“Haaah… haaah…”

A scene of brutal slaughter. A woman gasped for breath.

Crunch— right before her eyes, her comrade, her friend, her family, a man, was crushed to death.

The man’s crimson blood splattered across her entire body.

Warm fluid poured down her face, the metallic stench of blood jolting her senses.

“Kyaaah!!!!!”

She screamed in surreal terror.

Her name was Shamiel.

Shamiel backed away, staring at the enormous monster before her.

It stood about three meters tall, humanoid but with a single eye. In one hand, it gripped a massive club.

‘I have to run!’

Shamiel’s instincts screamed at her to survive.

‘I can’t die like this, so pointlessly.’

And so, Shamiel turned away from the center of the sticky pool of blood.

Every step made the thick, clinging blood weigh her down.

“Haaah… haaah…”

She desperately pumped her legs, but thud! The heavy vibrations grew closer.

With each growing tremor, terror settled deeper into Shamiel’s face.

‘No! No!’

As she thrashed in despair, thud! She felt it right behind her back.

An immense shadow enveloped Shamiel’s entire body.

The monster had followed, right on her heels.

Shamiel slowly turned to look up at the creature.

The monster raised its massive club high into the air. The flesh of her comrade clinging to the club only deepened her horror.

‘If I was going to die in a place like this, I never would have come!’

The terrible memories of the journey here. If she was just going to give up like this, she would never have started at all.

In that moment, a glimmer lit Shamiel’s eyes.

“Shining Bolt.”

Shamiel chanted the magic incantation. In an instant, light churned in her palm.

‘Got it!’

She was a superhuman with a talent for magic. At last, she had succeeded in her Incantation.

*Whoosh*—the monster swung its club. There was no more time.

“Aaaah!!!”

Shamiel screamed as she fired a beam of light magic. But in that instant—*pfft*—the spell fizzled out.

She had failed the Incantation.

“Huh…”

Shamiel stared blankly at the club arcing toward her head.

*Father… Mother…*

All she could do was offer a prayer to her dead family.

And so Shamiel watched the club swing down viciously in that slowed-down world.

*I’m sorry.*

Just as Shamiel sensed her death at hand—

*Flash!* A streak of radiance shot past.

*Huh?*

A second of silence, then *BOOM!!!*—a deafening blast as the monster’s upper body vanished.

“Wha… what was that…”

Shamiel couldn’t process the scene. The monster’s torso had just flown off out of nowhere.

She stared dazed at the spot where the monster had stood. Its lower body, now masterless, thudded to the floor.

Something gleaming appeared in front of the fallen monster.

*…*

Shamiel slowly pushed herself to her feet and walked toward the object.

Within a blazing halo of light, a single item shone.

It was an Artifact—said to possess mysterious power.

“So… so this is an Artifact.”

Drawn by its intense aura, Shamiel reached out to grab it—

Mik! Mik!

A strange noise rang out from behind her.

Turning toward the source of the bizarre sound, she saw a small box charging furiously toward her.

“What the—!”

Shamiel stumbled backward with a yelp and fell flat on her back.

Right at that moment, the box lunged and gobbled up the Orb in one bite.

“Mons… monster!”

The box was making sounds as it swallowed the Artifact. To her, it was nothing but a monster.

Shamiel swiftly snatched a sword that had fallen on the ground.

Then she aimed it at the box-monster.

But the monster box just let out a *Mik!* and started walking off in a completely different direction.

“What is that thing.”

Shamiel’s face went blank as she followed the box with her gaze.

And there, she saw a man standing.

“When did you get here?!”

The man—she had no idea when he’d arrived—wore a black hat pulled low, hiding his face.

Judging by the small bow in his hand, he looked like a hunter or maybe a bandit.

Shamiel scowled and aimed her sword at the mysterious figure.

“Who are you! Show yourself!”

She’d run into over twenty bandits just getting this far. She knew how brutal they could be, so she couldn’t let her guard down.

At Shamiel’s shout, the man in black—Ha Gangwoo—took off his hat and stowed the shortbow into his Inventory.

*Not too late.*

Ha Gangwoo scooped up Mimic, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and walked toward the NPC.

She stood with her sword leveled, terror writ plain across her face — hostility clear as day.

As Ha Gangwoo stepped closer, Shamiel retreated, angling the blade forward.

“Stay back! Who are you? Show yourself!”

The cry was urgent, but Gangwoo simply caught the blade with his bare hand and spoke calmly.

“Shouldn’t thanks come before threats, seeing as I just saved you?”

“Saved me?”

Shamiel stared up at him, dumbfounded — and just then, Evan arrived.

“Wh-what is this!”

Evan grimaced at the blood-soaked scene of slaughter, while Shamiel’s eyes went wide at the sight of his armor.

“A knight of the Teron Kingdom…”

With Evan’s arrival, the whole tedious situation resolved itself in one stroke.

***

Crackling campfire in the forest.

The stench of blood hung thick around Shamiel.

“Thank you truly for saving me.”

Shamiel approached Gangwoo and bowed her head deeply.

“Yeah.”

Gangwoo answered her half-heartedly, then leaned against a tree.

The whole annoying situation had unraveled with just a few words between Evan and Shamiel. The Scenario dialogue proceeded on its own, and it was as grim a story as he’d heard.

‘Just waiting left, then.’

Gangwoo sank down at the base of the tree, opened his palm, and called up the Activation Word.

‘Mimic.’

Mik! Mik!

The Mimic, who’d been playing cute in front of Rain and Teil, zipped into Gangwoo’s palm with a smack.

“Huh?! Mik’s gone!”

“Where’d she go? Mik! Mik!”

Rain and Teil searched frantically for the vanished Mimic. They’d already gotten attached enough to give her the name Mik.

But Gangwoo ignored the kids and gave the Mimic an order.

“Hand me the Orb.”

He was curious about the item he’d gotten from killing that Monster.

The Mimic clicked open its lid and spat out a single item.

[Red Orb]

Grade: E

Durability: 25/25

Attack Power: 21

Mana: +34

Description: An Orb infused with the power of fire. Increases Mana manipulation.

Effect

-Converts Mana into Low-Grade flame power.

‘So this is an Orb.’

A small round bead wrapped in metal design — like a brooch ornament.

Gangwoo tossed the Mimic back onto the ground. With a Mik!, it toddled off toward Rain and Teil.

“Mik! Where’d you go? You scared us.”

“Phew… glad you’re okay.”

While Rain and Teil sighed in relief at the Mimic’s return,

Gangwoo equipped the Orb.

They say Orbs always come with an effect attached.

“Same trick as when I used Lightning God?”

Gangwoo extended his index finger and drew on his Mana.

Whoosh — a faint flame flickered up from his fingertip.

‘Hmm…’

The Orb was infamous as a difficult weapon to wield. He felt it the moment he used it—instinctively, viscerally.

*Damn, this really is hard.*

An Orb’s only means of attack were the spells bound to it. It was awkward for direct strikes, and not sharp enough to cut. Useless for anything but skills—and for a beginner, activating the effects bound to it looked anything but easy.

It was a weapon made purely for skills. And for a novice, using the effects bonded to an Orb was far from straightforward.

[You have consumed 3 MP.]

It drained MP steadily and was a nightmare to control.

Ha Gangwoo was lost in thought, a flame flickering at the tip of his index finger, when—

“Exc—excuse me… Are you a Mage?”

Shamiel’s eyes sparkled as she spoke. The stench of blood clinging to her entire body hit his nostrils.

She was a wreck. Her cheeks were hollowed from days of starvation, and her whole body was drenched in blood.

Normally, Ha Gangwoo would’ve found it annoying—but not this time.

*Perfect timing.*

Shamiel. An NPC known for being notoriously difficult.

To find Master Zenon’s hideout, he absolutely needed an item she possessed.

Building rapport with her right now was critically important.

Ha Gangwoo pulled off the hat he was wearing and answered with deliberate kindness.

“No, it’s an effect of this Orb.”

“Ah! I see. So this object is called an Orb.”

According to the information, Shamiel was obsessed with magic.

The very reason she had come to this forest was to find Zenon and learn magic. If that was the case, the method to win her favor was simple.

“Would you like to try it?”

“What?! Yes!!!”

As Ha Gangwoo offered the Orb, Shamiel took it with a serious expression.

*So this is an artifact…*

‘Artifact’ was the term for objects in this world that held mysterious power. Unlike ordinary items, this one definitely radiated a strange energy.

When Shamiel traced her fingers over the Orb’s sphere, a strange light flared. A resonant phenomenon occurred.

“Huh?”

In that instant, Shamiel could feel the flow of Mana. A faint, blue aurora burst from her entire body.

And then, a cold sweat trickled down Shamiel’s brow.

*Incredible…*

She had sensed it—the aura of the man standing before her. Ha Gangwoo.

An aurora on a completely different level from her own meager presence. Even without trying to sense it, it flooded the area within a hundred meters, thick and overwhelming.

Shamiel swallowed dryly, unbidden, as she stared at Ha Gangwoo.

“If I may ask… what is your name?”

“I’m a Player.”

“I see. By any chance… are you a disciple of Master Zenon?”

The Archmage Zenon—if this man were his disciple, it would explain his extraordinary power.

“No. I’m just one of the people looking for Master Zenon as well.”

The answer that came back was unexpected.

“Ah! Is that so…”

Ha Gangwoo gazed steadily at Shamiel. In her exhausted, haggard face, a faint look of relief was visible.

*Is this enough?*

It looked like I’d managed to raise her affinity a decent amount. In this state, she might actually agree to a favor.

“Hey, can I ask…”

Grrrrowl-

Just as Ha Gangwoo was about to speak, Shamiel’s stomach let out a loud, embarrassing rumble.

“Ah! I’m so sorry… I haven’t been able to eat properly in three days.”

Face reddening, Shamiel cleared her throat with an “Ahem!” and made to leave her seat.

“Evan… I’m hungry…”

“Just wait a little longer. Sem and Ridin went out hunting, so let’s hold on a bit more.”

Evan tried his best to soothe the hungry children, but his companions returned empty-handed from the hunt.

“We’re sorry…”

In a forest already teeming with monsters, finding ordinary animals was nearly impossible.

Ha Gangwoo crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh as he watched them.

‘No choice, I guess.’

The NPCs here were crucial for the Quest. Their condition would probably factor into bonus points too.

‘Mimic.’

With a soft *shink*, Mimic materialized into Ha Gangwoo’s hand.

Mik! Mik!

She let out what sounded like a protest, but Ha Gangwoo ignored her and ordered her to bring out the food supplies.

After distributing the food to the NPCs,

he waited for his moment.

***

Chirrrr— The insects sang their dawn chorus, as if heralding the new day.

Ha Gangwoo sat perched in a tree, holding an Orb in one hand and conjuring a flame on his index finger.

‘Tough.’

Just releasing the mana to make a roaring blaze was simple. But compressing the flame to increase its power, or shaping it into something else—that was a different level of difficulty.

The flame flickering on his fingertip stretched thin. It transformed into something like a spear, burning even more fiercely.

‘Is this the limit?’

No matter how hard he tried to shape it, stretching it long was the most he could manage.

He could only maintain a single flame, too. Whenever he tried to make two or more, the Mana dispersed before the second one could even form.

‘Can’t be helped.’

Ha Gangwoo narrowed his eyes as he watched the two suns slowly begin to rise.

‘Will it come out soon?’

A lot had happened through the long night.

Evan’s group had stood watch in shifts, and each time, one of them had come to talk to him. Shamiel had, too.

Their conversations had covered personal histories, ambitions—things like that.

Recalling those moments, Ha Gangwoo’s brow furrowed.

‘Still gives me the creeps.’

Everything they told him was stuff he already knew.

How Shamiel had ended up here, what Evan was thinking.

Out in the real world, detailed clearing guides were already circulating.

But facing the actual people—seeing their eyes, their expressions, hearing their very breaths—an uncomfortable, creeping feeling washed over him.

‘So that’s why that saying goes around.’

Outside, a piece of advice was famous:

[Think of the Scenarios as a game.]

[The moment you step in, every being is just a construct of fiction.]

He understood well enough why such a tip existed.

Mik!

As Ha Gangwoo sank into thought, Mimic shouted from under the tree.

Ha Gangwoo pressed his index finger to his lips with a “Shh,” and Mimic fell still.

‘Smart one, after all.’

He’d taken the spare time to train Mimic too.

Ha Gangwoo climbed down, pulled Gold from his Inventory, and held it out.

Mimic spotted the Gold and erupted into a racket of “Mik! Mik!”

“Quiet.”

At Ha Gangwoo’s command, it went still with its lid shut.

“Good.”

Ha Gangwoo tossed it a Gold piece, watching.

Sure enough, it caught the treat with delight.

[Mimic’s loyalty increases.]

He drilled it on a dozen commands like this. The “Wait” was the most important.

Because it kept charging off at random, and that grated on him.

He could always summon it back with a Skill, so losing it wasn’t a risk—but he couldn’t stop it from diving straight into a Monster’s mouth.

‘If only it could go into the Inventory.’

He’d wanted to stash Mimic in the Inventory right now, but the system message kept flashing back: it was a living creature, and it couldn’t.

“Can’t be helped.”

It had low Vitality now, thanks to its low rank, but as its rank climbed, the chance of it dying would vanish.

‘Should be showing up about now.’

Ha Gangwoo was just getting tired of waiting—cracking his stiff neck—when it happened.

Fssssshh—

From the point where two suns had risen, a thick fog began to blanket the area.

‘There!’

The phenomenon he’d been waiting for had finally begun.

Ha Gangwoo immediately roused Evan and the others.

“So sleepy…”

“Mmph…”

Rain and Teil rubbed their eyes as they sat up.

“What’s going on? Huh?! What’s this fog?”

Evan asked, tension sharp in his voice, but Ha Gangwoo ignored him and walked over to Shamiel.

As he drew close, Shamiel flinched, then rubbed her eyes and spoke.

“Wh… What is it?”

There was a trace of fluster in her tone, but it leaned more toward warmth than hostility.

Their talk yesterday must’ve earned him some favor.

‘This should be enough, right?’

Shamiel was a deeply suspicious person.

Even saving her from a monster wouldn’t reach her without her trust—he’d been told that. So it was time to cash in on the rapport he’d built.

Ha Gangwoo looked at Shamiel’s chest and asked.

“Could you lend me that?”

Shamiel flinched—<Crack!>—and covered her chest with both hands.

“Wh… What do you mean, lend you?!”

Flustered, Shamiel blushed and stared at Ha Gangwoo. She’d thought well of him—his extraordinary Mana, his gentlemanly demeanor—but now she saw him as a total lecher.

Right after waking up, staring at her chest and suddenly asking to borrow it?!

Just as Shamiel’s face flushed red.

Ha Gangwoo channeled Mana into his index finger and slowly extended it toward her chest.

“W-What do you think you’re doing!”

Shamiel jolted at the sight, stumbling backward before squeezing her eyes shut tight.

Ha Gangwoo narrowed his gaze, fixing his eyes on that spot.

*There it is.*

Near Shamiel’s heart, faint yet undeniable—he sensed a Mana wavelength completely different from her own energy.

Without hesitation, Ha Gangwoo activated the item lodged there.

A low hum—followed by a blaze of light.

Ding-

[Quest Updated.]

[Zenon’s Hidden Story] [Hidden]

Description: You have encountered one of Zenon’s past connections. If you make good use of her power, you can discover Zenon’s hideout.

Reward: Discovery of Zenon’s hideout.

A Hidden Quest had appeared.