I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

"Whew..."
Only after sitting on the lounge sofa and sipping a warm cup of tea did the tension finally leave my body.

All of our team members were looking at Rahee and me.
They were clearly curious about what had happened inside, but for now, they waited for us to calm down.
I took a deep breath and began explaining, step by step, everything that had happened in the isolation room.

Starting from how the slate had transformed into a display board and the space had turned into something like a quiz show arena.
The strange challenges, how the questions got more vicious every time we failed, the battle with the crow monster, how I lost and recovered the sword, and finally, the incident with the spy.
The expressions on my teammates' faces were pure shock as they listened.

"Are you kidding me? It told you to cut off a finger? Or commit suicide?"
Han Sora shouted in disbelief.
"This isn’t just a random berserk event—it’s clearly a monster with intelligence. Its behavior pattern is completely different from the initial slate form. Especially the fact that it recognized Kim Minjun’s item and demanded it as a sacrifice..."

Seo Jihyun adjusted her glasses, her sharp gaze gleaming as she analyzed the situation.
"...My God. You really went through hell. And that sword… looks like it was a very good choice."
Team Leader Park Cheolwoo had a worried expression, but when he saw the sword, he let out a faint smile as if feeling slightly proud.

The team comforted us.
Naturally, the conversation shifted to the spy—Employee Choi—and the company that had hired him, Baekho.
"Baekho... yeah, I’ve heard about them a lot."

Team Leader Park muttered bitterly.
"Baekho... that’s the company that’s always butting heads with Dongto, right? I heard they clash like crazy in the pharmaceutical field."
At Han Sora’s comment, Park nodded.

"That's right. In the field of developing new drugs using monster byproducts, Dongto and Baekho are the fiercest rivals. So we’ve been engaged in a cold war of information and sabotage for years. This incident too, most likely..."
"Pharmaceuticals...?"
I echoed in surprise.
I had no idea Dongto wasn’t just a monster management company but also a major player in pharmaceuticals.

Now that I think about it, I hadn’t once needed a hospital or pharmacy since coming to this world.
Still, something in Park's explanation stuck with me.
"You make medicine from monster byproducts...?"

"Yes. One of our company’s biggest sources of revenue is the development of specialized medicine using monster byproducts. Same goes for Baekho. That’s why both companies are constantly trying to steal each other’s tech and data. This spy incident is probably part of that."
"...Are drugs made from monsters even safe?"
"Yes. They’re thoroughly tested before release. Of course, the tests themselves… aren’t exactly safe..."

Park averted his gaze.
Baekho had planted a spy to steal Dongto’s monster management data, and for the final mission, had ordered him to trigger the slate monster’s frenzy.
They’d used that chaos to try and eliminate their own spy.

If I hadn’t been there, it might’ve been a perfect crime.
"Oh, right. Team Leader."
As we were talking, something came to mind.

"That display monster left this behind at the end, calling it a 'reward.'"
I pulled out the small gift box that had appeared just before our escape—seemingly ordinary.
A reward from a monster… it didn’t sit right with me.

And sure enough, the team’s expressions turned uneasy.
"Uhh, how do I put it... It’s a pretty little gift box, but maybe that’s what makes it even more suspicious."
"Opening it is risky. It’d be better to hand it over to the research team for analysis."

"Yes, Jihyun is right. No need to invite unnecessary danger. I’ll handle it and send it to the research team."
At Team Leader Park’s words, I handed over the box without hesitation.
Whatever was inside, I had no intention of opening it right now anyway.

"Everyone’s worked hard today, so let’s call it a day. Rahee, you get some good rest too."
"Yes, thank you."
At Park’s words, we all stood up.

Rahee thanked me several times before heading off with tired steps to her quarters.
I decided to return to my room too.
Once back at my quarters, I showered and immediately sat down in front of my computer.

Without hesitation, I logged into the Monster Gallery forum and typed "Baekho" into the search bar.
After hearing Choi’s confession and the team’s discussion, I felt the need to know more about that company.
There were quite a lot of results.

Apparently, Baekho was a major corporation on par with Dongto, and judging by the number of posts, it attracted plenty of public interest.
Among the posts, I quickly found several that were suspicious or oddly ominous.
[Title: Review from a Baekho Drug Test Volunteer]
I needed cash fast, so I signed up as a test subject for a Baekho clinical trial. They didn’t tell me what the drug was, just gave me the injection and observed. But a few days ago, weird stuff started happening to my body.
I’m seeing strange things at night… Pretty sure these are side effects, but the company says it’s all “normal.” Anyone else out there like me? Should I report this? It’s getting clearer every night…

[Title: Small Suppliers Getting Crushed in Dongto vs. Baekho Price Wars]
We’re supplying monster byproducts, but Dongto and Baekho are driving prices into the ground. Baekho especially acts like a mafia. One wrong move and your company’s gone overnight. Everyone, be careful.
[Title: Anyone at Baekho Got Facts?]
I heard their exploration team is getting totally wrecked these days. Asked a friend who works there, but she said she’s not in the exploration division, so she didn’t know.
Still, how can people working at the same company not know when their own team members are dying?
I read through the posts, swallowing dryly.

Baekho. Dongto’s fierce competitor—and its rival in the pharmaceutical sector.
And based on these posts, maybe even a dangerous group that wasn’t afraid to conduct unethical experiments using monsters.
Of course, I knew better than to believe everything posted on anonymous forums.

But still… the fact that so many posts said similar things—
"I’ll need to be careful."
***

The next day, I went to work at Dongto’s HQ as usual.
Tossing and turning all night, thinking about Baekho and the forum posts, had only ruined my sleep.
When I arrived at our team’s meeting room, Team Leader Park Cheolwoo, Seo Jihyun, and Han Sora were already there.

"Ah, Kim Minjun. Good morning."
Park stood up when he saw me.
His expression was a little more serious than usual—less awkward, more tense.

"I have something to tell you all. A new directive has come down."
He lowered the projector screen and turned on the display.
On it was Dongto’s company logo and the words: “Exploration Division Expansion & Mission Reassignment Notice.”

"Recently, monster sightings have surged across the country."
It was something we’d heard several times before, and Park opened with it again.
"As a result, headquarters has decided to increase the number of exploration teams. Soon, new teams—Teams 16 through 20—will be established."

It was sudden news.
I had heard whispers about increasing outdoor assignments, but I didn’t expect a full team expansion.
Park continued without pause.

"With the expansion of teams, existing teams will also see some changes to their duties. Specifically, Teams 11 through 15—including ours—will now be tasked not only with low-risk monster management, but also with supporting or investigating monsters with slightly higher threat levels—roughly danger level 2 to 3."
"What?!"
Han Sora cried out in shock. I felt the same.

I had only just gained a little confidence with my new item, and now they were upping the difficulty?
The shoulders I’d recently started to hold high were about to slump again.
"Of course, not immediately. Until the new teams are fully operational, we’ll continue our current assignments. Still, I thought you should know in advance..."

Park tried to calm us down and moved on to the next point.
"And… starting today, our Team 15 and Team 12 have a new temporary assignment. We’ll be observing the 'practical interviews' for new team member recruitment."
"Interview observation?"

"Yes. The official title is 'Safety Oversight and Support.' It’s a precautionary measure in case anything goes wrong during the interview process."
An interview, huh.
Come to think of it, I had been recruited into the company through a rather unusual path, so I never knew what the normal process was to join the exploration teams.

I figured there’d be an interview, but a practical one?
What kind of practical interview do exploration teams go through?
Surely they don’t throw new hires into a monster-infested hotel like I experienced.

Park lowered his voice and leaned in close. His expression turned grim.
"But there’s another, more important reason we and Team 12 were assigned to this."
He glanced around before whispering.

"Given what we just went through… HQ suspects that a spy from a rival company may try to sneak in during recruitment. Especially someone from Baekho."
"Ah."
So that’s why our team and Team 12 were chosen—because of the slate incident.

Choi’s betrayal must’ve shaken the whole company.
"Our hidden mission is to closely observe the applicants during the interviews. Watch for suspicious behavior, mannerisms, or reactions during the practical segment. If anything unusual comes up, report it immediately."
We nodded, our expressions slightly tense.

"Haha… there may not even be a spy, so don’t get too °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° worked up..."
Even as he said that, Park’s awkward smile showed he didn’t really believe it either.