Chapter 19: A Brief Parting

Thunk! Crack!

Thud.

After smashing the last Deadman’s head, I leaned against a tree. Around me lay the scattered remains of Deadmen, their heads all shattered.

I had tried to conserve my energy, taking them down one by one, but it ended quickly. It was a one-sided massacre. Yet, I couldn’t feel satisfied. Instead of relief, a sense of unease lingered.

“Ugh.”

I spat on the remains before me, but my instincts, suppressed for so long, seemed to rebel, demanding more. My chest felt tight, and deep breaths only seemed to fan the flames. I wondered if I even wanted to quell this feeling in the first place.

“Damn it. This is no child’s play. Just ruined my appetite.”

Unable to suppress the rising bloodlust, I struck the tree beside me.

Crash! Crackle…

Even without using any magic, the sturdy tree crumbled with a heavy sound. It eased my mood a bit, but the bloodlust that filled me didn’t completely dissipate.

With my companions gone, I was tempted to set the forest ablaze, but I held back. Even if I crossed the stone wall, who knew what other monsters awaited outside? I was worried about the others, and I didn’t have time to waste if I wanted to retrieve my arrows.

With no one watching, I quickly moved, managing my magic as I went.

The trees, the forest, and the surrounding scenery blurred past me. In no time, I found myself back at the stone tomb where I had been earlier.

As I pulled the arrows from the Deadmen’s heads, I sensed no sign of my companions. As expected, they must have left the forest right after I entered.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… This should be enough.”

I wanted to just shove the arrows into my quiver, but knowing Ansol, she’d probably have a fit if she saw them like this, so I brushed off the debris.

‘Time to head out.’

I walked slowly, just in case Ahn Hyun and the others were nearby. Before crossing the stone wall, I turned to look at the silent forest.

The forest was unchanged. It looked the same as it did before. The last time I left the forest, I was too busy running to think. I just realized I was out once I was already outside.

But now, it was different. I stood there, gazing at the forest for a while. I felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

After indulging in the moment, I leapt over the wall. I didn’t want to get caught up in sentimental nonsense. I had more important things to focus on.

Once over the wall, the scene before me was far from what I expected. The path I stood on was uneven but showed signs of human touch. Though not perfectly straight, the rough edges had a consistent pattern.

Below, the plains stretched endlessly, painting a vast horizon. The area was quiet, with only the occasional breeze making its presence known.

No monsters in sight. But neither were my companions. No matter where I looked, even using magic to sense them, I couldn’t find a trace. The thought crossed my mind that they might have abandoned me.

With three people of good alignment, the chance of betrayal seemed low. But I couldn’t judge based on disposition alone.

If they left me behind, it was likely they waited for me and then something happened. There were many types of monsters in the rite of passage, not just Deadmen. Assuming something happened, I decided to look for traces of my companions.

Finding clues or tracks wasn’t too difficult for me. As I calmly surveyed the area, following the stone wall, I found a patch of earth with deep sneaker prints. It seemed they had crossed the wall in this direction.

Following the direction of the disturbed earth, I soon found signs of where my companions had gathered. After confirming there was nothing around, it seemed they had waited for me here. Realizing this, the slight sense of betrayal that had started to settle in my heart melted away.

I crouched at the spot where they had gathered, examining it slowly. A skilled ranger or trapper could deduce when, where, how many, and why things happened. I wasn’t at that level. All I could do was use my keen observation and abilities to the fullest.

Enhancing my vision, I compared and contrasted each footprint. First, I familiarized myself with the prints that seemed to belong to my companions, then examined the rest. The footprints were so chaotic, it looked like they had done a group shuffle dance, making it hard to distinguish them. A fleeting sense of unease crossed my mind, but I reassured myself it was too early to jump to conclusions and continued my examination.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I finished my analysis. I stretched my legs and stood up. Excluding the prints that seemed to belong to my companions, there were no strange tracks. If I had to nitpick, there was one print with a deep heel mark. But with sneaker patterns over it, it was hard to tell if it was theirs.

There were no drag marks, so it wasn’t a Deadman. I considered the possibility of a boss monster but quickly dismissed it. It had only been half a day since we started, and there were specific conditions for a boss monster to appear.

Pushing thoughts of a boss monster aside, nothing seemed to stand out. There was only one option left. Knowing it was unlikely, I began to awaken my magic circuits.

In an instant, I drew out my magic with explosive force, activating my third eye. What I was about to do was on a different level than simply checking an opponent’s user information.

I hadn’t expected to use this much magic so early, but with time of the essence, I couldn’t think of another way. If I wasted time trying to sense them with magic, something could happen, and I couldn’t guarantee their safety.

What I intended to observe with my third eye was not the ‘present’ but the ‘past.’ This unique ability, under the right conditions, could even observe other dimensions. Thus, seeing the future and past of the current dimension depended on one’s ability.

Just as a worry was about to cross my mind, a scene seeped into my eyes, drawing my focus naturally.

Crack!

“Ugh…!”

In just one second, the scene that had appeared on my retina distorted, and a massive shock struck my eyes. My eyes burned as if they were on fire. Even as I rubbed my eyes reflexively, a bitter laugh escaped me.

It was just one second. I had only seen a single moment from the past, yet my third eye was forcibly canceled. After a moment, as the pain in my eyes subsided, I muttered in a hollow voice.

“Ha… Haha. To think 96 magic points could only sustain it for a second… This is crazy.”

I had hoped, but my magic ability couldn’t withstand the overdrive of my unique ability. I was reminded of how high-level the third eye was, but I also felt a twinge of regret.

Seeing the past is considered on par with seeing the future. It’s a different matter than simply predicting the future. Even though I had reached S-rank with the third eye, and thought it might be possible, the forced manifestation and subsequent two-rank drop seemed to be holding me back. Even with the one-rank boost from the fire attribute, I could only observe the present phenomena, and dealing with the past and future was still premature.

The pain was subsiding, but my vision was still blurry. It seemed to be a side effect of the magic backlash. Fortunately, as time passed, the objects around me became clearer, indicating it wasn’t permanent vision loss.

Despite the unintended risk, I had gained something.

Though it was just one second, I had indeed seen the ‘past.’ I recalled the scene that had flashed on my retina and let out a deep sigh. Just when I thought I had gathered a capable team and escaped the forest, an even more challenging task awaited me.

If it were a matter of lacking power, I could understand, but the reality of having power and still having to endure was even more depressing. If worse came to worst, I could cause a ruckus, rite of passage be damned, but that was a last resort.

It felt like one mountain after another.