

The expressions of the trainees who had few balls or only silver and bronze ones darkened.

 

“You’re worried because you have too few balls? You only have silver and bronze because you don’t have gold? Don’t worry too much!”

 

The MC cut in at the perfect moment, having caught the trainees’ expressions.

 

“Because we’ve prepared a special event for the trainees whose dungeon clearing results were disappointing!”

 

The MC pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket.

 

Unlike the ordinary scraps, this one glittered brilliantly as if plated in gold.

 

“One of the silver or bronze balls you are holding contains a ‘Special Reward.'”

 

Special Reward!

 

The trainees stared at the MC with curious eyes, but the MC only gave a wide smirk and offered no further explanation.

 

“I will explain the Special Reward after you’ve all checked your rewards. Everyone, please check the rewards you obtained from clearing the dungeons now!”

 

A small camera was placed in front of every trainee.

 

It was for the purpose of filming what rewards they got and how they reacted while checking them.

 

“I’ll start by checking the gold balls.”

 

I spoke toward the camera as if filming a vlog.

 

—Click, click, click.

 

The sound of plastic balls opening filled the auditorium, followed shortly by the trainees’ cheers and groans of despair.

 

“Wow, it’s plus one minute!”

 

“I got an item… what is plus 5,000 won?”

 

“He said earlier there were monetary rewards besides the time ones. That must be it.”

 

“Ah… I only had bronze balls, so I was hoping for the special reward.”

 

Phew.

 

Taking a light breath, I began opening the gold balls one by one.

 

Three +1 minutes, three +15,000 wons.

 

Two +30 seconds, one +10,000 won.

 

That was the result after checking six gold balls and three silver balls, excluding the one bronze ball.

 

Excluding the special reward, all rewards can be divided into time and money.

 

For time, you can film the PR video for as long as the time you’ve gained; for money, you can purchase various items to use in the video up to the amount you’ve earned.

 

I scanned the scraps of paper and crunched the numbers in my head.

 

‘So the video length is 4 minutes and 15 seconds, and the budget for items is 55,000 won?’

 

Not bad.

 

With a satisfied smile, I picked up the remaining bronze ball to check it.

 

‘Has the special reward not appeared yet?’

 

Before opening the last bronze ball, I scanned the other trainees.

 

Most of them seemed to have finished checking.

 

After all, no one had more balls than I did.

 

Narrowing my eyes, I looked at my last remaining bronze ball.

 

‘There’s no way this is the special reward, right….’ 

 

Come on, no way.

 

I had regressed dozens of times and had never once pulled the special reward.

 

The probability of pulling the single special reward out of at least 300 silver and bronze balls was 0.3%.

 

Of course, since I had 10 balls, the probability rose to 3%, but it was still a slim chance.

 

‘Let’s just check it and get it over with.’

 

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened the last bronze ball.

 

A scrap of paper fell through the opening.

 

—Thud.

 

Seeing the paper, I froze.

 

The scrap of paper that had fallen to the floor was shimmering brilliantly with a golden hue.

 

“Trainee Kim Chowol!”

 

The MC suddenly called my name.

 

And from the speakers placed in the corners of the auditorium, a loud and cheerful fanfare sound effect erupted.

 

—Ta-da! Da-da-da ta-da!

 

Startled, I stared up at the MC blankly.

 

The eyes of every trainee in the auditorium were focused on me.

 

“My sincere congratulations on becoming the owner of the Special Reward!”

 

No, f*cking… you’ve gotta be kidding me, right? 

 

The special reward I’d never pulled once before, suddenly now of all times?

 

“Whoa, insane. Six gold balls and even the special reward? This is a total shitty luck-driven game.”

 

“I’m so f*cking jealous. Some of us don’t even have silver, let alone gold.”

 

“He’s seriously taking everything for himself. What am I supposed to do when I can’t play the games and have no luck?”

 

Blinded by jealousy, the trainees spat out harsh words, forgetting they were in front of the cameras.

 

The sentiment toward me was already unfavorable because I was the undisputed first place; now that I’d taken the special reward too, there was bound to be resentment.

 

But I was about to lose my mind from the sheer unfairness of it.

 

‘This is a poisoned chalice.’

 

It looks good on the outside, but it’s something you must never drink.

 

“Since the owner of the special reward has appeared, I will explain what the special reward is!”

 

As the MC finished speaking, the screen changed.

 

[Sub-Quest Special Reward! 

Trait: Thief Appears 

You can steal one dungeon clearing reward from another person.]

 

F*ck.

 

How am I supposed to use this?

 

*    *    *

 

The trainees’ expressions as they looked at me turned subtle.

 

The quick-witted ones must have realized it by now.

 

That the special reward was nothing more than fool’s gold.

 

No, you can at least look at fool’s gold; if you take this, you die.

 

“Trainee Kim Chowol, please choose the trainee you will steal a reward from right now!”

 

There was no option not to use the trait.

 

Of course, if I really didn’t want to use it, I could refuse, but it was better to use it if possible.

 

‘Because if I don’t use the trait, I can’t become a PD Pick.’ 

 

The answer came easily when I thought about what happened to trainees who had pulled special rewards in the past.

 

‘70% of the trainees who used the trait became victims of evil editing, and while Jang Hyuksoo saved the other 30% through editing… half of them couldn’t escape public criticism.’ 

 

On the other hand, a hundred percent of trainees who didn’t use the trait were completely edited out from the PR video production onward, making it hard to see their faces on broadcast.

 

“Could you… give me a moment to think?”

 

“Yes, of course!”

 

Fortunately, the MC nodded readily.

 

But there wasn’t much time.

 

Jang Hyuksoo hates frustration.

 

The longer I spent agonizing over it, the lower the probability of me becoming a PD’s pick would be.

 

‘Steal, steal from someone….’

 

First of all, following the trait’s description literally and stealing another trainee’s reward was absolutely out of the question.

 

If my dungeon clearing rank hadn’t been first place, I might have considered a real theft, but I already had the most gold balls—and now I was going to steal someone else’s too?

 

It was basically like asking Jang Hyuksoo to kill me off.

 

‘The most standard way would be to take one bronze ball from the 2nd place trainee, but….’

 

Would Jang Hyuksoo ever be satisfied with that?

 

‘Absolutely not.’

 

To Jang Hyuksoo, taking a bronze ball from Kang Haesoo or giving up on using the trait would be one and the same.

 

In that case, there was only one way left.

 

“I’ve decided.”

 

“Excellent! Let’s hear who the trainee chosen by Kim Chowol is right now!”

 

“The trainee I have chosen is….”

 

Taking a deep breath, I called to mind the face of someone who would be watching me from behind.

 

“I will take the reward of my guild member… Trainee Yoo Sung.”

 

Gasp. Unbelievable. Insane.

 

Exclamations of shock erupted from trainees everywhere.

 

‘This feels a bit like deja vu.’

 

I turned my head and looked at Yoo Sung.

 

A startled Yoo Sung was staring at me with wide, round eyes.

 

But his reaction was a bit different from when I recruited him as a guild member.

 

It was more like the expression of a cat betrayed by a human it trusted….

 

“I will take Trainee Yoo Sung’s gold ball… the plus 1 minute.”

 

Turning back, I spoke to the MC.

 

“Very well! Trainee Yoo Sung, please hand the gold ball marked plus 1 minute to Trainee Kim Chowol—”

 

“One more thing.”

 

Interrupting the MC, I spoke while holding up my index finger.

 

“Besides the plus 1 minute, there is one more thing I want to take.”

 

“One more…? I’m sorry, Trainee Kim Chowol, but the ‘Thief Appears’ trait only allows you to take one reward.”

 

“No, what I want is not Trainee Yoo Sung’s reward.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

The MC looked at me with an intrigued gaze.

 

As if telling me to go ahead and keep talking.

 

“What I want to take… is Trainee Yoo Sung himself.”

 

The MC, failing to understand my words immediately, tilted his head.

 

Without taking my eyes off the MC, I spoke once more with emphasis.

 

“I don’t just want the minute; I want Yoo Sung’s minute.”