Chapter 73

After activating the first Totem of the Deep Sea, security tightened drastically. Even with careful cover and concealment, Theo could barely move a meter.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to give up on the remaining totems and head for the camp entrance instead.

One totem was enough to boost morale. Now, if he could reach the entrance and help his allies break in, they could flood the camp and overwhelm the defenders. With sheer numbers, activating the rest of the totems would be much easier.

Theo leapt onto a nearby tent and scanned the camp to locate the entrance. Since he no longer needed stealth, there was no point in hiding.

Spotting the gate, he dashed across the tent tops, sprinting openly toward it.

The sight of a lone intruder jumping from tent to tent drew swarms of monsters and players. Attacks rained from every direction, but Theo stayed calm—dodging, countering with his bow, and keeping his rhythm.

He made it to the entrance in one piece, though his health was dangerously low. Glancing back at the mass of enemies chasing him like an army, he exhaled sharply, then jumped down into the thick of the chaotic battle raging at the gate.

It felt a little bad to dump all that aggro on his allies—but survival came first.

Thanks to Theo’s arrival, the battlefield exploded into pandemonium. Startled by the sudden flood of enemies, players shouted curses all around. But most of the newcomers were monsters, and the allied players quickly cleaned them up.

While his teammates handled the cleanup, Theo recovered his health, steadied his breath, and prepared his next move. He cast Veil, then used Seven Steps to link layers of the dark barrier all the way toward the camp’s interior.

As everyone stared at the rising wall of darkness in confusion, Theo took his eighth step.

The shadowy veil rippled like smoke—and then spread, devouring everything in its path.

Enemies screamed as the creeping darkness swallowed them whole. No one could outrun it. It rolled forward like a storm wind, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.

Only a handful of players with exceptional defense or vitality remained standing. The rest dropped like flies, and Jezenia’s gate burst wide open.

The Ord players, stunned at first, erupted in cheers. They finished off the downed enemies and surged through the now-cleared entrance into Jezenia’s camp.

Watching the perfectly opened gate, Theo sighed in relief and patted his chest. Then, regaining focus, he stepped inside.

The brutal fight at the entrance would soon shift inward. Every fallen enemy would soon respawn deeper within the camp.

Meanwhile, Father—still reeling from the mysterious poison attack—scanned the area warily. She found no obvious enemy, so she turned to finding any allies still standing. Someone had to have poison resistance.

It didn’t take long to spot one. A player nearby was flailing in confusion, pacing in circles, unsure what to do.

“Hey! You there!”

Father shouted. The startled player looked at her with a blank face, then pointed to themselves as if asking, Me?

Father, face pale and dripping with sweat, nodded firmly.

“Go to the guards! Tell a player named Holanghee what’s happening—she’ll make an antidote!”

The player blinked, then nodded hard and sprinted toward where Ord’s forces were stationed.

At that moment, Holanghee was standing guard with several others around Ord. She frowned when the monsters nearby suddenly froze, lifting their heads and scanning the surroundings warily.

A beat later, wolf-type monsters raised their muzzles and began to howl. Holanghee’s brow furrowed deeply.

The gate’s been breached.

Some monsters circled closer around Ord and the guards, lowering their bodies protectively, while others sprinted toward the main battlefield.

As the monsters moved in perfect formation, the surrounding players began to murmur nervously, and the area descended into tension.

Holanghee drew her weapon, preparing for a raid—when, in the distance, a lone player came stumbling toward them, gasping for breath.

“Tiger! Miss Tiger—Tiger-nim!”¹

Everyone blinked in confusion, unsure what they’d just heard. But as the person drew closer, their voice grew clearer, and a few players turned toward Holanghee as if realizing something.

Holanghee’s expression turned puzzled. Wait… are they calling me?

“Ho-Ho-Holanghee-nim!”

It really did sound like they were calling her.

Holanghee stepped forward a few paces, waiting for the breathless player to reach her. The messenger stumbled to a stop in front of her, bent over and gasping, then straightened up and spoke between broken breaths.

“Th-The entrance’s been breached! The support players—they’ve been poisoned! One of them said if I told a guard named Holanghee-nim, you’d be able to make an antidote…!”

“Jezenia’s jellyfish poison?”

“Maybe, yeah.”

If it was Jezenia’s jellyfish venom, that meant enemy data had somehow leaked in. Holanghee frowned in thought, then quickly told the guards she’d be back and ran toward the gate. She needed to detoxify the fallen players before it spread further.

Father, lying on the ground and waiting for her, flinched as a sudden scream cut through the air. Startled, she lifted her head. The others around her, alarmed by the noise, glanced around to locate its source.

Then the player who’d screamed shouted again, panicked.

“My HP’s dropping!”

“?”

Everyone turned toward him in confusion, then checked their own status windows—only to realize he was right. Their HP bars were steadily ticking down.

They all froze.

Everyone had assumed they’d been hit by Jezenia’s jellyfish poison. But that particular venom only caused paralysis and dizziness—it didn’t drain HP.

Which meant whatever had infected them wasn’t jellyfish venom at all.

As confusion and fear rippled through the ranks, Holanghee and the messenger arrived at the entrance. She hurried to Father’s side, planning to extract the venom and brew an antidote, when Father suddenly shouted—

“It’s not jellyfish poison!”

“…What?”

Holanghee crouched beside her, brows furrowing. Father yelled again, voice cracking.

“Our HP’s dropping! We’re all gonna die if this keeps up!”

Holanghee blinked, startled, then quickly opened her inventory and pulled out an antidote. She used it on Father.

In an instant, the poison effect vanished. Father gasped, color returning to her face as she pushed herself upright.

The onlookers’ eyes widened—an unknown poison, neutralized just like that.

All eyes turned to Holanghee, who remained calm. She took out the rest of her antidotes and handed them to Father and the messenger.

“Use these. Heal the others, fast.”

The three of them moved in sync, curing every poisoned player in sight.

Thanks to Holanghee, everyone recovered safely. Grateful players bowed or offered quick thanks before hurrying back into the fray, leaving only Holanghee, Father, and Blaine at the entrance.

“You’re seriously impressive,” Father said, still in awe. Blaine nodded, eyes wide with respect.

Holanghee let out a weary sigh. “A bit of a waste, though. Those antidotes are expensive.”

If she’d known what kind of poison it was, she wouldn’t have used such a rare item. But there’d been no time to think.

Blaine quickly blurted out, “I’ll pay for mine!”

Both Father and Holanghee turned toward him. Holanghee frowned.

“What? Why should you pay? Make her cover it!”

She jabbed a finger at Father, who blinked and then chuckled at the absurdity of it all.

“Fine, fine. I’ll pay.”

“Yes! Gotcha!”

Holanghee pumped a fist in triumph, openly declaring she’d just dumped the bill on someone else. Blaine tried to protest, insisting he’d pay his own share, but neither of them listened.

After a brief round of banter, the three split up and headed back inside the camp.

On her way to where Ord was stationed, Holanghee caught sight of a lone enemy player sneaking around, moving quietly between the shadows.

She followed his gaze—and saw where he was headed. A structure made of animal bones, wood, and vines stood ahead: the Grassland Totem, Ord camp’s own totem.

Holanghee clicked her tongue, drew her urumi, and strode forward without bothering to hide her footsteps.

In a flash, she closed the distance and struck.

The whip lashed out with a thunderous crack, slamming into the intruder’s back. The player screamed, collapsing and rolling in pain.

“Argh!”

Holanghee stepped on his back, pressing him to the ground, and raised her weapon again—only to freeze when he shouted in panic.

“Wait! Wait, I’m an informant! I’m with you!”

“…What?”

Holanghee blinked, momentarily thrown off, as the man waved his hands frantically in surrender.

“I’m from Ord! I’m one of your informants!”

To prove it, he flipped part of his clothing inside out. On the surface, it was Jezenia’s blue—but the reverse revealed Ord’s silver insignia.

He really was an Ord informant.