The Grave of the Martial God was laid out like a labyrinth.
Illusions and hallucinations, monsters placed throughout, traps, and on top of that, paths twisted like an actual maze.
And those paths weren't just any ordinary roads. Take a wrong turn once, and you'd end up endlessly wandering in the demon realm.
In truth, it made sense. This wasn't a place made to be conquered in the very early stages.
"So what?"
But to Yoo Baekjun, it meant nothing.
Illusions and hallucinations? He had already collected herbs from the forest in preparation for those. If he combined them well and consumed them, he could endure both status ailments.
'Monsters?'
Those didn't matter either.
He already knew exactly when and where they would appear, as well as the locations of the traps.
He even used the traps in reverse to take out the attacking monsters.
'The maze?'
You just memorize it.
Is that even possible?
Any player of Heroes Road would've screamed at such a thought. But he made it happen. That's how many attempts he'd made to memorize it all.
—I played hundreds, thousands, millions of games. That's how I came to understand everything about this game...
Suddenly, a professional gamer's words came to mind.
Well, maybe he hadn't played millions of games, but he must've played hundreds, maybe thousands.
Anyway.
"Uurp."
Yoo Baekjun looked down at the chest in front of him. His hands were already filled with treasures he'd found while navigating the maze.
He didn't look like a challenger diving into a deadly dungeon but more like a traveling merchant.
"Thanks for the meal, Ancestor!"
He opened the chest and took his reward.
Inside the large chest was a small pouch. It looked like an ordinary pouch, but—
'It's still an item.'
As long as each item was under a certain weight, it could hold up to ten of them. An item called the 'Treasure Keeper's Pouch.'
And inside that pouch was—
"Haah, that herbal scent."
A Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng.
Grown in snowy regions, in a remote, uninhabitable area where no plants should survive.
This miraculous snow ginseng drastically enhanced one's magic power and had other effects as well.
"Sss. Ah, I'm drooling."
He wanted to eat it right away, but he held himself back. It wasn't an ordinary elixir. If he ate it unprepared, he'd die on the spot.
Unfortunately, he would have to return to his family and take special precautions before consuming it.
Yoo Baekjun put the snow ginseng back into the pouch. And then—
—You have discovered all the treasures of the Maze!
—You have completed the quest. You are rewarded with 500P and the Black Demon.
The message he had been waiting for popped up.
And from thin air, a pitch-black martial robe dropped down. Yoo Baekjun caught it and stowed it away.
Its appearance meant that soon—
—The Grave of the Martial God has fulfilled its purpose and will now be closed. Returning to the surface.
He was going back to the surface. To that place known for its extreme cold.
"It's not cold anymore."
Yoo Baekjun smiled confidently. His figure was wrapped in golden light, and a moment later, he vanished from the maze.
***
Fwoooosh!
The moment he stepped outside, a blizzard greeted him. Normally, the cold would've made him shiver, but Yoo Baekjun looked perfectly composed.
'This is the power of good gear.'
Thanks to the robe he was wearing.
[Black Demon (A)]
A martial robe imbued with powerful force. Crafted from rare materials and refined by a master artisan.
Surprisingly durable.
–Options: Demon Appearance, Adaptability
Demon Appearance: Greatly enhances the robe's defense and automatically restores damaged sections.
Adaptability: Adjusts to any environment, keeping the wearer comfortable.
As its ominous name suggests, the robe was etched with patterns resembling ghosts on its surface.
Though it looked thin at first glance, the options made it incredibly warm.
'This must be the entrance to the Maze Forest. It hasn't changed.'
Yoo Baekjun looked around the forest. By now, Shin Woohyun and the other pursuers were probably wandering madly inside the woods.
Some of them might even be dead.
"Take one wrong turn, and you'll just keep wandering… Shin Woohyun might return later, but the others won't make it back."
So it worked out nicely. Very few people knew that Shin Woohyun had secretly brought Yoo Baekjun here to kill him.
Only the "older brother" who gave the order, Shin Woohyun, and a few trainees. That was all.
'It's safe to return to the clan for now.'
Seorak Mountain was too harsh a place for Yoo Baekjun to continue his training at this point. He planned to return to the family and lay low while building his strength.
'Though the people around me probably won't let me rest easy.'
Yoo Baekjun had too many enemies.
Or maybe it was more accurate to say too many people underestimated him. He sighed as he walked through the snowy field.
His Mobility technique was extremely helpful on this journey.
'The entrance to the Maze Forest hasn't changed. That means the path back should be the same too.'
Yoo Baekjun continued striding forward. This was the highlands of Seorak Mountain. Fortunately, Yoo Baekjun had already memorized the geography of this mountain.
'If I'm right... going down this way should work. There should be a guard post down below.'
One of the reasons Yoo Baekjun's route was so hard was navigation. The environment was already brutal, and finding the path back to the clan was even worse.
—You bastards who made this game, how can you tell me to return to the clan with F-rank stats and no cold-resistance gear?
—I barely escaped the forest, thought I was safe, and then you stab me in the back like this?
—You seriously expect people to clear this?
—Did you even think before making this game?
Even the players had called it completely unreasonable.
"Hah, even I used to curse out the production team back then."
He found himself nostalgic for those days.
Yoo Baekjun pushed through the blizzard, dodging the monsters in his path, and descended Seorak Mountain.
"Let's get back quickly."
To the clan.
Before his stamina ran out.
***
"Mmm, mmmhmm-hmm~"
A small guard post on a part of Seorak Mountain. Amid the rattling windows shaking in the wind, a man's humming could be heard.
"Brr, it's cold. But ramen on a day like this is pure bliss. Damn, this reminds me of the army."
A man with a sturdy build and short-cropped hair. One of the trainees of the Sword Saint clan.
The higher you went up Seorak Mountain, the more monsters there were, so he was stationed here to monitor for any unusual behavior.
"Tomorrow's the shift change, so let's just get through today."
Smiling, the man lifted the pot lid to satisfy his hunger. And right then—
Clang!
"Eek!"
A loud noise rang out.
It sounded like someone had punched the guard post's window.
The man immediately grabbed his sword.
"A monster? How dare you...!"
He quickly sent a signal to the other posts and stood by the door. There was a presence outside.
Probably a monster. If he struck first, he'd gain the advantage and—
Bang!
"You son of a—"
"Urgh!"
The door suddenly burst open. The man was struck square in the face by the flying door and went rolling across the floor.
"Y-You can't go down from here...!"
He quickly grabbed his sword and prepared to attack the intruder entering the post.
But he had to lower his hand.
"Huh? Yoo Baekjun?"
The person entering was someone he knew. A blood relative of the clan, Yoo Baekjun.
He looked gaunt and pale, but his fierce eyes still glared at the man.
"Choi Seungmin, call—"
"Eh? Call who?"
"Call Choi Seungmin, you bastard…"
The man tried to ask something, but Yoo Baekjun collapsed to the floor before he could.
The man touched Yoo Baekjun's forehead.
"He's burning up... Damn, even if it's Yoo Baekjun, I can't just leave him like this."
He clicked his tongue and picked up the communication device.
***
He had a dream. A dream where he was a character inside a game, struggling desperately to survive.
It was a dream, but it felt so real.
"...Will he even wake up? He's been asleep for four days straight."
"Tch, so impatient. Just wait a bit longer. He's not like this because he's hurt."
"If it's not from injuries then…"
Someone was talking. Voices above his head, chattering so loudly they irritated him. Ignore them and sleep. That's what Yoo Baekjun thought as he snuggled into the blanket.
'Familiar…'
No, it wasn't familiar at all. This unbelievable softness—it wasn't the cheap, flat blanket from his studio apartment.
Yoo Baekjun's eyes snapped open.
"The body needs time to adjust to the changes. I don't know what exactly happened, but the physical transformation was significant…"
He saw the people by his bedside.
His attendant, Choi Seungmin, and an unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable old man. Someone he'd seen many times while playing the game.
His eyes met the old man's.
"Oh ho, you're awake."
"Y-Young master!!"
Yoo Baekjun blinked, then shoved aside Choi Seungmin, who had lunged toward him in surprise.
"Old man? Wait, am I logged into Heroes Road right now?"
"Old man? Heroes Road?"
The old man's eyes widened. Yoo Baekjun stared blankly at his face. The old man chuckled.
"Must be the effects of the medicine—seems your mind's a bit hazy. Young master, pull yourself together."
"Young master? What do you mean, young master…"
Yoo Baekjun trailed off mid-sentence.
"P-Phyiscian Joo Joongwon, are you sure our young master is alright? Could he have hit his head?"
"There haven't been any signs of that."
Ignoring the conversation between Joo Joongwon and Choi Seungmin, Yoo Baekjun looked around.
"Hmm."
What he saw was a wooden room.
Ceiling, walls, and floor all made of wood… likely a room in a traditional hanok house.
Even the furniture was wooden, but it had a glossy finish and looked quite luxurious.
"This place…"
The paper window was wide open, letting in sunlight and the sound of chirping birds.
Yoo Baekjun looked outside.
"..."
What he saw was a vast estate.
Dozens of hanok buildings stood across a wide space, and the marks of time etched on them gave them a dignified, antique air.
–Hah! Haah!
–Faster, more precise! Watch how I move and follow!
In one area, trainees were sweating through intense training.
–Where's the next destination?
–B-rank gate. It appeared to the west. We need to handle it before it gets past the mountains.
Elsewhere, hunters were preparing to stop the gate from spreading.
Yoo Baekjun stared blankly at the scene.
"This is the Sword Saint Clan, your family's mansion."
Joo Joongwon spoke in a gentle voice. He chuckled softly as he examined Yoo Baekjun's wounds again and nodded.
'Sword Saint Clan.'
Hearing that name made the fog in his mind begin to lift.
Yoo Baekjun shook his head hard.
"Your wounds are fine. Hmm, though you seem quite confused. Are you alright?"
"No, my head… hurts a little."
"Is that so? Oh dear, I'll have to bring you another medicine. I'll step out for a moment."
Joo Joongwon rose from his seat.
"Choi Seungmin, come along. The young master must be starving—let's prepare something for him to eat."
"Ah, yes. Young master, we'll be right back."
"Wait."
Yoo Baekjun stopped Joo Joongwon, who was about to leave.
"What day is it today?"
"Oh ho, hmm. January 15th."
"And the year?"
"2035. Now wait just a moment."
Joo Joongwon left with Choi Seungmin. As Yoo Baekjun watched their backs—A message window popped up before his eyes.
—You have cleared the quest 'Catch Me If You Can' and earned 100P as a reward.
Yoo Baekjun stared blankly at the message window.
"…Yeah, no way this is a dream."
He let out a hollow laugh.