I sprinted, dodging the surging chains.
Eun Woojeong was just as quick. He kept me at that infuriating distance—close enough to catch, far enough to slip away.
Even his fighting style was spiderlike. He dragged me into a dense mesh of chains and then slowly tightened it to choke me out. Chilling.
I kept moving without pause, careful not to let my breathing break.
If I’d had another skill, I wouldn’t have entered this thicket of chains. But with a sword in my hand, there was no other path.
'Which is exactly why it helps me.'
The cult bastards aren’t going to “go easy” to accommodate me.
I cut the chains lunging to bind my body and drove my point at the fluttering red cloth before me. Kagang—my blade tip twisted as chains slipped in exactly where I was aiming.
It happened dozens of times. With each failed attempt, my blade path honed sharper.
I grew gradually adept at slashing through the narrow gaps of chains closing in so tight I could barely breathe.
Koo-ung!
After more than an hour of exchanges, I seized Eun Woojeong by the collar and slammed him to the ground.
The instant my blade touched his throat, chains wrapped my neck twice and cinched tight.
A draw. But I knew he’d held back a little.
“Impressive. You fought with nothing but a sword, no skills.”
“Move your hand and then talk.”
I lowered my sword and roughly slapped away the hand he’d let “casually” rest on my thigh. He yelped “ow,” and dismissed the chains.
When I got to my feet, King Seohwa, who’d been watching, spoke up.
“Of all the training we’ve done, this is the most useful. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Your match-up is good. If you practice with him, your cuts will grow more precise.”
“Yeah. That matters most for me.”
I obviously knew I couldn’t face the cult by myself.
After the rift incident at the hotel, it hit me hard—this wasn’t something I could handle alone.
I needed help. Only now did I understand why the system had attached the “protagonists” to me.
My place is to support them as a supporting character. And when my chance comes, to swing clean and take the enemy’s head.
'...The cult leader.'
The figure who looked down at us from the clocktower.
The body was just a mannequin, but since Cha Sahyeon called it the cult leader at a glance, the real one must look similar.
'Is he an Awakener, too?'
That iron lantern cage the mannequin held—had to be an illusion item.
Chances were the real one had something similar. Maybe an even stronger illusion tool than what the mannequin carried.
'Even if not, you never lose by being careful with mind-affecting items.'
Maybe it was time to rummage the item shop again. Asking Sahyeon more about the cult leader wouldn’t hurt either.
“That’s it for today.”
It was nearing 10 p.m. I sheathed my sword and loosened my stiff body.
“Already?”
Rising after me, Eun Woojeong sounded disappointed.
“It’s only ten. We’re just getting started.”
“It’s already ten.”
I scooped up Cha Sahyeon, who’d worn a sullen face ever since Eun Woojeong showed up. After returning from scouting, he had the choker back on.
He naturally looped his arms around my neck. I patted his back.
“Gotta put the kid to bed.”
“...?”
Having met Sahyeon several times already—and having heard the choker’s effects explained—Eun Woojeong paused, then asked:
“He’s not actually a kid though, right?”
“So what? Right now he’s a kid.”
“No, I mean the exterior is—”
“We’ll head in.”
I gave King Seohwa a polite bow and turned away without a second thought.
Annoying in combat and in personality—if I didn’t cut him off, he’d pester me for hours.
I headed upstairs with the now slightly-cheered Sahyeon in my arms. Killing two birds with one stone—put the Catastrophe in a good mood, too.
Days passed—purifying the cold spots by day, transforming into Cover and training by night.
Training went far smoother than I’d expected.
The S-ranks who’d been sparring only with me eventually paired off among themselves. Just watching their far more seasoned battles helped a lot.
With King Seohwa occasionally stepping in—offering advice and even facing me directly—my technique sharpened by the day.
Then, a week and five more days later—
“Planning to settle down there for good?”
The moment I fell asleep, I was yanked somewhere strange.
A barren place lit by scattered fires. The ground was layered in pitch-black soil, streaked with tongues of bright red flame, and the sky was packed with ashen smoke.
Just standing there made my lungs seize and my throat sting.
Chronos appeared before me with a sigh.
“When exactly do you plan on coming back? How long are you going to dawdle?”
“I was going down soon anyway.”
He’d dragged me into dreams enough times that I no longer flinched, but that didn’t mean I liked it. Especially not places like this that make you frown just by looking.
“So why pull me in again?”
“You’ve got things to discuss with me about what happened.”
“Nothing to discuss. You were zero help.”
“...”
At a loss for words, Chronos only worked his lips and rubbed at his brow.
“You always demand payment for everything, and then you give me nothing useful. Why the hell should I report to you?”
“What are you talking about! I gave you something last time!”
“This?”
I raised my right hand.
Maybe because it was a dream, the tattoo that usually didn’t show glowed faintly gold.
Chronos had inscribed it last time—said he’d come once if my life was in danger.
“What good is it if I never ended up in mortal danger?”
With S-ranks around me—and more importantly, with Cha Sahyeon—he wouldn’t just sit there and watch me die.
Chronos clicked his tongue, seeing straight through my head.
“You think the world flows according to your plan? With the messes you make, that tattoo will trigger sooner or later.”
“Is that a prophecy or a curse?”
“Ahem. Anyway.”
Awkward himself, he cleared his throat and pressed on.
“Give me a precise answer—when are you coming back? In case you forgot, with Song Jiwoon and Ryu Sunghyun both away, I’m managing the guild as acting leader. Do you know how long I’ve been retired and still doing this—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go. I’ll head down in a couple days. Slowly.”
I answered, bored, and Chronos shot me a look that said, what kind of punk are you.
I was about to tell him to scram when a thought struck me.
“You got anything that can block mind-type items? Something as effective as those pearls you gave me last time.”
“Hm...”
A brief light flashed in the gold of Chronos’s eyes as he studied me. Then, without asking for further explanation, he nodded.
“Sounds like you’re ready to pay a price. There is. Something not just for you, but other humans can use as well.”
“I’ll come by as soon as I hit Seoul.”
I grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. He let out an incredulous breath.
Good. That’s what I wanted.
“Now beat it. And don’t ever call me to a dump like this again. It’s disgusting even for a dream.”
“Hm?”
Chronos frowned slightly and looked around.
He glanced between sky and ground with an unreadable expression, then spoke.
“This place isn’t something I made.”
“What?”
“This space was created by your unconscious. To keep our conversation comfortable by suppressing my presence, I entered what was already formed within you.”
“...”
My... unconscious?
I lowered my gaze slowly. Black soil against my bare feet. Just looking at it made my stomach roil, made me recoil.
“An unconscious space is made where a person’s mind and soul knit together.”
“...”
Chronos watched me in silence, face complicated, and sighed lightly.
“Right. As you said, this isn’t somewhere you should linger. Go back.”
“...”
“In two days, we’ll meet in reality.”
He snapped his fingers. My body tipped backward on its own, the world dimming.
My consciousness thinned, my eyes slid shut.
And then I opened them again.
I was no longer in that foul place, but lying in a bed—King Seohwa’s guest room.
I looked down at Cha Sahyeon, clinging to me in his child form, then slowly pushed myself up. I ran a hand through my hair and muttered a quiet curse.
It was the foulest morning I’d had in a long time.

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