Loyalty Test (4)
“What?”
Deep bewilderment clouded Han Cheol-min’s eyes.
A massive figure was barreling toward him at impossible speed.
“Shit!”
He twisted his body on pure instinct.
And then—
KWA-AAAANG!
The giant frame that had just brushed past him slammed straight into the factory wall. Concrete ruptured. The guild member never even managed a scream before going limp. Even accounting for the fact that he was a Climber, it looked like instant death.
Is this even possible?
Han Cheol-min finally grasped the situation. From the looks of it, the muscle-bound man who’d been standing by the door had simply kicked him.
Just how high is his Strength stat?
The average Strength among Unity members was 15. Not a single one of them could produce this kind of power even in sparring.
“You ungrateful bastards.”
Hwang Dae-un strode forward.
Puh-uh-uhk!
Another member went flying from a kick.
“Do you even know who our hyung-nim is?”
Puh-uh-uhk!
“And you dare stab us in the back?”
Puh-uh-uhk!
Kicks. Blunt weapon strikes. Massive bodies went tumbling in every direction. One man was launched into the far wall and stuck there; another bounced into the air, flailed helplessly, and crashed to the floor.
“U-uhheeeek!”
“Get out of the way!”
Watching them scramble backward, Hwang Dae-un’s eyes blazed with killing intent. He slammed his mace into the ground with everything he had.
KWA-AAAANG!
The thick concrete floor cracked like a spiderweb and caved in under the earth-shaking impact. Shards of debris shot out in every direction from the shockwave.
“You’re all dead today.”
Hwang Dae-un was truly enraged. This was the guild he had personally recommended—a combat-specialist group he had confidently promised would make a solid ally. And the result? They had repaid kindness with greed and then turned their blades on the people who had helped them. Trash.
I’ll finish this with my own hands.
Honestly, he hadn’t believed he could handle them alone at first. But now?
Is this the power of martial arts?
He was astonished by his own strength.
“Ughk!”
“A-a monster!”
As the Unity members recoiled in terror, Han Cheol-min roared at them.
“Snap out of it, you bastards! He’s alone! If you can’t get close, shoot him with arrows!”
The situation was unexpected, but retreat was not an option. They had come this far. Kill or be killed—those were the only two choices left.
“Tanks to the front! Form ranks!”
His shout snapped the guild members back to their senses. They moved in a hurried scramble. Two shield-bearers planted themselves in front of Hwang Dae-un while four archers behind them rapidly drew their bowstrings.
Creeeeak—
The taut strings swelled as if about to snap—
Puh-buh-buh-buk!
Four silver streaks flashed through the air.
“……?”
No sound. No warning. Just four identical arrows buried deep in the foreheads of the four archers who had been drawing their bows.
They collapsed, bowstrings slipping from lifeless fingers.
Insane!
Han Cheol-min’s gaze snapped upward in panic.
Third-floor railing. In the darkness, Kang Si-a was already nocking her next arrow without a word. Her eyes were resolute.
She had learned then—back when they had wiped out the party that had toyed with Jang Cha-yul and Hwang Dae-un. She had already made up her mind. In this hellish world, premature mercy was a luxury. The cleanest way to deal with someone who drew a blade against you was to drive the same blade through their heart.
……!
Han Cheol-min was stunned all over again. A sniper. A sniper of near-divine skill was perched up there, hunting them. She had waited for the single split-second window when all four archers drew at once and erased them simultaneously. That was not a human feat.
Just what the hell are these people?
Cold sweat ran down his spine. This was nothing short of a one-sided massacre.
KWAANG!
Baek Yeon-ho charged with his shield raised. Members crumpled like paper and went flying. Shield or no shield, it was like watching a runaway locomotive.
Puh-buk, puh-buk!
Behind him, Jang Cha-yul’s spear swayed with fluid grace.
“Guhk!”
“Th-the side!”
“Gyaaah!”
Flank, throat, thigh. Precise, lethal strikes that found every blind spot in their defenses.
Puh-hwaak!
Each time the spear whispered past, a crimson spray of blood erupted.
“Damn it! Heal! What the hell is the healer doing?!”
Han Cheol-min screamed, but no answer came. More than eighty percent of them were already writhing on the floor. Some weren’t moving at all. From the scattered items and TC bundles lying around, it was clear they were already dead.
“This is… fucking…”
It was hopeless. He had to run.
But where?
The doors were sealed.
For now—just hide in the dark!
Han Cheol-min clenched his teeth and hurled himself deeper into the factory’s shadows—
Puhk!
A silhouette cut him off and drove a foot into his gut.
“Guhk?”
Agony exploded through him as he toppled backward.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A voice as cold and still as ice.
Han Cheol-min forced his head up.
“The W-Wandering Merchant…”
He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet. There was no other way left. The only chance he had was to take this one down fast and escape.
I can do this.
Their stats were clearly higher than Unity’s. He understood that now. But he still had decades of special-forces combat experience burned into his body—beast-like instincts forged by surviving every kind of crisis imaginable.
“Die!”
Han Cheol-min drove off the ground with everything he had. His sword screamed toward Hyun Si-woon’s face.
But—
……?
Something was wrong. The blade cut empty air. The Hyun Si-woon who had been right in front of him vanished like a mirage.
Behind me?
He spun on instinct into a defensive stance. No attack came from the rear.
The side?
The instant he whipped his head around—
Puk!
A dull impact slammed into his ribs.
“Khuhk!”
His breath locked in his throat as his body reeled sideways.
I can’t see him!
Terror shook Han Cheol-min’s pupils. Raw power was one thing—this was an entirely different problem. He couldn’t predict a single movement.
Moon Shadow Step.
Single Step.
Swimming Step.
New Moon Step.
Hyun Si-woon was only using the most basic footwork of his art, yet a man who knew nothing of martial arts could never hope to read it.
“Grrraaah… you monster bastard!”
Han Cheol-min roared and charged again. The result was identical. Hyun Si-woon neither parried nor dodged. He simply flowed—like water, like wind—always just outside the reach of every attack. It was as if he could see straight through Han Cheol-min’s mind, sealing every path of offense and defense and striking the exact openings left behind.
This was not a difference in technique. It was an overwhelming gulf in class. Like an adult toying with a child.
Ah.
Only then did Han Cheol-min understand. The Wandering Merchant was simply a monster. Not someone they had ever been fit to covet. Everything had been wrong from the start. If he had known they were this far beyond him, he never would have entertained such stupid greed. They had truly been offering an opportunity…
“K-khuhk…”
Han Cheol-min’s knees hit the floor. Will to fight completely gone, he watched Hyun Si-woon approach.
“What, already finished?”
“P-please spare me.”
“Spare you?”
Hyun Si-woon frowned. There really was no lower a man could sink. Betrayal was one thing—but while his own subordinates were dying around him he had tried to run alone, and now he wanted mercy?
“Hand over ten times the TC you took. Then I’ll spare you.”
“……Ten times?”
Han Cheol-min’s mind raced. Partner guilds kept twenty percent of sales as profit.
In two weeks we earned 47,040 TC, so…
That meant he was being asked for 470,000 TC.
“Th-that’s insane! Where am I supposed to get that kind of TC?!”
He cried out in desperation.
Hyun Si-woon gave a short, cold laugh.
“Yeah.”
Shiiing.
A transparent blade materialized from empty air.
“Exactly. Sparing you doesn’t make sense either.”
“W-wait—”
Han Cheol-min, face already a ruin, scrambled backward in pure terror. The fear of death stabbed through every nerve. And in that instant he understood.
Those eyes.
The moment he met Hyun Si-woon’s completely empty gaze, he knew. He had seen eyes like that often enough during special-forces deployments. Men with eyes like that showed no mercy when eliminating enemies. For the mission, for their own people, for their country—they killed without hesitation or guilt.
He’s serious.
The young man in front of him truly intended to kill him. Not a bluff. Not a threat.
No—please!
He didn’t want to die!
Every survival instinct in his body screamed.
But—
Puhk!
The cold edge punched straight through his heart.
“Huuurk!”
Han Cheol-min’s hands flew up on reflex and clamped around the blade. That was all he managed. Scarlet blood gushed from his mouth. The light in his eyes slowly faded.
Silence fell.
In the space of a heartbeat the reeking factory had filled with corpses.
“…….”
Hyun Si-woon wordlessly flicked the blood from his blade. The rest of the team moved quietly to their positions and began cleaning the battlefield, collecting every last TC bundle and piece of dropped equipment without exception.
Among the rapidly cooling bodies, only four people still lived—the guild master of Dandelion Seed, the mother with a child, and the three men who had surrendered with her. They sat pressed against the wall, trembling like aspen leaves, watching everything unfold. Terror had stolen even their screams. They had finally, bone-deep, understood how catastrophic their mistake had been—and how terrifying the people standing before them truly were.
Thud. Thud.
Hyun Si-woon’s footsteps rang unnaturally loud as he approached them.
“Hic—!”
The mother’s shoulders jerked. She could not lift her head; she could only stare at the floor. The terror of death, and the guilt and regret that weighed even heavier, crushed her entire body.
What have I done…
They had been their benefactors—the only ones who had extended a hand of hope in this hellish world. And she had betrayed them, even sided with people who wanted them dead. She wanted to claim the pressure from her guild members had forced her hand, that she had only been trying to survive. But she knew better. In the end, she was the one who had pulled the trigger. At the crossroads of choice, she had chosen greed and cowardice.
Hyun Si-woon spoke.
“Hand over every coin you earned these past two weeks.”
“Y-yes, yes…! Of course!”
She opened her inventory without the slightest hesitation. She had been lucky. Despite resistance from some members, a few officers had insisted on keeping emergency funds; most of the profits had been stored as guild capital.
Chwarrrrrk!
Every TC bundle she owned spilled onto the floor. The three men beside her, faces deathly pale, opened their own inventories and dumped out every last bit of personal savings as well.
Hyun Si-woon glanced at the pile of Tower Coins and spoke indifferently.
“Lucky you. It’s exactly enough.”
His voice was as cold as ice.
“Get out.”
There was no pity left for them. Baek Do-hee would understand.
“Y-yes! Yes! Thank you!”
The words had barely left his mouth before the four of them bowed as if by prior agreement—bowing, bowing, bowing again like condemned criminals, retreating step by step. Then they turned and fled into the pitch-black darkness without once looking back.
A bitter expression crossed the faces of the party as they watched them go. In the end those four had gained nothing and lost everything before being cast out. Perhaps they, too, were just another kind of victim in this hellish world. But the choice had been theirs. And betrayal always exacted a price.
That was how Hyun Si-woon and his team survived this merciless world.