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Sleeping Min Geurin.

In her dream, she returned to the day when she visited painter Hong Gyeongbok's house for the first time.

Studio filled with the smell of ink and glue.

Several finely grinded on inkstones paints[2].

Canvases hanging on every wall.

A new world painted by Hong Gyeongbok's brush strokes.

In Min Geurin's eyes, everything seemed to shine.

Even when she, who was excited, threw questions without rest, Hong Gyeongbok was smiling while answering every one of them.

— Painter Grandpa, what is that painting there? Why isn't it on a hanging scroll or in a frame?

After Min Geurin pointed at the painting in the corner of the studio and asked, Hong Gyeongbok couldn't reply straight away.

— …

— Painter Grandpa?

— This painting is unfinished.

— Why?

— Because I can't paint it anymore.

— Why?

— Because the Person who requested to paint this painting is no longer here.

— Why?

— ….

Even when Min Geurin continued to repeat 'Why?', Hong Gyeongbok didn't reply any more.

After looking at the picture hanging on the wall, he started to paint again.

Min Geurin couldn't hear the answer but, because she lost herself in Hong Gyeongbok's brush strokes, she lost a reason to ask.

She couldn't understand all of what Hong Gyeongbok said.

However, she understood the fact that he couldn't continue to paint that painting.

'Then if I secretly paint and complete it, I may make him happy!'

Min Geurin, who had such a thought in her mind, picked up a brush for the first time since she was born.

"Geurin, we're here."

Song Daeseok's voice brought her back to reality from the dream.

"Uh…!"

As Min Geurin opened her eyes, Song Daeseok's face was just in front of her nose.

She was startled and reflexively tried to step away but, because she was held tightly, she couldn't move.

At last, she realized Song Daeseok was holding her in his arms.

"…Daeseok?"

When Min Geurin opened and closed her mouth in surprise.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Delayed alarms started to pour out from her wearable device.

It was because she set alarms to automatically turn silent when she sleeps.

More than half of the contact records which came up on the device and connected AR glasses were filled with Song Daeseok.

Min Geurin's face, which was a bit red, turned pure-white, and she apologized:

"Daeseok, sorry! Did you wait long? I unknowingly fell asleep…"

"It's fine."

"I'm really sorry! Am I heavy? Put me down. I'll walk."

As Min Geurin struggled, from under the blanket, her feet in just socks came out.

Her Player shoes she received from school upon admission at Eungwang School and which she always wore when going out were nowhere to be seen.

It seemed that Song Daeseok left her shoes behind at Kim Yuri's house.

"Shoes…"

"I forgot. Sorry. I'll carry you until we're inside your house."

"You're saying we're going like this until we're inside my house?"

Instead of replying, Song Daeseok put more strength into his arms holding Min Geurin.

Ding.

At that moment, a call notification message came up together with the vibration from the earring type device.

[Caller: Master Hong Gyeongbok-nim]

"A call?"

"Yep."

Looking at her expression, he immediately figured out who was calling.

"It's from painter-nim?"

"Yep…"

The harassment that became a trigger for Min Geurin becoming a truant.

It didn't happen only at school but also in Hong Gyeongbok's studio.

Hong Gyeongbok publicly excommunicated every disciple who participated or knew about the harassment but pretended not to know.

He didn't stop at simply throwing out his disciples.

He was so angry, he erased his name from the works he cooperated on with his disciples before and burned all the works that he made using the art tools they gifted him.

'At that time, I had no idea how heavy those follow-up measures painter-nim took were.'

Looking at it now, they knew how much the previous disciples were buried in the art community and how ruined their lives were.

'From my perspective, those actions were justified and refreshing, but painter-nim was left alone. It couldn't be easy to cut all his connections like a knife.'

He succeeded in taking revenge for his sole remaining disciple, but, because she didn't come to his studio anymore, painter Hong Gyeongbok lost in fact all of his disciples.

He was one of the few adults who Song Daeseok could trust.

Song Daeseok said with a soft voice.

"Pick up. I called him earlier when looking for you, so he is probably worried."

After the incident broke out, Min Geurin couldn't spare a thought about painter Hong Gyeongbok absorbed in her life, and now she was too embarrassed to make a call.

She hesitated for a moment, but she got the courage thanks to Song Daeseok's words and warmth and pressed the accept call button.

***

Painter Hong Gyeongbok's unfinished painting 'Death of Imoogi' which led Min Geurin on the artistic road.

And Hong Gyeongbok and the previous Player's Association Korean Branch head were both people who lived through the Dark Age.

The two people may be close.

'Dying wish and clue…'

The previous Player's Association Korean Branch head on the screen didn't say what the clue was, but seeing how he said two words 'Jin' and 'clues', I made a guess.

'The clue was probably about the location and number of the Frozen Otherworlds made by certain Jin people on the Korean Peninsula. Because of the contract tied with his soul, he would be able to only say this much.'

I was certain that he left clues, but I didn't expect them to be hidden in one of the ghost stories circulating around the Eungwang School.

'But how can a painting be a clue? There is no way Hong Gyeongbok would let it go if he figured out something.'

In addition, Death of Imoogi was one of the most beloved Korean paintings.

Currently, that painting was gracefully exhibited at the National Museum of Korean Modern Arts, and you have to stay in line even inside of the museum if you want to see it.

'Among visitors there are of course humans, but there are also Jin people. It's a bit strange that no one noticed anything.'

At that moment, I suddenly recalled words Hwang Jiho said:

— Language is a high level communication system, but it has limits.

While saying that, Hwang Jiho interpreted the ancient book in a way I couldn't even think of.

Anyhow, it seemed that I needed something like Hwang Jiho's interpretation to figure out the meaning of this clue.

'Moreover, the branch's head said that this painting is 'one among the clues I left'. There are more clues.'

When I thought until that point, the scenery rapidly changed.

Jijik, jiiiiik….

Amidst the noise, occasionally the voice of the branch's head was heard.

— Outstanding students… secret, can protect… condition, if qualified… hidden stage…

As the Power of Fate's interference ended, it seemed that I returned to reality again.

"Um, I can't hear well because of the noise. I guess the error occurred because it's an old type simulator."

Then I also heard Seong Siwan's voice.

"It seems that we need to meet conditions to move to the hidden stage. I don't know what is what."

Inside the simulator's boss room.

In it only one video was repeatedly being played mixed with the noise.

There was nothing besides this.

"No way, it's not that we have to temporarily tame an Enemy and drag it to come here or something like that, right? Hahaha!"

In the game, there was sometimes a gimmick like this in the towers of horrible form and difficulty.

You had to entice an Enemy from the previous floor with a skill or item to drag it until it gets to the next floor or guide an Enemy to a specific point, and then use it as a sacrifice to move on to the next phase.

Among generations of the Secret Society members there was probably someone who attempted it.

'No way, isn't it where the Secret Society's mountain animal sacrifice from the ghost story somehow comes from?'

Thinking about how ghost stories are born from deformed and distorted facts, it seemed there was a high chance of that.

"It seems difficult to find clues beyond that. The hour is late, let's wrap it up for today here."

At Seong Siwan's words, Gye Idam nodded.

But only me, who possessed a cheat skill called Power of Fate, found a hidden clue.

But why was I able to discover the clue alone?

'Something about the skills or characteristics I possess must have satisfied that 'condition'.'

I could think it was simply thanks to the Power of Fate, but I wanted to think of different possibilities.

I organized my thoughts, I asked Seong Siwan about something which bothered me before I pressed the 'Give up simulation' button.

"Senior Seong Siwan-nim. It seemed that you were surprised at first when you saw the video, did you perhaps know the Person which appeared in the video?"

"The person that appeared in the video resembled my grandfather who passed away. But I only saw him in photos and videos and the noise on the screen was terrible, so I couldn't confirm it."

After hearing those words, I realized a certain fact.

'Seong Siwan and Seong Gukeon are cousins. If so…'

It meant that the previous branch's head was Seong Gukeon's grandfather.

***

Dormitory room, in which I arrived after being seen off by two Wings Council's seniors.

Left alone, I was thinking about the clues.

'I want to personally see the Death of Imoogi and also have a conversation with painter Hong Gyeongbok.'

The first could be done if I went to the museum early, but the second was a problem.

Because currently, painter Hong Gyeongbok was living in seclusion and almost cut contact even with Min Geurin.

'Let's think about solving problems other than this one. We solved the first task Seong Gukeon gave us, but the investigation related to the second ghost story still didn't end.'

The ghost story about Heavenly Wings Mountain's ghost gates remained.

I made an investigation plan while checking with the Heavenly Wings Mountain materials researched by the 3rd year class 0's most wretched beggar class president Woo Gihwon.

***

Next day, morning.

In front of the 1st year building's entrance.

I saw Min Geurin running with a white face.

As she discovered me, she screamed:

"He-help, please…!"

My Playable Character was asking for help, so of course I had to help, right?

But what happened?

Whatever happened, there was no way that Min Geurin couldn't escape it with her power.

'Wait, she is not wearing her Player shoes, you know!'

Min Geurin was wearing ordinary sneakers, which, as if they were destroyed after she used her skills, were in tatters and the soles were falling off.

Was she wearing that because she left her Player shoes at Kim Yuri's house yesterday?

'Considering Min Geurin's current situation, there is no way that she has spare shoes besides the Player shoes given by the school.'

Why didn't I think of gifting Min Geurin a spare pair of shoes?

When I reflected on how much I lacked consideration, loud voices struck my ears.

"Painter Min Geurin-nim! Hey, please, only a moment of your time!"

"Ah, please get out, Sir!"

"You get out first, please."

"There, there, there is painter-nim!"

Running towards us were students with badges in the shape of brushes, palettes and sculptures attached to the collars of their school uniforms.

Looking at it, it seemed that they were Art Club and Oriental Art Small Group bastards who fled from Teacher Ham Geunhyeong-nim.

'Are they aiming now, when Teacher Ham Geunhyeong-nim is absent because of the business trip? How should I deal with those bastards?'

It was still early to come to school.

It seemed that beside me and Min Geurin no one from our class came to school yet.

There was no place to request help from.

"I, I came early to give you guys snacks. Then people flocked…!"

In the hands of Min Geurin, who was gasping for air, probably because strangers flocked and she was nervous, she had two paper bags.

In one was a blanket borrowed from Kim Yuri.

And the remaining one was full of cookies thickly packed with almonds.

I guess she was bothered because she ended up summoning Song Daeseok when she fell asleep during studying yesterday.

'Should I flee with Min Geurin as we are? No, if I do this, a situation similar to this will repeat tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Let's show what bitterness is, so they can't invade again.'

When I was thinking what skill I should use after hiding Min Geurin behind my back first.

A superpower wave started to gather in my eyes.

And together with my rapidly changing vision, I felt a sense of deja vu.

'It's similar to the sensation I had when using the Ho tribe's eyes in the dark!'

And a system message I saw for the first time in this world appeared:

⟨Skill 'Brilliant Gaze'[3] acquired.⟩

*~*~*

[1] No title ㅠㅠ – 'Ghost stories, paintings and clues (7)' =-=

[2] paints – 채묵 (chaemuk) – traditional paints.

[3] Brilliant Gaze – A long time ago, I decided to translate it as Brilliant Gaze… I won't argue with the past me, but I'll leave a reminder that the literal translation is 'Light of Eyes'/'Light Eyes' or 'Eye-light'.

.

Translator's note: Wait, you, Jo Uisin, WANT to think about if something is special about you? YOU?