The moment Kim Yuri confirmed that the last enemy had disappeared, she felt her strength drain from her hands.

The top of Geundun was as comfortable as a cloud, but this was her first time properly controlling and handling Gwangrim, and it had drained both her focus and stamina.

Enemies were swarming in on the waves.

An even more terrifying sea of madness that devoured the enemies with ferocity.

Kim Yuri had called forth the madness that created this surreal scene.

‘If you two hadn’t been here, there would have been damage along the coast.’

The fierce sea didn’t discriminate between friend and foe, attempting to swallow everything, including the land touching the sea and the players who were attacking from another world.

Rather than fueling the madness, Kim Yuri had to focus on calming it by pouring her energy into controlling it.

If her intervention was too forceful, the enemies would escape out of the water. If it was too weak, the sea would rampage uncontrollably.

Despite this, the damage didn’t escalate, thanks to Muji’s frequent exclamations of frustration, like, “Why do you always mess up after doing so well?” and “Just learn it all over again with me!” helping her regain control.

It seemed the enemies would soon be eradicated, but when Jecheon Daeseong cast a quiet gaze upon the cloud-covered Hallasan, the situation shifted.

“I’ll step in now.”

“What? You just watch. I’ll take care of everything with him.”

“Look over there.”

Jecheon Daeseong pointed to a direction where a wicked darkness loomed.

It was quite far, but both Jecheon Daeseong and Muji could sense it.

They also noticed that the enemy’s resistance had suddenly intensified in response.

Kim Yuri wasn’t sure of the details, but she suspected that something distant had caused the enemy’s sudden strength increase.

“What are you all doing?! We need to deal with this quickly!”

Muji declared irritably, but the battle with the sea did not end until the wicked darkness retreated and the enemy subsided.

During the fight, a professional player team that had completed their mission in another world supported from a distance, using ranged attacks, and Kim Yuri, exhausted from using up all her energy, had to endure constant advice from higher beings.

[The words of the Heavenly Queen (천후) are being relayed. Now, leave the future to Jecheon Daeseong and Muji, and retreat.]

[Do not try to control the madness. Just release it. Even if the power overturns the coastline, it's fine. I’ll block it with our divine power before it swallows your acquaintances.]

[‘The noble green lady’ is advising retreat.]

[Hmph, I don’t understand why Mogyun should waste time and energy on such trivial things. How about receiving my blessing right now.]

Kim Yuri had been forced into Gwangrim by numerous higher beings but still had not received their blessings.

Receiving their blessings meant not only wielding greater power but also dealing with their louder voices.

Just handling the voices she was hearing now was overwhelming.

Pahng!

At that moment, Jecheon Daeseong clapped his hands in front of Kim Yuri, as if swatting a bug.

The voices that had been tormenting her suddenly faded away.

Whether he had used a spell or not, energy remained on Jecheon Daeseong’s palm, and although the waves behind him were still massive, the enemy had disappeared.

‘It’s over...!’

Somehow, lost in the voices of the higher beings, Kim Yuri hadn’t realized the battle had ended.

Had Jecheon Daeseong not brought her attention back, she might have continued without realizing the battle was over, possibly getting caught up in the voices and using her strength or rampaging uncontrollably.

Jecheon Daeseong spoke as Kim Yuri lifted her head.

“There’s still a lot of talk about Mogyun. Well done. I’ll take you to Eungwang High.”

“What, already? Since we’re here, why not take a tour of Jeju? There are still some enemies to deal with on the island.”

While Jecheon Daeseong and Muji chatted, Kim Yuri looked out at Jeju beyond the sea.

There were broken structures and players with minor injuries, but the damage didn’t seem as severe as the massacre at Seogucho.

Kim Yuri clasped her hands tightly on her rapidly beating chest.

“I’m using my magic to deceive my eyes right now, but I can’t leave this child here for long. I’ll be back quickly.”

“Make sure to contact me! I’ve taught you a lot today. Don’t forget to thank me! And if possible, bring the benefactor too!”

“Yes, thank you!”

“You can’t just end it with one thank-you. Understood?”

Muji expressed some regret as Jecheon Daeseong plucked a few strands of his hair, summoning a clone.

One clone remained by Muji’s side, while the others were dispatched to monitor the situation on Jeju Island.

Before Kim Yuri could follow the movements of the clone with her eyes, Geundun started moving.

It wasn’t at top speed, as she was still recovering from the big battle and couldn’t handle it at that pace, but it was fast enough that Kim Yuri could hardly keep her eyes open.

Kim Yuri looked up at Jecheon Daeseong, who stood firm like a mountain even as the ground shook beneath them.

“Are... are the others alright?”

“One of the clones encountered some Eungwang High students coming down. They’re all safe.”

Upon hearing that the senior students of Eungwang High were safe, Kim Yuri smiled brightly.

Seeing this, Jecheon Daeseong kept his words to himself.

One of Jecheon Daeseong’s clones had encountered those who weren’t as lucky.

Around 500 students from Eungwang High descended safely with the guidance of the mountain goats.

As the clouds parted, the buildings became visible far off in the distance, and the students let out a collective sigh of relief.

Although they had strayed far from the hiking trail, the mountain goats confidently guided them, making them certain they had encountered a member of the Yangguk tribe.

‘From the very beginning, those from Yangguk who were watching Eungwang High students must have been good at climbing mountains. Our movements were transmitted to the Hojok through that wool. Now it’s safe. I also want to check on the situation over there, but it might not be possible.’

Cheon Dong-ha had been observing the wool as he moved, deep in thought, but couldn’t find an answer.

Since the mountain goats hadn’t used the wool to request assistance, it seemed their role was purely observational.

Eventually, Cheon Dong-ha stopped thinking about the wool and moved on to another thought.

‘There were signs of a battle. Someone fought with the enemy.’

The traces of footprints that didn’t seem human, and signs of heavy weight left behind, all indicated that something had occurred on Hallasan.

Since they hadn’t crossed paths with the students, Cheon Dong-ha suspected that either the Red Lion, Blue Dragon, or Black Tortoise had dealt with it.

It was possible that they’d encountered Hyangrok, but even if it had taken longer to handle, it wouldn’t have been a major issue.

What worried him more was the other side.

‘Fake Junyeol and the bodyguards that were sent to Yi-shin’s side must have been transported to either 99gol or Yongduam. There would have been traps there, but Yong Teacher had said he would take care of the space beforehand. I can’t mess around either...’

Meanwhile, students from the newspaper club shared information around Cheon Dong-ha.

The members were split between the Seongpanak and Gwanyeomsa routes, and despite the crisis, they demonstrated their journalistic spirit.

The newspaper club students, even while moving or fighting, used their recording devices, documenting observations and writing notes.

As Cheon Dong-ha contemplated deeply, his eyes and ears absorbed the information provided by the students of the newspaper club.

“Hey, guys!”

From the end of the mountain path, where the road was now visible, the familiar voices of students who had stayed behind, refusing to climb the mountain, could be heard.

They seemed to have formed a rescue team and had brought lots of luggage.

Cheon Dong-ha asked.

“Did you come to find us? There was a possibility of a double distress situation, and you did something so reckless...”

“We couldn’t just sit still!”

“That’s right. Don’t you remember what happened during Christmas? If the people waiting outside the barrier hadn’t been there, we would’ve suffered even more!”

“Why are you all so worn out? Did you get caught in the rain? Just in case, I brought a lot of towels.”

The self-proclaimed rescue team had an absurdly large amount of luggage for a mountain climb.

While the supplies were far too little for hundreds of students, it seemed they had carried everything they could manage.

Strictly speaking, it was reckless and foolish, but Cheon Dong-ha couldn’t bring himself to scold them.

Some of the students, who were close to the rescue team, were openly crying.

Seeing this, Cheon Dong-ha realized just how relieved he was that they had safely descended.

The head of the newspaper club comforted the other members before asking about the external situation. Just as they were listening to him, Yeom Junyeol patted Cheon Dong-ha’s shoulder.

It didn’t seem like he was doing it out of sheer joy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Now?” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Yes, I think it’s better to say it now.”

Yeom Junyeol had a sorry expression, but Cheon Dong-ha couldn’t figure out why.

Since it seemed like something hard to talk about, they moved away from the excited students to continue the conversation.

Leaving Gwak Kyung-goo in charge, the two of them walked away, and the mountain goats followed them curiously.

Seeing Yeom Junyeol ignore the mountain goats, Cheon Dong-ha expected that it wasn’t anything important, and as expected, it wasn’t anything serious.

“Dong-ha, I’m sorry for deceiving you.”

“Deceiving me? About what?”

The moment they joined the rescue team, Yeom Junyeol lifted the Hongryonghwa seal.

Unlike his unfamiliar appearance while wearing the Hongryonghwa, Yeom Junyeol now looked like any other classmate he met at school.

Looking a bit embarrassed, Yeom Junyeol said.

“The truth is, I’m not the Red Wall Ghost, I’m really Yeom Junyeol...”

“I already knew that from the start.”

“Huh? Even before the Hongryonghwa?”

“Yeah.”

Yeom Junyeol looked puzzled, but Cheon Dong-ha found his confusion even more baffling.

Yeom Junyeol, unable to accept that his imitation of the Red Wall Ghost wasn’t perfect, said seriously.

“I’ll work harder.”

If he really worked harder at that, wouldn’t Jo Yi-shin suffer?

Cheon Dong-ha felt a little guilty, as he’d just spoken honestly, but perhaps he’d caused an issue for Jo Yi-shin.

As he resolved to buy some snacks Jo Yi-shin would like as a souvenir for the school trip, someone appeared.

To avoid alerting anyone, the sound of rustling leaves could be heard from afar.

Cheon Dong-ha and Yeom Junyeol stopped their conversation and immediately turned toward the noise.

‘It’s the Red Lion’s team logo on that cloak!’

Yeom Junyeol turned around, and a member of the Red Lion’s team came running as if flying.

The cloak was covered with battle marks, but the team member looked unharmed.

Cheon Dong-ha felt relieved, and Yeom Junyeol joyfully embraced the team member.

“Junyeol, you’re safe!”

“Yes, are you okay? How about the others?”

“I heard communication will resume soon, but I came early. The team master wanted to come personally, but the situation didn’t allow it...”

The team member, releasing Yeom Junyeol from the embrace, reported the situation.

The worst news came last: three seriously injured. Among them, Yong Jegun had suffered a severe injury and was in critical condition.