“The banquet is now concluded! All examinees are reminded that you are not allowed to leave your rooms after 10 p.m. You’ve done well today—rest up and recharge.”
“We’ll be summoning the gate out of the banquet hall tomorrow at 1 p.m., so please make sure you’re ready to check out by then!”
The banquet came to an end.
The examinees left the hall with the people they’d gotten close to during the question game. Yeon-ha-neul and I followed behind.
“Gyeon-woo! Ha-neul! See you tomorrow!”
“Thanks for the advice. Good luck with the test.”
“I hope you both do well too.”
“See you tomorrow!”
Not far away stood Go Eun-bi and Lisa—both of whom had asked me for advice about the fourth practical exam. After expressing their thanks, they each returned to their assigned rooms.
We continued farther up the staircase, heading for the top floor.
“You remember what I told you, right?”
“I do. Don’t worry.”
“Then sweet dreams.”
“You too, Gyeon-woo.”
We reached the floor where the suite rooms were.
After a few encouraging words, we parted ways in the hallway.
I stepped into my room.
And then I made my way toward the portrait hanging on the wall opposite the bed.
‘So this must be the monster I need to take down.’
In the game, there were monsters that used paintings as mediums.
Such monsters remained part of the background until they revealed their true forms—and until then, they couldn’t be harmed.
Even if you attacked, it wouldn’t register.
Because of that, players had no choice but to wait until the monster revealed itself before they could act.
But in reality—with its higher level of freedom—things were different.
If I could destroy the painting before the monster manifested, I might be able to take it out entirely.
‘Maybe if I burned the portrait, it would die along with it.’
If that worked, I wouldn’t even need to fight it in the dream realm.
Passing the fourth practical exam would be easy.
But I also had to consider the possibility of things not going my way.
If luck wasn’t on my side…
‘Since the monster is bound to an object, it could easily shift to another item in the room.’
That could happen.
And if it did, finding it in the dreamscape might become much more difficult.
Things could get messy.
‘…No helping it.’
A gamble without certainty was too risky.
I decided not to destroy the portrait.
Instead, I removed it from the wall and carried it to the bathroom.
I placed it inside the tub and turned on the faucet.
Drip…
A thin stream of water trickled from the faucet and fell onto the portrait.
The water swirled down the open drain at the bottom of the tub.
“This should be enough.”
I had no idea what form the monster would take in the dream world—or where it would hide.
So I had to leave a clue I could use to find it.
If I was right, it would gravitate toward the sound of running water.
“That’s the prep done.”
All that was left was to sleep.
I turned off the lights and lay down on the bed.
I closed my eyes and drifted off.
My consciousness slowly sank into darkness.
Shhhh…
The sound of rain filled my ears.
“…Where am I?”
When I came to, I found myself standing beneath the overhang of a building.
The sky above was thick with storm clouds. Rain poured down in torrents.
The academy city lay in ruins.
The once-proud world trees, visible from anywhere in the city, now stood bare and lifeless.
“….”
Buildings were shattered, crumbling, half-destroyed in all directions.
Cars were overturned, and deep cracks split the roads.
Not a single person walked the streets.
There wasn’t even a trace of life.
“Oh… right.”
In that moment, I understood.
The world had ended.
“….”
It felt like only yesterday that I’d taken the entrance exam for the academy.
But time had passed in the blink of an eye.
Three years—it was over in an instant.
During those years, I had tried everything to avoid the bad ending, to reach the one I truly wanted.
But there was one thing I couldn’t escape.
And this was the result.
I had failed.
‘…Shit.’
Where did it all go wrong?
Why did it come to this?
I didn’t know.
All I could do was wrestle with guilt and helplessness.
‘If only I’d done a bit better… or maybe from the very beginning…’
My gaze dropped to the palm of my left hand.
There was writing there.
“…Ah. That’s right.”
My mind cleared.
This was a dream.
No—a dream crafted by the monster.
When I saw the writing on my palm, the despair I’d been feeling quickly faded.
‘I almost fell for it.’
Who knew when I might forget again that I was dreaming?
I channeled mana from within me to build resistance against the illusion.
With this, I should be able to hold out—at least partially—against the monster’s spell hiding somewhere in this dream.
Still…
‘With all this rain, finding the thing isn’t going to be easy.’
I let out a wry laugh.
I’d thought following the sound of water would lead me straight to it, but it clearly wasn’t going to be that simple.
‘No choice. I’ll have to search for it myself.’
The monster had to be close by, hiding somewhere to deceive me.
I started exploring the dreamscape.
Tap.
I felt a presence.
Amid the noise of the rain, I heard a faint thud—someone landing on the ground.
I was about to activate a detection spell—
But I didn’t need to.
The figure suddenly dropped down in front of me.
I was stunned silent.
“Ha-neul…? Why are you—”
“I’ve been looking for you, Gyeon-woo.”
“….”
Rain pelted us both as she walked toward me, completely unbothered by the downpour.
Her red eyes glowed beneath her jet-black hair.
‘Wait—black hair?’
In the game, that was what Yeon-ha-neul looked like after she became the Witch of Calamity.
And then—
“I’ve been looking for you, Gyeon-woo.”
“Where were you?”
“Gyeon-woo.”
“Why are you running?”
“Do you hate us?”
“….”
It wasn’t just one.
Everywhere I looked…
Yeon-ha-neul with black hair.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
Their numbers continued to grow.
“…Shit.”
Countless Yeon-ha-neuls, multiplying without end.
I’d seen this scene before—in the game.
Now I knew which dream I’d entered.
‘It’s the Yeon-ha-neul ending…’
The one where she multiplies exponentially until the entire world falls into ruin.
I clicked my tongue as I watched them approach with murderous intent.
I reached for my indigo sword.
And the horde of Yeon-ha-neuls surged toward me.
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.” “Gyeon-woo.”
“All right, boys—draw your lots!”
Somehow, she’d just woken from the sweetest dream.
Yeon-ha-neul blinked as the homeroom teacher’s voice jolted her back to reality.
It was the first day of fifth grade.
They were in the middle of rearranging seats.
Boys would draw lots, and based on the order, they’d be assigned seats next to the girls.
‘No one’s going to want to sit next to me…’
She worried that her height might block someone’s view, that she’d be a nuisance.
More than anything, she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
Sitting in the very back by the window, Yeon-ha-neul kept her eyes away from the boys looking for their new seats.
There was no point watching.
No one wanted to sit next to her.
She was used to it.
In the end, someone would sit there, scowling and obviously unhappy.
She already knew how it would go.
It had always been like that.
‘I was never meant to be chosen.’
She mustn’t hope.
Yeon-ha-neul reminded herself of that, burying her heart deep within and silently wishing—pleading—for this hellish moment to end.
“Ah.”
Then, purely by chance, she opened the palm she’d been clutching tightly on her lap.
There was something written there.
“Ha-neul, don’t doze off.”
“…Pfft.”
A small, breathless laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.
The letters were crooked and uneven—clearly handwritten.
The moment her eyes registered the familiar scrawl, Yeon-ha-neul understood.
She was inside a dream.
‘I’m dreaming about the day I first met Gyeon-woo.’
Activating the mana within her, she let out a gentle smile.
The girl who had once resigned herself to never being chosen by anyone now lifted her head with pride.
And there he was—Do-gyeon-woo, standing at the front of the classroom near the chalkboard.
‘Gyeon-woo… you’re the one who taught me that even I could be chosen by someone.’
This day remained etched deep in Yeon-ha-neul’s memory.
It was the turning point of her life.
Do-gyeon-woo would never know.
He wouldn’t know that on this very day, she had been drowning in despair at the thought of an entire year of forced seat assignments—where choosing and being chosen felt like torture.
That meeting him had been her salvation.
‘Twelve-year-old Gyeon-woo… You’re so cute now that I’m seeing you like this. I just want to pinch your cheeks.’
Reliving the warmth of that memory, Yeon-ha-neul waited for Do-gyeon-woo to walk toward her.
Eventually, it became his turn.
“Number 9, please choose your seat!”
‘I’m right here, Gyeon-woo.’
Do-gyeon-woo stepped forward.
He moved toward the seat by the window.
And unlike before, Yeon-ha-neul didn’t avert her gaze.
She watched him head her way, fully knowing—fully expecting—to be chosen.
‘Maybe… this time, I’ll tease him a little. I want to see how he reacts if I pretend to refuse.’
Do-gyeon-woo approached.
Closer. Closer. Closer. Closer.
Even after five years as childhood friends, her heart still fluttered at the thought of being chosen by him.
‘No… never mind teasing. I’ll just tell him to sit. Quickly. Before my heart bursts.’
When he sat next to her, she’d greet him casually—warmly, like a friend.
She had made up her mind.
But then—
“…Huh?”
“Is it okay if I sit here?”
“…Gyeon-woo? I know your name. I won’t refuse. Let’s get along for the next month, since we’re both from noble families.”
“….”
He didn’t speak to her.
Do-gyeon-woo had turned and chosen to sit next to Kim Su-ji.
He spoke the very words he should’ve said to Yeon-ha-neul—and offered them to someone else.
“…I see.”
Gyeon-woo and Su-ji exchanged a quiet smile, chatting easily.
They looked good together.
Yeon-ha-neul could only stare at them blankly, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
‘So this is how the dream wants to hurt me.’
Even though she knew it wasn’t real.
Even though she knew it was a dream.
The sorrow pressed down on her chest all the same.
She stood up from her seat.
“Device, on.”
This damn dream—it needed to be shattered.
And Yeon-ha-neul swung her iron hammer.
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