Though I expected to see his face, confronting him in person brought a fresh wave of emotion.

I knew Jang Taeheon belonged to Zone 3.

I just never had the chance to speak with him inside the Snake’s Room before.

The Jang Taeheon standing before me now was from an era I never knew.

It was only after the founding of the Flying Tiger Sect, when Jang Taeheon joined the sect, that we became acquainted.

“Hey, can’t you hear me?”

The Jang Taeheon I knew was an affable and cheerful man.

But none of that was visible in the current Jang Taeheon.

His fierce features were contorted beyond recognition, and hostility oozed from every pore of his body.

Even accounting for the fact that I was his enemy, he was currently on edge and excessively aggressive.

I recalled a conversation over drinks with Jang Taeheon in the past, where he had jokingly mentioned:

[Man, it’s a good thing we didn’t meet in the Demon Realm back then… if we had, I would’ve been too embarrassed to face you.]

[What were you like back then?]

[Just… a bit aggressive.]

[Aggressive how? Tell me in detail.]

[It’s a secret. Dark history, pure dark history.]

I was curious but deliberately didn’t pry.

I wasn’t keen on sharing my own past, after all.

It was only years later that I learned about Jang Taeheon’s circumstances.

Jang Taeheon was born into a good family, as befitting his excellent fortune fortune.

His family members, including his parents, were all legal professionals—prosecutors, lawyers, and judges.

Because of this, Jang Taeheon also naturally assumed he would become a legal professional in his youth.

Indeed, both his family background and his fortune indicated a strong aptitude for the legal field.

Those born on a Bing Day who encounter Gyeong are well-suited for law-related professions.

Furthermore, his fortune contained a Ban-an-sal, a fortune indicating career advancement and promotion.

He definitely had the aptitude.

The problem was that his parents were never satisfied with him.

[You were born with a great fortune. You’ll definitely succeed.]

[You must not bring shame to our name.]

[You have the fortune of someone destined for greatness, so why can’t you do better than this?]

Jang Taeheon did his utmost to meet their expectations.

But things didn’t go as planned.

He got into a university ranked within the top three, but it wasn’t the absolute top-tier institution.

[I’m ashamed to call someone like you my child.]

[If I’d known it would turn out like this, I would have given up from the start.]

[You are a failure.]

Anything less than perfect was tantamount to being a failure.

Believing he would be a failure no matter what he did, Jang Taeheon said he gave up on everything.

He spent his days fighting and living recklessly.

[Back then, everyone looked like an enemy.]

[It felt like everyone saw me as a failure.]

Right now, Jang Taeheon was staring at me with a face I had never seen before.

Eyes stained with malice and hatred toward others.

It was the face of the him I never knew.

“Stop getting in my way and piss off. I need to kill that thing.”

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be time to get lost in nostalgia or sorrow.

I whispered softly toward the imugi.

“Flee to the deepest part of the water right now. Do not come out.”

The imugi nodded with a bewildered expression and sank beneath the water.

Seeing this, Jang Taeheon exploded in anger.

“Ah! It’s running away!”

I drew my sword and stepped forward to block Jang Taeheon from pursuing it.

It felt like walking on thin ice.

I addressed him.

“Why don’t you find another snake? That one is my imugi.”

“What? Did you write your name on it or something?”

“Yeah. My name is written on the cord tied around its neck.”

At those words, Jang Taeheon furrowed his brow.

“That’s a childish lie.”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. My mission is to protect the snakes, and I intend to fulfill my mission…”

Before I could finish my sentence, a massive body flew toward me like a bullet.

-Eudeudeuk!

Jang Taeheon’s fist aimed for my abdomen, but I was a step faster.

I raised my sword and blocked the attack.

However, a follow-up strike came immediately after.

-Kwakwang!

I barely deflected the second attack.

But the third strike grazed my left arm.

It wasn’t a direct hit, and my defense wasn’t even low, yet blood welled up and dripped from where it grazed me.

A monster was a monster, after all.

═══════════════

[Name] Jang Taeheon

[Rank] Second Ghost Grade

[Attribute] Earth

[Deity Name] One Among Ten Thousand

═══════════════

It seemed as though the shadow of a god loomed behind him.

Enemy of Ten Thousand, the brilliant general Zhang Fei from 『Romance of the Three Kingdoms』, who was praised for his ability to fight ten thousand enemies.

Jang Taeheon was an awakened one with enough talent for Zhang Fei to choose him.

I had navigated many Demon Realms alongside Jang Taeheon and received a great deal of help from him.

Powerful attack power, stamina, and the speed to back them up.

Jang Taeheon was both the party’s strong defender and its attacker.

When he was an ally, he was an incredibly reliable man, but facing him as an enemy made his abilities seem even more formidable.

To think Jang Taeheon would look impressive while beating me up.

As I smirked, Jang Taeheon saw it and veins bulged on his forehead.

Baring his teeth like a beast, he spoke.

“You’re laughing? Guess you find this situation funny.”

He must have mistaken my reaction for mockery.

Given that Jang Taeheon didn’t know my circumstances, he couldn’t be blamed for thinking so.

Without offering any explanation or excuse, I stood up from my spot.

“Yeah. It’s fun.”

A dead person had returned to life—what could be more joyful than this?

Even the fact that we were currently fighting each other was a welcome development for me.

Though the same couldn’t be said for Jang Taeheon.

“You smug bastard!”

Jang Taeheon charged at me once more.

Wearing studded gloves, his fist flew in with violent speed.

His attack was incredibly fast, but I had already predicted it.

-Shuwook!

【Seo Kangrim, you dodged again?!】

【No, not yet!】

As I evaded his attack, Jang Taeheon twisted his body and threw a punch from the opposite side.

I lightly deflected his strike with the flat of my blade.

-Chwaak!

But this wasn’t the end.

Jang Taeheon had been preparing his next attack before the second one had even finished.

“You little…!”

He tried to kick me with enough force to shatter bone.

But once again, his attack was entirely visible to me.

Anticipating the trajectory of his kick, I positioned my sword in advance, causing Jang Taeheon to panic and withdraw his attack.

Jang Taeheon, your attack patterns are the same now as they were back then.

【How the hell is Seo Kangrim dodging that?】

【His agility doesn’t seem particularly high, though.】

【Does he have good dynamic vision?】

【Does he have some kind of future sight ability? It looks like he’s reading the attack patterns.】

Just as they said, I knew Jang Taeheon’s patterns.

If a powerful ability user like Jang Taeheon had a weakness, it was that his patterns were predictable.

Of course, it hadn’t been a major issue when clearing Demon Realms.

None of the demon beasts were intelligent enough to memorize patterns, and battles typically ended before one could even get used to them.

But in PvP, it was a different story.

Furthermore, I had observed Jang Taeheon for a long time.

I knew his habits and patterns inside and out.

“Damn it, how about this!”

Jang Taeheon shouted as he drew magic power from his entire body.

This time, he would feint toward my face before aiming for my ribs on the opposite side.

-Kwagwagwak!

As expected, Jang Taeheon threw a punch at my face, but the actual attack came from below.

Since I knew what attack was coming, all I had to do was dodge it.

I had let my guard down for a moment earlier out of joy, but I wasn’t going to take another hit.

As his attacks continued to miss, Jang Taeheon looked increasingly frustrated.

【Wow, Seo Kangrim is totally toying with him.】

【Kangrim, stop playing with him.】

【Look at Taeheon fuming.】

To think I was toying with Jang Taeheon—the gods must be blind.

At a glance, it might have seemed like I had the upper hand, but in terms of raw ability, Jang Taeheon was vastly superior.

Even if it dragged into a battle of endurance, I was at a disadvantage; taking even one direct hit would mean the end.

Dragging this out any longer would put me at a disadvantage.

I had no choice but to end it as quickly as possible.

After dodging Jang Taeheon’s high attack, I quickly lowered my body.

Simultaneously, I drove the pommel of my sword as hard as I could into his solar plexus.

-Kwaak!

“Keugh…!”

As the strike hit his vital point, a groan erupted from Jang Taeheon’s mouth.

But I didn’t stop my assault.

I knew he wasn’t the type to fall from a single blow to a vital point.

-Ppakak!

I struck his chest with enough force to break bone.

Since I struck with the flat of the blade, it didn’t cut him, but it must have dealt significant damage.

Eventually, Jang Taeheon staggered and collapsed to the floor.

I pressed my blade against his neck and spoke.

“Looks like the match is decided.”

Jang Taeheon coughed as he looked up at me.

Eyes filled not with goodwill, but with hostility.

“You… I’ll remember this.”

After saying that, he quickly backed away and fled the scene.

I stared at Jang Taeheon’s retreating back.

In my previous life, both zones had the exact same mission.

Because of this, Shin Sooa and Jang Taeheon had formed an alliance, allowing everyone to proceed to the next room.

That was how their fates intertwined, and joining the Flying Tiger Sect together became the major trend…

Now, the missions had changed, turning the two into enemies.

If they couldn’t form an alliance and became enemies, Jang Taeheon and Shin Sooa would remain strangers.

I couldn’t understand why the mission had changed from my previous life, but I couldn’t just leave it as it was.

I had to find a way to connect them.

First, I needed to grasp the exact situation.

I moved my steps toward the container.

As I stepped inside, I saw Choi Sangwon and Seo Jungmin arguing.

“You should have told me beforehand! That the people from other zones have the goal of killing the snakes!”

Choi Sangwon’s face was flushed red as he shouted loudly.

In contrast, Seo Jungmin merely looked calm.

“You said we only had to protect them from demon beasts!”

“Oh, I never said that. I told you that you needed to protect them from various things.”

“What? You’re actually saying that right now…”

Choi Sangwon raised his voice as if he couldn’t believe it.

Seo Jungmin continued speaking nonchalantly.

“Even if the Zone 3 members become your enemies, there is only one thing you need to do. Protect the snakes for a week.”

“You call that…”

“Do you really have the time to chat with me like this? It would be best for you to go look after your snake, Mr. Choi Sangwon.”

Choi Sangwon, fuming with anger and opening and closing his mouth, eventually unable to contain his frustration, stormed out of the container.

Seo Jungmin watched him go with a relaxed demeanor before his eyes met mine.

“Hello, Mr. Seo Kangrim. It seems you have a question as well.”

I nodded.

I needed to know what had changed from my previous life and to what extent.

“Is this mission a competition between Zone 2 and Zone 3?”

“Yes, you could say that.”

“That’s a bit strange.”

At that, Seo Jungmin looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.

I carefully observed his attitude.

“Wasn’t the Fate Protection Bureau’s purpose to cultivate as many awakened individuals as possible? I don’t understand why they would create a competitive structure like this.”

In other rooms, there was conflict with other zones, but they never made us so overtly hostile to one another.

On the surface, it was structured so that everyone could pass.

Moreover, in my previous life, the Snake’s Room definitely didn’t have a mission involving conflict.

Listening to me, Seo Jungmin spoke with a hint of surprise.

“Hmm, you’re quicker on the uptake than I thought.”

A hint of admiration was mixed in.

He continued in a somewhat softened tone.

“Well, the Protection Agency does try to cultivate as many awakened individuals as possible, but it’s useless if they lack skill. We determined there was a lack of differentiation at the moment. There are many free riders, too.”

“Free riders?”

“Yes. In the case of Zone 2, a large number of passers suddenly emerged in the Room of Tread, right? It seemed like they just received fruits from someone else and left.”

Were they the people I helped pass by giving them Cheonhyang?

At a glance, it sounded like he was blaming me, but it was actually closer to an excuse.

It wasn’t strange for members of the same zone to cooperate.

I somehow felt a sense of foreboding.

As much as I tried to change fate for the better, it felt like fate was twisting in the opposite direction.

A feeling that something was interfering to prevent Jang Taeheon and my fate from intertwining flashed through my mind.

“The number of snakes isn’t plentiful. It’s structured so that one snake is assigned each time a Zone 2 member enters.”

“…”

“So it’s nearly impossible for Zone 2 and Zone 3 to cooperate.”

Somehow, a faint smile lingered in Seo Jungmin’s voice.

“You’ll have no choice but to fight Zone 3, but I trust you’ll do well, Mr. Seo Kangrim.”