Boss sat in her chair and stared at the flash drive. First, she thought, Where do I put this? She had learned it from Jain before.

“Oh.”

Fortunately, she remembered. Boss opened the flash drive to reveal a small piece and plugged it into her smartwatch. Then the information inside popped up as a hologram.

[Kim Hajin] — 174.3 cm, 73 kg, body fat 8% — 2025, admitted into Korea’s Hero Academy [Cube] at rank 934. — 2025, achieved rank 334 after the first Cube final exam. — 2026, achieved rank 121. — Went up 813 ranks in one year. The biggest increase in Cube's history. However, he suddenly dropped out after Destruction’s Cube incident that took place the same year. The media fervently covered the interesting turn of events. Some say he felt turned off by the restrictions that would be placed on him as a hero. He subsequently joined Jeronimo Mercenary.

Everyone already knew all of this about Kim Hajin’s career. Boss coldly stared at it. Should I go back and kill him for good? Fortunately for Yoo Jinhyuk, more interesting information followed.

[Private records of Yoo Jinhyuk] July 2025, began investigating Kim Hajin at my niece’s request.

At first, it contained useless information again, so she quickly scrolled down. Then…

“…!”

Her fingers touching the hologram suddenly stiffened and trembled at the followed information.

— October 2025, found vital keyword. [Kwang-Oh Incident]

“…”

BEEP— A loud noise filled her ears as those words reflected in her eyes. They kept repeating in her head. Kwang-Oh Incident, Kwang-Oh Incident… It happened more than 20 years ago. She had buried it deep within her subconsciousness, but still couldn’t forget that day. The first test she faced from the former Boss who took her in.

— Kim Hajin may be the sole survivor of the Kwang-Oh Incident. Not baseless, but evidence is still weak.

That story took place long ago…

It rained heavily that day and the people inside trembled when we arrived at the shelter. They were afraid and so was I. Bell, the former black, said to me. Kill or be killed. Otherwise, Boss would abandon me. Bell made me do everything under the pretense of training and I carried out the massacre as a child.

— Evidence #1: A pregnant woman gave birth there on that day.

I killed many people that day, but spared one life. A baby crying and covered in blood. He hid in his mother’s arms. No, the mother desperately tried to hide the baby.

— Evidence #2: The date he showed up at the orphanage matches the date the incident took place.

I couldn’t kill a baby who couldn’t threaten me.

— 2026, discovered new information.

A strong headache tore at her brain.

— According to the informant, the assassin who attacked the Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter left a single baby alive. Very strong connection to Kim Hajin’s birth. Was Kim Hajin the baby and did the assassin leave him at the orphanage? Not sure yet.

[Warning: This information is stored in Violet Banquet’s personal database and will automatically be destroyed if it comes into contact with magic power other than Yoo Jinhyuk’s.]

Memories of that day appeared before me. Bell smirked when I couldn’t kill the baby. He said, “We were ordered to kill 96 people. No orders were given about an unexpected 97th. You can let him go if you want. It’s up to you Byul.”

Maybe that was part of the test, but I didn’t kill the baby.

“Well, I’m sure Boss will understand if that’s your decision.”

I should’ve never been born, but the child who deserved happiness and his parents’ love was now covered in blood because of me.

You would have lived an ordinary life if I had not been born.

I felt sorry and extremely guilty. That’s why I couldn’t kill him.

“…”

I opened my eyes after recalling the past. Suddenly, Kim Hajin’s feelings towards me gained new meaning. I had learned the truth, but tears didn’t flow. I didn’t feel angry either. I simply grew calmer as though my emotions had been blocked.

Did Kim Hajin know all of this? And still showed no intentions of killing me. Does that mean he forgave me or is this some kind of test?

I had no idea. I was never that smart. Right now, all I want is… to stop thinking for a moment. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.

***

Chae Nayun woke up the next morning and the normally blurry view looked much clearer today for some reason. Still, her mind felt a bit hazy as she repeatedly blinked and tried to control her breath. Then…

[Although you received the help of a counteragent, you are the first to overcome the vengeful spirit curse.] [Achievement Unlocked – Hard to Kill] [The achievement bonus has been limited to 50% since you received help from others. The other half will be unlocked once you reach the 6th floor.] [Trait acquired – Magic Power that Swallows Curses]

“…?”

She couldn’t understand the alert even after reading it. Did I become stupid? My body and my head won’t work like I want them to.

“Oh, Nayun! You’re up?”

Yi Jiyoon popped up from the corner of her eyes.

“You’re up! Oh, thank God!”

Yi Jiyoon brightly smiled, but suddenly frowned and tightly hugged her. Chae Nayun couldn’t breathe. The feeling of tears wetting her neck felt disgusting, but she regained her consciousness thanks to that.

“Get off.”

“Mm? What?”

“Get off of me.”

However, Yi Jiyoon only held her tighter and pushed her face closer.

“Thank goodness.”

“Haa.” Chae Nayun sighed and lifted her upper body. Then she pushed Yi Jiyoon away.

“So what happened?”

She asked Yi Jiyoon, who cried tears of joy.

“Oh, um, I posted on the forum if anybody had the antidote for the curse.”

Yi Jiyoon answered as she fiddled with her fingers. Kim Hajin told her not to tell anyone, so she felt awkward.

“And?”

“And a man with the antidote came by chance to help us.”

“…”

Of course, Chae Nayun didn’t believe that so easily and suspiciously stared at her.

“What, what?”

“I mean thanks, but… he just helped?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Without asking for anything in return?”

Chae Nayun doubted kindness without a reason. She had a chronic distrust of human beings now.

“Yeah, but how’s your arm?”

Turning Chae Nayun’s attention away from something was easier than fooling most kids.

“Arm?”

Chae Nayun coughed and lifted her left arm up and down. It felt stiff from not being used, but had certainly been cured.

“It’s good. Fine. No, but who in the world—”

“Oh right. Then you can use the longsword now.”

“Longsword?”

Chae Nayun had already forgotten about what she wanted to ask.

“Yeah. What you got from the quest.”

“Of course, I remember. Back then, I…”

About 3 weeks ago, she found her first group quest in the tower.

“… Was really happy.”

She still considered that day one of her greatest accomplishments.

[Hidden Quest!] [Intermediate rank group quest has been found. This quest requires at least 8 people.]

She immediately summoned 8 other guild members after finding the quest. At first, the cave only contained a few undead monsters, but soon they found a glowing blue sword hidden inside. Everyone screamed with joy and she almost fainted after checking its information. They had almost run out of food when they found this rare item.

[Lv.3 High Quality Longsword Polished with Ice Crystal] [Rare] Lv.3 Attribute – Ice, Lv.3 Frost Damage, Lv.3 Attack Power, Lv.3 Durability

A weapon that almost equaled… no, a weapon that overpowered Lv.4 weapons.

“Did the team leader leave it behind?”

However, team leader Kim Youngjin had been using it for the past 3 weeks. Chae Nayun hadn’t been in the proper condition to use it.

“Uh-huh. He left it behind today, saying he couldn’t possibly use it when you were out sick. Instead, he took the red crystal spear.”

“As expected of the Weapon Master.”

Kim Youngjin’s gift allowed him to wield any weapon as if he had been using it for years. His magic power was plain, but he would become a high rank hero by next year thanks to his gift. Yi Jiyoon grinned and buried her face in Chae Nayun’s shoulder.

“This shit again.”

“It’s to celebrate your recovery.”

“I’m not fully recovered yet. Stop pushing, it hurts. Oh right.”

Chae Nayun widened her eyes as if she recalled something.

“Hey, who gave you the antidote again?”

“…”

“Stop evading the question and answer.”

Yi Jiyoon smiled. Chae Nayun would surely have forgotten if it had been anything else. This must be getting on her nerves. Maybe she felt something intuitively. A woman’s intuition, so to speak. I’m in a good mood, so maybe I’ll just tell her.

“He, well. So… um.”

Oh, but not now. Later, I’ll tell her when we get into something dramatic and give her a surprise. Yi Jiyoon suddenly turned serious.

“He said you would know if I told you that a background actor stopped by.”

“A background actor?”

“Yeah.”

“The heck is…”

Chae Nayun’s eyes widened.

“Do you know who he is?” Yi Jiyoon asked as Chae Nayun softly smiled and held her face.

“Hehe… yeah, I know. I got it. Now go.”

“Who is he?” Yi Jiyoon tried hard not to smile.

“Just an old teacher.”

“T-teacher?”

Yi Jiyoon almost burst out laughing when Chae Nayun urgently asked.

“Hey, hey. Did you tell him my nickname?”

“No, no. I didn’t”

“Good then.”

Chae Nayun nodded and turned on the messenger.

[I heard from my friend that you gave her the antidote. Thanks lol you didn’t reply so I thought you deleted me cause I kept bothering you.] [Btw the person you cured is my friend lol not me.]

She sent the above messages to Extra7. Then she turned back to Yi Jiyoon.

“How did he look? Did he look old?”

“Uh… He did look a bit old with a beard.”

That was the biggest hint Yi Jiyoon could give her.

“Beard?”

“Yeah.”

“Beard…” Chae Nayun smiled.

“That does sound like him. I always pictured him as an old guy who’s good at playing games.”

Chae Nayun mumbled, suddenly feeling her heart warm up.

There’s still a person I can believe in even in a world like this. No, no. There are surprisingly many now that I think about it: dad, grandpa, Yoo Yeonha, Kim Suho, and even that idiotic Shin Jonghak.

“…”

She realized one thing after almost dying despite saying she wanted to die every day. It was human nature to want to live. Don’t be so pitiful. Move forward. Stronger. Tougher. Chae Nayun shook her head and jumped to her feet.

“Where are you going?”

“To work out. I didn’t get to practice my sword for 3 weeks. I think I might have… forgotten a lot. I gotta get back on track.”

***

The afternoon remained dark as night in Prestige. Players who busily conquered the higher floors returned for the special event that would take place in Medea’s palace.

“Yo, newbie.”

“Hey, Hajin.”

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain walked over to me in front of the palace. They told me about how they played around on the 5th floor and got higher quality equipment. Jain wore a high quality cape and a jeweled necklace while Cheok Jungyeong wore a gauntlet made out of bones.

“How was the 5th floor?”

“Fun and exciting. You should come next time.”

The 5th floor looked like the demon realm. Its theme should be adventure, to break through 6 fortresses, 10 gateways, 8 outposts, and 5 castles to reach the end of the world.

“How far did you go?”

“I’m not sure. We stayed in the Swamp of Beginnings for about 2 days. Some idiots waited there to find party members.”

The 5th floor was half the size of Korea. As such, 2 days were nowhere near enough to get anywhere.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

I peeked over Cheok Jungyeong’s shoulder, but didn’t see the person who normally stood there.

“Where’s Boss?”

“Boss? Ah, she must have something to do.”

Jain put on a scary frown.

“She left with a face like this, so something serious must’ve happened. Anyways, let’s go in.”

Jain hopped over and linked arms with me. I wouldn’t have minded except Jain was currently disguised as a man.

“Oh right, disguise me too.”

“Okay.”

I had no choice but to enter the palace as Chameleon Troupe’s seat of black since we left behind the lotus symbol after destroying the towers. As such, I changed my face with Jain’s help.

We walked over to the main gate after disguising ourselves. Then we presented our citizenship cards to the guard outside the gate. He gave us different badges after checking our contribution points. My badge was made of diamond while Cheok Jungyeong and Jain’s were made of gold.

“You may enter.”

We went inside a beautiful, wide lobby with a red carpet and a high ceiling like the Pantheon. A beautiful chandelier hung in the center and maids and butlers in formal attire stood nearby.

“We’ll check your badge ranks now.”

An old man who seemed to be the chief butler walked in. I went first.

“Diamond rank has been confirmed. Please tell us your honorable name.”

“…”

Honorable name didn’t mean real name, right? The butler quickly added as though he read my mind.

“A false name or a nickname is fine.”

“Ah, then I’ll go with Buyong.” [1]

The old butler quickly made a nametag.

[Diamond – Buyong]

Cheok Jungyeong and Jain went next. Cheok Jungyeong seemed to think the names had to be two characters and went with Jungyeong while Jain used an anagram of her name, Anji.

“Follow me.”

We followed the butler past the lobby after putting on our nametags. Soon, we found ourselves in front of a huge silver door. However, we quickly walked past it. Then the butler stopped in front of a golden door.

“Anji and Jungyeong may enter through the golden door.”

“Eh? We’re not using the same door?”

“The door you use is determined by your rank. However, you will all end up in the same reception hall.”

The butler calmly explained. Medea’s palace was an extradimensional space formed from magic power. The different colored doors all led to a single reception hall where players gathered to receive their rewards. Medea only split up the doors to make their entrances more flamboyant.

“We get different rewards, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Ah, I would’ve destroyed the towers myself if I knew beforehand. Hajin’s going to end up taking everything.”

Jain glanced at me as I laughed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll share the rewards with you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Yay.”

Jain hopped over to the golden door as Cheok Jungyeong followed. His back muscles tingled as he entered. I wondered what caused such a reaction and peeked at the reception hall beyond the golden door.

“Oh.”

As expected, powerful people filled the room and made Cheok Jungyeong’s blood boil. Kiiik— The golden door closed shut.

“I will guide you to the diamond rank door.”

I followed the butler past a ruby door, a sapphire door, and an emerald one. My body felt completely tense by the time we arrived at the diamond door. I was just a fish inside a room with whales.

“Are you ready?” the butler asked.

“Um… It’s okay for me to wear this robe, right?”

I was under Jain’s disguise, but still didn’t want to reveal my face if possible.

“Yes, it’s fine. Medea also enjoys wearing robes as well. In fact…”

The butler glanced at my robe.

“That robe is beautiful enough to make her envious.”

“Haha.”

I made it with aether, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Then I’m going in.”

“Yes, I hope you enjoy your stay.”

The highest ranked door opened with a roar as I stepped into the reception hall.

“…”

Two long tables joined together to form a single 100 meter table. Everyone’s gazes fell on me.

Essence of the Strait, Kim Youngjin. The high rank heroes I met at Cube, Oh Junhyuk and Seo Youngji. Satan’s Servant, Kim Ohsung. Hunter of the Vast Expanse, Kim Junwoo. Desolate Moon, Shin Jonghak. It felt nice to see him again. Heroes from the Temple of Justice, Aileen and Yi Yongha. And a mysterious man wearing a robe. Only powerful men and women with great achievements in the tower gathered here. Shin Jonghak was obviously the weakest among them.

“The diamond ranked Buyong has arrived.”

The butler respectfully introduced me. I leisurely walked in and sat on the seat adorned with diamonds near the head of the table. The mysterious robed man sat in front of me while Aileen sat next to me.

“…”

Aileen stared at me with sparkling eyes. No, it wasn’t just her. Everyone observed me. Not many looked too kind if I had to describe their gazes. Mmm… It felt like they tried to estimate the power of the strongest person in the room. I pushed my hood down. I was only a hyena if they were tigers. It felt too uncomfortable.

1. Buyong means lotus. ☜