Yuki said she would stay in the eastern region for a few days before heading straight to the northern region.

Her reason for coming to Trivik was to explore ruins that might exist in the northern region.

She said they needed to move quickly before someone else discovered the ruins.

“Mr. Shin, if you’re interested in exploring the ruins, would you like to come along?”

“The ruins?”

Before leaving, Yuki had subtly suggested we travel together, but I was skeptical.

I didn’t want to travel all the way to the northern region in such an exhausted state, either.

“With so many people already searching, would my going make any difference?”

The existence of the ruins wasn’t even confirmed, so I saw no reason to waste time on a maybe.

What I was interested in was conquering the ruins—not scouring the vast plains for evidence of their existence.

If the ruins turned out to be real later, it wouldn’t be too late to go then.

But what Yuki said next was enough to pique my interest.

“Actually, now is the perfect time to explore the ruins. The first discoverer gets a full day of exclusive access.”

The first discoverer was granted a 24-hour exclusivity period, during which they could bring companions.

That was why, once word got out, people would flock to explore the ruins.

Even without conquering the ruins themselves, one could sell the exclusive rights for a hefty sum.

“How does one go about exploring the ruins?”

When I showed a flicker of interest, Yuki smiled as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

“You just need to scatter a little mana. The entrance to the ruins responds to mana and reveals itself.”

Ah, mana.

That was impossible for me from the start.

“I’ll pass. I have things to take care of.”

Yuki looked disappointed at my words, but since I had made my refusal clear, she didn’t press further.

“Then I’ll be on my way. I have preparations to make for the expedition.”

“Sure. It was a pleasure.”

Brief as our encounter was, Yuki had been quite helpful.

She helped me kill the tedious 20-hour train ride.

I also gained basic knowledge about Trivik and information about the ruins.

Of course, her motives were questionable—that much was true.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t grateful.

“Oh, this is quite a connection—would you like to exchange contact info?”

“…”

I hesitated for a moment.

Was it wise to give Yuki my personal contact information?

After Hans’s sudden death, I found it hard to trust anyone.

“Tch—forget it. I’m leaving.”

When I didn’t answer right away, Yuki pouted like a sulking child.

‘What’s this?’

She looked genuinely disappointed.

If that was an act, it was natural enough to make falling for it seem like the right call.

“Alright. But how do you exchange contact info? I’ve never done it before…”

At my answer, Yuki flashed a smile as if she had never sulked at all.

‘Did I just get played?’

“Here, could you extend your hand? No, not this hand—the one with your Device on it.”

Something brushed against my hand.

Soft, ticklish, yet slightly rough.

The sensation was none other than Yuki’s pale white hand.

Her hand moved mine up and down, and I watched without resistance.

“There, all done! You just shake hands with the hand wearing your Device, and the contact exchange is complete. Not hard, right?”

– Friend List

(1) Yuuuki

‘This existed?’

I checked my Device, and sure enough, a new friend list had been updated as Yuki described.

I had never had occasion to use it, so I hadn’t even known the feature existed.

“You can’t be too far apart, but anywhere within Trivik works fine.”

A green indicator appeared next to Yuki’s registered name, which apparently meant we were within communication range.

A red indicator would appear if communication became impossible.

“Well then, for real this time—bye!”

“Oh, right.”

Having achieved her goal, Yuki departed without a backward glance, vanishing instantly into the bustling crowd.

Ding-!

– Yuuuki : See you next time 🙂

Whooosh-

Along with the desert wind carrying the scent of sand.

I had left Luteran, where I had spent three years, and safely arrived in Trivik.

+++

“Wow—nice facilities.”

I let out a sigh of admiration at the sight of the bathhouse—clean and spacious, incomparable to anything in Luteran.

The maintenance was so meticulous that not a single speck of grime floated in the communal bath.

Yukantar was said to have the lowest standard of living in the Trivik region, but compared to Luteran where I had been living, it might as well have been a metropolis.

Kwal kwal kwal-!

Clean hot water gushed from a turtle mounted above the bath.

Cheombeong-!

“Ah… this is nice…”

Lying beneath it, I could have been in heaven itself.

I patted the turtle’s head approvingly, and the stone creature simply went about its business without so much as a twitch.

Growl-

As I submerged my head in the bathwater, the past three years in Luteran flashed before my eyes.

The moldy bed. The wrinkly bathhouse owner. Even the neighborhood punks who had been so fun to mess with.

I felt nostalgic, but not regretful.

Luteran had been a painfully dull place with no entertainment to speak of.

Feeling the vitality of people on the streets for the first time in ages, I felt life returning to my bones.

“Puha-!”

My filthy clothes would be back to their original state by now, too.

There was no need to seek out a laundromat.

The small space attached to the locker room entrance apparently handled washing and drying all in one go.

All I had to do was enjoy my bath and time it to their estimated completion.

‘Yes, this is happiness.’

It hadn’t been that long since I’d left street life behind.

A warm bed and a full stomach—living in comfort had apparently made me forget how precious those things were.

Peaceful rest, felt for the first time in ages.

There was just one thing threatening to disrupt it.

Ding-

– Yuuuki : Wow- the dining hall is completely packed! There must be a ton of people searching for the ruins!

Ding-!

– Yuuuki : A dwarf sat down next to me!

Ding-!

– Yuuuki : A dwarf, a dwarf! Have you ever seen a dwarf? They’re so short!

– 2Sin : Yes.

– Yuuuki : Aha, so you know about dwarves! I wish you’d reply more often. I’m bored. 🙁

‘Can I block her?’

I was seriously regretting exchanging contact info with her.

“The square one is for the laundry room, the round one for the shower. The one attached separately is your room key, so don’t lose it.”

Jingle- jingle-!

Copper keys dangled from a single ring, clinking noisily against each other.

The lodging Yuki recommended was quite upscale—perhaps without regard for my financial situation.

One key bore the number 204—the room where I would be staying in Trivik for the time being.

“Meals are available from 8 AM to 8 PM. Please note that meal service is suspended between 3 PM and 5 PM.”

At a whopping 12 shillings per night, meals were included in the service.

When I first heard the price, I looked around for cheaper alternatives, but there was a reason Yuki had recommended this place—finding comparable lodging was difficult.

The cheap places were fully booked with long-term tenants requiring months of waiting for a vacancy, and the ones with available rooms quoted prices that made me doubt my ears.

In the end, I had only wasted time.

I paid for a week upfront and took the opportunity to have a meal as well.

The main dish was a gratin made with cheese and cassava—rich yet somewhat bland, but filling enough to satisfy.

Aside from three glasses of airag, I had been close to fasting, so I polished off three portions by myself—a minor incident that resulted in an extra charge.

I couldn’t stay here forever, so if I wanted to save money, I’d need to find another place soon.

Creak-!

“Ooh-“

Room 204 was a single, yet it boasted an incredibly comfortable space.

“Whoa—Cheongma?”

It even featured magical engineering products from Cheongma, the famous brand under the Blue Magic Tower.

Not only was there a refrigerator stocked with cold water.

But also a heater blowing warm air.

A welcome heating amenity that warmed the room against the chilly weather.

Perhaps it was the first comfort I’d felt in days.

Flop-!

I sank onto the plush bed and idly fiddled with my Device.

Darkness had settled outside the window without my noticing when the sun had set.

[Current Assets: 1344 Shillings]

‘Money goes fast.’

From the train ticket to the lodging, there had been many expenses—it couldn’t be helped.

– Yuuuki : Are you busy? You’re not answering 🙁

Forcibly ignoring Yuki’s pile of messages, my gaze drifted to the word “Matching.”

I had turned off matching to avoid being summoned to a battlefield while traveling.

Now that I was settled, it was time to reactivate it.

Ding-!

And since I had obtained player qualification, I needed to experience a battlefield at some point…

Ranked Matches were crucial battlefields where a Player’s life hung in the balance, with participation limited to once per month.

Anyone else would have honed their skills, prepared thoroughly, and chosen to participate with caution.

“Let’s go.”

[Would you like to participate in a Ranked Match?]

I was confident.

Based on the level of players I had seen so far, I could certainly win.

They say strike while the iron is hot.

I pressed the “Yes” button without hesitation, and a match was found instantly, as if it had been waiting.

[Matching complete. Transferring to Dimensional Battlefield ‘Unranked – 083’!]

And so, my first battlefield.

The ‘Placement Exam’ had begun.

***

A night cloaked in deep darkness.

An alley in the Artemis commercial district, grown quiet after business hours had ended.

Faint moonlight softly illuminated two figures.

Clack- clack- clack-!

‘Something has gone wrong.’

An emotion I hadn’t felt since becoming 3-Cost surged back to life today.

Thump- thump-!

My heart was pounding violently.

Whoosh-!

I threw the concealed dagger from beneath my clothes.

I threw the poison-coated dagger.

I even drew every last hidden weapon—my final resort—and hurled them all at once.

‘Fuck-!’

Every means of attack hung frozen, as if seized by an invisible hand.

Suspended, floating in midair.

Vwoomm-!

Behind them, eyes containing hexagrams glowed blue.

A strange power that seemed to pierce through everything.

In the end, those eyes.

I ended up looking into them.

Clank-!

‘Why is an Adjudicator in Luteran of all places…!’

Avoiding the gaze of an Imperial Investigator was not difficult.

But.

‘If I had known an Adjudicator was present, I would never have shown myself in the first place!’

Screech-!

When the hexagram within those eyes flashed once more, something constricted my body fiercely.

The mana within my body seemed frozen solid, refusing to budge.

Dugeun- dugeun-!

In the dead silence, only the faint sound of my heartbeat reached me.

For a champion to harm a player was a capital offense.

However, the proper order was not always upheld.

Incidents did occur from time to time.

A champion murdering a player.

A brutal act of insubordination.

And the price of such insubordination was—

“Fu—”

Bang-!

Death.