The first Monday of summer break.

As planned, Lumina had left at dawn for London.

She’d promised to convince her father, but no one knew when she would actually be back.

In times like these—when anything could happen at any moment—my goal was simple: to strengthen my squad so they could face whatever came.

But with only the three of us remaining, leveling in dungeons wasn’t realistic.

Our formation had been balanced: one frontliner, one mid, one rear. Sad to say, I barely counted as fighting power at all. Still, with one member gone, the balance collapsed.

We’d managed a few runs when Seo Yui was absent, but the lack of a proper front line eventually became too much to bear.

‘No use grinding low-level dungeons now. Raising levels that way would take forever. Until Lumina returns, I’ll have to focus elsewhere.’

I had two tasks.

First: raise the level of my ability, Craftsman.

[Craftsman] Lv. 7EXP: 55 / 6400 (0.86%)

When I mass-produced nearly a hundred rare pieces of gear in preparation for Persila, my Craftsman level had shot up to 7.

Now materials dropped at much higher levels, with a boost to rarity as well. I could even craft up to Level 40 gear.

But Level 40 equipment wouldn’t be enough.

My squad’s target for this summer was Level 50.

At that point, we’d be able to handle the Phase Two events without too much trouble.

‘Overpowered for a student, but…’

Level 50 was the mark of a mid-tier professional Hunter—respected in any guild.

‘The squad just hit Level 41. With their current equipment, their stats won’t hold. I need to level my ability fast to support them.’

Fortunately, raising my ability wasn’t difficult.

Normally, abilities required specific conditions to gain experience.

For example, Meiling’s Dark Arts only leveled if she killed at least 300 monsters in a single casting. Lumina’s ability only leveled if she took down a quasi-boss in one blow while in stealth.

But mine? I just needed to craft or dismantle items.

Sure, there were penalties—making the same item again or low-level gear yielded barely any EXP.

But higher-level rare items? They granted massive experience.

‘Securing Eleanor’s workshop early on was the best decision I made. Thanks to that, I can gather whatever materials I need without much trouble.’

Between drops from our hunts and resources from the workshop, I could craft almost any rare gear I wanted.

The pieces we didn’t use got sold at Eleanor’s store, Platinum Wings, stacking money in my account.

Better still, part of those sales profits were reinvested into buying more materials for me.

In short, pure profit.

‘If I do say so myself, brilliant. Maybe a little unfair to Eleanor, but she gains prestige for her store by selling rare items. A mutual benefit, really.’

I nodded in satisfaction.

“Leveling my ability won’t be a problem…”

Muttering, I flicked through my smartwatch contacts.

Contacts Nam Yejin – XXX-XXXX-XXXXLumina – □□□-□□□-□□□□Meiling – ◇◇◇-◇◇◇-◇◇◇◇Sponsor – OOO-OOOO-OOOO…

Dozens of numbers were now saved. But one, in particular, caught my eye.

My second task before Lumina’s return: investigate Nam Yein.

The Demon Cult’s Transcendents, Ju Yeongsong and Horde, had claimed to sense something of Revrenta in me.

But there should be no connection between a side character like Nam Yein and the being lurking behind the cult. In the game, there had never been one.

Yet they insisted they felt His presence.

That meant there might be something I didn’t know.

‘The “Sponsor” must be the Hunter who paid Nam Yein’s tuition. I don’t even know their name.’

For someone who supposedly gave him the money to enter the Academy, Yein had simply saved their number as Sponsor. Didn’t exactly say much for his character.

‘Or maybe… there’s a story behind it.’

I looked at the very first entry on the list.

Nam Yejin.

The first time I’d stepped into Yein’s room, I’d found a photograph of him as a child—standing beside a silver-haired girl.

That girl had to be Nam Yejin.

With such a similar name, and with her number saved alongside his, I’d thought she must be family.

But Chen Kai’s background check had called Nam Yein a complete orphan.

Wouldn’t such an obvious detail have been discovered?

It seemed impossible to overlook.

Which only deepened the mystery.

The connection to Revrenta.

The nonexistent family.

The enigmatic Nam Yejin.

If I didn’t unravel these riddles now, they would explode into bigger problems later.

I slid in my wireless earphones, finger hovering over Yejin’s number.

Until now, I hadn’t called—partly because of a deep, instinctive hesitation, partly because of the fear that my cover as not really Nam Yein might slip.

But I couldn’t delay forever.

I had to know.

Who Nam Yein truly was.

And the truth about Nam Yejin.

Bracing myself, I pressed call.

The dial screen lit up—showing the name and number.

But…

“What? Why is it calling Lumina’s number?”

I cut the line, tried again.

Same result: Lumina.

“Did it glitch?”

I tried again, this time punching Yejin’s number in manually.

But this time, the response was worse.

[The number you have dialed does not exist. Please check again.]

Staring blankly at the screen, I tried again, carefully verifying every digit.

Same message. Over and over.

‘Did that bastard Yein… save the number wrong?’

The thought made me want to tear my hair out.

The one lead I had just evaporated into smoke.

“Haah. This is exhausting.”

I yanked out my earphones and tossed them onto the bed, then flopped down myself.

“So now… I’ve lost any way to investigate Nam Yein?”

I pulled out the old photo again.

There he was, young Nam Yein, scowling like he hated having his picture taken.

And beside him, Nam Yejin—smiling brightly.

She was taller than him, too.

‘And… silver-haired as well. That means she was an Awakened?’

Awakened often had hair and eye colors change unpredictably after awakening.

There was no rule—sometimes even twins ended up with completely different colors.

I remembered the twins from Magica, Zen and Rune—classic example.

“Wait…”

I froze.

Both Nam Yein and Nam Yejin had the exact same silver hair.

Not similar. Not close. Identical.

‘But the odds of that…’

I sat up, staring hard at the photo.

A powerful sense of wrongness gripped me.

“Hair color is supposed to be completely random. Out of all possibilities, what are the chances two siblings—orphans, at that—would both end up with the exact same color?”

Were they born silver-haired?

Impossible.

Neither face showed any sign of mixed blood.

Maybe Yejin’s silver was natural, while Yein’s had randomly matched?

Technically possible… but it reeked of forced logic.

‘And why haven’t I realized this until now? It’s so obvious…’

Nam Yein was supposed to be an orphan.

Kai’s report rang in my head again.

And then—

“Ugh!”

Pain split my skull like it was about to crack open.

Nam Yein is an orphan.

Nam Yein is an orphan.

Nam Yein is an orphan.

Nam Yein is an orphan.

Nam Yein is an orphan.

“Ugh!”

Clutching my head, I collapsed face-first onto the bed.

The splitting headache lasted several seconds.

“Haa… haa…”

Panting, I pulled my hands from my head and forced myself upright.

‘What the hell was that?’

A sudden blood pressure spike? Impossible.

In Latessia, Hunters never fell ill to mundane sickness. Aside from debuffs caused by monsters or traps, Awakened were the epitome of health.

Confused, I stared absently at the photo still clutched in my hand.

“!”

Nam Yejin was gone.

The silver-haired girl beside Nam Yein had vanished from the picture.

As if erased cleanly with editing software.

Or as if she had never existed at all.

“No way…!!”

Absurd as it was, this world was far removed from reality already.

Heart pounding, I fumbled for my smartwatch and pulled up the contacts list.

“….”

Goosebumps erupted across my skin.

Nam Yejin’s number was gone.

So that was it.

The reason no call or message had ever come from her.

The reason an orphan like Nam Yein could have a family that shouldn’t exist.

The sudden migraine, the disappearance of her image from the photograph, the Demon Cult Transcendents sensing Revrenta in me—

I understood now.

Nam Yein had met Latessia.

“Latessia…”

I muttered the name as I stared at the empty space in the photo.

Ten minutes later.

“Is this you as a kid?”

“…Cute.”

In the small garden near the dorms, I had called Meiling and Seo Yui to show them the picture.

“Senior Seo Yui. The only one in this photo… it’s me, right?”

“Huh?”

Seo Yui blinked at me, looking puzzled.

“What kind of question is that?”

Meiling jutted her lip.

“Who else could it be? Only you’re in the picture.”

Their answers confirmed it.

Nam Yein’s body had been subjected to brainwashing.

Brainwashing that implanted the idea of a sister named Nam Yejin—a family member who never existed.

Normally, such deep manipulation would never unravel.

But once I inhabited Nam Yein’s body, the illusion had begun to waver.

And when I noticed the inconsistency in the photo, the falsehood had unraveled completely.

No one could prove it, but I knew it wasn’t just a guess—it was truth.

And only they had the power to twist perception of reality so deeply.

‘That’s why Ju Yeongsong and Horde sensed Revrenta from me.’

Still, riddles remained.

How had Nam Yein encountered Latessia?

Who—or what—exactly was Latessia?

And why implant the false existence of Nam Yejin at all?

“Hey! Nam Yein!”

“!”

I flinched at the sudden shout beside me.

“Don’t ignore people when they’re talking to you!”

Meiling glared furiously, standing close enough for me to feel her heat.

“Yein, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?” Seo Yui asked gently, stepping nearer.

“I’m fine. I was just… lost in thought.”

I quickly retrieved the photo from Seo Yui’s hand.

“Ah…”

Seo Yui looked at me, lips parting as though to say something, but fell silent.

“Thank you for confirming. You too, Meiling. I’ll head back upstairs now.”

“Huh? That’s all? You just wanted to show us a picture?” Seo Yui tilted her head.

“What the hell. You dragged us out here just to run back to the dorm? When are we going to the dungeon?” Meiling shouted.

“Not until Lumina comes back. Without her covering fire, the risk rises too high. Rest for now. If you just want to kill monsters, farm low-level dungeons.”

“Coward!”

“Better a coward than getting someone seriously hurt or killed.”

“I agree with him,” Seo Yui added firmly.

“Ugh…”

Meiling clenched her teeth, glancing around as if searching for someone.

‘She’s unconsciously looking for Lumina.’

This was no longer the girl who once rejected everyone.

Just then, her smartwatch buzzed.

“What now?”

Scowling, she checked her wrist.

Her expression drained into something unreadable.

“Meiling? What is it?” Seo Yui asked.

“…Nothing. Just ruined my mood. I’m going back.”

Turning her back, Meiling strode quickly toward the girls’ dormitory.

Too quickly.

“Yein, that looked suspicious.”

“Yes. Very.”

Her reaction had been all too transparent.

Meiling slammed her door shut behind her, locking it tight.

Her heart pounded wildly—not from running, but from the icy chill coursing through her veins.

She stared again at her smartwatch.

On the screen, the sender’s name glowed clearly.

[Father]

A message from the man she had severed ties with.

(End of Chapter)

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