Volume 1 - CH 20

Chapter 20

Part 5: The Third Stage

The sound of rain could be heard, and raindrops were visible beyond the cafeteria’s window. A few trainees stood by the window and commented in wonder, "It's raining."

"I have no idea where this place is."

"Yeah, there's a garden, but it's completely blocked off and..."

While the Demon World existed in a dimension separate from the human world, the place we were staying in existed firmly in the real world. They just twisted the exits slightly to prevent us from escaping. As a result, we could see the sunrise and sunset, and we were also affected by the rain. However, from Seo Gangrim’s perspective, it would be better if this place were part of the Demon World, but...

"Ot?"

A Tou looked at me with a puzzled expression. Then it pointed at Seo Gangrim’s face and started tapping the menu board, trying to attract him to its delicacies.

‘It's about my messed up appearance.’ That's probably what it meant.

When he saw his face reflected in the glass, dark circles were visible under his eyes. He looked half-dead, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Since he was young, he had always spent rainy days in a gloomy mood. Many old people complained of pain when it rains; meanwhile, whenever it rained, since childhood, Seo Gangrim felt like a walking corpse. It felt like countless boulders were weighing down on his shoulders. He also couldn't breathe properly, and it felt like someone was dragging him down to the ground.

[The energy of water around you is increasing.]

[The energy of water is strongly affecting your Destiny.]

[Your abilities decrease by 10%.]

It went without saying that fire's natural enemy was water. Hence, particularly on rainy days, Gangrim’s physical condition worsens no matter how much fire attribute he had...

Seo Gangrim didn't understand why he’s the only one experiencing this when their were plenty of people with fire attribute in the world.

"Ot?"

"I’m fine. I'm not hungry."

"Oh..."

"Just give me rations and healing potions."

He took the supplies and left the cafeteria. On the way to the lobby, he encountered a few people, but the atmosphere was different from usual. Normally, they would often approach him, often with the intention of inviting him to their group, but today they just glanced at him. It must be because a few days ago when the first to clear the Fire Hell stage emerged.

"How did Cheon Gunam break through there?"

"Yeah, that's right. And in just one try..."

Now people's attention was focused on Cheon Gunam, not to me, which Seo Gangrim quite liked since it was quite annoying to be swept away by others. Moreover, he enjoyed hunting alone.

As Seo Gangrim entered the lobby, he saw people bustling around as usual. He noticed a group of people gathered in front of the statue, seeking treatment. Now most people seemed to have cleared the Sword Mountain stage and moved on to the Fire Hell stage. A party that seemed to have already gone through one round of the stage was taking a break and chatting.

"When will the Third stage open?"

"I don't know. They said they would give a notice when it opens..."

In front of the third door, there were golden ropes and talismans arranged like a police line. It was the first time Seo Gangrim had seen the door sealed like this. But, he could vaguely understand why the Destiny Protection Bureau made such a decision. The reason was that the Second stage was cleared too quickly, and just rushing through the stages wasn't a way to succeed. What's important was to sufficiently develop the trainees’ abilities. After all, the Third stage onwards was the actual Demon World. The Destiny Protection Bureau seemed to be giving people time to prepare for that. They wanted the trainees to kill a lot of toads in the Second stage and raise their levels rather than enter the Third stage unprepared, and die.

"I guess I'll keep killing toads."

"Me too. Some people have already conquered the Fire Hell stage..."

Since people had started to clear the Fire Hell stage, the Third stage would probably open soon. For now, Seo Gangrim decided to stay in the Fire Hell stage today which seemed better since its currently raining.

"Seo Gangrim-ssi, good morning," at this moment, Seo Gangrim heard an unfortunate voice.

When he turned around, Cheon Gunam was standing there. Since clearing the Fire Hell stage, he seemed to be in a very good mood. Even without Gangrim answering, he had a cheerful smile on his face.

"I really want to go to the Third stage. I wonder when it will open... You should go to the third stage too, Seo Gangrim-ssi. Oh, you’re still in the Fire Hell stage!"

He chuckled, teasing Seo Gangrim, which made him look pitiful. He then patted Gangrim’s shoulder with a sympathetic face and said, "Oh, maybe you haven't found the ice crystal yet? Shall I tell you my strategy?"

"No, I’m all good."

Cheon Gunam's face twisted slightly when Seo Gnagrim instantly refused. Then, he quickly changed to a mocking expression, saying, "Well, alright. I don't know when you'll clear it without my strategy..."

After saying that, Cheon Gunam swiftly turned his body and approached other people. They were the party members he often hung out with.

"Hello! Have you cleared it?"

"No, not yet..."

"That's too bad. But soon you’ll be able to! Fighting!"

He cheered them on and disappeared towards the cafeteria. While Cheon Gunam was smiling brightly, the people left behind had expressions full of dissatisfaction.

"Is the strategy that Cheon Gunam mentioned correct?"

"I don't know how many toads I've killed by now..."

"Did he lie?"

Cheon Gunam shared the Fire Hell stage strategy with some people, where there were among the toads that randomly carry ice crystals. Of course, no matter how many toads they kill, they wouldn’t find any ice crystals. Ironically, it's the people who weren't close to Cheon Gunam who successfully cleared the Second stage. Shin Sooah and Dok Gojun also succeeded, but Dok Gojun was slower to clear the stage than in his previous life which made Seo Gangrim curious about how Dok Gojun would react once he realized he had been deceived.

During this time, Seo Gangrim received a message from Annaby, [Annaby is calling. Please gather in the hall by 18:00 today.]

Finally, a message from Annaby arrived. It seemed that the Third stage would open today. There were still five hours left until the meeting time, which was enough time to tackle the Fire Hell stage. Seo Gangrim took a moment to relax and opened the door to the Second Stage.

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As the rain drizzled down, the sky beyond the window grew darker. Before Seo Gangrim knew it, it was already approaching 6 o'clock. It was around the same time that he cleared the Fire Hell stage and came out. When he came out to the lobby, he noticed that people had gathered, waiting for Annaby's announcement.

"Why did she call us again?"

"Could it be that the Third stage is opening...?"

People didn't pay attention to the arrival of Seo Gangrim. If they found out that he cleared it in the shortest amount of time, they would all react differently. A little later, the pendulum clock in the lobby struck 6 o'clock.

Ding- Ding- Ding-

Suddenly, Annaby walked silently into the lobby and stopped in the center of the hall. People who were once bustling around on the first day were now fairly calm, and just stared at her.

Annaby lightly nodded her head in greeting and began to speak, "Hello, I have an announcement regarding the Third stage, so I have called for an assembly. First, starting from this moment, entry to the Third door is permitted."

As Annaby made a gesture, the golden rope ignited and quickly turned into ashes. She then continued, "And before entering, I will provide information about this stage. The First and Second stages were training grounds created by the Destiny Protection Bureau for training purposes."

Annaby paused for a moment and continued in a stern tone, "However, starting from the Third stage, it is not a training ground but the actual Demon World. Please be cautious."

People began to feel a bit unsettled by her words. If the training grounds were already challenging, the actual Demon World would be even more difficult.

Annaby continued to explain in a low tone, "But there is also a benefit. From this stage onwards, if you defeat a demon, you can find Spirit Pearls in them."

Annaby took out small Spirit Pearls from her pocket and showed them to everyone. There were various colors such as green, red, and purple.

"When you acquire these pearls for the first time, the shop window will be opened, and you will be able to purchase items from the said shop."

While Seo Gangrim listened to the explanation nonchalantly, the people were quite surprised by the revelation, and whispers among the crowd could be heard here and there.

"So, does that mean we can buy stronger weapons?"

"That's usually how it works in games..."

As people murmured, Annaby lightly clapped her hands, instantly silencing the surroundings. She coughed briefly and continued her explanation, "Since it is the actual Demon World, everyone will be active in the same area. And the gods will be observing all of you."

"Gods?" someone asked, looking perplexed by the somewhat difficult-to-understand statement.

Annaby spoke in a casual voice, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, "If you hear the voice of a god, please do not respond immediately and check the manual provided to you."

"A manual?"

"Yes, it contains information on how to handle the situation. It is recommended to review it in advance."

After saying somewhat suspicious words, Annaby lightly nodded her head, and said, "That's all the advice I can provide. Please, do not die."

After her final words, she received a few questions from some individuals before leaving the scene. People were quite perplexed by the advice of "not dying."

"It's an actual Demon World? Will stronger demons come out than what we are facing now?"

"If there's no limit to the number of people, it's best to go with as many members as possible..."

Amidst the murmurs, one person took a step forward.

It was Dok Gojun, and without hesitation, he opened the third door and went inside.

‘That guy is still the same.’

Even in his past life, Dok Gojun always walked his own path regardless of others' reactions, which was why Seo Gangrim didn't want to get involved with him.

‘There's already plenty to do in the Third stage, so it's even more reason not to get involved with Dok Gojun.’

Seo Gangrim looked around and approached someone. She was a young woman who seemed a bit naive, and around twenty years old. They had hunted together in the Sword Mountain stage, and now they occasionally talked.  Seeing Seo Gangrim’s approach, the other person smiled widely and greeted him, "Oh, hello! Gangrim-oppa!"

"Yeah. Um, so... You were Geoul, right?"

"Oh, no. I'm Bom, and that one is Geoul."

Yoon Bom pointed to the person standing behind her. There stood a man who resembled Yoon Bom, with a slim figure that could pass for a woman. Yoon Bom and Yoon Geoul were fraternal twins. They were twins of differing genders but it wasn’t easy to see their differences since the two of them looked very similar. They had the same appearance and the same birthday, but there were differences in their Destiny.

In astrology, fraternal twins are considered to have different Destinies due to their different genders. In the case of identical twins, it is believed that they are born with the same Four Pillars of Destiny, but it could also be interpreted differently depending on several methods. For the eldest and youngest, their Destiny were sometimes interpreted by applying the fortune-telling in reverse or by shifting the younger sibling's birth date or birth time by one increment. Even if they were born on the same day at the same time, their destinies could differ. For instance, in the Third stage, Yoon Bom survived, while Yoon Geoul died.