Weren't You the First to Escape?
Honestly, it was unexpected. I thought she had escaped with the civilians on the Chinook, but she was still here.
"Hurry… take off… now!" Ra Si-hyun shouted.
Her hands trembled violently as they emitted ether. She was clearly struggling to hold on.
"Take off! Move!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Chinook carrying us slowly lifted into the air. So that's why mages get treated like nobility, I thought. I hated admitting it, but facts were facts. Mages received noble treatment because their mere presence could turn the tide of any situation. Ra Si-hyun was proving that right now. She had bound the gargoyles attacking our Chinook in an instant.
Thanks to her, the Chinook safely ascended and began speeding away from Jebudo Island.
Ra Si-hyun collapsed, completely drained. The Chinook lurched as the pilot executed evasive maneuvers to dodge incoming gargoyles.
Ra Si-hyun slid toward the open hatch. I lunged forward and grabbed her wrist just in time.
"Eun-seong!" Instructor Kim Sang-eung seized my ankle at the same moment.
Several gargoyles dove straight for the dangling Ra Si-hyun.
"What are you doing? Shoot!"
Kim Seung-hye unleashed a torrent of fire from the Mk. 48 machine gun. The gargoyles were blasted away into the distance.
Ra Si-hyun climbed back inside, clinging to my hand and gasping for breath. She looked genuinely shaken—she had nearly fallen to her death.
"Breathe. Just breathe."
I helped steady her breathing. Panic could lead to fainting or worse, and the last thing we needed was her passing out right now.
Once she recovered, I stood up, but she grabbed my wrist.
"Why aren't you praising me?"
"…What?"
"I said, why aren't you praising me? Everyone survived because of me. Don't I deserve some credit?"
I was speechless. Her contribution had been vital—the Chinook would never have taken off without her. But demanding praise like this was absurd.
"Have you secured the area yet?"
"What?"
"We can talk about praise once the situation is under control. Is this really the time to demand compliments?"
Ra Si-hyun fell silent, unable to respond.
What kind of upbringing produces someone like this? She had always struck me as lacking basic ethics or morals. I had assumed her arrogance came from being a high-ranker and a mage, but it seemed deeper than that.
"So when will you praise me?"
"Read the room. We haven't even escaped safely yet, and you want compliments?"
"…"
"Let me ask you one thing. Why did you step in?"
"You said if I wanted noble treatment, I should act like nobility."
"That was your reason?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No. No problem at all."
I was stunned. She hadn't done it to save everyone—she had done it for special treatment. I ignored her indignant glare. Arguing with someone whose logic was this broken would only give me a headache, and we had bigger problems right now.
A warning alarm blared inside the Chinook, bathing the interior in red light.
"Visibility dropping fast! The fog is too thick!"
The pilot's urgent voice echoed through the cabin.
What the hell is this fog…? I glanced out the window and felt my blood run cold. Everything was pure white. It was as if we had flown straight into a cloud—nothing was visible.
"Climb! Keep flying!"
"But—"
"It's just fog!" the pilot snapped, gritting his teeth. "We can fly on radar alone—"
At that moment, the alarm sharpened into a piercing shriek. A red warning light flashed on the instrument panel.
"Terrain warning! Terrain ahead!"
"That's impossible!"
"Radar shows a ridge five hundred meters ahead!"
"That can't be right—there shouldn't be anything there!"
The pilot pulled back on the stick anyway, forcing the Chinook higher. The rotors roared as the aircraft climbed steeply through the endless fog.
I knew it. I had experienced this phenomenon before.
"Stop!" I shouted toward the cockpit. "The terrain is distorted! The fog warps space itself! If we keep flying, we'll crash!"
"What are you talking about?"
"The fog is twisting the space around us! Everything is scrambled—if we continue, we'll smash into something!"
"Then what the hell do we do?"
"Land vertically! Right here, in place!"
The pilot hesitated, but the terrain warning kept flashing. With no other choice, he eased the Chinook into a hover and began a slow descent through the blinding fog.
Then came a sickening crunch—the rotor had struck something. The Chinook lurched violently and dropped like a stone.
The impact was brutal. The fall had been short—less than ten meters—but the shock still rattled every bone in my body. At least we hadn't plummeted from a great height.
"Is everyone okay?" Instructor Kim called out.
"We're fine!"
"No injuries!"
He quickly assessed the passengers and ordered an immediate evacuation. We scrambled out of the wrecked Chinook. The fog was still thick, but through the haze I could make out the helicopter's crumpled form against a jagged rock formation—the famous "Hawk Rock" of Jebudo Island. The rotor had clipped it during descent.
So this really is the Fog Labyrinth. My suspicions were confirmed. We had been flying east, yet we had ended up at the southern coast. The dense fog was warping space, trapping us in a maze.
"Don't move! Maintain formation!"
We huddled together under Instructor Kim's command, weapons ready. No immediate threats appeared.
Ra Si-hyun seemed to have a mild concussion, but nothing serious. Still, I stayed on high alert. Being exposed on this open shoreline was extremely dangerous.
At least I have the Search Card. Whether it would work inside the Fog Labyrinth remained to be seen, but having even one reliable tool was a relief.
If we can reach a safe zone and hold out, we'll be fine. Minister Ahn will send help soon—as long as we stay alive…
A sudden roar of crashing waves filled the air. That shouldn't have been possible—the tide was out, and the land route was blocked.
Wait…
A terrible premonition struck me. At low tide, the area around Hawk Rock should have been dry. Yet the sound of massive waves was growing louder, and through the fog I could see a towering wall of water surging toward us.
"Everyone, stay alive," I muttered.
They looked at me in confusion, but they would understand soon enough.
The sound of rolling dice echoed in my ears. The blindfolded Goddess of Fortune appeared behind me and embraced me.
Luck increased by 110% for 5 minutes.
The dice had landed on 5 and 6—totaling 11. Whether this stroke of luck would be enough to survive what was coming, only time would tell.
A deafening roar filled the world as the colossal wall of seawater crashed down and swallowed us whole.