The Old Humans believed that knowledge and peace were crucial for the resurgence of humanity.

The biggest difference between humans and other animals is the effective use of knowledge.

No matter how evolved the New Humans are, it’s hard to change this despairing world without the advancement of knowledge.

The Old Humans ultimately judged that knowledge would lead humanity to a better stage.

Therefore, on the blessed land given by the Golden Sheep, the Old Humans built a city for the New Humans, Neo Seoul.

As most of the Old Humans died, only the New Humans remained, turning the city into an academy city.

The Old Humans established infrastructure to ensure that citizens, namely children, could learn both basic living skills and combat in the city.

They laid down the foundation of the Republic of Korea, guaranteeing the basic rights of happiness and the pursuit of happiness as stated in Article 10 of the constitution.

They created a reason for the New Humans to fight to protect their home and revive humanity in the future.

However, the core of the city was still the adults of the Old Humans, not the students.

In such a world, enjoying happiness was only possible when the adults allowed it.

This was the reality of Neo Seoul.

The children could only enjoy 'permitted happiness.'

Moon Chae-yeon cursed her life.

She had endured a painful childhood due to the forced training methods imposed by the Headmaster and continued to live a life of exploitation.

However, Chae-yeon thought there might be a reason for her life.

She might find out why she had lived if she kept living.

If she did her best to live, she might find a reason to live.

Maybe, someday, she would smile, thinking it was worth living.

But when she looked back, there were puddles of blood at every step.

No matter how much she tried to enjoy dishes with cheese, liked mechanical engineering, or searched for the reason for her life.

Whenever she looked back, something inside her whispered that she was unworthy of happiness.

In the end, she was just a criminal being used by the Headmaster. She had to stain her hands with blood and damage the city for the Headmaster’s unknown purposes.

No matter how hard she lived such a life, would it have any meaning?

Her life, in essence, only caused harm to others.

On a day when deep skepticism overwhelmed her, Chae-yeon decided to give up on difficult thoughts.

She just decided to live.

Most creatures live because they were born and do their best not to die. It’s instinct.

Didn’t tunicates discard even their brains to survive? Everything is just destined to become trash eventually, so what’s the use of finding meaning in life?

She would not desire happiness or seek any meaning in her life.

If she happened to find an unavoidable meaning in life, it would be good; if not, so be it.

For now, she just decided to survive.

It was a simple reason.

She wasn’t ready to die.

Boom!!

The underground facility was heated up.

Ahn Woo-jin and Moon Chae-yeon were engaged in a fierce battle.

Mighty lightning strikes and wind pressure spread out.

The Iron Dragon Staff and the mechanical spear crossed, tracing efficient paths to defeat the enemy. It was a graceful frenzy, a desperate struggle for survival.

Tornadoes rose, and lightning repeatedly struck everything down.

Any ordinary person would have to be prepared for death just being nearby.

The two of them were at the 6th rank.

They were top-tier fighters even within the academy city, reaching the level beyond genius, known as monsters.

Each of their strikes was truly threatening.

Wham!!

Finally, Woo-jin’s Iron Dragon Staff reached Chae-yeon’s ribs.

The strong strike infused with lightning broke her bones, sending her rolling on the ground.

‘More.’

Chae-yeon ignored the pain and got up, rushing towards Woo-jin again.

‘More…?’

Then suddenly, Chae-yeon questioned herself.

‘Why am I charging at him now?’

What was driving her to charge forward?

For some reason, Spartoi Son Ye-seo’s words about Kim Dal-bi being a 'high-quality product' filled her mind.

Maybe she was just living a life like a mere object.

There was no reason for life.

Seeking a reason was foolish.

Just living was the purpose of life.

Isn’t it the same for all living things?

Isn’t instinct telling them to live?

Yet for some reason.

Even as she charged at Woo-jin, she couldn’t recall a desire to win and survive.

Crash!

The fight abruptly stopped, and Woo-jin’s Iron Dragon Staff pierced Chae-yeon again.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Woo-jin swiftly moved the Iron Dragon Staff to break Chae-yeon’s ulna and femur. The three-section staff was specialized for continuous attacks, leaving Chae-yeon’s limbs in shambles.

Crackle! The lightning-wrapped Iron Dragon Staff struck Chae-yeon’s torso.

“Ugh!!”

It was Woo-jin’s refined specialty.

The shockwave of the lightning magic sent Chae-yeon flying again.

Boom!

Chae-yeon bounced off the ground like a skipping stone and crashed into the wall. Blood gushed from her mouth. She nearly lost consciousness.

Woo-jin coldly looked at Chae-yeon, struggling as he approached. He was also exhausted.

Chae-yeon could no longer hold her mechanical spear.

Her limbs were broken, and she had no strength left.

Her magic was almost depleted.

She was at her limit.

But she did not give up.

Chae-yeon gathered the remaining magic to form a hoverboard.

The hoverboard lifted Chae-yeon’s body.

Vroom! Chae-yeon flew towards Woo-jin on the hoverboard.

Unable to wield any more weapons, Chae-yeon created various automatic firearms on her body.

Her remaining magic was barely enough to form magic bullets.

She saw Woo-jin, ready to swing the Iron Dragon Staff again.

He looked worn out.

He could have collapsed a long time ago.

His magic seemed nearly depleted.

But Woo-jin showed no sign of falling.

He stood firm like a general on the battlefield.

‘Was there any meaning to this fight?’

Chae-yeon’s lips tried to curl into a smile. She thought of the Six Sinners and Oh Baek-seo as she looked at Woo-jin.

‘Han Seo-jin, Oh Baek-seo, Kim Dal-bi, Hong Gyu…. How did you all hold on to something?’

Necromancer Han Seo-jin was obsessed with the sea.

He silently followed the Headmaster’s orders, saying he wanted to see the sea someday.

In reality, the sea meant nothing to Seo-jin.

He needed a reason to live, and he just substituted it with the sea.

Spartoi Oh Baek-seo and Goblin Kim Dal-bi were obsessed with love.

Their object of love was this man in front of her.

Love blinded them and led to foolish actions.

Glutton Hong Gyu was obsessed with the family he was coincidentally born into as a twin.

He was ready to jump into the flames of hell with his sister.

Chae-yeon realized, albeit belatedly, what they all had in common.

They needed a reason to live.

They needed something to drive them to continue this wretched life.

It was only natural that they clung to precious values that seeped into their lives.

But Chae-yeon had no reason to live.

She was just living because her instinct wanted her to. She used that as a reason and didn’t yearn to find the meaning of life.

Why was that?

─ ‘You’ll have to kill me to pass?’

Chae-yeon understood why she said that to Woo-jin.

‘I see. I wanted to die.’

She wanted someone to end her life.

If she lost a fierce fight and died, she couldn’t avoid it.

‘That’s it.’

She finally realized the source of the constant unease in her core.

Her mind cleared, and a genuine smile spread across her face.

Boom!!

Chae-yeon’s firearms fired. Multiple beams targeted Woo-jin.

But when she blinked, Woo-jin was already close to her.

It was spatial leap.

Woo-jin seized the opportunity and swung the Iron Dragon Staff.

Chae-yeon closed her eyes in satisfaction.

Crackle! Boom!!

With the last bit of her magic, Woo-jin’s lightning-infused strike sent her flying again. She crashed into the wall and slid to the floor.

Chae-yeon no longer had the strength to scream.

Her mechanical armor was completely destroyed, and her body was a wreck.

Slowly….

The wrecked mechanical armor and the remnants of mechanical soldiers scattered throughout the underground facility began to dissipate with magic.

It meant that Chae-yeon’s magic was depleted.

Just like a server crashing when there’s a problem, the foundation to maintain all the mechanical forces had collapsed, leading to their destruction.

“…Hah.”

Chae-yeon let out a bitter laugh.

It was a hollow laugh.

Woo-jin approached to put the restraints on her. But even he seemed at his limit, struggling to take a step.

Thud.

In the end, Woo-jin lost his balance and collapsed. But without any change in expression, he silently tried to stand and approach Chae-yeon again.

It was sheer tenacity.

‘He’s really stubborn….’

Suddenly, she was curious.

What drives this man to go so far?

“Hey….”

Chae-yeon called Woo-jin weakly.

Woo-jin didn’t stop but glared at her.

Chae-yeon smiled gently.

“Why do you fight so hard…?”

Blood welled up in her mouth.

"Isn't it natural for the disciplinary committee to catch students committing crimes...?"

"The disciplinary committee. Duty...? Responsibility...? Because of something ridiculous like that...? Or is it for something grand like pursuing justice, a vague and juvenile sense of mission...?"

"A pathetic person who doesn't even plan to fulfill those grand ideals shouldn't demean them as vague and juvenile. But no, it's not for such lofty reasons."

Woo-jin caught his breath and spoke.

"I just want to live well... If I work hard as a student, it won’t be bad when I become an adult, right?"

"Wow..."

Chae-yeon was genuinely impressed.

"So it's really for such a trivial reason...? You're more worldly than you look...?"

"I'm no different. I'm a person too."

"I like that answer… It suits you."

Chae-yeon spoke casually, like chatting with a friend, as she looked at the ceiling.

She could feel her heartbeat slowing down.

"My heart, you know, I actually reinforced it with my ability…"

Chae-yeon spoke weakly.

Woo-jin stopped walking.

"My heart was weak since birth… It got worse as I got older…? I was supposed to die around twelve, but I somehow held on…"

"……"

"Now that my magic is depleted, I can't hold on anymore…"

Woo-jin narrowed his eyes.

"...You knew that forcing yourself to fight until your magic was exhausted would kill you."

Even when defeat was certain, Chae-yeon had gathered her remaining magic to keep fighting.

She had willingly put herself on the brink of death.

In the original story, the Technomancer Moon Chae-yeon escapes somewhere after being defeated by the player.

After that, her whereabouts are unknown.

That’s when the message appears that the Technomancer, one of the Six Sinners, has been defeated.

At the time, Woo-jin didn't think much of it.

It was just a game, after all.

He had just thought, 'I won.'

Now he knew why.

"What now, can't catch me...? You lost, huh?"

"……"

"React a little, you boring guy.... Well…, someone as strong as you will live well and eat well in the future…."

Even the intense pain was fading.

"Live well, Council Head…"

Chae-yeon slowly closed her eyes.

"I'm done with this…"

Her broken arm slid down her thigh, collapsing onto the floor.

Her head drooped lifelessly, and her heartbeat stopped.

The pitch-black vision slowly turned white.

Chae-yeon felt her body getting lighter. She began to float like a balloon.

Looking around, the scenery of the underground facility disappeared.

The world was beyond what Chae-yeon knew. When she looked up, she saw a creepy crimson sky beyond the white world.

Chae-yeon couldn't comprehend this phenomenon.

Then, she heard a familiar voice from behind.

[You’re not supposed to be here yet.]

Startled, Chae-yeon quickly turned around.

A mysterious girl in a black robe placed her hand on Chae-yeon’s shoulder.

Underneath the hood, an expressionless face devoid of any emotion was revealed.

A familiar face.

Chae-yeon soon realized who the girl was.

‘Han Seo-jin…?’

Han Seo-jin, who had been enduring the penalty after losing to Ahn Woo-jin, was one of the Six Sinners.

Chae-yeon wanted to call her name, but no words came out.

[Go back. Fortunately, someone can save you.]

Seo-jin said as she channeled magic into Chae-yeon’s chest. Cold magic flowed into Chae-yeon’s heart.

[And remember. You need to help the head of the disciplinary committee later.]

Chae-yeon didn’t understand what she meant.

Had Seo-jin undergone a change of heart after suffering the penalty from losing to Woo-jin?

Or perhaps... Seo-jin seemed to have learned something important.

Soon after, Chae-yeon was forcibly pulled underground by an invisible force.

Seo-jin spoke to the distant Chae-yeon.

[See you then.]

Zap!

"……!"

With a heavy impact on her heart, Chae-yeon’s eyes shot open.

Her heart regained its original beat.

The severe injuries were temporarily treated with an emergency magical artifact.

In front of her were Woo-jin’s cold eyes. He was panting, seemingly exhausted.

Chae-yeon had returned to reality.

She was bound all over with restraints.

"You can't escape."

Woo-jin’s lips curved slightly upward.

"You need to receive proper punishment and live your life suffering…. Then you die and fall into something like hell, right?"

"How am I alive…?"

Chae-yeon couldn’t understand why she was alive.

"There was some stored magic in the Wallbreaker Staff. I extracted it and gave an electric shock to your heart."

Woo-jin was currently out of magic.

But he had reserved some magic in the Wallbreaker Staff to defeat Chimera.

Originally, the Wallbreaker Staff took time to unleash stored magic, but with the Iron Dragon Staff’s first enhancement, he could forcibly extract and use that magic.

"Since you were dying anyway, I thought I’d give it a try…, and it worked."

He sounded like he hadn’t expected it to work.

Despite his words, Woo-jin had practiced resuscitation techniques to restart a stopped heart after reaching the 6th rank. Rescuing victims was also part of the disciplinary committee’s duties.

So he had applied a strong direct current to Chae-yeon’s heart, stopping it completely, then repeatedly applied electric shocks to match the pacemaker’s signals, making her heart beat again. It was the principle of a defibrillator.

‘It felt oddly easy. The tactile feedback was peculiar. Well…, I’m glad it ended quickly.’

Woo-jin found it puzzling but decided to move on.

He could only think that he had coincidentally managed to give the electric shock at the perfect timing for the pacemaker signal. It seemed he had been lucky.

Chae-yeon was still in shock.

Her mind was in turmoil, not knowing what to say.

"...What are you staring at?"

Whack!

Suddenly, Woo-jin struck Chae-yeon’s head. She fainted again after just waking up.

"Stay asleep."

Woo-jin stood up, caught his breath, and moved his feet.

‘I can’t use the communicator without magic….’

He had to move alone for now.

Currently, the detached team should be searching for the entrance to the underground facility as per their pre-assigned mission. They might have found it already.

So he decided to leave Chae-yeon to them.

Dragging his tired body, Woo-jin went to find Oh Baek-seo.