The Death Walker's Seal

Chapter 4

The next morning, Baekho went to the academy like nothing happened. His eyes had dark circles under them. He yawned as he walked through the gates.

Students gathered in the courtyard again. Today was the fourth test. The survival test in the real Gate.

Instructor Oh Bora stood at the front with a tablet in her hands. Next to her was a tall man in a dark suit. His name was Professor Jung Beom, the head of the Combat Department.

"Listen carefully," Professor Jung Beom said. His voice was deep and commanding. "Today you will enter a Grade E Gate in teams of five. Your mission is simple. Survive for one hour and collect as many monster cores as possible. The team with the most cores passes the test."

He looked at the students with sharp eyes. "But remember this. People die in Gates. Even Grade E Gates. If you are not ready to risk your life, leave now."

No one moved.

"Good. I will announce the teams now."

He started reading names from his tablet. Students grouped together as their names were called.

"Team Seven: Choi Iseul, Lee Rowoon, Moon Rael, Park Hwan, and Kim Baekho."

Baekho's eyes widened. This was the worst possible team.

Choi Iseul looked at him from across the courtyard. She smiled. It was not a friendly smile.

Park Hwan walked over to Baekho excitedly. "We are on the same team! This is great! With Choi Iseul and Lee Rowoon, we will definitely pass!"

Baekho said nothing.

Lee Rowoon and Moon Rael joined them. They looked at Baekho with complicated expressions.

"So," Lee Rowoon said quietly, "you are a student here. Interesting."

"Do not tell anyone," Baekho said.

"About what?" Moon Rael asked with innocent eyes. "About how you cleared a Grade C Gate by yourself? About how you killed a Grade B ogre? About how you moved so fast we could barely see you?"

"Yes. All of that."

"Why should we keep your secret?" Lee Rowoon asked.

Baekho looked at him. "Because if you do not, I will stop helping you when you need it."

"You think we need your help?" Choi Iseul joined the conversation. She looked annoyed. "We are top students. You are just some nobody who got lucky last night."

"Then you do not need to worry about my secret, do you?"

Park Hwan looked confused. "What are you all talking about? Did something happen?"

"Nothing," all four of them said at the same time.

"Each team will enter a different Gate," Professor Jung Beom continued. "Instructors will monitor you through drones. If the situation becomes too dangerous, we will pull you out immediately. You have communication devices that allow you to call for help. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the students shouted.

"Then let us begin. Team Seven, you are last. Wait here."

One by one, the teams entered their Gates and disappeared. Finally, only Team Seven remained.

Professor Jung Beom looked at them with a strange expression. "Your Gate is a bit different from the others."

"Different how?" Lee Rowoon asked.

"It is an unstable Gate. It appeared yesterday and the readings are unusual. We almost decided not to use it for the test, but then we thought it would be good training for unexpected situations."

"How dangerous is it?" Choi Iseul asked.

"Still Grade E. The monsters inside are weak. But the environment might be challenging."

He handed them each a device that looked like a watch. "These are your communication links. Press the red button if you need emergency extraction. Your one hour starts when you enter the Gate. Good luck."

The Gate stood in front of them. It was smaller than the one from last night. The light coming from it was green instead of purple.

"Ready?" Lee Rowoon asked.

"Let us get this over with," Baekho said.

They stepped into the Gate together.

The world twisted again. When Baekho's vision cleared, he found himself standing in a forest. But this was not a normal forest.

The trees were huge. Their trunks were as wide as buildings. The leaves above them were so thick that almost no light came through. Everything was dark and quiet.

Too quiet.

"Where are the monsters?" Park Hwan whispered nervously.

"Stay alert," Moon Rael said. She had her bow ready.

They walked forward carefully. The ground was covered with moss that made their footsteps silent. Strange flowers grew between the tree roots. They glowed with a soft blue light.

"Something is wrong," Baekho said.

"What do you mean?" Choi Iseul asked.

"This is not a Grade E Gate."

Before anyone could respond, the ground shook. The trees trembled. And from the darkness ahead, something emerged.

It was a spider. But not a normal spider. This spider was the size of a car. Its body was covered with thick black fur. Its eyes glowed red. Eight legs moved with terrifying speed.

"Grade D!" Moon Rael shouted. "That is a Grade D monster!"

"The professor said this was Grade E!" Park Hwan screamed.

"He was wrong!" Lee Rowoon fired a lightning spell. It hit the spider, but the spider just shook it off and kept coming.

"Run!" Choi Iseul grabbed Park Hwan and pulled him away.

They ran through the forest. The spider chased them. Its legs made horrible clicking sounds as they hit the ground.

More spiders appeared from the shadows. Smaller ones, but still dangerous. They dropped from the trees above and crawled from holes in the ground.

"We are surrounded!" Moon Rael shot arrows at the spiders, but there were too many.

Baekho looked around quickly. They needed a plan. Fighting was not an option. They were outnumbered and the spiders were stronger.

"There!" He pointed at a gap between two massive tree roots. "Hide there!"

They ran to the hiding spot and squeezed through. The space was narrow but deep. The spiders could not fit through.

The giant spider reached the entrance and tried to push through. Its legs reached for them, but they were just out of reach.

Everyone breathed hard, their hearts pounding.

"We are trapped," Park Hwan said. His voice shook. "We are going to die here."

"Calm down," Lee Rowoon said. "We can call for extraction."

"No," Choi Iseul said. "If we call for help now, we fail the test."

"Better to fail than to die."

"I am not failing!" Choi Iseul's eyes burned with determination. "I worked too hard to get here. I will not let some stupid spiders ruin everything!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Moon Rael asked. "We cannot fight them all."

Everyone looked at Baekho.

"What?" he said.

"You killed an ogre last night," Lee Rowoon said. "Surely you can kill some spiders."

"That was different."

"How?"