CHAPTER-003
The night wind was cold.
It howled through the trees like a whispering beast, carrying the faint scent of blood and rain.
My boots sank into the damp soil as our squad trudged along the forest path, lanterns swaying with each step.They said people had gone missing around here — travelers, merchants, even a few martial artists — but no bodies were ever found.Just silence.
Another "routine patrol," the captain said.Yeah, right. Nothing about this felt routine.
You'd probably wonder how a nobody like me ended up walking through cursed woods with a dull sword and a borrowed lantern.
Simple answer?I didn't have anywhere else to go.
The Murim Alliance takes anyone who can hold a blade.
"That's how I became a soldier. Looks pathetic, huh?"
But even then, something inside me kept pushing forward…That same damn voice that whispered every time I tried to rest.
Stronger... Faster... Don't stop.
Maybe that's why I kept swinging the sword even when it didn't mean shit.Maybe that's why I joined the Alliance — chasing something I can't even name.
"Oi, Jin," the captain's gruff voice cut through my thoughts. "Keep your eyes open. In a forest like this — you blink, and you're gone."
I nodded, hand resting on the hilt at my waist.
The forest was too damn quiet.No insects. No animals. Not even the sound of the river we'd passed earlier.Just the faint creak of branches swaying in the wind.
Then… something shifted.
A soft rustle ahead.The brush moved — just a little. Too damn deliberate for the wind.
Every instinct screamed. Something's off.
I froze, narrowing my eyes at the dark outline between the trees.
"...Captain," I muttered.
He glanced over, following my gaze. The lantern light flickered across leaves and shadow — nothing else.
"Probably just a rabbit," he said. "You're too tense, kid."
Maybe he was right.Maybe it was nothing.
But hell, that didn't sit right with me.
The moment I looked away, I could've sworn — just for a split second — I saw something in the dark.A faint shimmer. Like eyes, reflecting the lantern light.
I blinked, and it was gone.
We kept walking. The others joked quietly to kill the tension.But the unease never left me.
I tightened my grip on my sword.
Somewhere behind those trees… something was watching us.It didn't feel like a beast or some wild animal.
"No — I had a bad feeling about this.
Because whatever that was… it was most likely a person".