about you?

You must have been laughing the entire time

you sold players to the monsters! And you even murdered
the rest of the trapped players!"
The scavengers realized that it was too dangerous to
stay, and they began running away one by one. Although
there was a risk that they would fall into the Lizardmen’s
clutches by running into the swamp unarmed, they had no
choice. However, escape wasn’t going to be easy. In the
same manner he’d eliminated their reinforcements, Yeon-
woo hunted them from the shadows. For a long while,
horrible screams echoed around the forest. By the time the
heavy smell of blood drifted along the wind, the scavengers
had already disappeared.
When Yeon-woo returned after getting rid of the last
remaining scavenger, he saw Kahn and Doyle sitting down,
full of sorrow. They had believed that they’d rescued
victims of the Lizardman King. But the true victims were
already dead, and the only ones left were scavengers who
tried to kill them. It must have been a tremendous shock.
Yeon-woo didn't say a word. He had experienced this
situation many times in Africa, but it was clearly their first
time. They would grow apprehensive towards other humans
and filled with anger towards perpetrators of crimes like
this. With all these emotions stirring their minds, there was
no way to console them. The only thing he could do was
wait for them to organize their thoughts and get to their
feet. ‘People usually end up doing one of two things: go
crazy or let go.' In the meantime, Yeon-woo wiped the blood
off Carshina’s Dagger with a cloth and sheathed it at his
waist.
 Kahn looked at Yeon-woo with a hollow expression.
"How come you’re so calm after this?"
"I’ve gotten used to it."
"I have no idea…what kind of life you have lived. What
about the other people in your world, are they just like
you?"
Yeon-woo shrugged. "If they were, the whole world
would go mad."
As if he were exhausted, Kahn lightly rubbed his eyes
with his index finger and thumb. Then, he rubbed his face
with his hands and looked at Yeon-woo with a serious
expression. "Can I be honest?"
Yeon-woo nodded calmly. He had a rough idea what
Kahn was about to say.
"These crazy bastards who had been pretending to be
victims caught us off guard, but…truth be told, we’re both
a little scared of you, too."
Yeon-woo didn’t respond.
"I don’t understand how you can remain cool in a
situation like this. I can’t help thinking that you’ve been
suspicious of them from the beginning.” Kahn's expression
grew more despondent. "You’ve never trusted anyone from
the start, have you?” Kahn added silently, ‘Including us.’
However, Yeon-woo knew what he was thinking.
'I guess it’s time to leave.’ The only thing he could think
of now was parting from them. Yeon-woo didn’t trust
anyone in this world, while Kahn and Doyle wanted to
establish a team based on trust. It was bound to break
apart, especially Kahn and Doyle, who wanted to open their
hearts to Yeon-woo. They were hurt to find out that Yeon-
woo only considered them mere business partners.
Yeon-woo felt a bitter aftertaste. Despite his nature, he
didn’t consider them complete strangers—the cheerful
Kahn and the warm-hearted Doyle each had a unique
charm. However, they had their perspective, and Yeon-woo
had his. If things didn’t match, they had to break up.
"Then I'll be on my way." With a short farewell, Yeon-woo
left. Doyle stepped forward as if he wanted to say
something, but Kahn reached out and held him back.
And just like that, they parted ways.

“H yung ! W hat have you done ?” With a sad expression,

Doyle watched Yeon-woo disappear before shouting at
Kahn. Doyle usually didn't show much emotion, but he was
genuinely angered. He’d seen something indescribable
behind Yeon-woo’s back.
"Sit down."
"Tell me! Why did you do that? Even if we had to part,
you know how much Cain..."
"I told you, sit down," Kahn said in a low, serious voice.
Doyle came to his senses and noticed something strange
in Kahn's voice. His deep-set eyes were serious. "It’s for the
best."
"What's—"
"Did you not see this?" Kahn pointed to one of the
swords that a scavenger had dropped. It looked quite
ordinary at first; it was a sword that anyone could easily
purchase with two strength points from a mysterious
merchant.
Just as Doyle was about to ask what Kahn was talking
about, he noticed a string made up of white and green
threads woven in a unique pattern dangling from the hilt of
the sword. Doyle's voice trembled slightly. "Wait, is that…?"
"Yes, it's Arangdan’s mark."
Doyle's face froze.
"Actually, I’ve always thought it was a little strange that
Arangdan or the Cheonghwado would go out of their way to
keep order in the Tutorial.”
Doyle couldn’t speak.
"They always make excuses saying it’s to help them
procure new players, but people like us know that’s a load
of crap.”
The main power behind Arangdan, the Cheonghwado,
was one of the ten biggest clans in the Tower. The clan
valued chivalry and worshiped swordsmanship and
gallantry, and they always had plenty of applicants without
needing to put any effort into attracting newbies.
When the Cheonghwado had announced that they’d set
up Arangdan to watch over the Tutorial, other clans and
rankers wondered about their intentions, but without any
evidence, they could only let them be. But it seemed like
the entire thing was a scheme to take over the scavengers.
"The Tutorial runs via a series of complex systems that
differ from the ones in the Tower. I don't know what they're
after exactly, but if they are trying to take advantage of the
system…” Kahn had to pause as he clenched his teeth and
hold back the anger welling up inside him. "It makes sense,
right?"
Doyle nodded in silence. "Come to think of it…they
founded Arangdan right after Arthia wiped out all of the
scavengers in the Tutorial.”
"They probably needed a better management system."
Doyle gritted his teeth. He finally understood why Kahn
had to send Yeon-woo away with a ridiculous excuse. He
didn't want to drag Yeon-woo into a dangerous situation
since he seemed to have important business to attend to.
Kahn didn’t want to distract him. "Hyung, then are you—"
Kahn nodded gravely. "Yes. I’m gonna see that idiot Bild
before I can carry on. You should go ahead and head to
Vigrid’s location.”
Vigrid was a hidden piece and the reason why Kahn and
Doyle needed to obtain Hargan’s Crown. It was the goal
they hoped to reach in the Tutorial and the only way Kahn
and Doyle could catch up with Edora and Phante, who had
been stacking up karma points with incredible speed.
"Don’t be silly, hyung." Doyle had a big smile on his face.
"You’re not the only one who wants to see those bastards’
faces. I'm dying to know what he’s going to say about this."
He had also decided to abandon their opportunity.
Kahn shook his head as if he’d expected Doyle’s reply.
"You know, I think you’re the dumbest person there is. I
mean, you pretend to be smart and all, but in the end, you
end up making the dumbest decisions."
“Look who's talking.” As always, Kahn and Doyle giggled
as they joked with each other. Then, they began heading in
the opposite direction from Yeon-woo, towards the western
territory where Arangdan was stationed.

Y eon - woo stopped for a moment and shifted his gaze

towards the west. “Idiots.” He had a vague idea where the
two were heading and why they’d abruptly parted ways.
But he had to go east. There was something he had to do,
and he wouldn’t have a second chance.
However, if they had asked him to go with them before
he left or if they had asked him for help, he didn’t know if
he could have refused them. Without knowing what he
would have said, Yeon-woo continued to move east to the
location of the hidden piece Akasha's Snake.
 33

AKASHA’S SNAKE (1)

Bild’s brows trembled. "Team 2 was annihilated?"

"I’m afraid so." Team 2 was in charge of supporting
Arangdan behind the scenes by supplying them with what
they referred to as “materials”.
"It must be them again."
The subordinate lowered his head without replying, but
it was enough. Bild continued in an irritated voice, “You
said Team 2 was good enough for this task so I let you have
the chance, but you’ve failed me. Ha! It’s as if we just let
them take Hargan’s Crown for free."
The subordinate kept his head low as he bowed. He
knew that making excuses would only make his problems
worse. Two days ago, Bild had ordered Team 2, the
scavenger troop, to get rid of Yeon-woo’s team. Arangdan
had supplied information that said the three of them had
headed towards Hargan's Lair as soon as they entered
Section E.
It was for that reason that he had set up a trap, but the
three unexpectedly managed to exterminate every last one
of the scavengers that participated in the mission, from the
bait to the reinforcements. And not only that, but they also
took Hargan’s Crown, which Bild had been saving for the
end of the Tutorial. It was quite gut-wrenching for him.
"You fools. Do I have to personally manage a task like this?"
"I-I’m terribly sorry."
Bild had put a lot of work into preparing Team 2, and his
efforts had ended in failure. He couldn’t let them get away
with this. If he didn’t settle it, punishment would be headed
his way from the Isle. "Put Team 1 on standby."
"Y-you mean the Team 1?" The subordinate’s eyes
widened in surprise. The members of Team 1 were known
as elite players in Arangdan and were being specially
trained to enter the Cheonghwado. Each one was among
the top rankers in the Tutorial. However, the biggest
surprise was that it was the first time Bild had ever ordered
the whole team to assemble. It seemed like a waste to go
through so much trouble just to deal with three people.
"The three of them destroyed Team 2. Blood Sword,
Foxy Tail, and the masked one—they’re better than I
expected.” Bild leaned back in his chair. "It’s not that bad.
This will serve as a good combat experience.”
The subordinate bowed his head in agreement. Even
from his perspective, the players in Team 1 were conceited,
so convinced that they would be the next leading players of
the Cheonghwado that they often ignored Bild's words. Bild
was planning to make use of the opportunity to get rid of
the thorns in their side and give Team 1’s pride a dose of
cold reality.
"I will also be moving along with them."
 The subordinate’s eyes widened in shock once more, but
he lowered his head again. Prior to becoming an executive
in Arangdan, he had been a player who had made some
modest achievements in the Tower. No matter how good
players in the Tutorial were, there was a huge gap between
them and the players already in the Tower. 'Those high
rankers are dead now.’ He clucked his tongue in pity.
Players from the Tower would receive a severe penalty
from the Guardian if they intervened in the Tutorial. But
Bild had decided to risk the penalty because the three
posed such a huge obstacle to him.
"Are you thinking that it’s possible they noticed Team 2’s
identity?”
Bild nodded slowly. "There’s no reason to leave any loose
ends behind. Besides, we can't let them get away with what
they did to us, can we?" Bild frowned as he ordered,
“Assemble all members of Team 1 immediately. Warn them
that those who fail to comply will be cut off from the clan
on the spot."
"Roger."
Bild clucked his tongue as he watched the subordinate
leave. "We were almost done collecting the sacrifices. I
didn’t expect this setback." When he first heard what
happened to Kaen, Bild had thought he could easily run
Yeon-woo off. But now, he couldn't just stand by after all the
trouble Yeon-woo had caused. 'Still, Blood Sword and Foxy
Tail have such impressive backgrounds. It’s also possible
that the masked guy is a dark horse contender from
another clan. He must have someone’s backing.'
 Bild had already excluded the possibility of Yeon-woo
acting alone. As far as he knew, no player could reach that
level of ability without any support. He couldn’t dismiss
Yeon-woo’s ability to clear the Inner Area as a solo player,
even going as far as speedrunning through it. He had to get
rid of the three as discreetly as possible and leave no
evidence behind.
Of course, it wasn't that he was afraid of their
backgrounds. The Cheonghwado’s power in the Tower was
really unmatched, but he didn't want to arouse suspicion
from the other clans and rankers. “After Arthia’s downfall,
the forced peace of the Tower has been gradually chiseled
away. Now, it’s just like a bomb that might explode at any
moment. But before it does, we have to gather as much
strength as we can.”
Without anyone noticing their actions, Arangdan had
been supplying the necessary materials to help build their
strength, and because of this, Bild couldn’t forgive Yeon-
woo’s party for destroying Team 2. Bild puzzled over how
he could eliminate them, but he was soon interrupted.
Clang!
"We’re under attack!"
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?"
An explosion shook the whole command post violently,
and there were loud noises at the entrance.
"B-Bild!" The subordinate Bild had ordered to gather
Team 1 rushed back into his room.
Bild asked with a frown, "What’s happening outside?"
"Th-they're here!"
"‘They’?"
 "Blood Sword and Foxy Tail!"
"What?" Bild rose from his seat with an irritated look.
Before the subordinate could continue, Bild said with a
curled lip. "They’ve saved me some trouble since they’ve
came here on their own."
Boom! Suddenly, the wall to his left was blasted apart,
and Kahn appeared with Doyle, both of them covered in
dust and blood.
"Bild!" Kahn said in a towering rage, his face twisted
savagely as he looked at the man who had turned the
Tutorial into a hell. Rumble! A murderous aura rushed
through the room like a windstorm.
"Urk!"
“Aargh!”
Some clan members had run into the room after the two
players, but most of them were blown away by Kahn’s aura.
Those remained spurted out blood and fainted. The ground
shook and the smell of blood rose in the room. Drenched in
blood and holding the bloody Dragon Slayer, Kahn looked
like a demon straight out of hell. This was the true form of
Blood Sword that had drawn the attention of various clans
and rankers in the Tower.
Bild slowly drew his sword, unveiling his own murderous
aura. He felt a tingling sensation all over his body, but the
sneer on his face grew. "I was getting bored stuck here in
the Tutorial. Let's enjoy ourselves, son of the Iron Lion."
Boom! Bild and Kahn flung themselves at each other,
and explosions rocked the room once more.
A s B ild and K ahn fought , Yeon-woo finally reached the
eastern area of Section E. The lush forest came to an end,
and the black, rocky mountains started to show their spiky
heads. The wide and barren desert was the Orcs’ territory.
Orcs were pig-faced monsters that possessed solid
physiques and bulging muscles. They were two meters in
size, bigger than the Lizardmen, they were known to be
aggressive to players, attacking them as soon as they
showed up. Their behavior made it difficult for players to
hunt them, but it didn’t matter to Yeon-woo at all.
As he ventured around the eastern desert, four Orcs
suddenly attacked him during their patrol. Slash! However,
Yeon-woo easily sliced the gullets of three of the Orcs, and
severed the muscles of the remaining one’s limbs, making
him fall to the ground. Yeon-woo climbed on his body and
held a dagger against his neck.
"Chwik! H-human! Strong! S-spare me!" Players and
monsters were all the same, begging for their lives in the
face of imminent death.
Yeon-woo said to the Orc with a cold smile, "I kept you
alive because you look like the smartest one in your group."
"R-right! Chwik! I am the smartest in the tribe! Chwik!"
Orc nodded eagerly with a pale face.
However, the truth was that Yeon-woo had only picked
him at random. "Let me ask you a question: have you seen
a cottage nearby? It should be somewhere on the mountain
or in the branches of a tree.”
"W-what? Chwik."
"You'd better think hard. There are lots of other Orcs
around that I can ask.”
 The Orc quickly put his brain to work. For the sake of
his survival, he forced himself to remember things in great
detail, like what he had eaten five days ago. The cold blade
of the dagger began to slide into the skin on his neck.
Blood dripped out of the wound, but the Orc was too
terrified to feel the pain. However, soon enough, he
managed to conjure up a memory he had about a house.
"Th-there is one! Chwik! I have never seen it! But my
friends were scouting, and they saw a strange house on the
Baotri! But they said it was too high up so they just came
back!"
Yeon-woo's eyes shone behind his mask. ‘That must be
it.' It was the place where the guide who could lead him to
the hidden piece, Akasha’s Snake, lived. "Where is that?"
The Orc realized that the dagger had stopped digging
into his throat, so he quickly answered, "You have to walk,
a little bit left towards the sunrise, takes two meals of
time."
“Northeast, about half a day from here.”
The Orc then shouted urgently. "L-let me go—urk!" He
hadn’t finished speaking when the dagger penetrated deep
into his neck and cut off his artery.
“W-why...?” As his life faded away, the Orc spat out one
last word, wondering why Yeon-woo had killed him even
though he’d cooperated.
"I was only asking you a question. I didn't say I was
going to let you live.”
At Yeon-woo's cold reply, the Orc wheezed out his last
breath in shock. Yeon-woo immediately took out a dagger
and began to cut the dead orcs' stomachs open to take their
ribs.
Orc bones were very dense and were perfect for crafting
various artifacts. As he dissected the carcasses, Yeon-woo
meticulously planned out his next steps. 'Akasha's Snake is
a tricky monster. It only shows up at certain times and
under certain conditions. Without his help, I’ll never be
able to find it.’
Akasha’s Snake was a monster that lived deep
underground in the eastern desert area. It was not an
ordinary snake, but a predator that could swallow and
devour anything. His brother had left various notes about
Akasha's Snake in his diary, not only from the shock that
he’d experienced when he first faced Akasha's Snake, but
also because this was the moment that Arthia had become
who they were. Yeon-woo was thinking of killing the
monster on his own.
It was larger than five mountains combined and
immeasurably long. I even wondered how a monster like
that could exist in the Tutorial. It’s said that Akasha's
Snake sometimes has to come out to the surface to breathe,
and while it's on the surface, it also fills its hungry
stomach. We tried to kill this monster without any previous
knowledge about it, and it’s no wonder we almost lost the
fight. But luckily, we met him.
Yeon-woo’s brother was referring to the person who had
saved him and Arthia during their battle with the snake. My
first master, Galliard.
“Snake hunter, Galliard." Yeon-woo muttered the name
of the person he would be meeting soon.
 Of course, if he knew I was calling him something
cheesy like “master”, he'd run here to punch me in the
face. Anyway, he is a man who seems free but in fact, he is
imprisoned by memories of the past. It’s the reason he has
been hunting Akasha’s Snake for decades.
Galliard had a rather unique history. He was a player,
but he had never stepped into the Tower. For decades, he
only stayed in the Tutorial. It wasn’t because he was weak
—after his brother took the sixth position in the Tower’s
rankings, he’d realized that Galliard was just as good as the
other rankers, perhaps even as good as the top ones. If he
had left the Tutorial and tried to climb the tower, perhaps
Galliard could climb even higher than his brother.
His brother had thought that it was a waste that a player
with such great skill was stuck in the Tutorial. Galliard
didn’t have any reputation in the Tower, but he knew what
Galliard was capable of. He had used pass tickets to try to
persuade him again and again, but Galliard refused every
time. When his brother asked for a reason, Galliard didn’t
give him a proper answer. He could only guess that Galliard
was trapped by a regret that involved Akasha’s Snake and
that the memory was preventing him from leaving the
Tutorial.
'Jeong-woo could find Akasha's Snake with the help of
his teammates. But I don't have time to make such
preparations, so I’ll have to find Galliard first and get his
help.' Galliard may have had a precious bond with his
brother, but Yeon-woo wasn’t concerned by it. He was
going to take whatever he could from Galliard. 'Even his
skills, if possible.' The white mask faced the northeast. 'If
not, I’ll force him.'
 34

AKASHA’S SNAKE (2)

Yeon-woo searched for Galliard as he killed the Orcs he

encountered on his journey to the northeast. The Orcs
called rugged, rocky mountains “Baotri”, and it wasn’t easy
to find Galliard considering that the region was full of
mountains.
Moreover, the Orcs were not fools either. After noticing
that their scouts weren’t coming back, they started sending
groups composed of over a dozen Orcs, and some Orcs
even began searching for Yeon-woo on their own initiative.
Fortunately, he managed to find Galliard’s cottage before
he ran into any trouble.
"Is this it?" Yeon-woo muttered to himself as he stood
before one of the mountains. It was the steepest one in the
region, and it towered over all the other mountains, making
them look tiny in comparison.
Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes and strengthened his
eyesight. As if he had zoomed in with lenses, he saw
something barely peeking out of the mountain: a small
cottage set on top of thick wooden pillars that had been set
up on a sloping cliff. It looked like it would collapse any
moment, but Yeon-woo shouted with joy because it was the
same cottage he had seen in the diary.
Later, I figured out that Galliard changes the location of
his cottage with each round of the Tutorial. It's so annoying
to have to search every corner of the eastern desert every
time I visit.
His brother did not know why Galliard kept moving
around, and he could only guess that it had something to do
with chasing Akasha's Snake.
'Let’s get there first.' Yeon-woo started to climb up the
rocky mountain with light steps. The slope was so steep
and rugged that it would be almost impossible to scale it
without climbing equipment, but Yeon-woo’s high statistics
and skills made it easy. All he had to do was locate the safe
places to step on with his strengthened vision and leap up
with his strong leg muscles. Yeon-woo managed to climb up
so fast that it seemed like only moments had passed before
he landed in a small yard in front of the cottage.
“Excuse me.” He knocked on the door, but he couldn’t
hear anything from inside. He expanded the scope of his
senses and scanned the cottage’s interior, but he couldn't
sense anything. "Is anyone home?"
He couldn't just open the door and enter without the
owner's permission. It was likely that Galliard had gone
out, since he was someone who didn’t like staying at home
and preferred to wander around. Yeon-woo sat on a bench
in the yard and began his wait.
"W hat are you doing here ?" The sunset was spreading
across the sky by the time Gilliard returned home. Yeon-
woo was in the middle of his meditation when Gilliard
showed up, but he immediately opened his eyes and
greeted Gilliard. "I’m Cain."
"I don’t care about your name. I’m asking you what
you’re doing in front of my house.” Galliard looked Yeon-
woo up and down with a face full of suspicion.
However, Yeon-woo couldn’t help being fascinated by
Galliard. 'Demi-humans actually exist.' Galliard was tall,
around 190 centimeters, and he had a sturdy but sleek
frame. He had brown skin, well-defined, handsome features
—and long, pointed ears. He wasn’t human but an Elf, one
of the most prominent types of demi-humans. In addition to
that, he was a Dark Elf, a species considered to be natural
warriors.
"My teammates referred me here. I'd like to buy
something. Are you Galliard?"
With a hostile expression, Galliard threw a freshly killed
beast to the ground, and lowered his bow from his
shoulder. He was getting ready for a fight.
Dark Elves are often treated as freaks even by the other
Elves. While most of the Elves are peaceful nature lovers,
the Dark Elves are cruel, and often cold-blooded, hunters.
In some cases, they will even abandon their teammates
without any hesitation if it is for a greater good.
Maybe that’s the reason Galliard was very suspicious
and always on guard against others when I first met him.
"I'd like to get Undine’s Goblet."
Galliard frowned slightly. "Who told you about that?"
 "Brahm."
"That asshole. I told him to stop babbling about it."
Brahm was an old friend of Galliard and had been his
teammate when they first entered. ‘He was another person
that Jeong-woo considered a master.’ Yeon-woo had never
met Brahm, but he didn’t care. He was going to leave
Galliard as soon as he got the item he needed. ‘There’s no
need to befriend him just because he was close to Jeong-
woo.’
Although Galliard had nothing to do with the betrayal
his brother had suffered—in fact, he had never entered the
Tower and didn’t interfere in anything—it wouldn’t do Yeon-
woo any good to reveal his identity. Best-case scenario,
things would only grow awkward, and it was enough for
Yeon-woo to see the kind of people his brother had once
had connections with.
"OK." Galliard sighed deeply. Then he slung his bow
back onto his shoulder and picked up the beast he had
dropped. "Come in."
Yeon-woo followed Galliard into the cottage. Inside, it
looked just like an ordinary hunting lodge. There were
stuffed heads mounted on the wall of various beasts, and a
collection of weapons had been arranged on the ground.
There were scraps of leather scattered all over a table.
"You can sit anywhere you want. Just give me some time
to finish this." Galliard pointed to a chair with his chin as
he pushed the pieces of leather to the side and placed the
beast on the table.
The beast he had killed had a slight resemblance to a
deer, but it was twice as big and its legs were full of