I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

A weapon. A weapon that works with my cheat.
Ever since the team talked about their items yesterday, I’d had one thing on my mind—weapon-type items.
To be honest, my cheat mode and skills all leaned toward offense.

Overwhelming strength and speed. Weak Spot Detection from quests. An assassination skill.
Even the violent experiences I’d gone through so far.
If I wanted to make full use of all those terrifying encounters where I’d destroyed monsters out of fear...

Even if I was scared of fighting monsters, a weapon item suited me.
I ignored the other categories and headed straight for the [Weapon] section.
There were items that looked fairly ordinary—daggers, handguns, tasers.

But of course, nothing in here was truly “ordinary.”
I calmly began narrowing down my options.
First, I eliminated firearms that didn’t take advantage of my stats.

Things like handguns or tasers wouldn’t let me make use of my raw strength.
Then I weeded out weapons with serious drawbacks in their descriptions.
Maybe because they were gear allowed for lower-tier teams, each one seemed to hide trap-like conditions.

And finally—something caught my eye.
A single sword in a sheath, resting on a rack. It looked plain. Not flashy, not intimidating.
But it looked sturdy. Reliable.

I checked its data with the tablet.
[Item Name: Return Blade]
Category: Weapon / Special Alloy Longsword
Description: A highly durable steel sword forged using a special process. Once per week, striking the side of the sheath twice will regenerate the sword inside the scabbard.
Info 1. If the sheath is destroyed, the sword cannot be regenerated.
Info 2. The sheath’s durability varies depending on the user. More testing required.
— Exploration Team 2 Leader: sheath was stronger than the sword.
— Research intern: durability equivalent to wooden plank.
Info 3. If the owner takes a certain level of damage, the Return Blade will instead be destroyed, splitting the damage with the user.
Regenerates…!

This was it. Break it, lose it—didn’t matter. It would always come back.
No real drawbacks. Infinite durability. No risk of losing it.
And it even shared damage on my behalf.

The once-a-week limit? Not a problem if I had my cheat.
The only issue was—I’d never once in my life swung a sword.
...I can just use it like a blunt weapon, right?

Somehow, I figured it’d work out.
The sheath’s durability varied by user? That was something I’d need to test.
There was no clear criteria for how that durability was decided.

"I’ll take this one."
I returned to the researcher without hesitation and pointed to the Return Blade.
He looked mildly surprised by my choice, but quickly moved into the standard distribution protocol.

"...It's rare to see someone choose a weapon as their first item."
"Really?"
"Yeah, probably have to go back a few years to find that."

Once the process was finished, the researcher walked into the storage area and carefully brought the sword out.
I received the Return Blade, sheathed, and attached it to my belt.
The sheath had a handy hook, so it clipped easily to my belt or waistband.

Shriiing.
I slowly drew the blade.
The soft gleam of polished steel reflected the storage room lights.

A real weapon. The cold sensation in my fingertips gave me a slight chill—but also a strange sense of reassurance.
[Quest Complete.]
[Reward Acquired.]
[Check Status Window.]
[Name: Kim Minjun]
[Stats: Strength 6, Intelligence 7, Agility 5]
[Skills: Cheat Mode, Weak Spot Detection LV.1, Assassination LV.1, Martial Arts LV.1]

A new skill appeared in my status window—one I hadn’t seen before.
Kind of generous of the quest, as if it was nudging me to make good use of the item.
I found myself thinking it would've been nice if I’d gotten a swordsmanship skill instead.

But I was also the one who’d decided I’d just use the sword like a club, so I had no room to complain.
Wanting to show the item to the team as soon as possible, I hurried back to the exploration building.
"...Huh?"

The moment I stepped into the building, I noticed something was off.
There were fewer people in the lobby than usual—and even those present were hurrying somewhere.
While I stood there, confused, a voice came through the speakers.

"...Emergency Situation! Containment Area B3, Isolation Chamber 7—abnormal activity detected in 'The Questioning ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Tablet'! Current team on site (Team 12) is unresponsive! Team 15 to deploy for immediate support!"
"Team 15?!"
As the urgent announcement from HQ blared, I ran down the corridor, sirens wailing, heading for the isolation zone.
‘The Questioning Tablet’ was a monster our team had handled several times before.

It had a low danger rating—calm and stable as long as you answered its three daily quiz questions correctly.
But now, its condition had “suddenly changed”?
This wasn’t normal.

And if it was Team 12...
"Team 12! Team 12!"
When I arrived at the chamber, Park Cheolwoo was already pounding on the steel door, shouting.

But no response came from inside.
Through the slightly ajar door, thick, black smoke seeped out like a mist.
"...It's too dark. I can't see a thing."

Seo Jihyun aimed a flashlight into the gap and shouted.
No matter how much light was cast, nothing inside was visible.
"What the hell is going on..."

Han Sora murmured in a worried voice.
And then—
"One more person...! We need one more person...!"

A faint but unmistakable voice came from beyond the darkness.
Rahee. She was in there.
"Are you there?!"

Park Cheolwoo called out in a panic, but no further reply came.
He reached to throw the door open fully, but hesitated—likely afraid the dark fog would burst out.
He scowled.

"How the hell are we supposed to go in and support them in this kind of situation...!"
The HQ broadcast continued ordering us to assist Team 12.
I quietly raised my hand.

"I’ll go in."
"Minjun-ssi, did you just come from receiving your item?"
"Yes."

"...It’s dangerous."
The team leader glanced at the sword at my waist. Seo Jihyun tried to stop me.
But if someone from our team had to enter that darkness, then—based on item and stats—I had the highest chance of survival.

And, for once, I felt confident.
I had a new item.
And the Questioning Tablet wasn’t the kind of monster I was especially scared of.

I lifted the Return Blade and said,
"I’ll be fine."
"...Team Leader, what about support from an upper team—"

"They’re all out on missions. No backup is available right now..."
At that, Seo Jihyun looked down for a moment—then met my eyes again.
"...Be careful."

"I will."
Beyond the door was a wall of pure blackness.
I took a deep breath, drew the sword from my belt, and stepped into the dark.

A crushing pressure pressed down on me, and my vision went completely black.
I couldn’t see a thing. On instinct, I held my sword out ahead and advanced.
Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, the darkness vanished all at once.

"...What the..."
What unfolded before me wasn’t the isolation chamber.
It looked like a bizarre game show set.

Smooth walls enclosed the space, and at the center was a platform with two buttons.
One red. One blue.
Above the platform, a large digital screen lit up.

[Challenge: Hold a 100kg barbell for 5 seconds]
[Red Button: Challenge / Blue Button: Forfeit]
[2 forfeits count as 1 failure]
[Success: 0/10 | Failure: 0/10 | Forfeits: 0/2]
[Reward on 10 successes / Penalty on 10 failures]
[Start Participants: 5/5]
"...A challenge?"

I was so thrown off, I couldn’t speak.
What the hell was this?
"Minjun-oppa!"

I turned toward the familiar voice—and there was Rahee in the corner, sitting dazed with a young male teammate I didn’t recognize.
They both looked exhausted. Scared.
Nearby, two middle-aged teammates lay collapsed.

"Rahee! Are you okay? What happened?!"
As I approached, the young man beside her clung to me desperately.
"I-I messed up... It used to be easy—you just answered three quiz questions a day—but the questions suddenly got way harder. I got all three wrong and then... the room changed..."

He couldn’t even finish his sentence—he was almost crying.
Rahee stepped in, her voice trembling.
"The tablet monster suddenly started glowing... and the room transformed into this place. That screen appeared and told us to press the buttons..."

"...And those two? What happened to them?"
"They tried using items on the wall to escape. The attack bounced back..."
Now that I looked, there was a pen on the ground near them.

The same pen I’d seen before?
I turned to the screen.
So that stone tablet had turned into this?

It felt like a completely different monster.
And the space itself was strange.
Like a quiz show set—only the platform with the buttons and the space we stood in were lit up. Everything else was surrounded by walls.

Would smashing that screen solve everything...?
Holding the sword made me think that way instinctively.
But it seemed like something I should save as a last resort.

Like the other two who’d had their attacks reflected—who knew what might happen if I struck it?
The participant count read [5/5].
Rahee had said they needed one more—probably because of that.

[All participants present! You may now begin the challenge!]
A loud, upbeat voice came from the screen.
It was almost obnoxiously cheerful.

[Challenge: Hold a 100kg barbell for 5 seconds]
[Red Button: Challenge / Blue Button: Forfeit]
"One-hundred kilos... isn’t that really heavy?"
"Uh, yeah..."

Honestly, it did seem like a lot.
I didn’t know exactly how my Strength stat translated into real-world muscle, so I couldn’t say for sure it’d be easy.
Still, it felt doable.

[Challenge Accepted!]
When I pressed the red button, the screen lit up and a huge barbell dropped out of thin air.
THUD!

CLANG!
"Ugh!"
Someone let out a yelp at the heavy crash of the 100kg barbell hitting the floor.

"Sh-should’ve hit the forfeit..."
The male exploration member muttered fearfully.
I was a bit caught off guard by how big it was too—but I trusted my cheat.

I trusted my Strength. The same power that had split monsters in half and pierced them through.
I sheathed my sword for now, approached cautiously, and grabbed the barbell.
Hnnnng…?

Before I could even fully apply force, it lifted.
I stared blankly for ten seconds, holding it in place—then gently lowered it back down.
THUD.

[Challenge Complete.]
[Success: 1/10 | Failure: 0/10]
[Reward after 10 successes / Penalty after 10 failures]
The screen’s voice sounded slightly deflated as the success counter ticked up by one.