I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

With a crackling noise, the blue current fizzled out from the shock weapon shaped like a sword.
In front of me lay the four applicants from Group 8 who had just tried to ambush me—now unconscious and sprawled on the ground.
And I was reading through their profiles, comparing what I knew about the fallen four.

"Let’s see…"
A university student who graduated from the mysterious Department of Aberrations, a Japanese national with multiple sports championships under his belt, a famous exorcist, and even a chaebol heir.
Every single one of them was extraordinary—what you’d call “elite” applicants.

Maybe that’s why… they were too bold.
...It was a good attempt, but I need to make them understand that charging at a monster recklessly is suicidal.
I looked down at them with a bitter expression.

Their trap coordination was excellent.
But what if their opponent had been an actual monster? One with unpredictable abilities?
Launching a preemptive strike without fully understanding your enemy was no different from suicide.

This shock had been a warning.
If they pulled something like this in a real situation, they could die.
Of course, that was just my personal opinion—as a proctor.

...That rope and talisman looked like real items… they’re not going to make me pay for breaking them later, are they?
I recalled the rope, now snapped and strewn across the floor, and the talisman, reduced to ash. It made me a little uneasy.
They must’ve broken because of my brute strength... but still—would they deduct that from my pay?

I shook my head to banish the unnecessary thoughts.
In any case, the test was still ongoing.
Though getting hit by a corrective electric shock would’ve lowered their evaluation score, it didn’t mean disqualification.
Applicants weren’t told this, but according to the leader of Team 6—

Getting knocked out by three electric shocks would result in automatic failure.
I decided to leave them there for now, pull back a bit, and observe from a distance.
How they handled this crisis would be a key part of their evaluation.

And apart from the test, I still had a separate task: find and protect the “spy” and the person with the quest name Park Sunja.
Silently, I retreated and hid in the shadows around the hallway corner nearby.
Before long, the four who had collapsed began groaning and regaining consciousness.

"...We got hit."
"Ugh… my head…"
"W-What the hell was that…?"
The first to come to their senses were Shun and Bora.
They wore bitter expressions as the memories of what had happened came rushing back.

Hanbit and Park Soyoung also sat up shortly after.
"That proctor’s no joke. Even in our group, only a couple people move like that…"
Hanbit muttered in a low voice.

"My talisman just burned up. That’s never happened before. Even monsters usually flinch or resist a little."
Bora muttered in disbelief.
"Same here. I’ve never lost purely to brute strength before."

They exchanged glances in silence.
The unexpected appearance of such a powerful proctor had clearly wounded their pride—but at the same time, there was a new kind of fire in their eyes.
"I was thinking of going easy, but forget that. Next time I see him, I’ll use my binding talisman…!"
"I didn’t want to use this item, but I guess I’ll have to…"
"...Let’s just keep moving for now."

Bora and Hanbit were burning with renewed determination, but Shun cut them off with a short reply.
"The goal is escape. If we run into that proctor again… we’ll need to approach more carefully."
His Korean was slow and awkward, but that only made his words strangely persuasive.

"...Yeah. First, we need to explore this labyrinth further."
Hanbit agreed.
They began moving deeper into the maze again, more cautious now after the failed ambush.

From the shadows, I watched their backs as they walked away.
Group 8 really wasn’t made up of average people.
They quickly regrouped, and resumed their exploration as if nothing had happened.

Hanbit # Nоvеlight # took the lead, scouting the path ahead using items. Bora used her talismans to sense the surrounding energy. Shun and Park Soyoung moved in sync, expertly covering each other’s blind spots.
Their coordination and movement showed a level of skill and teamwork unthinkable for first-timers.
I quietly followed behind them at a safe distance.

Cross-checking what I knew about the applicants, I was trying to pinpoint anything suspicious.
Right now, there were two likely suspects for being the spy.
Shun... he’s from Japan, but speaks Korean better than expected. All his listed awards and activities are from Japan, making them hard to verify...

I turned my gaze to Park Soyoung, whose movements were too sharp for just a college student.
Park Soyoung... supposedly graduated from some “Department of Aberrations,” but I don’t know much about it. And the composure she showed in that first fight... not normal for a regular student.
Rahee came to mind.

Rahee had been bold and quick to act—but Park Soyoung had gone even further.
The other two, Hanbit and Bora, had reliable backgrounds:
A chaebol heir from the Jinmyeong Group and a well-known freelance exorcist.

They seemed less likely to be the spy.
Which meant—either Shun or Park Soyoung. Or possibly both.
I was deep in thought, following behind, growing more suspicious with each step—

"...!"
TATADAK!
Suddenly, all four ahead of me froze in place, then simultaneously ducked into a dark corner behind one of the labyrinth’s walls, as if on cue.

But they weren’t looking behind—toward me—they were staring dead ahead, down the corridor.
What the…?
I didn’t get it. I was the only “monster” in this area.

If I was back here… why were they hiding from something in front of them?
I immediately checked the map in my head—and felt a chill run down my spine.
...A red dot?

There, just past the corridor where they were headed—a red dot was blinking.
It was big. And it was moving fast.
This wasn’t part of the test.

Something had gone wrong.
A real monster had appeared.
Inside the suddenly quiet labyrinth, another kind of sound began echoing—not our breathing, but—

Thud. Thud.
Click… clack-clack.
Heavy hoofbeats pounding the floor in a steady rhythm. A rough, snorting breath.

I crouched lower behind the hallway corner, further back than the Group 8 members, eyes fixed on the direction the sound was coming from.
And finally—it emerged from the darkness of the corridor.
"...!"

Shhhk—shhhk—
A harsh, heavy breath puffed from its nostrils, as if it were worked up, filling the hallway.
...A bull?

It was a horrifying, oppressive sight—perfectly suited to a maze-themed dungeon.
A monstrous figure with the body of a man and the head of a bull.
Like something out of Greek mythology—a Minotaur.

It had to be over two meters tall.
Each breath spat out a plume of white steam, and in its hand, it gripped a massive double-bladed axe.
Its mere presence weighed down the air around it.

This was no “monster roleplay” by a disguised proctor.
This was a real monster—uncontrolled and loose inside the test maze.
And it was… slowly approaching the wall behind which Group 8 was hiding.

Shit…!
I gripped my sword’s handle tightly.
It was a shame I didn’t have the Return Sword on me, but right now, I had to—

But before I could act, the Group 8 applicants moved first.
Just like they had done with me, they sprang their trap—this time, on a real monster.
"Now!"

With Hanbit’s shout, a rope launched up from the ground and coiled tightly around the charging bull monster’s ankles and torso.
"RRRRMMMRRR—!"
BOOM! BOOM!

It roared like a furious bull and thrashed wildly—but this time, the rope didn’t snap.
Instead, it tightened, locking down the monster’s massive frame.
"Now!"

Bora hurled a red talisman straight at the Minotaur’s forehead.
It struck cleanly—sticking between its brows.
"Ugh… guh…"

The Minotaur, which had been bucking like crazy to break the bindings, suddenly slowed.
It staggered, then began staring blankly into space, even drooling slightly from its mouth.
It was like it had gone completely catatonic.

TATADAK!
Seeing their opening, Shun and Park Soyoung dashed toward the creature’s legs.
They pressed their hands to its inner thighs and ankles—

THUD!
—and brought the monster crashing to the ground with a joint lock.
...It worked?

I watched wide-eyed.
The same rope and talisman that had done nothing to me had worked perfectly against that obviously dangerous monster.
Were those items always that strong?

Maybe my Cheat Mode wasn’t just physical enhancements—maybe it gave me resistance to mental attacks, too.
That’s when Bora, clearly emboldened by the successful talisman hit, shouted triumphantly:
"See that? That’s normal! The bindings work! The mind attacks work! That proctor from earlier was the weird one!"

Beaming with satisfaction, she looked down at the collapsed bull monster and pumped her fists.
"Whew… Thought it was the proctor at first. But it was just a monster, huh."
"Let’s finish this quickly and move. The proctor’ll come running when he hears this."
"A monster showing up in a live test… Dongto really has lost it."
At her words, Shun, Park Soyoung, and Hanbit all nodded.

While they felt relieved that their attacks had worked on a real monster, it only made them warier of me—the one they’d fought earlier.
And I… was staring blankly into the air.
Because—

[Quest Complete.]
—I’d cleared the quest before even protecting anyone.