In other Demon Realms, they could return to the Education Facility periodically to rest, but this time was different.

No one knew how many days or weeks they would have to spend in the Demon Realm.

‘And Team Leader Princess had sent me a message. Something dangerous would happen in this Demon Realm.’

I had probed the others’ reactions, but it seemed I was the only one who had received this message.

A message I never received in my previous life.

It seemed the Fate Protection Bureau had their eyes on me.

And the fact that she had gone out of her way to send such a message suggested there was a hidden danger beyond those three provisions that I wasn’t aware of.

But danger had always been present in my previous life too.

Undeterred, I turned to Father Yohan and spoke.

“We’ve prepared thoroughly, so we should be fine. Let’s head deeper into the island for now.”

Father Yohan nodded and followed behind me, trembling.

As we entered, a dense forest of numerous trees surrounded us, and a conspicuous ornament stood among them.

It appeared to hold some shamanistic significance, with a rather crude and primitive design.

Father Yohan spoke with genuine curiosity.

“Do you think someone lives here?”

“Perhaps.”

Though no such person existed, I gave a vague answer and pressed forward, cutting through the nearby underbrush with my sword.

We needed to stay here for at least a week, so securing shelter was the priority.

Moreover, with someone who couldn’t fight in our party this time, we needed to prepare even more meticulously.

“Let’s set up base camp here for now.”

I chose a spot far from the demon beasts’ dens as our campsite.

In my previous life, I had slept in a flimsy makeshift shelter outdoors, but there was no need for that this time.

When I pulled an item from my Storage Pouch, a large tent was soon erected.

“Y-You brought something like this too?”

“Yes. They were selling it at the shop.”

The price was a bit steep and the size was bulky, but since I had my Storage Pouch, it wasn’t a major issue.

Sleeping arrangements were sorted. Next was food.

We couldn’t return to the lobby, couldn’t use the Shop Window, and had no idea how long we’d be here.

Because of that, food was one of the most critical factors in the Room of Tread.

【Wow, Kangrim’s flexing.】

【What’s flexing?】

【Bragging about your money.】

【Isn’t he going to settle down and live here at this rate?】

【Demon Realm Survival Log: Seo Kangrim Edition.】

“I-I brought some food. Rations and various things…”

Father Yohan began pulling rations from a large bag.

It was commendable that he brought his own food, but there was no need to eat it.

“It’s fine, Father. I’ll take a look around the area, so please stay here and be careful.”

I left Yohan in the tent and stepped deeper into the forest.

I didn’t dislike hardtack, but there was something else I needed to eat here.

Sword in hand, I set off to find tonight’s dinner.

* * *

【These guys are the advance party, right? How long has it been since they came in?】

【Hmm~ About a week, I think?】

【Wow, only that much time has passed?】

【Looking at their faces, you’d think they’ve been living here for a month.】

The clamor of the gods above echoed down in a dizzying cacophony.

Among the Zone 2 members, a few who had entered early were burying their faces in the gorge, gulping down water.

Whether from thirst or not, they had been guzzling the gorge water for quite some time, but what tormented them was not thirst—it was hunger.

【Look at them filling up on water because they’re starving.】

【Like hippos drinking water.】

【What if our Choi Sangwon starves! Cheer up, buddy.】

Choi Sangwon, one of the Zone 2 members, was staring up at the sky weakly.

A growling sound came from his stomach.

“Hah, I’m starving.”

“Damn it! If only our food hadn’t been stolen a few days ago…”

The first day Choi Sangwon’s group entered the Island of Tongue Extraction, the atmosphere hadn’t been bad.

They had followed Ahn Nabi’s advice, finished their preparations thoroughly, and headed into the Demon Realm. Combat hadn’t been particularly difficult either.

But after their food was stolen, survival took priority over conquering the Demon Realm.

One person sidled up to Choi Sangwon and spoke.

“Mr. Choi. I found something… Would you like to eat this at least?”

What the person held out was an unidentifiable plant root.

Choi Sangwon snapped in anger.

“Are you crazy? You want me to eat grass?”

“It’s not grass, it’s wild herbs. I used to eat them often when I lived in the countryside—”

“Forget it. You eat that garbage yourself.”

The person quietly closed his mouth and stepped back.

Choi Sangwon clutched his empty stomach and cursed inwardly.

‘Damn it, I have to eat roots like that? If we were outside, I couldn’t even imagine such a thing…!’

An expensive luxury watch adorned his wrist.

His clothes and shoes were torn here and there from combat, but they were all high-end designer brands.

Choi Sangwon glared at the people resting.

‘I think I hired the wrong people.’

After entering this place, Choi Sangwon had recruited people who looked reasonably strong, using money.

Thanks to that, he had progressed smoothly through the fourth Demon Realm, but upon reaching the fifth, he found himself in crisis.

‘I should have hired stronger people after all…’

The people he had his eye on were Dokgo Jun, Seo Kangrim, and Shin Sooa.

But none of them were willing.

Dokgo Jun had walked away, saying he didn’t listen to extras, and asking Seo Kangrim and Shin Sooa would have wounded his pride.

‘Damn it, losing to a mere fortune-telling café part-timer…’

He was the man who had gone on a blind date with Shin Sooa.

Having been rejected by Shin Sooa and humiliated by Seo Kangrim, he couldn’t bring himself to ask them for protection.

‘So I hired the ones who looked somewhat decent, but they’re all weak as hell…’

Choi Sangwon glanced at the people he had hired.

Unaware that Choi Sangwon was cursing them, they were chatting while chewing on wild herbs.

“We’re not going to starve to death like this, are we?”

“We can’t go back to the lobby either… I don’t even know what the objective is.”

“How about joining Shin Sooa’s group?”

At those words, Choi Sangwon furrowed his brow.

He knew that Shin Sooa had set up camp in a remote area here.

But he didn’t want to lower his head and beg to join.

As the people were exchanging such words, the scout came rushing back to them in a panic.

“I-I found something!”

“What did you find?”

“There are fruit trees deeper inside the island!”

At the mention of fruit trees, someone who had been lying weakly sprang to their feet.

Life returned to their faces.

Choi Sangwon hurriedly approached the scout.

“Where? Where are they?”

“It’s close from here. But something seemed a bit suspicious…”

“Just lead the way!”

Starving to death, he could hesitate no longer.

Choi Sangwon’s group scrambled after the scout toward the fruit trees.

True to his word, fruit trees grew in abundance not far away.

The fruit looked so tempting that even approaching the orchard, a sweet fragrance pierced the nose.

But the problem lay elsewhere.

“Is this… an orchard?”

No matter how he looked at it, it felt artificial—as if someone had deliberately created an orchard.

Nearby, demon beasts that resembled hunting dogs were prowling about.

Something felt amiss, but hunger outweighed fear.

Choi Sangwon issued orders to the group.

“Take out the demon beasts and gather the fruit. We need to do it while we still have some energy left.”

If they starved any longer, they wouldn’t even have the strength to fight demon beasts.

The others exchanged glances of agreement.

While Choi Sangwon watched, the others divided into positions and began surrounding the demon beasts.

The ground in this area was so soft that footsteps barely made a sound.

【Oh, at least they’re starting to look the part by now.】

【They seem to have gotten a bit tougher?】

【They got tougher and their big move is stealing fruit.】

【If they pull this off, we should grant them Divine Descent.】

The dog-like demon beast had its head buried, eating fallen fruit.

Then, sensing something, it snapped its head up.

At the same moment, three people charged at the demon beast.

-Eureureung…!

Sensing the attack, the demon beast bristled its fur and backed away.

Judging by its bared fangs and aggression, it appeared to be a fairly strong demon beast, but its movements were clumsy.

Choi Sangwon sensed something was off.

‘Why is this demon beast so emaciated?’

He hadn’t noticed at first, but the demon beast was so gaunt that its ribs were visible.

Strange as it was, the beast had weakened, which was fortunate for them.

The demon beast flinched, backed away, then bolted at full speed.

【Huh? It’s running away already?】

【Better eat up quickly. Before the owner comes.】

Having driven off the demon beast more easily than expected, the group wore expressions of bewilderment mixed with joy.

Their hunger was so intense their stomachs felt like they were turning inside out.

Choi Sangwon urged them on.

“Come on, hurry up and pick the fruit.”

“Yes! Just a moment.”

Elated at the prospect of eating after days without food, the people scrambled up the trees.

The trees were quite tall, so climbing took some time.

As he watched them, Choi Sangwon stomped his feet anxiously, and a strange thought suddenly struck him.

‘The gods said something strange earlier. To eat quickly before the owner comes.’

If this was truly an orchard, there would naturally be an owner.

‘Then who exactly is the owner?’

An inexplicable sense of dread washed over him.

Just then, a demon beast’s scream echoed from nearby.

-Kkaegaeng!

Choi Sangwon snapped his head up and looked toward the sound.

The scout climbing the tree was also looking in that direction.

The scout spoke in a puzzled voice.

“Some monkey showed up? But it’s carrying something in its hands…”

The people below looked at him as if wondering what he was talking about.

A moment later, the scout leaped down from the tree in sheer terror.

“Run! We need to get out of here right now!”

“What? Just tell me what you sa—”

Choi Sangwon was mid-shout when the gods’ voices came through the universal communication system, and he clamped his mouth shut.

The gods were also clamoring for them to flee.

【Hey, the owner’s here!】

【Choi Sangwon, if you don’t want to die, run!】

【Look at him standing there dumbfounded, hilarious.】

【Hey, it’s already coming!】

Choi Sangwon sensed a presence and whipped around in alarm.

The demon beast that had been threatening them moments ago lay collapsed on the ground, and something stood beside it.

It was a monkey.

It looked similar to an ordinary monkey, but it held something resembling large pliers in its hands.

Choi Sangwon was puzzled by the sight, but soon realized the tool’s purpose.

-Puyuk!

The monkey pried open the demon beast’s mouth, grabbed its tongue, yanked it out, and hurled it to the ground.

Only then did Choi Sangwon understand what served as fertilizer for this orchard.

Balseol—tongue extraction. They were tearing out tongues and feeding them to the earth as fertilizer.