I sensed a presence.

Without hesitation, I moved toward it.

A barren mountain of rocks.

The fact that I had been momentarily perplexed by the absence of any life felt almost laughable now. My senses were now detecting countless presences.

How had they suddenly appeared when I couldn't sense them before?

To confirm this, I moved alongside Cheonma.

Before long, we discovered a space.

It was no different from the rest—filled with rocks—but there was a gap just big enough for a person to slip through.

And beyond it—

"There it is."

Something was there.

A figure was standing guard in front of what looked like a doorway.

However—

"...That’s not human."

It wasn’t human.

Then again, I had yet to see anything truly human in Mangye. Even the closest thing to one wasn’t quite the same.

The Moonlit Night Tribe at least had beast-like ears and tails attached to human forms, so one could argue they resembled humans in some way.

But this—this was nothing like that.

What stood before me could not be called human by any stretch of the imagination.

A complete beast.

It was similar to the Moonlit Night Tribe when they turned into beasts under the moonlight.

It stood on two legs, but its appearance was entirely different from a human's—purely beastlike.

"If I had to say... it looks like a dog?"

A dog standing upright. If I had to categorize it, it looked like a wild hound.

A wild dog standing on two legs, gripping a spear in one hand.

"What the hell is that?"

At this point, nothing really surprised me anymore. I had already seen walking lizards and stubby old men. What was one more bizarre sight?

The only thing that mattered—

"It’s alive."

Despite having felt nothing before, my senses were now detecting countless presences all around.

The core of this place had to be beyond that doorway.

"Hmm."

The location was completely enclosed by rock. Even that door was inside a cave, meaning I’d have to go through the front to get inside.

I took a step back. I had no interest in creating unnecessary conflict.

Was there another way in? I backed away and leapt into the air.

Soaring high into the sky, I overlooked the entire mountain.

"Let’s see."

From up here, it was still just a rocky mountain. No alternate path leading to that cave was visible from above.

So I really would have to break through the front, huh?

"Tsk."

Just as I resigned myself to using force—

"Hm?"

Something caught my eye.

Thump.

A faint tremor resonated in my chest. As soon as I felt it, I sharpened my focus.

My Heart Eye activated, allowing me to scan the rocky mountain once more.

And then—

"There it is."

I grinned, confirming what I had suspected.

Tap.

I landed on the ground, but not in the same spot as before. I had aimed for a higher hill.

The moment I touched down, Cheonma swiftly flew to my side as if she had been waiting.

Ignoring her, I focused entirely on my Heart Eye.

Immediately, threads stretched out in all directions. My vision filled with golden strands forming a dense web.

There was only one thing this could mean—

"Juju arts (sorcery)."

A complex web of spells covered Mount Marryeong.

And quite intricately at that.

"Should I consider this lucky?"

Calling it luck felt odd, but an inexplicable sense of relief welled up inside me.

If the entire place was veiled in juju arts—

"Then I don’t have to use the cave entrance."

They had obscured visibility with magic, meaning there had to be more than one entrance.

"Let’s take a closer look..."

How was this formation structured? I calmed my mind and examined it carefully.

"This threadwork... I’ve never seen anything like it."

It was different from what I had seen before—even from what the Turtle had shown me. So this was another way to use magic.

As I observed it closely, I suddenly let out a chuckle.

"Am I crazy?"

Just a moment ago, I was frowning at how complicated things had become. But the moment I realized there was magic, my mind instantly settled.

It was almost ridiculous.

Srrrk.

I reached out and gently brushed my fingers over the threads of magic.

I wasn’t trying to grab them—just testing their reaction.

"Can I touch them?"

I examined their angles.

Would pulling on them work, or would I have to take a more forceful approach?

The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I had already made my decision.

My fingers, which had been passing through the threads, shifted.

Vwooom—!

My heart responded. The spell’s dormant loop quivered slightly.

And in that instant—

Ziiiing—!!

I grasped several of the countless threads stretching across the area. Holding my breath, I concentrated all my senses on them.

Where did they start? How were they structured?

What lay at the other end of these threads?

My mind raced to analyze everything.

Vwooooooom.

At the same time, the spell’s loop accelerated in resonance, and the more it did, the tighter I held onto the threads.

One wrong move, and they would snap. They were that fine and delicate.

I knew that—yet I didn’t hesitate.

To anyone watching, it might seem like I didn’t care whether the threads broke or not.

But—

"...Now, pull back here."

I wasn’t acting recklessly.

I had focused every fiber of my being on the threads in my grasp.

One mistake could lead to trouble, but despite that, I had no hesitation.

I had been like this for as long as I could remember.

Despite my naturally anxious nature, the moment I dealt with juju arts, all hesitation vanished.

As if I instinctively knew exactly what to do.

"Reweave what was tied behind."

My hands moved quickly. My fingers danced, causing the air itself to tremble.

"Tie the new knot..."

Vwooom—!

A surge of energy drained from me.

I didn’t care.

"One more time, tighten the weave."

I focused solely on my task, threading the strands into an intricate knot.

A brief moment passed. By the time I noticed, I had gathered all the threads into a single binding.

It looked tangled and chaotic, yet an underlying order wove through it.

"...Haa."

I let ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) out an exhausted sigh and reached out one last time.

My fingers grasped the loop at the top of the knot and gently pulled.

Fwoooosh—!!!

The threads unraveled in an instant, expanding outward like a golden bloom.

Dazzling light filled my vision.

It was beautiful.

The glow spilling from the unraveling threads was almost blinding.

I unconsciously let out a small murmur of admiration as I watched the sight unfold.

Vwooom.

The moment the threads fully unraveled, the air before me wavered.

Colors twisted together, gradually distorting the space.

"Oh."

And then—

The entire scene before me was turned upside down.

The ground, which had been nothing but barren rock, dissolved like smoke. Hidden beneath it, a concealed space revealed itself.

It was like the parting of the clouds.

What appeared before me was another region nestled within the massive circular mountain range.

"...Well, would you look at that?"

I was slightly taken aback. Until now, not a single tree or blade of grass had been in sight. But in this newly revealed landscape, they were abundant.

It was beautiful. So much so that the thought came naturally.

A gentle stream trickled through the valley, lush greenery stretched across the land, and a refreshing scent of grass, filled with life, brushed past my nose.

Taking in the scent, I turned to look at Cheonma.

"Let’s go. It’ll close soon."

I hadn’t completely dispelled the sorcery. I knew it was merely a veil, and if I fully broke it down, who knew what kind of consequences it might bring? I had only opened it for a brief moment—just enough for us to enter.

Before long, the barrier would rise again, sealing the entrance once more.

We had to get inside before that happened. Without hesitation, Cheonma and I descended.

Thud.

Landing lightly from a high altitude, I took in the change beneath my feet.

A moment ago, I had been standing on solid stone, but now, as I had seen earlier, the ground was soil.

And—

"...It’s real."

The presences I had sensed from outside weren’t fakes. The moment I stepped into this space, I could feel them all around.

Chirp, chirp—!

The sounds of birds perched in the trees.

Chirrr—!!

The rustling of insects in the grass.

Everything that had been eerily silent before now reached my ears in full clarity.

As I took in my surroundings—

Vwooooom—!!

A tremor ran through the air. It wasn’t an actual vibration, but the spell had started working again, sealing the sky above.

Thick mist, like heavy clouds, began to shroud the ceiling once more.

What was strange, however, was that while it seemed to block the sky, it remained semi-transparent.

The crimson-stained heavens remained visible through the haze.

In other words—

"So we can see outside, but they can’t see in?"

That was interesting.

"Mount Hua formed a completely separate dimension..."

But this place was simply using a veil.

I wanted to examine it more closely.

So, just as I was about to activate my Heart Eye and probe deeper into the spell—

"Excuse me."

"...!"

A voice suddenly called out beside me. I turned my head sharply.

And there—

"What the...?"

A small, white butterfly flapped its delicate wings before me.

"I do not know from where you have come, but this lowly being humbly greets the esteemed guests."

The voice came from the butterfly.

It was a woman’s voice.

"...What the hell is this now?"

Still taken aback, I asked, staring at it.

"I am the spirit responsible for overseeing this place."

The butterfly introduced itself.