“Do-hyun-ah!”
Late at night, Chan-ho and Jin-su, who had been waiting on a quiet forest path by the village's back gate, greeted me warmly.
“Hoo……”
Whoosh……!
Boom!
As I stopped walking, the wings fluttering from my back vanished in a puff of black smoke.
“Tough trip getting here.”
“You too.”
Seeing the two of them again here stirred fresh emotions in me, but time was short.
I could cross the forest using Fire Command, but to slip past G. Basel's eyes on the way back, I'd need to hurry.
“How'd the job changes go?”
Instead of answering, the two rolled up their sleeves to reveal the symbols etched on the backs of their hands.
“Here.”
“Was a real pain.”
Jin-su casually extended his hand, showing a sharp arrow symbol, while Chan-ho grumbled and displayed a mark shaped like two crossed swords.
“……Hold on.”
I grabbed their hands and pulled them closer.
“Chan-ho, you're the one who got Gemini Archer, not Jin-su?”
“What's it to you?”
Chan-ho yanked his hand away with a sullen shrug, but I was already looking to Jin-su for the real answer.
“……I figured you'd be the first pick for Gemini Archer. Why'd you go for Sagittarius Archer instead?”
“Just did. No big reason.”
Unlike my serious tone, Jin-su replied with an oddly light expression.
“No big reason? ……Gemini Archer's twins represent light and dark. You know what that means.”
“Sure. The Zodiac's twelve spirits are originally six light and six dark. But Gemini and Libra are the only ones that encompass both attributes. Gemini acts as the guide to finding the rest of the spirit arts, while Libra becomes the scale that determines their attributes once all twelve are gathered—opposite to Libra's own.”
“You know your stuff.”
“Of course. We've been holed up here. Surprised you know it, honestly.”
That's why I'd assumed they'd each claim Gemini and Libra. They could wield both attributes at once, and if the wrong person got one, it risked locking the rest into mismatched affinities.
“Guess you don't know everything then. You can't get both Gemini and Libra from the Phantom Record Altar at the same time.”
“……Really?”
“I get why you sent us both there, whatever your plan was.”
I inwardly kicked myself at Jin-su's words.
But it couldn't be helped—the Zodiac inheritors were figures I'd only read about in lore, separate from my dream reruns.
My mistake.
The only one I'd met in dreams was Samuel Harlan, the Spirit Seeker hunting Zodiac inheritors.
“……Then you should've taken it yourself. Especially since it means the biggest risk factor's still out there, unlike the others.”
Jin-su jabbed Chan-ho in the side.
“Don't worry. He'll do fine.”
I still doubted whether rough-around-the-edges Chan-ho could pull off the guide role, compared to steady Jin-su.
“You started in the north, so no mage class. You've got a spirit, but Spirit Summoner won't fully unlock till the next update, so scratch that. From how you smashed Rerto, you're frontline anyway.”
And Jin-su voiced the question I'd been mulling even longer than my doubts about Chan-ho.
“Plus, if you really recruited Mad Dog like you said, our party's missing rear support. Big weakness.”
“So that's why you picked archer-type Sagittarius? That makes even less sense. You know what's more important.”
“Anyway, Do-hyun.”
“……Yeah?”
“Telling us about the Phantom Record Altar, knowing what Gemini signifies…… I'll let that slide. But what the hell is that?”
Jin-su pointed at Yeomhwa-ryeong flitting around my shoulder. He was finally voicing the questions he'd held back.
“And what's your class? You haven't told us yet.”
His tone was casual, but I caught the calm edge in Jin-su's voice.
“Eh, just got lucky and found out. We'll talk about mine somewhere quiet later.”
“Fair enough. If you say so.”
Jin-su dropped it, but unlike Chan-ho, his sharp instincts seemed to have picked up on something.
Yeah, he'll think it's weird.
They were the only two I fully trusted in Dimension World, so I'd tell them about Chilya Sword Master eventually. But what worried me was the connections beyond that.
“You hid yours for a reason. Same here. Picking Sagittarius was my call after some thought.”
Jin-su met my eyes.
“Chan-ho's Gemini leans buffer over fighter. We needed something to hold the rear and contribute damage. You know he won't sit still.”
I nodded at Jin-su's reasoning.
Even in Dimension World 1, Chan-ho had been the priest handling heals, but unlike others in the arena, he'd buffed and healed himself to dive into the fray.
His aggression caused headaches, but it created openings too.
It fit his style, but it still left a gap.
“His healing sense is trash, but experience counts. We're short a priest more than an archer right now. I was hoping for Aries Archer specialized in recovery.”
I glanced at Chan-ho as I spoke.
“Don't sweat it. We'll snag all twelve spirits eventually. And for the healer thing……I've got a workaround.”
“Hm?”
Jin-su gave me a meaningful look.
“Remember the Memory Borrower title? This guy's priest days got him something special too.”
“Figures……”
As top arena rankers with me, they wouldn't settle for ordinary rewards.
That was probably why Jin-su chose Sagittarius too.
Though my title came from something else entirely.
“You've got plans too, huh?”
“Not like you don't.”
Jin-su wouldn't pick Sagittarius on a whim, but more than that, he'd clearly uncovered a new quest at the Phantom Record Altar that I didn't know about.
“Sagittarius isn't just an archer—it's hunter territory. And this forest plays to the spirit's strengths. No matter how elite the assassin, I'll win.”
Jin-su declared confidently.
“Oh, and don't worry about Kwak Yeon getting pissy over that Legendary bow. Zodiacs grant dedicated weapons once you fully dominate your spirit.”
“……Yeah?”
“Sure, domination's only at 15% since the contract's fresh……gonna take a while. But I'm fine with the junk bow from the altar.”
“Ahem……Speaking of, how'd you know I offered Kwak Yeon one?”
“Nam Hyun-woo mentioned it? Said it sparked the Muak-Yuldoh merger.”
“That big lug's got a surprisingly tight lip.”
“Hah, kidding—he only told us. We half-guessed anyway. No one better than Kwak Yeon for crushing SL Clan. But she's no fool, despite the friendly vibe. Takes a Legendary bow to move her.”
“Right. Do Ji-wan might be Korea's top archer, but bad matchup with Kwak Yeon.”
“Figured you aimed for that.”
“And Lan Mingming too.”
Jin-su nodded.
“Yeah. Surprising part's you snagging Legendary gear already……Not explaining, huh?”
“……Later.”
He eyed me.
“Server's barely open, and you're this stacked—means even more shots now that we're together. Time to farm items for real.”
“Not giving up greed—you're feeding it?”
“Duh? Who made us grind the starting zone forever? Gotta pay up proper.”
Jin-su shrugged at my jab.
“Of course. You learned Navigation, right?”
“Yeah, both of us—we needed it to find the path to the Phantom Record Altar.”
“Good.”
⊳ Do Jinsu has joined the party.
⊳ Yun Chan-ho has joined the party.
“The one with the higher Navigation skill reads it. Be grateful—I barely managed to get this.”
Jin-su took the map I handed him.
Do Jinsu is reading the Geshutalt Forest Map.
“Where'd you snag this?”
“Hidden Eater.”
“……What?!”
Chan-ho, who'd been listening, let out a weird yelp and stared.
“Isabel Silver's in the forest now?”
“Not just her. Jang Il-mun too.”
“Whoa……”
Jin-su nodded, instantly grasping it.
“G. Basel's heading there then.”
“Yep. Get to the forest ahead of them and tail Basel.”
“Jang Il-mun makes it tricky……You good?”
“Don't worry about him. Can't move.”
“Huh?”
“Stay hidden till I signal. We'll trade Jang Il-mun and G. Basel's heads to Mutsa there.”
A chill ran down their spines at that.
“Now the game's getting fun.”
Chan-ho grinned eagerly at me.
“Alright……See you there.”
I nodded farewell with my eyes, slipped out of the village, ran through the woods to avoid eyes, then unleashed Fire Command.
Roar—!!
Red wings flared in the darkness.
“Urgh……Aaaargh!! Damn it! You monster bastard!!!”
Returning to Geshutalt, Jang Il-mun's screams rang out wildly.
“Didn't you say games don't scare you?”
“You……!! Kim Do-hyun!! What the hell is that monster?!”
Passing the shattered door into the building, Jang Il-mun—tied to a pillar—yelled at me.
[You're here? Hey, you—quiet down.]
Black Eye, slung over my shoulder with his massive sword, tapped Jang Il-mun's head with the flat of the blade.
“Urk……”
“Rough shape.”
Tied to the pillar, Jang Il-mun glared at me through a battered face. His right arm was still severed, but now his leg on the same side was gone too.
[Outsiders are weird. Even northerners would've died from cuts like that.]
Chisel marks scarred the pillar where he was bound, the last one matching the height of his severed leg.
“Urgh……Urk……”
He'd been sliced bit by bit by Black Eye.
“……Never seen an NPC this good at torture.”
Turning, I saw Isabel Silver staring at me, pale-faced.
[That's a compliment, right? Be grateful. I cured your poison.]
Black Eye didn't even glance her way.
“Should've handed it over quicker.”
I picked up a deep black gem from the neat pile under the bound Jang Il-mun.
◈ Durability: 100/100
◈ Usable at Level 1+
◈ A special gem crafted by Fairy King Mirage. Its surface bears unique engravings from gnome artisan Niam Ford's crafting magic. Even in its current state, it's a high-quality magic stone, but after seeing the finished gem, Mirage reportedly said:
◈ All attribute damage +5%
◈ All attribute resistance +5%
◈ Caution: Locked attributes not applicable
◈ Exclusive: Gnome Crafting Magic
◈ Reacts to the holder's mana to enable unique gnome magic. Requires learning the gnome language to use.
Hmm, gnome language……Tricky to use as-is. Good thing it's just material anyway.
Just holding the Fairy’s Eye boosted attribute damage and resistance—not bad.
I skimmed the description and turned.
“How's the body?”
[Kekeke, don't worry about me. Not fully detoxed, but flame regen keeps healing—and boosted my resistance big time. Plus, I tenderized the guy who did this.]
Black Eye beat me to answering.
“I'm good. Ate the antidote Jang Il-mun had, like he said—poison's gone. HP recovering bit by bit.”
She shook her head and returned the armor I'd lent her.
“Then rest up. No wandering off.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly at my words, eyes trembling as she looked at me.
“Not saying don't run. Got questions for you too. Fairy’s Eye aside, I got something from in there. Might need to meet the Veil leader.”
“What?”
“You know anything about this?”
I pulled out the stand from Ainheri's remains.
“Holds a dragon heart, they said. Nothing special, but Relic-grade item. Some Alteman made it, apparently.”
“……?!”
Hidden Eater's eyes changed in an instant.
“What? You know it?”
“Alteman?!”
She shot up at the name, inspecting the stand I'd been about to dismiss as junk. Her eyes sparkled like she'd found treasure.
“What's the big deal?”
“……Alteman's the founder of Veil—and the first king's comrade who unified the ancient continent.”
She gulped dryly, unlike my nonchalance.
“The continent-unifying king……”
The first king's tales, hyped in tomes, didn't move me much. Unifying a continent's no joke, but having done it in dreams myself, it wasn't impossible.
“Not that impressive.”
“Maybe. Could be a clue to the first king's secret.”
“……First king's secret?”
Hidden Eater met my gaze.
“Histories call him the continent-unifier. But Veil has another tale about him.”
“Which is?”
She whispered low.
“The first prophet to conquer the tower.”