[Dring!]
[Dring!]
[Dring!]
"Ugh..."
'Damn it, is it already time…?'
I mumbled, curled up in my bed, unable to move an inch.
It was no surprise—after last night's chaos, I had spent the entire night fighting non-stop.
On top of that, I had to make up for the time I lost training with Eve and Sae-jin...
Yeah. A very eventful evening.
"Hmm...hm…"
As I tried to get up, the pain I had accumulated intensified, and all I could do was let out a groan. Among all the aches, there was one I could feel clearly in my side:
"Urgh... damn it..."
A pretty deep gash near my hip that I had barely managed to heal with a potion.
Sitting at the edge of my bed, I lifted my shirt and stared at the wound.
"Yeon-Seo, you're really ready to do anything... even sending your lackeys to kidnap me…"
As I looked at the injury, a mixture of anger and anxiety settled in.
"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't opened my mouth like an idiot and lost my cool…"
.
.
.
[Yesterday, 11:00 PM]
"Finally…"
After thirty minutes of walking, I had finally found the portal that Ho-Bong and I had come through.
"Phew…"
Letting out a light sigh of relief, I stepped into the portal.
.
.
.
"Bleurbh…"
The sensation was just like the first time—an uncontrollable urge to vomit and dizziness.
But it wasn't as bad this time. Maybe I was getting used to it.
In any case, I was back in the city, and that was reassuring.
A few meters away, I spotted the guard who had given me the bracelet. He was staring blankly into space. The dark circles under his eyes from five hours ago had deepened, his face was pale, and his eyes could barely stay open. His expression mimicked that of a walking corpse.
'I feel kinda bad for him…'
I thought. But wasn't that his job, as a tower guard for the Hunter Agency?
Well, not my problem in the end.
As I approached the guard, I tapped his shoulder and called out to him:
"Mister?"
"Huh… hmm... you've completed your excursion? Please return... the bracelet on your wrist… We hope to see you again… soon…"
'…uh…'
I let out a sigh and handed him my bracelet before walking away, my bag full of monster carcasses and fruits slung over my back.
.
.
.
[North District Station – Sector 4]
"Han... damn it…"
Looking at my phone, my expression darkened as I read through the 500+ missed calls from Eve.
And among them was one unread Sae-jin message warning me to return to the academy.
'What an idiot I am…'
My thumb hovered over the power button briefly before I sighed and locked the screen instead. There was no point in overthinking now. What was done was done. I needed rest.
The station was nearly empty, and as I boarded the late-night train heading toward the academy district, I noticed with relief that the entire wagon was completely vacant.
"…Finally."
The mechanical doors shut with a hiss behind me. I dragged my aching body to one of the corner seats and collapsed against the backrest, my backpack—still packed with monster carcasses and a couple of the precious fruits—resting at my feet.
Now that I was alone, the stench began to hit me.
"…Shit."
'I need to figure out how to store this crap without it stinking up the whole room... If Sae-jin catches even a whiff, I'm dead.'
I rubbed my temples, trying to map out a plan in my head.
'Maybe in the locker near the dorm's laundry chute? Or outside, behind the greenhouse…?'
But my thoughts soon drifted.
"Haa… whatever. I'll deal with that later. Right now, I'm dead tired…"
I was about to open the system window to get the 3-star card.
"Let's see what you're hiding…"
Just as I was about to inspect it—
Click.
The train lights flickered once… then shut off entirely, plunging the wagon into an eerie, oppressive darkness.
"…What the hell?"
I slowly stood up, my senses instantly on alert. The only light came from the faint orange glow of the emergency lamps at the far end of the train.
That's when I saw it.
A silhouette, standing still at the other end of the wagon.
He wore a long, dark coat that seemed to ripple unnaturally with each sway of the train. His face was hidden behind a plain white mask, and even from a distance… I saw them.
Two glowing, crimson eyes.
Eyes that radiated killing intent.
I could feel my spine go rigid.
'Who the hell—?!'
Before I could finish that thought, he moved.
Not walked—moved. One second he was at the other end of the wagon. The next, he was right in front of me, an arm extended toward my throat.
—CLANG!
My reflexes barely kicked in as I summoned the rose-patterned cushion midair to block the strike. The soft, plush fabric glowed faintly as it absorbed the blow, but I was still sent skidding across the metal floor.
"Hrk—!"
My back slammed into the wall, my body screaming in protest.
"How…"
The man finally spoke, his voice low, distorted and seething with hatred.
"…do you know about her?"
"…Huh?"
"Mistress Yeon-Seo's sister, Yeon-Ha. You mentioned her name the day you met Mistress Yeon-Seo. How?"
His words were like a blade, pressing against my sanity.
'Wait, how do you know—?'
Then suddenly, my mind raced, connecting fragmented memories, pulling strands of vague comments and whispers I barely remembered uttering.
"Wait… you're—"
"Geulimja."
The man straightened, cracking his neck.
"You know too much. And I've come to make sure you forget."
With that, he vanished from view.
I had no time to breathe before a fist came crashing toward my ribs. I twisted out of the way, barely managing to dodge, but another strike followed right after, then another, and another.
He was fast. Inhumanly so.
Even though I had been awarded points in Agility, I could barely follow him with my eyes.
And worse… he didn't seem like he was trying to kill me.
He was toying with me.
"Haa—haa…! What the hell!?"
His masked face tilted slightly.
Wham!
His knee smashed into my side, knocking me to the floor.
'Damn it…! I can't win like this!'
Then I summoned the System interface mid-fight.
"Activate The Path to Victory!"
But—
[Cooldown before reusing Path to Victory: 71 Hours Remaining.]
"Shit!"
Geulimja didn't wait.
He lunged again, this time with a dagger drawn from his sleeve. The blade shimmered with faint, poisonous energy.
"You'll answer me,"
he growled,
"before you lose your tongue."
And just as the tip of the blade came within inches of my eye—
—a sudden flash of blinding light erupted in the train.
Geulimja flinched and jumped back, shielding his face.
The train jolted.
Then the lights flickered back on.
He was gone.
Just like that.
Vanished, like a nightmare at dawn.
"…Haah… haah…"
I collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily. My hand trembled as I checked my status window again—just to reassure myself that I was still alive.
But another message appeared, stripping away any sense of comfort:
[Information: The player's physical condition is threatened. If the injury is not treated quickly, it may become fatal.]
"Gah... Damn it…"
'…No way she actually called Geulimja. Did I really piss her off that much…?'
I didn't have the answers.
But one thing was certain.
I couldn't keep running away from Yeon-Seo.
[Quest creation: In progress…]