“We’ve arrived.”
After about an hour of travel, we finally set foot on land.
A vast coastline stretched before us. The students looked excited, as if they were on a vacation at a resort. At times like this, they seemed like nothing more than ordinary teenagers.
“Senior, thank you. You saved my life.”
Choi Seo-yoon approached me with tired eyes and spoke.
Earlier, I had patted her back and given her motion sickness medicine I had stored in my subspace. It seemed to have worked, as she looked much better now.
“Are you feeling okay now?”
“Yes, thanks to you, senior, I feel much better.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Hehe.”
Choi Seo-yoon let out a quiet laugh.
“Alright! Now, we’ll be heading to our lodgings. Please follow me.”
We followed Park Jungwan for about ten minutes until we arrived at a three-story wooden lodge.
Three identical lodges stood side by side, covered in dust, as if they hadn’t been used for a long time.
“We’re supposed to stay here for the night?”
“Why? It’s not too bad.”
“Still, look at all that dust.”
“Do you think there are proper beds?”
As the students murmured amongst themselves, Park Jungwan spoke up.
“Now, go inside and unpack your things. You’ll have about twenty minutes to rest freely before we regroup here.”
We split into three lodges, about twenty students per lodge. One was for male students, another for female students, and the last one was co-ed.
I ended up in the co-ed lodge, and after some discussion, we decided that the second floor would be for the girls and the third floor for the boys.
After a short break, we gathered again in front of the lodge.
“Now, I will briefly explain today’s training schedule and the exercises we will be doing. But first, I need to go over some critical rules that must be followed.”
At the mention of critical rules, a tense atmosphere settled over the students.
“This place, Fog Island, is named after the magical disaster at its center—’The Nightmare Fog.’”
At Park Jungwan’s words, the students nodded, already familiar with the name.
“Many of you have likely heard the rumors about what kind of power the Nightmare Fog holds. As the name suggests, those who come into contact with the fog experience their worst nightmares.”
The students’ expressions hardened.
“Therefore, you must never approach the fog. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
A few students responded loudly, and Park Jungwan smiled.
“Good. Now, let’s go over the schedule. The current time is 2 PM. From now until 6 PM, we will conduct endurance training and mana adaptation exercises. At 6 PM, we will have dinner. Then, at 8 PM, we will begin the night-time monster hunt.”
The most important event in this Fog Island arc was the night hunt at 8 PM.
Before that, nothing major would happen, so there was no need to stay overly tense.
“Alright, let’s begin the training!”
“Haa… Haa…”
I had thought I could relax until the night hunt, but the 2 PM training turned out to be brutal.
The relentless drills left everyone looking half-dead, and some students even fainted from exhaustion.
“Whoo…”
Fortunately, I was able to endure thanks to my various stamina recovery traits.
Having undergone extreme training consistently over time, my body had already adapted to this level of exertion.
Park Jungwan seemed curious about my endurance, as he glanced at me several times during the session.
Of course, he wasn’t the only one.
Several different type of mages participating in the training also looked at me with disbelief, as if wondering why a manifestation-type mage had such high stamina.
Time passed, and by 6 PM, the long, grueling adaptation training had finally ended.
The sky had turned red, signaling the start of dinner time.
“Whoa! Meat!”
Fwoosh. Flames flickered to life.
Students who specialized in fire magic ignited the firewood.
On the iron griddle set over the flames, Park Jungwan placed the meat he had prepared in advance.
Still feeling the hunger from training, the scent of the cooking meat smelled sweeter than usual.
“Senior! I saw you during endurance training earlier! No matter how much you ran, you never seemed to get tired. Do you have a special trick? Or is it some kind of unique workout routine?”
Jeon Min-gi, who was sitting near me at the grill, asked with sparkling eyes.
In the original story, he had been a devoted fan of Lee Seo-jun, yet now he was directing his enthusiasm toward me instead.
I glanced over at Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon, who were eating at another grill.
They had stacked their rice bowls into mountains like competitive eaters.
“……”
“Um, senior?”
“Ah, sorry. What did you ask again?”
“I asked if you had a secret to not getting tired.”
“It’s nothing special. Just train to the extreme every day.”
I gave him a vague answer, as I usually did.
It wasn’t entirely false, after all.
But Jeon Min-gi muttered, “I see…,” and seemed to be lost in thought.
He’s a odd one—too serious about everything.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
I turned to Choi Seo-yoon, who was sitting quietly across from me.
She looked at me and smiled.
“I like my meat well done.”
“…I see.”
“Senior, aren’t you eating?”
“I should start now.”
I picked up a piece of meat and put it in my mouth.
It was just ordinary meat, but after intense training, the juicy burst of flavour felt like the most delicious thing in the world.
Damn, I could go for a drink right now.
After about an hour of dinner, followed by another hour of rest, the night monster hunt began at 8 PM.
The teams were formed in pairs.
The ranking would be determined by how many monsters were hunted and how strong they were.
The top five teams would receive special rewards.
Because of this, my partner, Choi Seo-yoon, was brimming with enthusiasm.
So far, we had already taken down six monsters.
“Let’s go that way!”
Choi Seo-yoon eagerly led the way deeper into the island’s center.
The deeper we went, the stronger the monsters we would encounter.
Of course, we had to be mindful of avoiding the Nightmare Fog at the island’s center.
“Why are you so slow? If we’re doing this, we should aim for the top five!”
“That ranking doesn’t matter.”
“How can you say that? We don’t even know what the prizes are yet.”
Unfortunately, the ranking and rewards in this event didn’t mean anything.
Tonight, an unexpected incident would interrupt the hunt.
This part of the original story was supposed to be an event between Lee Seo-jun and Choi Seo-yoon, but now that I was involved, I had no idea how things would unfold.
“Senior?”
Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality when Choi Seo-yoon called my name.
When I turned my head, I found her staring at my face intently.
“Uh, what is it?”
“No. You suddenly spaced out, so I was wondering what you were thinking.”
Whooosh.
At that moment, a strong gust of wind swept past us. Choi Seo-yoon shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Ugh, the wind is weirdly strong. Is it because it’s night?”
I raised my hand to feel the wind. It had definitely grown stronger than before.
Looking up at the sky, I noticed that the clouds had multiplied significantly.
It was about to begin.
Plop. Plop.
Raindrops started falling from the sky.
“…Rain?”
The drizzle quickly intensified, turning into a full-on downpour.
Seeing Choi Seo-yoon flustered by the sudden weather change, I spoke up.
“Let’s find shelter first.”
“Yes!”
Grabbing Choi Seo-yoon’s hand, I sprinted forward.
Monster cries echoed in the distance, adding to the tension, but I ignored them and kept running.
We arrived at a large tree somewhere on the island—a spot I had taken note of earlier.
Whoooosh!
The wind grew even stronger. A nearby tree, unable to withstand the force, swayed violently before crashing down.
“…Is this a typhoon?”
Choi Seo-yoon murmured to herself.
“That’s right. It’s a typhoon.”
“Why of all days… does a typhoon have to hit today?”
Whoooosh.
Another fierce gust of wind blew. The rain intensified, and mist started creeping through the forest.
The ‘Nightmare Fog’ from the island’s center had begun spreading due to the typhoon.
“Huh? The fog…?”
Choi Seo-yoon, realizing the gravity of the situation, muttered in a low voice.
The very fog we had been strictly warned to avoid was rapidly approaching us.
“Se-Senior. Shouldn’t we be running?!”
Choi Seo-yoon shouted, her voice urgent.
But it was too late.
The fog spread at a terrifying speed—too fast to escape. It wouldn’t be long before the Nightmare Fog swallowed us whole.
In the original story, the fog had engulfed 80% of the island.
Now, my job was to help her mentally prepare for what was about to happen.
Whooosh!
Amid the raging wind and rain, I locked eyes with Choi Seo-yoon.
“Choi Seo-yoon, listen carefully.”
Hearing the unusually serious tone in my voice, she looked up at me in confusion.
“The fog is going to cover us soon. And when it does, it will show you your worst nightmare.”
“…What?”
“No matter what you see, don’t let it break you. Just close your eyes tight and cast one solid spell.”
The Nightmare Fog was considered a ‘natural magic disaster,’ but it wasn’t just that.
There was a hidden secret behind it.
This fog was actually part of a ‘field dungeon.’
Most people, after experiencing its horrors, fled in fear. But having read the original story, I knew that overcoming the nightmare was the key to entering the hidden dungeon.
That was why I didn’t run.
I was deliberately letting the fog engulf us.
Choi Seo-yoon stared at me before nodding firmly, determination in her eyes.
“Understood.”
“Good. See you on the other side.”
At that moment, the fog swallowed us whole.
“…”
My vision changed.
Complete darkness.
The Nightmare Fog materialized a person’s deepest fears.
For Lee Seo-jun, it had been Jin Cheonwoo.
For Yoo Ah-ra, it had been Jaun.
For Choi Seo-yoon, it had been the victims of the Choi family’s wrongdoings.
And for me?
What was I most afraid of?
A sense of unease crept up my spine as my mind grew hazy under the effects of the illusion magic.
Luckily, my adaptive traits included resistance to mind magic, allowing me to maintain some clarity.
Then, someone emerged from the darkness.
Whoever it was, it had to be my worst fear.
What would it be?
And then I saw it.
My eyes widened in disbelief.
Standing before me was a completely unexpected figure.
“…Lee Seo-jun?”
“Kim Sunwoo.”
Lee Seo-jun called my name.
Why was he here?
No, this wasn’t the real Lee Seo-jun.
This was the Nightmare Fog’s illusion—my fear given form.
But something didn’t make sense.
I wasn’t afraid of Lee Seo-jun.
Wait, that wasn’t the issue.
To escape the Nightmare Fog, I had to fight my nightmare and win.
Which meant I had to battle Lee Seo-jun’s illusion.
“Haa…”
Fighting an illusion of Lee Seo-jun? That was ridiculous.
Even if this wasn’t the real him, it wouldn’t make things any easier.
Sching.
Lee Seo-jun drew his sword.
I lowered my stance and focused my mana.
Due to the illusion magic’s interference, I couldn’t form a proper magic sphere.
But it was enough to fight.
“Hoo…”
I had never imagined I’d have to face Lee Seo-jun in battle.
How would he attack?
As I tensed, watching him closely—
Lee Seo-jun suddenly smirked.
Then, he plunged his sword into his own chest.
“Huh? Wh-what are you doing?”
Drip.
Blood trickled from his chest.
Coughing up blood, Lee Seo-jun collapsed.
“…What?”
The darkness disappeared.
The fog that had surrounded me vanished as well.
I heard the sound of rain and found myself back in the real world.
Beside me, Choi Seo-yoon was curled up on the ground, trembling from her nightmare.
But my mind was too occupied to process that.
What had just happened?
I hadn’t even fought, yet I had ‘won’ against my nightmare.
Considering how others in the original story had struggled, this was an absurdly easy outcome.
“…What the hell?”
And then, I realized what the fog had been trying to show me.
The thing I feared the most.
Lee Seo-jun’s death.
“…Shit.”
A chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps spread across my skin.
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