Ian’s tone was loaded with meaning, but the expedition team didn’t really feel anything strange. It didn’t quite hit home, to be honest. After all, ancient symbols are open to interpretation, and Ian was only reciting fragmented records he vaguely remembered—he didn’t know the exact details.
Though they gained little from interpreting the murals, Eldora urged the team to at least step inside and led them toward the tower. Pushing open the worn stone door, the expedition couldn’t hide their surprise at the scene inside. The tower looked massive from the outside, but the interior was far more spacious than they had imagined.
“Let’s go. We’ve already figured out the path up to this floor,” Olivia said lightly, then strode confidently into the darkness. As if to prove she wasn’t bluffing, she navigated the confusing maze of corridors without hesitation. In less than half an hour, they found the stairs leading upward.
Olivia quietly stepped back, signaling this was as far as she’d go, and Natalie dashed ahead to take the lead. Her face was bright with excitement, as if the real adventure was finally beginning.
“Hehe. Finally, an adventure,” Natalie giggled.
“Natalie, try not to get too carried away. First and foremost…”
“Safety first, safety second. Got it, got it.”
Natalie cut off the warning with a playful grin. Eldora’s army stirred briefly but said nothing. They knew Natalie genuinely loved the thrill of adventure—and the more she enjoyed it, the better she performed.
“All right, let’s go!”
Natalie called out cheerfully and flung open the door. This floor was darker than the first, and the path ahead quickly disappeared into shadows. She put a horn to her lips and began carefully scouting the way. Those following tightened their grips on their weapons, faces tense. In a way, the real game was just starting.
…Or so they thought. The tower’s interior was nothing like they expected. It was gloomy and thick with dust, but there were no monsters or traps. Natalie frowned, paying close attention, but nothing appeared. Eventually, they found the stairs to the third floor in about the same time it took to cross the first floor.
The team climbed, bewildered, but the third and even fourth floors were much the same. Each level’s layout shifted slightly, but the oppressive silence remained. As they pressed on without any interference, tension began to build. These seasoned adventurers weren’t celebrating an easy win; instead, the eerie quiet made them uneasy.
“What’s going on here? Elphin Lord!” Akhirof finally snapped, unable to hold back before the stairs to the fifth floor. Only one explanation came to mind.
“Obviously! The clan members must have retreated, and the scavengers pounced right after! How did they manage their intel so poorly?”
“You sound like it’s already been cleaned out.”
“This situation is—”
“Akhirof, enough.”
Sensing the mood turning sour, Eldora quickly cut him off, signaling for calm. She glanced at Natalie, who stood by the stairs.
“Did you find any signs of intrusion?”
Natalie paused, then shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. If I had, I would’ve said something already.”
Akhirof’s anger deflated somewhat, but his scowl remained. Amid the awkward silence, Melinus gently offered encouragement, and Natalie turned back to lead the way. Soon, the group silently ascended the stairs to the fifth floor.
When they cautiously opened the door, the scene before them was different from the lower floors. There was only one path—a roughly three-meter-wide corridor stretching ahead, surrounded by darkness on all sides, like a cloud bridge suspended in midair.
Natalie squinted, looking down to either side. If this bridge truly floated in the void, they should be able to see below. But no matter how much she focused, all she saw was darkness. Something felt off, and their pace naturally slowed.
Step by careful step, they pressed forward. After about an hour, the seemingly endless bridge finally began to end. The corridor widened into a circular plaza. As Natalie stepped off the bridge and into the open space, she suddenly let out a short gasp.
“Ah…”
“What is it?”
A handsome young man clad in silver field armor embossed with a lion emblem stepped forward. But even he was speechless at the sight before them.
The clatter of old metal echoed under their feet as they moved. The plaza was roughly two hundred meters across, but it was piled high with unidentifiable metal debris. Among the wreckage were broken weapons and shattered armor fragments, but what stood out was that most of it was oriented toward the center—as if something had been desperately defended and lost.
“Was there some fierce battle here? It feels like we’re looking at the aftermath of a war,” Edward muttered, scanning the area.
“Maybe. To me, it looks like a feast a rat snuck in and raided,” Akhirof grumbled, still bothered by earlier events.
Olivia stopped abruptly, clenching her fists, when Natalie suddenly pointed ahead.
“Look, over there!”
The entire team instinctively followed her gaze. But some quickly showed disappointment. Around the edge of the debris-strewn center stood eight pillars arranged in a circle, evenly spaced.
They weren’t ordinary round pillars but wedge-shaped, like slices of a cake. That was it. No relics, no sheaths—nothing mysterious, just plain and unimpressive.
So, this was all there was.
“What do we do now?” someone muttered, their voice weak.
Then—
“Wait a moment.”
Ian’s voice cut through the silence. Squatting down, he carefully examined the floor, brushing away debris and blowing dust aside. Melinus stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“Hmm. Could be a magic circle hidden beneath the rubble…”
“No, it’s not a magic circle. I’ve been watching the whole way here. I didn’t see any symbols.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a line.”
Ian pointed to the gray floor. When the team gathered around, they saw a straight groove about the size of a pinky joint etched into the stone. Ian looked back and forth, then blinked rapidly as if he’d just realized something.
“This line… it seems to be connected.”
“Connected? How?”
“Look. The edges of the pillars align perfectly with the grooves, all pointing toward the center.”
“…!”
Their eyes widened. They understood what Ian meant.
Without hesitation, the team began clearing debris all around, focusing on the areas where the lines met the pillars. Before long, voices began to call out as they uncovered matching grooves.
Soon, they found eight lines—exactly matching the number of pillars. Their gazes naturally shifted to the center, where the mysterious pile of debris formed a mound. It hadn’t seemed odd before, but now, seeing how thickly it was stacked there, a sudden intuition struck them. Could something be hidden beneath?
“Should we clear it away?”
A low voice finally broke the tense silence.
gulp
The sound of swallowed saliva echoed quietly through the stillness of the fifth floor.
Northern Continent.
Atlanta.
The mercenary castle towering over the southern city was heating up with an inexplicable intensity. In truth, the castle had been noisy for some time—not just chatter, but a cacophony of loud bangs and explosions shaking the surroundings. Anyone passing by might have thought bombs were going off.
Bang!
Just like now.
The source of the noise was the castle’s garden.
And after some time passed, the explosions suddenly ceased. The commotion died down, and the heat began to fade. Then, through the thick smoke, the figure of a young man clad in jet-black armor emerged.
The young man calmly scanned his surroundings, his face drawn tight. Then, slowly, he raised his left hand and turned it over to look at it. To everyone’s shock, a dark red arrow was lodged in the back of his hand, piercing through to the palm. He stared at the trickling blood for a moment before shifting his gaze indifferently toward the direction the arrow had come from.
“This arrow… is it from Seon Yuwon?”
The young man—no, Kim Suhyun—lifted his left hand and spoke. Only then did the others notice the wound, and startled gasps erupted from all around. Several robed priests rushed forward, but Kim Suhyun waved them off and fixed his eyes on the man holding a violet bow.
Seon Yuwon’s usual stoic expression was replaced by one of genuine surprise, as if he couldn’t believe he had actually hit the mark. Kim Suhyun smirked and pulled the arrow free. Seon Yuwon only seemed to regain his composure when Kim Suhyun casually tossed the bloodied arrow back, which flew gently through the air.
“Come to think of it, I heard you completely cleared the first floor of the Abyssal Chasm recently.”
“Y-yes.”
Seon Yuwon hastily caught the arrow and nodded repeatedly.
“To be honest, when I first heard you were attempting it, I thought it was madness. But now, I have to admit—it was a perfect shot.”
“Oh, no. I know you went easy on me, and it was really thanks to my comrades…”
He quickly shook his head, stumbling over his words. Even though it was just one arrow, and only a wound on the back of his hand at that, for Seon Yuwon, hitting Kim Suhyun was an astonishing feat—enough to throw his mind into chaos.
“Hmm.”
Kim Suhyun let out a satisfied hum and scanned the garden once more. With a casual flick of his hand, two swords suddenly flew in from somewhere and slid neatly into his waist.
“Looks like everyone’s been working hard. Let’s call it a day.”
With that, he turned and strode purposefully back toward the main building. As Kim Suhyun’s figure disappeared, deep sighs echoed from various corners of the garden.
“Pffft!”
An Hyun, who had been face-down in the dirt, barely managed to pull his head free and shook it vigorously. Spitting out the soil that had invaded his mouth, he caught sight of Jin Suhyun lying sprawled nearby, chuckling to himself.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Hey, did you see his face just now?”
An Hyun, stuck in the ground, obviously hadn’t seen it. Jin Suhyun wore a look of pity before bursting into a suppressed, almost maniacal giggle.
“Such a shame. You really should’ve seen it.”
“What was it like?”
“Like he’d just taken a serious hit. Finally, we managed to land an attack.”
“…”
Pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, Jin Suhyun indicated Seon Yuwon, who stood dazed, clutching the arrow Kim Suhyun had handed him. Jin Suhyun chuckled and continued excitedly.
“Now he has no choice but to admit it. That’s what he’s saying.”
“Who knows.”
Though Jin Suhyun acted as if he’d been the one to land the hit, An Hyun’s reaction was indifferent.
“What? Why? Cheer up a bit. It’s been so long since we succeeded in an attack…”
“Maybe you should look around.”
An Hyun’s teasing remark made Jin Suhyun glance around the garden in confusion. After blinking a few times, his excited expression slowly faded, replaced by awkwardness. Of course, the sparring session hadn’t involved only Seon Yuwon, An Hyun, and Jin Suhyun.
Shin Jaeryong lay sprawled like a starfish in the flowerbed, staring up at the sky. Im Hanna was half-folded, caught in the branches of a large tree. Cha Heeyoung curled up, clutching her abdomen and whimpering. Lee Yujeong was nowhere to be seen. An Sol and Jegal Haesol floated side by side in the waterway, as if they were little sailboats, both unconscious.
Splash!
“Ah, seriously.”
Apparently, Jegal Haesol was awake. Clinging to the edge of the waterway, he glared in the direction Kim Suhyun had disappeared, grinding his teeth.
“Does this make any sense? That guy’s cheating, I swear.”
“He’s the clan lord. Don’t say ‘that guy.’”
Lee Yujeong limped in from somewhere, her voice weak. She looked pretty rough herself.
“Why does every spell I cast just get cut off? What’s my magic power stat again?”
“…”
“And what’s with those swords? Since nothing else was working, I tried casting an invisible, colorless, odorless, silent spell, and—damn it! The swords intercepted it themselves? How sneaky. What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?”
“…”
Watching Jegal Haesol vent his frustration like a machine gun, An Hyun sighed quietly to himself. Then he chuckled lightly. Today was Jegal Haesol’s first official sparring session, wasn’t it?
That explained it. An Hyun had felt something similar when he first faced Kim Suhyun in the Steel Mountains.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch.”
Pouring the potion over the wound, the back of my hand tingled as if charged with static electricity. I probably shouldn’t have bought that arrow at the auction after all. I knew it was cursed, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter… Wait, did Hwajeong treat it right away?
I gave a faint, wry smile, spreading half the potion evenly over the wound and gulping down the rest before standing up. Stepping out onto the terrace, I took in the garden, which was torn up and broken in places.
It wasn’t exactly a beautiful sight, but I felt a quiet sense of pride. Now that sparring had become almost an official routine, the clan members’ skills were visibly improving. If they kept facing me, soon they wouldn’t be fazed by most demons.
Of course, I was gaining something too. A kind of training, you could say.
Looking back, I hadn’t spent as much time training as I thought I would since this round began. Not that I really needed to, but things had changed now.
The power I gained from inheriting the Sword Lord’s legacy was undeniably strong, but it demanded a high level of control. If I couldn’t master it properly, it would be like a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck—useless. I had to make it mine and get comfortable with it as soon as possible.
“Hmm…”
Still, watching the garden, I couldn’t help but worry a little. I figured Jo Seungwoo would probably show up within five minutes. Just yesterday, he’d begged me to stop sparring in the garden, complaining about how much it cost to repair, even suggesting we build a new training ground instead.
Knock, knock.
Ah, that was quick. A bit earlier than I expected.
“Come in.”
I sat down quickly, ready to show the back of my hand if he started complaining. But when the door clicked open, it wasn’t Jo Seungwoo who entered.
“Kim Hanbyul?”
“Y-yes. Hello.”
Kim Hanbyul bowed her head and stepped inside hesitantly, clutching a stack of reports tightly in her arms. What was she doing here?
“What’s the matter?”
“A report…”
A report. Honestly, it wasn’t the most welcome visit. I’d just finished sparring and was soaked in sweat, eager to wash up.
“Is it urgent?”
“Uh… are you busy?”
“No, just… as you can see, I’m pretty sweaty. I probably smell.”
“Oh. I’m fine.”
Fine…?
Suddenly, something felt off. Kim Hanbyul’s attitude wasn’t like before. Her usually cold eyes seemed tense today, and she kept stumbling over her words.
“Sorry. If you’re busy, I can come back tonight…”
Kim Hanbyul muttered, looking flustered.
Ah, now I get it. My schedule had been brutal lately, so she probably felt bad about interrupting my brief rest. How thoughtful.
“It’s okay. You must have come because it’s important. But why isn’t Jeong Hayeon here?”
“She’s very busy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And I think it’s about time I started learning more…”
I nodded slowly. Well, the mercenary group had been incredibly busy lately, and Jeong Hayeon personally had more than four tasks on her plate. Since Kim Hanbyul was the deputy head of the mage class, it wasn’t unusual for her to come report.
Thinking that, a smile crept onto my face.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just… I’m looking forward to it.”
“L-looking forward to it?”
“Heh.”
I guess so. It felt refreshing in a way. The chick who knew nothing during the initiation had grown up so well that she was now coming to report. It even gave me a sense of nostalgia. Maybe Kim Hanbyul felt the same way.
“Alright. Then go ahead and report.”
I sank back into the chair and nodded.
“Okay.”
Kim Hanbyul took a deep breath, straightened up, and began walking toward me cautiously. I wanted to tell her she could just report from where she was, but she had a strong sense of pride. I decided to overlook a small mistake and watched her approach slowly.
But then—
“…?”
She didn’t stop.
Suddenly, she veered to the side, bent down, and crawled under the desk. Then, without a sound, she disappeared from sight.
A moment later—
“Well then…”
As I felt the damp fabric of her sweat-soaked pants brushing gently against my leg,
“I-I’ll start the report now.”
Kim Hanbyul’s face peeked out from beneath the desk.
“…?”
…Huh?
Whew, just barely managed to get this up before heading out. Episode 7 will probably wrap up in the next installment. Kim Soo-hyun’s perspective fully returns starting from episode 4, but I’ll try to get through episodes 5 and 6 as quickly as possible.
Also, I mentioned this briefly in the comments yesterday, but I’m heading off for reserve forces training starting today. It’s a 2-night, 3-day training from Tuesday, March 31st to Thursday, April 2nd, totaling 28 hours. I’m guessing it’ll be something like 10 hours the first day, 10 the second, and 8 the last. I’ll probably get home pretty late each night.
Honestly, I really didn’t want to go this time… but when I called the Military Manpower Administration, they said if you skip reserve training even once without a valid reason, you get reported. -_-a They also mentioned a fine of around 50 (I assume 50,000 won), so I just gave in. (?)
Some of you readers have probably already finished your training (I’m seriously jealous of you all. ㅜ.ㅠ), but since everyone in the reserves has to do it without exception, I’m going to try to approach it with a positive attitude. Plus, this will mark the end of my 4th year, so this should be my last round of training. Haha.
Anyway, I’ll update and then pack the essentials for the 2-night, 3-day stay. I’ll be back with the final part of episode 7 on Saturday, April 4th. Wishing all my readers a wonderful day. (__)