A pleasant melody flowed through the vast plaza.
The orchestra played in perfect unison, as if it were a single being, following the direction of the conducting mage, ‘Antoni Walter’.
A variety of colorful instruments.
But the instruments currently being played were no ordinary instruments—they were relic instruments imbued with mystical power.
These instruments responded to the harmony of the music and the performer’s mana, amplifying the natural magical energy in the surroundings.
“Wow. I can actually feel my mana rising.”
“My fatigue just disappeared completely.”
Lee Seo-jun felt the magic in the music energizing his body.
Since this was his first time experiencing music magic, everything felt new and fascinating to him.
“Pfft. Kim Sunwoo doesn’t even get to enjoy this precious experience. Tsk tsk.”
Shin Young-joon clicked his tongue in pity.
Choi Seo-yoon, who had been listening to the music with a gloomy face, nodded in agreement.
Just as they all returned to focusing on the performance, Song Seung-ah spoke in a wistful tone.
“It ends tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
Everyone smiled awkwardly. It ends tomorrow—that meant their time in Atlantis would come to an end.
Even though it was short, the time had felt like a dream, and everyone felt regret.
“We leave at 7 p.m., right?”
“Yeah, we’re supposed to arrive in Korea around the end of tomorrow afternoon’s training.”
Song Seung-ah answered Lee Seo-jun’s question.
“Really? That’s a shame. Even if we didn’t come just to have fun.”
“Hehe. If it’s a shame, we can always come back next time.”
Song Seung-ah smiled as she said this, and this time it was Choi Seo-yoon—not Lee Seo-jun—who responded.
After a moment of thought, she spoke.
“You’re right. If it’s a shame, we can just come again.”
The gloomy look from earlier was gone, and her eyes burned with determination.
“Next year. No, this winter! Let’s come again—for training, of course.”
Everyone nodded at Choi Seo-yoon’s words. She wasn’t the only one feeling the regret of such a short three-day visit.
“But what about Kim Sunwoo? Will he come too?”
“I’ll take responsibility and bring him.”
Lee Seo-jun answered confidently, and Shin Young-joon let out a deep sigh.
“You think that’ll work? That guy’s as stubborn as a mule. If you suggest going somewhere, he always refuses.”
At the word ‘stubborn’, Lee Seo-jun chuckled. It wasn’t the nicest way to say it, but it was accurate.
“Hm. Let’s call it ‘mystique’ rather than stubbornness.”
“Mystique… well, that fits too. It’s hard to even grab a meal with him.”
Tsk tsk. Shin Young-joon clicked his tongue again.
Lee Seo-jun nodded slightly, understanding where he was coming from.
“To be honest, I still don’t really get Sunwoo. Haha.”
“He does seem like he’s hiding a lot.”
“Secrets… yeah. But I haven’t asked him since it felt like I’d be intruding. He really seems to have a lot of baggage.”
This time, it was Choi Seo-yoon who murmured quietly.
“Did you know? If you watch how he lives, he’s constantly training, like he’s possessed.”
“That’s already kind of famous.”
Though it had calmed down recently, there was a time when he pushed himself to the limit every day, to the point people worried he might collapse.
Maybe because of that, the other students could accept Sunwoo’s sudden rise in rankings to some extent.
“But on weekends, he always goes out and does something.”
“Oh, right. He actually has a lot of weekend plans.”
“Is he secretly meeting someone? Hehe.”
Just then, the music stopped, and the performers rose from their seats.
“That concludes our performance. Thank you.”
The concert was over.
Clap clap clap clap!
Energetic applause echoed through the plaza, and soon people began getting up and leaving.
Lee Seo-jun also stood from his seat.
“Let’s head out too.”
I was walking through the second basement level of Atlantis. Since it would be the location of the upcoming incident, I wanted to familiarize myself with it in advance.
“Hm.”
But the basement was just too vast.
I knew the event would take place on B2, but even the original work didn’t specify exactly where, so I had no way of knowing the precise spot.
I looked around the area.
Countless doors bore signs saying ‘Authorized Personnel Only’.
When I activated my outsider’s privilege, I could see various types of barriers spread out around me.
Some were illusion spells, others space-related magic.
As expected of the heart of Atlantis—its security was reinforced with layered magical constructs.
I kept walking until I stopped at one particular spot.
“Even I’d have a hard time breaking this.”
In front of me was a powerful barrier.
Even at a glance, I could feel the immense magic it radiated. It was likely created by Poseidon’s power.
When I reached out to touch it, the magic bounced my hand back like a springy jelly.
“Whoa, that’s strong.”
It felt like it had solidified—similar to ice magic.
“Hm.”
Still, is there even anything I can do here…?
No matter how I thought about it, there was no benefit to getting involved in this incident.
Of course, if I could protect Poseidon, I could gain a huge advantage in the future storyline.
However, ‘Poseidon’ was a crucial object that Jaun was determined to obtain no matter what.
If those guys were serious, there was nothing I could do to stop them in my current state.
Unless I somehow stole Poseidon before they could.
But the problem was that these barriers were made of Poseidon’s energy, and I had no way to bypass them.
Plus, to acquire the key fragment, I’d need the ability to intervene in a virtual realm of my choosing. But I didn’t have a relic like Jaun’s ‘Fantasy Intervener’.
“……Hmm.”
In fact, since Poseidon ends up in Jaun’s hands in the original anyway, losing it wouldn’t disrupt the overall plot.
It was an event already set to happen—inevitable, really.
However, what worried me now was something else.
It was ‘Elin’.
The incident had been moved up by a year.
The Elin of now and the Elin who would appear a year later were on completely different levels.
In the original timeline, a year from now, Elin could hold her own against Jaun to some degree. But not now.
She hadn’t yet been equipped with proper gear, nor had she learned the Rune Clan’s secret technique, ‘Runes Bind’.
If Elin were to face Jaun now…
There was a real chance a key character could die.
That had to be avoided.
Sure, she’s currently under the villain Han Se-jin, so in a sense, she’s in a villain’s position now.
But since she harbours a grudge against Jaun, she’ll be a major force in restraining their power later.
“Phew.”
Just then, I heard footsteps and voices approaching from somewhere.
I quickly ducked behind a wall to hide.
“This way? It’s so big down here, I can’t tell where anything is.”
The voice belonged to Baek Eun-seong. Behind him were Bert, Jin, Scar, and Heather.
“Oh? Found the barrier.”
Baek Eun-seong muttered as he stared at the massive barrier before him.
“……Poseidon must be behind this.”
Baek Eun-seong murmured quietly.
“Probably.”
“Jin, take out the key fragment.”
Jin pulled a jewel—the key fragment—from his pocket.
There were two in total.
“With just two, it probably won’t work. We still need one more.”
“Try it anyway. Just in case.”
Jin nodded and infused mana into the jewel.
The jewel began to emit light, and the barrier rippled like waves in response.
But.
That was all. The barrier reacted, but did not open.
“Oh. At least it responded.”
“Just responded. Nothing more.”
A woman with short brown hair, Heather, chuckled and said,
“All right. We’ve confirmed the key fragment is real. Let’s get the remaining piece at dawn.”
“Yeah. I’m excited though. Poseidon… How amazing will it be in person?”
Jin murmured.
“If we obtain Poseidon this time, how many mysteries are left?”
“Around six. Oh, wait—seven.”
“Seven, huh. Not many left now. The day we’ll see Him again…”
Bert said with emotion in her voice. The others were the same.
They looked like devout followers yearning for their god.
With those words, Jaun’s group disappeared somewhere.
I stayed still for about five minutes, then walked back outside.
My heart pounded with tension, but I calmed myself quickly.
“…All right, guess I’ll head up too.”
I climbed back up to the first floor.
As I ascended the stairs, I saw a crowd of people.
Among them, youthful-looking students were taking pictures and playing around, as if determined to make the most of their final night.
Just as I was about to return to the lodging, I ran into some familiar faces.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
It was Lee Seo-jun and his group. They approached with cheerful smiles.
“I thought you said you were going to rest at the dorm. What’re you doing out here?”
“I just needed some fresh air.”
I made up a half-convincing excuse.
“Yeah? Well, since you’re out, come hang with us. We’re heading to the magic arcade next. Come on?”
Lee Seo-jun beamed as he invited me.
I stared at him for a moment. I was on edge thinking about what was going to happen soon, yet these guys were so carefree.
“Sigh…”
He’s the one who’s going to suffer, so why am I like this?
If it were the Lee Seo-jun from a year later, he’d be way stronger and actually useful.
As I let out a sigh, Lee Seo-jun narrowed his eyes, annoyed.
“What’s with that look? You judging me or something?”
Time passed, and it was around dawn.
I went back outside. The time was 2 a.m.
Most people were asleep, and the restaurants, concert halls, and other entertainment facilities were all closed.
The incident would likely occur around 3 a.m. Right now, Jaun was probably inside the virtual world created by Poseidon, searching for the third key fragment.
Since there was nothing I could do for now, I leaned against the railing and stared blankly at the night sea.
As I watched the waves, I was hit by a wave of emotion.
At the same time, various thoughts, worries, and anxieties crept in.
It hadn’t been long since the demon incident, and now another one was unfolding.
And worse, an incident originally meant to occur a year from now was happening early.
Will I be able to handle it again this time?
“…Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
I turned around and looked down from the fourth-floor railing to the first floor.
Even at dawn, a few people were visible.
Some regular guests enjoying their last night, and with Character Insight, I spotted Elin’s group and Jaun—key figures in this incident hiding their identities.
They were chatting casually looking normal.
Then Elin’s group suddenly gathered, whispering urgently and moving off somewhere.
Jaun were no different. They seemed to be communicating through a magic device, then vanished.
“So it begins.”
Basement level 2.
The key emitted light, and the barrier was released.
The solid barrier guarding Poseidon had been dismantled.
“At last…!”
Baek Eun-seong cried out, overwhelmed with emotion. The others shared his excitement.
“No time to admire it. We need to retrieve it and get out fast.”
Jin kept his composure.
“Y-yeah. Let’s go!”
Everyone sprinted forward.
At the same time, a red light flashed through the basement, and a siren blared.
WEEEEE-OOO──!
[Emergency detected!] [Intruder breach in the engine room barrier!]
The voice announcement continued.
But Jaun didn’t waver and charged straight ahead.
The further they ran, the denser and stronger the surrounding magic became.
As the magic brushed against their skin, it gave them a dreamy, drug-like sensation.
“Such incredible magic power.”
Jin smiled faintly.
As expected of Poseidon, the legendary artifact—it was radiating intense magic power even before they reached it.
How far had they gone?
Amid high-performance magic devices and arcane machinery, they saw a floating blue stone, defying gravity.
Its resembled the image of a crashing wave.
“…We’ve finally found it. Poseidon.”
Just then, armed security personnel appeared out of nowhere. Their weapons and posture exuded tension, ready to attack at any moment.
“Who are you?!”
At the shout from one of the guards, Jin signaled to Baek Eun-seong with a glance.
“Take care of it.”
Baek Eun-seong nodded and swung the spear in his hand.
CLANG!
But his attack was unexpectedly blocked by the guard’s barrier magic.
“Well, well. Not bad.”
Baek Eun-seong grinned arrogantly and walked forward.
“You must be at least A-rank. Quite a waste of talent for just security detail.”
As he approached, the guards’ expressions turned grim.
They had gotten a glimpse of his power from that single strike.
At minimum, an S-rank mage.
And judging by the aura and form of the spear he wielded—it was unmistakably the S-rank weapon.
“W-wait… Are you Jaun?”
“Correct.”
CRACK─!
Baek Eun-seong’s spear swung once more.
Blood splattered across the floor. The lead guard was killed in an instant.
The remaining guards, stunned by the sight, backed away in horror.
“H-how is that even possible…?”
BOOOOM──!
The ship shook violently.
At the same time, all lights inside went out. Darkness engulfed the interior, and Jin’s voice rang out from within it.
“Poseidon secured.”
[Engine room: anomaly detected in ‘Mystery’ containment!]
[Switching to secondary power.]
FLASH!
The engine room lit up once more.
But unlike before, no one remained there.
Only ten lifeless bodies lay scattered on the floor.
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