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“…Who?”

“Kindre. Don’t you know? He’s famous.”

Suhyuk shook his head. He couldn’t not know. Kindre was a renowned artisan who had made a name for more than a decade.

Kindre had the skill to make even failed projects rank at Rare, and could effortlessly produce Uniques.

In fact, the first weapon Suhyuk obtained, the ‘Nameless Demon Sword’, was considered a Rare item, yet it wasn’t regarded as a failure among Kindre’s works.

He was one of the few artisans in the tower capable of crafting Legendary items. That was Kindre.

But.

“How do you know Kindre?”

This was the issue. Kindre had no known face. Everything about him was shrouded in mystery. His residence. His identity. His purpose. Even his gender was unknown.

“My sword is quite special. Few can repair it, so I found out through inquiries.”

Un Hyang said this while tapping the sword at her waist. How special must it be for even repairs to be difficult?

“Well, I ended up helping him out a few times.”

“Helped him?”

“Yes. Some thugs tried to forcibly take items from him, so I dealt with them.”

“But it wasn’t really necessary. Kindre is incredibly strong too.”

As Cheon Ryang chimed in, Un Hyang sheepishly scratched her head.

“It was just unnecessary meddling.”

Suhyuk roughly understood how they had become acquainted. But one concern remained.

“But is it alright to introduce a hidden artisan to me?”

“Yes. You don’t need to worry. He’s not actually hiding.”

Un Hyang sighed deeply, perhaps sensing Suhyuk’s concern.

“He’s not hiding; he’s just too engrossed in making items to come out.”

*

Meeting Kindre would happen later. Knowing he could meet him was good news, but he had more urgent matters to attend to first. After a quick meal, Suhyuk rented a carriage pulled by blue-furred wolves.

A transport costing a hefty 3,000 points. But the distance was too far to cover on foot. He intentionally removed his mask for the journey. It would be easier to move quietly without the mask drawing attention.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been barefaced.’

It felt odd to have nothing on his face. However, it ensured no one paid undue attention to him. As dusk began to fall, In the distance, he saw yellow safety tape and warning signs.

No Entry. Demonic Presence Area

Although it indicated a restricted area, it confirmed he was at the right place. This was it. Suhyuk dismounted the carriage and paused the blue-furred wolves.

“Stay here.”

Growl-.

The well-trained blue-furred wolves crouched down. After calming the wolves, Suhyuk looked toward the forest. It had an eerie atmosphere.

It was a place recently reported to have demon sightings.

‘Will they still be here?’

He had spent significant time completing the trial. It might all be over by now. But even so. If he could learn even a little, he had to come here.

Step-.

And so, Suhyuk stepped into the forest where no light penetrated.

***

In a forest so densely packed with trees, not a single ray of light penetrated. Even though it was nighttime, walking in a forest where not even moonlight could pierce through felt eerie.

It was as if he was walking into the maw of a gigantic beast. Not only was this forest dark, but the air was also tinged with the metallic scent of blood.

‘Not much time has passed.’

He strained his eyes to survey the dark forest. Signs of a battle were scattered everywhere. Trees had been toppled in places, indicating a large-scale confrontation.

Yet, despite these signs, the forest was too quiet. It was as if the forest had fallen asleep along with the night.

‘It’s too quiet.’

He could tell that something had swept through this place. A guild had made a move. Clearly, something had happened here.

Swoosh-.

Following the traces, he moved forward. The Blue Zone players that had gathered here were all gone. Their retreat could mean one of two things.

Either they had accomplished their goal, or they had utterly failed. Suhyuk hoped for neither. Accomplishing their goal would mean that his living comrade had been killed, whereas failure would mean that his comrade had never been alive to begin with.

Both outcomes were equally despairing. The night deepened. The air grew colder, and the silence stretched longer. The only sound was that of his own footsteps.

‘Is there truly nothing here?’

He had searched the forest throughout the night but found nothing of significance. All he spotted were traces of the battle and scattered corpses.

Then.

Thud-.

Suhyuk’s steps came to a halt at a particular spot. Pushing aside the foliage that blocked his view, he came across two demons with red skin.

However,

‘Frozen?’

Their condition seemed peculiar. One was half-frozen to death, while the other was desperately trying to thaw the frozen demon.

What on earth was going on?

“Another one?”

The demon who finally noticed Suhyuk turned around, adopting a defensive stance. A young-looking demon with a boyish face. If not for the red skin and eyes, his round face wouldn’t have seemed demonic at all.

His nails were long and beast-like. Though he bared his fangs and exuded a killing intent, it was hardly threatening. Clearly, he wasn’t much of a threat.

That might be why he managed to survive.

“Another one?”

At Suhyuk’s question, the demon started shouting as if having a fit.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! Twice now, you’ve invaded our forest and messed everything up!”

The demon’s outburst left Suhyuk puzzled.

Twice.

“Speak so I can understand. I honestly don’t know.”

The first time was likely the Blue Zone. They had sent forces into the forest, claiming they were searching for the traitor who had allied with the demons of Blue Eyes.

The signs carved everywhere indicated that a large group had swept through the forest recently. Then, what about the second time?

No, more importantly…

“Who did this?”

“My brother knows.”

Apparently, the frozen demon beside him was his brother.

“I don’t know much either. Two strange humans invaded the forest later on.”

“Two?”

“Yeah! Just the two of them! Those damn humans, do they think this is their home? Why did they suddenly come in and… and…”

The demon clenched his fists tightly as he looked at his brother, frozen and dead.

“Why did such monstrous humans suddenly appear…”

Judging by his words, the two who came later were incredibly strong. Suhyuk finally understood why the forest had been so eerily quiet.

‘Either they’re all dead, or they’re afraid of me.’

In the previous battle with the Blue Zone, many of the demons in this forest were likely killed. Additionally, the remaining stragglers were probably dealt with by the two humans who came afterward.

The only survivors were likely the young demons standing before him now. Most of them seemed frightened of Suhyuk, alone in the forest.

They must still be traumatized from their encounter with the two humans earlier.

‘That ice…’

Slowly, Suhyuk examined the state of the frozen demon. Half-melted ice. Despite not being exposed to sunlight, the ice was slowly melting.

Step-.

Suhyuk approached the half-melted ice. The demon, fingernails extended, tried to block his path.

“Don’t get any closer—”

Zap-.

Something flashed. The young demon’s eyes widened. Turning his head, he found Suhyuk already behind him. It was a situation where he could’ve sliced his throat without hesitation.

But Suhyuk had no interest in the young demon’s throat.

Swoosh-.

He reached out to examine the surface of the ice. While touching the ice, which emitted a chilling cold even as it melted, Suhyuk suddenly reached into his inventory with a look of surprise.

He pulled out an ice flower he had kept for a long time.

‘It’s the same.’

The same mana. Though the properties were slightly different. Unlike the flower, which didn’t melt at room temperature, the ice that had frozen the demon was slowly melting over time.

But it was unmistakable. They were the work of the same person.

‘A targeted act.’

This was a place where a battle between Blue Zone and the demons had taken place not long ago. Leaving traces in such a place wasn’t beneficial in any way.

“… This wasn’t a waste after all.”

Though it was different from what he had initially expected. He had made an unexpected discovery. Looking up at the dark forest sky, Suhyuk felt a sense of hope, even though he hadn’t found his lost companion.

Kim Shiwoo.

The likelihood that he was still alive had increased.

***

By the time Suhyuk returned to the lodging, it was nearly dawn. An early morning, far too early. He expected no one to be there, but someone was waiting for him on the first floor of the lodging.

“You’re back?”

Un Hyang waved lightly, greeting him before turning her attention back to her kit. Standing momentarily at the entrance, Suhyuk took off his outer garment and hung it on the chair opposite Un Hyang, his expression one of mild surprise.

“Did you stay up all night?”

“Staying up one night isn’t that hard.”

Slurp-.

Un Hyang said this as she sipped a coffee laden with sugar. Her response made it clear she had been waiting for him.

“You didn’t have to wait.”

“You left in such a hurry. And you didn’t even say where you were going.”

“That’s…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I won’t ask.”

Tink-.

As she spoke, Un Hyang added a few more sugar cubes to her coffee and stirred it with a spoon.

“I was just a bit concerned, so I waited.”

The coffee was almost syrupy from the amount of sugar still floating in it. Even Un Hyang typically didn’t pour that much sugar into her coffee.

Adding an extra sugar cube that wasn’t needed, clinking the spoon as she stirred—it was all awkward, fidgety behavior.

“There was nothing to worry about.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Un Hyang gave an awkward smile and asked,

“Did things go well?”

Suhyuk hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, it went well. Though it wasn’t as I initially thought.”

“Really? That’s good to hear.”

Un Hyang clapped her hands together, genuinely happy. Though he couldn’t share everything, Suhyuk wanted to give her some sort of answer.

For some reason, she had shown him unconditional trust and stood by his side. Initially, he thought it was because of their streamer-manager relationship, but now he realized it wasn’t.

Although he hadn’t seen other managers, Suhyuk was sure of one thing. No manager in the world would be as purely supportive as she was.

“Your face looks quite happy, you know.”

“My face?”

At the thought of how she could tell, Suhyuk quickly touched his face, surprised. Un Hyang chuckled, amused at what she had seen.

“You’re not wearing your mask today?”

TL’s Corner:
She knows his face now.