Hey!! Snap Out of It!!

I couldn't help but be shocked by the unexpected appearance of the Hidden Eater.

I hurriedly pulled a potion from my inventory and poured it into her mouth, then applied the rest to her wounded areas.

It had a brief effect, but her health continued to drain away.

'Poison?'

As far as I remembered, none of the monsters in Geshutalt Forest had such potent venom. But from the mist serpent appearing at the entrance, something had clearly been off.

'Too fast.'

The poison seemed to have been in her system for a while—her health was dropping at a visible rate.

"Baek Yiheon!" I called out to him by the door.

"What? What's wrong... Holy shit?!"

Baek Yiheon rushed over at my call and froze at the sight of Isabel Silver collapsed in a pool of blood, sucking in a sharp breath in surprise.

"Who's that?"

"Isabel Silver."

"...What?! The Hidden Eater?"

It was only natural for him to be shocked. Even top players in Dimension World rarely crossed paths with her—she was shrouded in mystery. Seeing her pristine was rare enough, but now she was critically injured.

"Got any antidotes? Her wounds are bad, but it looks like poison too."

But Baek Yiheon shook his head at my question.

"Nah. You know my Savage trait lets me shrug off most poisons, so I don't carry any."

"Tch."

With his answer, I had no choice but to remove the Emerald Circlet I was wearing and place it on her head.

A red warning flashed, and a faint green glow began flowing from the circlet onto her forehead. Then I removed my Giant's Magic Armor and draped it over her body.

With the circlet's regeneration and the armor's effects kicking in, her rapidly depleting health finally started to recover, bit by bit.

Applying items like this to someone else transferred ownership, so it was something you only did with people you truly trusted. Handing over a Legendary and Heroic item without hesitation left even Baek Yiheon stunned.

"You okay with that?"

"Why?"

"Those are both defensive gear. What if something happens while you're handing them out like candy?"

"The Hidden Eater isn't the type to steal my stuff and run. This should at least stop her health from dropping for now."

"Not that."

"...?"

"You're stripping yourself bare of defenses. What if something happens to you, Hidden Eater or not?"

I chuckled at his words.

"Worried about me right now?"

"Obviously."

In that instant, Baek Yiheon, standing behind me, pressed his sword to my throat.

"One swing here, and it could all be over. Kinda curious what items the great Kim Do-hyun would drop."

"Curious? Go ahead. You know if you don't one-shot me, you're dead."

Whoosh—

Black Eye materialized beside Baek Yiheon.

"I'm saying you've got some sloppy blind spots. Admit it—you called me out 'cause it hit a nerve. I know your flame soldiers are powerhouse summons, but there's a delay. And you know better than anyone that split-second makes or breaks a fight."

"And you're the one guarding that split-second."

"Talk a good game, don't you?"

Baek Yiheon smirked and sheathed his sword. Black Eye vanished without a word.

"Anyway, be careful. If you're forming a clan and gearing up for war with the Eight Great Clans, you can't let your guard down. What if the Hidden Eater was bought off by them?"

He didn't know about Nam-gung Yun and Isabel Silver's sibling bond, so his worry made sense.

"Got it."

I nodded.

"Truth is, I don't wanna see you die. Plus, you said the other two are nearby. They hate my guts, I get it, but I don't wanna relive that mess either."

He scratched his head sheepishly.

"Jin-su and Chan-ho'd love hearing that."

"Love it my ass... Chan-ho'd try to eat me alive."

"Shoulda played it smarter then."

"...You know the situation."

I let it drop, seeing him bite his lip.

"But someday, it'll have to be settled. Not just them and you... but him too."

One person came to mind.

'That's my homework to sort out.'

"Nngh..."

That's when it happened. Isabel, collapsed on the floor, let out a faint breath and twitched.

'I don't carry mana potions much because of my mana shield...'

I only had one mana potion. The circlet's +50 mana option wouldn't last long.

I watched her groan in thought.

"Coming around?"

"...!!"

She struggled to open her eyes, then jolted in shock at my face, trying to shove me away but wincing in pain.

"Urk...!"

"Move like that, and you'll reopen the wounds I just stabilized. Stay still. I don't want blood on my armor."

Clutching her side, she noticed the crude armor draped over her shoulders.

"This is...?"

She touched the circlet on her head, and I gently pressed her hand down.

"Don't take it off. It's got health regen—temporary fix."

Isabel fiddled awkwardly with the thin silver circlet, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which didn't suit her at all.

"...?!!"

Then she frantically touched her face, relieved to find her ever-present mask still there.

[She hasn't noticed you put the mask back on.]

Black Eye's voice echoed in my head alone as I watched her.

'Yeah, looks that way.'

When I first found her collapsed, her mask was off the floor and she was out cold. Seeing the Hidden Eater's bare face—shrouded in veils as she was—would've been intriguing, but I'd replaced it before calling Baek Yiheon.

'Well... seeing that face, I get why she wears the mask.'

"What happened? Why's Geshutalt a wreck? And why were you collapsed here?"

I asked casually.

"Came here on Veil business. Then the eternal flame on the plateau suddenly died, and a wave of snow and chill from the plateau midsection blanketed the forest."

"You said it was fine?"

I glanced at Baek Yiheon.

"Looks like the lower areas away from the heat will take time to reignite. Can't be zero damage."

Compared to the Deus Union-freezing Midnight, it was minor—but who could've guessed the chill would hit Geshutalt Forest?

'But that's weird... Geshutalt's protected by the Fairy King's power. It shouldn't be this trashed from plateau chill alone—unless it was a Midnight-level disaster.'

I looked at her.

"What else? Plateau chill doesn't poison you. Who used venom this vicious?"

At my question, the Hidden Eater stood on her pale face, staggering from pain but rummaging through the trashed books.

"Kuh..."

"Damn. They took it."

"What?"

After frantically searching, Isabel slumped in defeat.

"Veil leader Asera Tanubiel ordered me to retrieve a specific book from Geshutalt."

"And?"

"Geshutalt's under the Fairy King's protection—you can't enter without knowing the Path of Mist. Only a few in Veil do."

Asera Tanubiel, the elf Veil leader with strong fairy affinity, knowing the way made sense.

"But when I arrived, the protection was broken, and the buildings were wrecked like this. I rushed in to assess..."

She sighed deeply.

"Got ambushed. Pathetic—I don't even know how. The poison was so strong, even with my Black Circle, I blacked out in one hit..."

She showed the bracelet on her wrist.

"Guess the ring kept me from instant death."

The Black Circle bestowed on Veil successors was handmade by elf Asera, engraved with elven nature magic that resisted low-grade poisons.

'Poison that knocks her out in one hit even with Black Circle...'

That meant high-grade venom. Early server days limited such potency to a few, mostly unknown to players.

Except one.

"No way..."

Ding—

'A message?'

I rarely saw message items since starting—players pushed for the late patch, but creator Choi Hyuk-su disliked them. As Dimension World's maker, he prioritized realism, limiting messages with high cost, character limits, and random penalties on use.

'Big clans dodge it with dedicated messengers, but... it honors his vision of favoring in-game magic over spam.'

Anyway, risking penalties meant it was urgent.

The message was concise, but I got it—and who raided this place.

Mutsa, Yukhap leader.

"Speak of the devil."

I knew the venom suspect I'd thought of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moments ago was confirmed.

'He'd have no issue with one-shot poison for the Hidden Eater.'

Mutsa's master, Yulmun family head Galrung, excelled in extreme venom arts beyond his infamous formations.

'Mist serpents in the forest for that reason?'

Plausible if Mutsa inherited Galrung's techniques.

"Looks like Yukhap trashed Geshutalt and ambushed you. Spotted in Nias Village."

"Yukhap?"

"Yeah. Buddy thinks it's G. Basel, one of the Six Assassins."

Isabel Silver frowned slightly.

"Basel? That pest..."

"One guy's no threat. Venom that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strong? Probably a gift from Yulmun head Galrung himself."

"Then..."

"Yukhap leader Mutsa. He might've passed through."

Her face hardened.

"Hidden Eater, what'd Asera order? What were you after?"

"...Fairy's Eye."

She hesitated with trembling eyes, then sighed.

"Special gem crafted by Fairy King Mirage. Veil leader commanded me to retrieve it."

"Why would Yukhap want that?"

But hearing Black Eye, I realized it wasn't for Yulmun formations.

'Last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compass material.'

"Baek Yiheon, track the traces. We're pursuing."

I stood slowly and said to both of them.

"Can't let scum touch my stuff and walk away."