Baek Soyun's Test
The flowing white hair, the faintly glowing crimson eyes, and the beautiful face that could pass for a lovely young maiden at first glance.
There was no shortage of distinctive traits, so Lee Hyunseung recognized her the instant he saw her.
'Baek Soyun…'
First Elder of the Artemis Guild. She wasn’t on the same level as Yoo Hanbeom, but she still wielded overwhelming power. What made Baek Soyun truly terrifying was her absurd physical ability.
Despite being a mage, her movements rivaled those of any swordsman. She handled daggers as naturally as her own limbs, and because the concept of fear simply didn’t exist for her, her combat style was ridiculously fierce and unrestrained.
'Why is she doing this to me?'
He needed to assess the situation first.
Blood began to trickle down his neck where the blade rested.
He looked straight into Baek Soyun’s eyes.
'No killing intent.'
That was the most important detail. To understand her purpose, he had to read her gaze. From what he remembered of her in Broad Academy Online, Baek Soyun was the type whose emotions showed clearly in her eyes.
'She didn’t come here to kill me…?'
For a split second he wondered if Kim Heera had sent her to assassinate him, but he immediately discarded the idea.
Baek Soyun wasn’t someone who took orders from Kim Heera, nor was she the kind of person who would hesitate. If she had truly wanted him dead, the knife would already be buried in his throat.
'What’s her reason?'
Lee Hyunseung had no knowledge of the Artemis Guild’s internal affairs. He knew nothing about the elder voting rights or the recent power struggle. No amount of speculation would help him guess why she had come.
Still, the atmosphere told him one thing clearly: Baek Soyun was not acting out of malice.
Pointing a knife at someone’s throat without malice might sound ridiculous, but for Baek Soyun it was perfectly normal. She wasn’t a sane person. The thought of how threatening or rude her actions might seem to others simply never crossed her mind. Even if it had, she wouldn’t have cared.
'Stay calm.'
She probably wouldn’t kill him right this moment, but rubbing her the wrong way could change that instantly. With her personality, it wouldn’t be strange if she drove the blade in at any second. To her, murder didn’t require malice.
Lee Hyunseung debated hundreds of times whether to draw the gun from his pocket. In the end, he relaxed his fingers.
'Not yet.'
No matter how fast he pulled the trigger, he couldn’t be faster than a blade already resting against his throat. Calm. He had to stay calm.
Hiding every trace of panic, Lee Hyunseung spoke in a steady voice. The last thing he should show was fear or a pathetic plea for mercy. Baek Soyun despised servility more than anything.
“Why did you come looking for me? I don’t believe I’ve done anything to offend you.”
He kept both hands shoved deep in his pockets. The posture showed he had no intention of fighting back, while silently declaring that he felt no fear.
His bluff seemed to work. Baek Soyun’s eyes sparkled with interest as she reached out and gently stroked his cheek with one finger.
“Kid, do you know who I am? How can you stay this calm when a stranger is holding a knife to your throat? Got some hidden weapon? Or maybe powerful connections?”
Her reaction was only natural. When a stranger puts a blade to your neck, the normal responses are to resist, to tremble, or to beg for your life.
If Lee Hyunseung hadn’t already known her identity, he would have tried to fight back. He would have been visibly shaken. But he had seen her personality and behavioral patterns countless times in the game. He understood her.
He breathed slowly, making sure his body didn’t tremble, and thought to himself.
'Fuck… If she sees I’m flustered, she’ll kill me.'
Baek Soyun hated the weak and the servile. She viewed their lives the same way humans view ants. She felt no guilt or hesitation in crushing what she considered trash. The key here was to not look like trash in her eyes.
Lee Hyunseung answered her.
“I don’t know who you are. And I don’t have any impressive connections. I simply read your eyes.”
“You read my eyes?”
Baek Soyun flicked the dagger playfully. The gesture clearly said, Explain further.
“When I look into someone’s eyes, I can usually sense their mood or emotions. In yours, I feel neither malice nor killing intent. So you didn’t come here to kill me.”
“Oh? Even with a knife at your throat you sense no malice, no killing intent? Kid, are you broken in the head?”
“You never intended to stab me. If you had, I’d already be a corpse on the ground.”
“You’re speaking so politely, yet you sound awfully confident. You clearly understand the difference in our strength, yet you don’t tremble? Then tell me, kid—what do you think is the reason I’m holding this knife to your throat? If it’s not to kill you, what could it be?”
Baek Soyun’s eyes glittered with curiosity. Lee Hyunseung paused briefly before answering.
“Isn’t it… for fun?”
“Fun?”
“People don’t only hunt animals to survive or out of hatred. Sometimes they do it simply because it’s enjoyable. Maybe you’re the same. Maybe you just like watching people tremble and panic.”
He kept the words You crazy psycho bitch locked behind his teeth. What mattered now was maintaining a confident front and feeding her curiosity.
Provoking her would be the worst possible move. He had to walk a very fine line.
“Hehe…!”
She covered her face with one hand, then looked at him again.
“What an interesting kid. How do you come up with ideas like that? Not that you’re wrong. Seeing people shake in fear is incredibly fun and thrilling for me. But you’re not reacting at all. It’s boring.”
She slid the blade across his neck once more, murmuring.
“Are you really telling the truth when you say you knew nothing about me? No… if you had known, you should have been terrified. You shouldn’t be able to react like this… Ha… This is difficult. But so interesting. Just who are you? Do you resurrect when you die? Do you have multiple lives?”
-Slice!
She lightly carved a thin line across his chest.
Blood spilled down his torso.
Lee Hyunseung clenched every muscle to keep from flinching and held his posture perfectly still.
She examined the wound with a blank stare and muttered.
“The blade went in properly. Blood is flowing… How can someone like this exist?”
With vacant eyes, Baek Soyun leaned in until their faces were nearly touching.
Her breath brushed his lips. A sweet, unidentifiable scent filled his nose.
Their noses were already touching. Their lips were a fraction away from meeting. Yet Baek Soyun paid no attention to any of that. She simply stared into his eyes.
Empty pupils. After a long silence, she whispered.
“Kid, are you the same kind as me?”
'What the hell is she talking about?'
Lee Hyunseung continued his calm act without giving any visible reaction.
Baek Soyun finally withdrew the dagger and stepped back.
“Honestly, I was thinking about scouting you. If you’d been pathetic, I might have killed you just to relieve my boredom… Ah, maybe I shouldn’t say that in front of the person in question? Anyway, I’ve suddenly become very curious about you. It’s not even about scouting anymore. I just want to get closer to you.”
She gave a shy little smile, then raised her dagger.
“…?”
The way she held the blade with that bashful expression—like a girl offering a flower to her crush—was so bizarre it bordered on grotesque.
After a brief pause, Baek Soyun spoke again.
“That gun. You should draw it.”
As Lee Hyunseung’s hand moved toward his weapon, she continued.
“I dislike younger men and people who pretend to be nice. But I like those who are confident and fearless. So I can’t decide whether I like you or hate you.”
She swept her hair back and added.
“But one thing is certain. There is a type I despise more than anything. People with no ability who cling to nothing but empty pride.”
Her expression turned ice-cold.
“Shall we find out which type our kid belongs to? Are you truly confident because you have the strength to back it up? Or do you have connections or some other support? I’m so curious I can’t stand it. You aren’t just bluffing with no ability, right? Because if you are, noona will be very disappointed.”
She spun the dagger in her hand.
“I’m going to throw this dagger straight at your head. Oh, and don’t even think about dodging. You probably can’t anyway, but if you try, I’ll chase you down and kill you. There’s only one thing you can do. Block this attack with that gun of yours.”
Lee Hyunseung swallowed hard.
“What do I get if I block it?”
“I’ll let you live. Ah, that doesn’t sound tempting enough?”
She slid her collar down slightly and spoke in a seductive tone.
Lee Hyunseung’s face turned to ice. Not because of her seductive gesture. Her actions had long since stopped registering in his mind. Only one thought filled his head.
'Can I block it?'
She had announced the attack and even told him the path. But that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was how much power she would pour into the throw. She was the First Elder of the Artemis Guild, the strongest organization in the country. If she attacked with full force, he would die without question.
He didn’t know how much strength she would use. He didn’t know where her “passing line” lay. But he was certain that failing to block this attack meant death.
There was no choice. Then he would do it. With everything he had. He had to block it.
-Click!
Lee Hyunseung pulled a magazine from his pocket and slammed it into the pistol.
Mana-Attribute Magazine Equipped.
'Acting submissive now will only get me killed. I need to keep the same attitude I showed earlier. I can’t let Baek Soyun lose interest.'
Lee Hyunseung quietly raised the pistol and aimed it at her.
“You’d better be careful. I don’t know how to hold back my strength.”
Baek Soyun’s eyes curved into playful crescents.