Chapter 30
The one who contacted me was none other than Park Min-seo.
Park Min-seo.
A fellow cadet at the Academy—and the guy who had openly revealed his inferiority complex during the Monster Wave Countermeasure Training.
It had only been a few days ago, but I remembered him vividly.
And for good reason—Park Min-seo had been someone I suspected of being a Demon.
During combat, he had acted as though he were possessed by something.
I could still recall that unmistakable sense of wrongness I’d felt at the time.
Moreover, from that point on, he began to act as though he were an entirely different person.
His behavior had been so unlike that of a naturally born Demon that I’d been keeping an eye on him.
And now he was contacting me directly, asking to meet.
The message he sent read as follows:
‘He knew he’d shown an embarrassing side of himself during the field exercise. He felt sorry for having caused trouble for his teammates and wanted to apologize. So, he hoped we’d come out this weekend—his treat.’
That was the gist of it.
And it wasn’t just me he invited—he also called Kim Ye-seul and Dan Chun-woo, our other teammates.
I had no idea how he managed to convince that rude bastard Dan Chun-woo, but…
I fell into thought.
If I wanted to confirm what he really was, it would be best to accept his invitation.
The only thing that bothered me was Berid.
He had asked for my help in Seo Da-hee’s assassination once my investigation of the fragments was complete.
I checked my phone for any new messages, but aside from short texts from Helena and Park Siwoo, there was nothing from Berid.
It seemed I still had some time left.
Since Berid hadn’t contacted me… maybe I could hang out just this once.
I replied to Park Min-seo’s message.
The next day, I headed to the Academy’s front gate in casual clothes.
Standing there already was Dan Chun-woo, waiting blankly.
With his shoulder-length hair tied halfway up, he immediately drew the attention of passersby.
It was probably because of the sword strapped at his side.
He didn’t even bother to hide the sword in its blue scabbard—if anything, he showed it off proudly.
Wasn’t that sword actually his main body or something? If someone pulled it out, he’d just collapse?
I didn’t bother greeting him. Instead, I kept a reasonable distance and waited for the others.
After a while, Kim Ye-seul arrived, and about five minutes after the scheduled time, Park Min-seo finally showed up.
His hair was still wet, as if he had just showered and rushed over.
“Sorry, sorry. I know I was the one who called you guys, but I ended up being late. I was training and completely lost track of time.”
At his excuse, Kim Ye-seul scolded him.
“How could you be late when you’re the one who called us? You told me not to be late so many times!”
“Haha, I said I was sorry.”
Unlike during the field exercise—when she had seemed tense and timid—Kim Ye-seul looked much more relaxed today.
Come to think of it, she had seemed friendly with Park Min-seo even before the training.
If anyone would have noticed his change first, it would be her.
But since she didn’t seem to sense anything unusual… was I just imagining things?
Then, Park Min-seo bowed his head toward us.
“Anyway, I’m really sorry about what happened during the exercise! I was caught up in my own inferiority complex and caused a lot of trouble for the team. Today, everything’s on me, so please don’t worry about a thing—just relax and have fun.”
At his bold declaration, Kim Ye-seul clapped her hands.
“Awesome, Min-seo! No take-backs later, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
And so, under Park Min-seo’s lead, we headed toward Mir Tower, the tallest building in Korea.
Even though I’d ended up possessing a game character, aside from the existence of heroes, villains, and slightly more advanced technology, the streets weren’t that different from reality.
Mir Tower.
The tallest building in Korea—and the headquarters of the Mir Group.
It housed everything from department stores, restaurants, and theaters to specialized equipment and services for heroes. “It has everything you could ever want” was the perfect description.
Since it was the weekend, the place was packed with people.
[So this is the world my master lives in?]
Lia’s voice echoed in my mind.
As an item bound to me, she could merge with my body, sharing my senses and vision.
Everything she saw in this world seemed fascinating to her, and she constantly gasped in awe.
Moments like this made her seem no different from when I first met her.
Maybe being able to come out like this helped ease her melancholy.
While responding to her questions casually, I kept my eyes on Park Min-seo.
After a brief tour of Mir Tower, we headed to a hot pot restaurant for lunch.
Apparently, it had gained popularity after being featured on a TV show that helped struggling restaurants—and it truly lived up to its fame.
When I dipped a slice of beef into the thick, red broth, it came out perfectly cooked, glistening beautifully.
They said the cattle were fed hay infused with mana from dungeons, which explained the meat’s incredible sheen.
Looking around, I saw everyone else fiercely devouring the food as if in battle, trying to grab even one more bite of meat—everyone except Dan Chun-woo.
He ate gracefully, taking his time to savor each ingredient like some noble gourmet.
Then, a pained groan echoed in my head.
[Ugh, s-stop… it feels like my tongue’s on fire…]
Ah, so she couldn’t handle spicy food.
Even though I couldn’t see her, I could easily imagine Lia sweating and crying, sticking her tongue out, gasping for air.
[If I did something wrong, just tell me… I’m sorry… please stop eating…]
She was apologizing for something she hadn’t even done, begging me to stop eating.
Of course, I couldn’t grant that request.
I was hungry—and the meat was disappearing fast.
I turned back toward the hot pot, ignoring Lia’s whimpers of pain.
Once we’d filled our stomachs, we made our way to the auction hall located on the upper floors of Mir Tower.
The Mir Tower auction specialized in selling top-tier gear for heroes—everything there was of the highest quality.
Naturally, we hadn’t come to buy anything. We just wanted to look around.
As we arrived, an employee approached us.
“Hello, customers. This facility is for Awakened individuals only. May I see some identification, please?”
We took out our Academy student IDs and handed them over.
As she checked them, her hand stopped in front of Dan Chun-woo.
Her eyes widened so much it looked like they might tear at the corners as she confirmed his face against the ID.
“VVIP? I’m so sorry, sir! Please wait just a moment—I’ll call the branch manager right away…!”
“Wait.”
A deep, commanding voice rang out.
At that moment, all of us nearby fell silent.
Our gazes soon turned toward Dan Chun-woo.
The emotion reflected in Park Min-seo and Kim Ye-seul’s eyes was shock.
If I were to put their expressions into words—
‘You could talk?’
—that about summed it up.
The employee, seemingly confused by having been interrupted, asked carefully,
“Did I perhaps do something to offend you?”
All he’d done was speak a single sentence, and yet the employee reacted like that. Just how much of a nightmare customer was he usually?
Dan Chun-woo opened his mouth.
“I merely wish to look around quietly. Cooperate.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The employee bowed deeply, retreating in haste.
Ignoring the staff member as she scurried away, Dan Chun-woo began to examine the items with an air of nobility.
He’d been expelled from his family—without power, without money—yet he acted like a young master who owned the entire world.
Kim Ye-seul, standing beside me, whispered softly,
“So he actually talks. I’ve never heard his voice before.”
Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d heard his voice in real life too—not just in-game.
He ignored everyone unless they were either useful to him or met his personal standards.
As if everyone else was beneath him.
Well, considering who he was now, Dan Chun-woo was the embodiment of noble pride and arrogance.
Honestly, that was why I hadn’t expected him to respond to Park Min-seo’s invitation.
To him, the field training must have seemed like child’s play, and the concept of “teammates” probably didn’t exist in his head.
That would explain why he hadn’t uttered a single word to us until now.
So then, why had he agreed to join us this time?
Naturally, a theory came to mind.
Could it be that he, too, suspected Park Min-seo, just like I did?
It was a plausible thought.
If he’d come in hopes of regaining his honor after being expelled from his family, such an action made sense.
But then again, that suspicion had only existed when Park Min-seo had seemed like a Demon.
Up until now, I hadn’t seen a trace of demonic behavior from him.
In fact, the sharpness and irritability he once had were gone, replaced by a much softer, calmer demeanor.
Even my own doubts were starting to fade.
Boom!
Just then, the entire building trembled with a massive vibration.
At the same time, red emergency lights began to flash throughout the structure, accompanied by a calm announcement.
[“A Monster Wave has occurred on a nearby street. Dear guests, please remain calm and stay where you are.”]
Security personnel moved swiftly to take control of the area, while the civilians, seemingly used to such incidents, froze in place and held their breath.
Then, my phone buzzed.
[“A C-rank Spatial Crack has appeared at Jamsil Station. Monsters identified as half-human, half-bird. Heroes in the vicinity, please proceed to provide assistance immediately.”]
It was an alert automatically sent to all heroes near the site of a newly opened crack.
And since Academy cadets were considered hero candidates, we received the same message.
After checking it, Park Min-seo spoke.
“Let’s go help.”
At that, Kim Ye-seul frowned, clearly opposed.
“This is the middle of Seoul. The heroes will take care of it—there’s no need for us to step in. And can’t you see it’s a C-rank? We’ll just get in the way.”
She was right.
A C-rank crack was far beyond what a first-year cadet could handle.
Yet, Park Min-seo persisted.
“It’s not just a crack—it’s a Monster Wave! And even if it’s C-rank, it’s still dangerous. With that many people around the station, there could be a ton of casualties! Jamsil Station is practically right next door.”
“If you want to go, go alone. I’m not going anywhere near that.”
While the two continued their heated argument, I quietly observed the situation.
A sudden Monster Wave like this was highly likely to be a random quest.
In the game, after a certain chapter, these kinds of spontaneous events often appeared under the pretext of “field training.”
You’d help real heroes resolve a crack or repel a Monster Wave, gaining solid experience and rewards.
But that was only in the game.
This was reality.
Both Park Min-seo’s and Kim Ye-seul’s opinions were valid.
For first-year cadets, rushing in would only cause more trouble.
But it was also true that if we didn’t go, people could die.
So, the choice I had to make was obvious.
I turned to Park Min-seo and said,
“Let’s go together. I’ll help. You’re coming too, right, Dan Chun-woo?”
Experience and rewards.
There wouldn’t be literal EXP or loot like in the game, but the reward was still clear enough.
Saving those who didn’t need to die.
Dan Chun-woo’s gaze turned toward me.
And maybe, just maybe, we’d expose the suspicious one among us.
He remained silent, but I didn’t need to hear an answer.
We headed toward the crack that had opened at Jamsil Station.