Sword Saint Clan.
A clan located in Korea's Seorak Mountain.
It was founded by a powerful superhuman known as the Martial God, the one who ended the Gate Crisis long ago.
'Though the Martial God vanished at some point...'
Based on the books containing his enlightenment on martial arts, the Sword Saint Clan grew tremendously and secured a prestigious standing in Korea.
"Huff, huff!"
Yoo Baekjun was the youngest child of that very clan.
And not just a simple member—he was one of the five children. Those five were currently embroiled in a succession dispute. Of course, the chances of Yoo Baekjun becoming the clan leader were practically nonexistent.
'And there's even someone who wants to kill me because of that. None other than my beloved older brother.'
Yoo Baekjun gave a bitter smile.
His entire body was wracked with intense pain. Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced before made his mind grow hazy. If he let his guard down even a little, he would faint.
'If I pass out... I'll die.'
Heroes' Road was notorious for its insane difficulty.
Every playable character was tough, but among them, Yoo Baekjun stood out as being uniquely difficult.
'You start the game with a critical injury.'
He had sustained severe wounds while being pursued by Shin Woohyun and other trackers from the Sword Saint Clan.
If left untreated, he would die from blood loss in under twenty minutes. He knew this from experience.
"To recover…"
Yoo Baekjun staggered as he walked. The blizzard was still raging, but it wasn't as blinding as he had expected.
'Here it is.'
Yoo Baekjun entered a nearby forest. The forest was intricate, but he moved inward without the slightest hesitation. He had taken this path countless times. There was no way he'd get lost.
"Huff, huff…"
Deeper inside was a small clearing. Yoo Baekjun dropped to his knees and frantically clawed at the ground near a tree with his bare hands.
"Ghhk! When I played the game, I had no idea it'd be like this!"
Digging through snow with bare hands was hellish. His hands felt like they would freeze solid. Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to keep digging.
Eventually, a flower buried in the snow was uncovered.
'Snowflower Herb.'
It looked like a flower, but it was a medicinal herb. Yoo Baekjun harvested the two Snowflower Herbs and immediately tossed one into his mouth. Then he began tearing up the ground nearby to gather more herbs.
"Huff, haah!"
He gathered the herbs and the Snowflower Herb together and crushed them with a stone. Once the herbs had turned into a paste, he applied it to his most severe wounds.
–Though your technique is poor, your exceptional knowledge of herbs has allowed you to create a new ointment.
–You have used an unnamed ointment.
–Your wounds will regenerate for a while, and you've gained a high degree of resistance to cold.
Yoo Baekjun let out a sigh of relief.
The cold that had felt like it was slicing his body abated slightly. It was still freezing, but at least he could move.
"This should do for now."
Yoo Baekjun scoured the area for more herbs and took every one he could find.
'The ointment lasts for… about 30 minutes.'
His wounds were healing, but slowly. And he had already lost too much blood. He had to decide what to do before the ointment's effects wore off.
'I saw a system message earlier.'
That meant the system of Heroes' Road still existed and could be used. Yoo Baekjun opened his status window.
[Yoo Baekjun]
Strength: F (1/100) Agility: F (1/100)
Stamina: F (1/100) Mana: F (1/100)
[Innate Ability: None]
[Traits: None]
[Skills: None]
A trash status window.
That was one of the reasons Yoo Baekjun's route was the hardest. He was weak—far too weak.
'There's a reason for that, though.'
F-rank meant the lowest possible stats. He was essentially a walking scarecrow.
'An extreme situation where the slightest mistake or carelessness means death, and on top of that, there are trackers hunting me.'
How were the other routes?
Han Changwoo and Jin Seoyeon, the protagonists, and even side characters like Paeng Soyoung and Kang Yijun had difficult routes too, but they all had some kind of advantage.
They didn't start off in such a brutal situation either. But Yoo Baekjun…
"Literally has nothing…"
His stats were the worst. No items. A desperate situation right from the start. Any normal person would call this game broken and quit.
"But overcoming that is what makes someone a veteran."
Yoo Baekjun let out a puff of white breath.
'Think, Yoo Baekjun.'
As he breathed in this freezing air, he thought about how to survive from here on out.
And ultimately—how to survive this route.
'If this is Yoo Baekjun's route, then the starting location should be the same as in the game. In that case…'
Yoo Baekjun looked past the forest.
'There's only one way.'
This seemingly endless forest led to the heart of the snowy fields. And at the center was a complex maze filled with countless monsters.
A place known as the "Forest of the Labyrinth."
But there was a path there.
"Let's go."
No more need to think, no more need to hesitate.
***
The deeper he went into the forest, the darker it became, and strange sounds began to echo.
–Kwooooh!
–Gurrrgh!
Monster noises. In the world of Heroes' Road, monsters were humanity's main enemies, exterminated by hunters when they appeared on Earth. But this place was different.
'Seorak Mountain.'
Though the game was set in modern times, Seorak Mountain was far removed from that setting.
So many gates and monsters had appeared here that it had been completely separated from the world of ordinary people.
'This place is basically a self-sustaining ecosystem of monsters.'
There are literally all kinds of monsters here, so it's like a world without humans to ordinary people.
Thanks to that, many of its secrets remained undiscovered.
Naturally, this wasn't a place a weakling like Yoo Baekjun should be wandering around in without protection.
'Right, I was dragged here.'
Shin Woohyun, the instructor he had seen earlier. He had raised Yoo Baekjun since he was young, but supported another sibling as the successor.
That older brother had ordered Yoo Baekjun to be taken care of while he was away.
'So they brought me to the highlands of Seorak Mountain.'
Claiming they had something to show him—secretly.
'That means I can't expect help from the clan.'
In this snowfield, a natural monster ecosystem, he had to survive on his own and return.
To the clan.
That was the original strategy for clearing Yoo Baekjun's route.
But.
Yoo Baekjun slowly inhaled.
'Seorak Mountain hasn't been fully explored due to the monsters. There are many hidden opportunities here.'
And the reason he was heading toward the Forest of the Labyrinth was precisely because of one of those "hidden opportunities."
One that only he had discovered.
"Here it is."
As he moved forward, a small stone monument came into view. Four lines were inscribed on it.
–Those who are not prepared to risk their lives, those who lack ice-cold composure and a broad perspective.
–Turn back now.
It was the sign marking the start of the labyrinth.
"There's nowhere for me to turn back to anyway."
Yoo Baekjun stepped forward without hesitation. The moment he crossed past the monument, he felt the air change.
"Let's go."
He moved straight ahead.
Counting the steps in his mind, he suddenly turned left and began walking again.
There was no hesitation in his movements. Though the forest looked the same in every direction, he moved as though there were a clear path.
'This rock… Turn right here.'
There wasn't an actual path, but there were markers. Even in a forest that looked identical, there were subtle differences—like an out-of-place rock or a blooming flower.
Yoo Baekjun had memorized all of them.
After countless trial-and-error runs, he had found the correct path.
'If you don't know the path, you'll get lost in the forest, and the ointment will wear off. Then… you die.'
In a game, you could just restart. But not here. If he failed, he would wander the forest until he died. Yoo Baekjun quickly recalled his memory.
'This is the seventh landmark. So next is…'
He immediately dropped flat to the ground.
–Shhhhk!
A snake suddenly fell from a tree. A massive serpent with white scales. It slithered, scanning its surroundings.
'Go away, just go away.'
If he had kept walking without noticing it, he would've been snatched and devoured.
–You don't know? Then you die.
That was the malicious structure of this place. Soon, the snake slithered away, and Yoo Baekjun got up and continued on.
Twenty minutes passed like that.
"Huff, huff."
Yoo Baekjun was breathing heavily.
With such terrible stats, even walking for long periods was exhausting. His whole body ached as if he had done heavy lifting for hours.
"Now then…"
At that moment, Yoo Baekjun did something odd.
He took out some finely ground herbs from his waist and began scattering them on the ground.
'Within three minutes from here.'
Then he started running. His body was already at its limit, but he had to run. Following the path at full speed, he dashed—how long had it been?
Boom!
A thunderous noise rang out nearby. The sound of trees shattering. Yoo Baekjun looked toward the source. There stood a monster.
With snow-white skin and a massive muscular body, fangs protruding from its mouth—
An Ice Troll.
–Haah, a human…!
The Ice Troll grinned.
–A snack, after so long!
It charged at Yoo Baekjun without another word.
Yoo Baekjun took a deep breath.
"Hup!"
–KRAAAH!
He threw the herb powder straight into the Ice Troll's face. The troll didn't dodge and took it head-on, and Yoo Baekjun rolled to the side.
–Hmph.
A meaningless struggle.
The Ice Troll sneered and raised its axe to smash him. But at that moment—
–GRRRAHHHH!
–Kiiieeek?!
A massive, snow-white tiger burst out from where Yoo Baekjun had just been. Its body was riddled with ice shards, and drool dripped from its maw.
–GRAAAH! Why are you attacking me?!
–GRROOOAAH!
The tiger ignored Yoo Baekjun entirely and targeted only the Ice Troll.
Normally, they were both apex predators and ignored each other. The reason things had changed was simple.
'The powder.'
A certain combination of herbs could create a powder that excited tigers. Yoo Baekjun had crafted just that.
'It's kind of like catnip…'
It worked like a charm.
'Normally, I'd have to run away or take a long detour.'
But after playing the game so much, he had absorbed a wealth of trivia. The half-crazed tiger tore into the Ice Troll with murderous intent. During the scuffle, the Ice Troll dropped its axe. Yoo Baekjun quickly grabbed it and ran.
"Huff, huff!"
His stamina was nearly depleted.
But he couldn't stop. As he ran, he looked at the axe he had picked up.
Gulp.
Then, squeezing his eyes shut, he slashed his own arm with the axe. A sharp pain, and blood began to drip onto the snow.
'I really can't last much longer now.'
Yoo Baekjun, bleeding heavily, pressed onward—and eventually, he emerged from the forest.
Whoooosh!
A wide clearing came into view. A snowy field with a deep, bottomless cliff at its center. He remembered the despair he had felt when he first found this place.
'Thought I found the path, only to end up at a dead-end cliff.'
He had thought he wasted his time.
But that wasn't the case. Yoo Baekjun staggered forward.
Just then—
"Yoo Baekjun!"
A voice rang out. Yoo Baekjun turned his head. Behind him, from the forest, a group of people emerged.
"Shin Woohyun."
It was Shin Woohyun and his subordinates. Trackers sent by his older brother with orders to kill Yoo Baekjun.
"You thought you lost us, didn't you?"
Shin Woohyun sneered as he pulled out a compass-like object from his coat. Yoo Baekjun knew exactly what that was. A single-use artifact: "Tracker's Eye."
'Tracking magic.'
A device that allowed the use of tracking magic. Not just any tracking magic—it could even trace the target's movement path. And of course, the target was Yoo Baekjun.
"You thought you'd survive by coming here? The place you crawled to… is just a cliff."
Shin Woohyun glanced at the cliff.
"A fitting end."
He raised his fist. His subordinates spread out in formation, surrounding Yoo Baekjun.
"You were always fated to die here."
"Maybe…"
Yoo Baekjun staggered backward. There was still some distance left. At this rate, they'd catch him. But it didn't matter.
"…But not yet."
Yoo Baekjun looked behind Shin Woohyun.
The meaning in his eyes made Shin Woohyun turn around, sensing a chill.
–Kyaaaagh!
–Blood! The smell of blood!
A horde of monsters surged forward.
Bipedal beasts with silver fur—the hyenas of the snowfield.
Shin Woohyun looked at Yoo Baekjun's arm and the deep gash, gritting his teeth.
"That wound!"
"They go wild for the scent of blood."
"You lured them here?!"
Shin Woohyun was horrified. Even they hadn't fully grasped the monsters of this forest. Yet Yoo Baekjun, who had only just arrived, knew all this?
'He's acting like someone who knows this forest inside and out…'
His bold moves, fearless actions.
"That's none of your business."
Yoo Baekjun stood at the cliff's edge. Shin Woohyun and his men tried to pursue him, but were blocked by the monsters.
"You think these monsters can stop us? That's just a cliff! No matter how you struggle, there's nowhere to escape!"
He wasn't wrong.mHis men were average disciples, but Shin Woohyun was a top hunter.
He'd take care of the monsters soon and resume pursuit.
"Phew…"
Yoo Baekjun looked at the cliff with trembling eyes. An endless darkness loomed below. Jumping would mean death—almost certainly.
"Ha."
The fear of death, something he never felt while playing the game, overwhelmed his mind. His body trembled instinctively. Yoo Baekjun let out a hollow laugh at his own miserable state.
'I got played so hard.'
XxSupreme LordxX.
That bastard never mentioned the risks. He dodged the question, saying he'd explain later.
Now Yoo Baekjun knew what that risk was.
'My death.'
He must've known Yoo Baekjun wouldn't accept if he told the truth.
He'd been completely duped—naive to the end. But who could've imagined? That accepting the deal would land him in the game.
"That son of a bitch…"
Yoo Baekjun laughed viciously. Fine, he'd been tricked. But he had tricked the guy too.
The guy probably thought Yoo Baekjun would fail and dumped him into this route. But he was dead wrong.
Yoo Baekjun was a veteran. This route? Of course he could beat it.
"Yoo Baekjun!"
"You really think I can't clear this?!"
Yoo Baekjun threw himself off the cliff—into the endless darkness.