“Found it!”

“Here too!”

Hidden cards scattered all over the uninhabited island.

Some were blatantly stuck in trees, some hidden under leaves, and others buried in the soil.

The blue team found the cards [ㅇ], [ㅓ], [ㅆ].

It was still too little to guess what word they might form.

“Let’s head towards the hero who was saying strange things first.”

“But… doesn’t it feel a bit tingly? Like someone is emitting magic power.”

“It could be the red team spreading out for a search, or there might be a hero in combat. We won’t know until we check. If anyone can detect it accurately by deploying magic power, that would be the priority. But there’s no one, right?”

“…”

No answer came to Elf Girl Shin Hyeon-joo’s question.

Jeong Gyeoul and her companions could easily spread magic power to detect exact locations, and with focus, even up to tens of kilometers away.

But for heroes below S-Class, such precise detection was nearly impossible.

Unless a massive burst of magic power exploded instantly.

In the current situation, a few dozen meters was the limit.

If Shin Hyeon-joo, who was close to a ranger, couldn’t do it, then no one in the team could.

If anyone could, they would have stepped forward to show off their abilities.

They decided to stick to the original plan and find the hero who was saying strange things.

“Please give me a detailed explanation while we’re on the way.”

A participant who saw the hero saying strange things approached Shin Hyeon-joo.

They had only briefly heard the plan to move quickly.

With some time during the move, they wanted to hear the details.

“About 1.5km northwest? There’s a hero patrolling up there. They keep going back and forth on the same path as if following a set route. And every time, they meet with an injured hero and talk.”

A hero patrolling a set route.

The scenario’s background was that heroes were scattered due to monster or villain attacks, but there’s a set route?

That alone was suspicious in the current situation.

And instead of helping the injured hero, they just talk.

Repeatedly.

Shin Hyeon-joo’s eyebrow raised as she listened.

She looked displeased.

‘Those people might be villains, or at least spies.’

The two team members who moved separately to help the injured hero probably got caught.

“What did they say?”

“What should I say… like what would you do if you won the lottery?”

“…What?”

“Stuff like what you’d want to do or buy if you had a lot of money. I couldn’t get close enough to hear details, but isn’t it suspicious?”

One of the team members listening nearby asked what the big deal was.

“Don’t people talk like that sometimes? It’s not that suspicious…”

“…It’s not fitting for this situation.”

“Eh, maybe they’re just chatting during filming? They might not have expected us to be stealthily scouting.”

“This program doesn’t seem that sloppy. And… they probably noticed. They’re all active heroes.”

“…Really?”

No matter how quietly they moved or hid their presence.

All the heroes here were active.

Heroes who capture villains and subjugate monsters on the front lines.

To trained and tested heroes, even awakened ones felt like civilians.

They probably already knew.

If they’re still having suspicious conversations, it must be part of the scenario.

It was another confirmation that Shin Hyeon-joo was on the right path.

***

The blue team’s information was about the letter cards hidden around the island and the strange hero.

They also heard they were heading northwest to meet that strange hero.

If that’s all, we still have the upper hand.

“Let’s move quickly. Pick up any letter cards you see, and we’ll go catch the heroes emitting magic power.”

“But who can detect magic power at that level…”

“I’ll do it.”

“…Can talismans even do that?”

“My spells are omnipotent. Didn’t I tell you? I haven’t even used 1% of my abilities yet.”

Using purified water from Jirisan as ink.

And a branch from a lightning-struck jujube tree as a pen for the talisman.

That wasn’t all.

With the Jade Emperor in the center, and other deities surrounding him.

I paid respects to all the divine spirits of the universe.

I even did this every day.

From the day I first met my master until the day I left the mountain, I did this ritual every day.

Now, I spread magic power in eight directions and floated a talisman.

This talisman will now fly towards the strongest magic power nearby.

Hiding or suppressing energy won’t work.

They’re divine spirits after all.

My master wasn’t awakened, but he took down all the villains who came to hide in Jirisan.

And I’m awakened on top of that.

With the divine spirits residing within me, there’s no spell I can’t perform.

“Just follow the direction the talisman goes. Let’s move.”

“…But, it’s flying towards the direction we came from.”

As the team member said, the talisman flew backward as soon as it was floated.

Meaning the path we took was wrong from the start.

“The strongest magic power is there. If the island is taken over by villains, it’s natural the villain leader would have the strongest magic power, right?”

“…Is that how it works?”

They looked at me with a doubtful expression.

How rude.

The divine spirits guided me, so just trust and follow me.

“There are some strong magic powers above too. Going back would waste time… I’ll guide you, let’s go up.”

Hwang Bo-seung, the hot-blooded fool, suggested going up since he could detect some magic power.

But I lightly dismissed it.

“How are you going to score points and finish the scenario by catching small fries? Let’s go take down the boss quickly.”

“…Honestly, Seorin’s right. The blue team can’t detect magic power, so they’re scouting on foot and running late. We should move decisively while we’re ahead.”

“I agree. With someone as capable as her leading, it’s right to follow.”

Look at them, eyes gleaming with admiration.

The last speaker seemed to trust my looks more than my abilities.

Anyway, more people agreed with me.

We turned back the way we came.

We even found a few letter cards we missed earlier.

See, listening to me was the right choice. The divine spirits are helping me.

I smiled at Hwang Bo-seung.

Shrugging my shoulders was a bonus.

He looked so frustrated, his face red and brows furrowed.

Regardless.

The base camp we started from came into view.

We were heading in the exact opposite direction.

The talisman showed no signs of straying.

We could check the scoreboard and see if the two people the blue team sent were here, so it’s even better.

“Since we’re here, should we grab some water?”

“Good idea. Proper supply is crucial for any mission.”

“…Weren’t you saying we should move decisively while we’re ahead?”

Hwang Bo-seung couldn’t pick a fight with me.

So he turned to the few who agreed with me.

What a petty man.

If we decided to go together, just follow without arguing.

We paused the talisman and had a quick snack and water.

The production team and judges strictly maintained their observer stance.

They didn’t say a word to us.

‘Both scores are zero. The two aren’t here either… So the injured hero was a trap.’

After assessing the situation and finishing our supply, we moved the talisman again.

“Eek, why is it coming to me?”

“…?”

I mean.

Why is it going there?

“Taoist Girl, do something about this.”

“…Please don’t call me Taoist Girl.”

The talisman was circling and tapping around Hero Jeong Gyeoul.

Have the divine spirits gone senile…?

I’m not a fool.

Of course, I excluded the judges.

It should follow the strongest signal among the rest.

Why is it going there?

I was baffled.

The team was baffled.

Jeong Gyeoul was baffled.

The other judges sitting nearby were just enjoying the show.