Chapter 26
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 26
[Remaining Time: 27 days 11 hours 53 minutes]
Civilian support was a long-standing tradition and duty of Taehak.
They cooperated by clearing low-level Monsters near residential areas, taking part in incidents too minor for the Yosal Corps to handle, and gathering and providing information.
"If everyone is here, we'll depart."
The next morning.
Everyone from Class A except the injured Cheon Seo-yoon passed through the portal to Wonju and boarded a bus.
Since their first civilian support assignment happened to be a missing persons case, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.
Everyone silently gazed out the windows, simply taking in the scenery as it shifted moment by moment.
The bus, carrying that silence with it, soon arrived at the guesthouse designated as their temporary lodging.
Class A quickly unpacked and headed straight to their assigned patrol zones.
Team 4 likewise followed Joo A-rin's lead and scoured the area around their assigned zone thoroughly.
The result was.......
"There isn't even a single damn ant."
"At this rate, didn't they just vanish into thin air rather than go missing?"
As Kang Cheol-min and Lee Min-ha had said, they unsurprisingly came up empty.
Their base wasn't over here in the first place, so how could we possibly run into them?
On top of that, they had already swept away every Monster that existed in the vicinity, so a proper battle was out of the question.
And so the first day passed without any particular results, and the morning of the second day dawned.
"Additional orders have come down. We're going to expand the patrol range."
Kim Mi-young, the supervisor accompanying them, called all of Class A together early that morning.
"The newly designated zone is a border area adjacent to a 'Forbidden Zone'......."
Unlike me, who was unfazed because this matched the original story, the people around me couldn't hide their shock at the single word "Forbidden Zone."
And with good reason.
A Forbidden Zone (禁地) was a government-designated restricted area where particularly dense mana caused various anomalous phenomena.
As befitted an unknown area that even the Yosal Corps avoided, the students traded all kinds of bizarre rumors as though they were facts.
"I heard it gets hard to breathe from the mana fluctuations just from going near it."
"There are a lot of strange magic spaces created by the mana too. If you step into one by mistake......."
Most of it was nonsense, but there was some fairly accurate information mixed in.
The Demonkin's secret realm was one of those strange magic spaces, after all.
Once the commotion died down, Kim Mi-young continued speaking.
"Given the high level of danger, we've decided to form a team with support from you students. Five people. Is there anyone who would like to volunteer?"
A so-called special patrol team.
The true opening of the fourth episode had just begun.
Now that the main event had begun, the view in front of me suddenly rippled.
[Main Quest #4]
[Objective: Stop the Demonkin's forbidden ritual (contribute at least 50% to resolving the incident).]
[Reward: 18 days added to Remaining Time, 25 SP provided]
The objective was as expected, and the reward was.......
Wow.
A whole 18 days.
A long stretch of time that could permanently raise my mana stat by 0.6.
"Let's go over it one last time."
Since it was an opportunity I couldn't afford to miss, I went over the original story once more.
First, it was Baek Sa-young who discovered the Demonkin's secret realm during the patrol.
While patrolling separately, he sensed something ominous and immediately reported it. Kim Mi-young then requested support from the Yosal Corps.
But as always, there was a complication.
When the rather predictable notice came down that backup would arrive tomorrow morning at the earliest, Kim Mi-young ultimately made a decision to rescue the missing people.
She entered the secret realm with the special patrol team and fought a decisive battle against the Demonkin.
After a close fight, Class A emerged victorious, Baek Sa-young received a hint about a new trait, and the special patrol team received merit points and an overseas vacation as rewards.
So to succeed in the quest, I first had to be included in the special patrol team.
That was the easiest method and the standard strategy.
......But.
It wasn't as easy as it sounded.
"I'll go."
Of the five spots, one was naturally claimed by Baek Sa-young, whose hand went up the fastest.
"Me too."
"I volunteer."
Lee Dae-ho and Seol Yoon-gi, who couldn't let Baek Sa-young go alone as his friend or rival, couldn't be left out either.
And would Joo A-rin just sit still?
"We can't send only three from the Superhuman Track. We'll need to consider team composition, so I'll go as well."
With such a high chance of achieving results, she naturally expressed her intention to participate.
With that, the remaining spots shrank to one in an instant.
These four were so overwhelmingly skilled that no one could challenge their qualifications.
In the end, nobodies like me had to compete for the one remaining spot.......
And that was no easy task either.
"Only one spot is left. It would be best to have someone suited to ranged support."
When Kim Mi-young asked again, those who had been hesitating began raising their hands one after another.
"If we rescue the missing people, that's guaranteed merit points, right?"
"Of course. We'd probably get some just for finding traces. If we make that lineup, it's guaranteed."
Their hunger for results, together with the impressive lineup of earlier volunteers, outweighed even their fear of the Forbidden Zone.
"Ha-yul, you should try volunteering too. If it's hard for you to step up, want me to recommend you instead?"
Lee Min-ha, who happened to be beside me, suggested it.
"Me? Not really."
But I stayed silent.
No, I had no intention of volunteering from the start.
It wouldn't have made a difference whether I did or not.
"It's more popular than I thought. Considering fairness, I have no choice but to use the combined rankings......."
As expected, Kim Mi-young brought out an objective standard.
There had never been a spot for some nobody ranked around 700th in the first place.
In the end, just as in the original, the last spot went to some top-100 Magic Track student named Kim-whatever.
So did that mean I was out of luck?
"Nah, no way."
My silence didn't mean giving up. I fully intended to participate in the Demonkin subjugation battle.
Through a method different from everyone else's, a method only I could use.......
Time to start moving.
"Instructor!"
I first called out to Kim Mi-young, who was about to leave, then trotted over to her.
* * *
The special patrol team, which had a long way to go, departed for the Forbidden Zone's border with Joo A-rin as team leader.
The remaining students were given perimeter patrol duties just like the day before, and with several key figures absent, the teams and patrol routes were reorganized, keeping the morning busy.
"Ha-yul, don't push yourself and rest."
"Yeah. Get going."
Except for me, who had been granted a day of rest using mana exhaustion as an excuse.......
Once Lee Min-ha, who had been stuck to my side until the end, disappeared, I quietly began to move.
Taking advantage of everyone bustling around, I stopped in front of the room Kim Mi-young was using as an office.
I heightened my senses, focusing on hearing, activated Manifestation, created a key, and quickly opened the door.
Bang—
Since I had no time, I quickly examined the desk first.
It was well organized, so it didn't take long to find what I wanted.
"Found it. Class A Civilian Support Patrol Route Status Board......."
It was essential information for participating in the Demonkin subjugation battle as planned, so I activated my trait without hesitation.
[Activating trait, Appraisal.]
Soon, a satellite image surfaced in my mind.
The foothills of Chiaksan, the patrol courses by team, and even the small paths scattered between them—the surrounding terrain came into view at a glance.
With this, I could gauge the location of the Demonkin's secret realm even more precisely.
I returned to the lodging as if nothing had happened.
After locking the door firmly, I purchased the most important item first.
[Decently Usable Human-Skin Mask]
[Description: An ordinary person who is neither handsome nor ugly. The voice is automatically altered to a plain voice that sounds vaguely familiar. Effect lasts up to 6 hours.]
[Price: 8 hours]
I considered buying the same human-skin mask I had used at the pawnshop, but just in case, I bought one with a different face.
[Activating trait, Manifestation.]
I pulled out a memory and created a badge to disguise my identity.
Once I put on the black suit and black cap I had prepared in advance, a man in his early thirties who looked like he had many secrets stood in the mirror.
"Now all that's left is to carry it out."
The plan was simple.
First, take a shortcut to catch up with Baek Sa-young, who had departed earlier, then intervene at the moment he discovered the secret realm.
I would pretend to run into him by chance, chat a bit, and egg him on.
To suggest the two of us enter together.......
The odds were sufficient.
In terms of combat power, one of the Demonkin would be away procuring Monsters at that point, so there would be no problem.
And persuading Baek Sa-young would be handled by this man reflected in the mirror.
"If Park Ha-yul won't work, I'll have to make my move as someone else."
The Yosal Corps Special Mission Taskforce.
I planned to summon that brief but intense connection once more.
Since every member was veiled in secrecy, deceiving him would be easy as long as I acted well.
* * *
The border of the Forbidden Zone was not itself forbidden territory, but the dense mana strongly affected it, giving the area a distinctly bizarre environment.
Green leaves mingled with pale blue, taking on a heavy teal hue, and trees that rose abnormally high covered half the sky.
The special patrol team, which had been advancing without rest as if carving out a path, came to an unexpected fork in the road and had no choice but to stop.
"Should we split up here?"
"I'm in favor."
"You know it's that much more dangerous, right?"
Opinions were divided, but they ultimately came together.
Either way, to use their limited time efficiently, individual patrol was the only answer.
And so the special patrol team headed down the paths each of them had chosen.
"Shall I go?"
Baek Sa-young likewise entered the second path, which was thick with undergrowth.
He had chosen the path because it felt right, and the entrance was manageable enough to push through, so it looked promising.
But as it turned out.
After walking a bit farther, he began to wonder if this was the right choice.
The path was like a funnel—the farther he went, the narrower it became.
"This damn gacha luck, seriously......."
When it eventually turned into a small trail only fit for little wild animals, Baek Sa-young paused for a moment, wiped the sweat running down his face, and deliberated.
One look was enough—this path was definitely wrong.
"Hm......."
But his hesitation didn't last long.
Baek Sa-young drew his sword, cut through the undergrowth, and advanced again.
At best, it was just a process of proving that a wrong path was wrong.
Some might call him foolish or frustrating.......
But doing his utmost in the task assigned to him.
That was the driving force and foundation that had made Baek Sa-young who he was today.
The goddess of fortune, moved by that steadfastness and sincerity, finally reached out her hand.
Thump—
Suddenly, a sharp sensation jolted through him and his heart lurched, followed by a sticky sense of foreboding.
"......What is this?"
Baek Sa-young walked again in search of the cause.
He pressed onward, relying solely on feeling.
Trudge, trudge—
How long had he walked like that?
When he raised his head, what faced him was a wide field, and in its center stood a single enormous tree rooted like a pillar.
Woooo—
The great tree, hung with strips of five-colored silk, swayed eerily in the wind and gave off a cloying, musty aura.
In that moment, he knew by instinct.
"This tree......."
There was something.
Baek Sa-young stepped forward to get a little closer.
"Who are you?"
That was when he heard an unfamiliar voice.
A sharp yet full, resonant voice. A presence felt directly behind him, though he had no idea when it had approached.......
Instinctive danger flared, and he quickly twisted around to face whoever had spoken.
It was a man in a black suit and a black cap.
"You're......."
But the other person's reaction was unexpected.
When their eyes met, the man's sharply angled eyebrows suddenly shot upward.
Who is it?
Baek Sa-young, whose hand had gone to his sword, tilted his head for a moment.
The other man seemed to recognize him, but this was definitely a face he had never seen before.
"To think I'd run into you again in a place like this. My timing with you has always been terrible."
However, unlike his plain appearance, the somewhat arrogant tone and twisted mouth felt strangely familiar.
The words "always" sounded especially meaningful.
"Ah......."
At that moment, a memory flashed through his mind.
Right, that aura.
Sharp like a well-honed blade, yet with a dignity that wouldn't be easily swayed.
Lofty and arrogant, yet somehow possessing an ego that came off as charming.
The distinctive wolf-like aura was something rare that no one Baek Sa-young had met so far possessed.......
His eyes flew wide open as he shouted.
"S-sir?"