“Miss Hye-Young?” Lee Ji-Hye called out.

“Yes, Miss Ji-Hye. I’m listening,” I answered.

“Please go see Mr. Ki-Young,” she told me.

“Excuse me?”

“I think it’s best to accommodate people like Mr. Ki-Young with many different things and I’m not just talking about today, but from now on,” she explained.

“I don’t really understand what…”

“I’ll leave it up to your imagination, so all you have to do is do the tasks that you think you can do. It doesn’t matter if you’re there to just talk to him or…oh! Being his bed warmer isn’t a bad idea as well,” Lee Ji-Hye explained.

“...”

“The last part was a joke, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea for you to give it a serious thought…since the situation here isn’t that great. There’s nothing for us to forage and eat here, and we only have a limited amount of people who can go out to hunt. Mr. Hyun-Sung has been killing the monsters around the base periodically, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. The reality is that no one can guarantee anything. We need to think of the possibility that the people who go out to hunt may not come back, and we need to be prepared for whatever might happen in the future. Don’t you agree?” she asked.

“...”

“All I’m saying is that it’s not such a bad idea to keep a connection with a capable man. People like us need to have insurance, don’t you think? Who knows? If things work out well, you may get special treatment like Miss Jung Ha-Yan…” Lee Ji-Hye explained.

“I understand,” Park Hye-Young said.

“Oh! And I heard that they’re going to take Miss Ha-Yan on their next hunt, so it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if you went with them, right?” she asked.

“I appreciate you telling me all these things, but…is there a reason why you’re doing me this favor?” Park Hye-Young asked.

“Well, I’m just simply doing you a favor. However, I’m telling you this because I would like for you to help me if things work out well. You see, I don’t exactly enjoy gambling,” she answered.

* * *

‘Damn bitch.’

That damn Lee Ji-Hye. I kept cursing Lee Ji-Hye in my head, but nothing changed since I was the one that made the mistake. No, I was the one that made the decision from the start. Knowing that I was going to be the guinea pig, I agreed to Lee Ji-Hye’s words and followed Lee Ki-Young.

Our journey had just started and I already made a stupid mistake. I decided to make up for it.

I attacked with my spear to show that I was a useful person, but that was a big mistake as well. In addition, the fact that I unknowingly screamed was a bigger mistake.

I heard Lee Ki-Young and Park Deok-Gu in front of me. Lee Ki-Young was consistently reciting a spell, and Park Deok-Gu was using his large shield to push away the monsters that were charging towards us.

My legs were shaking, probably because of the fear that I felt earlier, but of course, I couldn’t just sit on the ground.

‘I’ll die.’

I knew if I stopped, I would die.

When I slightly glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan, I saw her following us while mumbling something to herself.

‘Idiot…’

She was somehow lucky enough to catch Lee Ki-Young’s attention and to be able to join this hunt. I was sure that no other woman was as lucky as her.

As someone that made a big mistake, even if I returned alive, I was certain that I was going to get kicked out of this group. When I thought that I ended up becoming Jung Ha-Yan’s training aid, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

How…

Was she able to maintain her composure like this?

Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung, Lee Ki-Young, and Park Deok-Gu were amazing since they were able to calmly fight the monsters with their sword and spear, but for me, I couldn’t overcome that sensation in my hands, and the fear that I could die anytime. It was to the point that I started criticizing myself for thinking that this would be easy.

However, Jung Ha-Yan was a bit different. Just like me, this was her first time coming out here and I was certain this was her first time encountering a monster. However, when she looked at me with those eyes, I didn’t see an ounce of fear in them.

When I saw her consistently mumbling to herself, I thought that she had gone crazy, but I couldn’t see any signs of agitation from her.

‘I can’t go down like this.’

In this reality called the tutorial, I needed to grow my power in order to survive and since I knew that it was impossible for me to do it alone, I had to use Lee Ki-Young and Kim Hyun-Sung.

If they determined that I was no longer capable of going out with them, then not only would I fail to obtain the same power as them, but they would most definitely set me aside. There was one way left for me.

‘I need to stay with them somehow.’

If I managed to return alive, I must use whatever method possible to make a connection with Lee Ki-Young and stay by his side.

Of course, I was bothered by the fact that Jung Ha-Yan was next to him, but once enough time passed by, I was sure that she would realize her worth on her own. No matter how you looked at it, I was better than that dumb woman.

As I continued running while biting my lips, I saw Park Deok-Gu and Lee Ki-Young turning left, but then I suddenly discovered that I couldn’t see them anymore.

‘Huh?’

I felt as if I was being possessed by a ghost. I couldn’t understand what was going on.

‘Since when?’

I was sure that I was running while watching their backs, but the situation that I was in felt like I had suddenly plunged into the twilight zone.

I tried recalling where and since when I couldn’t see them anymore, but I couldn’t remember. Jung Ha-Yan was also quietly staring at the blocked wall.

“Do you know where Mr. Ki-Young and Mr. Deok-Gu went?” I asked.

I carefully spoke up, but she remained silent. Asking her was a mistake.

‘She’s such a dimwit…’

If even someone like me had lost them in an instant, there was no way that this dumb girl would know where they went. I was certain that this girl was just following me.

“Gahhhhh.”

When I heard the monster’s screech from far away, my body couldn’t help but start trembling. I thought that I should start moving, but my feet didn’t move. This was partly because I didn’t know which way to go.

I was sure by now that Mr. Ki-Young must have realized that we were missing. If we endured it a bit longer, I was sure they would come and find us.

Even in this situation, I saw Jung Ha-Yan mumbling to herself. She sounded so absurd that I was close to laughing out loud.

“strength, to protect, against enemies, trying to take, from me,” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

She sounded like she was praying to someone, but I couldn’t really understand what she was doing. Watching Lee Ki-Young take care of this kind of woman made me think that maybe he wasn’t in his right mind.

“Wind Blade,” she said.

Swish-

I heard the sound of wind ripping through the air.

“Shut up, you idiot. Don’t you hear the monsters?” I asked.

Just as I was about to move a bit…

‘Huh?’

I started to lose my balance and regardless of my will, my body keeled over to the floor. At the same time, I felt extreme pain in my left leg. Crimson red blood started dripping out from my body and when I heard a splashing sound, I saw my left leg flying across the room.

‘What’s…going on…’

Before I could determine what was happening, I screamed.

“Kyahhhhhh! S-Someone! Someone…h-help me please. H-Help me!” I screamed

“I-I-It’s no use, Miss H-Hye-Young,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“M-My leg…my leg…”

“I-I used my magic to b-block any sounds, so they probably can’t hear you. The m-monsters won’t be coming here too, so there’s no need to worry,” she explained.

“Please h-help, please…” I begged.

“Y-You’re d-dumber than I thought. Y-You…caused trouble for o-oppa and…r-ruined the hunt,” she said.

“Shut up, damn it! It hurts…I’m telling you it hurts! Don’t you see my leg? Hurry up and bring Mr. Ki-Young or…” I shouted.

I grasped my throbbing leg with my hand. Since blood was spilling out from it, I was unable to make any reasonable judgment. I quickly took off my outerwear and tied it around my leg, but I wasn’t even sure if this was the proper treatment for a severed leg or not.

My chin started shaking. My body started trembling.

I couldn’t understand how my leg got cut off in the first place and honestly, I didn’t even want to know. Right now, figuring out whether this was a dream or reality was the most important.

As if my leg was scorched by fire, the pain was still there and the tears that filled my eyes made my vision blurry. When I slightly looked up, I saw Jung Ha-Yan looking down at me with a bright smile.

‘Huh?’

‘Wind Blade.’

Her voice was suddenly stuck in my head. I thought it wasn’t possible, but I definitely saw a green wind swirling about one of her hands.

‘Why? Why? How did that woman?’

Before I could think about that, I instinctively felt fear.

“Oh…Miss H-Ha-Yan…” I called out.

“Yes, Miss Hye-Young,” she answered.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?” I asked.

“I-I didn’t want to do this either, but I-I had no choice. It’s because you kept trying to steal m-my oppa from me, so I-I had no choice. I-I didn’t want to do this either,” she answered.

“Wh-What are you talking about?” I asked.

“I don’t like it when people pretend like they don’t know…y-you flirted with my oppa f-first, right? You were trying to s-s-steal him away from me, right? You said you would take him from me, right?” she said.

‘You’re…crazy.’

Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t in her right mind and I was a bit shocked that I didn’t catch on earlier. The woman that was in front of me was definitely crazy. I saw a small smile on her face and that made her seem like she was filled with madness.

“I…I wasn’t actually going to do it,” I told her.

“Lies.”

“It’s true…”

“You’re lying! D-Do you know how much pain I was in? Y-You were talking to oppa, you held hands with o-oppa and when you leaned on o-oppa, I felt like my heart was breaking. Y-You probably can’t even imagine it,” Jung Ha-Yan explained.

“I-I can understand that. Yes…I-I can understand, so please h-help me. I-I won’t appear in front of your oppa ever again,” I said.

“I-I’m sorry, but no matter how much I think about it, I can’t do that. You need to feel pain just like I did. I just can’t forgive you for trying to take oppa away from me and if you’re alive, I-I’ll be very worried…” she said.

“Kyahhhhhh!”

The same sound of the wind ripping through the air resounded and one of my arms was instantly severed. What followed afterward was an enormous amount of pain.

I tried to struggle, but it didn’t change anything and the only thing I could think of was escaping from this place. I desperately tried to crawl out, but because of the fear and pain, I couldn’t crawl properly.

“H-Help me. Please…please it’s all my fault. Help me. Please…ahhhh,” I begged.

“I-I told that I can’t do that. If you do that, I-I’ll feel bad…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Please, it’s all my fault. All my! Fault! Eup! Eup!”

“I-I can do this with magic. You’re being loud, so I think it’ll be best to cover your mouth,” she said.

My voice wouldn’t come out and it felt like a strange power was choking me. Tears kept flowing out of my eyes and I continued struggling because of the pain throughout my body, but it didn’t change anything.

"Eup…eup! Eup!”

“S-So, I-I’m sorry,” she said.

While I was struggling, I heard a voice.

“Ha-Yan?” Ki-Young called out.

“O-Oppa,” she said.

It was Lee Ki-Young, someone who could be considered the culprit behind all of this.