#28 Speculations Become One
#28 Speculations Become One
[Evolution Route revealed.]
This was the news I'd been waiting for until my neck nearly snapped. How long had it been since my last evolution?
'It's been a while.'
Probably during the fight with the Aranea. A few days, really — and yet it felt as if I'd been stuck as a Skull Wolf for an age.
'...I haven't evolved yet, so let's not get ahead of myself.'
I quieted my racing heart and checked the Evolution Route.
[Evolution Route]
[Path of Illusions (幻影)] — Condition Not Met (Lv.30)
[Path of Negation (不定)] — Condition Not Met (Lv.30)
'Two again.'
A binary choice. Two evolutions presented by the System. The first to catch my eye was the Path of Negation.
'Because I lived that way for so long.'
Negation. Amorphous. Ever since I was a slime and then a Warg, I'd spent the bulk of my existence in an amorphous state.
'It was convenient, sure...'
But I'd also gained Pain Nullification and Transformation — did I really want to go back to that now? Honestly, I tilted my head in confusion.
'Let's start with the Path of Illusions.'
The word "Illusions" brought no one to mind except Agail. My pulse quickened as I activated Insight.
[Path of Illusions: Evolve into a Demon Wolf draped in shadow.]
'A Demon Wolf draped in shadow.'
The emphasis seemed to fall more on shadow (影) than illusion (幻). It felt distinct from the phantom magic of the Purple Square. I moved on to the Path of Negation.
[Path of Negation: Evolve into a Demon Wolf composed of dispersal and poison.]
'Dispersal and poison?'
A Demon Wolf made of dispersal (散) and poison (毒)?
'All I can think of is a slime...'
Even during my very first evolution, there had been a Poison Slime option alongside the Amorphous Mucus Body. Regardless, now that I'd entered the Demon Wolf's path, it seemed I couldn't fully shed the wolf form.
'A path. It's probably a branching road.'
The thought struck me.
Just as paths stretch on, they fork again later. Perhaps the outcome had been decided from the moment I stepped not onto the Path of Human, but the Path of the Demon Wolf. I didn't dwell on it. Instead, I looked back at the road I'd traveled so far.
'Lesser Slime. Amorphous Mucus Body. Warg. Skull Wolf.'
With a fresh sense of just how far I'd come, I pulled up my Status.
[Dungeon Horror (Skull Wolf) Lv.20] [EXP 101,406 / 142,455]
[Karma 1.97%]
[Length 2.71m] [Height 1.02m] [Weight 174kg]
[STR 196] [AGI 220] [VIT 275] [MP 207] [Willpower 10]
[Skill List]
Evil Devouring (D) Lv.9, Tentacle Bundle (E) Lv.8, Detection (D) Lv.6, Regeneration (D) Lv.3, Superior Stealth (C) Lv.3, Insight (D) Lv.3, Weak Hearing (E) Lv.8, Faint Sixth Sense (E) Lv.2, Weak Sight (E) Lv.7, All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.6, Hardening (D) Lv.6, Change (E) Lv.7, Faint Poison Resistance (E) Lv.1, Intimidation (E) Lv.2, Appetite (D) Lv.6, Swimming (F) Lv.8, Diving (F) Lv.8, Superior Elasticity (D) Lv.3, Perception (E) Lv.8, Gust (C) Lv.3, Faint Sense of Smell (E) Lv.6, Excellent Intuition (D) Lv.5, Dark Vision (F) Lv.8, Mana Regeneration (D) Lv.3, Ghost Flame (C) Lv.2, Pain Nullification (D), Fairy Language (F), Stowage (E) Lv.1
[Remaining Skill Points: 1]
Reaching Level 20 hadn't just increased my physique; my overall stats had shot up considerably.
'Especially my MP.'
At Level 17 it had been 180, and in just three levels it had climbed by 27.
'What I learned in the Spirit Realm made a huge difference.'
And the growth in my skills had been even more dramatic than the stat increases.
'Ghost Flame (C).'
I had spent Skill Points on it, but my D-rank Ember had risen to become the C-rank Ghost Flame. On top of that, Evil Devouring wasn't far from its own promotion to C-rank.
'I'm curious what ability that will bring.'
To evolve, I needed Level 30... and that made me reconsider my next move. My original plan was to head to the Academy, but my thinking had shifted a little.
'Because the path to evolution has opened up.'
Because a target had come into view. Honestly, grinding Experience Points outside of dungeons had become difficult now. After Level 20, even converting my Satiety couldn't net me 1000 EXP a day anymore. I stared quietly up at the Fairy Dragon.
"Kyuruk?"
It cocked its head as if asking what was up, and I recalled Baekrok's words.
[You cannot return to the Spirit Realm.]
[But... hm. It's nothing.]
He'd trailed off ominously then. Looking back now, he might have been thinking of the Fairy Dragon all along. If so, he could've just said it.
'Anyway, if we're together, I can probably return to the Spirit Realm.'
There were dungeons in the Spirit Realm that were deliberately left unchecked — dungeons that were channeling mana into the Material Realm through Erosion, for fear that excessive mana would harm the Spiritual Creatures.
'If they're dungeons that have to be cleared anyway.'
Wouldn't it be better for me to handle them and claim the EXP, instead of leaving it to other Phantom Beasts?
'Stopping by the Spirit Realm first wouldn't be a bad plan.'
If I went to the Academy first, I might miss a dungeon there in the meantime.
'Plus, traveling through the Spirit Realm is actually easier.'
I stroked the coiled little creature with a tentacle, and it beamed up at me.
***
"The hell? Weren't you in a hospital bed?"
"Haah~ Just mind your own business, yeah?"
At Geohan's remark, Hong Yuri snapped back peevishly, clutching her side. Hit by a twinge of guilt, Geohan awkwardly averted his gaze. As he swept a look around the room, he spotted a woman and narrowed his eyes. Hong Yuri studied her for a moment, then stated flatly:
"What the. That's Anella."
"You knew her?"
Gu Jin-ha sounded surprised. Hong Yuri snorted.
"I'm from the Square too, you know."
She said it like it was obvious, though she kept glancing at Anella. The woman, looking stiff, spoke up.
"Ah, yes. You're Hong Yuri-ssi?"
Yeah, that figured. Hong Yuri nodded smugly and took her seat, but Gu Jin-ha chuckled under his breath. By anyone's standard, that reaction had been a first meeting.
"Apologies for my lateness. I assume everyone has already heard the situation."
At the Clan Leader's words, Geohan nodded.
"Something about suspecting Go-won might be in another pocket, right?"
"You summarize it lightly. Yes. That's correct."
There were many branches, but the core of it was exactly that. As the Clan Leader nodded, Gu Jin-ha rose and guided in two people who had been waiting outside. One wore armor; the other had no hair at all.
"Oh, hey, hyeong!"
Geohan greeted him warmly, and the paladin returned an awkward smile.
"It's been a while."
"Catch up later. Would you mind introducing yourselves first?"
At the knife-edged interruption, the paladin nodded.
"I'm Seong Dae-woon. A paladin of the Temple. And this is Park Yo-han, a monk."
The Clan Leader then laid out the context.
"I'll summarize and move on. The War Shrine, where these two serve, has found an individual presumed to be a low-level operative of the Prodigal Sons."
"Prodigal Sons? Who the hell are they?"
Hong Yuri looked completely lost. At the Clan Leader's meaningful glance at Gu Jin-ha, he blinked, then pressed a hand to his forehead.
He recalled that he'd kept her in the dark so she could focus on recovery, figuring she'd learn about it later anyway. Gu Jin-ha called Hong Yuri aside and filled her in.
"So basically..."
Even during that, the briefing continued.
"It is a man named Gu Ma-jun, a Rank-1 Believer who was in contact with a priest of our Temple."
"Hm. So what happened to that priest?"
At Geohan's question, the paladin smiled wordlessly.
"Huh. You never change."
A brief silence. The Clan Leader resumed.
"I consider it highly probable that Gu Ma-jun was a member of the Prodigal Sons."
"Why? Did you find something?"
The paladin shook his head at Geohan's question.
"We found nothing. Not a single thing. Aside from a copied document containing the Temple's internal information, it was suspiciously spotless."
Those present nodded. If this was a clandestine organization that had eluded detection until now, such a level of caution was only natural.
"We had no further clues to follow there. But then this brother here..."
The paladin clapped the monk on the back, and he stepped forward.
"N-Nice to meet you. Brothers. My name is Park Yo-han."
"Don't be nervous. We don't bite."
"Ahem. Of course I know that. Still, I can't help feeling a little tense."
Beside him, the paladin nodded unconsciously. The assembled people were, to a one, entirely out of the ordinary. Park Yo-han took a deep breath and continued.
"This will be hard to believe... but I was saved by the Skull Wolf."
"Saved?"
Geohan cocked his head.
"The Flesh Heap Monster that appeared in the Forest Dungeon at Ihyeon Park. When the monster that Gu Ma-jun turned into tried to swallow me whole, the Skull Wolf rescued me."
As if to prove it, Park Yo-han pulled back his sleeve to reveal a scar on his wrist. It looked like something had pierced it — as if it had been bitten by a beast.
"Huh. A monster saving someone."
It was a difficult story to swallow. But then, the Skull Wolf... Alpha. If it was that thing, which possessed intelligence high enough to speak, maybe it was possible. But the question was: Why? All doubts converged on that single point.
"Ashamed as I am, a delusion came upon me."
The fact that he'd been saved by a monster planted a doubt in him — one that someone of the Temple must never harbor. Monsters are beings to be eradicated. Evils that must not exist. Creatures humanity must wipe out to reclaim its former glory... So why would such a monster save him?
Park Yo-han, after much torment, had eventually confessed to the Ju-gyo.
"After hearing my story, the Ju-gyo told me that the monster was the very Skull Wolf that Dawn is pursuing — the one they call 'Alpha.'"
Gu Jin-ha and Geohan exchanged a look and nodded. The rumor had spread widely by then, and they'd even gone directly to the Ju-gyo themselves once to request entry to the Ihyeon Park dungeon, saying they would pursue Alpha.
"Thus, I came to Dawn to learn more about the monster. And there, I met Three Swordsman."
Gu Jin-ha nodded.
"It was a chance encounter. While comparing our information, we began to suspect that the organization Gu Ma-jun belonged to might be the mysterious group 'Prodigal Sons' that Alpha mentioned."
In the Ihyeon Park dungeon, Alpha had named the 'Prodigal Sons' for the first time to Kang Tae-ho.
"Prodigal Sons. Is there any guarantee this organization even exists?"
You can't move rashly just because a monster said something. The Clan Leader's question carried exactly that implication. Gu Jin-ha's gaze shifted to Anella, and she cleared her throat.
"I'm Anella. As you'll likely already know, I'm the daughter of Amelia Morest, Master of the Purple Square."
Looking as though she was deeply ashamed, Anella rose abruptly from her seat and bowed her head.
"I used Three Swordsman for my own ends this time. Let me take this opportunity to apologize first."
"Anella."
It had merely been a transaction. Hearing Gu Jin-ha's implicit dismissal of the apology, she shook her head.
"No. I even knew you would come looking for me. I was waiting for you. I wanted to apologize one last time before I left."
"......."
"I'm sorry. I've been talking too long. As for the existence of the organization called the Prodigal Sons — I can guarantee it."
"Guarantee?"
"...My younger sibling, who was expelled from the Purple Square, created an organization called the Blind Spot. They committed unforgivable, indelible acts that are scarcely believable."
"Agail Morest."
Those who recalled the recent horror — the Night of the Great Battle — nodded.
"Agail... I pursued my sibling, as my mother instructed. In the process, I learned that the organization my sibling created had joined hands with another group."
"Which is?"
"Yes. A heretical organization called the Prodigal Sons. I pursued them for a long time, but I haven't uncovered much. However, I can at least dare to guarantee that they exist."
Gu Jin-ha then turned his gaze.
"Why?"
Geohan shot the question back with a gruff tone.
"You said Alpha spoke. And you also found a fallen dragon scale."
"The scale was Seong-hun. So what?"
"Because someone else is here who has witnessed Alpha speaking."
Eun Ja-rim, who had been silent until now, parted her lips.
"I'm Eun Ja-rim. We've all met before, so no need for long introductions."
Geohan's expression remained surly. When the Clan Leader shot him a warning look, he looked away and scratched his head.
"Nah. The point is, didn't we already know all this?"
"No. It's a bit different. Alpha handed me the corpse of the dead Agail."
Each person's fragment of intel was converging into a single road. The puzzle pieces were few now. Eun Ja-rim placed a phone on the table.
"This was the phone of Hunter Lee Baek-seom, a former clan member."
"Hm. And?"
"We conjecture that Hunter Lee Baek-seom was killed by Alpha — the Wolf. The circumstances point to it, and above all, this phone was in the breast pocket of Agail Morest's corpse."
Anella's expression darkened faintly. Eun Ja-rim paid it no mind and continued.
"The problem is."
One by one, she fished items out and placed them on the table. When the count exceeded ten, incredulity spread across the faces of those watching.
"Don't tell me that's all of them?"
"It is. I combed through the entire clan to find them. Cracking them was even more of a pain. Each had different security and encryption, the models were all different, and every single phone had only one saved contact."
"Insane."
It was a pathological obsession beyond sheer thoroughness. Eun Ja-rim let out a sigh, her expression deeply disgusted. There had been a mole inside her own clan. And she'd known nothing about it. How could that fact not be infuriating?
"It's blatantly suspicious. And every single contact was dead. I believe Lee Baek-seom was a member of the Prodigal Sons."
At Eun Ja-rim's words, which amounted to willingly airing her clan's dirty laundry, a low murmur rippled through the room.
"Even in the Hermit's Forest..."
The War Shrine. The Hermit's Forest.
The Temple outwardly declared itself a religion, but in practical terms its position was no different from Daegu's representative clan; and the Hermit's Forest was essentially Go-won's 2nd Company, led by Changseon's own disciple, Eun Ja-rim.
Neither was a soft target — so what did it mean that there had been moles in them?
"There could be more. They'll be on guard now, hunkered down. Finding them will only get harder from here."
Everyone nodded at Eun Ja-rim's words.
"The crucial point is those bastards could be hiding among us right now. And the key to all of this is unmistakably."
The Clan Leader's eyes flashed coldly.
Every move the Wolf had made so far. If the people he had killed were all moles, then it meant that Wolf knew exactly who the members of the Prodigal Sons were.
"Alpha. The bastard's holding all the cards."
"Exactly. Why Alpha is hunting the Prodigal Sons. How he knows about them. Why the Fairy Dragon is helping him. We still have questions. But what's certain is that he's hunting the Prodigal Sons."
The attention returned to Eun Ja-rim.
"And when she went to see her master, Changseon..."
"...He said it was not permitted."
It was Go-won that had anonymously leaked information on Alpha. And the connection she had with Go-won was precisely why she was present in this room today.
When she had voiced her suspicions about Go-won following Gu Jin-ha's words, she'd eventually sought out her master — and had returned with nothing but the words, 'I cannot tell you.'
"If he hadn't known, he would've said so."
"'Cannot tell even his own disciple.'"
Geohan folded his arms as if the whole thing tasted foul.
"I... heard nothing from my master."
Eun Ja-rim clenched her fists, as if the fact still burned at her. The Clan Leader nodded.
"We're not in a position to trust you completely. But knowing your character, and seeing Go-won's track record to date, I want to trust. I'm sure there's some other truth at play here."
Also, because Alpha had handed the corpse over to her. It was a flimsy hope, a gamble with zero assurance that she was, at least, trustworthy.
Yet that very gamble had gathered people into a single room who otherwise never would have assembled. And here, where they'd gathered, the suspicions converged into one. The people Alpha killed were all members of an organization called the Prodigal Sons. And the warnings he'd spoken to Kang Tae-ho and Eun Ja-rim. Alpha was unmistakably hunting the Prodigal Sons.
'And how did Go-won come to know that Alpha?'
Many questions had been answered, but some still remained.
The meeting continued a while longer before the Clan Leader dismissed the outsiders. Left alone, he rested his forehead on his clasped hands over the clumsily assembled puzzle.
"First, let's decide on courses of action. Team Leader 3, Gu Jin-ha."
"Yes."
"Continue tracking Alpha. Vice-Team Leader of Team 3, Hong Yuri. Join him immediately once your wounds heal. You're likely the only one who can follow Alpha's trail."
"Understood."
Neither of them objected. The Clan Leader turned his head.
"Team 2 Leader, Kang Tae-ho."
"What?"
"Prepare the Neverland Raid. This time, we clear it completely."
"Time sure flies."
"I don't know the exact date. Could be tomorrow, could be next year. We're only estimating it'll reopen before long... Yeah. It's been a while. This time, we really need to prepare thoroughly."
"Leave it to me."
After sweeping his gaze around briefly, the Clan Leader spoke in a lower tone.
"Top priority is Alpha. He holds the keys. We must capture him. Understood?"
When the meeting ended and everyone had dispersed, the Clan Leader spoke in a low voice to the one who remained.
"Hayeon. Find out if we have a traitor among us."
"You think there really might be a traitor?"
"Because I can't be sure of anything. There was one in the Temple. There was one in the Hermit's Forest. There's no guarantee we don't have their moles among us too."
"......."
"And obviously, we'll have to search the whole clan, not just ourselves."
"Leave it to me."
With that answer, the Clan Leader was left alone. He looked up for a moment, then closed his eyes.
'Changseon.'
The face that surfaced in his mind was his.
The leader of the Seven Heroes, the comrade of his late father. And the hunter who led Go-won, the greatest of all clans...
'Could you really have...'
The Clan Leader shook his head slowly, his expression dark.
He hoped — desperately — that this suspicion was wrong.