“I… I just…”
Ji Dohwa shrank back, her face turning pale.
Joo Yeonwoo looked like he was about to press her further, so I stepped in.
“Hey. Calm down. We’re not trying to hurt you. If you hid something, I’m sure you had a reason.”
I shot Yeonwoo a sharp glare that clearly said back off.
He silently looked away.
Honestly.
I knelt to meet Dohwa’s eye level and spoke more gently.
“But we need to know what happened so we can help you. I’d really appreciate it if you could tell us honestly.”
“……”
“You saw us take down those wolves, right? We’re strong enough. Don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”
“Yeah. We’ll help as much as we can. Can you tell us?”
With our reassurance, Dohwa finally gave a small nod.
And then, everything she’d been holding back started to spill out.
“There was another clearing… a base, like this place. The ground was covered with a bunch of fallen leaves… there was a big tree with writing on it, and a box that gave items…”
“A supply box?”
“Yes. The supply box looked the same.
When we arrived, I already felt like something was off, but… they were adults, and they could control monsters… so we just followed them.”
From her description, Dohwa’s original group had seven students.
The other group had ten adults.
Big difference in numbers and strength. No wonder she couldn’t resist.
“I—I didn’t get to see what was written on the tree. They kept calling it a sacred tree and blocked us from getting close. I thought it was weird, but I was tired… so I just went to sleep. And then…”
She hesitated, then forced herself to continue.
“The next morning they suddenly called me a sacrifice.”
“A sacrifice?”
“Yes. They told me I had to die…”
“Why?”
“That’s…”
Her hand trembled as she lifted her sleeve.
On her shoulder was a transparent tag-like mark shaped like a skull.
Its texture looked just like a status window—untouchable, floating almost beneath the skin.
“What is this?”
“I don’t know…”
Before we could respond, a calm voice cut in.
“Ms. Ji Dohwa. When you opened the point shop earlier, didn’t you have around 100 points?”
“Yes. I did.”
“You did?”
But she hadn’t hunted. She hadn’t opened a supply box.
“Yeonwoo, do you know something?”
He answered in that same even tone.
“I’m not certain… but I believe it’s a Tag.”
“A tag?”
Immediately, the point list floated up in my mind.
[Tag obtained: +100]
“A tag is worth 100 points…”
“Does it just appear randomly? Like a lucky drop?”
“I’m not sure. But if that ‘cult leader’ assumed it was a tag and believed the method of obtaining it was through the owner’s death… then his behavior is understandable.”
Dohwa’s face went even paler.
I felt a bit sick myself.
“So the cult leader already understood the status window and point shop?”
“Yes. Did he use water bottles like these? They’re bought from the shop.”
Yeonwoo held up the plastic bottle we had been drinking from.
Dohwa’s eyes widened.
“Yes! I wondered what brand it was… and come to think of it… after the ritual at the base, they were eating something none of us had…”
“It’s confirmed, then.”
“So that group knows everything?”
Yeonwoo shook his head.
“My personal guess is the cult leader is monopolizing information to maintain his influence. Using skills and shop items would be easy to present as miracles.”
“Yeah… conjuring things out of nowhere definitely looks divine to people.”
“I agree. And he probably didn’t feel threatened enough to share information with anyone else.”
Makes sense. If you have a monster-taming skill, why share power?
“So you escaped because they tried to kill you?”
“Yes. They dragged me toward some kind of altar… and then…”
She hesitated again, searching for words.
“My friends… some of them suddenly jumped at the adults. Everything became chaotic. Hair pulling, screaming… and when I shut my eyes for one second and opened them again—
I was in the middle of the forest.”
“So, teleportation.”
Yeonwoo pointed at the map Dohwa had drawn.
At the corner where the L-shaped path bent.
“She was probably teleported to this corner, then walked to us.”
“Yes. Somehow I just knew where to go. I walked until I was chased… and then I came here.”
“Her Pathfinding skill probably activated unconsciously. It guided her to a safe place.”
“Huh? Skills can activate like that?”
Yeonwoo nodded.
“Think of the status window as a list of your assets. A person still has their assets even if they don’t check the list. Similarly, even if someone doesn’t know their skills exist, they can still use them.”
He said it like a guess, but he looked almost certain.
“…So the person who grabbed Dohwa’s hand might’ve unconsciously used a skill too.”
“Correct. Do you remember who it was?”
“No… everything was so chaotic…”
“Pity.”
His voice said pity, but his face said not really.
Then he asked:
“So. What will you do? Personally, I recommend cutting ties. Completely.”
Silence dropped over us.
Saebyeok gave a small, dry smile.
“Cold.”
“Rational, please. We can’t act carelessly.”
“Hm…”
I poked a stick deeper into the fire.
Crackle, crackle.
Through the flames, Yeonwoo’s dark eyes were fixed on me.
“Better to nip the problem in the bud early, isn’t it?”
I understood his point.
He wanted to avoid unnecessary risks.
I weighed the possibilities.
And then—
I chose the more logical option.
“You said they’re about a day away, right? That’s too close. They could clash with us at any time.”
“Yeah. And we’re outnumbered.”
Chae Saebyeok seemed to agree.
“We have to wander around this area to hunt anyway. In that case, it’s better to remove dangerous elements beforehand. For now, only the cult leader can use skills, but the other followers might learn to use them later.”
“Well, that’s true. They might be manageable now, but who knows how they’ll act later.”
“Anyway…” I cut in, then met Joo Yeonwoo’s eyes.
“It’s better if we act while we’re the only ones who know about them. What do you think?”
He looked to the side for a moment, like he was running calculations, then asked:
“…Do you have a plan?”
“Infiltration seems best. We could turn the students inside into allies, and if we take down the cult leader, controlling the rest will be easier.”
He stared at me for a long second, then answered flatly:
“If that’s what you insist on… then we’ll proceed.”
With Yeonwoo’s agreement, the situation settled.
Saebyeok grinned.
“So we need more details. Dohwa, can you tell us everything you remember?”
“Y-Yes! As much as you want!”
Having listened nervously the whole time, Ji Dohwa answered immediately.
Relieved that things were heading in a hopeful direction, she eagerly began recounting everything from the day before.
A while later, after gathering the information we needed, we started to move.
“Is your Pathfinding skill working?”
“Yes! I think I know where to go!”
With her Pathfinding and Map skills combined, traveling became much easier.
The skill seemed to guide her instinctively around forks and obstacles.
“Will we get there by tomorrow afternoon?” I muttered.
“I expect we’ll arrive around lunchtime. It’s the shortest route,” Yeonwoo answered anyway.
Lunchtime, huh.
As I walked beside him, I glanced up. His black eyes were already on me.
He’d been paying close attention to me this whole time.
Staring as if studying something, he suddenly asked:
“Will you be alright?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You might get seriously hurt.”
Might get seriously hurt.
He wasn’t wrong.
“……”
I fell silent for a moment.
I knew exactly what he meant.
Someone might get hurt—me, Saebyeok, or someone else.
Or we might have to hurt others.
But…
“As I said, leaving them alone would be dangerous for us too—”
…And if we leave them alone, someone might actually die.
It’s not like we get bonus points for turning a blind eye just to feel better for a few days.
And besides—we do have a plan.
“Ms. Noeul, you’re a good person.”
His sudden comment nearly made me trip.
“…Huh? No, not really…”
If our lives were truly in immediate danger—
if Chae Saebyeok’s life were on the line—
I would choose us first, without hesitation.
The only reason I chose this option was because we had a bit of room to breathe,
we stood to gain something,
and… it simply felt more comfortable for us.
But saying all that out loud felt unnecessarily long and awkward,
so I just shut my mouth.
“…I hope nothing goes wrong.”
Joo Yeonwoo didn’t seem interested in continuing the conversation.
With that final sentence, he went quiet.
…He’s not going to suddenly change his mind and say we shouldn’t do this, right?
His dark eyes were lowered in thought, quiet and unreadable—
and for some reason, that look made me uneasy.
