---

“`html

“……!”

As soon as we stepped out of the dungeon after what felt like an eternity, Baeknok shot up, asking if I was okay, and I nodded.

“I’m fine. But…”

I shared the things I had confirmed inside. First, the boss, Volcano Ceratops, was chasing intruders, so it’d be best to avoid entering unless absolutely necessary. Also, the monsters that lived above ground were nearly wiped out. And the monsters dwelling beneath the lava wouldn’t come out into the dungeon unless something drastic happened, so there wasn’t much to worry about there.

“……”

Baeknok was unusually quiet. Maybe he was pondering what I had just told him. When Fairy came over and sat down, I noticed that its weight had unexpectedly crossed the 600g mark.

‘It feels like it’s just growing as it eats.’

It wasn’t just gaining weight; it was growing about 100g every single day. I had no idea how long this growth spurt would last, but when I met it next time, the fairy might be in for a surprise.

“Kyuooooo~!”

As I was petting it for some time, I recalled the system message— the condition for reaching level 20.

‘We were told to root out the hidden traitors.’

Traitorg was probably a term for the wayward ones.

‘Being hidden means…’

All the wayward ones were hiding in the first place. The fact that they added the word ‘hidden’ must mean they were traitors infiltrating various clans.

‘That’s a reasonable condition.’

With the deadline for conquering Neverland fast approaching, it would be problematic if they started rampaging. The internal enemies were more frightening than any external ones. Normally, this wouldn’t have happened, but nothing could be guaranteed with the future twisted as it was now.

‘The problem is how to find them.’

The traitors I knew for sure had already been dealt with long ago. Koo Sang-seop, Gu Ma-jun, and Lee Baek-seom, too. But I wasn’t without my own thoughts.

“Kyu?”

When I looked at it, the fairy tilted its head as if to ask what was wrong.

‘Maybe Fairy could help me find them.’

Just like when I found the flesh on the west coast, if it could feel something out there. Of course, I wasn’t talking about the wayward ones. Those trashy beings, having turned their backs on humanity, wouldn’t give off any energy that Fairy could sense.

‘Baeknok was an incomplete product born from side effects. They mentioned something about evil being within it.’

The Fairy-type monster said it would find that evil and consume it. It should be able to locate incomplete products if not the traitors.

‘If only I could do that…’

I could track them down and unearth the information. It would serve as clues to follow the web-like connections they had. Once I found them, dealing with them wouldn’t be a problem at all.

‘It’s time to head back to the real world.’

By the time I had organized my thoughts, Baeknok had also regained its composure.

“…You plan to go back, right?”

“Yeah.”

Having achieved my goal, there was no reason to stay any longer. Suddenly, Baeknok looked up at the sea and exhaled a breath filled with emotion. Then slowly, it lowered its head.

“Thank you, truly.”

“……?”

“Come back to the fantasy world, anytime, anytime.”

Though the tone was calm, having watched Baeknok this whole time, I could sense the feelings hidden within. The words to return—I knew they were sincere.

“……”

I felt a bit overwhelmed with emotions. To me, Baeknok was a teacher who had taught me so much. Not only did it train me but also guided me to trust others when I had been burdened with distrust and previous life’s trauma. Without it, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to be with Fairy, and I might have given up long ago.

At the end of those deep thoughts, I exhaled a long breath, too.

‘—First, back to the real world.’

As the world transformed around us, I vaguely heard Baeknok’s last words.

“If you wish, I’ll come to help anytime.”

***

“……”

Even more than pondering Baeknok’s words, there was an urgent matter at hand. I confirmed once more that I had returned to the real world and that stealth was still active.

‘Namsan.’

The fantasy world dungeon was located at Namsan, and we were nearby. Sensing the presence of people, Fairy distanced itself a bit and flew high into the air.

‘For now, the plateau is out of the question.’

The story hadn’t mentioned any traitors in the plateau, either. Perhaps the protagonist was simply unaware, but… I didn’t feel ready to approach the plateau at all.

‘As long as there’s radiance.’

The good news was that the plateau’s location was described in the story quite vividly. I think they mentioned it was somewhere in the Dobong-gu mountains.

‘I just need to avoid going there.’

As long as there was radiance, even going to Dobong-gu posed a risk. Even though I was using C-class stealth to deceive the Volcano Ceratops, I didn’t think it could fool the radiance.

‘Even in case of emergencies, I have Fairy with me, but…’

Returning to the fantasy world was no problem, but I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble. For now, I decided to move while excluding Dobong-gu and told Fairy to let me know if it sensed any familiar energy like before.

“Kyuooooo~!”

Seeing it nod, as if to say it would take care of it, made me feel a bit strange.

‘It seems to understand what I’m saying.’

On the contrary, not being able to understand its words was frustrating. I wondered if there was any skill like beast language but couldn’t find one.

‘There’s no language of fairies to begin with.’

It was a skill gifted to me by the queen, but it wasn’t listed in the system’s obtainable skill catalog. Maybe it was a skill I could no longer level up.

‘Baeknok seemed to converse with Fairy, though…’

I’d ask it the next time I returned to the fantasy world. For now, I needed to scout around Seoul.

***

[With little time left until the opening of Neverland…]

[The clans known to participate in the operation are…]

The news on TV was completely focused on Neverland. After the funeral of Muno, the operation for Neverland was once again nearing.

“Has it really already ended? There are still two weeks left…”

Two weeks— the predicted time before Neverland would open. They had already completed all preparations so that if it opened right now, Yeomyeong would be ready to participate, along with all the necessary supplies.

“That’s why I told you. Remember? You’re going too.”

“I know but…”

Hong Yu-ri slapped Euna on the forehead without hesitation, who was trailing off as if unsure of herself.

“Ouch.”

Though she reflexively protected herself with magic, Hong Yu-ri showed off her skill by striking with enough magic to cancel it out—a perfect smack. As a result, Euna had to sit down, cradling her forehead.

“What’s a hunter gonna do if they chicken out?”

“Well… I’m a D-class.”

“Who’s asking you to fight? You’re just a magic detection shuttle.”

Magic detection shuttle— that was due to Euna’s C-class magic detection. Even without having a specific skill, you could use magic to detect if you wanted to, but relying solely on magic for detection was limited in many ways: performance and magic consumption. Every aspect had its differences in efficiency.

“…I know that.”

The worst dungeon that hadn’t been cleared for 15 years. Especially with everyone expecting failure this time around, it was no wonder Euna was feeling uneasy.

“Don’t be scared, you fool. Now go grab some coffee… no, wait.”

Now that the supply preparations were finally complete, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to step out for a quick mood refresh after holed up in the clan for days.

“Damn.”

How long had I been cooped up that the sunlight was almost blinding? Hong Yu-ri sighed deeply as she checked her grim face in her phone.

“…Who the hell needs coffee?”

***

‘I can’t believe it was this easy to find…’

I had assumed there would be a branch somewhere in Seoul, but I never thought some idiot would actually drop an incomplete product right in the heart of the city.

‘Honestly, I didn’t have any expectations.’

It was behavior unbecoming of the wayward ones. Why? As I pondered over it, I recalled something I had heard before.

[Five. They are intended to be used in Seongdong-gu and Dobong-gu.]

The witch’s disaster. The wayward ones who had thrown all of Seoul into chaos to disrupt the academy. And conveniently, this was Seongdong-gu. It was hard to believe that this was all mere coincidence.

‘Did I kill the ones they were supposed to use?’

If I had eliminated the ones they originally intended to use, and they couldn’t use the incomplete products they had prepared in advance? It would make sense if they issued an order to recover the incomplete products after the fact.

‘…I’m not entirely sure, but the situation is developing nicely.’

After two days of waiting, I finally felt the presence heading inside the abandoned building.

‘It’s not certain.’

It could be a passerby visiting the building. I waited to see for sure, but as I watched them walk into the building and brighten up upon seeing the incomplete product, I found it hard to doubt.

‘……’

One disappointing thing was that upon inspecting with insight, the figure turned out to be just a low-ranking guy. If it’s a tentacle, it’d probably have a B-class status.

‘……?’

Just as I was about to pounce, a good idea struck me. Did I really need to rush into it?

‘I can handle it anytime.’

Having already surpassed tentacles, taking care of a low-ranking one shouldn’t be an issue. If they’ve collected it, they must be planning to take some action. Perhaps they would carry it back to their main base or pass it on to another traitor. Either way, it might be more beneficial to follow them rather than confront them now.

‘It makes more sense to track them instead.’

I couldn’t help but wonder how much a low-ranking one could possibly know. In every sense, it would be more efficient to follow their trail. In the worst-case scenario, the low-ranking one might not even be aware of the infiltration at all.

“……”

As the low-ranking one exited the building without ever discovering me, I slipped the incomplete product into my pocket. I had been considering how I would have to deal with them if they went toward the Dobong-gu area, but they went down into the subway near Geumho Station instead.

‘This could be tricky.’

In the subway, a staff member might be monitoring the CCTV. The only thing stealth could deceive was people’s gazes, not the lenses of cameras. Worrying about causing unnecessary commotion, I kept my distance. Feeling a presence as if they were about to open something—a moment later, they emerged through another exit, holding their phone in one hand.

‘I’ll remember the scent of the incomplete product anyway.’

It wasn’t just my sense of smell; I had detection too. If someone moved around with that incomplete product, I could follow them immediately. The incomplete product was important to those traitors, so I wouldn’t have to wait long.

‘First, I’ll take care of that.’

Most likely, it was an idiot who stashed the incomplete product in a locker. Not long after I began to trail them, they turned into an alley and finished their phone call.

[…Yes. It’s done.]

With that, I confirmed it was a blind spot away from the eyes of people, and ambushed the low-ranking one.

‘I had a hunch it would be a bust, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.’

—I was back to the subway at Geumho Station in no time, crouched on the rooftop of a nearby building. The only things I got from the encounter were the low-ranking one’s phone and the number they just called. For now… I needed to wait a bit longer.

“`

 

---