5. The Third Door

The sound of rain reached my ears.

Through the cafeteria window, streaks of rain were visible.

A few trainees stood by the window, marveling at the sight.

“It rains here too.”

“I have no idea where this place even is.”

“Right? There’s a garden, but it’s completely walled off on every side…”

Demon Realms existed in a dimension separate from the mortal world, but the education facility where we stayed was firmly rooted in reality.

They had simply warped the exits to keep us from escaping.

Because of that, we could watch the sun rise and set, and when it rained, we felt its effects.

From my perspective, it would have been better if this place were part of a Demon Realm…

“Oot?”

The Earthen Figure tilted its head, looking at me.

Then it pointed at my face and began tapping the menu board, soliciting customers.

‘Your face is a mess right now’ — that’s probably what it meant.

Catching my reflection in the glass window, I saw dark circles hanging under my eyes.

I looked half-dead, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Even before, I’d been practically a half-corpse on rainy days.

They say many elderly people complain of pain when it rains, but strangely, ever since childhood, rain had turned me into a half-corpse.

The sensation of countless stones piled on my shoulders.

My breath catching, as if someone were dragging me down to the floor.

[The energy of Water is increasing in the surroundings.]

[The energy of Water counters Seo Kangrim’s destiny.]

[Stats decrease by 10%.]

It goes without saying that fire’s natural enemy is water.

But I was particularly susceptible to physical decline on rainy days.

Even as a fire attribute…

The world is overflowing with other fire-attribute Fortune holders, yet I have no idea why I’m the only one who reacts this way.

“Oot?”

“I’m fine. Not hungry.”

“Ooot…”

“Just give me the dry rations and Recovery Potions.”

I gathered only the issued supplies and left the cafeteria.

On the way to the lobby, I crossed paths with several people, but the atmosphere was different from usual.

Normally, people would frequently approach me — party invitations and the like — but today they merely nodded in greeting.

It must have been because the first clearer of the Room of Fire Bath had emerged a few days ago.

“How did Cheon Gunam even clear that place?”

“Tell me about it. And in a single attempt, too…”

People’s attention had now shifted from me to Cheon Gunam.

I was quite pleased with that.

I’d never been fond of getting swept up in crowds.

Hunting alone suited me better, too.

Reaching the lobby, I found it bustling with people as usual.

Burn victims were gathered in clusters around the Protective Jangseung.

It seemed most people had cleared the Room of the Mountain of Death and moved on to the Room of Fire Bath.

Parties that looked like they’d already completed a Demon Realm run were resting and exchanging stories.

“When does the third room open, anyway?”

“Not sure. They said they’d send an additional notice when it does…”

Currently, the third door was cordoned off with sacred rope and talismans, strung up like police tape.

Sealing a door like this was something I’d never seen before.

But I could vaguely understand why the Fate Protection Bureau had made this decision.

The second door had been cleared too quickly.

Speed wasn’t everything.

What mattered was growing strong enough first.

From the third door onward lay actual Demon Realms.

The Bureau seemed to be giving people time to prepare.

Better to hunt Fire Frogs here and raise one’s grade than to die stumbling into the third room unprepared.

“I should keep grinding Fire Frogs.”

“Same here. A few people have already cleared the Room of Fire Bath…”

With more people beginning to tackle the Room of Fire Bath, the third door would likely open soon enough.

For today, I decided to stay in the Room of Fire Bath.

Since it was raining on this side, spending time in the fire-charged Room of Fire Bath seemed like the better option.

“Seo Kangrim. Good morning.”

At that moment, an unwelcome voice reached my ears.

I turned around to find Cheon Gunam standing there.

Ever since clearing the Room of Fire Bath, Cheon Gunam had been in an exceedingly good mood.

Even though I didn’t reply, he maintained his cheerful, grinning demeanor.

“I want to head to the third room already, but I wonder when they’ll open it… You need to get to the third room too, right? Oh, wait — you’re still on the Room of Fire Bath!”

His grinning needling actually struck me as rather pitiful.

With a magnanimous expression, he patted my shoulder and said,

“Still haven’t found the Crystal Ice, I take it? Want me to tell you the strategy?”

“No. I’m fine.”

When I flatly refused, Cheon Gunam’s face contorted slightly.

Then it settled into a mocking expression.

“Well, alright. I’m not sure when you’ll clear it without a strategy, but…”

With that, Cheon Gunam spun on his heel and approached another group.

They were the party members he usually ran with.

“Hello! Have you cleared it yet?”

“No, not yet…”

“That’s a shame. But it’ll come soon enough! Keep at it!”

He cheered them on and disappeared toward the cafeteria.

Unlike the beaming Cheon Gunam, the people left behind wore expressions full of dissatisfaction.

“Was the strategy Cheon Gunam told us even correct?”

“I’ve lost count of how many Fire Frogs I’ve killed…”

“You don’t think he lied, do you?”

Cheon Gunam had shared the method for clearing the Room of Fire Bath with several people.

He told them that among the Fire Frogs, there was a random Demon Beast that carried Crystal Ice.

Of course, no matter how many Fire Frogs you killed, Crystal Ice would never drop.

In fact, the people who hadn’t been close to Cheon Gunam were the ones successfully clearing it.

Shin Sooa had already succeeded, and Dokgo Jun was slower than in my past life.

I was somewhat curious how Dokgo Jun would react when he realized he’d been deceived.

Amidst all this, a message arrived from Ahn Nabi.

[You have received a summons from ‘Ahn Nabi.’ Please gather alone by 18:00 today.]

Ahn Nabi’s message had finally arrived.

It seemed the third door would open today.

There were still four or five hours until the meeting time.

That was plenty of time to clear the Room of Fire Bath.

I stretched briefly and opened the second door.

* * *

Rain fell steadily as the sky beyond the window grew dark.

It was already nearing six o’clock.

Seo Kangrim had emerged from clearing the Room of Fire Bath around that time.

Stepping out into the lobby, he found people already gathered, waiting for Ahn Nabi’s announcement.

“Why did she call us again?”

“Maybe the third door is opening…?”

People paid no attention to whether Seo Kangrim came out or not.

If they knew he had cleared it in record time, they would have reacted very differently.

Moments later, the grandfather clock in the lobby struck six.

Daeng— daeng— daeng—

Ahn Nabi appeared in the lobby without a sound and stood at the center of the hall.

The people who had been scrambling in confusion on the first day now watched her with relative composure.

She offered a slight bow in greeting and then spoke.

“Good evening. I have called you together to make an announcement regarding the third door. First, as of this hour today, access to the third door is hereby permitted.”

At Ahn Nabi’s gesture, the sacred rope ignited and crumbled to ash.

Her voice continued from behind the mask.

“Before you enter, I will brief you on the third room. The first and second rooms were training grounds created by the Fate Protection Bureau for educational purposes.”

Ahn Nabi paused, then continued in a clipped, rigid tone.

“However, from the third room onward, you will not be entering a training ground — you will be entering an actual Demon Realm. It is far more dangerous and unforgiving, so please exercise caution.”

At those words, a ripple of unease spread through the crowd.

The training grounds alone had been overwhelming — an actual Demon Realm would be even harder.

Ahn Nabi quietly added to her explanation.

“However, there are benefits as well. From the third door onward, when you defeat a Demon Beast, you can find Spirit Jade within its remains.”

Ahn Nabi produced a small Spirit Jade from her pocket and held it up for display.

Spirit Jade came in various colors — green, red, purple, and more.

“Upon obtaining Spirit Jade for the first time, the Shop Window will unlock, allowing you to purchase items through the shop.”

While Seo Kangrim listened impassively, the others appeared genuinely astonished.

Whispers broke out here and there among the crowd.

“So we can buy stronger weapons?”

“That’s usually how it works in games…”

As the murmuring grew, Ahn Nabi clapped her hands lightly.

The room fell silent instantly.

She gave a short cough and continued her explanation.

“Because it connects to an actual Demon Realm, all of you will be operating in the same region. Additionally, the gods will be observing you.”

“Excuse me? Gods?”

Bewilderment spread across people’s faces at the hard-to-grasp statement.

Ahn Nabi’s tone remained calm, as if it were nothing unusual.

“If you hear the voice of a god, do not respond. First, consult the manual you were issued.”

“A manual?”

“Yes. It contains instructions on how to handle the situation. I recommend reviewing it in advance.”

After leaving that somewhat suspicious remark, Ahn Nabi offered a slight bow.

“That is all the advice I can give you. Please, do not die.”

After finishing her final words, she fielded a few questions from some individuals and then departed.

People were visibly rattled by the advice to ‘not die.’

“An actual Demon Realm? Does that mean even stronger Demon Beasts will appear?”

“If there’s no limit on party size, we should gather as many people as possible and go together…”

Amid the scattered whispers, one person stepped forward.

Dokgo Jun.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened the third door and walked through.

‘That guy never changes.’

Even in his past life, Dokgo Jun had always gone his own way, regardless of how others reacted.

Seo Kangrim had no desire to entangle himself with someone like that.

‘There’s plenty to do in the third room, so I especially can’t afford to get involved with Dokgo Jun.’

Seo Kangrim scanned the surroundings and approached one person.

A young woman, around twenty, with a somewhat scatterbrained impression.

They’d been on speaking terms ever since hunting together in the Room of the Mountain of Death.

As Seo Kangrim approached, she broke into a bright smile.

“Oh, hello! Kangrim oppa!”

“Hey. Um, so… you were Gyeoul, right?”

“Oh, no. I’m Bom, and that’s Gyeoul.”

Yoon Bom pointed to the person standing behind her.

There stood a young man who looked exactly like Yoon Bom.

With a small frame and delicate features, he could easily pass for a woman.

Yoon Bom and Yoon Gyeoul were twin siblings.

Even with twins, differing genders usually made physical differences easy to spot, but these two were nearly indistinguishable.

They shared the same face and the same birthday, yet their Fortune differed.

Fraternal twins, being of different sexes, are read with different Fortune.

Identical twins are considered to be born with the same Fortune, though even then, practitioners applied several different interpretation methods.

Such as interpreting the elder and younger siblings’ Fortune by applying the great fortune cycle in reverse, or reading the younger sibling’s birth date and time by shifting each by one increment.

Even when born on the same day at the same hour, one’s Four Pillars of Destiny and fate could diverge like this.

Just as, in the third room, Yoon Bom had lived and Yoon Gyeoul had died.