IRNH C35

Chapter 35

The march had already continued for five days without incident.

Aside from Sihyeon offering to help with camp and accidentally discarding some provisions and supplies, and Taewoon tearing apart the monsters that suddenly appeared—only to grow even more distant from the others as a result—there had been no other troubles.

Even so, Sihyeon frowned at how absurdly peaceful things were. But he no longer doubted his instincts. The last time he had second-guessed them in a similar situation, he had paid dearly for it.

“Today’s the same. No monsters at all.”

Whatever their ultimate goal, the result was the same as moving exactly according to the quest’s instructions.

Everything pointed in one direction, and if that was the case, then the chances were high that both the so-called prince and the guild members were imprisoned together there.

But was he supposed to believe nothing was happening along the way? Sihyeon had never understood the mechanism behind how these quests appeared. Even after suffering through them for ten years, he had never figured it out.

One thing was certain, however. A quest never allowed a person to remain at ease.

“Hyung!!! One of the signals disappeared!”
“What?!”

Just then, Yujun, glancing down at the compass he checked by habit, suddenly lifted his head in alarm.

The bad news alone was enough to shake Kyu-min’s composure.

“A-are you sure?”
“…Yes… There are only nine now….”

A heavy silence fell among the party. Sihyeon bit his lip lightly before speaking.

“Could it be just the Life Watch that got damaged?”

The compass didn’t detect human life. It only showed the registered items, so it couldn’t confirm life or death.

When Sihyeon reminded them of this, Kyu-min, who had been trembling in panic, snapped his head up with tearful eyes.

“…Ah, of course, that’s entirely possible. Haah. I’m sorry. I’ll pull myself together.”

Fortunately, the atmosphere, which had begun to grow restless, seemed to settle again. But from that moment, the tranquil flow of air that had carried them vanished completely.

Sihyeon recalled the pressing time limit again and looked with frustration at the slowly moving procession ahead.

Perhaps they should have just secured a map in the city and gone on their own. He even regretted his decision.

‘If only they’d move a little faster.’

Even though the sun was still high, they had already stopped to prepare camp.

They never overexerted themselves, and even their breaks were so leisurely that the tension dissolved on its own.

Frankly, it was exaggerated enough to feel more like a picnic than a mission to rescue a prince.

So when he discovered a few humans lying in wait ahead of the procession—not monsters—he almost welcomed it, though it was at their expense.

Pathetic as they might be, a little ambush might at least help restore some tension, he thought with a futile sense of hope.

‘Bandits, maybe?’

Given everything so far—even the quest itself, which felt half-hearted—it was natural for Sihyeon’s thoughts to drift that way.

But after a day had passed since their appearance, the group presumed to be bandits still kept a steady distance from the procession, as though moving in lockstep with them.

At first, he thought they might be waiting for the right moment to ambush. But if they were smart enough to plan that far, they wouldn’t even consider attacking a group of more than a hundred.

And since they held no noticeable energy, at most they had some external martial training. That they kept tailing them so persistently suggested they had a purpose. Sihyeon simply couldn’t make sense of it.

‘Ah, just ignore it. I only need to do my job.’

But soon enough, he found himself bothered despite trying to dismiss it, forcing his feet to move briskly.

After all, this was happening inside a gate. There was no need for him to concern himself with it.

It had already been six days since they entered. If the situation remained unchanged by tomorrow, Sihyeon planned to overtake the procession with Taewoon alone and deal with matters himself, even if he felt sorry for the others.

Kyu-min seemed determined to bear responsibility for the rescue, but half their allotted time was already gone. It was time to prioritize efficiency.

In the past, he would have coldly left them behind without hesitation, putting the task first. But strangely, he no longer felt that way now.

“Wait!”

Carrying that impatience in his chest, Sihyeon suddenly raised a hand, halting the party as a heavy, chilling energy began seeping up from underground.

‘I was keeping careful watch on all sides as we walked, and yet…’

Belatedly, the strange energy spread through the area, and Sihyeon chose to stop rather than try to break free.

A trap like this carried far too many variables. Careful analysis was the wiser course.

“It’s a formation. Everyone, be careful.”
“Gasp. Wh-what do we do?”

Though it wasn’t exactly the kind of martial formations he knew, he was certain the inside and outside had been cut off.

Glancing at the knight procession that still marched ahead as though unaware, Sihyeon bit his lip.

‘Sense.’

[Trap of Life (-) – □□□□ and □□□ □□□□]

Though the description wasn’t complete, the word “trap” alone set Sihyeon’s nerves on edge.

And the fact that he had stepped inside without sensing it at all pricked his pride.

‘Who the hell is this bastard who supposedly kidnapped a prince? To spread such a vast trap I can’t even sense?’

“Taewoon. Did you notice it late too?”
“…Yes.”

At Sihyeon’s question, Taewoon answered quietly, then subtly pressed at the acupoint where the Solar Plexus lay, a faint crease on his brow.

What was that?

As the strange energy rose and severed space, for just an instant, a sharp pang struck his head.

It was so subtle he couldn’t even tell where it had begun.

Taewoon’s eyes grew cold. Whatever was influencing him gave him a profoundly filthy feeling.

In his life, nothing had ever managed to leave a mark on him—nothing except his master.

‘And now something has pierced my barrier and managed to affect me?’

With a chilling smile, Taewoon clenched and released his fist.

He had already been resentful—unable to touch Sihyeon properly, unable to sleep beside him, unable to eat with him alone for days.

He had been on the verge of cutting them all down and dragging the guild members back himself, and now, a savage curiosity toward these acts was rising within him.

Ssshhhhh—

Once again, the strange energy slithered forth.

Sihyeon’s eyes widened. In a flash, he spun and darted to the three others, striking several acupoints and drawing his sword.

“Everyone, breathe as little as possible. Taewoon!”
“Yes.”

The two of them stood back-to-back, encircling the three companions at the center, scanning in all directions.

It wasn’t poison, but it created effects like poison.

With one breath, Sihyeon concluded it wasn’t meant to kill outright, but he had taken precautions just in case.

Meanwhile, even the knight procession had begun to stir. Within moments, over a hundred people collapsed one after another.

Nothing made sense. He could almost understand why so many had failed to clear this place.

But soon after—

The three knights stood unharmed, and trailing behind them at a fixed distance, others appeared, looking perfectly fine.

As they spoke with the knights as if they were comrades, Sihyeon could only gape and focus on their words.

“The gate’s time is running out. If we want to deal with the Glory rats, we’re pressed for time. Let’s move.”
“Tch. If only we could adjust the time.”

The fuck. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Sihyeon’s confusion surged to the limit.

These people, whom he thought were inhabitants of the gate, spoke as though they were hunters like him—discussing the gate and the Glory guild members.

But he had no time to waver. When he saw the compass they produced, he forced himself to absorb it all.

“Those bastards… They came from the same place as us.”

They were using the exact same Greedy Compass Yujun had been relying on, checking their route.

“Listen carefully. Those knights up there—they’re hunters.”
“Wh-what? N-no way. They said at the entrance that no one else had entered besides us.”
“I don’t know about that part. But they definitely mentioned the Glory guild members.”

Kyu-min, who had been trembling and trying to deny it in a wavering voice, suddenly fell silent. His eyes shook violently as he stared blankly at Sihyeon.

Tch.

Sihyeon clicked his tongue softly and tracked the movements of the unknown ones again.

The ones he had thought were ordinary grabbed hulking mercenaries three or four at a time and vanished into the bushes.

“Our goal is decided. We’ll follow where they’re heading. Sorry, but from here on…”
“I-I’ll work harder! Please don’t leave me behind…! Please!”

Just as Sihyeon was about to say that he and Taewoon would move on alone, Yujun seemed to anticipate it and clutched his arm with desperate hands, his voice trembling.

“Yujun…”

He had thought the others would welcome the chance to rest while he and Taewoon handled things. But Yujun looked as though he feared being abandoned out of annoyance.

“N-no, I only meant it might get harder from here, so I wanted you to rest a bit…”
“No. I’m sure I’ll be useful too! If there are traps, I might be able to detect them!”

Sihyeon scratched his cheek, stretching the edge of his straight brow slightly. He couldn’t help recalling the days he had begged several shopkeepers to give him part-time work when he was young.

‘Why him, of all people.’

It had always been like that. Looking at Yujun, he couldn’t help but see his younger self overlapped with him. That was a time when he had often wished for a decent adult by his side.

‘Fine. We don’t even know what lies ahead. For now, someone still needs to watch that compass.’

Meeting Yujun’s earnest gaze, Sihyeon slowly nodded, then changed his words, asking for everyone’s opinions instead.