This was a dangerous position. No, it had already surpassed the level of danger. Jeong Taeui once again blamed himself for his foolishness. In this position, if this man were to strike, there was a 9 out of 10 chance that he would suffer. He couldn’t even think of any cunning way to escape this situation. He should have stopped him a few steps earlier.

“How strange…… Where did all that courage from the other day go, hmm?”

Riegrow spoke softly. It seemed he was even humming a cheerful tune as he spoke.

Jeong Taeui looked directly at Ilay. His eyes were so cold they didn’t seem human. It was chilling. It was hard to believe that such a man could exist.

“Jeong Taeui.”

A slow voice called his name. The pronunciation was clear and precise as if affirming: ‘I know you just as well as I pronounce your name.’

Riegrow tilted his head slightly. His hand gently lifted. That hand seemed to brush against Jeong Taeui’s wrist as he stood motionless, staring at Riegrow. He touched him then slowly as if caressing or slithering over Taeui. Moving from the elbow to the shoulder then to the neck. The feeling of the cold leather gloves was smooth and soft, like a snake. The indigo-colored gloves, nearly jet black, were spotless without a trace of blood but yet emitted a faint scent of blood from somewhere.

The hand moved from his cheek to his ear, then to his hair. It was a gentle and tender caress. That hand could easily snap Jeong Taeui’s neck at any moment.

The hand reached the back of Jeong Taeui’s head. The broad palm cradled his head and gently pulled him closer, almost like an embrace. Riegrow’s shoulder came into Jeong Taeui’s line of sight.

A gentle, low voice whispered in his ear.

“That…… is that yours?”

Jeong Taeui flinched, trembling slightly as if he didn’t understand.

Riegrow was looking into Xinlu’s room over Jeong Taeui’s head. Perhaps staring directly at Xinlu just beyond the door with his narrow and cruel eyes.

“Isn’t it?”

Riegrow answered for Jeong Taeui, whose tongue was too tied to speak.

He laughed merrily. After stroking Jeong Taeui’s hair a few more times, he gently loosened his grip. Jeong Taeui, who was almost trapped in Riegrow’s embrace, took a step back. All he could do was glare at Riegrow with anger.

“Don’t stare at me like that. I don’t intend to take it away from you completely. I just want to taste it a little from time to time.”

He said with a smile on his face. The languid voice spread a thick unease within Jeong Taeui.

“Riegrow. Don’t do that.”

Jeong Taeui spoke harshly. But he didn’t respond. As if he didn’t even care about Jeong Taeui, his eyes shifted toward Xinlu’s room once more. Then he turned around and walked away.

“RIEGROW!”

Jeong Taeui shouted harshly. Riegrow, who was a few steps ahead, seemed to glance back for a moment but continued walking then laughing as he spoke.

“To earn your meal properly, you must have the skill. If you’re thrown into a naked hell, are you confident you’ll survive?”

He waved his hand lightly. Then he turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Jeong Taeui stood alone and only stared at the empty hallway.

**********************

“The weather is terrible. They said it would clear up tonight, but clear up my ass. Those idiots at the Meteorological Bureau should all be fired.”

Taeui heard grumbling from up ahead. Judging by the voice, it was definitely Tou. Though only a few meters apart, they had to rely on voices to distinguish who was talking.

It wasn’t just because it was night. It also wasn’t just because there were many obstacles in the forest obstructing their view.

Fog had started to roll in during the late afternoon blanketing every corner of the forest. The fog was so thick that walking through it made their collars damp without them even noticing.

“I’d rather strip the clothes off those guards who made us march at night in this weather than blame the Meteorological Bureau.”

The one muttering behind Tou was Qing. The laughter beside him was from Carlo.

“I can handle the night march, but starting right after an exhausting afternoon of unannounced sparring is unacceptable.”

This voice was unfamiliar, likely from someone in another team. From the way he spoke through gritted teeth, it was clear he still had plenty of energy.

Jeong Taeui thought that if his uncle heard this, he would say: ‘You haven’t even been pushed to your limits yet’, which made him chuckle. Maurer was walking right beside him, suddenly looked at him and grumbled.

“You’re in the mood to laugh? My legs feel like they’re about to fall off.”

“Just one day like this, what’s the big deal?”

“This isn’t just one day and done. Right after the march, we’re immediately starting high-intensity endurance training. Buddy, do you get it? There’s not a single moment to rest.”

Maurer was clearly annoyed and speaking through gritted teeth. He seemed to have enough stamina not to need any more rest. Jeong Taeui smiled discreetly, but the smile quickly faded.

There really was no time to rest. Each day was a continuous chain of tension with the afternoons often filled with group sparring matches that were barely distinguishable from gang fights with the members of the European branch. Today was no different; the morning was spent listening to lectures as usual – though within a few days, even during the lectures, they were verbally sparring and dueling each other – and the afternoon continued with individual combat sparring. It wasn’t just Jeong Taeui’s team, other teams were the same.

The matches were relentless, with opponents constantly being replaced no matter how many times they were defeated. If it was a teammate, they might secretly agree to rest a bit or fight lightly and deliberately lose. But when the opponents were members of the European branch – like enemies who couldn’t stand each other – it was different. Even if he was exhausted to the point of wanting to die, most people thought he had to defeat his opponent by throwing them out or at least breaking their arm or leg.

Jeong Taeui had no reason to hold such deep grudges, so he just wanted to fight lightly and get it over with. Unfortunately, his opponents didn’t think the same way. Faced with those who lunged at him with the intent to devour him alive, Taeui couldn’t afford to show any weakness.

After finishing the day’s main tasks, they finally completed the long day. Just as they were about to leave, the Instructor suddenly called them back. He announced that there would be a 20-kilometer night march, so they should eat immediately and return to assemble within 30 minutes.

At that moment, perhaps not only Jeong Taeui wanted to throw his helmet at the Instructor. Although exhausted, the relief that the long day was over was quickly replaced by a cold and tense atmosphere.

20 kilometers wasn’t a terrifying distance. Walking halfway around the island would only take about five hours. Normally, they would chat and joke as if on a picnic.

But they were exhausted. Even dinner which lasted only 30 minutes was rushed while they were still busy cursing the Instructors for the sudden night march so much that they barely had time to chew and swallow their food. Worse yet, they had to carry full military gear during the march.

Uncle, this isn’t the military. So what is all this about? What’s the point of marching and why carry military gear? Jeong Taeui felt the full weight of the equipment pressing down on his shoulders, cursing his uncle countless times in his heart since arriving on the island.

“If the Instructor doesn’t strip, I’d rather strip and run away from this damned island.”

When someone up ahead grumbled like that,

“If you want to strip, do it after the joint training is over. And if anyone wants to strip me, they’re always welcome. So, feel free to come anytime after the march.”

A strong voice with no sign of fatigue echoed from behind Jeong Taeui. The atmosphere immediately fell silent. Not only did the men up ahead fall silent, but those behind were also so startled that they nearly jumped. They hadn’t expected there to be an Instructor among the crowd that they hadn’t noticed.

Jeong Taeui was also startled when he heard the familiar voice echoing not far away. Though he didn’t think the curses in his heart could be heard, he still felt embarrassed.

“Unc—…… Instructor Jeong is coming with us too?”

“Do you think I can just sit quietly in the Instructor’s office? You never know when something might happen. Besides, if we keep going for another 1-2 hours, we’ll soon meet up with the other teams.”

He didn’t know when his uncle had joined – he certainly wasn’t there at the start – but Jeong Taeui’s uncle mumbled as if it was bothersome. As he said, although they had started at different times, it was very likely they would encounter another team as they passed through the forest. If it was another team from the Asian branch, it would be fine……but if not, it could be troublesome.

“With this thick fog, if we go any deeper, we could kill someone and bury the body and no one would know. Heck, if we dug up the entire forest, we might even find a few unidentifiable bodies.”

Jeong Taeui’s uncle jokes as if he was serious. Perhaps it really was true. Jeong Taeui thought so and secretly glanced at his wristwatch. It had been about an hour since they started.

“We’ve gone about 3-4 kilometers now. If it’s 20 kilometers, we’ll finish soon and probably get back around midnight.”

Jeong Taeui wondered if they could find their way back in the dark, then scratched his head and muttered.

It was pitch black around them. The dense forest was already dark even during the day, but now that night had fallen and with the thick fog, it was even darker. It wouldn’t be surprising if they got lost in the dark.

“But…… this isn’t a big island, so even if we get lost, we’ll just end up somewhere close.”

Jeong Taeui muttered again, and his uncle replied as if not understanding what he was talking about.

“We won’t make it back before midnight. Tonight, we’ll sleep in the forest.”

“What?”

“We’ll go about 10 kilometers more and stop at a suitable place to rest. I told you to bring a sleeping bag, so did you?”

“Yes, I brought it because I packed my luggage. But the issue isn’t whether we have sleeping bags or not, but whether we have to sleep outside in the forest?”

“Well, sometimes people need to sleep outside to train themselves. We’ll take turns standing guard and watching the campfire.”

“I heard there are venomous snakes here, venomous snakes!”

“Exactly, which is why we’ll take turns standing guard. You’ll need to trust your comrades and get some sleep.”

“But who makes people sleep outside in a forest where there are venomous snakes at night!”

“Even if they’re venomous, their venom isn’t very strong. If you get bitten, it’ll be treated immediately, so you won’t die. I told you.”

“The issue isn’t just the snakes, Uncle. There are things more dangerous than snakes—”

Jeong Taeui shouted, as if he was about to lose his temper with a few more words. But no one else said anything. Seeing their attitude as if this had happened many times and was no longer surprising, Jeong Taeui clearly realized that this wasn’t a joke but reality.

Jeong Taeui had experienced sleeping outdoors many times. He had slept under the starry sky, under the night dew and even in places where snakes or centipedes crawled by. But those snakes weren’t venomous and the people he slept with weren’t enemies constantly waiting for an opportunity to kill him.

“Oh, by the way, you should protect yourself well. But…… in the notebook you gave me, I noticed some unfamiliar handwriting. Whose handwriting is that?”

Jeong Taeui’s uncle suddenly smiled gently and asked. Jeong Taeui fell silent immediately. He wanted to say – “It’s that guy’s” – to make sure that person also had to bear the punishment of writing ten more drafts to minimize the chances of meeting him, but he felt a little embarrassed to tattle openly like that. However, just as he was about to speak to ensure his safety, his uncle spoke first.

“But Taeui, although that person’s free time might be related to your survival time, don’t you think it might put your life in even more danger in the long run?”

Jeong Taeui clamped his mouth shut again, unable to say anything. He wasn’t surprised that his uncle had recognized the owner of that handwriting. With his uncle’s ability to sort and handle a mountain of documents in the blink of an eye, Jeong Taeui wasn’t surprised that his uncle knew.

However, what his uncle said also made Jeong Taeui think. He wondered if it would backfire when the help that Riegrow gave him turned out to be a deadly trap.

“Think carefully and give me an answer before we return to the branch tomorrow.”

His uncle said with a smile on his face. Jeong Taeui sighed bitterly. If that was the case, he would have no choice but to stubbornly insist that it was his handwriting or silently accept the burden of writing ten more volumes.

The forest grew denser. The comrades ahead constantly made noises, snapping branches and muttering – “We should burn these damned trees down.” – Every time they ventured into an area without a path, branches and bushes continuously scratched their faces.

Jeong Taeui thought it was fortunate he was at the back and quietly continued walking. Suddenly, he asked softly:

“So, that guy…… I heard he once killed an Instructor, right?”

Immediately, his uncle, who was walking behind him, answered nonchalantly.

“Yes, that was early last year. The Instructor made a stupid mistake. His younger brother, who was also a member of the same branch, was crippled by Rick and had to spend the rest of his life in the hospital. Because it happened during training, there was no basis for punishment. But perhaps the Instructor felt that wasn’t enough for Rick. Of course, the Instructor didn’t intend to kill Rick, but the end result was—”

His uncle stopped the story right at the point where Taeui could guess the outcome. Jeong Taeui frowned. He knew that laws and rules always had loopholes but for that guy…… the loopholes seemed extremely large.

At the same time, the image of the European branch members’ attitude when they faced Riegrow came to his mind.

It wasn’t the way close comrades treated each other. It was fear, worry, and reverence above all else. Combining Riegrow’s personality with stories like these, it was clear that Riegrow also had many internal enemies.

Even so, when he thought of that guy – a person who didn’t care about anything and freely used his killing abilities – Jeong Taeui’s face unconsciously hardened.

“Unless there’s a huge power backing him, how could this be……”

Jeong Taeui muttered in confusion and tilted his head, when suddenly the entire group stopped. At the same time, there seemed to be some kind of obstacle ahead and from the front of the group some short and annoyed shouts rang out. Soon, the shouting quickly doubled or tripled.

“Well, I expected it, but I wasn’t hoping for this.”

Jeong Taeui’s uncle muttered from behind and then stepped forward. Even though he didn’t hear his uncle’s words, when he heard the sharp sounds from the front, he could guess. They had encountered another team also marching and it was a team from the European branch.

There was a rule from the start. When encountering another team on the road, they had to march together. So everyone hoped that if they did encounter one, it would be a team from the same branch. Some people even openly shouted that if they marched with a team from the European branch, 4-5 heads would surely be blown off in one night.

Jeong Taeui realized that they might stop here for a while, so he leaned against a nearby tree. He placed his bag at the base of the tree and then lowered himself to relieve the weight of his gear. His shoulders felt a bit lighter.

A while later, the chaotic noise from the front gradually subsided. The sudden and unnatural silence made Jeong Taeui turn his head to look forward. Although he couldn’t see anything due to the thick fog and numerous obstacles, he felt that something unusual had happened.