It looked like they decided to descend the mountain the moment they realized there was nothing to be found at Heaven Lake.

I had started heading down ahead of them since it wasn’t really my business—but at some point, they began following close behind.

“...Is this really okay?”

The problem was that the team members were following behind me, not Woo Janghun.

He trailed along far behind, silent and clearly distanced from the group.

“Of course~”

At some point, a female hero—who seemed to be a support—had moved in right beside me.

Her face was familiar. I felt like I’d seen her on TV a few times.

Pretty features, energetic vibe.

Her name... I couldn’t remember.

“We seriously almost died, you know? All because of someone back there...”

She glanced back and glared at Woo Janghun.

Her gaze was filled with blatant frustration and anger.

“By the way, are you a student somewhere? Gaon, right? Or Kalos?”

“Gaon.”

Her eyes lit up at my answer.

“I graduated from Gaon too! Mind if I drop the formal speech?”

She grinned playfully as she continued.

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks! But really, how the hell did you get up there? There were a ton of monsters, and two days ago you definitely weren’t this cool—I mean, you didn’t have this kind of presence...”

She kept talking with curious eyes fixed on me.

Apparently, polite speech had been her last restraint.

The descent was much easier than expected.

Monsters were almost nowhere to be seen.

Even when one did appear, it was always some weak creature that posed no threat.

Before long, we reached the base of the mountain.

A huge crowd had already gathered there.

News reporters, guild officials, agents from the Hero Association.

All of them had rushed in to investigate the strange phenomenon that occurred at Mount Baekdu.

The scene was chaotic.

Camera flashes popped left and right, and reporters shoved microphones in people’s faces.

—Did you find a ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Fragment?

—What’s your opinion on the recent incident?

A barrage of questions.

All eyes were on the Lotus team.

Which was perfect for me—I slipped away through the crowd without attracting attention.

That was the whole point of coming down with them in the first place.

If a student-looking kid came down alone, it would’ve drawn way too much attention.

But alongside the Lotus team, of course all eyes would be on them instead.

Thanks.

Taking advantage of the moment, I quietly slipped away toward the terminal.

That’s when I saw a familiar face.

Kim Gilgyu?

He was an agent of the Association—the same guy who picked me up for the Tomb of Iano negotiations.

When he spotted me, he froze for a moment, then quickly reached out his hand.

“Jeong Haein...!”

But just then—

The surging crowd shoved against him.

He tried to reach out and grab me, but his hand only sliced through empty air.

The distance between us grew instantly.

I ducked back into the crowd and disappeared.

As expected from an Association man—his instincts were sharp.

I gave him a small wave and smiled.

Then silently mouthed the words:

I’ll be going now.

I had no intention of being caught right now.

***

Arrived at Mount Baekdu on Saturday, popped back out on Monday.

Time had definitely been thoroughly twisted.

Naturally, I was absent from school today.

Living the model student life.

Which meant—school wasn’t where I was headed now.

Crowded.

This was Yeouido. Just like in the real world, this place was always packed with people.

Skyscrapers lined the streets, plastered with signs from various guilds.

But in the center—something stood out.

A penthouse estate on a scale clearly beyond the rest.

And that’s where I was now.

I reached out toward the massive iron gate to press the bell.

—Clunk!

But there was no need.

The heavy iron gate rumbled softly and opened on its own.

The internal detection system must have identified me.

As I passed the gate, a vast garden unfolded before my eyes.

A neatly maintained walking path and fountain.

On one side, a small pond and gazebo.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Despite being in the middle of the city, the atmosphere was unbelievably quiet and peaceful.

A space that reflected the Old Man’s personal taste.

The main building was further ahead.

You had to walk through the garden to get there.

Just as I was about to move forward quietly—

I noticed a silhouette lounging on a sunbed off to the side of the yard.

Ugh.

I tried to quietly head toward the building without waking her up...

“Haein...?”

Of course, her senses were sharp as ever.

I paused mid-step with a faintly awkward expression.

She lifted her sunglasses slightly and looked at me—then suddenly—

“Haein!!”

Her voice rang out, filled with excitement.

She sprang up from the sunbed and ran straight at me.

—Wham!

I tried to dodge on instinct, but I was too late.

She grabbed my arm without hesitation and pulled me into a full-on hug.

“It’s been forever since you started school~ Skipping class today?”

A familiar scent of perfume tickled my nose.

Her name was Seong Ara.

A member of Vanquisher.

I barely managed to slip out of her arms and got straight to the point.

“Is anyone inside right now?”

Seong Ara grinned brightly as she patted my shoulder, then put a finger to her lips.

“Hmm... Just Gwangcheol and me.”

The ones I really needed to see were the Old Man and Park Gwangcheol.

So Gae Gwangcheol’s here...

“What about the Old Man?”

“Someone from the Association picked him up in a car for a bit. Pretty sure it was about Mount Baekdu? He’ll be back soon.”

Then it made more sense to wait here.

“Thanks. I’ll go in.”

“Let’s go together~”

I followed Seong Ara as she opened the entrance to the penthouse.

Inside—it was loud.

“Ah, fuck... Hey, Seong Ara, did you mess with my drone again?!”

A furious voice rang out from the far end of the foyer.

Park Gwangcheol.

As he came out of the living room holding a drone, Park Gwangcheol spotted me just as I passed the foyer.

In that moment, he froze in place.

His eyes widened.

And for a long while, he just stared at me.

Normally, he would’ve cracked a grin and greeted me with some playful remark.

But this time, he didn’t say anything.

Unnaturally, almost eerily silent.

“...Who the hell are you?”

His words made me furrow my brow.

“You forget your meds or something?”

Next to me, Seong Ara looked at him like he was insane.

But Park Gwangcheol kept staring at me, pressing two fingers hard into his temple with a frown.

After a moment of deliberation, he finally spoke, voice low.

“...You are Haein.”

His gaze sharpened.

“But what the hell did you do?”

He must’ve sensed the change in my body.

So I told him the truth.

I could trust these two.

“I think I absorbed the Fragment.”

Their eyes widened instantly.

“...What?”

The air went cold.

***

I went through a physical exam using one of the machines Park Gwangcheol had made.

The result: my body was completely fine.

To confirm the rest, I now stood in the center of the underground combat training arena.

Before me stood a massive training dummy.

The same one I had marked as my personal benchmark.

—Haein, you’re really doing this?

The dummy was infused with ‘dark’ elemental mana at its core, making it incredibly resistant to damage from standard attacks.

The plan had been to use it as the proof—if Sung Siwoo someday absorbed a Fragment and managed to destroy this thing, it would confirm that he had truly internalized the Fragment’s power.

Now, I was going to verify that standard myself—with my own body.

—Difficulty 7, Acid Reaper activated.

On the other side of the reinforced glass, Seong Ara and Park Gwangcheol were watching.

Their eyes were full of tension and concern.

The dummy was set to difficulty level 7.

Normally, it would take two rank-5 heroes to even stand a chance against it.

Considering that the average Gaon graduate hovers around rank 4, this was a pretty serious opponent.

I had purposely raised the difficulty above normal.

Not just because I was stronger than Sung Siwoo,

But because I needed to know—without doubt—that the Fragment had fully taken root inside me.

—3, 2, 1.

—Begin.

The grotesque silhouette twitched and moved.

And then—

—KIEEEEEGH!

The dummy shrieked and charged at me.

Instantly, my vision expanded.

Unified Perception, evolved from Intuition,

Read the battlefield with incredible clarity.

I dodged.

My entire body reacted on its own.

Its strike was fast—faster than I’d have normally handled. If not for my evolved senses, it would’ve landed.

—Sssht!

I moved in close and slashed with my spear.

But the dummy twisted its body, slipping past the blow.

In that brief instant, the edge of the spear grazed its body.

—Tsssshhh

‘...!’

Its dark-element core hissed and began to burn slightly.

That meant the Fragment’s mana was now fully integrated into my body.

It had seared right through the dark element.

That’s confirmation.

With no hesitation, I kicked off the ground and launched myself into the air.

Full-power throw.

My most confident technique.

I positioned myself midair to unleash the throw—

“...?”

Suddenly,

A foreign impulse surged through my mind.

Reflexively, I twisted my body midair.

—Hey! What the hell are you doing?!

I heard Park Gwangcheol shout.

But by then, I was already charging forward, squeezing every drop of mana I had.

This is...

This wasn’t a move I should be capable of using.

Catena Cio.

My body—right now—was trying to recreate one of the highest-difficulty spear techniques in the original game.

My heart pounded in my chest. I didn’t know why, but—

I can do it.

For some reason, I felt certain.

I released all the mana in my body.

Then used it to weave mana clones that mirrored myself.

It was still rough.

Only three copies formed midair.

But it was enough.

No instructions, no orders were needed.

I already knew what to do—where to aim.

Everything was already aligned.

Together with my three clones, I surged toward the dummy at full force.

One real spear.

Three mana spears.

—Pababababak!

All of them pierced the target simultaneously.

—Thunk!

The dummy collapsed.

“Haa... haa...”

Breathing hard, I slowly raised my hand and stared down at my palm.

My heart was still pounding like crazy.

The test...

Was a success.