Ryuderyk, trailing Baek Yu-seol and Hong Bi-yeon, kept himself hidden but couldn’t help his astonished expression.

“Why are they so fast?”

A normal first-year would have encountered creatures or monsters in the Persona Gate, or gotten caught up in side stories that delayed them.

However, Baek Yu-seol managed to clear every myth and legend he encountered in record time or found shortcuts that allowed him to bypass them altogether.

Their speed was so fast that Ryuderyk had to sprint at full effort just to keep up.

‘He really is as crazy as the rumors say.’

Ryuderyk had heard that Baek Yu-seol was an exceptional first-year student. But seeing it firsthand, he realized just how absurdly skilled Baek Yu-seol was.

Ryuderyk had planned to offer a small amount of assistance as a senior if Baek Yu-seol showed any weakness, but there was no opportunity for him to do so. This bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

‘No, it’s still fine.’

He looked up at the guideline message floating in the air.

[The Tale of a Certain Spirit]

It was clear. Baek Yu-seol hadn’t even approached this particular tale yet. Ryuderyk even doubted if he had finished analyzing the phenomenon properly.

‘The myths and legends in this place are tied to specific locations.’

For example, consider the urban legend of a person wearing a red mask wandering the city. Such a story couldn’t take place in a forest or rural village, could it?

No, it couldn’t.

While a few myths could appear in any location, most were tied to a specific place.

In other words, to find the myth that would help clear this Persona Gate, Baek Yu-seol would have to search the slums, not the main city.

‘This tale... seems to have originated from the outskirts.’

Ryuderyk slowly read the forgotten tale on the guideline message.

[The villagers spoke of the falling leaves as if it were the season of blossoming flames. To one listener, this seemed odd, for autumn was too cold for flames to bloom.]

Some parts were still incomplete, with missing words, but he could understand enough.

‘Baek Yu-seol, you probably haven’t analyzed this far, have you?’

It was unlikely.

Ryuderyk came from a lineage known for their deep understanding of Persona Gates, his family having conquered a 9-risk level gate over a grueling 20-year period. He prided himself on his unparalleled analytical skills, and while Baek Yu-seol was talented, he couldn’t possibly outmatch Ryuderyk’s precision.

Even the renowned Hong Bi-yeon and Bandiyun hadn’t managed to trigger the guideline message, but Ryuderyk had already grasped the endgame.

‘Wander a little more, Baek Yu-seol.’

So this senior could step in and “help.”

‘Wait, why are they slowing down now?’

Baek Yu-seol, who had been rushing forward earlier, had inexplicably slowed his pace and was walking alongside Hong Bi-yeon, carefully navigating the gate.

No, “slow” wasn’t the right word.

Earlier, it felt as if he was recklessly pushing through stories. Now, he was tackling them in the most stable, perfect way possible.

‘...Truly impressive.’

Ryuderyk, a cautious scholar at heart, felt more intimidated by Baek Yu-seol now than before.

‘But waiting is tedious.’

Watching them discuss and strategize face-to-face made Ryuderyk feel restless. It didn’t help that Princess Hong Bi-yeon was stunningly beautiful.

‘Well, since I have some time to kill...’

Turning his attention away from Baek Yu-seol, Ryuderyk continued reading the guideline message.

He hadn’t finished reading it earlier while following Baek Yu-seol, but now he could read it in full.

[In that village, there was a child.]

[The child, whose form was so terrible that no one could tell if it was human or a beast...]

---

When Anella opened her eyes again, she was in a forest chilled by a cold breeze.

It wasn’t that she had just been left in the forest. She was lying on a makeshift bed of wooden planks that someone had clearly tried to build into a shack but failed miserably.

“Ugh...”

Clutching her head, Anella looked around at the sorry excuse for a shelter.

“Did someone really try to make this into a house...?”

The structure looked so fragile that it seemed miraculous it could even block the wind.

What was even stranger was the pile of basic supplies and trash inside. Whoever had lived here had stayed for a long time.

“Who on earth would live in a place like this...”

As she spoke, Anella realized that her situation wasn’t much different from that of the shack’s owner.

She had spent her days in the ruins of a fallen country, taking shelter under a roof barely capable of keeping out the wind and rain.

‘But never mind that... where am I?’

She racked her brain for her last memory.

A sky that had turned pitch black.

The Witch King.

The stolen talisman.

‘And... did I jump?’

From that moment, everything was a blur.

Rising slowly, Anella started down the forest path.

The sky, once dark, was now bright and clear. It was only now that she could understand the old saying about the high autumn sky.

“Ah, this is exhausting.”

The path was rugged, with barely any sign of human activity, making her descent slow and arduous.

Whoever had lived in such a place, she thought, must have been either desperate or deranged.

After walking for a couple of hours, she came across a dirt road. Elated, she followed it. A brook babbled beside her, and the rice in the nearby fields bowed gracefully.

It was a peaceful village.

The chirping of sparrows sounded like a song.

“Huh?”

There was someone nearby.

An old woman was picking up fruits she had dropped, and Anella, unable to just pass by, ran to help.

“Grandma, let me help you.”

She reached for the fallen fruits to put them in the basket, but suddenly, the old woman threw a potato at her head.

Thump!

“Ouch!”

“You vile creature! How dare you come down here!”

“What...?”

“Get lost, now!”

The old woman stomped on the fruits Anella had picked up, crushing them.

“It’s contaminated! It’s tainted!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

She wasn’t stomping on Anella, but the sight of the fruit being crushed felt as if Anella’s heart was being shattered alongside it.

“Why... why...”

“How dare something that isn’t human pretend to be one! Get out of here!”

As the old woman shouted, more villagers gathered, brandishing hoes and shovels as they ran toward her.

“It’s that monster girl!”

“Drive her out!”

“Wait, I’m not...”

Anella tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat.

‘Not?’

Really?

Anella wasn’t human. She was a Black Magus.

The word “monster” wasn’t entirely correct, but it wasn’t wrong either.

She couldn’t deny it.

“Get out! Now!”

“Leave the village!”

Thud! Thump!

Rocks, potatoes, fruits, and eggs hit her, and Anella ran without looking back.

Even when the shouts of the villagers faded, she didn’t stop.

She ran for a long time.

Despite her superhuman endurance, she was out of breath, and the world spun as she pushed her body to its limit.

Eventually, she had no choice but to stop.

Thud!

Collapsing to the ground, Anella lay spread-eagle, staring up at the sky.

“Heh... heh...”

A hollow laugh escaped her.

“It’s... beautiful...”

Stars sparkled above.

She had run so far.

Covering her eyes with one hand, she shook her head vigorously.

‘That’s right, I’m not human.’

She had hidden her identity as a Black Magus well enough to blend into human society, thanks to suppression magic.

Normally, she wouldn’t even have dared to approach humans.

This was the reality.

A despicable being, feared and loathed by humans.

“Hah...”

There was no need to feel so defeated now. She didn’t know why her suppression spell had broken, but she had always been prepared for this eventuality.

“Let’s go back.”

In any case, her mission was complete.

She had gathered intel on the Witch King and survived. This mission could be considered a success.

Thinking so, Anella got up and trudged along the gravel road.

She walked, and walked.

When dawn came again—

“...What?”

She found herself back at that village.

“A... monster...”

About ten villagers stood staring at her.

For a moment, they looked like teenagers in Stella Academy uniforms, but that illusion quickly shifted back to farmers in their thirties and forties.

Gasp.

Anella took a step back, and the farmers shouted in panic.

“W-what is that? It’s a monster.”

“What do we do? Kill it?”

“It’s terrifying... Do we really have to fight?”

“This is definitely the forgotten legend...”

“I don’t know! Just attack it!”

The farmers pointed their farming tools like wands at her and cast fire and ice spikes.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Why did farming tools emit magic? Anella no longer had the mental capacity to question it.

Even though humans hated her, she didn’t want to harm them, so she turned and ran again, while the villagers chased after her.

“

Hey! The monster’s escaping!”

“Catch it and kill it!”

“Damn! It’s too fast!”

“No way!”

With strength far surpassing that of humans, Anella sprinted deep into the forest and collapsed by a small spring.

“Hah... hah...”

Face buried in the dirt, she gasped for air.

Why was she so scared?

Yes, Anella was afraid.

Was it fear of their attacks?

Ridiculous. They were only scratches to her. No farming tool could kill a Black Magus.

But.

The fear of being hated was overwhelming.

It made her knees weak.

It brought tears to her eyes.

It made her heart feel like it would burst.

Anella wasn’t fragile enough to be injured just by falling, yet she found herself terrified to stand up again.

Even though she knew if she didn’t get up now, she might never rise again, she couldn’t muster the strength.

‘Why... why me?’

Why did she have to go through this?

‘Because I’m a Black Magus?’

Anella let out a bitter laugh.

‘Ah, that’s right.’

She was meant to be hated.

She wasn’t human.

She could never become human.

‘This is... my fate.’

The cold night wind chilled her to her soul as Anella shut her eyes tightly.

The starlight faded away.

 

 

______________________

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!