The Leap of Faith
“S-Si-woon!”
“You’re insane!”
“Hyeong-niiiiim!”
Whoosh!
The members’ cries mixed with the rush of wind past their ears.
There was not even a splash.
The scarlet liquid merely boiled up once in a violent bubble, and then every trace of him vanished without a sound.
“…….”
Silence.
The five left behind stared blankly down into the depths.
“H-he really jumped?”
Baek Yeon-ho was the first to shatter the quiet.
At the same moment he whipped his head around to look at his sister standing beside him.
Baek Do-hee’s gaze remained fixed on the lava river.
Her face had gone pure white.
Her pupils trembled with raw terror.
He’s dead.
Their young, strong leader—the one who had guided them—had died right before their eyes.
He had thrown himself in.
Really?
How could that be?
Baek Do-hee shook her head without realizing it.
Hyun Si-woon’s final words still echoed inside her skull.
I believe you’ll come after me, Noona.
Right.
What possible reason would Si-woon have to kill himself in this situation?
He must have truly believed that the lava held a hidden place.
The problem is…
What if it didn’t?
“N-Noona. Looking at this, doesn’t it feel completely wrong?”
Baek Yeon-ho was thinking the same thing.
Of course it had to be a hidden area!
But what if it wasn’t?
What if that secret only existed inside the game of Tower of Despair and had never been implemented in reality?
There would be no more meaningless death than that.
“…….”
Baek Do-hee closed her eyes.
Just when she could no longer tell what was real—
—Gwoooooar.
From behind them rose the wailing of the ash-gray wraiths.
That was reality.
This was the 5th floor of the Tower of Despair, a place with nowhere to run.
And the Ashen Curse was already at stage three.
Ah.
Only then did Baek Do-hee understand.
“……We’re going to die anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Do you really think we can find the Saint’s Ashes starting from now? As things stand, jumping is the only option we have left.”
“What are you talking about, Noona! If we move fast even now—”
“No.”
Baek Do-hee shook her head.
With a trembling hand she pressed hard against her own chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart was hammering wildly.
It was not only fear.
Strangely, a scorching faith was welling up from deep within her chest.
“Si-woon isn’t dead. And I’m not going to die either.”
She clenched her fist tight.
“Think about it. Dae-un stepped forward ready to die on the 4th floor, and you, Yeon-ho, risked your life to claim a hidden skill. Why should I be any different?”
“Noonim…….”
Hwang Dae-un swallowed dryly without meaning to.
It felt a little different from those times, but…
She was not completely wrong either.
“It’s simply my turn now.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Baek Do-hee felt the final shell of fear that had been crushing her crack and fall away.
Yes. It was her turn.
She could not stay forever protected behind her comrades’ backs, could she?
Having made her resolve, she met each member’s eyes in turn.
In the worst case…
These were faces she might never see again.
Especially when her gaze locked with Kang Si-a’s, Baek Do-hee suddenly felt ashamed.
Si-a didn’t waver even a little.
She simply watched with calm eyes, not speaking a single word…
as if asking what they were still doing up here instead of jumping.
She trusted Hyun Si-woon completely!
“Haa.”
Baek Do-hee let out a soft sigh.
Even that young girl believed in their leader with such absolute faith—what were the rest of them doing right now?
“Yeon-ho.”
“Noona?”
“Wait for me. I’ll be right back.”
That was her final farewell.
Whoosh!
Without the slightest hesitation she threw herself into empty air.
“W-wait! Noonaaaa!”
Hwang Dae-un and Jang Cha-yul sucked in sharp breaths.
Baek Yeon-ho could not watch to the end; he squeezed his eyes shut hard.
“Hup!”
Baek Do-hee plummeted downward, holding her breath.
The terror of death crashed over her entire body, but she had no choice now except to endure it.
Uwaaaaaah.
The moment the scarlet lava filled her vision and rushed up to meet her, she resigned herself to everything.
So this is how I die. It’ll be hot, right? How long will the pain last?
Just then—
Whoomph!
She felt a strange sensation as though something soft and warm had wrapped around her body.
Huh?
When she opened her eyes she was no longer falling.
Enveloped in a transparent membrane, she was slowly sinking toward the depths of the lava.
The surroundings glowed red, yet there was no heat at all.
It was actually cozy.
R-really?
If this was real, then Hyun Si-woon had been right all along!
How far down had she gone?
The crimson light faded, and beyond it a faint blue glow began to appear.
At last the membrane vanished and her feet touched solid ground.
“This place is…….”
A quiet gasp escaped Baek Do-hee’s lips.
The background was a crystal cavern.
Floor, walls, and ceiling were packed with crystal,
and through the gaps warm water heated by the lava’s heat cascaded down like waterfalls.
And there—
standing in the center of the cave—was a familiar figure.
“What took you so long?”
The casual tone belonged to Hyun Si-woon.
“Haa…….”
Baek Do-hee took a moment to catch her breath.
Honestly, how was she even supposed to react to this?
Relief flooded her, but this was no time to get sentimental.
“Sorry. To be honest, I was a little scared.”
“Yeah, I get that. Hurry over. We’re short on time.”
When she approached the place he indicated, Baek Do-hee finally saw the cave’s true form.
Beneath a crystal pillar stood a small altar, and upon it sat the stone statue of a queen reduced to ash, weeping endless tears.
The statue looked so desolate and sorrowful that it made Baek Do-hee’s heart ache.
“What is this?”
“Grace, the last queen of Ash-gray Avalon.”
Hyun Si-woon spoke calmly and pointed at the empty grail resting on the altar.
There were many complicated and tragic stories attached to it, but none of that mattered now.
“Just catch the queen’s tears in that grail and we’re done.”
“How do I collect them?”
“Simple. Cast Healing Light on the statue.”
For a hidden area, the method was almost too simple.
But that was easy to say; without any information no one would ever know.
Who would think to cast healing on a statue unless they were extremely thorough?
And this place was completely useless unless a healer entered it.
I could take it myself, but…
Hyun Si-woon was locked into the Archmage tree.
This time he had decided not to claim it.
“Got it.”
Baek Do-hee asked no further questions.
She stepped carefully before the altar and gently extended her staff.
Woooom!
Soft light blossomed.
Perhaps Healing Light held not only the power to mend wounds but also the power to soothe a soul?
Plink.
A luminous liquid began to bead and fall from the statue’s eyes.
Baek Do-hee watched the scene with complete concentration.
How much time passed like that?
The instant the grail filled, the entire cavern flooded with dazzling light.
Queen Grace’s soul has found rest.
The city’s curse is lifted.
At the same time, sacred energy wrapped around Baek Do-hee’s body.
Queen Grace bestows upon you the last of her remaining sacred power.
Skill Healing Light evolves into the higher skill Saint’s Prayer.
“……!”
A thrill shot through her entire body.
Baek Do-hee’s mouth fell open.
You have learned the skill Saint’s Prayer.
While praying, a blessing light that heals wounded flesh and a purification domain that cleanses all curses are deployed.
“……Saint’s Prayer?”
“Congratulations. You’ve become a Saintess.”
Hyun Si-woon grinned.
“Just think of that skill as completely broken.”
Originally Healing Light restored a single target’s wounds once per minute.
Saint’s Prayer, on the other hand?
It affected an entire area.
In simple terms: continuous area-of-effect healing.
From now on, while Baek Do-hee prayed, every party member inside the domain would continuously receive healing.
And that was not all.
The purification domain was insane.
It was literally the power to cleanse every impurity.
Depending on Baek Do-hee’s level it could remove debuffs like poison and paralysis—and even the Ashen Curse currently afflicting them.
Later it would also prove quite effective against undead monsters.
“……!”
Even that brief explanation forced Baek Do-hee to catch her breath.
She had gone beyond simply healing allies—she had become an all-purpose supporter who could annihilate enemies and protect her party from every threat!
Thank goodness.
Baek Do-hee inwardly praised herself for ultimately choosing to believe in Hyun Si-woon.
“But Si-woon.”
“Yeah?”
“How do we get out of here?”
That?
There was no need to leave at all.
With the city’s curse lifted, the lava would naturally drain away.
Then they could simply climb the crystal stairs.
At that same moment.
Just as the four remaining people were stamping their feet in anxiety—
Rumbleeeee!
The ground began to shake from the base of the cliff.
“W-what the hell! An earthquake?!”
“Everyone get down!”
They panicked, but the source of the vibration was not the ground.
It was the lava river itself.
“L-look over there!”
Jang Cha-yul pointed at the river in shock.
An unbelievable sight was unfolding.
The scarlet lava that had been bubbling furiously only moments earlier was gradually losing its force.
As it receded, its surface began to harden black.
The acrid ash and sulfur stench that had blanketed the entire city vanished as if they had never existed.
There was only one meaning to the phenomenon.
“……They really did it?”
A dazed voice slipped from Baek Yeon-ho’s mouth.
Between the drained lava countless crystals revealed themselves, and up the stairs that ran among them walked two familiar figures.
Hyun Si-woon and Baek Do-hee.
“Hyeong-nim!”
“Noona!”
The members sprinted forward.
“This is Saint’s Prayer.”
The joy of reunion lasted only a moment; Baek Do-hee brought her hands together before everyone and quietly closed her eyes.
Warm white radiance bloomed from her body and brightly illuminated the surroundings.
Woooooom!
The members could not help crying out at the gentle warmth of the light that enveloped their bodies.
“Whoa…….”
“This is area heal…….”
“So with just this we’re basically chugging potions nonstop? And it can even knock off a certain level of debuffs?”
While the others marveled, Baek Yeon-ho stepped closer.
“Si-woon, sorry. It was about my sister so I overreacted. I should have trusted the leader.”
He apologized awkwardly, yet genuine remorse filled his voice.
“It’s fine, hyung. That was a natural reaction. Family lives were on the line.”
“No. From now on I don’t think I’ll doubt you at all.”
“Alright, alright. Now that the curse is gone, time to start running, yeah?”
Hyun Si-woon pointed beyond the hardened lava river toward the city’s center.
As the ash-gray fog cleared, the massive citadel that had only been faintly visible before finally revealed its full majesty.
The monsters?
They were still very much alive.
“For the remaining week we’re going to strip Avalon clean. Treasure chests, material items, and even TC.”
“Ooooh.”
“Let’s go, Hyeong-nim!”
Greed lit up the members’ eyes.
“Oh, and on the last day—”
Hyun Si-woon’s gaze lifted toward the top of the citadel.
“—we take the head of the king who’s waiting for us.”
Then?
The 5th floor would end without any trouble.