Students who chose the Gwaneumsa Trail were heading to the summit faster and more smoothly than those who chose other courses.

Compared to other trails leading to the summit of Mt. Halla and Baekrokdam, this trail is shorter, but it is rugged and usually takes a long time to climb.

However, the Eun Gwang High School students who chose this trail were not ordinary.

The Gwaneumsa Trail was filled with people who were confident enough in their skills to choose the difficult path.

The situation in the replay was a mess, but it was different from when Kwak Gyeong-gu and Heo Chae-ah climbed the same course.

‘When we did the replay, we all moved to the same course, unlike now. Now, there are about 500 people, including the children of Class 0, but back then there were only 150 people, and there were few trustworthy teachers. It was best to stick together and go as a team.’

Cheon Dong-ha endlessly compared the replay and the current situation.

In the replay, Cheon Dong-ha was confident that he had made the best use of the given information and did not regret his choice at the time, but now it was different.

Cheon Dong-ha ultimately failed to protect his friend in the replay, and after his death, he knew how his friend’s death was used to cause chaos in society.

That is why Cheon Dong-ha unconsciously compared the process of his failed choice with the current situation and tried to find the best answer.

‘Even Kyung-gu can easily climb this mountain path. If he had chosen this path, it would have been difficult to balance the forces in case something happened. It’s fortunate that he volunteered to go that way.’

Cheon Dong-ha, who was in the lead alongside Yeom Jun-yeol, thought of Kwak Kyung-gu, who was heading to the summit from afar.

Kwak Kyung-gu was tired of climbing, so he chose a slightly easier path, but it was fortunate for Cheon Dong-ha.

However, this also meant that he lost the opportunity to tell Kwak Kyung-gu what would happen.

Based on the summit of Mt. Halla, the Gwaneumsa trail starts from the north, and the Seongpanak trail starts from the east, and they couldn’t meet because the paths didn’t intersect until they reached the summit.

If Jo Ui-shin had predicted, the moment the mastermind starts his work, communication would be cut off, so he wouldn’t be able to talk to Gwak Gyeong-gu until he safely reached the summit or his lodgings.

‘Eui-shin has prepared numerous plans. Although it’s unlikely, he’s also considered the possibility of being attacked before today.’

Jo Ui-shin suggested that the plan would most likely happen during the climb of Mt. Halla, as he did in the replay, but he didn’t rule out other possibilities.

He suggested that since he’s destroyed countless of the mastermind’s plans so far, he could make a move that would be less destructive but still catch them off guard.

Jo Ui-shin set up countermeasures for each course of the school trip.

Fortunately, there hasn’t been an attack by the mastermind yet, so Jo Ui-shin’s plan didn’t have a chance to shine.

‘Nothing unexpected happened. Other than the kids in Class 0 causing a lot of trouble and Myungsoo hyung showing up, everything went according to plan.’

However, Cheon Dong-ha could not rest easy.

Cheon Dong-ha learned a lot from his relationship with his younger brother and began to cooperate with the powerful clan.

The dark magic was vicious and systematic, and he was patient and meticulous.

More than anything, the dark magic knew how to select the number he needed, make it his own, and deploy it in the right place at the right time.

That was the talented female shaman chosen by the Dragon King, and the small-minded Choi Pyeon-deok, who the students of Eun Gwang High School looked down on for having a weak ability.

On the surface, Choi Pyeon-deok’s actions were nothing more than a low-level, sloppy villain who harassed students by picking on them, and not worth dealing with, so the students who graduated were not interested in him.

However, in the replay, Choi Pyeon-deuk was a competent assistant who successfully helped assassinate the descendants of the Hojok and Yongjok, but was completely cleared of suspicion, and was the cause of the destruction of countless humans and Jinjok.

Knowing that, Cheon Dong-ha was anxious.

‘Something we might ignore could actually be the mastermind’s trick, and it could cause a butterfly effect and lead to someone’s death. And in the replay, I couldn’t see through it.’

In the end, nothing happened, and it was very ominous that everyone was so prepared until this moment when it was still quiet.

Unlike Cheon Dong-ha, who was tense, the surroundings were still peaceful.

Ma Jin-seung, who had chosen a difficult course and was running around and looking around under the pretext of enjoying the scenery, slowly became tired and slowed down his pace.

“Ugh, I’m out of breath.......”

“Don’t fall behind. Follow me.”

Cheon Dong-ha said coldly.

It would really be difficult if someone fell behind here.

When an incident occurs, if you are lucky enough to be a hostage, there is a chance of being rescued, but if you are unlucky, you will die and be helpless.

When Cheon Dong-ha spoke calmly, Ma Jin-seung, who had come to his senses somewhat, tried to focus on walking at the same pace as the others.

However, when Ma Jin-seung shouted, “Haaap!” to focus and made noise, the students walking next to him hit him in the side or ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) back for being noisy.

Ma Jin-seung seemed to have prepared for the possibility of an incident, but his actions were so casual that no one felt uncomfortable.

Ma Jin-seung was second, and since most of the people who chose the Gwanaksan course were excellent players or accustomed to climbing mountains, the students quickly passed through Tamra Valley and the anthill.

‘That’s strange. I thought I would lure Jun-yeol when I hadn’t climbed Hallasan yet.’

The closer I got to the top, the more ominous my feeling became.

The ninety-nine valleys where the black curtain was working were northwest of the summit.

Since Yeom Jun-yeol could call Hongryong and fly through the sky to ignore the mountain path, it was effective to lure them from a close distance in a straight line.

That’s why they expected the black curtain to work at Guringul or Tamra Valley, and they braced themselves, but they had already passed those two places long ago, and now there was a long staircase leading to the Samgakbong shelter in front of them.

“Hey, the kids on the Seongpanak course haven’t even gotten through the entrance to Saraoreum yet.”

“Why are they so slow? Are they crawling? Or did the kids from Class 0 cause some trouble again?”

“It’s because the slope is a bit steep, but the path here is shorter. But I want to see other scenery, so I want to go that way when I go down, but I wonder if that’s not possible.”

Some students started to show signs of being tired and hungry, but the students still had some time to spare.

Plus, they were still able to use their devices.

Could it be that they were traveling the Gwaneumsa trail much faster than expected, so the mastermind didn’t catch them?

Cheon Dong-ha unconsciously had an absurdly positive thought, but he soon erased it.

‘I’ll do something before I reach the top. Soon, soon.’

Baseless positive thoughts are poisonous.

Cheon Dong-ha braced himself and kept his guard up around him as if spitting out poison.

When Cheon Dong-ha unconsciously put his eyes on the power of the other person and stared at the distant mountain that was clearly visible.

‘Huh?’

The moment Cheon Dong-ha’s eyes met with something.

That something was neither a person nor an enemy.

It was a mountain goat staring blankly in this direction.

Beyond the rope installed on the hiking trail, the mountain goat was watching the students from the mountain.

‘Did a mountain goat live on Mt. Halla?’

The mountain goat, designated Natural Monument No. 217, is an endangered wild animal known to live mainly in the mountains of Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do.

It has also been found on Mt. Yongmasan and Mt. Achasan, but it is so rare that it is only on Mt. Seoraksan that it is noticeable to the human eye.

While Cheon Dong-ha was confused by the existence of a mountain goat that does not fit in with Mt. Hallasan, the mountain goat flinched as if it felt his gaze and rubbed its horns and neck against a nearby tree, pretending not to know anything.

Cheon Dong-ha felt a sense of emptiness at the awkward gesture.

If it was the mastermind’s subordinate, it would have been ridiculous, but if not, it would have been a pitiful sight in its own way.

However, the state of exhaustion did not last long.

―Beep!

At the same time as the device alarm, holograms that the students had quickly deployed appeared here and there.

The association’s alarm was announcing the occurrence of another world.

But this didn’t last long.

More quickly than the students on the Seongpanak Trail, their devices stopped their alarms.

“The device is strange. It stopped while announcing the occurrence of another world.”

“It seems like there’s a communication failure right now. Even if this is a mountain, shouldn’t we be able to receive satellite information?”

The students quickly grasped the situation, and the accompanying teachers instructed the students to stop and wait.

Yeom Jun-yeol, who was in the lead, also stopped in his spot, judging that it was dangerous to advance without understanding the situation.

Cheon Dong-ha also took his eyes off the mountain goat and responded immediately.

‘It’s started. Let’s check the situation with Gwangrim. It might be impossible to see the entire Jeju Island, but it should be possible to capture the entire Hallasan Mountain.’

Paaaaaat!

Cheon Dong-ha activated the supernatural powers he had accumulated in his eyes in preparation for this day.

When Gwanglim saw the signs that his ‘eyes that embrace the universe’ would activate, the students standing around him looked at him with respect and relief.

It was because they expected that Cheon Dongha’s eyes would quickly grasp the situation.

However, all Cheon Dongha saw was darkness.

To be exact, he could not see anything beyond the range that he could see with his naked eye.

Cheon Dongha doubted his own eyes, which did not go well with Gwanglim or Lee Myeong.

‘Why can’t I see anything?’

However, the supernatural power wave caused by Gwanglim’s activation was being consumed, and although he could only see darkness, the information that ‘he could see something black’ was entering his head.

There was no problem with Gwanglim.

If there was a problem, it was the things he could see around him.

Cheon Dongha suddenly remembered Jo Ui-shin’s words and shouted.

“We have to go up!”

“You want us to keep climbing? That’s a bit much.”

When Cheon Dongha said that they should continue climbing, a commotion spread.

The occurrence of a low rarity otherworldly event could be ignored, but the fact that the device could not receive satellite information could not be ignored.

Most of the students here remembered what happened when the communication and satellite information were cut off at Eun Gwang High School.

However, Cheon Dong-ha did not change his attitude.

The words of the god of sorrow lingered in Cheon Dong-ha's mind.

―If I were the mastermind, I would prepare to seal Senior Cheon Dong-ha's eyes.

―The Feather of the Phoenix.

― Are you talking about the way you attacked my eyes with hair?

―Of course you’ll prepare a means of attacking directly. But it’s different now than it was in the replay.

Jo Eui-shin warned.

The mastermind will try to cover Cheon Dong-ha’s eyes in some way.

― In the replay, there was nothing that Senior Cheon Dong-ha could do even if he saw the mastermind’s moves, but it’s different now. The mastermind won’t want to show his moves.

Unlike then, there are students who can be powerful and trustworthy teachers accompanying Hallasan, and the mastermind knows that the powerful clans and dragon clans could intervene in this case.

In the replay, the mastermind was confident that he would kill Cheon Dong-ha, but it’s different now.

Even if things go according to the mastermind’s will, there’s a chance that Cheon Dong-ha will see everything and survive.

― But unless he attacks directly, there’s no way to seal my eyes. My eyes embrace the heavens and the earth.

The Geon-Gon in Gwang-Rim’s name meant heaven and earth.

Unless Cheon Dong-Ha’s eyes were damaged, he couldn’t focus enough to use his eyes, or his powers were exhausted, he couldn’t stop what he saw.

However, Jo Ui-Shin was still convinced that the mastermind would make a move.

―In the Gaecheon myth, there was something that covered the heaven and earth of the Korean peninsula, and the mastermind had it in his hands.

Recalling Jo Ui-Shin’s warning, Cheon Dong-Ha realized what he was seeing now.

It was a wicked darkness.

A darkness filled with malice and deceit was enveloping Mt. Halla.

Cheon Dong-Ha recalled the place where he had seen that darkness and spoke without hesitation.

“The wicked darkness that covered the heaven and earth in the Gaecheon myth is rising from below. It’s crazy to head into a darkness that even my eyes can’t see through.”