Yoon Bom and Yoon Gyeoul nodded vigorously as if in agreement with those words.

The moved voices of the gods could be heard.

【Krrrrr, is this what they call camaraderie?】

【How touching, Miss Sooa!】

【So honor and loyalty still live in this world!】

【Looks like Shin Sooa has feelings for Seo Kangrim!】

【I kind of suspected as much from before.】

While the gods got carried away with their own speculation among themselves, Shin Sooa added one more thing.

“And I have no intention of going ahead first because I want to clear this at the upper grade.”

Her voice was firm, as if deliberately contradicting the gods’ chatter.

Dokgo Jun spoke up in agreement.

“That’s right. Clearing at a mere intermediate grade is boring.”

Well, I never expected them to settle for intermediate or lower grades in the first place.

These people were strong, so at the very least they could protect themselves.

The problem was…

“Father Yohan, will you be staying as well?”

Father Yohan’s situation was a bit different.

He was the kind of person who froze in terror at the mere sight of a demon beast. There was no way he could fight other people.

Father Yohan nodded while trembling.

“I-I… I’d like to stay, in case people might get hurt.”

You’d be better off worrying about your own body than other people’s.

While I was debating whether to persuade him to leave, Yoon Bom raised her hand.

“I’ll protect Father Yohan! So don’t worry, Master!”

“That’s right. We’ll protect him, so don’t worry, Master.”

When the twin siblings volunteered to escort him, Father Yohan seemed so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.

“Sister Yoon Bom, Brother Yoon Gyeoul…!”

As touching as the moment was, I’m afraid that alone wouldn’t be enough.

These two were strong enough.

But I couldn’t be certain they had the ability to fight while protecting Father Yohan at the same time.

When I didn’t answer, Shin Sooa quietly moved to my side.

“Mr. Seo Kangrim. Are you perhaps planning to act alone?”

As expected, Shin Sooa was quick on the uptake.

When I remained silent, she continued in a gentle tone.

“I overheard something earlier. Zone 1 is targeting you, Mr. Seo Kangrim. If we all work together to subdue Zone 1, I’d say we have a fighting chance.”

I did intend to subdue Zone 1, but that was my business.

I had no desire to drag anyone else into it.

I told her a story, mixing in just enough lies.

“I have no intention of fighting Zone 1. Instead, I plan to search for the upper-grade clear conditions. I figure it’s better to focus on clearing the realm than waste energy on pointless fights.”

“That might actually be better than fighting Zone 1. But we still don’t know what the upper-grade clear conditions are…”

Shin Sooa wore a slightly troubled expression.

I broached the subject casually.

“So how about we split up and search for information? It seems better than sticking together in one group.”

“And you’ll go alone?”

The overcast sky deepened the shadows across Shin Sooa’s face.

I appreciated her concern, but this was something I had to handle myself.

“On my own, fighting might be difficult, but I can at least escape. The special ability I recently acquired can turn my body invisible.”

“…….”

“Honestly, having a large group with me would only get in my way.”

Only after I hinted at my refusal did Shin Sooa seem to give up.

She nodded and said,

“Alright. Then let’s each decide which area to investigate.”

I took the central area, while Shin Sooa would divide the remaining zones among the others.

When the others were informed, Dokgo Jun raised a question.

“Who are you going with, Seo Kangrim?”

“I’m going alone.”

“Even someone like you might struggle alone. If you don’t have a partner, how about me?”

Dokgo Jun said this with an affable smile.

There was only one answer.

“No. I need you to stay here.”

“Hmm, Seo Kangrim. Don’t you hate me a little too much?”

“It’s not that I hate you. It’s that I trust you.”

Dokgo Jun’s character might be garbage, but his skills were top-notch.

If Zone 1 launched an assault, someone needed to stay behind to protect the others.

“If Zone 1 swarms in, you’re the one who can handle them. That’s why I trust you to stay. Please protect Father Yohan.”

Those words, at least, were genuine.

At that, Dokgo Jun’s eyes widened in surprise before he flashed a grin.

“That makes me happy, Seo Kangrim.”

I’d been giving him nothing but cold shoulders and poor treatment, so it was only right to toss him a kind word now and then.

But too much praise would make him insufferably arrogant, so this much was just right.

I ignored Dokgo Jun’s foolish grin and turned to Shin Sooa.

“Miss Shin Sooa, I’ll head out to scout then. Once I’m done, let’s regroup here.”

“Understood. Be careful, Mr. Seo Kangrim.”

After a brief exchange of farewells, everyone scattered in their respective directions.

The gods began chattering on their own.

【Kangrim can’t be honest even today, huh.】

【Right? He’s actually lonely!】

【Looks like he’s even warming up to Dokgo Jun now.】

Their giggling voices rang through, but I ignored them and headed for the Orchard.

When I saw the state of the Orchard, I stopped dead in my tracks.

【Is this really the Orchard?】

【Whoa, what happened here?】

【Why are all the trees cut down?】

The place was no longer an Orchard. It looked more like a logging site.

Every tree had been felled, and the fruit was either crushed beyond edibility or already harvested and hauled away.

Sentinel corpses littered the ground nearby.

【Isn’t this Zone 1’s doing? They probably took all the White Fragrance Fruits to prevent anyone else from clearing it.】

【Yeah. All the fruit’s gone too.】

【Wow, these crude bastards…】

At this rate, I had no idea what might have happened to the intermediate-grade fruit either.

I had already harvested plenty, so it didn’t matter to me, but Zone 1’s aggressive tactics made me frown.

【Kangrim, hurry up and go deeper.】

【Yeah, hasn’t the Heavenly Fragrance Fruit disappeared too?】

I pressed deeper inside, but the situation was much the same as at the entrance.

The corpse of a Seongseong hung split in half over a tree branch.

【Ugh, they killed all the sentinels too.】

【Were Zone 1 guys this strong?】

【Some strong ones were mixed in, but…】

【But not enough to wipe them all out, right?】

The gods were right.

No matter how numerous or Ghost Grade they were, Seongseong was a considerably powerful demon beast.

And they hadn’t just killed one—they had wiped them all out.

There were no human corpses or torn clothing fragments either.

When I last saw them, they hadn’t seemed that strong. Had they raised their grades in the meantime?

【Hey, Kangrim, be careful. There might be more Zone 1 members around here.】

【Let’s find the upper-grade fruit first.】

【It’s probably nearby, right?】

I already knew where the upper-grade fruit was located, but getting there naturally was the most important thing.

I feigned deep thought for a moment, then muttered aloud toward the gods.

“Where do the sentinels actually come from?”

【Huh?】

【What’s that all of a sudden?】

“I tried to find the nest of the sentinel demon beasts, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find one.”

Every demon beast naturally had a den where it resided.

In my past life, there had been someone who exploited that very tendency—tracking down the sentinels’ den to wipe them all out at once.

【Hmm, maybe they sleep in the trees?】

【But can something that big sleep in a tree?】

【Right? Where could their den be?】

Just then, I sensed the presence of something alive in the distance.

I muted my footsteps and headed toward the source of the presence.

-Kkiik… ukkiik…

One of the sentinels came into view, stumbling with injuries.

It seemed to have been lucky enough to survive.

And lucky for me, too.

When injured, whether human or beast, one instinctively heads for a safe place.

The sentinel scanned its surroundings, then began hurrying toward somewhere with purpose.

The sentinel came to a halt in front of a massive old tree.

It squeezed through a gap in the tree and forced its way inside.

【Huh? It’s going in there?】

【It looks narrow. Can it actually fit?】

【But it actually went in!】

I had deliberately engineered this situation, but the gods didn’t seem to suspect a thing.

All I had to do now was follow the path the sentinel had led me to.

I wedged myself through the gap in the tree and slipped inside.

From the outside, it had looked like nothing more than a tree, but once inside, the space felt surprisingly vast.

【Whoa, it’s completely different from the outside.】

【What is this place? A cave?】

【They set up an interesting mechanism here.】

Just as they said, the interior of the tree was hollow and quite spacious.

A long, dark corridor stretched out before me.

I walked slowly down the corridor, trailing my hand along the wall as I moved deeper.

Before long, the scent of fruit drifted in on a breeze.

The scene that unfolded before me was like something out of paradise.

Light poured down from an open sky, and flower petals fluttered on the wind.

Along with them came an overwhelming array of fragrances, each one so extraordinary they couldn’t possibly belong to this world.

Five-colored flowers bloomed across the ground, and at the center stood a colossal fruit tree.

The tree’s leaves shimmered in a dreamlike shade of violet.

【Wow, what a breathtaking view. Truly magnificent. A gift from the gods.】

【Hey, you and we are the gods.】

【Right? I never gave a gift like this.】

【Anyway, this place is gorgeous. I’d love to visit again sometime.】

【To think such a place was hidden here… The White Fragrance Fruit and Heavenly Fragrance Fruit must have been bait.】

【Let’s just grab the fruit and head back already.】

【Since we’re here, how about doing some sightseeing?】

But I knew better.

I knew that this place was no utopian paradise.

If I let myself be bewitched by this scenery and lingered for sightseeing, I might never escape this place.

【By the way, isn’t this the sentinels’ den?】

【Right. Stay alert. A sentinel could burst out from anywhere.】

I had followed the sentinel, but this wasn’t its den.

The sentinel’s actual den was a small burrow beneath this tree.

But the absence of sentinels was no reason to let my guard down.

This was the most dangerous place in the entire Demon Realm.

I followed the flower-lined path toward the hill.

As I drew closer to the great tree on the hill, the fragrance emanating from it grew steadily richer.

When I finally stood before the colossal tree, I could see jewel-like fruit hanging in clusters from its branches.

There was no reason to hesitate any longer.

I scaled the tree with agile movements, climbing upward.

The moment I plucked one of the multi-colored, shimmering fruits, a notification window appeared.

[You have acquired the item ‘Myriad Fragrance Fruit’!]

[You have fulfilled the clear conditions for ‘Room of Tread (Upper Difficulty)’!]

The Myriad Fragrance Fruit I had finally been searching for.

In my past life, I had barely managed to clear with a White Fragrance Fruit.

The gods, having discovered the true identity of the Myriad Fragrance Fruit, were practically tripping over themselves with excitement.

【Gasp, that’s the upper-grade clear item!!】

【Wow, nice find.】

【Myriad Fragrance Fruit… I want to eat it.】

【Sob, I’m sad I can’t smell the fragrance.】

【Sticking with Seo Kangrim is the best. Interesting things always happen around him.】

-Kkwaang!

Scarcely had the words “interesting things” faded when the sound of something shattering echoed from behind.

Looked like they had finally arrived.

I turned around. The entrance was half-collapsed, and a flood of people was pouring through.

Mostly unfamiliar faces.

Zone 1’s members.

They too were momentarily captivated by the scenery, gazing around in awe.

Then a bloodthirsty shout rang out.

“There’s Seo Kangrim!”

The owner of that familiar voice was Hong Daehoon.

He bounded toward me like a predator and stopped right in front of me.

Hong Daehoon stared at me the way a predator eyes its prey.

“Thanks. We found it thanks to you.”

“Were you following me?”

“Yeah. Glad I followed you without getting myself killed.”

Seeing Hong Daehoon’s confident grin, I laughed inwardly.

I’d been worried they might fall behind, so I was glad they’d managed to keep up.

After all, I needed to dispose of them right here.