I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 126: The Fixer Exam: Is This Really Okay? (1)

As I regained my senses, I found myself in the middle of a colorless world.

Perhaps something was wrong with my head. Everything around me appeared in a dull gray hue.

But strangely enough, the sky was glowing an ominous red. I couldn’t help but think it was just an unsettling sight.

“This place... where is this?”

I had been staring at the sky for a while, lost in thought, before I slowly lowered my gaze. What I saw was a scene of a ruined city, with corpses scattered everywhere.

The destroyed cityscape was so blurry that it was hard to imagine what it once looked like. Yet, for some reason, I could instinctively tell that this place was Night Haven.

It didn’t make sense. Night Haven couldn’t possibly be like this. There’s the Dragon Mayor, and Raven is here too... It’s supposed to be the safest place in the world.

“What’s going on? What is Raven doing while the city is like this? Is he napping peacefully somewhere?”

I muttered to myself with a furrowed brow, unable to accept ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ what I was seeing. I began to move forward, hoping to find Raven, who must be hiding somewhere.

But there was no sign of life in the city. The only things around me were piles of corpses, their bodies now just remnants of what were once people. In a world drained of color, the only thing that still seemed vibrant was the deep red of the blood that stained the ground.

I wandered through the city aimlessly, searching for Raven, but I couldn’t tell how long I had been walking.

Then, suddenly, I felt something grip my ankle, and I collapsed to the ground with a thud.

“Eek!”

Splash.

The blood that pooled on the ground splattered up into my face from the impact. It was sticky and gross. I hated the feeling, and it didn’t clean off easily, of course. Why did I have to fall in such a place?

I thought to myself as I sluggishly got to my feet, feeling numb and slow.

No, to be more precise, I tried to get up.

That is, until I saw the body next to me turn its head and stare right at me.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Was I so shocked that I couldn’t even scream?

I couldn’t even manage a sound, just gasping for air. The face of the body was so disfigured that it was unrecognizable, but then a voice, alien and unsettling, spoke to me.

“This is the masterpiece of the Nexus Project. The key for humanity to become gods of all dimensions.”

“It was fortunate that we were able to secure the Child of God. Now we move to the next stage.”

“Death for the traitor. Death for the traitor. Death for the traitor. Death for the traitor.”

It was a male voice. It was an old man’s voice. But it was also a woman’s voice. And a child’s voice.

A jumble of voices, impossible to clearly identify. Was this the sound of confusion, or some kind of magic? Whatever it was, it was making my head spin.

Without thinking, I shoved the body away and began to crawl backward, trying to escape.

Of course, the surroundings were filled with blood, and my body was drenched in it. But in the face of the fear that felt like a sharp blade at my throat, I couldn’t care less about the mess.

“What... what is this...?!”

Suddenly, I felt a solid wall against my back. I was sure there hadn’t been a wall there before. Why was it here now?

My mind was filled with confusion, but before I could even grasp what was happening, the feeling of panic overtook me. Something was coming, something dangerous.

I didn’t have time to think. I had to escape.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

As I tried to move, my body felt heavy, like it was submerged deep underwater. Despite my frantic attempts, I couldn’t get up.

“Don’t come... don’t come!”

Boom.

Through the thick dust that covered the city, I felt something approaching slowly. It wasn’t walking. It was floating, moving as if it was hovering through the air.

I stared up at it, too weak to even scream, and found myself mumbling in a daze.

“Huh?”

It was a cargo truck. A shiny, new vehicle, completely out of place in this ruined city.

The momentary sense of terror I felt turned to confusion. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I’d been expecting the worst kind of entity, but a truck? What was going on here?

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This had to be some kind of trick. But the absurdity of it all made me question everything.

“This... this is the truck from my past life, isn’t it?”

It felt like a déjà vu, but also utterly absurd. I had died in a similar way before, but why was this truck now appearing as my greatest fear?

I couldn’t explain it. But for some reason, this familiar feeling made my face twitch in disbelief.

I had no idea what was happening, but the situation felt overwhelmingly surreal.

I was startled, not because of the truck, but because my mind was finally starting to process what was going on. This was all an illusion. My physical body felt distant, but I could still see and feel it, and the realization hit me.

I wasn’t really here. This was all part of the illusion bracelet’s magic.

“No wonder I couldn’t move. This must be some kind of hallucination.”

Looking back at the whole situation, it didn’t make sense at all.

I had been in the exam room just moments ago, but now I was here, standing in the middle of a destroyed city. I had no real reason to think this place was Night Haven. It was just a guess.

And how was it that everything looked so off, especially with the sky being the only thing in color?

It didn’t add up. But it was all part of the illusion. A special magic device made by a powerful sorcerer.

It wasn’t like I could be hurt by it. But it was designed to overwhelm my mind, and it did just that.

I had to focus. I had to stand firm against this fear.

“That’s it. This is my real hand.”

I found my focus. The rest of my senses gradually returned, and I could feel my body again.

The trick was simple. I could remove the illusion bracelet from my wrist.

As I did, everything faded away like coming up from deep water.

And then, suddenly, I was standing in the middle of the gymnasium, right where I had been before.

“...!”

I felt the rush of brightness and the loud sound of reality returning. The illusion was gone, and now I was standing in front of PiSkeeper, the examiner, who was staring at me in shock.

“Why so fast... you don’t have mana, so you can’t possibly have magic resistance!”

“Unbelievable mental strength. Is she a monster...?”

“Less than 30 seconds... You can’t judge by appearances.”

As I slowly became accustomed to the somewhat awkward sensation, I looked around.

I saw the other exam participants standing side by side, eyes closed, groaning in distress.

Could it be that I was the first one to break free from the illusion among these twenty?

Come to think of it, they were probably all still fighting the enemies in their illusions. I broke free as soon as I encountered mine.

The speed difference between us seemed natural. After all, not everyone would have encountered something like a cargo truck, as I did.

I briefly glanced around, assessing the situation, and then quietly handed the bracelet to the examiner. Standing there motionless didn’t seem to serve any purpose, and I thought it would be better not to disturb the other participants by lingering.

"White Team 274... passed...! But please wait for a moment. Once all the exam participants finish, a calming agent will be administered to stabilize everyone..."

"..."

Ah, this part seemed familiar. I nodded once, as though I understood and would wait patiently, just like in the original work.

It was probably because only the person wearing the bracelet could see the illusions, but the other participants nearby were simply groaning and writhing, their eyes shut tight in agony.

Some of them seemed unable to overcome the illusion, foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness, while others were giving up, declaring they would forfeit.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one struggling. If anything, especially for humans, this mental test must have been tough.

I genuinely wanted to respect those who made it through this as humans. Passing such a trial as a pure human is something to admire.

"Okay... good... the four people standing here are the first to pass! Next, the next fifteen, step forward!"

"Ugh, what? That kid passed too?"

"How strong is their mental strength...? Tch, I’ll have to avoid them in the next round."

There was a strange feeling in the air, like a new group was starting to regard me with suspicion.

I hoped it was just a misunderstanding. I really didn't want to deal with that.