The Message's Trap
I stared at the message that had suddenly appeared before my eyes, a deep suspicion rising within me. Something feels off….
Rescue Lee Daesan
❌ Failure Condition: Gong Haeseon dies
It really felt like the ‘Message’ was trying to lure me into something. For starters, I had no reason to save Lee Daesan. As an Academy instructor, he was a veteran hunter who had reached a fairly high rank. Asking someone like me—who was still struggling with a pitiful amount of mana—to rescue a near-active-duty hunter like him… No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a single reason to follow through.
However… the problem was that if I failed to save Lee Daesan, Gong Haeseon would die. I didn’t know what connection existed between the two of them, but there had to be a reason the Message singled her out among so many people. For example, maybe her death would affect me somehow… And besides, I already owed her a debt of gratitude.
Setting Lee Daesan aside, the fact that I had to keep Gong Haeseon alive gave me sufficient justification to follow the instructions. Yet the ‘Message’ must have thought that wasn’t enough, because it even dangled the Tears of the Mermaid—something you couldn’t buy with money—as a reward.
It had never gone this far before, offering rewards to make me move. In fact, I hadn’t even known it could give rewards at all. For it to go to such unusual lengths, it really seemed desperate for me to save Lee Daesan….
“…”
After staring at the Message and thinking deeply for a while, I finally made up my mind and dismissed it. It was suspicious, sure, but there were more than enough reasons for me to follow the order. I couldn’t let Gong Haeseon die, and the success reward of the Tears of the Mermaid was valuable enough to justify the risk.
“Soyeon. Haeseon.”
I gauged the mana I had left and spoke to the two girls who were looking at me in confusion.
“Once everyone evacuates, go somewhere safe together. Got it?”
“…What?”
“U-um…?”
I had about 80% of my mana remaining. If I used it as efficiently as possible, I should be able to cast magic at least twice. I drew up my mana, then gave them a bright smile.
“I’ll be right back.”
Leaving those short words behind, I turned without hesitation and ran toward the plaza.
“…Where are you going!”
“J-Jihwan…!”
I could hear Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon calling my name from behind, but their voices were soon swallowed by the wind rushing past my ears and disappeared.
*
Yu Jihwan, heading to the plaza alone, looked around with clear suspicion. Normally, Gates formed in places where mana was excessively concentrated. The principle was that the over-compressed mana would burst open, tearing a hole in the dimension. However, the ‘Mana Overdensity Prevention Barrier’ surrounding Toyland was still intact, and there were no signs of any intrusion. In other words, this was not an environment where a Gate could possibly appear.
“…”
Harboring an inexplicable doubt, Jihwan continued toward the plaza. That was when he heard the distant roar of a beast.
Kyuuuuueeeeeeeeek—!
It was a cry filled with agony. Assuming the teachers were already engaged in battle, Jihwan picked up his pace slightly. And a moment later…
Bang—! Bang—!
“Kuaaaaaaaaagh!”
Upon reaching the area near the plaza, Yu Jihwan was stunned by the scene unfolding before him. Academy instructors were locked in combat with an unidentified group wearing white equipment. And behind them, a massive lizard-like beast was thrashing violently, tightly bound by strands of mana that had erupted from the ground.
“Gaura…”
The beast Gaura. A B-rank monster resembling an enormous lizard that primarily appeared in water-based Gates. Not only was a B-rank beast emerging from an abnormally formed Gate a problem, but the unidentified group fighting the teachers was an even bigger issue. Sensing that something was seriously wrong, Jihwan hid his body slightly and observed the situation.
Lee Daesan was fighting right next to the Gaura against an unidentified ability user wielding a white scythe. The opponent seemed to be of similar skill level, as the battle remained evenly matched. Deciding it would be best to help Lee Daesan as the Message had instructed, Jihwan began looking for a way to circle around—when suddenly…
“J-Jihwan…!”
“Hey, Yu Jihwan!!”
He heard someone calling his name from behind.
“!”
It was Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon. Caught completely off guard by their sudden appearance, Jihwan shouted in alarm.
“Why are you two here?! I told you to go somewhere safe!”
Min Soyeon, breathing heavily, shot back at him.
“…You just ran off without saying anything! What were we supposed to do?!”
Realizing his explanation had been lacking, Jihwan quickly glanced toward the ongoing battle and thought to himself. It didn’t look like they would leave quietly, but he couldn’t bring them along either. He had to persuade them somehow and send them away.
“Kids, go back right now. This place is too dangerous…”
“…What about you?”
His feet suddenly held in place by an unexpected obstacle, Jihwan checked the plaza once more before speaking in a calm voice.
“…I came to help the teachers. I’ll be back soon, so you two go on ahead.”
But Min Soyeon and Gong Haeseon had no intention of leaving. They took a step forward and declared boldly.
“…Then I’ll help too.”
“Th-that’s right, Jihwan…. We’ll help you…!”
Flustered, Jihwan desperately tried to convince them that it was absolutely not allowed. However, the two stubbornly insisted that if he wasn’t leaving, neither were they. After arguing back and forth several times, Jihwan looked at the intensifying battlefield and finally gave up with a sigh.
“…If you really want to help me, I won’t stop you. But you must never leave my side. …Can you do that?”
Gong Haeseon answered with a face full of determination, pulling out her staff, while Min Soyeon slowly nodded as she transformed her earring into a sword.
“I-I can do it…!”
Worry flooded Jihwan’s heart at the sight of them, but given the circumstances, he knew there was no other choice. He spoke firmly.
“…Let’s go.”
It was the beginning of their first real battle.
*
Boom—! Boom—!
Explosions rang out from all directions. People lay collapsed everywhere, bleeding. The amusement park that should have been filled with beautiful memories had turned into complete chaos in the blink of an eye.
“Haeseon!! Left side!!”
At Jihwan’s shout, Gong Haeseon gave the order to attack with the low-rank fire spirit she had summoned. The moment light burst from her staff, the fire spirit spat out a fist-sized fireball.
Shwooooong— Thud!
The man in white staggered as the fireball struck him square in the chest.
“Haaat…!”
Seizing the opening, I dashed forward and slashed the man without hesitation.
Thwack!!!
The moment my sword connected with his body, a dull thud echoed. He must have been wearing some kind of reinforced equipment again; the sensation was closer to striking than cutting.
“Good! Let’s move again!!”
After giving a quick word of praise, Jihwan hurriedly led us toward the next enemy.
Jihwan gave the orders, Haeseon distracted the opponent, and I delivered the finishing blow. We had been fighting in this pattern the entire time, and thanks to Jihwan’s precise instructions, our coordination was surprisingly good. We had already taken down six enemies like this. Including the ones the teachers had defeated, we’d probably eliminated nearly half of them.
“Soyeon! Watch your right!!”
…Right!
I reflexively dropped my body low at Jihwan’s sudden warning and glanced to the right.
“O-Oh God!!!”
A man in white clothes charged at me, short sword in hand. I gripped my blade with both hands, infused it with mana, and swung upward from below.
Thuuud—!!!
Another dull impact. Thanks to the mana, the man was sent flying and crashed hard into the ground.
I sheathed my sword and glanced back with a strange sense of anticipation. Just as I’d hoped…
“…Well done, Soyeon!”
Jihwan praised me, exactly as I had expected.
…Hehe….
I quickly hid the corners of my mouth that were twitching upward and followed after him as if nothing had happened.
We moved a little farther and came across a woman fiercely fighting one of the teachers.
“Haeseon! One o’clock direction!!”
Following Jihwan’s assessment of the situation, Gong Haeseon commanded her spirit. The fireball flew straight at the woman’s leg—
Thud—!
“Kyaa…!”
“Haaaaat!”
The teacher quickly subdued the woman and thanked us.
“Haeseon. You did really well!”
Gong Haeseon gave Jihwan a shy smile, then glanced sideways at me. Unlike the face she showed him, her cold expression and the twisted smirk on her lips felt like she was openly mocking me.
Crack—
The moment I unconsciously tightened my grip on the sword, Jihwan called us over, saying we should hurry.
“Kids. Let’s move quickly!”
While Jihwan moved slightly ahead, Gong Haeseon gave me a quick once-over before quietly following after him.
“…”
An unpleasant sensation crawled over my skin.
…That bitch….
All sorts of negative emotions began to fill my chest to the brim. I stared hard at the back of Gong Haeseon’s head, then gripped my sword tightly as if shaking off those feelings and quietly followed behind Jihwan.
Ever since Gong Haeseon had started provoking me, a strange current of competition had begun to flow between us. Every time one of us received praise from Jihwan, we would glance at each other or smile in challenge. We kept provoking one another endlessly, and the competition grew fiercer by the minute.
“Haeseon!”
One point for Gong Haeseon.
“Soyeon!”
One point for me.
Every time we received an order from Jihwan, carried it out successfully, and earned his praise, my chest swelled with pride. The sense of superiority that I was ahead of Gong Haeseon, the strange confidence that rose every time an enemy fell with a thud, and on top of that, Jihwan’s praise—it all made my body feel lighter and lighter, as if fatigue couldn’t touch me.
I kept cutting down enemies without hesitation as we approached the lizard beast. That was when a woman appeared, blocking our path.
Aside from her short black hair that hung loosely, she was covered entirely in white from head to toe, obsessively concealing every inch of skin. In both hands, she held white-painted chains that were wrapped around her fists.
She was clearly an enemy.
“…”
She stood there silently, seemingly gauging our strength. Although she wore a pure white mask, it somehow felt like she was staring specifically at Gong Haeseon.
Right then—
Clink, clink, clink—
The woman unfurled the pure white chains wrapped around both hands and began spinning them in circles.
Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—!
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
The faster the chains spun, the more speed they gained. I could tell this opponent was on a completely different level from the ones we had faced so far. The moment Gong Haeseon and I assumed our stances, waiting for Jihwan’s command—
The man who had been standing back suddenly stepped in front of us and said,
“…Kids. Hold on a second.”
At Jihwan’s sudden words, both Gong Haeseon and I looked at him with startled eyes. Why was he suddenly stopping us when he had trusted us to fight until now? A slight sense of unease began to creep in.
…No way….
“…I’ll take care of this one myself.”
Just as I feared, Jihwan declared that he would handle her personally. I was so shocked by his words that I froze.
“…Huh?”
Not me—Jihwan himself was stepping up to fight. My heart sank. The man who had trusted me and given me orders this entire time was suddenly taking the lead… Did he think I couldn’t handle her? Did Jihwan not trust me? Even if it was Gong Haeseon, did he really not trust me?
I tried to suppress the anxiety blooming in my chest by scolding myself, but my heart was already drowning in unease. In the end, I couldn’t hold back the boiling anxiety any longer. Stepping forward stubbornly, I declared,
“…I want to do it.”