NOVPUBAfter confirming that Maeng Hyo-don had safely landed, Jo Su-hyeok used his Cheonlian to check if Ham Geun-hyeong was nearby.
The fatigue from the energy lingering in the Garden made his eyes strain.
Suppressing the discomfort, he widened his field of vision and, after a careful scan, spotted Ham Geun-hyeong running toward Maeng Hyo-don.
‘There he is, Ham Geun-hyeong. He'll be fine.’
Jo Su-hyeok had tracked Ham Geun-hyeong’s movements to get involved in this incident.
He suspected Jo Ui-shin would have moved Ham Geun-hyeong to protect Maeng Hyo-don.
Coincidentally, Ham Geun-hyeong was in the position of student body director and an advisor to the disciplinary committee.
As such, Jo Su-hyeok, who was affiliated with the disciplinary committee, had access to some of Ham Geun-hyeong's public schedule, making the investigation relatively easy.
Once Jo Su-hyeok confirmed that Ham Geun-hyeong was preparing for battle and heading to Tanrae Middle School, he was able to get ready and jump into the Garden.
‘It’s a shame I couldn’t join right after the Transference, keeping a distance from Ham Geun-hyeong, but I still gained something from acting separately.’
Thanks to his independent movement, Jo Su-hyeok had gained an advantage.
The one manipulating the Garden had tried to separate Jo Su-hyeok and his group from Maeng Hyo-don, but they had not detected Ham Geun-hyeong’s presence.
"Ham Geun-hyeong is moving toward Hyo-don. They’ll meet soon."
"You're talking about Hyo-don’s homeroom teacher, Chang Cheon-myeong, right?"
"Yes. That person was also nearby to help Hyo-don."
When Ham Geun-hyeong’s name was mentioned, Maeng Hyo-don’s middle school teacher breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
The reputation of Chang Cheon-myeong was well-known even outside of players.
Tak Geo-san, who was listening, asked.
"Did that kid call for Geun-hyeong?"
"Probably."
Jo Su-hyeok didn’t need to confirm further; he knew the "kid" referred to Jo Ui-shin.
Jo Su-hyeok confirmed that Maeng Hyo-don’s two teachers had fully regained their composure and spoke up.
"Hyo-don will be fine. Let’s focus on attacking the Garden. We need to drain the energy accumulated there to lessen the pressure on Hyo-don."
"Alright, let’s hurry."
The four of them moved toward the cloud-filled Garden.
During their move, Jo Su-hyeok instructed Kim Cheol to focus on guarding the teacher and dedicated himself to fighting alongside Tak Geo-san.
As Jo Su-hyeok led the way, fighting overwhelmingly, his morale increased.
At first glance, Jo Su-hyeok appeared to move boldly forward, but he was actually analyzing the Garden and enemies carefully, acting cautiously.
‘This is weaker than the Floor Master we fought before. To stop us, they should send out stronger enemies.’
Jo Su-hyeok’s group fought several rounds against enemies but won without any obstacles.
Since the primary enemies in this Garden were intangible types, Jo Su-hyeok could annihilate them within seconds by activating his Gwanglim.
He dispatched enemies so quickly that his Gwanglim time wasn’t wasted.
Although everything was going well, Jo Su-hyeok felt uneasy.
He didn’t get the impression that the enemy was making a real effort to destroy them.
‘They won’t just let us go. There’s something else going on.’
Jo Su-hyeok had two possibilities in mind.
First, they were gathering strength for a decisive blow.
Second, they were focusing their energy elsewhere.
‘Or maybe it’s both. They could be gathering strength to take down someone else swiftly.’
Jo Su-hyeok sensed that the structure of the Garden was changing.
After each battle, he used his Cheonlian to check on Maeng Hyo-don’s progress.
Maeng Hyo-don was teaming up with Ham Geun-hyeong, defeating the Floor Master and continuing to move.
They were both in motion, but the thick clouds and mist obstructed their sight, making it difficult to see them even with Cheonlian.
Moreover, the entire structure of the Garden was warping, making it hard to use Cheonlian effectively.
Suddenly, Jo Su-hyeok withdrew his Cheonlian when Tak Geo-san gestured for him to stop.
Tak Geo-san, with his eyes shifting, fixed his gaze on a corner.
Jo Su-hyeok used Cheonlian to scan the area Tak Geo-san was observing.
In the expanded field of view, someone appeared.
Before Jo Su-hyeok could identify them, the person approached and spoke.
"Could you stop looking? You’re reminding me of a peeping rat, and it’s making me uncomfortable."
The one who had noticed Cheonlian was a demon.
If Jo Su-hyeok had encountered a demon in this unfamiliar Garden, he would have been on high alert. But this demon was someone Jo Su-hyeok and Tak Geo-san both knew.
Jo Su-hyeok recognized the figure and immediately withdrew his Cheonlian, which seemed to calm the demon down a bit.
"It’s the leader of the Demon Horse Clan. Long time no see."
"You’re the players who were with Hyo-don back then. Hello."
A demon dressed in a sleek suit appeared—Heukma, the leader of the Demon Horse Clan.
Heukma seemed to remember Tak Geo-san and Jo Su-hyeok from their encounter in Hongcheon.
After acknowledging Tak Geo-san, Heukma greeted Jo Su-hyeok.
"I’ve heard that there’s no need to be cautious about the humans here, and it seems that’s true."
Out of the three present, two were familiar with Heukma.
These were the players who had been close to Maeng Hyo-don, who had helped the Demon Horse Clan.
The remaining one was a regular human with no special abilities, so Heukma didn’t see them as a threat.
Heukma spoke with a much calmer tone than before.
"Good. Follow me."
It would be less burdensome to move with the leader of the Demon Clan, but Jo Su-hyeok couldn’t figure out the purpose.
Heukma had been a known ally to Maeng Hyo-don, but Jo Su-hyeok still had doubts about what he intended to do.
Jo Su-hyeok thought about it.
‘Why is he here? He thanked Maeng Hyo-don before. Maybe he’s here to repay that favor?’
Although Jo Su-hyeok had a rough idea why Heukma was here, he didn’t know what direction they were heading in.
The direction Heukma pointed to wasn’t where Maeng Hyo-don was.
It was clear that Heukma wasn’t moving toward Maeng Hyo-don.
Unable to figure it out, Jo Su-hyeok directly asked.
"Where are you headed? We were looking for Hyo-don."
"Why would you need to go there, when Chang Cheon-myeong is already with him? There’s something else I need to do."
Heukma replied nonchalantly.
It didn’t seem like Heukma was indifferent to Maeng Hyo-don’s fate; he genuinely seemed to respect Ham Geun-hyeong’s abilities and was speaking that way.
‘Heukma was in Hongcheon. He’s probably based there. Tak Geo-san resolved a big incident there and frequently travels there. He likely knows and trusts his abilities.’
Jo Su-hyeok didn’t know much about Heukma but deduced the plausible conclusion from what he knew.
Meanwhile, Tak Geo-san didn’t seem willing to follow Heukma.
Even if there was a trustworthy figure nearby, a mentor’s heart would still want to confirm their student’s safety directly.
"I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s no time to look away. How about we all go our separate ways?"
Tak Geo-san spoke in a polite yet firm tone.
Jo Su-hyeok, too, preferred to prioritize reuniting with Maeng Hyo-don over helping Heukma.
He was worried that Heukma might react sharply again, but Heukma only quietly observed Tak Geo-san’s face.
Heukma looked at Tak Geo-san’s aged face for a moment.
‘It looks like he’s checking something. Did they meet in the past?’
Though Heukma appeared much younger than Tak Geo-san, his actual age was likely far greater.
Even if Tak Geo-san didn’t remember, the two might have met in the distant past, and Heukma could be recalling that encounter.
After a moment of observation, Heukma spoke.
"Important connections aren’t only with students, you know. At least for you, it would be wise to come along."
Heukma pointed specifically at Tak Geo-san.
It seemed that Heukma’s business was related to Tak Geo-san.
Jo Su-hyeok wasn’t sure whether Heukma was being truthful, but Tak Geo-san seemed confused.
"It won’t take long. Come with me."
Heukma started walking briskly.
Though there was the option not to follow, Jo Su-hyeok suggested.
"We can’t risk angering him and increasing the number of enemies. Hyo-don’s safety is secured, so maybe we should delay joining him for a while?"
"Even so, if it drags on, it’d be better to act separately."
"He said it won’t take long, so it should be fine."
Heukma stopped at a certain point.
The area was heavier and dimmer than other parts.
The fog and clouds created by the Garden were especially thick in this area.
"The power of death helped me find this. Extracting it won’t be hard."
Heukma raised one hand, and the energy fluctuated.
A powerful force gathered around the back of his dark-skinned hand.
Whiiii...
A chilling wind swept around Heukma.
He had just mentioned the power of death, and it seemed like he was summoning death to this place.
"Perhaps I passed by it carelessly, maybe even stepped on it. Whoever buried it here truly has bad taste."
With a single wave of his hand, Heukma shifted the energy gathered on his hand to his palm.
It seemed like he was about to do something.
Jo Su-hyeok and Tak Geo-san prepared to envelop themselves in Gwanglim, and Kim Cheol silently stood in front of the target.
Bang!
Heukma poured the power in his palm downward.
The energy devoured the fog covering the ground and dug through the solid earth.
The spot Heukma was targeting was particularly firm, so it took several tens of seconds to complete the task.
Finally, what Heukma had been searching for emerged into the air.
It was a massive box.
‘It looks like a box. No, it’s more...’
The box was intricately engraved with a jin (阵) formation.
Seeing the thick energy flowing over it, Heukma furrowed his brow and disrupted the formation, halting it.
Then, Heukma destroyed the pipes connected to the box and pulled it up from the ground.
‘It looks like a coffin.’
When the box fully revealed itself, Jo Su-hyeok’s impression became clear.
To Jo Su-hyeok, it resembled a coffin, though not due to the design but because of the aura surrounding it.
"I found it. It’s as big as I thought."
Despite using significant strength, Heukma still seemed relaxed.
While adjusting his slightly wrinkled jacket sleeve, Tak Geo-san asked.
"What do you plan to do with this? Is it related to what you just found?"
"I was thinking of having it transported. It’d be a hassle to carry it myself."
Crack!
Thanks to Heukma’s strength, the sealed box easily opened.
Inside, Jo Su-hyeok saw someone lying inside.
Behind Kim Cheol, the teacher gasped.
At first glance, the person inside the box seemed to be merely sleeping with their eyes closed. But their skin had turned pale, and the surrounding air was heavy with death, making it immediately clear they were a corpse.
‘...Seong Guk-eon, the congressman?’
Jo Su-hyeok’s first thought was that the body was Seong Guk-eon.
The person inside resembled Seong Guk-eon very closely.
But upon closer inspection, there were differences in their physique and face.
‘Then who is this?’
Tak Geo-san knew the answer.
"Seong-hyeong..."
Tak Geo-san stared at the corpse in disbelief.
