Chapter 3

86th Tentacle, Tentacle of Digestion.

A power that summoned tentacles massive enough to swallow a person whole.

As a bonus, I could fill it with different fluids—corrosive digestive acid, or even slime supposedly good for the skin.

This time, of course, it was the latter.

“Thank you! You’ve all saved my life!”

“Shh! Quiet, for now…!”

“Wait, there was another Awakened here besides us?”

“I heard no guild had entered the Gate when we were deployed.”

I struggled free from the sticky tentacle and checked the severed part.

The cut was clean—evidence of sharp swordsmanship.

Stronger than they looked.

If I hadn’t shielded myself with mana just in case, I would’ve been sliced apart along with it.

“We’re Awakened from Division 3 of the Special Unit, Ability Management Bureau.”

“Special Unit?”

That was the first time I’d heard the term.

Special Unit? Did Korea even have something like that?

Back when I lived on Earth, the Ability Management Bureau was just another government agency—civil servants shuffling papers in offices.

But now? A standing army made up solely of Awakened?

The world outside had definitely gotten worse, not better.

“Why do you look like that? Don’t tell me this is your first time hearing about the Special Unit.”

“No, sir! I just didn’t expect people working for the government to come all the way here. What brings you…?”

“This Gate was left unattended, so we came to clear it for public safety.”

“If we’d known anomalies like this would show up, we would’ve called for reinforcements from the start…”

They came to clear an abandoned Gate—for public safety?

Since when did Korea ever have such a righteous group after the Gates appeared?

In the past, international organizations centered around the U.S. and the odd vigilante group would make a name for themselves, only to vanish under the overwhelming might of the Demon Realm’s armies.

What remained were just guilds, fighting to monopolize the last scraps of land and the newly emerged resources.

Before I fell into the Demon Realm, I’d worked mining mana stones in a Gate run by a mid-sized guild.

If memory served, the safety rules and child labor exploitation there were about on par with Britain right after the Industrial Revolution.

Even if I returned to Earth, I never wanted to go back to those days.

But this “Special Unit”… they were exactly what the name implied. A force that killed demons for the sake of humanity.

The more I listened, the more it awakened the old admiration I’d once had as a kid—for the ideal of what an Awakened should be.

And now that I looked closer, their uniforms were actually pretty stylish.

“Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Ah, well, I…”

Yoo Se-byeol, her sword already sheathed, asked the question. My words trailed off.

…What was it again?

My Outer God, Mala-nim, could only ever say one fixed phrase. Demons called me weird things like “Apostle of Outer Gods” or “Lord of the Abyss.”

As the silence dragged on, suspicion flickered in their eyes.

Thankfully, after desperately racking my brain, I remembered the name I’d gone by fifteen years ago.

“H-Hayan! My name’s Hayan.”

“Hayan? That’s unusual.”

“The orphanage gave it to me. I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood…”

“Your background doesn’t matter. Which guild are you with?”

None.

Or more accurately, I’d never belonged to one.

I’d only ever been a day laborer, not a real Awakened.

But I lowered my voice as much as possible before answering.

“Well… I hate to admit it, but I used to be part of the Black Tower.”

“The Black Tower? That place collapsed ages ago.”

“Exactly. Which is why I’m not affiliated with anyone now. I only came here to sneak some mana stones and wound up in this mess.”

The Black Tower had vanished from Korea around the same time I’d fallen into the Demon Realm, swallowed up in some incident I never learned the details of.

It had been the only one of the five Towers that specialized in Black Magic.

Given the public’s scorn, I was sure it had never been rebuilt.

And even if it had, the Tower’s members were so shrouded in mystery that no one could track them down now.

For someone like me—missing for years, never registered as an Awakened—it was the perfect false identity to hide behind.

“What should we do, Deputy Commander?”

“If he’s from the Black Tower, he might’ve sided with the demons.”

“He doesn’t seem that suspicious, considering he nearly got taken out by some low-tier monster…”

“Unregistered vagrants like him just put us in danger.”

“On the other hand, securing the loyalty of a free Awakened is valuable. Especially since our squad’s only mage, Sohyun, isn’t here…”

If this had been a normal guild, the mood would’ve leaned toward “separate his head from his neck first, ask questions later.”

But these people were government agents. Civil servants.

Instead, they began seriously debating how to handle me.

Listening in, it seemed their strength was thinner than I’d expected.

In that case, why not offer my help in clearing the Gate?

Fight alongside them as one of the “good guys.”

If I played it right, maybe once we got outside they’d lend me a hand despite my unclear identity.

And if, by some miracle, I actually got the chance to join the Special Unit? I couldn’t hope for more.

Of course, I couldn’t use my tentacles openly in front of them.

But that was fine. I never planned to flaunt them anyway. I could just keep them hidden under my sleeves and quietly cast magic.

Besides, once outside, I needed to keep up my cover as an Awakened while hunting down the Archdukes.

Mala-nim wouldn’t mind as long as I secured the Star Scars.

I summoned a hundred tentacles and asked for a vote. An overwhelming 99% approved of this constructive plan for my future.

The lone dissenter—the 86th Tentacle—had just perished in that unfortunate accident, so the approval rate was now officially 100%.

“You there, you know entering an unclaimed Gate without permission is illegal. Did you take any mana stones or artifacts?”

“No, not at all. You’re welcome to search me.”

“And you are a mage, correct?”

“Yes.”

After hearing her subordinates out, Yoo Se-byeol stepped toward me.

Deputy Commander. That should mean second-in-command, right?

Up close, she looked surprisingly young for someone in that position.

She could’ve passed for a rookie in a mid-sized guild.

Her posture and gaze were straight as a blade, but something about her seemed fragile, as if she might snap.

Maybe it was the man’s longsword hanging at her waist that made the impression stronger.

“Show me a spell—anything but Black Magic. Preferably third-rank or higher.”

“Third-rank or higher?”

“You must have a main offensive spell you rely on. I need to gauge your strength. Go on, cast it.”

Not a bad decision.

Black and White Magic were polar opposites. If you trained both, one side would always be capped below a certain level.

So being able to use third-rank White Magic meant, by definition, you couldn’t go beyond fourth-rank in Black Magic.

It was a way of confirming that I wasn’t some high-tier black mage, effectively a traitor to humanity.

“Hmm… actually, something does come to mind. Look over there, please.”

Black Magic and White Magic couldn’t coexist.

But there were beings who ignored such laws. No reason to mention that to them now.

I pointed at the twitching remains of a tentacle, still spasming from postmortem reflex, and drew everyone’s eyes.

I formed hand seals with both hands. A black sphere bloomed in the air.

A moment later, as if someone had taken a single bite, a round chunk of flesh was neatly carved from the tentacle’s body.

—Pak!

“It’s technically a spell brushing the edge of third-rank.”

“Third-rank… so close to the end of the Lower Realm. Not bad.”

“Did you learn this at the Black Tower?”

“No, I actually developed it on my own.”

“This punk? Either magic is Black or White. You’re no Transcendent Realm Awakened so what do you mean you ‘developed a new kind of magic’?!”

Lower, Middle, Upper.

These were the three stages of power. Those who broke past them were said to reach the Transcendent Realm.

Across the entire world, only a handful had achieved it. In Korea, just seven, called the Seven Immortals.

I asked Yoo Se-byeol with my best impression of injustice.

“It’s real! Anyway… what do you think? Will this be of any use?”

She examined the traces of mana, tilting her head slightly before answering.

“Hmm… at least it doesn’t look like Black Magic.”

“Are you certain?”

“Of course, but for a third-rank spell, it’s still sloppy. You’ll need more training. Still… it might work well enough to trip up an enemy.”

Her squad nodded in agreement.

The black sphere took too long to cast, was easy to dodge, and its range was too narrow.

Yes, it had left a clean mark on the tentacle she’d already cut, but it wasn’t practical in real combat.

And the fact that I needed both hands for hand seals meant I couldn’t streamline or skip any steps of the formula.

In short, it meant my proficiency looked low.

“Let’s move out. Hayan? You’re coming too.”

“Ah, wait a moment. There’s something I’d like to say.”

“What is it?”

Good thing none of the members here were Tower-trained mages or magic-type Awakened.

With this one spell, I could easily kill three or four lower-ranked Archdukes.

So guiding them to a mere dungeon boss would be child’s play.

“I know where the boss is. If you don’t mind, I can lead you there.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. I stumbled across it while wandering the maze a few hours ago, but I figured I couldn’t handle it alone, so I ran away.”

“You should’ve said that first! Take us there, now!”

No need to mention that earlier. For now, I’d just hand Yoo Se-byeol some good news.

Division 3 of the Special Unit advanced smoothly.

No one said it out loud, but their faces looked noticeably lighter.

Clearing the labyrinth had become far safer than before, when they had to be wary of ambushes and traps.

The reason was simple.

The mage who had joined by chance turned out to be more helpful than expected.

“Next passage, take the left. There are three monsters on the ceiling—be careful.”

“Really? How do you know that?”

“My senses are sharper than most.”

“Then why were you inside that tentacle’s stomach?”

“Ahem… I slipped.”

Each time they pushed through the dark, enemies appeared exactly where he said they would.

In a Gate twisted by mana, where the maze grew ever more complex, a moment’s carelessness could mean death.

But Hayan strode ahead with light steps, as if this dungeon run was just a casual outing. There wasn’t a hint of fear in him.

And even the attack magic that had seemed useless at first turned out to be surprisingly effective.

—Puk!

A gremlin’s forehead burst open with a hole the size of a baseball.

One member had been seconds away from being struck.

Despite the long casting time, the spell’s timing and coordinates were always exact.

Even someone like Yoo Se-byeol, no expert in magic, was impressed by how he repeatedly landed those hits in the chaos of battle.

“You really only ever nail the enemy with that. Not a single stray shot.”

“Of course. If I hit an ally by mistake, it’d be a disaster.”

“You’re sure this isn’t Black Magic?”

“Who knows… but speaking of which, I’m curious about something, Deputy Commander.”

From beneath his long sleeve, his fingers pointed subtly at her waist.

Where her black Special Unit uniform tucked into her trousers hung the sword she carried.

It was a familiar sight—embarrassing for some, but not for him.

That blade was forged from rare minerals only found in Gates, a second-grade relic. In darkness, its trajectory became invisible.

It was a famous weapon, a symbol of her family.

“This sword? It was a gift from my grandfather.”

“And the scabbard? Did he give you that as part of the set too?”

“Hey! Don’t you dare speak so casually about the Deputy Commander’s grandfather!”

“Oh? Did he pass away?”

“Why you little—!”

“Enough. Stand down!”

Yoo Se-byeol sternly calmed her men, who were about to collapse from outrage.

There was no way Hayan could know she was the Sword Immortal’s granddaughter.

He probably just saw her carrying an impressive-looking weapon and asked about it.

“He’s alive and well. Why do you ask?”

“It just looked… special. Almost like one of the relics you find inside Gates.”

“I only inherited it, so I don’t know much. But I was told it wards off evil magic.”

“I see… protects the wielder, huh.”

“Why? Do you see something different about it?”

“No, no. Just asking.”

Though he denied it, Hayan’s gaze lingered on the scabbard.

From Yoo Se-byeol’s perspective, his interest was almost welcome.

‘He’s skilled, but being labeled “Black Tower” means most big guilds won’t take him in…’

The Special Unit was always short on talent.

There was no time to train green rookies from scratch.

When dangerous monsters or rogue Awakened appeared, they deployed first while everyone else kept their heads down.

And like today, they often had to enter Gates abandoned by guilds and risk isolation.

Outside, recruitment for the next generation of the Special Unit was underway.

With Archduke appearances increasing and casualties mounting, the standards were brutally high. But in her eyes, Hayan more than qualified.

“Just a little further and we’ll reach the boss’s chamber. But everyone looks tired—let’s rest and eat first.”

“What? You brought food?!”

“Not exactly food. It’s the tentacle the Deputy Commander cut down earlier. I majored in magical creature ecology at the Tower. It’s safe to eat.”

“Is that true…?”

Hayan pulled from his robe some neatly sliced chunks of white tentacle flesh.

It had to be from the monster long dead, yet it steamed as if freshly boiled.

Normally no one would dream of eating monster meat, but their stamina was drained to the limit.

One squad member hesitantly took a bite and exclaimed in surprise.

“Whoa! This is actually good!”

“Seriously?”

“Chewy, savory, and every bite has a rich aftertaste… way better than any seafood I’ve tried.”

“Right? I could eat it every day without getting sick of it.”

“And I think… my mana’s even recovering a little?”

“To notice and prepare this… you’ve got a sharp eye.”

“Haha, you flatter me. There’s plenty more, so let me know if you want seconds.”

Sociable, agreeable, and with no obvious place to go after this—maybe they should subtly suggest recruiting him once they got out.

“Deputy Commander, you should have some too.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Still mulling it over, Yoo Se-byeol accepted the piece of flesh he offered and put it in her mouth.