* * *

“Phew, haven’t seen him for days now…”

Yoon Bom and Yoon Gyeoul, who had been searching the Room of Sword Tree, slumped onto a nearby boulder, exhausted.

The Forest of Swords was blowing its blade-like wind again today.

Or rather, it seemed even sharper than usual.

“Sis, is the killer really in here?”

“I don’t know. We’ve searched everywhere but can’t find him…”

Yoon Bom let out a deep sigh.

Then, spotting someone approaching from the opposite direction, she leapt to her feet.

“Sooa unni!”

Shin Sooa was approaching from the opposite direction with several people in tow.

Dokgo Jun was walking alongside her.

“Unni, did you meet the people from Zone 4? Did they find Nam Yoojun?”

“I did meet them… but Nam Yoojun hasn’t returned.”

Three days had passed since Seo Kangrim was attacked by Nam Yoojun.

Dokgo Jun had waited near the Zone 4 entrance for Nam Yoojun, following Seo Kangrim’s instructions, but never encountered him.

He had also heard that Seo Kangrim had been unable to find Nam Yoojun either.

“If he hasn’t returned to the Education Facility either, does that mean he’s still inside the Demon Realm?”

When Yoon Bom asked this, Dokgo Jun chimed in.

“Well, it’s possible Zone 4 is hiding him. They keep insisting Nam Yoojun can’t be the culprit. Even with two witnesses saying otherwise.”

Zone 4, for their part, didn’t believe Dokgo Jun’s words.

In fact, they seemed to view them with suspicion.

Shin Sooa paused in thought before speaking up.

“If he’s neither at the Education Facility nor in the Demon Realm, he might have checked out. Escaping outside could be the safer option.”

“Well, that’s a possibility, Ms. Shin.”

Dokgo Jun seemed to be thinking something else entirely.

Yoon Bom and Yoon Gyeoul watched the two with uneasy expressions.

Whether the killer had fled outside, Zone 4 was hiding Nam Yoojun, or he was lurking somewhere in the Demon Realm—it was an unpleasant situation regardless.

Then Shin Sooa spoke up.

“Let’s stop searching for now. Bom and Gyeoul, you two should focus on completing your missions.”

In Yoon Bom and Yoon Gyeoul’s case, because they had entered early, their mission time limit was running short.

At this rate, they would face forced expulsion before ever catching Nam Yoojun.

At those words, Yoon Bom nodded in agreement.

“Unni, you got the First Clear this time, right? Mr. Dokgo, are you all done too?”

“I’ve finished my missions too, so I’ll keep looking a bit longer. Good luck, you two.”

Dokgo Jun waved a casual farewell and headed back into the depths of the forest.

His eyes flickered with an enigmatic gleam.

‘Did Nam Yoojun really run away, or is he hiding here?’

The odds seemed high, but Dokgo Jun didn’t buy it.

The story wouldn’t wrap up so anticlimactically.

Just then, a familiar silhouette appeared beyond the thicket.

“Ah, Seo Kangrim!”

Seo Kangrim was in the middle of hunting a Sickle Mantis.

Bluish fluid from the Sickle Mantis clung to his shop-issued sword.

He glanced at Dokgo Jun, ignored him, and turned his head away.

Already accustomed to such treatment, Dokgo Jun struck up a conversation without missing a beat.

“You’re not searching for Nam Yoojun?”

“I need to finish my own missions first.”

Seo Kangrim said this as he collected Spirit Jade from the mouth of the demon beast he had just felled.

Just then, Dokgo Jun thrust his face forward abruptly.

Dokgo Jun’s eyes were fixed on Seo Kangrim’s nape like a machine.

“I don’t recognize that necklace. Where’d you get it?”

“I received it as a gift from a god.”

“Hmm. Really?”

Dokgo Jun remained crouched where he was, looking up at Seo Kangrim.

Like someone observing a specimen.

His attitude was that of a man who knew everything and was merely testing Seo Kangrim to confirm it.

“While I was watching the Zone 4 entrance, you went looking for Nam Yoojun, right? And couldn’t find him in the end.”

“Yes.”

“Did you really not find him? Would the protagonist miss a guy like that?”

An ordinary person would have believed it, but to Dokgo Jun, Seo Kangrim was the protagonist.

He smiled faintly and said:

“If you killed him, you can be honest with me about it. I’m on your side, after all.”

“I told you—I don’t know what happened to Nam Yoojun.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Dokgo Jun continued staring intently at Seo Kangrim before finally rising to his feet.

He still wore that enigmatic smile.

“If you say so, I’ll just have to take your word for it. I’ll be going ahead, then. See you at the Education Facility.”

Dokgo Jun departed with a casual farewell.

Long after he had left, Seo Kangrim stood in place for quite some time.

Alone now, the voices of the gods cascaded down upon him.

【Wow, what a performance.】

【You could seriously become an actor.】

【This year’s Best Actor award goes to… Seo Kangrim!】

【I’d like to dedicate this honor to my co-star, actor Nam Yoojun, for his outstanding performance.】

Seo Kangrim ignored them and focused on hunting.

The gods were chuckling among themselves, clearly amused.

【I was seriously startled when Seo Kangrim picked up that Seven-Branch Sword.】

【Right? How did you even know about the Seven-Branch Sword?】

【Yeah. Do you have prophetic dreams or a Foresight Eye or something?】

“No. The tree just looked sturdy enough to use as a weapon.”

The weapon Seo Kangrim had searched for in the Sword Tree’s forest was the Seven-Branch Sword.

Named for its shape, which appeared to be composed of seven branches—the Seven-Branch Sword (七枝刀).

Ordinarily, such a weapon would be forged by melting metal.

But the divine tree growing from this Sword Tree was composed of a special material called Wood Iron.

It was a special weapon that possessed the properties of both wood and iron.

【A regular Seven-Branch Sword would’ve been good enough, but a lightning-struck one…】

【Right? His luck is insane.】

【Does he seriously have some kind of special ability or what?】

A tree struck by lightning became even harder and stronger, imbued with divine power.

He had cut down all the surrounding trees and set up lightning rods to make the divine tree more likely to be struck.

Obtaining a powerful weapon was good, but having the gods chattering away was a bit annoying.

【That Seven-Branch Sword is unrefined, right?】

【How far would it go once refined?】

【Ah, now we can’t tempt him with weapons anymore!】

【Whoa, true. He grabbed Nam Yoojun’s necklace too.】

As the gods said, Seo Kangrim’s equipment was currently superior to anyone else’s.

In particular, he had obtained the Blade Necklace—which traded at a high price—for free.

It was undoubtedly a gift from Nachal.

‘It was fortunate that Nam Yoojun’s guardian god was Nachal.’

A typical guardian god would have harbored ill feelings toward the person who defeated their devotee.

But Nachal was an Evil God.

When his devotee was defeated, he discarded Nam Yoojun like a broken toy and forgot about him almost immediately.

Instead, he was showing interest in the stronger Seo Kangrim.

[The ‘Terror of the Living and the Dead’ offers Divine Descent to Seo Kangrim!]

Ignoring Nachal’s offer of Divine Descent, Seo Kangrim continued hunting.

And the moment he collected the dropped Spirit Jade, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Current Spirit Jade Collected: 1000/1000]

[You have completed the ‘Room of Sword Tree’ mission.]

Though it wasn’t a First Clear, he didn’t particularly mind.

‘Shin Sooa achieved the First Clear, so that’s enough. It benefits me for her to grow stronger.’

He had obtained the Seven-Branch Sword, the Blade Necklace, and Nam Yoojun’s Special Ability.

Furthermore, the moment he killed Nam Yoojun, his Fate Rank had increased.

[Seo Kangrim’s Fate Rank rises from Second Insect Grade to First Insect Grade!]

Perhaps because Nam Yoojun had fled from here, and he had changed the fate in which Shin Sooa would lose her eye.

Seo Kangrim gazed at his changing fate for a long while.

7. The Fifth Gate

Nearly two months had passed since the trainees entered the Education Facility.

People left the facility for various reasons.

The facility had grown noticeably quieter with the reduced number of people, and through that tranquility, Yoon Bom’s voice rang out.

“Master Kangrim! Please take me as your disciple! Please?”

“No.”

“Master, Master! I’ll do really well. I’ll work hard! I’ll do whatever you tell me to! Please? Please?”

A rest area set up in one corner of the lobby.

Yoon Bom and Seo Kangrim sat there together.

Passersby broke into wide grins at the sight of Yoon Bom.

“Is Bom back for another round of begging Kangrim today?”

“Hang in there, Bom!”

“Yes! I’ll hang in there and definitely become his disciple!”

People laughed at Yoon Bom’s antics as they passed by, clearly entertained.

Seo Kangrim, however, showed little enthusiasm.

‘Why does she keep trying to become my disciple? I want to keep a reasonable distance and maintain our relationship.’

Misfortune befell those who stayed close to him.

That was why Seo Kangrim was trying to avoid forming deep relationships with anyone, including Shin Sooa.

‘And yet they keep approaching me.’

Seo Kangrim glanced at Yoon Bom, who was grinning broadly.

He would have preferred to retreat to his room or head to the Demon Realm right then, but there was someone he was waiting for.

As Seo Kangrim maintained his silence, the sound of something running toward him with a tot-tot-tot reached his ears.

“Oot!”

“Ah, thank you! It’s finally here!”

Yoon Bom greeted the Earthen Figure that had run over with visible delight.

It appeared the Earthen Figure had delivered something.

A rich coffee aroma wafted from a large cup.

“Master, you like coffee, right? I ordered it through the Earthen Figure!”

“Oot!”

No matter how you looked at it, this was a bribe in coffee form.

Seo Kangrim glanced at the coffee and said:

“I only drink Colombian coffee.”

It was a throwaway line meant to brush her off, but both Yoon Bom and the Earthen Figure visibly panicked.

Yoon Bom sprang to her feet.

“I-I’ll go to the cafeteria and get Colombian! Earthen Figure, do you have Colombian?”

“Oot…”

“If not… if not, I’ll find a way to get some!”

“…Never mind. I’ll just drink this.”

Feeling somehow like he was being roped into a coffee delivery routine, Seo Kangrim accepted the cup.

When he took the coffee, Yoon Bom’s face lit up with genuine happiness.

Seo Kangrim let out a low sigh.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of becoming your master, nor do I have the qualifications for it. With your marksmanship, there shouldn’t be anyone in here who could teach you.”

Yoon Bom was a national team shooter.

Who could possibly teach someone like her?

If anything, Seo Kangrim would be the one learning from her.

Yet Yoon Bom kept on grinning.

“If I travel with you, Master, I’ll learn so much! It’s not just about shooting—I want to learn how to fight!”

“Ask your god, not me.”

“Heeeng…”

Yoon Bom’s expression deflated.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she posed a question to Seo Kangrim.

“Come to think of it, Master. What kind of god is your guardian deity?”

“I haven’t received Divine Descent.”

“Why?”

At that question, Seo Kangrim’s previously composed expression shifted in an instant.

It was only a fleeting moment, but Yoon Bom saw it clearly.

Hatred and contempt burning in his eyes.