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“Huu, hu-.”

It had been a while since he felt so exhausted without even using his lightning. Suhyuk searched every nook and cranny of the village. From secluded alleys to building rooftops and crowded places.

Every possible hiding spot was thoroughly examined. But no matter how much he looked around, he couldn’t find her.

He knew. If what he was looking for was her, he would never be able to find it.

‘Whether she’s alive or not…’

There were probably fewer than ten players in the entire tower who could find her if she decided to hide.

‘I can’t find her now.’

He thought rationally. He knew it was a futile effort. Normally, he wouldn’t waste his energy on such a futile effort.

But.

He couldn’t stop. Just like the day he first reincarnated. Just like the day he first discovered the ice flower. Even knowing it was futile, he couldn’t just stand still.

‘Are you alive? Really?’

This time, it wasn’t as certain as the ice flower. The unfathomable ice flower. Inside it, he could indeed feel Shiwoo’s magic.

Thanks to that, he was almost sure that he was alive. So he had hope that they would meet someday. It became his driving force to live.

But maybe one more person. Not just Shiwoo, but maybe one more person was alive.

‘Yerang…’

The item he had blasted away took four lives. But according to records, no one survived that incident. If it weren’t for the ice flower, he would never have known that Shiwoo was alive.

But maybe, it wasn’t just one person.

‘Maybe all four?’

Crack-

At the absurd thought, Suhyuk bit his lip hard. He knew it was impossible. At that time, not only Shiwoo but all four of them were a mess.

It would be fortunate if even one of them survived, and miraculous if two did. But all four?

‘Don’t be certain yet.’

He stopped running and stood still, lifting his head. He was out of breath. Despair and hope mingled, creating a complex set of feelings.

The only thing he could be sure of now was Kim Shiwoo. He couldn’t be certain about Yerang just from Un Hyang’s words.

Because.

‘If it were that guy, he would have definitely shown up.’

Yerang wouldn’t have stayed still in front of Minjae’s memento. Maybe it was just a mere fan. It couldn’t be ruled out that by sheer coincidence, an extraordinary player happened to be a viewer.

‘Don’t jump to conclusions. Calm down.’

He stood still and caught his breath. And only then did he realize who was behind him.

Swish—

Un Hyang.

She had been following him all along, maintaining a certain distance.

“Uh… Are you okay?”

Only then did Suhyuk realize how he must have looked to her. He had suddenly dashed out during a meal and ran around like a madman; of course, he must have looked strange.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. I just thought I saw someone I knew.”

“The person I mentioned?”

“Yes. But now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem to be them. I must have been mistaken.”

It wasn’t a lie. Since nothing had been confirmed, it could indeed be a mistake. But a woman’s intuition was always frightening.

In response to Suhyuk’s hurriedly made-up words, Un Hyang spoke as if she found it odd.

“Suhyuk-nim.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“…..”

It was a question that pierced his heart with many implications.

*

Night had fallen.

The streets grew quiet, and at Cha Minwoo’s feet, a pile of discarded cigarettes was gradually forming. They were keeping an eye on the lodging where Suhyuk had entered.

“Did we miss them?”

Hwiyung looked anxious. She was constantly on edge, worrying that they might have lost their target because of a mistake.

“No.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Just got a call from Ilsoo hyung.”

Cha Minwoo turned over the screen of his kit.

“He said to pull out.”

Displayed on the screen were the two characters for “withdraw”. It was a message from Kim Ilsoo, the representative of Blue Zone.

With those two words, he had the power to mobilize over a thousand players scattered across the third floor.

“Withdraw? Seriously?”

“Yeah. He said they didn’t come here. If they had, they wouldn’t have just passed through.”

“What? Then…”

“It means they didn’t come here at all. We wasted our time, damn it.”

Cha Minwoo grumbled irritably. He had come all the way down to the third floor, yet the mission hadn’t even begun. And now, something else was souring his mood.

“And he also said… even if it were a trap, they would have still gone for it.”

With those words. Hwiyung was now certain of their target’s identity.

“Then it’s really…”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

“Didn’t they say it was a ridiculous rumor?”

“I thought so too.”

He had hoped it wasn’t true. But looking at Kim Ilsoo’s message, those long-rumored suspicions might indeed be real.

“Did they really betray Lee Suhyuk…?”

*

Late at night when everyone was asleep. Suhyuk went up to the rooftop of his lodgings. The empty streets lay below, and the colder night air brushed his face.

His mind was too tangled for sleep. For the first time in a while, he came out without his mask. There was no one to see his face anyway. He didn’t feel the need to cling to his mask in such moments.

Leaning against the railing, Suhyuk fiddled with the ice flower he had kept in a drawer. The flower Shiwoo had left behind. Half-stolen, but still given to him by Shiwoo.

“Are you really alive….”

If he was alive, just what was he doing and where was he now?

‘Is it really because of this?’

He took out his kit and looked at the screen. Articles that had surfaced quite some time ago.

『Blue Eyes’ Disbandment. Was Lee Suhyuk’s death due to his comrades?』

『Guildmaster Kim Ilsoo, tight-lipped about internal divisions. No comment.』

『Guildmaster Kim Ilsoo’s Withdrawal due to internal strife? The truth of that day?』

Even the few articles that caught his eye revealed this much. For the past twenty years, such conspiracy theories continued to wriggle back to the surface whenever they were forgotten.

Of course. Among them, there were also articles that cast suspicion on Kim Ilsoo.

『What is the Truth of That Day? Is Kim Ilsoo Innocent Before the Truth?』

Articles of this sort.

‘It’s like grains of sand in the desert.’

In this way, Kim Ilsoo could naturally cover up his own wrongdoings. In fact, many journalists focused on vilifying the other comrades rather than Kim Ilsoo.

After all, they were presumed dead. In contrast, Kim Ilsoo had grown into an enormous figure.

‘There are indeed those who believe so.’

Crunch—

Using him, they had sullied the names of his comrades. Yet, Shiwoo remained hidden.

Why?

In many ways, it was a sleepless night. Until he could judge and question the events of that day, he wouldn’t be able to rest.

‘It’s been twenty years since then.’

Suhyuk thought about what had happened today.

‘No matter how slow, progress is progress.’

Omar Schneider.

Honestly, he was surprised. A player on the third floor had become this powerful. Perhaps on the fourth, fifth floors, or even higher. There might be more like him.

‘And Kim Ilsoo.’

His old friend and nemesis, whose involvement in the events of that day needed to be interrogated.

‘He wouldn’t have stayed idle either.’

No, rather quite the opposite. He was someone who worked harder than anyone Suhyuk knew. He was diligent in everything, and there wasn’t anyone who contested his skills were second only to Suhyuk’s.

By now, that guy was probably much higher up.

Maybe he had surpassed Suhyuk from twenty years ago.

‘I need something more.’

He was now the latecomer. No matter how great a player he was, overcoming decades of gap wouldn’t be easy. And for that, he needed something more.

For instance—

‘Like that spear.’

Swoosh—

He slipped the kit back into his pocket and raised his hand. The spear that had pierced through Omar Schneider’s body. Though it wasn’t as powerful as the spear that slew the Giant, it was definitely a different kind of weapon.

Since the moment he wielded the Lightning Spear in the second-floor trial, he had thought. He might have been using this power incorrectly all along.

Fzzzt—

Yellow electricity flowed from his fingertips. He had used this power for a long time, but it felt strangely unfamiliar now.

No.

It was more accurate to say he had gotten to know it more deeply.

‘Same yet different.’

He thought he knew everything about the lightning. That if he had enough stamina, he could wield it. Hence, he focused more on his stamina.

But that wasn’t it. This wasn’t such a simple power.

“The second legend is that the gods and giants fought over the lightning.” *

The lightning legend Ferius had told him. A great power coveted by both gods and giants.

Also.

“Gods and giants. Great beings against whom mere human strength could never contend.” *

“This was created to fight and win against them.”

*

A power that humans had started wielding to fight and win against them.

‘I thought I was handling it well…’

Fzzzt, Fzzt—

Grasping the surging electricity in his hand tightly, he mumbled in a quiet voice.

“It wasn’t that, was it?”

Smirk—

Realizing his own shortcomings, he couldn’t help but laugh. If he thought there was nothing more he could excel at, and that turned out to be wrong, then…

It meant he could reach even higher. And the next step towards that was.

‘Thunder Cave.’

Conquering that place would reveal more. About the secrets of this power. Messing with Blue Zone and Kim Ilsoo was just a bonus.

*

The next day. Un Hyang visited a nearby cafe early in the morning.

Cakes, tarts, pies, and tiramisu…

A plethora of sweet desserts awaited her. Visiting alone, Un Hyang ordered her favorite snacks abundantly and, as she savored her favorite cake, she spoke.

“I can’t hear you well. What did you say?”

-I apologize for my impudence!

The voice was loud enough to be impossible to miss. On the screen of her kit, Cheon Ryang was kneeling with both hands raised high.

“What did you say~~”

-I apologize for my impudence… Hey, can’t you at least pretend you heard me with all this?

“What was that? I can’t hear the whining of a guy who lost all his stakes.”

-Aargh!

Cheon Ryang grasped his head and screamed in frustration. The two had made a bet. Un Hyang bet on Lee Suhyuk’s victory, while Cheon Ryang bet on Schneider’s.

And the result was Lee Suhyuk’s victory. Cheon Ryang, who was already struggling financially, now had to give up his entire month’s salary to Un Hyang.

-Hey, you’re rich!

“I have a lot of expenses lately.”

-You’re just going to spend it on cakes again, aren’t you?

“Spend it?”

-Sorry.

Though Cheon Ryang usually lived under Un Hyang’s dominance, this time he had to be even more cautious with her. If he handed over an entire month’s salary, he might really have to starve.

-You already got a fourfold return. Can’t you cut me some slack?

“You want it for free?”

-What do you want? Should I bark? Woof?

“Don’t say disgusting things. Ugh—”

Feigning to vomit, she pretended to think for a moment before speaking.

“Alright, just do one thing I ask.”