The opportunity arrived quickly. Ahram, who had already revealed his nature in front of everyone, had a much easier time hunting women now. He didn’t even try to flatter them as he had done before, but a single phrase filled with mockery was enough.

“Do you want to know the secret to become a werewolf?”

Sungchul held himself back three times to be entirely sure. As the sun slowly began to set, a message from Krill Regall arrived on his shoulder.

[The time is now.]

It was a short message, at this moment Krill Regall was watching Dolorence Winterer leave her post while spouting profanities.

“The f.u.c.ker is at it again. Disgusting f.u.c.k. I can’t look at this filthy s.h.i.+t anymore. I thought the son of the Captain of the Order of the Iron Blood Knights would be more decent, but I couldn’t be more wrong.”

When she stepped away, several rookie summoners followed up and tried to lift her mood.

“It is such a struggle. How did you get stuck with a guy like that…”

“There are only 2 more rank matches left! There will be rewards at the end, no matter how degrading it might be.”

Honeyed words. No one would speak their mind of Dolorence being a despised person who stepped on the weak and groveled to the strong. Without proper backers, it wasn’t even possible to learn any spells. b.u.t.tering up to your superiors was a crucial skill.

“If I were in that plaza, I would have killed that b.i.t.c.h.”

She sipped some alcohol while being surrounded by her lackeys. Not a lot of it, but enough to wet her lips. It was something she often did when stress overtook her. However, she suddenly discovered Krill Regall who was lingering nearby.

“Hey, you. What are you still doing here?”

A cold smile formed on her lips.

“Oh…? Me?”

Krill froze in shock. Her sudden interest in him was surprising, but it was the scheme in play that amplified his fear.

“Yes. You. Did you end up finding your lost preselected?”

Total despair. The only ones who knew about this were Krill and Sanggil, and the news hadn’t spread to the others yet.

“Yes. He’s been found. He was just fine.”

Dolorence put on a mysterious smile and lightly shook her drink upon hearing the news.

“For real?”

Her eyes sparkled as she asked.

“Hm?”

Her snake-like eyes snared Krill in place.

“T-that is….”

She stared at him for a while before taking another gla.s.s to her lips, then spat in contempt.

“You know, I am rather friendly towards fresh faces, but I detest the rookies that just categorically suck up to people.”

“…”

“It’s fine if you just want to leave after receiving a favor. Do that; I won’t stop you, but remember this: you might leave this place and never meet the Grand Knight of the Blood Iron Knights, but if you plan on living as a mage, you’re bound to b.u.mp into me more than a few times.

She had taken the scenic route around the bush, but her demands were simple: I have something on you, now bribe me to keep it to myself. Krill could feel a cold sweat trailing down his spine. It was like a frog facing off against a snake.

As he slinked away, he couldn’t help but sincerely wish for her destruction. The mysterious preselected’s face popped up in his mind. Krill only knew that the man had a lot of jewels and a strange amount of strength for a summoned. He could think of many possibilities regarding the reason for it, but he decided not to pry into it any further. There was nothing good to be gained from this line of thinking. That man’s actions did bother him though…

‘Why did that man ask for information about Dolorence… Could it be he’s trying to screw with her?… No way.’

Krill found himself enraptured by unreasonable expectations as he stared at the scarlet moon hanging high up in the sky.

“…”

Another person was looking up at the same sky; a man with glistening eyes beneath his disheveled hair. Sungchul then solemnly observed the atrocity happening below him. Ahram the werewolf had finished eating the woman he had just f.u.c.ked. Sungchul pa.s.sively watched the woman’s quivering eyes lose their focus and let out a deep sigh. He jumped down towards this feral degenerate that had cut away his final link to his humanity.

“Ahram Park.”

The small, but clear voice stirred the forest’s melancholy. The werewolf, a piece of chewed flesh still in his mouth, turned around. A look of surprise flashed across his blood-smeared face.

“Who is it?”

Ahram threw the corpse and stood up. The ravaged corpse fell between him and Sungchul who was standing two and a half meters away.

“I was looking for you. Is this what they mean when they say, ‘Have your cake and eat it too’?”

The aggressive questioning didn’t phase Sungchul at all, rather, it only caused him to raise his gaze and looked directly into the eyes of the werewolf. Ahram, who had felt all-powerful until now, felt his breath catching and his legs buckling. His body couldn’t move, it was as though he had been paralyzed.

‘W-what’s wrong with my body?’

At first he thought that it might be a side effect from his transformation into a werewolf, but as time pa.s.sed, he began to realize the true cause; it was out of pure terror. The threat of danger coming from looking into Sungchul’s eyes made his instincts scream out by impulse.

“Y-you b.i.t.c.h!”

He denied the terror reverberating within him and jumped towards Sungchul; then found himself suddenly spinning out of control. He stopped only after being embedded into the ground. The man that had turned his world upside down crushed something within his hand.

‘I-I lost? How did this happen…?! That red-head told me that being a werewolf will make me the strongest in the plaza…’

Dolorence’s promise would have been the truth, if not for a certain hidden master hiding his strength.

“….”

Sungchul briefly looked around before breaking off a thick branch that was within his reach. It would serve as a decent switch. Ahram realized what he was doing, but it was already too late by now.

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

Unending blows fell on the werewolf’s skin as if he was beating out dust from a rug. Ahram’s hide began splitting as his blood and flesh splattered everywhere. He shrieked in pain, desperately wis.h.i.+ng for someone to save him.

‘Redhead! Save me! Save me! f.u.c.k it! Save me!’

However, his guardian was outside her room, surrounded by her yes-men, busy sipping alcohol.

As the senseless beating ended, Ahram finally returned to his human form. His body was covered with b.l.o.o.d.y bruises which triggered an emergency alarm, to which his guardian didn’t respond to. His eyes, covered with tears and snot, reflected the image of the man who was holding a large club. He finally realized the full extent of the situation, and pitifully bowed his head to try and beg for his life.

“P-please… Don’t kill me…”

[Drop]

Sungchul let the stick fall, and a small bit of hope blossomed inside of Ahram. However, Sungchul simply stomped on him instead.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

Sungchul had simply switched from beating to trampling. He deliberately stomped on the face, breaking all of Ahram’s teeth.

“Uwuuugh!”

Ahram could no longer stand the pain and fell over onto his back. And Sungchul simply watched.

After some time had pa.s.sed, Ahram began to beg for his life once again.

“P-please… I’ll do anything, please spare my life.”

At this moment, Sungchul pointed at a spot within the forest. There lied the corpse of the woman whom Ahram had just killed. Her unfocused eyes gazing eerily towards Ahram.

“What did you do when that woman begged for her life?”

“T-that is…!”

Sungchul slowly drew closer, and Ahram screamed as an unspeakable horror filled him.

“Don’t come closer! Y-you… if you touch me… you won’t get away with it!”

“Me? Die?”

Sungchul let out a laugh filled with ridicule.

“D-do you know who my father is? He’s the captain of the Iron Blood Knights. The Iron Blood Knights’ Captain!”

“The Captain of the Iron Blood Knights?”

“T-that’s right! I don’t really know him, but in this world, I’ve heard that he’s very powerful… That’s right, a strong backer! A backer! You might not even be alright if you kill me!”

“Is that so? How did you become his son if you had just been summoned into this world?”

“I-I don’t know. f.u.c.k… Some reincarnate or something like that came to me one day and told me! Told me that I was that guy’s son! He said I would be like some rich kid if I came over to this world!”

“A reincarnate…”

It wasn’t something that interested him, but a question had been answered. He finally knew how someone like Ahram had become a preselected.

‘They used a reincarnate. I suppose someone like Sungtek might know someone who was capable of becoming a reincarnate. But even if the world was ending, how could he bring a f.u.c.ker like this kid here?’

The Captain of the Iron Blood Knights, Sungtek, had three children in Otherworld, however like all of the other children, they had died before reaching the age of ten. It was probably the Palace’s idea to bring someone like Ahram, who might not even really be his son; because his qualities were so sorely lacking.

Sungchul lifted the stick once more.

“P-please…! Are you doing this because of Yungjong? That wasn’t my fault. He was the first…”

Ahram crawled away pitifully.

“…”

Sungchul suddenly grabbed some vines from nearby and strung Ahram upside down from his feet.

“I’ll tell you one thing. This is Otherworld. It isn’t always the case, but strength rules all here. It’s just that kind of place. It would be troublesome if you got excited because you became a little bit stronger. Why? That’s because there might always be one or two people who are stronger than you.”

“I-I understand… I get what you’re saying. I’m sorry. I’m telling you, I’m really sorry!”

“And one more thing. There is no probation around here. One mistake and you’re done for.”

The stick rose into the air and struck Ahram’s jaw before he could even utter a scream.

“Beasts will be attracted by the scent of your blood. Be thankful that the law of the jungle also accepts human garbage like you.”

Sungchul dropped the stick and whispered quietly.

“Welcome to Otherworld.”

As soon as the words left his lips, smaller monsters began to appear within the forest. They licked their lips at the sight of fresh blood pouring out of Ahram. He struggled desperately in his final throes, but his fate had already been decided.

“….”

Sungchul quietly headed out of the forest, but before he could get far, a vague apparition appeared before him; leaving him slightly surprised.

‘It’s rare that I miss something.’

A woman appeared amidst the darkness. It was a woman covering her face with a hood and holding a familiar staff in her hands. Once Sungchul silently acknowledged her presence, she removed her hood to reveal her face. A strange glint flashed across his eyes as he recognized the face.

‘This woman.’

They had already met several times. They had competed for the bonus monster, and she had stopped Ahram as he was busy rampaging. This nameless woman spun her spirit wolf staff and opened her mouth.

“I was going to take care of him, but looks like someone got ahead of me.”

“…”

Sungchul silently acknowledged the approaching woman.

“You must be something more than just an average newbie, seeing as you could take care of a werewolf without breaking a sweat.”

Sungchul looked as though he was simply listening to her speak, but he was actually using his heightened abilities to uncover her ident.i.ty. There wasn’t anything that stood out for him. Even the Eye of Truth, one of his Soul Contracts, couldn’t reveal anything special about her. She was a newbie summoned that appeared to be normal, yet she wasn’t normal. His previous suspicions were only growing stronger.

‘She must be a reincarnate.’

The woman in question sighed.

“Such a solemn person, maybe you have a bad impression of me.”

“Tell me what you want.”

Sungchul finally broke the silence and spoke. A brief look of surprise pa.s.sed over the woman’s face after he did, but lasted only briefly before she continued to speak, her eyes firmly fixed on him.

“I’ll be brief, so as to avoid any misunderstandings. I saw you kill that perverted b.a.s.t.a.r.d and thought you weren’t such a bad person, I also guessed that you might not be an average summoned either.”

Her voice was brief but intelligent. Her gaze didn’t falter during the conversation, and it sounded fluid as though she was reading from a script.

“You also don’t seem to be average”

“Correct, I won’t tell you anything. But, I also won’t expect any information from you.”

The mystery woman held out her hand towards him. It was a woman’s hand that was starting to harden with callouses.

“I am Ahmuge. You must have seen my name on the Record Stone.”

She was the figure that had dominated first place during the rank matches beyond the preselected. That figure’s ident.i.ty was such a slim woman.

“I have reasons why I have to leave the Summoning Palace with a good score, but it will also be difficult for me to get the special rewards by myself. So I also want another skilled person beside me. Not some privileged brat, but someone with real ability.”

“Is that why you recruited Jungs.h.i.+k?”

Ahmuge smiled at his pointed question.

“He’s a talented person. And he also has a good leaders.h.i.+p ability.”

“Why did you step in to kill Ahram then? You knew that he’s a werewolf, right? He would have been a strong addition to your combat strength.”

She firmly shook her head.

“That person would only harm the cohesion of the group. There might be something gained from it, but there would be even more to lose. If you hadn’t taken care of him, I would have done so.”

Hearing these words, Sungchul smiled. Their thoughts were in agreement. Sungchul might have killed Ahram due to his despicable acts, but he had also done so because his presence was proving to be an obstacle. Sungchul had never strayed from his objective since arriving at the Palace.

“Ok. I’ll join you, but I have a condition.”

“Don’t pick something too outrageous.”

Ahmuge said with a smile.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t even stand on its own. Rather than that, I want to know if you know any hidden quests. Especially ones that raise magic power.”

“Magic power… Ok. I know of one.”

Ahmuge held out her hand once again and grabbed his.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Sungchul Kim.”

“Sungchul Kim…?!”

Ahmuge’s voice and face changed.

“Is there a problem?”

She looked into his face directly before shaking her head.

“No, nothing in particular.”

“Good, then let’s get out of here. There will be some guests arriving here soon.”

They stepped out of the forest as the beasts began to feast upon Ahram’s corpse which was hanging upside down on a tree. Dolorence arrived at the scene only after a considerable amount of time had pa.s.sed. After slaughtering the beasts, she stared at Ahram’s mangled face.

“T-this f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h…!”

She began to scream like a crazed banshee while pulling at her hair. The various creatures within the forest couldn’t approach the fuming aura of a frenzied mage. Some time pa.s.sed before she once again coldly considered Ahram’s corpse. There was one place that had remained a bit intact, it was his face. Her mind hit upon a spark of brilliance then started hatching a scheme. That spark eventually took form in a plan that might just be able to rescue her from this disaster.

“I can’t let it end like this. Not after all I’ve done to get to this position. After all the groveling I’ve had to endure…”

A chilling smile formed on her lips.

It was an unremarkable morning. The summoned ate their meals and trained for another day and through the fog, the sun could be seen rising from the horizon.

After his meal, Sungchul returned to the preselected camp to earn his magic power and intuition from his common quests. However, there was something unusual within the camp.

“Why is that guy like that?”

“Don’t get close… his condition doesn’t look so good.”

Several preselected were either fearful or annoyed while staring at a certain someone from a distance.

Sungchul walked through the crowd to see who the person was.

“….”

Wrinkles formed upon his forehead.

“Uuuhhhh…..”

It was Ahram’s corpse.

“Uuuuhhh…!!”

His corpse, with a hood covering everything except his face, sat while moving from side-to-side like some kind of hobo.

‘They made this brain-dead doll with necromancy. It must have taken some effort to add in the preserving magic to stop his decay.’

Nothing about it felt right, and such a bad feeling usually had a high likelihood of leading to misfortune.

Krill Regall urgently sent a letter with the following message.

[Dolorence Winterer has finally lost it! She’s going to kill everyone in Blanche Plaza!]