What he pulled out was an egg slightly larger than a chicken egg.

Its most peculiar feature was the round mouth attached to the shell.

Sharp teeth ground together as if demanding to be fed.

═══════════════

[Item] ??? Egg

[Rank] ???

[Description] Hatches after being carried for a certain period. Its form changes depending on what it is fed. What will emerge is still unknown.

═══════════════

‘It was a stroke of luck to obtain the Unknown Egg.’

Awakened ones often called this nameless egg the Unknown Egg.

It could be obtained from other Demon Realms besides this one, but only from Dragon-grade Demon Realms at minimum.

The acquisition conditions were so demanding that it was one of those items easily fetching tens of billions of won at auction houses.

‘But it’s of no use right now. At the moment, a good weapon is more urgent…’

Seo Kangrim opened the Shop Window and quickly scanned the weapon category.

The weapons he liked couldn’t be purchased with the Spirit Jade he currently possessed.

Checking the shop system, he saw that an auction house system was active.

‘Selling it at the auction house and buying a weapon with the money wouldn’t be a bad idea.’

The sword provided by the Fate Protection Bureau was First Insect Grade.

It wasn’t bad to use up to the first and second rooms, but beyond that, it was too much.

Using the Insect Grade sword with the Third Ghost Grade Special Ability ‘Sword Draw’ inevitably resulted in diminished effectiveness.

Around this time, awakened ones would start emerging outside as well.

The quick ones would have already established Sects.

Using the auction house to sell the Unknown Egg to them could earn him money in a short period, but…

‘Using the auction house takes too long. It might sell for a bargain price, too.’

Even if awakened ones had appeared, they were a minority.

Furthermore, few would recognize the value of a good weapon, so the auction price would likely be set low.

‘For now, let’s just buy a weapon to use in the fourth room immediately.’

He decided to buy a Human Grade sword from the shop as a temporary measure.

He could acquire weapons in the next Demon Realm anyway.

‘First, I need to focus on raising the Unknown Egg.’

The Unknown Egg, from which anything could emerge.

Seo Kangrim gently brought his finger near the egg’s mouth.

Immediately, the mouth snapped wide open, revealing sharp teeth.

-Ttak-ttak!

Before it could bite his finger off, Seo Kangrim swiftly pulled his hand back.

The egg growled like a starving beast and snapped at the empty air.

‘It’s more ferocious than I heard.’

He had heard that its appetite was so voracious it wouldn’t even leave the bones of most demon beasts.

To ensure he wouldn’t get bitten, Seo Kangrim wrapped the egg securely and tucked it inside his coat.

‘Shall we go find some food for it first?’

Listening to the clacking of the egg’s teeth, he headed outside.

The door to the fourth Demon Realm had already been activated.

‘Shin Sooa gets into trouble in this Demon Realm, so I do need to follow her. But before that…’

Seo Kangrim entered the Room of Fire Bath instead of the Room of Sword Tree.

The sound of the egg clacking its teeth could be heard from inside his coat.

* * *

[Confirming entry for ‘Shin Sooa’, ‘Yoon Bom’, ‘Yoon Gyeoul’.]

[You have entered the Room of Sword Tree.]

A door situated in the middle of a forest opened, and three people emerged.

As she stepped inside, Shin Sooa felt her breathing become significantly easier.

The fourth Demon Realm initially looked like a forest.

The refreshing scent of grass filled the air, making it feel like a retreat to the mountains.

Yoon Bom took a deep breath and spoke.

“Wow, it’s a forest this time. I feel much better here!”

“There aren’t any Snowmen here, right?”

Yoon Gyeoul asked with an anxious expression.

Shin Sooa glanced at the two.

“You can go back if you’re still not feeling well. Are you both okay?”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Sooa. I’m fully healed.”

“That’s right, Ms. Sooa! Since the three of us came together, it’ll be okay!”

Yoon Bom smiled brightly and followed behind Shin Sooa.

If Seo Kangrim had seen this, he would have thought it a bizarre scene.

In his past life, Shin Sooa and Yoon Bom had been obvious enemies.

How many tears had Shin Sooa shed while holding the corpse of a sect member shot dead by Yoon Bom?

They were once like mortal enemies, but now a warm atmosphere flowed between them as if they were members of the same sect.

Yoon Bom looked around and spoke.

“At least it’s not freezing cold or boiling hot here.”

Out of all the Demon Realms they had visited so far, this environment was the most pleasant.

There were no noticeable demon beasts in the vicinity either.

However, Shin Sooa surveyed her surroundings more carefully than ever.

“But this place looks dangerous too.”

“Is it the demon beasts…?”

“More than the demon beasts, it’s the forest itself.”

Saying so, Shin Sooa picked up a leaf that had fallen nearby.

Staring intently at the leaf, she brought it to the hem of her clothes.

When she swiped the leaf against it, the fabric was sliced through in an instant.

“The leaves are as sharp as blades.”

“Huh? Ow, that stings! It… it really is…”

When Yoon Bom picked up a leaf, her fingertips were instantly cut.

Sword Tree—as could be guessed from the room’s name, this forest was made of blades.

“It really is like a blade…”

Every leaf was a blade, and the tips of the branches were as sharp as awls.

The forest that had looked peaceful just moments ago now seemed like a part of hell.

Meanwhile, Yoon Gyeoul frowned as he checked the notification window.

“Look at the mission here. It’s really tough.”

[The Room of Sword Tree has begun.]

[Collect Spirit Jade. 0/1000]

[Time Limit: 2 weeks]

“It says to collect a thousand Spirit Jade?”

As Yoon Gyeoul spoke in disbelief, the others also checked the challenge objective for this Demon Realm.

Shin Sooa stared blankly at the guide window.

“Still, fortunately, it doesn’t specify what grade of Spirit Jade to collect.”

Collecting a thousand Insect Grade Spirit Jade and collecting a thousand Human Grade Spirit Jade were on entirely different levels.

Even so, could they really hunt a thousand beasts?

If that was possible, just how vast was this Demon Realm?

Pushing those doubts aside, Shin Sooa spoke.

“Let’s start by scouting the area.”

The twins nodded and began to walk.

While walking with vigilance, Yoon Bom glanced at Yoon Gyeoul and said.

“Don’t go off on your own this time, stick close to me. Mr. Kangrim told us not to go off on our own, remember?”

“…I’m not a child.”

Yoon Gyeoul grumbled, but he was slightly cowed.

The memory of facing the Snowman alone was still vivid.

The pain that felt like his entire body was shattering, and the gaze of the demon beast looking at him as if he were a tasty meal.

If it hadn’t been for Seo Kangrim, he knew he would have died there.

“Still, it would’ve been nice if Mr. Kangrim had come with us. Isn’t he secretly avoiding us?”

“He must have had his reasons…”

Even as she said that, Yoon Bom seemed a bit unsure.

She looked slightly disappointed.

“I thought we were pretty close. Is it because we’re too weak?”

If other training cadets heard this, they would be dumbfounded.

Though not as much as Seo Kangrim, Yoon Bom was stronger than most cadets.

Shin Sooa cut down the bushes ahead of her with her sword and spoke.

“I don’t think Mr. Kangrim is the type to discriminate against people for things like that. He saved your lives, didn’t he?”

“That’s right! He seems like a good person. A bit of a mystic, but…”

At those words, Shin Sooa let out a small laugh.

At first, she hadn’t been able to understand Seo Kangrim’s attitude either.

However, even while saying things that might hurt others, he always rushed in risking his life when people were in danger.

She hadn’t known why he did such things, but she came to believe he must have his reasons.

“He always speaks in a prickly manner, but he’s actually a gentle person. Isn’t he?”

Yoon Bom smiled as if agreeing with those words.

Yoon Gyeoul’s sullen face also softened a little.

Then, Shin Sooa discovered something and came to an abrupt halt.

“There’s a demon beast over there.”

[Discovered the demon beast ‘Sickle Mantis’.]

What was in front of them was a mantis-type demon beast.

The only difference was that it was as large as a dog.

Seeing it, Yoon Gyeoul immediately nocked an arrow to his bowstring.

-Kwaak!

The arrow precisely pierced the Sickle Mantis’s head.

Spirit Jade rolled out of the fallen Sickle Mantis’s small mouth.

As Yoon Gyeoul picked up the Spirit Jade, the mission window was immediately updated.

[Acquired Spirit Jade Count: 3/1000]

“It counted as 3. Ugh, we’ll have to catch 300 of them.”

“Still, we have two weeks, so we can definitely catch enough. Let’s get started right away.”

The three immediately set to hunting.

While engrossed in combat, Yoon Bom discovered something and spoke.

“Huh? There’s something over there…”

Yoon Bom pointed beyond the bushes.

Something was lying collapsed there.

It was a beast-shaped demon beast they had never seen before.

Yoon Bom spoke with a puzzled expression.

“Did we wander into another demon beast’s territory?”

“Maybe. I’ll go check what kind of demon beast it is real quick.”

Yoon Gyeoul strode over to the corpse.

At that moment, Shin Sooa’s ‘Senses’ caught something.

She shouted urgently.

“Gyeoul, stop!”

* * *

While resting in the lobby, my ear suddenly itched, so I rubbed my earlobe.

Is someone badmouthing me somewhere?

I don’t care who’s talking behind my back anyway.

I’m already used to it.

Compared to being ostracized in my past life, these were peaceful days.

“Hello, Mr. Kangrim!”

“Are you going alone today? Would you like to go together?”

Instead, there were people who approached me like this.

They were still attempting to clear the Room of Cold Ice.

Not wanting to get entangled with them, I answered half-heartedly.

“Yes. I’m going alone. I’m heading to the fourth room.”

“Ah, I see. We’re still in the third room… Then let’s hunt together next time!”

Perhaps gauging my mood, they still maintained smiling faces.

I turned my back and headed straight for the fourth room.

As I entered, a familiar notification sound rang out.

[Confirming entry for ‘Seo Kangrim’.]

[You have entered the Room of Sword Tree.]

Upon entering, there were footprints left in various places, suggesting a few people had entered first.

Glancing over them, the people who had cleared the third room were me, Shin Sooa, Yoon Gyeoul, Yoon Bom, and Dokgo Jun.

Dokgo Jun was moving alone these days, so there was a high probability these footprints belonged to that trio.

If the flow was the same as my past life, I needed to keep an eye on Shin Sooa in this Demon Realm.

While tracking the footprints, a notification window popped up.

[The Room of Sword Tree has begun.]

[Collect Spirit Jade. 0/1000]

[Time Limit: 2 weeks]

A thousand beasts.

This was where the grind began.

At first glance, it looked easy, but there were many things to watch out for in this Demon Realm.

For example, those voices coming from the sky.

【’Master of All Fire’ has connected to the Universal Communication.】

【’Guardian of the Sword Tree’ has connected to the Universal Communication.】

【’Only Black Night’ has connected to the Universal Communication.】