As I opened my eyes, a world filled with damp mist unfolded before me.
The moisture-laden fog wrapped around my body like a blanket.
'Why am I in a place like this?'
The beast tamer.
Gwisusan.
And the other monsters—just what happened to them?
Throb!
My entire body ached as if every corner of it had been battered, yet it also felt strangely numb. My body burned as though I had a fever, yet at the same time, a chilling cold seeped through me.
Bwoooooong—.
A deep reverberation spread from a distant place, making the mist tremble.
I slowly opened my eyes and turned my head.
There, a massive eye stared back at me.
A vast, deep eye, like a lake, gazed at me with quiet intensity.
'So, it's come to this, after all.'
Amidst my hazy consciousness, an unfamiliar voice flowed into my mind.
The voice did not reach my ears in the usual way, and yet, simply by locking eyes with that gaze, I could hear countless words.
'Those things are too dangerous for a human to hold. How did both end up inside one being…?'
'And yet, they have protected your body from your enemies. Perhaps this, too, is fate.'
'Whether it will be a blessing to the world, or yet another disaster, I cannot say. I had hoped you would not awaken. Perhaps it would be better if—'
As if in response to the voice, a dark energy within me surged outward like unraveling threads, extending from my body.
As though warning against further approach.
The black aura flared up fiercely, like a wild beast baring its fangs.
A ripple formed in the deep, lake-like eye.
The owner of the enormous eye hesitated, closing its thick eyelids in contemplation before opening them again to stare at me once more.
Then, something fell before me with a soft thud.
'Feed it.'
Not eat it, but feed it.
What lay before me was a peculiar honeycomb, glowing with a faint purple hue.
It was so large that it was difficult to hold, and within it was thick, overflowing honey.
'It is not for you to eat. You must feed it. Only then will your body heal naturally…'
As if compelled by the voice, I put the entire honeycomb into my mouth, chewing and swallowing without leaving a single piece behind.
Even though I had felt as though I couldn't move a single finger, my body responded with unexpected ease.
'The era has begun. Grow stronger, child of man. Do not let yourself be swallowed by it.'
A heavy drowsiness, like mist rolling in at dawn, overtook me.
I gazed endlessly at the owner of the massive eye as it faded into the mist.
Eventually, I slowly closed my eyes.
***
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I felt was a dull, throbbing pain.
"Ugh…"
A groan escaped my lips as I tried to sit up.
I remained lying down and closed my eyes, starting with an internal assessment of my body.
'My mana reserves…'
The first thing that caught my attention was the exponentially increased amount of mana.
More than double the amount I had accumulated so far.
And that wasn't all.
Despite my body being battered from various external injuries, my magical system had become significantly more stable and robust than before.
'Nectar isn't some potion or elixir, so how could I recover this much…? No way.'
I recalled the being I had encountered in that mist-filled space.
The enormous eye that resembled a lake.
'Could it have been Gwisusan?'
I hadn't realized it at the time, but now, that eye felt distinctly like Gwisusan's.
In that surreal moment between reality and illusion, the owner of that vast eye had given me a honeycomb with a mysterious color, like the hues of a sunset.
'A honeycomb… purple… could it have been Jahaseokcheong?'
My mind snapped into focus.
An item I had desperately wanted to obtain from Jeokcheongdo.
A special honey hidden deep within the sheer cliffs near the heart of a dragon's territory—an elixir once known to have been consumed by painters in the past.
'It's said to grant not only physical enhancement, mana amplification, and magic circuit development, but also immunity to poison and curses.'
Elixirs of the highest tier, like Jahaseokcheong, are regarded as nature's miracles, infused with spiritual energy.
They are only created through a convergence of countless rare coincidences, and they do not reveal themselves to those unworthy of their blessing.
'If it really was Jahaseokcheong, then it's far more valuable than the expensive elixirs my brothers invested heavily in. I did it. Honestly, without luck, I might never have obtained it.'
I clenched my fist tightly.
With the immense mana reserves and the immunity to poison and curses granted by Jahaseokcheong, I had achieved most of my goals for the Naming Ceremony.
"Oh! You're awake!"
Just then, a young girl's face suddenly popped into my view.
"…Hwa?"
"Ugh, this guy keeps calling Noona by her name."
The painter grumbled and plopped down beside me.
I flinched instinctively upon seeing her.
'I feel a little bad. Originally, she was supposed to get the Jahaseokcheong.'
As I carefully tried to sit up, the painter pressed firmly against my chest.
"Stay down. You seemed to be checking your body earlier. How are you feeling?"
I pushed her hand away and got up nonchalantly.
"A few strands of my mana circuit are severed, my organs are slightly twisted, my bones have minor fractures, and my muscles are torn. It's not that bad."
"What!? You call that 'not that bad'?!"
The painter was genuinely worried about this half-sibling's sense of reality.
Seeing her expression, I scoffed.
'In my past life, I was a girl who kept running even with a severed arm, as long as I stopped the bleeding.'
Of course, my current condition was severe, but it was nothing compared to how I was right before taking the elixirs.
Jahaseokcheong and Nectar.
Without at least one of them, I might have suffered lasting aftereffects.
"But why are you here?"
"How could I just sit back after all that commotion?"
I recalled the final moment when Gwisusan fired its breath attack into the sky.
The fact that I had dodged it felt surreal.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"Hah, if you were out for days, do you think I'd still be here? It's been less than two hours. The exam is temporarily suspended. All the warriors stationed around the island have been put on the highest alert…"
Two hours?
I had absorbed both Jahaseokcheong and Nectar, and my body had recovered to this extent, yet it had only been two hours?
I was sure at least several days had passed.
As that thought sank in, I suddenly remembered something important I had forgotten.
"Wait. Where's the trainer?"
"Oh, calm down. It's all taken care of. The Blue Sword Corps and First Brother came in person."
"First Brother?"
"Little one!"
A voice called from behind.
It was my eldest brother's voice.
He rushed over and, upon seeing me, wore a stunned expression.
"I apologize, Brother. Forgive me for not standing to greet you. Given my condition, I have no choice."
Looking down at me, his expression twisted.
"…Hwa, could you step out for a moment?"
"Yeah, sure. Got it."
"Stay with the Blue Sword Corps until the internal search of the island is complete."
"Yes, understood."
Hwa glanced between me and our eldest brother before quietly stepping away.
Once we were alone, my brother asked with a hardened face,
"Are you alright?"
"I can't say I'm perfectly fine, but I'm alright."
"Now that you're awake, receive mana treatment first. I also brought potions. Because your mana technique is unique, we refrained from applying any treatment."
"I would've been fine even if you had. But I'll pass on the mana treatment—just the potion will do."
My brother nodded.
"If you had died, I would have erased the trainer and every organization behind them from existence, no matter how powerful they were. I'm relieved that you lived."
It was a rather terrifying statement, but I could feel the deep affection behind it.
I simply smiled lightly.
"As a member of the Soongmu family, what you demonstrated was truly the epitome of a brave warrior. …However."
His tone was one of praise, yet in an instant, his expression turned cold as if scolding me.
"As your brother, I cannot see it in a good light. It was reckless. You could have died a meaningless death. You're not going to tell me this was because of your position as a concubine's child, are you?"
"That was part of it… but more than anything, I didn't want to compromise with myself in the face of this level of danger."
Being branded a coward in the family was a concern, but I was more afraid of what a single compromise would do to me.
—'At this level of danger, isn't it okay to ask for help?'
That one compromise.
Knowing the risk and the slim chance of success, I feared I would rationalize taking the easier path.
It's fine to yield in conflicts with others.
But if I ever compromised with myself, that one time would turn into ten, then a hundred.
"I figured you would think that way. But this time, it was truly dangerous."
"I didn't anticipate Gwisusan. I apologize. Had I known it was there, I would have waited."
"It's good that you know the difference between recklessness and confidence."
My brother stared at me for a while before letting out a long sigh and collapsing into a seat in front of me.
"Let's start with treatment."
The eldest brother handed over two 300ml flasks filled with a blue liquid from his arms.
"This is a high-grade potion. It's an authentic product from the Magic Tower, so it should be quite effective."
A high-grade potion.
It must have been quite expensive, but I accepted it without a word.
"Thank you."
I uncapped the potion and drank it.
It was instantly absorbed into my stomach, and I could feel my wounds healing throughout my body.
I applied the remaining flask to the external wounds on my hand.
Sizzle—
It didn't heal instantly, but by morning, everything would be restored.
If it were a mid-grade or low-grade potion, it might be different, but a high-grade potion should have that level of efficacy.
After roughly finishing my treatment, I looked up at my eldest brother.
He shook his head.
"This is a terrorist incident. To obtain relevant information, you need to be at least of deputy commander rank. Just wait for the official announcement."
"Big brother, I dealt with the tamer. That means I have the right to the information you've obtained."
"Hah… I knew you'd say that."
The eldest brother sighed before continuing.
"The tamer's name is Nishiyama Shogo. He was once a junior fifth-rank onmyoji in Japan's Bureau of Onmyō. He was excommunicated after trying to obtain forbidden spells and became a wanderer."
"So, he really was a vagabond. But a mere junior fifth-rank… how did he manage to tame the Demon Beast?"
"The one who hired him provided high-level inscriptions and artifacts. It seems he activated them while the Demon Beast was asleep. They intended to make it look like a monster's doing when they targeted you. That's all I've uncovered so far. You'll receive an appropriate reward when you return to the family."
Something about how quickly this conversation was being wrapped up felt off to me.
"You haven't identified the mastermind yet, have you?"
"The tamer is on the brink of death. We can't extract information from him in his current state. Once he recovers, we'll conduct further interrogation."
I fell into deep thought.
A few questions surfaced in my mind before quickly disappearing. I pieced together the clues and reached a conclusion.
'So that's how it is.'
I stared into my eldest brother's eyes and spoke.
"I wasn't the main target, was I?"
"...."
"They were after you."
If I looked at it that way, everything made sense.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're pretending not to know."
It was just a theory, but I was almost certain.
Even though I had excelled in the Iron Selection Ceremony and performed well in group training, I was still nothing more than a powerless illegitimate child.
There was no reason or value for external forces to target me, and even within the family, there was no need to cause trouble during an important event like the Naming Ceremony.
So why target me? And why do it at the Naming Ceremony?
'The one leading the family right now isn't Father—it's my eldest brother.'
For my eldest brother, the role of acting family head was a test.
Father might not think so, but to the family members, that's how it appeared.
Now, what if an outsider managed to infiltrate the family's important ceremony, and the acting family head failed to detect or respond in time?
That would be a disaster.
As a leading candidate for the next family head, my eldest brother would suffer a major blow to his reputation.
"The reason they used a tamer wasn't just to make it look like a monster attack. It was a double-layered trap designed to make you look incompetent.
Even if the tamer succeeded, he was never meant to escape. He had to be caught for your reputation to take a hit."
I didn't say this out loud, but there was another reason.
Me.
I was a convenient sacrifice.
If a legitimate son died, it would be a huge incident. But what if an illegitimate son died?
Moreover, it was known that I was close to my eldest brother.
They might have been trying to eliminate me before I could fully become his ally.
"…Yes, you're right."
Lee Myung-jung wasn't sure if he should be impressed or concerned as he looked at his younger brother.
'Was I this sharp-witted when I was young?'
It felt like he was facing one of the shrewd elder council members.
Lee Myung-jung thought his mistake had been failing to hide the truth better.
"Will you be alright? This incident is bound to cause you some trouble."
"I'll be fine. Thanks to your swift action, the worst was avoided, and we captured the tamer alive. There will be some damage to my reputation, but nothing too severe."
My eldest brother stood up.
"I can't stay away from the family for too long. The Trial Chamber will open tomorrow, so make sure you achieve good results."
He grinned and ruffled my hair.
I understood why he wanted to keep information from me.
He didn't want me to realize how easily I had been used as a pawn, how I had nearly lost my life because of it.
And he didn't want to show me how filled with political strife our family—one that outwardly upheld justice and martial honor—truly was.
That clumsy affection almost made me laugh.
'If I let this go, there won't be any major problems. In fact, I'll probably even receive a reward.'
But.
Should I really just let this go?
Should I be satisfied with being used by someone I don't even know?
Smack!
I grabbed my eldest brother's hand as he patted my head.
'I can't just leave this unanswered.'
A brilliant plan flashed through my mind, and I slowly opened my mouth to speak.