I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

Anna’s Flashback

It was bedtime.

In this facility, all the lights in the cells turned off after 10 PM, except for the control room.

Our cell was no exception.

I, who had been confined here for five years, and Sun-ye, for two years, lay on our beds.

“Hey, Anna.”

“What?”

“What do you think you’ll do once you leave this place?”

She occasionally asked such pointless questions.

The outside world was said to be already overrun by monsters, so where exactly did she think we were going?

“I don’t know. I’ve never imagined a life outside this place.”

“Well, I plan to open a bar when I get out.”

“A bar?”

“Yeah. I’ll have fun and drink with people there. Life’s only once, right?”

Spending that one and only life planning an escape from here seemed like the most futile thing.

This place was a research and training facility known as A2.

They tricked people into thinking it was a shelter, imprisoned them, and conducted all sorts of human experiments and training—a living hell.

I was the longest-surviving test subject here.

It was absurd to call myself a “test subject,” but that’s what I’d been called for so long that it felt more familiar than my own name.

Some might say it was good to have survived the longest, but that only meant enduring more pain than others.

Two weeks after being kidnapped, an unknown substance was injected into my head, and since that day, I suffered from intense headaches every night.

That pain granted me extraordinary physical abilities, but it also dulled my emotions as a human.

No, my emotions had to dull.

With my enhanced physical abilities, I had to risk my life fighting other inmates to measure my limits.

If my emotions hadn’t dulled, I would’ve surely gone insane.

Because of such murderous training, test subjects frequently died.

That included my roommates in this cell.

The first friend died from shock while running long distances.

The second had their neck pierced during a gladiatorial match.

The third exploded while disarming a bomb.

Each time my roommate changed, it felt as indifferent as when an unfamiliar classmate transferred schools.

That was until Sun-ye arrived.

Even her name was hard to pronounce properly.

Sun-ui-e. Sun-eu-e.

Not knowing what kind of place this was, she greeted me cheerfully from the first day.

With her neat bobbed hair and small frame, I gave her no attention at first.

Because I thought she’d die before I even managed to pronounce her name correctly.

But she endured.

The first week, the next, and even two years.

With her face covered in scars, she greeted me brightly every evening.

During meal times, Sun-ye always gave me one piece of the filthy meat we were rationed.

With my voracious appetite, I grabbed it and ate it immediately.

I couldn’t understand why she gave me such an essential survival food.

But every time, she smiled and said the same thing.

“Because you look pretty when you eat.”

I probably would never understand her.

A soft melody drifted in from beyond the bars.

It was the audio being played by a facility staff member in the control room.

The sound of their laughter.

The popping of champagne bottles echoed through the cells.

Some groaned in pain, trapped inside.

While others laughed, eating and drinking.

In the same space.

That was the defining characteristic of this facility.

“—.”

Sun-ye hummed a song.

For a woman, her husky voice was charming.

Clumsy as she often was, she became more serious than anyone when she sang.

Listening to her voice, even my dulled emotions felt suffocated.

As if I’d returned to my childhood, before the monsters appeared.

“—!”

Sun-ye stopped singing abruptly and coughed.

Thanks to the poorly ventilated cell, she had been coughing frequently for the past six months.

She seemed embarrassed by her coughing and turned her head to look at me.

“Anna, have you ever had alcohol?”

“Just beer.”

“What about champagne?”

“Never.”

Even when I lived in America, I hated the noisy parties where champagne was served.

“Don’t you want to try it?”

“If I could drink anything here, I would. Even the strongest liquor.”

“Hmm-. Really?”

I closed my eyes gently.

Though I wished she’d sing a little more, knowing her condition, I kept silent.

I simply tried to sleep, preparing for the grueling training tomorrow.

How long had I slept?

The singing outside had stopped.

The facility had fallen deathly silent.

Soon, the emergency lights that should have illuminated the bars were obscured.

Even while asleep, I could feel it.

We were trained and sensitive enough to wake even while unconscious.

I opened my eyes sharply and immediately reached out to kill whoever was above me.

But I froze my hand mid-swing.

“Ha-ha… surprise.”

A familiar face looked down at me.

In Sun-ye’s hands were a can of beer and a bottle of champagne.

“What… is that? Where did you get it?”

“I went out for a bit.”

She pointed at the bars with the hand holding the beer.

“You… could unlock the door?”

“We’ll have to get out of here someday, won’t we?”

She sat softly next to me.

I examined her closely and noticed a hairpin in her bangs.

Unlike usual, the tip of the pin was bent.

“Here.”

My roommate handed me a personal cup.

The cup was old, faded, and dirty.

Caught off guard, I accepted the cup and watched as she opened the champagne bottle.

“—.”

Sun-ye used all her strength to pop the bottle open.

Unable to control her strength, the cork burst out explosively.

The loud popping noise echoed throughout the facility.

“You’re insane!”

I glanced out of the bars as I spoke.

“It’s fine-. Those staff bastards are passed out drunk. That’s how I easily snuck these out.”

“You’re really something.”

I shook my head instinctively at her audacity, which seemed too bold for her small frame.

Being around her, even my dulled emotions seemed to come alive.

Sun-ye grinned as she brought both the champagne and beer to my cup.

It was a method I’d never seen before.

“What… is this?”

“I saw it at an inn once. They said it’s only good if you pour it like this!”

“Who even makes drinks like that?”

She started pouring the champagne and beer, both much thicker than her arms.

Her hands trembled as she poured, making me nervous.

The cup bubbled and frothed wildly.

Then, the champagne bottle slipped, spilling the cold liquid onto my thigh.

“Ah! Sorry! What do I do…”

“Don’t worry.”

I wiped the spilled drink off without any change in expression.

But the sticky shorts and the bed now smelled faintly of champagne.

Sun-ye, with an apologetic look, started wiping my thigh directly and gazed at me hesitantly.

I gently wiped the foam off her cheek.

“What should I do…? I don’t think I can make more since I spilled so much.”

“This is enough.”

I brought the sticky cup to my lips and took a light sip.

The sharp taste of champagne and beer coated my tongue.

But both were overly carbonated, making it unpleasant and heavy.

It was a flavor that was neither here nor there.

“How is it?”

Sun-ye, who couldn’t possibly know the taste, looked at me with hopeful eyes.

But soon, seeing my expressionless face, she scratched her head awkwardly.

“Ha-ha… So, it’s not great, huh?”

Her face turned red as if embarrassed.

“When we get out of here, I’ll make you a proper Black Velvet. Expensive and good ingredients…”

I tucked her protruding bangs behind her ear.

When my hand touched her face, I felt the peach-like softness of her fine hair and her warm flush.

“Alright.”

“Huh…?”

Her pupils trembled slightly at my words.

“You’re like this drink.”

“Like me? What does that mean?”

“It’s a mess.”

“What are you even saying…”

She pulled her knees to her chest, looking disappointed.

But that was all I could say to her.

No more compliments came to mind.

An old Korean song played from outside.

The audio, which had stopped, was now playing on repeat again.

I hummed along to the song.

It was the first time in two years that I had sung anything, and Sun-ye seemed startled.

Soon, she leaned her face on my shoulder and sang along.

I liked the sound of her voice.

I also liked the drink she made.

Even if it was sticky and a complete mess.

Sun-ye was the only color in this desolate gray world.

The only one.

“—!”

Sudden pain forced me to end the skill.

Something was grabbing and twisting my neck.

It felt like the food I had eaten earlier was about to come back up as my whole body roiled.

“Why are you zoning out by yourself?”

Anna’s once-expressionless face twisted in anger as she glared at me.

It was hard to believe this was the same face that had remained calm even when killing people.

“I didn’t do anything…”

My eyes reddened.

It felt like my eyeballs would burst rather than any tears falling.

Grabbing her arm, I shouted.

Only then did Anna slowly release her hand.

I collapsed weakly to the floor, coughing violently.

Just how strong was she…

“Don’t play any tricks.”

Anna’s pronunciation seemed oddly precise.

She slumped back into her chair.

I staggered to my feet.

Did she instinctively notice I was reading her memories?

Even Ranker 09 had fainted while I read his memories… How did she wake up first?

“…”

I forced myself to take a deep breath.

Yeah… That wasn’t the issue right now.

I had already seen her happiest memory.

The one with her cellmate in the detention facility.

Recreating that moment was my priority.

I crouched down and pulled out a champagne bottle from the wine cellar.

The cheapest one.

Then, I grabbed a bottle of stout beer from the fridge.

The bar table now held the beer and champagne prominently.

Anna’s expression began to change slightly.

The lips that had been firmly set started to part a little.

“Let’s get started.”

I placed a plastic cup in the middle of the table.

Then, I opened the stout beer, releasing its rich and cool aroma.

I twisted the cork of the champagne bottle forcefully.

With a loud pop, the cork shot into the air.

The fizzy foam overflowed and trickled down the bottle.

Boldly, I tilted both drinks into the cup at the same time.

The black and golden hues beautifully intertwined as they poured into the cup.

The Executor’s staff watched the scene with tense expressions.

One of them muttered,

“Pouring like that will definitely make it overflow.”

They nervously focused on my trembling hands.

“—!”

Soon, foam began to overflow from the cup.

The spilled drink slid across the table and reached Anna’s hand.

“Are you insane? What are you doing right now!”

One staff member jumped up and shouted.

“Are you trying to get us all killed? Can’t you even pour properly?”

Another staff member grabbed his head and wailed.

The reactions from the father-daughter guests weren’t much different.

The father shielded his daughter’s face against his chest and silently closed his eyes.

“…”

But I didn’t stop, even as the drink spilled over.

I kept pouring until every last drop of the drink flowed down and dripped onto her.

Anna simply stared blankly at the scene.

Soon, not a single drop of liquid remained in the bottles.