Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Disappearing Path
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“What is this?”
Seo Woo-jin drew his sword and scanned his surroundings warily.
He was sure he had entered alongside the others...
“Is this some kind of magical phenomenon too?”
Just like when he had wandered outside the ruins, it seemed something similar had happened to him again.
He started to grow a little worried.
The knights were one thing, but his team members still had plenty of inexperience.
Even so, Lee Ji-ah, Yoo Hong-seol, and Jin Tae-seong were a bit better off.
They had combat-class jobs, after all.
But not Kim Da-hye or Kang Byung-gyu.
If they ran into a monster here they couldn’t handle, it could spell real trouble.
“Finding the other team members comes first.”
He would have to figure out a way starting now.
He didn’t have a skill like Kang Byung-gyu’s, after all.
But surely he’d run into them eventually if he kept moving.
Seo Woo-jin decided to press forward for now.
The long corridor made of ancient bricks stretched on endlessly, its end nowhere in sight.
Torches hung at intervals, so it wasn’t pitch black, but the atmosphere unique to the Demon Realm made it feel ominous.
Thud—thud—thud—
The only sound was his own footsteps.
How long had he walked like that?
Seo Woo-jin suddenly turned to look back at the path he had taken.
“...Gone?”
There was no path.
All he could see was pure darkness.
It wasn’t just that the torches had gone out and made it dark.
Everything had truly vanished, leaving nothing but an empty void.
He took one step forward while facing back.
The spot he had just been standing on disappeared.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
Seo Woo-jin swallowed dryly.
He was used to fighting and taking hits.
He had waged war against countless monsters and learned the sword from knights like Ban Slane.
But he was a complete novice when it came to magic or these mystical phenomena.
Honestly, it creeped him out a little.
Tap-tap-tap—!
Seo Woo-jin quickened his pace.
He feared that the void might swallow him up.
His steps grew faster and faster until he was nearly sprinting.
Fortunately, the path vanished in sync with his movements.
Not too slow, not too fast.
Perfectly matching Seo Woo-jin’s stride.
“Damn it. A monster showing up would be better.”
Realizing this, Seo Woo-jin let out a sigh of relief and grumbled.
At least he could “kill” a monster.
That was when it happened.
“Kyaaack!”
A woman’s scream echoed from ahead.
He thought it might be one of his team members, but it was a voice he’d never heard before.
Still, knowing someone else was nearby, Seo Woo-jin started running toward the sound.
“G-get away from me!”
The scream grew rapidly closer.
The woman seemed to be running toward him as well.
Seo Woo-jin picked up speed a bit more.
Soon enough, he spotted the woman charging toward him, screaming.
And the monster chasing her.
Black skin, black hair, and black wings.
It looked less like a monster and more like a demon.
The two horns protruding from its forehead only reinforced the impression.
But Seo Woo-jin didn’t hesitate.
Something as bizarre and incomprehensible as this phenomenon was harder to deal with than a guy like that.
“Duck!”
After shouting at the woman, Seo Woo-jin swung his sword.
“A-ah? Kyaaak!”
Fortunately, the woman understood him.
Her scream was a bit annoying, but she bent forward almost tumbling as he’d told her to.
Swoosh—!
A few strands of long hair flew off along with a long gash across the demon-like creature’s chest.
A fairly deep wound.
But Seo Woo-jin’s expression wasn’t good.
No, it grew even more serious.
‘No sensation.’
It felt like he had just swung through empty air; there was no feedback in his hands.
“U-use a skill! Normal attacks won’t w-work!”
At her words, Seo Woo-jin immediately activated a skill.
“Black Flame.”
Black flames—different from aura—began to burn along his sword.
The black-flame-infused blade sliced through the creature once more.
This time, it worked.
Kieeeek—!
Sizzling sounds accompanied its skin bursting into flame.
And that was it.
The monster in the form of a demon burned to ashes in a single strike, unworthy of its terrifying appearance.
Seo Woo-jin tilted his head and looked down at his sword.
Something felt off.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
The woman he had just saved collapsed to the ground and bowed deeply in thanks.
“Th-thank you.”
‘Huh?’
Only then did he get a good look at her face.
It was definitely...
“One of the Elite friends?”
“Huh?”
“...Never mind.”
She was one of the five Elite friends.
Not the rude “Saintess.”
‘The Dragon Tamer, right?’
The oversized glasses covering half her face made her look even more innocent.
‘But no dragon.’
He hadn’t seen her many times, but there was always a dragon perched on her shoulder.
It was only slightly larger than a palm, but a dragon was a dragon.
It was undoubtedly far stronger than something like a drake, an inferior dragonkin.
“Um, excuse me...”
As Seo Woo-jin stood silently staring, the woman—Im Tae-eun’s—face flushed bright red.
“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“I-it’s not that...”
She fidgeted with her fingers.
“Where are the others?”
Fearing her face might explode, Seo Woo-jin changed the subject.
“Ah, well. Everyone disappeared the moment we, we entered. Even my ‘Dragonny’ is gone...”
She named her dragon ‘Dragonny’?
It was a devastating naming sense that clashed with her cute, innocent face.
“Same for me. How long have you been here?”
Adding the time he’d spent wandering outside, it had been two or three hours for him.
But judging by Im Tae-eun’s disheveled state, it wouldn’t be strange if a week or more had passed.
“About 10 days...?”
At her words, Seo Woo-jin’s face hardened.
“You’re sure?”
“Y-yes. I don’t know the exact time, but it feels like at least that much has passed.”
That meant the ruins weren’t just distorting space—time was warped too.
Seo Woo-jin turned to look back at the path he had taken once more.
“...It’s there.”
The path existed.
As if it had never vanished, the long corridor stretched before him.
The difference was...
Unlike the plain brick walls up to now, the corridor was formed of red, fleshy lumps.
A revolting sight just to look at.
“The path keeps changing here. It turns l-like that, and forks appear out of nowhere.”
It wasn’t some simple maze.
Seo Woo-jin wore a grave expression, having never heard of phenomena like this.
You couldn’t solve what you didn’t understand.
Letting out a brief sigh, Seo Woo-jin decided to move forward again.
Since he’d run into Im Tae-eun like this, he figured he’d encounter the others if he kept going.
“Got it. Let’s keep heading that way...”
As he tried to help up Im Tae-eun, who was still sitting, Seo Woo-jin shut his mouth.
“She’s gone?”
Im Tae-eun, who had been right in front of him moments ago, had vanished.
Even the ashes left from the dead monster were gone.
He was alone again.
“What the hell is this now?”
By then, the path had changed again.
This time, it was a space of smooth white marble.
Seo Woo-jin stood frozen in place, lost in thought.
For quite a while.
* * *
Kim Da-hye had been a peculiar child since she was young.
She always seemed spaced out somewhere, her expression impossible to read.
‘A weird kid.’
‘Some kinda retard.’
Those were the labels stuck to her ever since she became aware of the world.
Because of it, she never had a real conversation with her family or anyone else.
But Kim Da-hye was fine with that.
She couldn’t feel emotions like loneliness or isolation anyway.
No, she had no interest in anything in the world.
She just went with the flow.
If someone told her to go, she went; if they said stop, she stopped. That was her life.
The one thing Kim Da-hye truly found interesting was drawing.
Transferring the world as seen through her unique eyes onto a sketchbook was fascinating even for her, with her flat emotions.
Was that why?
When she was summoned to this world and awakened the “Painter” job aptitude, she didn’t feel bad about it.
It was only C-rank, but that meant nothing to her from the start.
She was satisfied just being able to draw whatever she wanted.
Then she met other people.
Thanks to the unusually chatty Lee Ji-ah.
She approached Kim Da-hye as if they’d been friends forever.
And dragged her around introducing her to people.
Just like always, Kim Da-hye let herself be led by Lee Ji-ah’s hand.
But she could feel most people avoiding her.
It was understandable, given her personality that was more than peculiar—practically bizarre.
Kim Da-hye just accepted it.
She didn’t expect them to understand her, nor did she want to get close.
...But lately, things had changed a little.
‘Fun.’
Drawing was fun, and summoning those drawings was fun.
Hunting monsters and leveling up gave her a sense of accomplishment too.
But the most fun was being around people who treated her normally.
Training with Seo Woo-jin, pondering skills, striving to get even a little stronger.
It was an experience entirely new to Kim Da-hye.
And it was the same now.
The moment she entered the ruins, she was alone.
But Kim Da-hye wasn’t scared or flustered.
This mysterious place intrigued her instead.
“Summon.”
She summoned a K-2 rifle stored in her sketchbook.
The customized rifle, infused with Lee Ji-ah’s tastes, even had a pink ribbon attached.
After gazing briefly at the gun in her hands, Kim Da-hye started moving.
She didn’t know where she was or where to go.
But she felt she needed to find the others.
That was when she was walking the dark corridor.
“Huh? You...?”
Someone suddenly appeared ahead.
A dazzlingly beautiful face.
A spotless white priestess robe.
And arrogant eyes that looked down on everyone.
It was the “Saintess” Seong Yu-ra.
“Ugh, what are you doing here?”
She scowled the instant she spotted Kim Da-hye and snapped at her.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t coming? Did you sneak in after us?”
But Kim Da-hye’s expression didn’t change at all.
“Say something! No, whatever. Why would I talk to trash like you...”
“Monster.”
“...What?”
Cutting off Seong Yu-ra’s dismissive words, Kim Da-hye raised her gun and pointed ahead.
“Monster incoming.”
At the same time, Kim Da-hye’s K-2 spat fire.