“Colleague?”

Cheon Gunam asked back, bewildered.

Dokgo Jun still wore a beaming smile.

“Yes. You seem close enough to a protagonist, that’s why.”

Protagonist.

At those words, Cheon Gunam’s face had already taken on a smug expression.

‘Dokgo Jun’s personality is a bit odd, but he’s a strong awakener. He was the second to clear the first room, after all.’

He didn’t know what Dokgo Jun meant by “protagonist,” but he could at least tell that the man held him in high regard.

Cheon Gunam unconsciously put on a triumphant expression and spoke.

“Well, that’s not wrong.”

“Then shall we have a little chat? We’ll be colleagues from now on, so we should get to know each other.”

“Sure. Just let me check my First Clear rewards for a moment…”

Cheon Gunam checked his rewards with an excited face.

But upon seeing the contents, his face immediately stiffened.

The item that arrived for him was a ‘Fortune Window Appraisal Document.’

It was an item that awakened one’s Fortune Window.

‘I don’t particularly need this item.’

The ‘Fortune Window Appraisal Document’ was an item that allowed one to function as an awakener even after leaving the Education Facility.

For Cheon Gunam, who already possessed divination arts, it had no particular effect.

He could sell it once outside, but it offered no immediate benefit.

His face stiffened at the reward, which was worth less than expected.

Meanwhile, Dokgo Jun struck up a conversation from beside him.

“What? Something wrong?”

“N-no. It’s nothing.”

“Then let’s talk. I’d like to know about your past, how you died, things like that.”

Dokgo Jun dragged him along with an excited expression.

Seo Kangrim watched the two of them from the second floor.

Things were going according to plan.

‘So this time, Cheon Gunam has taken the protagonist position.’

Seo Kangrim had no intention of either winning or losing the bet with Dokgo Jun.

If he won the bet, Dokgo Jun would have become even more convinced that he was a regressor and clung to him.

‘Even if Dokgo Jun had won, he would have remained interested in me.’

That was why a third party needed to become the first clearer.

The person Seo Kangrim targeted was Cheon Gunam.

Seo Kangrim had brought crystal ice wrapped in fire frog hide and placed it inside the carcasses’ bellies.

In case it wasn’t found, he placed it in the bellies of several of them.

And then he guided Cheon Gunam to become the first clearer.

‘Dokgo Jun’s face was quite a sight then.’

When Cheon Gunam became the first clearer, Dokgo Jun was thoroughly bewildered.

And the moment he saw the injured Seo Kangrim right after.

A flash of unmistakable disappointment crossed Dokgo Jun’s eyes.

‘It seems Cheon Gunam couldn’t read my fate either. Thank goodness for the Fortune Protection Talisman.’

A single talisman was attached inside Seo Kangrim’s clothing.

═══════════════

[Item] Fortune Protection Talisman

[Rank] First Ghost Grade

[Description] Protects a portion of one’s fortune within the Fortune Window, preventing others from reading it.

═══════════════

Cheon Gunam would no longer be able to peer into Seo Kangrim’s Fortune Window.

Furthermore, Dokgo Jun would take care of dealing with Cheon Gunam for him.

[Checking the fortune compatibility between targets ‘Cheon Gunam’ and ‘Dokgo Jun.’]

[Their elemental attributes are incompatible, and severe conflict is expected. Dokgo Jun’s energy overcomes Cheon Gunam, resulting in a negative influence on Cheon Gunam.]

[‘Cheon Gunam’ and ‘Dokgo Jun’ become entangled in a toxic relationship.]

Just as Shin Sooa’s fate nourished Seo Kangrim’s, there were also relationships that had the opposite effect—overcoming and suppressing.

Just like Cheon Gunam and Dokgo Jun.

‘Dokgo Jun will lose interest in me for now. And he’ll take care of Cheon Gunam too.’

While Seo Kangrim was having these thoughts, Cheon Gunam felt an inexplicable chill.

He turned to look behind him, but there was no one there.

* * *

Ahn Nabi sat in the Zone 2 office, dealing with an avalanche of messages.

There had been plenty of work even before the Day of Awakening arrived, but after the awakened ones appeared, it had only grown busier.

‘The work never ends.’

As the youngest member of Team 2, Ahn Nabi was saddled with every odd job imaginable.

She was in charge of educating the unawakened.

She was drafted whenever a demon beast extermination order came down, and on top of that, there were additional directives from Section Chief Princess.

[Keep an eye on that bastard Seo Kangrim, and report immediately if you notice anything suspicious.]

As a result, Ahn Nabi had no time to rest, spending even her breaks watching Seo Kangrim.

Fortunately, after clearing the Room of the Mountain of Death, Seo Kangrim had been completing his training without incident.

The problem lay elsewhere.

‘Today was the emergency meeting.’

Yesterday, the Room of Fire Bath had been cleared.

This, too, had been at a far faster pace than anticipated.

An emergency meeting had been called because of it.

As Ahn Nabi made her way to the conference room.

She spotted someone banging their head against the wall.

Ahn Nabi cautiously spoke to Joo Sungtae, who appeared to be practicing meditation facing the wall.

“Excuse me, Senior Joo Sungtae…?”

Joo Sungtae turned his head to look at Ahn Nabi.

His face was gaunt, as if he hadn’t slept properly the night before.

“Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not.”

The person who would catch the most flak for this situation was Joo Sungtae, the Demon Realm planner.

Naturally, if Joo Sungtae took the heat, it would affect Ahn Nabi as well.

Last time, she had worked until dawn catching the Blade Mountain General that Joo Sungtae was supposed to handle.

Joo Sungtae shouted with a face flushed with frustration.

“This is exactly why I hate Koreans! You design playtime for a week, and they clear it in a single day!”

“You’re Korean too, sir.”

“I hate them anyway!”

Ahn Nabi could somewhat understand Joo Sungtae’s raging.

He had stayed up all night redesigning the second room, with Team Leader Princess’s approval.

And yet it had been cleared on the very first attempt.

“Let’s go for now.”

Ahn Nabi coaxed the raging Joo Sungtae and headed toward the conference room.

Only two people had been summoned today: Ahn Nabi, the education officer, and Joo Sungtae, the planning officer.

A moment later, as the clock struck the hour, the door burst open simultaneously.

It was Team Leader Princess.

She walked in without a word, her heavy footsteps echoing as she took the seat at the head of the table.

The atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive.

Though she said nothing, her expression alone conveyed just how furious she was.

It felt less like a conference room and more like a funeral parlor.

“I heard the Room of Fire Bath was cleared on the first attempt. Was the clearer Seo Kangrim again?”

At Princess’s question, Ahn Nabi quickly pulled up a file and answered.

“No, ma’am. It was a trainee named Cheon Gunam.”

Cheon Gunam’s profile floated in the air, but Princess glanced at it only once before withdrawing her attention.

Her gaze was fixed on Joo Sungtae.

“If Seo Kangrim had cleared it instead, I would have at least thought that bastard had something exceptional about him.”

Joo Sungtae remained silent, as if he had committed a grave crime.

Princess turned to Ahn Nabi and asked.

“Is this Cheon Gunam around Ghost Grade?”

“No, ma’am. He’s Human Grade.”

In the suffocating atmosphere, Joo Sungtae could only watch nervously.

It felt like walking on thin ice.

“What about his attribute and special ability?”

“He has a water attribute and uses a special ability called Water Bullet. It’s a water-based offensive ability.”

“Those are certainly conditions that would make clearing the Room of Fire Bath easier.”

There was a possibility that Cheon Gunam had cleared it on his own.

At that possibility, Joo Sungtae’s face brightened slightly.

Princess continued her inquiry.

“Did you hear how Cheon Gunam cleared the Room of Fire Bath?”

“Yes. But he said something… a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

Ahn Nabi nodded and replied.

“He seemed to be under some misunderstanding. He said that while killing fire frogs, he found one that had swallowed crystal ice.”

“What?”

Both Princess and Joo Sungtae wore expressions of confusion.

It was true that fire frogs could eat crystal ice.

After all, the Demon Realm had been designed so that fire frogs would charge at crystal ice.

“But the fire frogs shouldn’t be able to approach the Ice Cave, right? Totem poles were set up there.”

The totem poles’ protective effect should have prevented the fire frogs from entering the cave to find and eat the crystal ice.

Princess muttered, finding it strange.

“Then that means someone other than Cheon Gunam found the crystal ice and brought it out, only to have it taken by a fire frog…”

She pondered for a moment, then asked Ahn Nabi.

“Who was traveling with Cheon Gunam?”

“That would be Trainee Seo Kangrim.”

“Seo Kangrim, you say…?”

At the mention of Seo Kangrim’s name, Princess’s brow twitched.

Joo Sungtae thought Princess would fly into another rage, but instead, she fell into deep thought.

“Was it Seo Kangrim who discovered the crystal ice cave? If he has a special ability related to future prophecy…”

Princess’s eyes gleamed sharply.

Special abilities related to prophecy were exceedingly rare.

If he truly possessed an ability related to future prophecy, the Fate Protection Bureau had to secure him at all costs.

Joo Sungtae gauged her mood and asked cautiously.

“Then should we ask the Bureau Director to check his Fortune Window?”

“No. Not now. If Seo Kangrim isn’t a prophet, it would only make things worse.”

The Forerunner was also the Bureau Director of the Fate Protection Bureau.

Even now, the Bureau Director had no free time, as she was engaged in secret negotiations with the government.

If they called the Bureau Director to check his Fortune Window, only to find that Seo Kangrim was an insignificant Insect Grade?

It would certainly only weaken Princess’s position.

Just then, Ahn Nabi read the room and spoke carefully.

“That doesn’t appear to be the case. Upon checking, the totem pole was damaged, which allowed demon beasts to approach the entrance.”

If the totem pole had been damaged, it ultimately meant a failure on the planning side.

Princess let out a sigh, as if saying “I thought as much.”

Joo Sungtae cried out in protest.

“That’s not it! I deployed a perfectly intact totem pole!”

“Fix the totem pole first, then write and submit an incident report.”

“Team Leader! The fact that it was cleared faster than expected just means we have that many capable trainees…”

-Tang!

Princess slammed the table violently, and Joo Sungtae flinched and clamped his mouth shut.

Joo Sungtae still wore an expression of indignation.

Princess glared at Joo Sungtae and spoke.

“Joo Sungtae, can you take responsibility for that statement? Are you saying there are no problems with the planning, that we simply have many capable trainees, and it’s fine to send them to the third door as is?”

“W-well…”

“If the trainees are wiped out, can you still take responsibility then?”

Her voice was chilling, like a knife driven into bone.

Princess’s sharp eyes gleamed through her glass lenses.

“From the third door onward, we enter the true Demon Realms. If they enter the third door lacking the skills and die, can you take responsibility?”

The first and second Demon Realms were essentially training grounds artificially created by the Fate Protection Bureau.

Rest areas had been placed throughout, and safety measures had been established.

But from the third onward, they would have to survive on their own strength alone.

“Besides, it could damage my career.”

For Princess, the thought of awakened ones dying and dragging down her evaluation was a greater concern than the deaths themselves.

“While our side loses trainees to substandard performance, the other teams are steadily nurturing theirs. If we fall behind Team 1…”

Beyond Zone 2, which Princess currently oversaw, there were other teams training cadets as well.

The team leaders of each team were in a competitive relationship; the better their results, the higher each leader’s evaluation rose.

For various reasons, they couldn’t send inadequately prepared trainees to the next stage.

She pressed firmly against her temples, as if her head was throbbing.

“At this rate, the dropout rate will be too high. First, extend the waiting period for the third door.”

“Will you be alright?”

“It can’t be helped. I’ll speak with the higher-ups myself.”

As if she had said everything she needed to say, Princess stood up abruptly.

On her way to the exit, she turned back and spoke.

“And keep watching Seo Kangrim.”

Leaving that order behind, she exited the conference room.

Joo Sungtae clenched his teeth.

‘There was definitely nothing wrong with the totem pole. I checked it multiple times…!’

He opened the file with a gaze filled with hatred.

Glaring at Seo Kangrim’s photograph, Joo Sungtae began scouring every detail of his profile.

‘Seo Kangrim… that bastard is suspicious…!’