Infiltration
Kim Ilshin closed his eyes, keeping perfectly still. During his time playing the game, he had encountered artifacts with similar properties. One of the Red Heaven Cult’s assassins must have been carrying it. If that was the reason it was being used on him now, there could only be one conclusion.
"Did they come to kill me?"
It seemed the leadership of the Red Heaven Cult, having observed his recent request, had judged his talent to be a dangerous variable. They had even gone so far as to risk sending an assassin deep into the Academy.
"They were tricky to deal with in the game."
They would strike without warning, regardless of time or place, and once you realized they were there, your mana—whether in your dantian or your circles—would already be sealed. But Kim Ilshin was different. He hadn't been relying on his dantian or circles to store his mana in the first place.
Kim Ilshin began to slowly guide the flow of his mana. He completely cut off the supply to his sealed heart and dantian, creating a new path instead. This new mana circuit, forged by bypassing the two empty voids, performed nearly as well as the original.
"I know you're awake."
A man’s voice, raspy as grinding metal, drifted from the window that had opened at some point. Turning his gaze, he saw Chu Hyeonseung, an assassin draped in black cloth from head to toe. The red eyes visible through the gaps in the fabric glinted, and the dagger in his hand scattered a cold, murderous light under the moonlight.
"Are you from the Red Heaven Cult?"
Kim Ilshin asked calmly as he rose from his bed.
"Has he already given up on his life?"
Chu Hyeonseung interpreted Kim Ilshin’s behavior that way. Otherwise, he couldn't explain the composure he was showing in such a situation.
"The God has commanded me to punish you. You shall pay for your sins with your pathetic life, so be grateful for His mercy."
Watching Chu Hyeonseung spout his trite lines, Kim Ilshin thought to himself.
"These fanatics always have such long tongues."
They could just say they were here to kill him, but they always dragged it out with talk of divine punishment. Even when playing the game, it was a chore just to keep hitting the skip button. They only ever said the same things; it was impossible to listen with any real focus. Why did they do that? Did they think if they talked like that, he would beg for mercy and kneel to their god?
"...They must just be stupid."
Kwoong!
The floor shattered under his footwork. Chu Hyeonseung’s eyes widened at the power, which shouldn't have been possible without mana. After blocking the frantic dagger strike with the techniques of the Cheonryu, Kim Ilshin disarmed him with a rotating burst of mana.
"Urgh...!"
The dagger spun high toward the ceiling. Beneath it, a loaded fist strike surged forward—aimed exactly where he felt the strange power emanating from.
Crack!
Blue particles poured from Chu Hyeonseung’s side where the fist had struck. His artifact had been completely destroyed. Instantly, the mana that had been sealed around his heart and dantian reactivated.
An unexpected phenomenon occurred as well.
"It’s actually working like this?"
The mana from his disconnected heart and dantian began to circulate on its own, forming a new mana circuit. Three different mana circuits now occupied a single body. For anyone else, this might have been dangerous, but Kim Ilshin adapted to the system in an instant.
"If it’s like this, it’s possible."
The three rotating mana circuits each emitted their own waves. The powerful resonance created by these conflicting waves weaving and colliding was channeled into his right fist. It was a punch infused with the power of the Ilshin Pacheon-gong, combined with the evolved strength of the Wolgok-gyeong. It struck Chu Hyeonseung squarely in the abdomen.
"Gah...!"
Chu Hyeonseung vomited blood and collapsed powerlessly. But it wasn't over yet. He saw the man’s hand reaching toward the pouch containing his daggers. Kim Ilshin snatched the falling dagger from the air and drove it down.
Thwack.
The dagger buried itself deep into the assassin’s heart. Only then did Chu Hyeonseung’s breath cease.
"...Phew."
The situation was resolved. There were no other enemies; he had infiltrated alone. Kim Ilshin re-integrated the three divided mana circuits back into one. A single form was more stable than the divided one. It seemed best to separate them only when using the Wolgok-gyeong. He had already mastered the trick of separating and circulating the mana circuits.
"It would have been better for him if he hadn't used the artifact."
If Chu Hyeonseung hadn't blindly trusted the artifact’s power and had acted with more caution, he wouldn't have been dealt with so quickly. Thanks to his overconfidence in the artifact, he had finished the fight without even seeing the man’s true skills. The advancement of the Wolgok-gyeong was just a bonus.
"And I wouldn't have been able to get this, either. It would have been too loud."
Kim Ilshin picked up a small red bell from Chu Hyeonseung’s corpse. It was a key that allowed access to the barrier the Red Heaven Cult had set up to ambush the Great Hero. Kim Ilshin looked at the open window. Leaving through the door might risk being spotted, so the window seemed like the better choice. He didn't need to worry about the corpse left behind.
"It’s about time."
Just as he was thinking that while looking down at the body, fwoosh... the corpse of Chu Hyeonseung dried up instantly, then turned into dust and crumbled away without a trace. Literally, nothing was left. Even the blood spilled on the floor and the clothes he had been wearing vanished.
It was a magic the Red Heaven Cult implanted in their assassins' bodies. A spell that activated upon the assassin’s death to erase the corpse and all traces in the vicinity. He felt no pity. It was all a result of their own choices.
"Shall I go now?"
Having confirmed the erasure of all traces, Kim Ilshin climbed out the window. He was looking forward to seeing what the Great Hero’s sword was truly like.
After Kim Ilshin left through the window, something formless in the room shuddered. It was Haru, a wind spirit who had entered Kim Ilshin’s room after sensing the anomaly at the dormitory. Having witnessed the terrifying scene, Haru flew quickly to Seo Ye-ryeong’s room.
Haru explained in detail to the awake Seo Ye-ryeong what it had seen. That a Red Heaven Cult assassin had come for Kim Ilshin’s life, that Kim Ilshin had defeated him, and even the terrifying scene where the assassin’s body had vanished like dust in an instant.
After hearing the full explanation, Seo Ye-ryeong fell into thought with an anxious gaze.
"What could have happened for the Red Heaven Cult to send an assassin..."
She had expected that Kim Ilshin held a grudge against the Red Heaven Cult, but she hadn't known it was this deep. The fact that they had gone so far as to infiltrate the Academy to target him meant that Kim Ilshin was a significant threat to them. But she didn't know what that threat was.
"How are they connected..."
Her mind was in chaos. What about Kim Ilshin was a threat to them? One thing was certain: he was hiding a very large secret related to the Red Heaven Cult.
Whoosh—
Just then, Haru, who had gone back out to follow Kim Ilshin, returned.
"Do you know where he went?"
The answer was negative. It said he had disappeared somewhere while it was briefly visiting Seo Ye-ryeong’s room.
"I see. You worked hard."
Where had Kim Ilshin gone? Were there other enemies outside? Or was there somewhere he had to be? As she continued to worry over Kim Ilshin, a thought suddenly crossed Seo Ye-ryeong’s mind.
"Wait, why am I worrying this much?"
Now that she thought about it, whatever Kim Ilshin did or whatever secrets he was hiding was none of her business. Even if she knew a Red Heaven Cult assassin had come, there was nothing she could do. There was no evidence left, and his safety was something the Academy’s teachers should be concerned about. She only needed to win her sparring match against him and achieve the goal she had pursued for so long. Even though she hadn't been able to submit a request for a match this time.
"...I’ll just have to be the one to speak first. I’ll ask if he remembers me, and then, whatever his answer is, I’ll tell him we’re having a match."
At Seo Ye-ryeong’s small mutterings, Haru jumped around in joy. She had finally decided to cast aside her meaningless pride and approach him first. Haru, who had been feeling stifled by the frustration built up over three years, felt a sense of relief.
"Then let’s just get some sleep. We have a match tomorrow, too."
Seo Ye-ryeong lay back down on her bed and closed her eyes. She planned to seek out Kim Ilshin as soon as the match ended tomorrow.
It took Kim Ilshin several dozen minutes to reach the part of the Academy where the barrier was located. Even though he had run as fast as he could, it had taken that long.
The place he arrived at was the middle of a nameless mountain. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary mountain, but there was an ominous energy rippling across the entire space in front of him. Kim Ilshin walked forward, stroking the red bell he had tucked into his pocket. Just as he was about to approach the barrier, two people approached him. They were Red Heaven Cultists dressed as security guards.
"This is a restricted area from here on. Please turn back."
For fanatics, they were choosing a surprisingly peaceful method. It was likely because they hadn't yet seen the sword in Kim Ilshin’s hand, but it was clear they didn't want this operation to be disturbed. They weren't going to allow even the slightest noise that might arise from dealing with a civilian by force.
"Oh, is that so? I apologize. I got lost."
"...Huh, you say that while holding a sword? That’s nonsense—"
The moment the Hyeonwol sword entered their field of vision, he accelerated. The moonlight glinted off the tip of the sword as he swung it wide.
Slash.
Without even a final scream, they collapsed silently. Kim Ilshin hid their bodies in the bushes and walked toward the barrier. After walking for a while, he felt that he had reached the front of the barrier. He took the red bell from his pocket and rang it three times.
Woooong—
Then, the space in front of him slowly split, and the door to the barrier opened. It was just large enough for one person to enter. Kim Ilshin stepped inside the barrier without hesitation.
Flash.
Shortly after, he witnessed the Great Hero’s strike.