After saying that, Seomun Yongnyeo made a disappointed expression.

“But getting my hands on him won’t be easy.”

If he were simply a strong human, he would be far easier to handle.

A bit of flattery or the promise of certain rewards was often enough to bring them over.

However, it didn’t appear that people followed Seo Kangrim simply because he was strong.

“How would you assess the relationship between Seo Kangrim and the Zone 2 members?”

“They appear to share a strong bond. It didn’t look like a temporary alliance.”

At those words, Seomun Yongnyeo smiled bitterly.

If they had already built such bonds, a recruitment pitch would likely fall flat.

There was no reason for him to leave behind reliable allies and go to another zone full of strangers.

The Death Messenger, who had been watching Seomun Yongnyeo in silence, spoke up.

“Then are you giving up on Seo Kangrim?”

“Give up?”

She asked back as if it were the strangest question she had ever heard.

The corners of Seomun Yongnyeo’s eyes curved as she offered a rather relaxed smile.

“Not a chance. I want him even more now.”

She picked up a dart from the table.

The tip of the dart gleamed sharply.

“Team Leader Gong seems to treasure him quite a bit. If I take Seo Kangrim, the look on her face should be worth watching.”

While she did want to bring a strong cadet to her team, her desire to embarrass Gongju seemed far greater.

She threw the dart at the dartboard by the door.

With a sharp sound, the dart embedded itself dead center.

“Now, then…….”

Seomun Yongnyeo rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought for a moment, then opened the system window.

Soon, a message composition field appeared before her.

She quickly typed out a message, sent it, and rose from her seat.

The Death Messenger draped the jacket he had been holding over Seomun Yongnyeo’s shoulders and offered her neatly arranged gloves.

“Are you finished?”

“For now. I need to handle my primary duties first, so I’ll take care of that slowly.”

Saying that, Seomun Yongnyeo headed outside with the Death Messenger.

As they walked down the long corridor, a notification chimed indicating a message had arrived.

“A reply already?”

Looking somewhat surprised, Seomun Yongnyeo opened the message window.

As she read through the message in silence, the corners of her lips began to rise little by little.

Having read the entire message, Seomun Yongnyeo smiled with satisfaction.

“Ahh, I really want to see Team Leader Gong’s face right now.”

9. The Seventh Door

Something heavy seemed to press down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe under the weight.

I tried to open my eyes, but it was still dark, and not even a single finger would move as I willed it.

Was I suffering from sleep paralysis again?

I had experienced sleep paralysis and nightmares so often by now that I was sick to death of them, yet today was different from usual.

It felt as though a massive boulder was crushing my chest.

It was agonizing.

The moment I thrashed about, desperate to wake from this torment—

“Ung!”

My eyes snapped open to the sound of a familiar cry.

I looked around and saw that it was dark outside the window.

It felt like I had only slept a few hours, but when I checked the clock, it was nearly evening.

Why on earth did I sleep until this hour?

As I tried to sit up in bed, I still felt a weight pressing down on my entire body, as if sleep paralysis hadn’t quite released me yet.

“Ung? Ungung?”

Only then did I realize the true identity of my “sleep paralysis.”

Rini had climbed on top of me and was peering down at my face.

What had started as a small pup had grown considerably and now carried some real weight.

When those solid hooves pressed down on my solar plexus, even I had to admit… it hurt.

“Rini, get off. I said get off.”

“Ungung!”

Rini’s expression was strangely resolute, as if this wasn’t just playful behavior.

Instead of getting off, Rini pressed its head against me.

White light was pouring from its horn.

[Special Ability ‘Purification’ is activating!]

Why was Rini using ‘Purification’?

Then I suddenly sensed a toxic energy radiating from around my arm.

I looked down and saw dark blotches remaining like spots on my skin.

As ‘Purification’ began to work, the blotches gradually started to fade, though they didn’t disappear completely.

Seeing that, I could understand why I had overslept.

After subjugating Gangcheol in the Snake’s Room, I had returned to my room and collapsed immediately.

I had recovered using my special ability, but that was merely first aid.

The accumulated fatigue and damage must have sent me into a deep sleep.

However, it seemed I hadn’t fully recovered yet.

The areas that had been saturated with poison still lingered faintly.

Still, thanks to Rini casting ‘Purification’ on me, it looked like I would heal within a few days.

“Thanks, Rini.”

“Ung!”

Rini thrust its chin up with a confident expression.

The way it showed off was rather endearing.

I gave Rini’s head a perfunctory pat and looked around.

“Anyway, where did the dragon go?”

I remembered carrying the dragon back in my arms, but I had no idea what happened after that.

Was it in the Spirit Realm?

Just then, Rini hopped down to the floor and suddenly poked its head under the bed.

“Ung! Ungung!”

“Kya-ak!”

A raucous threat sounded from beneath the bed.

I sat up and peered under it. In the darkness, two gleams of light flashed brightly.

So that’s where it was hiding.

“Come out.”

“Grrr…….”

The dragon glanced back and forth between Rini and me before slinking out from under the bed.

Looking at it now, the fight with Gangcheol felt like a dream.

To think that this creature, crawling awkwardly on four short legs, was that same Gangcheol…….

The dragon before me now was incomparably smaller than it had been then.

Moreover, dragons typically had long, serpentine bodies, but this one was stout and chunky all around.

Its black-red scales at least gave it somewhat of an imposing appearance.

═══════════════

[Name] Black-Red Dragon

[Rank] Third Ghost Grade

[Description] A dragon bearing the energies of poison, fire, and water. More violent-tempered and stronger in attack than other dragons.

═══════════════

“Kyang!”

The creature slapped the floor repeatedly with its short tail, showing off its ferocity.

A Black-Red Dragon.

It was a considerably rare species among dragons.

Most dragons bore attributes of the five directional colors: red, black, white, blue, and yellow.

Cases where two or more colors mixed, like the Black-Red Dragon, did exist but were quite rare.

It seemed that having been Gangcheol and then reverted to dragon form, it retained characteristics from its time as Gangcheol.

“Grrr……!”

The dragon was still baring its teeth, clearly dissatisfied about something.

Was the ‘Token of Friendship’ not working properly?

Just then, Rini brought over its food bowl from the corner of the room.

“U-ung!”

Now I could understand why the dragon was so angry.

While I was asleep, both of them must have been starving…….

The fact that they hadn’t woken me was almost admirable.

“Sorry. I’ll feed you.”

I staggered to my feet.

When I gave them the snacks remaining in the Storage Pouch, both creatures devoured them enthusiastically.

That didn’t seem like enough, so I headed to the cafeteria with both of them in tow, planning to have my own meal as well.

The Earthen Figure, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, greeted me warmly.

“Oot, o-ot!”

“Hello. One of today’s menu items and two bags of herbal cookies, please.”

“Oot!”

Since my meal would take some time to prepare, I fed the spirit beasts their cookies first.

While the two of them noisily chowed down, I looked around.

The cafeteria was quite desolate.

It wasn’t just the cafeteria—the entire Education Facility was quiet.

Each Demon Realm had produced dropouts, and the Snake’s Room would have claimed even more.

Just then, someone slapped me hard on the back.

“Ah! You’re finally awake!”

The force felt like it could shatter my spine.

An excessively cheerful voice.

I glanced back to find Jang Taeheon grinning broadly.

“……That hurts.”

“Quit being dramatic. You’re not the type to be bothered by something like that, are you?”

No, it really hurts.

I had no idea what grade Jang Taeheon thought I was, but he was greatly mistaken.

He examined me from various angles and said,

“Oh, you really are hurt. Sorry.”

“Whatever. Just don’t hit me again.”

The areas still saturated with poison were throbbing.

After I received my meal and sat down, Jang Taeheon soon got his food and sat across from me.

He glanced at the dragon eyeing my meal and asked,

“Is that Gangcheol?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks completely different.”

Since I wasn’t sharing my meal, the dragon had finished its share of cookies and was now eyeing Rini’s portion.

Rini noticed this and pushed its own cookies toward the dragon, as if telling it to go ahead and eat.

It seemed like it was being bullied out of its food, but they appeared to be getting along well enough, so I was relieved.

“Gangcheol, glad you didn’t die.”

Jang Taeheon said that and reached out to pet the dragon.

But as his hand drew near, the dragon opened its mouth, ready to bite off his fingers.

Its teeth clacked together audibly in midair.

Jang Taeheon said with a startled expression,

“Wow, this one’s got a nasty temper.”

“Don’t touch it carelessly. You’ll lose a finger.”

Chatting idly with Jang Taeheon while eating, a strange feeling washed over me.

A feeling of having returned to the old days.

Jang Taeheon would loudly ramble on, Yoo Harang would argue back, and occasionally Kang Dohyun would mediate between the two.

Shin Sooa would listen to their banter with a smile.

Could I go back to those days?

I had briefly clashed with Jang Taeheon in the Snake’s Room, but now here we were, sharing a meal like this.

“Ah, Master!”

Lost in thought, I heard a familiar voice and looked up.

Yoon Gyeoul was standing at the cafeteria entrance.

As he walked toward me, he suddenly stopped.

“……Oh.”

Yoon Gyeoul looked slightly flustered as he glanced back and forth between Jang Taeheon and me.

It seemed he was unsettled by the presence of a stranger.

Just as I was about to introduce Jang Taeheon, Yoon Gyeoul gave me a brief nod of greeting and slipped out of the cafeteria.

I had no idea what that was about.

“You gonna eat that? If not, I’ll take it.”

Jang Taeheon snatched the meat dish from in front of me and shoved it into his mouth.

Had he not noticed Yoon Gyeoul’s gaze?

Just then, one of the Zone 2 members approached and struck up a conversation.

“Hey, Kangrim. I have something to discuss—could you spare me a moment?”

It was someone I didn’t normally interact with much.

Wondering what could be so important, I gave Jang Taeheon a quick glance and stood up.

Once we stepped out of the cafeteria, the man hesitated before speaking.

“Um…… the person you were just eating with—isn’t he a Zone 3 member?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

My answer did nothing to ease his anxious demeanor.

He lowered his voice and said,

“I…… don’t you think it would be best to keep your distance from him?”

“…….”

“Coming to another zone all of a sudden…… it’s suspicious. He could be a spy, couldn’t he?”