I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

Shocked by the revelation that Leo was actually a monster, I clung to him relentlessly throughout the entire day.

Even though I knew he wouldn’t answer, I bombarded him with all kinds of questions and tormented the poor guy. Only the next day could I finally compose myself enough to head to work.
Leo, thoroughly annoyed from being harassed all night, bit my finger in anger—but then sheepishly licked the spot he'd bitten.
When I arrived at Temporary Team 10's office, unsurprisingly, Team Leader Park was already preparing the briefing documents.

Realizing we must have another rescue mission today, I quickly took my seat, ready to focus on the briefing.
However, before the briefing even started, the office door burst open, and Han Sora rushed in breathlessly.
For a brief moment, I wondered why she was here instead of being at the support team’s office, where she usually belonged. Panting, she approached Team Leader Park urgently.

“Team Leader! We just got word—the two people we were supposed to rescue today have already been saved!”
Her words left Team Leader Park speechless. “What the heck is going on...” he muttered incredulously as he began discussing the situation with Han Sora.
Rather than their conversation, my eyes were drawn to the briefing papers in Park’s hands.

There, briefly summarized alongside their photographs, were the identities of the intended rescue targets.
I immediately recognized their faces.
“Oh...”

They were the two hackers I had found imprisoned in that café’s basement during our raid on Dongto’s impersonator organization just a few days ago.
Fate really had a way of intertwining things in odd ways.
Something I’d resolved personally had now become an official Baekho mission, only to be canceled at the last moment.

Chuckling to myself, I accepted yet another bizarre coincidence—at this point, it hardly surprised me anymore.
At least now I could comfortably relax at work today.
Team Leader Park glanced between Han Sora, me, and the briefing documents for quite some time with a complicated expression. Eventually, awkwardly clearing his throat, he addressed us.

“Well... everyone heard that, right? Today’s mission... is already taken care of. Good work, and for now... you can rest.”
Leaving just those words, he hurriedly exited the office with Han Sora, still visibly bewildered.
The rest of us were left exchanging puzzled glances, wondering what had just happened, before quickly scattering to enjoy this unexpected free time.
Not missing this chance, I approached Bora.

She was about to start personal training but paused to ask what was up. I quickly made my request.
“If you don’t mind, could you teach me the next stage of ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) talisman techniques?”
Surprised, Bora looked at me with widened eyes before breaking into an impressed smile.

“Wow, you really have a talent for this! You can already make talismans fly properly... That's pretty fast progress, you know?”
“Well, it’s not exactly flying properly yet...”
Her exaggerated praise made me feel slightly burdened.

Honestly, they didn't fly that well.
Pretending to stay calm, I followed her to the training rooms.
Unlike Dongto’s ridiculously vast training hall, Baekho’s training floor featured many specialized rooms organized by purpose.

As we walked through the corridor, we encountered several exploration team members along the way—something rare back in Dongto, where hardly anyone used the training rooms.
Since practicing talisman techniques didn’t require a large space, we entered a small, empty room.
“Alright, show me how much you've improved.”

“Don’t get your hopes up...”
Under Bora’s eager gaze—arms folded expectantly—I nervously took out a talisman.
Taking a deep breath, I infused it with energy as I’d been taught and threw it forward.

Fluttering weakly, the talisman barely managed to stay airborne.
It nearly hit the ground several times but somehow managed to wobble from one end of the training room to the other, finally sticking feebly onto the wall.
I glanced cautiously at Bora for her reaction.

She watched the entire flight thoughtfully, nodded slowly, and gave her assessment.
“...Good. You're ready for the next step.”
“Phew...”

Only then did I release the breath I'd been holding, relief washing over me.
It seemed I'd passed her evaluation.
But before we started the next stage of talisman training, Bora hesitated slightly, carefully observing my reaction. Suddenly seeming to have made up her mind, she unexpectedly revealed her age.

“...I’m twenty-two years old.”
Twenty-two. An enviable age.
I was twenty-six myself—still considered young by most standards—but hearing twenty-two made me instantly sense youthfulness and freshness.

For a moment, I misunderstood her intention in suddenly mentioning age, wondering if she was subtly bragging about being younger.
“...Why mention your age suddenly?”
“Huh? No, um...”

Noticing my expression, Bora blushed and swept back her hair.
“We’ve known each other for quite a while now, we're teammates, and I'm even teaching you talismans... I thought maybe we should start speaking casually now.”
Ah, so that was it.

I nodded in agreement.
It had indeed felt awkward to keep using formal speech with each other.
“I’m twenty-six. Let's speak casually from now on, Bora.”

“Yes, um... Oppa...”
“...”
She awkwardly called me ‘Oppa,’ and surprisingly, speaking casually came easily to me.

The real challenge came after we'd dropped formalities.
Seeing how visibly tense she was made even me feel awkward.
With the formalities dropped, we moved onto the next stage of talisman-making.

“N-now, next we inscribe the talisman. This is what makes it a true talisman...”
Right then, a small yellow exclamation mark [!] appeared above Bora’s head, accompanied by a system message appearing before me.
[Complete the Talisman]

A sub-quest appeared.
It was a mission to create a proper, completed talisman.
“This brush is important.”

Saying that, Bora showed me a brush—similar to when she’d given me the yellow talisman papers.
This, too, wasn't an ordinary brush.
It was pure white, yet as Bora grasped it, its tip instantly turned pitch-black, dripping ink as if completely soaked.

“Now that you can infuse energy into talismans, you should be able to use this brush naturally. By imbuing it with your energy, the ink flows out. Writing the predetermined characters on a talisman allows it to store your energy.”
And that was what made it a real talisman.
As if demonstrating, Bora deftly painted intricate symbols onto a talisman.

“It wasn’t that useful for me, but maybe it'll suit you better.”
She threw the finished talisman toward the wall.
Shockingly swift and sharp for mere paper, it embedded deeply into the wall like a dagger.

“This talisman technique makes it as solid as a blade.”
Wouldn’t it be simpler to just carry an actual dagger, I briefly wondered.
Reading my expression, Bora elaborated further.

“Of course, real blades are stronger, but this contains energy—effective against intangible monsters like those we’ve encountered before. Plus, before throwing it, it's just paper, so it's safe to carry around without risk of injury.”
She then shared a story of someone accidentally stabbing themselves with a dagger they’d stored under their clothes—an unexpected inconvenience.
Considering that, a talisman was indeed useful.

...Wait, if she’s twenty-two now, how long had she been working as an exorcist?
When asked, she cheerfully answered.
“Hmm... since about eighteen, maybe?”

It seemed she'd been fighting monsters even before adulthood.
Nodding, I looked down at the white brush in my hand.
Following Bora’s instructions, I concentrated my energy into the brush.

Initially, nothing happened—but after several attempts, the tip faintly darkened.
Not fully dripping ink like hers, but a small, dew-like black drop formed at the tip.
“Oh, it worked?”

I let out a small exclamation, amazed.
The real difficulty came afterward.
Seeing Bora’s demonstration, I felt overwhelmed—her complicated symbols and flowing characters resembled an intricate magic circle more than a simple drawing.

How am I supposed to replicate that?
Noticing my troubled expression, Bora smiled understandingly.
“Don’t stress about making it perfect at first. Just slowly trace each line, and it'll get easier with practice.”

Seemed like yet another assignment.
I took some example talismans and blank practice sheets from Bora and ended our training.
Returning home, after dinner and confirming Leo and Daeho had settled into sleep, I carefully laid the talisman papers and brush on my table.

I tried to slowly replicate her examples, but the results were more like messy doodles. Clearly, it wasn’t something to master overnight.
While wrestling with the talismans, I suddenly recalled my promise to Choi Yerim.
She'd said she wanted to see monsters as soon as possible.

I glanced at my two sleeping cats—well, one cat and one monster tiger.
Picking up my phone, I texted Choi Yerim briefly.
[I might be able to show you a monster soon. Let me know when you're ready.]

I imagined coaxing Daeho and Leo with steak to reveal their monstrous forms for her.
“How does he even sleep like that...?”
Daeho’s mouth was wide open, tongue and all.

“Daeho, you alive?”
“...Krrng?”
“You startled me.”

Lifting his head briefly, Daeho went right back to sleep.
I chuckled softly and grabbed the brush again.