Go Byeonggap stared at the shop window with a somewhat displeased gaze. What caught his attention were the ‘Soul’-type goods.

‘Trobatin? Hashumblant? Garamoth?’

Someone’s soul, sold at 700,000 crystals each. The notes attached were quite intriguing.

[Soul of Trobatin]

– Price: 700,000 Crystals

– Description: The soul of Trobatin, First Knight of the Twelve Heroes of Asvillam. Upon use, one may obtain his abilities from life.

‘You can obtain his abilities from life?’

Go Byeonggap focused on that part.

He reached out as if possessed, his finger stopping just before touching the window.

‘You know what this is?’

He hesitated to buy it outright.

No guarantee this bauble would break the current stalemate. If it were pocket change, maybe. But a whopping 700,000 crystals—seven hundred thousand!

‘…Crazy. You’re still worrying about money in a situation like this?’

Go Byeonggap was utterly disgusted with his own miserly nature.

‘God, I’m an idiot. Once I’m dead, it’s all over. What am I even hesitating for?’

His index finger touched the shop window. A hologram appeared, asking for purchase confirmation, and without a second thought, he accepted.

Seven hundred thousand crystals were deducted, and something rose in the air. It looked like a will-o’-the-wisp, a glowing orb.

‘This is a soul?’

It was round, about the size of a fist, emitting a faint blue light from within.

It might’ve made a decent toy for a kid, but it didn’t look trustworthy at all.

‘What’s so special about this that it costs seven hundred thousand crystals? …Whatever. Expensive stuff has to be worth it, right? But how the hell do I use it?’

He turned the Soul of Trobatin over in his hands. No intuitive method of use popped into his head—not like a potion or a pill.

[Fuse the soul crystal with your heart.]

“Oh, helpful. Thanks.”

Go Byeonggap followed the hologram’s instructions. He gripped the soul in his hand and pressed it to his chest. His heart gave a sharp, aching throb.

[Do you wish to assimilate with the Soul of Trobatin?]

‘Yeah.’

[Beginning assimilation. 1%, 2%, 3%…]

[Error! The body is not suitable to receive the soul. Assimilation rate decreasing.]

[Physical strength has not reached the baseline. Assimilation rate decreasing.]

[Assimilation with the Soul of Trobatin complete. Assimilation rate: 53.21%]

“Ugh!”

He sensed a change in his body. More precisely, it felt like someone else—someone who wasn’t him—was filling up inside him.

Darkness closed in, and his breath caught. His head throbbed like it was about to burst, and his heart raged like a wild cat.

“Hahk!”

A flash of an afterimage flickered past his eyes.

It was a memory—of someone named Trobatin.

—Charge!

—There’s no going back for us! We’ll lay our bones on this battlefield!

—For Asvillam! For Landriol!

‘Wha… what is this?’

Thousands of warhorses thundering across a vast plain. Knights mounted atop them, swinging massive swords.

Trobatin was at their head.

The scene was so vivid it felt like he was standing on that battlefield himself.

“I am…” “What the…?”

Korean and the language of Asvillam tumbled out interchangeably.

But he had no time to care about that.

He was just confused. Byeonggap felt like he might forget who he was.

“Ghhk!” “Fuck!” “Enough!”

His own memories and Trobatin’s twisted together, spinning through his head. Tinnitus and phantoms tormented him from every side.

If it were possible, he would’ve wanted to rip his own brain out.

‘Who am I? Who am I? What am I? Am I alive? What was I doing?’

«Asvillam… I have to go back to Asvillam. I must return to Asvillam. I have to go and protect Landriol…»

Go Byeonggap muttered like a man possessed as he pushed himself to his feet. He opened the door that led to Asvillam.

The moment he set his foot over the threshold, he snapped back to his senses.

‘No. I am… I am Go Byeonggap. I’m not some fucking apparition!’

He grabbed a stone from the ground. Then he started smashing it against his own head like a madman.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Blood burst from the gash opening across his forehead. Byeonggap didn’t stop until the stone crumbled to dust in his grip.

“Hah… hah… Fuck.”

The afterimages that had been clouding his eyes and ears until moments ago vanished completely. His mind cleared.

To anchor his identity, Byeonggap spat out everything that surfaced in his head, one after another.

“Mom. Gobungi. Kiriyan. Dorma. Ea. Doran. And Tiny and the rest. Seongyeong noona.”

He drew a sword from thin air and closed his hand around the grip.

“And that son of a bitch balrog. You’re dead.”

Byeonggap kicked off the ground. He became a streak of light, slicing through the air.

* * *

“Cut that shit out, you goddamn monster.”

Byeonggap glared murder at the balrog, then dropped his gaze.

“Rice… The rice…”

Jeong Seongyeong was a wreck. Every single bone in her body seemed shattered. Just how badly had she been brutalized…

If he didn’t act fast, she’d stop breathing.

“Krawrrarara!”

The balrog ignored the warning and threw a punch. A vein pulsed in Byeonggap’s temple.

He swept his sword without even looking at the balrog. A golden afterimage trailed the blade’s path.

“Kuaaaagh!”

The strike carried a devastating blade wind. Both of the balrog’s arms were severed helplessly.

Byeonggap followed up without pause, spinning into a roundhouse kick.

“Khuhip!”

The balrog hurtled over a hundred meters in the direction of the kick.

Byeonggap drove his sword into the ground. A golden energy swirled up, forming a barrier around them.

It was the unique technique of Trobatin, the Heart of the Legion.

“Byeong… gap…”

“Don’t force yourself to talk.”

Byeonggap bought a handful of dumplings from the Ancient Shop. Seeing the mysterious window floating in midair, Seongyeong’s eyes widened slightly.

‘I can’t chew this, can I?’

Byeonggap hesitated for a moment, then shoved a dumpling into his own mouth. He chewed it thoroughly, mixing it well with saliva, then pulled it back out.

He brought it to Jeong Seongyeong’s lips.

“Stay still.”

“Eugh!”

“Eat! You have to eat to live!”

“Augh…”

In the end, Jeong Seongyeong accepted the dumpling. The pain that had twisted her face slowly eased.

-Crash!

Then the barrier shuddered. The balrog had returned and rammed it with its horns.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Brainless bastard. Walks right in begging for death.”

He’d been half-afraid the thing would run—that would’ve been a pain. Good riddance.

Go Byeonggap laid Jeong Seongyeong flat on her back.

“Hey… Byeonggap. You——”

“Enough. Don’t say anything right now.”

Go Byeonggap dropped the line with flair, then pushed himself upright.

“Hey, Byeonggap!”

“I know. I know this doesn’t make sense. But first things first—we put out the fire.”

“W-wait! Hold on!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t know how, but I don’t think that monster bastard can take me.”

“No… Hey!”

Jeong Seongyeong called after him desperately, but Go Byeonggap ignored her protests and turned away.

That was when she threw everything she had into one shout.

“Hey, you goddamn son of a bitch! If you’ve got a cigarette, spare me one!”

“…What?”

“What the hell have you been babbling about? Cough! You got a smoke or not? Hook me up with a drag.”

Jeong Seongyeong was coughing blood, but all she wanted was a cigarette.

Go Byeonggap patted himself down without thinking. Did he have cigarettes? Probably not.

“Oh. I do?”

He found a crushed pack in his pants pocket. Miraculously, one stick was intact.

The lighter was fine too. He lit the cigarette and placed it between her lips.

Only after she pulled in the smoke did her face relax into something resembling life.

“Hah. Now I might live. I was scared I’d croak before I got a drag.”

“…”

“Now get going.”

“Huh?”

“Go on—go kill that monster bastard.”

“…Yeah.”

Go Byeonggap stood up again. Jeong Seongyeong smiled faintly and spoke to his back.

“Byeonggap. Don’t die.”

“Die? As if.”

Go Byeonggap gripped his sword. At once, golden light surged in and the barrier fell away.

“GRAAAAAH!”

A colossal heat pooled inside the balrog’s maw. The churning flame looked ready to burst free at any moment.

“Big as a mountain and you play with fire!”

He channeled energy into his blade. Golden power whipped around him, birthing a storm.

In that same instant, the balrog spewed fire. Go Byeonggap calmly swung his sword to meet it.

Flame and sword-storm clashed head-on.

“KUUUAAAAH!”

The fire dissolved helplessly. It wasn’t even a contest. The balrog, battered by the blade’s energy, collapsed, spraying blood and flesh.

‘It’s already wrecked. End it in one shot.’

Go Byeonggap resolved himself and gathered energy again. This time, he planned to use a technique he’d glimpsed from Trobatin’s memories.

‘My body moves on its own.’

It was a different sensation from imprinting a manual. If the manual was an open-book test, this was proxy-taking the exam.

Gold mana surged through the blade, thick and viscous. It shaped itself, condensing into a cone-shaped spear.

A colossal weapon, three meters in length. The weapon Trobatin had favored in life.

“Kroooar…”

The balrog hauled its shredded body upright. Go Byeonggap had no intention of giving it more time.

His thighs, taut as drawn bowstrings, slammed against the earth. He crossed the field like a single flash of light.

A secret technique of the Mandala Knight Order.

The third form among the Eight Martial Arts.

«Shatter.»

Go Byeonggap became the spear itself.

The balrog sensed the danger and tried desperately to flee. But the space around it warped, trapping the creature in place.

Cornered like a rat, the balrog could only watch. Go Byeonggap drove his strike into its core without mercy.

The massive longspear tore through flesh. That wasn’t the end. Mana erupted from the spear like a storm, gnawing away at the monster’s body.

Shatter. It was a true shattering.

“Gghk—!”

The balrog let out a death rattle and crumpled.

Its end was that anticlimactic.

‘It’s over.’

The black clouds above parted. A moment later, fierce shafts of light poured down.

* * *

“Ughhh… AAAARGH! AARGH!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down! What’s wrong!?”

“Please! Please stop—AAAARGH!”

Go Byeonggap screamed like he was dying. He grit his teeth, tried to bear it, but couldn’t hold on.

Blood poured from every hole in his face. His limbs twisted against their will; his body contorted, writhing.

Jeong Seongyeong and the rest of Squad C could do nothing.

‘Damn it!’

Go Byeonggap cursed inwardly.

The incident had begun about ten minutes earlier.

After the battle ended, Byeonggap gathered his fallen squadmates and treated their wounds.

By sheer luck, they were all still breathing. The recovery pellets brought them back, somehow. Even Bu Yeonggeon’s severed arm was restored.

The trouble came after.

[Assimilation rate too low to retain the Soul of Trobatin.]

[Assimilation is being canceled.]

[The Soul of Trobatin is dissipating.]

A hologram appeared without warning, announcing the soul’s dissolution.

The moment the power enveloping his body vanished, Go Byeonggap was hit by a brutal recoil.

Agony crushed him from every angle, like he’d been thrown into a press.

The lethal aftereffect dragged on for over ten minutes, showing no sign of fading.

“Hey! Don’t just scream! You need to eat this too!”

Jeong Seongyeong clutched the last pellet, stamping her feet. Go Byeonggap barely managed to open his mouth, his eyes begging her to feed him.

She understood and shoved the pellet into his mouth.

“Uuugh… Hnngh!”

Even after the rice ball, the pain showed no sign of fading. All that came were bloody tears streaming down his face.

Go Byeonggap was hurting so badly he sobbed like a child.

“This won’t do. We need to move to headquarters like this! Can everyone move?”

Bu Yeonggeon looked around at the group as he spoke.

“I can manage, sir.”

“Me too.”

“I’m fine.”

“Good.”

Everyone was badly injured; the rice balls alone weren’t enough for a full recovery. But they could at least walk or run.

“Let’s go.”

Squad C moved their feet hurriedly.

Carried on Bu Yeonggeon’s back, Go Byeonggap groaned for a while, then soon passed out.

Squad C alternated walking and running. They moved without rest for a long time. It was only around sunset that they encountered a support squad coming out.

With their help, Squad C safely made it back to headquarters.

The unconscious Go Byeonggap remained in a coma. Occasionally he’d regain consciousness, but he always thrashed in pain before blacking out again.

He fully woke up only after the first expedition ended and another whole day had passed.