Underworld Ascension: Martial Arts System

The gates were ahead, marking the end of the maze, and Min-soo almost collapsed at the sight of them. He stumbled forward, doubling over with his hands on his knees, sucking in shallow, panicked breaths. Sweat dripped from his face, stinging his eyes, but he didn't care.

"We made it," he said, half-laughing, half-wheezing. "Holy shit, we actually made it."

The words felt strange leaving his mouth, like he wasn't fully convinced yet. 

He looked over his shoulder, half-expecting the snarling dogs to come barreling around the corner. But all he heard was faint barking in the distance. They weren't chasing them anymore.

He let out a shaky laugh, more from relief than anything else. 

"Man, I really thought we were done back there. Did you see how close those dogs got? That one almost had me!" He straightened up, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, his grin twitching at the edges. "Honestly, I thought I'd be dog food for sure. But you—"

Min-soo turned toward Tae, but the words stuck in his throat.

Tae was just standing there a few steps behind, blood and grime streaking his face, his hoodie torn and stained. He wasn't gasping for air or laughing or even looking at the gate like it was salvation. 

He just stared ahead, his face blank, his golden-brown eyes empty.

"You don't look like you care?" Min-soo blurted, the grin slipping from his face. "I mean… dude. We made it. We're alive. Isn't that worth, like, something?"

Tae's gaze shifted to him, slow, like he was sizing Min-soo up for reasons that had nothing to do with the question.

"Alive for what?" Tae asked, his voice low and flat, like the words were an afterthought.

Min-soo blinked. "For—what? Are you serious? For not getting ripped apart by those crazy hellhounds back there. For not ending up as a failed experiment or whatever this is." He gestured vaguely at the maze, trying to keep his voice light.

Tae didn't answer. 

His eyes flicked back to the gate like the conversation was already over, like Min-soo was background noise. Then, without another word, he walked past him, heading straight for the heavy metal doors.

Min-soo stood there for a moment, watching him go, something uneasy curling in his gut. He didn't like the way Tae moved—controlled, precise, like the maze hadn't taken anything out of him. Like none of it had mattered.

But Min-soo shook it off, forcing a grin back onto his face as he jogged to catch up. "Well, whatever, man. You can brood all you want, but we made it. That's what matters, right?"

Tae didn't respond. He reached out and touched the cold surface of the gate, his fingers brushing over the rusted metal like he was testing its weight. Min-soo stayed a step behind him, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The gates creaked, the sound dragging through the air like nails on a chalkboard. Min-soo winced but tried to focus on the fact that they were almost through. Almost out.

"We're good now," he said, mostly to himself. "We just have to walk through, and that's it."

The faint crackle of a speaker stopped him cold.

"Challenge complete. Final condition: Only one may leave, the other must die. You have one minute to decide. Failure will result in all remaining dogs being released."

Min-soo froze. 

"What the hell…" he whispered, his voice barely audible. He turned to look at Tae, searching for some kind of reaction, but all he saw was that same blank, detached expression.

Tae hadn't flinched. Hadn't moved. He just stood there, waiting.

Min-soo's shoulders hunched, and in his usual nervous tone, he muttered, "W-What do we do? We can't… I mean, I can't just leave you behind. We've been through too much together."

The words came out shaky and uneven, but no reaction came from Tae. He simply watched, his piercing gaze cutting into the act Min-soo still clung to.

Before Min-soo could finish his stammering, a sharp laugh escaped him, breaking through the lose veil of fear. It started as a snicker but quickly spiraled into a full-blown cackle. He tilted his head back, clutching his stomach, the sound echoing in the enclosed space.

"I'm sorry, I just crack myself up sometimes," he said, his voice smooth and mocking now, free of the nervous quaver he'd carried before.

Min-soo straightened, brushing invisible dust off his jacket as if he hadn't just been cowering minutes earlier. "I expected this," he continued, a smug grin spreading across his face. "The second they gave us guns, I knew it'd end like this. Survival of the fittest, right?"

Tae remained silent, his hands resting loosely at his sides, his expression a mask of indifference.

Min-soo began pacing slowly, his tone conversational. "I'll admit, I didn't think I'd need you as much as I did. That maze was a nightmare. Without your tricks, I'd probably still be stuck back there, cornered by one of those mutts. So… thanks for that. Really."

He stopped pacing and turned to face Tae fully, his voice turning sharp and cold. "But you didn't think I'd plan for this?"

Min-soo pulled the gun from his waistband with a flourish, pointing it directly at Tae. His smirk widened as he spoke, his tone dripping with mock sympathy.

"You did well, I'll give you that. I might even remember you… for a few days."

He pulled the trigger.

Click.

The sound echoed louder than any gunshot, hollow and damning.

Min-soo's smirk faltered, confusion flickering across his face as he stared at the weapon in disbelief. He pulled the trigger again. 

Another click.

Tae's voice broke the silence, cold and steady. "You brag about expecting this outcome, but any idiot would."

Min-soo's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. Tae's gun was already in his hand, raised with a calm precision that froze him.

"I didn't shoot that dog to save you because I care weather you live or die," Tae continued, his tone devoid of emotion. "But I couldn't trust the dogs to finish you off, and I needed to make sure only one gun had a bullet. And how foolish can you be, to think it'd be yours."

Min-soo's mouth opened, but no words came out. The realization hit him like a bus, his hands shaking as the empty gun slipped from his grasp.

In the observation room, Nine leaned forward, her face pale. "He switched the guns," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "Back when he pulled Min-soo into the corner. He dropped his empty one and let Min-soo pick it up."

The shadowed man beside her chuckled darkly. "Smart. He manipulated him into thinking he was holding an advantage the whole time."

Back in the maze, Min-soo's lips twisted into a bitter smirk, his fear melting into defiance. He straightened, staring down the barrel of Tae's gun.

"You don't have what it takes to kill me," Min-soo spat, his voice sharp and venomous. "Unlike me, you're soft. Just one more slum kid playing tough."

Tae stepped forward, his gaze steady…empty.

"Time ago, when I was far younger," he said softly, his voice lacking anything human, "I'd killed more men than I care to remember." His finger tightened on the trigger. "You will be just another."

The gunshot was deafening, the flash illuminating Min-soo's face for a split second before his body crumpled to the ground. Blood pooled around his head, staining the cracked concrete.

Tae lowered the gun slowly, his gaze lingering on the lifeless form before him.

"I guess you won't be the one to do it either," he muttered, his tone flat.

———

In the observation room, Nine's hands were clenched into fists. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, her voice shaking as she muttered, "He didn't even hesitate."

The shadowed man leaned forward, his voice carrying a note of approval. "Perfect."

The exit gate creaked open, and Tae stepped through without a second glance, the fading snarls of the dogs swallowed by the distance. The heavy clang of the gate slamming shut behind him was the only sound that followed.

The next room was large and barely lit, the silence pressed on him. The only thing in the space was a single, oversized chair in the center—a throne, really.

Tae walked toward it slowly, his footsteps echoing against the cold floor. He sat down, swinging his legs over the armrest and reclining across the throne as if he'd always belonged there.

For a moment, he stared up at the ceiling, the gun still in his hand.

The silence lingered like bad taste in the mouth, interrupted only by the faint sounds of the system still active in his vision.

Tae raised the gun, pressing the cold barrel against his temple.

He sat like that for several moments, his expression blank, his breathing steady.

Finally, he sighed, lowering the weapon.

The faintest trace of a smirk ghosted across his lips as he muttered something.

And then the silence returned.