Chapter 19

00019 Wait, break up. =========================================================================

Thud! The glass shattered!

Thud.

After smashing the head of the last Deadman, I leaned against a tree. The remains of the Deadmen, all with their heads shattered, were scattered haphazardly around me.

Despite trying to conserve my strength and take them on one by one, it was over in no time. It was a one-sided massacre. However, I couldn't feel satisfied. Instead, I felt a lingering unease.

“Spit.”

I spat on the remains in front of me, but the instinctive desire for slaughter seemed to rise even more, perhaps in rebellion against the forced restraint. I tried to calm myself with deep breaths, but the more I tried, the more it seemed to fuel the fire. I suddenly wondered if I had never intended to suppress this feeling in the first place.

“Damn. It's not even a kid's game. I've just lost my appetite.”

As I kept licking my lips, I couldn't resist the surging bloodlust and ended up smashing a nearby tree.

Bang! Rustle...

Even without any magical enhancement, the tree, which should have been sturdy, collapsed with a heavy thud. Although my mood improved slightly, the overwhelming bloodlust inside me didn't completely dissipate.

The others must have left. I wanted to set the forest on fire, but I held back. I didn't know what other monsters might be outside the stone wall. I was worried about the kids and didn't have time to linger to recover my arrows.

Since no one was around to see, I quickly moved, controlling the mana I had been holding back.

The trees, forest, and surrounding scenery quickly passed by me. I arrived at the stone tomb where I had been earlier, much faster than the time I had spent there.

As I pulled out the arrows embedded in the Deadmen's heads and scanned the area, I couldn't sense the presence of the others. As expected, they had left immediately after I entered the forest.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... This should be enough.”

I wanted to put the arrows directly into my pocket, but I worried that Ansol might have a fit if she saw, so I roughly cleaned them off.

'Should I go out now?'

Since Ahnhyun and the others might be right outside, I moved slowly. Before I climbed over the stone wall, I turned my head to look at the quiet forest.

The forest was the same as it had always been. When we escaped the forest before, we were being chased and didn't have time to think. We just ran and suddenly found ourselves out of the forest.

But now, it's different. I stared at the forest for a while, feeling a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

After enjoying the sentimental mood for a moment, I leaped over the wall. I didn't want to get caught up in the mood. There was something more important to me right now.

*

The scene that greeted me after I leaped over the stone wall was far from what I had expected. The path I was on was bumpy but showed signs of human activity. Although not perfectly straight, the sides had a uniform appearance.

Below the path, the plain stretched out to a vast horizon. The surroundings were desolate, with only the occasional gentle breeze revealing its presence.

I couldn't see any monsters, but I also couldn't see the others. No matter where I looked, even with my mana, I couldn't detect their presence. I suddenly wondered if they had left me behind.

With three characters with light attributes, the probability of betrayal was relatively low. However, I couldn't judge based solely on their tendencies.

If they had left me behind, it would be more reasonable to assume that they had waited for me and then met with some misfortune. The monsters that appeared during the rite of passage were not limited to Deadmen. I decided to first look for any traces of the others.

Finding clues, such as tracks for tracking, was not particularly difficult for me. As I carefully examined the area while following the stone wall, I found a patch of soil with indented sneaker prints. It seemed they had climbed over the wall in this direction.

Following the direction where the soil had been disturbed, I found traces where the group had gathered. After confirming that there was nothing around, it seemed they had waited for me here. The slight feeling of betrayal that had been creeping into my heart melted away like snow.

I crouched down at the spot where the group had gathered and examined it carefully. If there were experienced rangers or trappers, they could deduce the entire situation from the tracks. Of course, I couldn't do that. The best I could do was use my sharp eyes and abilities.

I focused on the sneaker prints, trying to distinguish them from other tracks. The tracks were so chaotic that it would take some time to identify them. A fleeting thought of unease crossed my mind, but I reassured myself that it was too early to jump to conclusions and continued my examination.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I finished my analysis. I stretched my legs and stood up. Apart from the sneaker prints, I didn't find any strange tracks. There was one indented mark, but it was overlaid with sneaker prints, making it hard to determine if it was from the group.

Since there were no drag marks, it couldn't have been a Deadman. I considered the possibility of a boss monster but quickly dismissed it. We had only been in the rite of passage for half a day, and there were specific conditions for the appearance of a boss monster.

After pushing the thought of a boss monster aside, I didn't have any clear leads. The only option left was to activate my mana circuits, even though I knew it wouldn't work.

I explosively drew mana and activated my Third Eye. What I was about to do was not just a simple matter of confirming the user's information.

I hadn't expected to need this much mana so early, but given the urgency of the situation, I had no other choice. If I hesitated and tried to find them with mana detection, something could happen, and I couldn't guarantee their safety.

What I was about to examine with my Third Eye was not the present but the 'past.' This unique ability was powerful enough to examine other dimensions if the conditions were met, making it possible to see the past and future of the current dimension.

Just as a worrying thought crossed my mind, a scene appeared in my eyes, and I naturally focused on it.

Crack!

“Gah...!”

In just one second, the scene on my retina distorted, and a massive shock hit my eyes. My eyes felt as if they were burning. I rubbed my eyes reflexively and let out a bitter laugh.

Just one second. I could only endure one second of the past before my Third Eye was forcibly canceled. After a moment, as the pain in my eyes subsided, I muttered in a defeated voice.

“Ha... Ha. With 96 mana points, I can only endure one second... I'm going crazy.”

I had hoped my mana would be enough to handle the overdrive of my unique ability, but it wasn't. I was reminded once again of how high-level my Third Eye was, but I also felt a sense of disappointment.

Seeing the past is considered on par with seeing the future. It's a different level from simply predicting the future. I had thought that reaching S-rank with my Third Eye might make it possible, but the 2-rank downgrade from the forced activation and the 1-rank boost from the fire element weren't enough to handle the past and future.

The pain was gradually subsiding, but my vision was still blurry. It seemed to be a side effect of the mana backlash after the spell was canceled. Fortunately, as time passed, my vision gradually cleared, indicating that there was no permanent damage to my eyesight.

I had taken a risky move, but at least I had gained something.

Even though it was just one second, I had clearly seen the 'past.' I sighed deeply, recalling the scene that had appeared on my retina. Just when I had gathered all my strength to escape the forest, a more challenging task awaited me.

If it were a matter of lacking strength, I could understand, but the reality of having to endure even with strength made me even more depressed. If all else failed, I would cause a commotion during the rite of passage, but that was a last resort.

It felt like climbing one mountain only to find another.

============================ Author's Note ============================

1. Typos and context corrections.