"Haa... I can't stand this frustration anymore!"
"Eek!"
Park Dong-geol, who had been scanning the surroundings for a while, suddenly raised his voice and stepped into the center of the clearing, as if he had been waiting for the right moment. Lee Shin-woo was startled by the sudden outburst and let out a strained yelp. In that fleeting moment, I noticed Park Dong-geol flashing a satisfied smile at him. In nicer terms, it was establishing dominance—crudely put, he was just showing off.
"Hey! None of you know jack shit about what the hell's going on here? Huh?"
Ahn Sol trembled as she buried herself in Ahn Hyun's arms. The two women, whom Ahn Hyun and I hadn't yet checked on, wore different expressions.
One looked relatively calm, but the other seemed clearly displeased by Park Dong-geol's outburst. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. I was suddenly curious to check their user information, but for now, I decided to just observe the guy's behavior.
"What, are you all mute or something? Quit standing around with your mouths shut and say something, for fuck's sake!"
'Show-off.'
Was he trying to prove he had a temper, or just flaunting his masculinity? Park Dong-geol made a wild gesture and forcefully kicked a fist-sized rock nearby. The stone flew with considerable force and disappeared into the forest. An awkward silence settled among the seated group, but I distinctly heard one thing—the stone never hit the ground.
Grrrr...
At that moment, a low growl echoed through the quiet forest. Everyone seemed to hear it, unlike the stone. Unease briefly crossed their faces. I couldn't remember everything from ten years ago, but fragments of old memories started to resurface.
I remembered what had happened here back then.
"Shi, shit! Who the fuck was that? If you've got a problem, come out right now. Was it you? Or you?"
Park Dong-geol pointed out those who looked weaker. Lee Bo-rim and Lee Shin-woo frantically shook their heads in pale-faced denial. Then, the woman who had been glaring at him since earlier stood up defiantly, breathing heavily as if she had been holding it in for a while.
"Mister, could you stop already? What the hell are you doing at your age?"
"What? What~? Stop already? At my age? Are you really saying that to me?"
"Yes, I did. What are you gonna do about it? Aren't you embarrassed? We're all in the same shitty situation—why the hell are you shouting like a lunatic?"
"Oh, now you're talking down to me? What kind of lowlife brat disrespects an adult like that? Did your parents raise you to be like this?"
"Lowlife? Ha! Oh please. Then did your parents raise you to yell at kids when you hit middle age, you trashy bastard?!"
Watching the woman hold her ground without backing down made me chuckle inwardly. At first, Park Dong-geol seemed dumbfounded and let out a dry laugh. But soon his face turned red and blue with rage. Snorting hard, he stomped toward her as if ready to devour her.
Once in front of her, he contorted his face menacingly and spoke.
"Hey, bitch. What did you say about my parents? Say it again."
Normally, any grown man getting this aggressive would make others shrink in fear. But the woman stared him down and scoffed—either she was incredibly bold or just naturally fearless.
"What, you think I'll get scared if you act like that? Did your parents teach you that, you motherfucker?"
"You fucking bitch, you wanna die, huh...."
Overcome by fury, Park Dong-geol slowly raised his fist. Yet, the woman didn't flinch. Just as he was about to throw a punch—
"Hey, mister. That's enough."
It was the first time Ahn Hyun, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Park Dong-geol turned around in disbelief. I could see Ahn Sol tugging at Ahn Hyun's sleeve. But Ahn Hyun spoke once more.
"She's not wrong, you know. We're all in the same situation, so why are you acting like this? It's not like they did anything wrong."
"You... You little bastards..."
Park Dong-geol bit his lip as if overwhelmed by humiliation. But perhaps sensing all the stares, he slowly lowered his raised fist. When the woman smirked slightly, he shouted and turned away in frustration. Sitting down again, he kept grumbling, clearly seething that things hadn't gone his way.
"Fuck, what the hell are you all staring at? Can't you look away?"
Unable to contain his anger, he suddenly took it out on Lee Shin-woo, who had been sitting quietly. Lee Shin-woo moved away with a confused look. And then—
Grrrr...
The same growl from earlier echoed again. And finally, I could piece together my vague memory.
Back then, we had just been wasting time like this... and then came the sudden attack that scattered us. The cause? That stone Park Dong-geol kicked, and his shouting match with the woman.
This was all I remembered of the people here. I didn't know what happened afterward, but since I hadn't seen them in the Hall Plane since...
'Does that mean they all died during the Rite of Passage? Well, maybe not Ahn Sol.'
If we kept wasting time like this, we might repeat the exact same scenario. No—we would.
I decided to offer a little help. But nothing direct—just enough to get them to start moving and cooperating. So, I picked up my crossbow.
Click!
"Um, excuse me. What are you doing...?"
Everyone's nerves were so frayed that even a small noise drew their eyes to me.
The person who spoke was the same sharp-tongued woman from earlier. At least she had the sense not to be rude from the get-go. She clearly had no love for Park Dong-geol.
"This situation's making everyone uneasy."
"I'm more uneasy about that crossbow."
"Well then... what do you think this place is?"
"Huh?"
She blinked at me, clearly puzzled. Despite her sharp features, she was quite pretty.
"On my way here, I experienced things I couldn't explain. I'm sure the same is true for all of you."
"That's... true..."
Everyone nodded. The summoning chamber, the angel, the teleportation—they must've all experienced and witnessed it. What they needed now wasn't just to freak out, but to accept the reality and prepare to survive the Rite of Passage.
I began loading an arrow into my repeating crossbow. Though slightly smaller than a typical one, it could be strapped to the wrist for easy handling. Noticing my actions and recalling the growl from before, others began picking up the weapons they had brought.
Soon, everyone who had come armed was holding their weapons. We were more or less ready. I looked around calmly, lost in thought.
We were in a clearing at the center of the forest. Trees surrounded us on all sides. I started walking in the opposite direction from where Park Dong-geol had kicked the stone.
Even after just a few steps away from the clearing, it felt significantly darker. The trees and foliage in front of me emitted a sinister aura.
Everyone must've been a bit anxious after hearing that growl. I could sense more and more people following behind me. Just as I was thinking they weren't too bad at taking initiative, my plan started going sideways.
"Hey, Ahn Sol. Get up. Let's follow that guy."
"Nooo... I don't wanna go in there... it's scary..."
"What? You were the one who kept saying this place felt wrong. So why the sudden change?"
"Ugh..."
Hearing the siblings talk, I felt tension surge in my eyes. With a Luck stat of 100, maybe she could sense something instinctively. But that was just a guess. Clearly, her fear was still too strong to overcome, and she wasn't ready to get off the ground.
Grrrr! Grrrr!
As they argued, more growls echoed. They were getting louder, meaning the source was getting closer. At first, people waited patiently, but one by one, they began to grow anxious.
"Um... Can we go ahead? I've been shaking nonstop since earlier..."
"Y-yeah, let's just leave them. What's the point of waiting?"
Lee Shin-woo's voice trembled, yet had a strange resolve. Park Dong-geol quickly agreed.
Hearing—or sensing—their intentions, Ahn Hyun pulled at Ahn Sol, looking even more urgent.
"Come on, get up. I'm right here with you, okay? Please, just listen."
"But my legs won't move... ugh..."
Ahn Sol eventually burst into tears. Meanwhile, Lee Shin-woo and Park Dong-geol kept glancing at them, itching to move on. They clearly just wanted out of this creepy place. Of course, I had no intention of leaving the siblings behind. If anything, I'd rather ditch the others and stick with these two.
"Let's just go! Why are we still standing here?!"
"Um, let's hurry..."
As murmurs grew louder, Ahn Hyun's face hardened. Then he suddenly swatted away his sister's hand.
"O-Oppa?"
"Fine. Stay here by yourself, then. I'm leaving."
Yeah, sure. But honestly, Ahn Hyun's acting wasn't half bad. After saying that, he turned away with his sword and shield, walking toward us. Ahn Sol's face crumbled. Hearing him say, "Sorry for making you wait. Let's go," she began to cry even harder. Ahn Hyun kept pretending to lead us into the forest.
"Nooo... Oppa, don't gooo..."
"Ahn Sol. Get up. Please, try to understand the situation, okay?"
"I'm sorry... don't leave me... don't gooo... waaaaah..."
"If you don't get up right now—!"
Finally, Ahn Hyun shouted with wide eyes. That seemed to work a little—Ahn Sol, still sobbing, slowly got to her feet. But then—
Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr!
'Shit. Did we stall too long?'
I felt a sinking sense of dread—not from fear, but from the possibility that the future had already changed, and I might lose Ahn Sol here. The growls were now so close it was impossible to ignore.
"O-Oppa..."
The distance between them grew. Ahn Sol reached out blankly, but Ahn Hyun stood his ground. The woman from earlier moved to help, but Ahn Hyun raised a hand to stop her.
"Leave her be."
"Oppa! Don't leave me!"
"Then come here yourself. It's not too late yet. But if you can't even do that, you won't survive."
"Ugh..."
In that moment, Ahn Hyun felt different—he stared at his sister with unshakable resolve. Maybe it reached her, as Ahn Sol gritted her teeth. I thought she might make it if we waited a little longer—but we were out of time.
Grrrr! Grrrr!
'That sound... it's a Deadman.'
Deadmen. The name sounded impressive, but they were low-tier monsters, so weak that even regular Hall Plane users barely counted them as threats. They had some intelligence and an infection ability, but that could be treated—if we weren't in the middle of nowhere.
One more thing about Deadmen...
KRAAAAAA!
They wandered aimlessly, but once they spotted prey, they broke into a sprint.
With a screech, one suddenly burst out of the woods, mouth wide open, charging at Ahn Sol. Caught off guard, Ahn Hyun screamed and dashed forward.
"Sol!"
He wasn't the only one screaming.
"Ahh!"
"Eek!"
It was like a zombie movie. As the rotting monster charged, its half-torn flesh flapping, the group descended into chaos. A stone was embedded in its chest—it had to be the one Park Dong-geol had kicked. Meaning it had been wandering nearby ever since.
Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr!
More growls erupted from beyond the forest, responding to the screams.
"Aaahhh!"
"Sol! Wake up! Sol!"
Ahn Sol, who had just gotten to her feet, completely froze at the sight. Ahn Hyun ran, but the Deadman was closer. Realizing that, he raised his sword high and swung hard.
Whoosh! Smack!
'Whoa? A hit?'
The sword cleanly severed the Deadman's left arm. But that was it. The monster staggered briefly, then regained its posture and reached Ahn Sol.
"Noooo!"
Its mouth opened wide.
Ahn Sol stood paralyzed.
Ahn Hyun screamed.
And I knew—my interference had changed her fate. I fired my prepared crossbow without hesitation.
Ping!
With a sharp whistle, the arrow pierced straight through the Deadman's head.
Its weakness.
The same rock had lodged in its chest—no way it could resist a headshot.
It collapsed with its mouth still agape.
Thud!
"W-what the hell..."
"Pant... pant..."
Everyone who saw the monster reacted similarly. They instinctively clutched their weapons. Now they knew this was no joke. They had sensed it before, but now it was real.
Even Ahn Hyun looked shaken. He quickly helped his sister and returned to us. He was still catching his breath.
Then, all eyes turned to me. I stepped forward.
We had taken down one, but more were coming. The growls were increasing. The Deadmen were converging. Once they surrounded us, we'd be in real trouble.
Without saying a word, I began to move again.