One can hear a sickening crunch in the lobby of the commercial building.
The metal pipe of Min-ho hits the shoulder of Blind Crawler. The blow is great, yet the animal hardly trembles.
The scream like tearing metal and thwarts its long nails furiously in the air.
The air is cut four times by razor-sharp lines, inches away hurting the face of Min-ho. He falls backwards, and loses footing on the rubble-strewn floor.
"Min-ho!" Jin-ah screams from the stairwell.
The monster is facing her with an eyeless head. It huddles and its muscles tense in readiness to leap.
I don't move. I observe.
Min-ho is motivated by a protectivistic feeling. Jin-ah is guided by fear. Powerful as are both of these feelings, but then they are riotous, fatal.
I require them to collaborate. Individuals who possess the ability to work as a team and collaborate with others would facilitate an atmosphere of cooperation and seek solutions that would enable everyone to contribute their areas of strength to the table.
"Jin-ah!" I shout, with a tremulous voice. "Use your Analysis! Where is it weak?"
It is just a reminder. I am channeling her panic to a productive undertaking.
Jin-ah shakes her hands and in a gesture of sliding at the air, she opens her System interface. Her eyes flutter, and her augmented vision searches the creature.
The joints! she screams, the cracking of her voice. It is stout-skinned in its carapace, And lacks armor everywhere There but the backs of its knees and its neck!
"Min-ho! The knees!" I echo, becoming the frightened and yet useful onlooker.
Min-ho slides over, but in the next moment the beast rushes towards the place he occupied a position ago. He hears my shout. He doesn't hesitate.
The swing of the pipe is low, with all the weight of his body.
CRACK.
The pipe is made out of metal and breaks up into the back of the left knee of the Crawler.
Its leg shakes as it screams in pain. It falls on the floor of tiles, and wriths.
Min-ho doesn't stop. The adrenaline is reaching its peak. He bravely gets up and puts the pipe high over his head then throws it down against the bare neck of the animal.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Blood of black drops on his var jacket.
The animal halts in movement.
There comes a shining blue alert in our face.
[Blind Crawler (Lv. 3) defeated.] [Experience distributed.] [Player Kang Min-ho has leveled up.] [Player Yoo Jin-ah has leveled up.]
I take a self-assessment. No level up. It was strictly a verbal effort on my part, and the System obviously gets the record of that as zero-value effort.
'Perfect.'
Min-ho falls on his knees and chokes and chokes. The pipe rattles down to the ground.
Jin-ah goes to him, extracting a clean handkerchief out of her pocket to remove the black blood on his face.
I hang back. I allowed them to enjoy this triumph and reprieve. Bonds encourage one to remember to concentrate on networks besides activities. They can trauma-bond by providing them a chance to relish in the murders and this makes them increasingly dependent on each other. They both feel to blame me, the weak third wheel that I am.
Are you two all right? I question, and venture half-timorously.
Min-ho raises his gaze with the weary yet triumphant smile. Yes. We did it. You, Mr. Seo. You should have kept your head aloof.
I shake my head and stare at my hands. I make them publicly tremble. I went insane. I just... I just repeated him... Jin-ah.
Trustworthiness as a sense of self-management implies that you are not a liar regarding what you cannot and can do. Or it is pretending to be not dishonest about your limitations. Suppose I took the credit of the plan, the critical ego of Jin-ah would be put at stake. By offering her the credit and confessing that I am afraid, I look absolutely open and innocent.
Jin-ah looks at me. Her vision is keen behind her broken glasses.
You did not make a run, though, she says to herself.
My a, I freeze when I am scared, I tell him, mellow.
She accepts this. It suits her rational standards of human actions in the time of stress.
So, Jin-ah turns around, saying, Let's go to the basement. The sun sets.
We descend into the darkness.
A heavy reinforced steel door is found at the bottom. It seems to be the door to a former fallout shelter or a bank vault.
It is locked, Min-ho grunts, beating the cold steel. Electronic lock. no power.
Jin-ah steps up. "Let me try."
She reaches her hand on the electronic key pad. Her eyes are slightly blue and glowing.
It is a System skill that she is utilizing.
Then there comes a great clatter of clicking in the staircase. Door groans heavily open.
[Safe Zone found: Safe Zone Abandoned Vault.] [Claiming Safe Zone...] [1000 Survival Points granted to the party.).
We step inside. It is a large windowless room with empty safety deposit boxes. It is muddy, but is justifiable. Above all, it is totally disconnected with the external world.
Min-ho falls at the wall nearly crushing himself to the floor. The physical labor has exhausted him wholly.
Jin-ah is seated beside her, drawing her knees to her.
I go round the room, faking an inspection along the corners of nervously paranoid mind. What I am actually surveying is the exits, the shafts of the ventilation, and the blind spots.
We should have an hour schedule, Jin-ah, we need an hour schedule. We do not know whether things may spawn here.
Min-ho is first to volunteer, "I will have the first watch.
No, I say, and I get to the middle of the room. You must sleep. You are all the fighter we have, Min-ho.
I am using a service orientation. Service orientation refers to serving others, that is, giving them suggestions and details that are in their best interest. I am not mainly thinking about his mental recovery since a broken tool is not of use to me.
"But Mr. Seo..."
I give first watch, I insist forestall. I do not sleep anyway, my adrenaline is still too high. You two are asleep.
Jin-ah gazes at me, her face softening. "Thank you, Seo."
Oh, okay thank you, sir, say Min-ho, and his eyes already start falling.
In the next ten minutes, they fall asleep.
I am sitting at the door with its bulk. It is a complete silence in the vault.
Once I concentrate, I can taste the surface subdued sound.
Screams. Roars. Metal tearing and collapsing buildings.
Night has fallen on Oasis. The nocturnal entities are hunting.
I think about Park Dong-soo and his vanguard. They were driven by arrogance and a desire for power. They likely tried to secure a large, highly visible building. They are probably dead, or dying right now.
I feel no pity. I feel no fear.
My emotional self-awareness allows me to specify exactly how I am feeling at any given moment.
Right now, I feel a cold, detached satisfaction.
I look at Min-ho and Jin-ah sleeping on the hard floor.
Self-management requires the ability to delay gratification in pursuit of a goal.
I could have easily fought the Blind Crawler myself. I could have claimed the experience points. I could have asserted dominance over this group, just like Park Dong-soo did.
But true control isn't loud.
True control is having people eagerly put their lives on the line for you, believing it was their own idea.
I close my eyes, leaning my head against the cold steel door.
The System thrives on human emotion. It expects us to break. It expects us to turn on each other out of fear, or sacrifice ourselves out of love.
I will do neither.
I will simply manage them.
The darkness has set in on Oasis. The creatures of the night are preying.
I consider Park Dong-soo and his vanguard. This was caused by arrogance and power ambition. They must have attempted to acquire a large prominent structure. They are most likely dead, or on the brink of death.
I feel no pity. I feel no fear.
The emotional self-awareness enables me to indicate precisely the type of feeling that I am experiencing at a particular time.
At this very moment I am distractedly, dispassionately satisfied.
I look at Min-ho and Jin-ah sleeping on the hard floor.
To manage yourself, one should be capable of postponing gratification to achieve an objective.
I could have easily fought the Blind Crawler myself. I would have been able to receive the experience points. I would have been able to dominate this group just as Park Dong-soo did.
Sweet control is not noisy.
It is real power to see people willing to die on your behalf thinking it was a personal suggestion.
I shut my eyes, and put my head against the cold steel door.
The System feeds on the emotion of man. It anticipates that we will shatter. It commands us to fight and murder one another, or to give ourselves, and be willing to offer ourselves, out of love.
I will do neither.
I will simply manage them.