There were four people who emerged from the thick underbrush. Three men and one woman. Their hair was unkempt, their clothes ragged—they looked like proper beggars. Then again, we weren't much better off, so I had no reason to mock them.
I quickly scanned the group for notable traits.The man on the far left had short, cropped hair and held a longbow in his right hand. He likely specialized in archery. He stared at us with deep, unreadable eyes, his lips tightly sealed—probably the quiet type.
Hmm...?
Suddenly, I felt an odd sense of familiarity. If he was someone I remembered, then it meant he had been active in Hall Plane. While his face was rather common, I decided to keep that thought in mind and continued observing the others in a clockwise direction.
At the front stood a man with hair down to his waist. From behind, his slim frame and delicate features could easily be mistaken for a woman's. But his sharp jawline and piercing eyes made it clear—he was male.
In the middle of the group stood a woman, seemingly under their protection. Her refined features caught the eye. She looked around nervously, as if searching for something.
And finally, to the far right, a man with a wild grin spun a dagger in his hand. Just from his demeanor, I already disliked him.
A brief silence passed.Then, the long-haired man at the front glanced at us and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"You look like fellow survivors."
"We've met survivors before. Nothing surprising," the archer replied curtly.
The dagger guy scoffed, tossing his blade in the air and catching it again.
"Tsk, tsk… What are you, barely in your early twenties? Bunch of kids... pathetic."
Ahn Hyun seemed provoked by the remark and took a step forward, raising his shield. I quickly grabbed his shoulder and shook my head slightly—telling him to stand down. Thankfully, he understood, gritting his teeth as he stepped back.
The dagger guy let out an exaggerated laugh.
"Did you see that punk? That little punk with the street-thug face? Got all riled up over one comment. Jeez, can't say anything these days without scaring kids."
"You started it. Shut up and let Jungmin handle it," the archer snapped.
The dagger-wielder pouted and fell silent. Still, our group's expressions had already soured.
As tension built between the groups, the long-haired man finally spoke.
"Anyway, good to meet you. I'm Woo Jungmin. Like you, we got thrown into this hellhole by chance."
Woo Jungmin? The Red Fang Clan's Lord?!
His name jolted my memory.That demon who wielded dual daggers as his signature... Could this really be that Woo Jungmin?
I immediately activated my Third Eye.
『 USER STATUS 』
Name: Woo Jungmin
Gender: Male (26)
Height / Weight: 177.9cm / 65.7kg
Disposition: Neutral • Chaos (True • Chaos)
Stats:
[Strength: 51]
[Endurance: 43]
[Agility: 59]
[Vitality: 48]
[Magic: 55]
[Luck: 36]
His stats crushed my assumption that Ahn Hyun was the strongest among current survivors.And yes—this man in front of me really was the future Red Fang Clan's Lord, Woo Jungmin. I was stunned.
"...Ahn Hyun. Likewise," he said curtly in response.
Jungmin's group began murmuring among themselves.I calmly heightened my senses.If this really was that Jungmin, then I had a good idea who the archer might be. In the latter half of Hall Plane, he became one of the Ten Strongest.
For a moment, I considered whether to just kill them now.But I dismissed the thought. Maybe if I were alone, I would. But with my party here, I couldn't risk it.
Weapons had already been drawn. The dagger guy sneered at Ahn Hyun again.
"Ugh, this is why you don't spoil kids. You Ahn Hyun or whatever? If you don't wanna die, you'd better learn to talk respectfully."
"Oppa, not now," someone whispered.
"Pfft. Like this is the first time. Killing him would be quick. You just stay quiet."
The woman in the center finally spoke, but the dagger guy brushed her off with a sneer. In response, she glared so intensely it sent chills down my spine. He clicked his tongue, then relented with a raised hand.
"Alright, alright. No more stink-eye, geez. Just joking around...Anyway, little ones—this fine gentleman here is Cheon Seung-hyun. Now let me ask: these five monkeys you killed—were they yours?"
"And if they were?" I asked coolly.
Cheon Seung-hyun... When I see you in Hall Plane, you're dead, I thought.
And of course, who else but Lee Yoojung had to butt in?She stepped up with that signature snide tone.
"Crazy bastard. You wanna act like a big shot? What are you, some kind of king? Look at this pathetic idiot."
Classic Yoojung.
Cheon Seung-hyun raised his brows, then burst into wild laughter.
"Ha! Oh man... I gotta calm down. Hoo... Okay, okay. I'll let that slide. But we're real busy right now, so let's just stick to the questions and get outta here. Use polite words, or don't—I won't warn you again."
Yoojung just smirked.
"Loser. What are you gonna do if I don't? You gonna cry? Pathetic punk."
Predictably, Seung-hyun reached for his dagger with a growl.
"Brats and bitches—only understand when you beat it into them. Say goodbye."
He flung a dagger straight at Yoojung's forehead.
I rushed forward to pull her aside, but Ahn Hyun was faster—already blocking her with his shield.
CLANG!Thud!
"Aaaaagh!"
The dagger bounced off Ahn Hyun's shield with a metallic ring. At the same moment, Seung-hyun screamed—my arrow had struck his right hand.
The archer raised his bow in retaliation, but I had already anticipated it.I tried to shoot again—but twang, the string snapped empty.With a grimace, I quickly loaded three more arrows and aimed for his forehead, activating my Third Eye again.
『 USER STATUS 』
Name: Sun Yoo-woon
Gender: Male (25)
Height / Weight: 180.9cm / 78.4kg
Disposition: Neutral • Balanced (True • Neutral)
Stats:
[Strength: 45]
[Endurance: 48]
[Agility: 62]
[Vitality: 54]
[Magic: 50]
[Luck: 50]
Sun Yoo-woon. It really is him.
One of Hall Plane's Ten Strongest archers.
Despite the brief time difference between his and my shots, our speed was almost identical.He noticed it too—his eyes widened in surprise.
Our groups stood frozen in tense silence.Even so, Ahn Hyun, Yoojung, and Hanbyul all stood firm with their weapons drawn.I was impressed.
Meanwhile, Seung-hyun thrashed on the ground, screaming like a lunatic.
"AAAAAGH! KILL HIM! KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!"
"...You're the one who threw the dagger, Seung-hyun. Shut your damn mouth," Jungmin said coldly.
His sharp words quieted Seung-hyun, who clutched his hand, sniffling.Jungmin looked down at him in disgust before turning back to us.
"I apologize. Let's end this here. Fighting gains us nothing."
"I'd love to, but your friend hasn't lowered his bow."
"Sun Yoo-woon. Drop it."
Yoo-woon lowered his bow after a pause.Seeing that, I also relaxed my left hand—though neither of us fully disengaged.
Jungmin raised his hands slightly and stepped forward.
"Sorry again. We've been through a lot lately, and everyone's on edge. I'll get to the point. Time's tight. We were tracking those monkeys since yesterday. During that time, one of our group members was captured by them.Thanks for dealing with them, but—have you seen a woman nearby?"
A woman...?
I remembered the woman in the yellow dress who had died near the monkey den.Maybe it was her.
"Oppa, could it be that girl with the yellow clothes and long hair? The one we saw at the entrance?"
I groaned and covered my face.
Seriously, Yoojung?She blurted it out without thinking—again.
At her words, the other group's faces lit up.
"Yes! That's her! Yellow clothes and long hair!Do you know where she is?!"
"Ah, well..."
Yoojung hesitated, her confidence gone.
None of us answered. The woman they described... was most likely the one who'd been raped and killed by monsters. But how could we say that out loud?
As we exchanged uncertain glances, the men's expressions darkened. They seemed to sense what we weren't saying.
The woman, however, grew increasingly desperate.
"Did you see her? Even just for a moment?"
"..."
"Please. Just tell me where you saw her. She's my younger sister. She's kind and... so pure... please..."
Tears streamed down her face.Everyone turned to me again—as if I should answer this. They were quick to fight, but in moments like this, it always fell on me.
Suppressing a heavy sigh, I finally opened my mouth.