Baek Do-hyun's massive screw-up had come back to poison me.
Before I possessed him, Baek Do-hyun had ordered Wang Xiaomei to sell drugs while giving him a cut.
Wang got caught by Yubyeol-ha in the process and spilled everything he knew about the drug distributor.
As a result, I seemed to have become Yubyeol-ha's prey.
From Baek Do-hyun's perspective, it was like he'd laid a trap for himself, but for me, it felt incredibly unfair—like a die I hadn't even rolled had come up snake eyes and was choking me.
"Young Master Do-hyun, please spare me. I swear it won't happen again. Please, just give this lowly one another chance..."
First things first, I had to decide what to do with the guy right in front of me.
The original Baek Do-hyun probably would've killed him quietly and dumped the body in the open ocean.
Even from my standpoint, killing him seemed more beneficial than letting him live.
He knew all about Baek Do-hyun's misdeeds.
And if his life was on the line, he'd sell out without hesitation.
The proof was staring me right in the face. In every way, he was the kind of loose end that could come back to bite me.
As a vampire belonging to the 21st Century Secret Society, even if it took some effort, I could find plenty of ways to kill him.
However.
Watching Wang Xiaomei desperately beg for his life stirred up a lot of thoughts in me.
I'd never seen Wang Xiaomei in Red Ark.
I knew nothing about him.
Whether he was good or evil, strong or weak—I had no idea why someone like him was slinging drugs for a third-rate villain like Baek Do-hyun.
But seeing him on his knees, pleading, he reminded me of myself—flailing desperately just to survive.
I wasn't the ruthless sociopathic vampire who exits in the prologue.
I was just an ordinary person who wanted to survive this story.
It was ridiculous that someone who'd never even thrown a punch was agonizing over killing or sparing a life.
So, I decided to make the choice I thought was right.
Forget gains and losses for a moment—even if this decision poisoned me later.
I didn't want to become a murderer who weighed pros and cons before taking a life.
Murder should be a true last resort.
I grabbed Wang's shoulder.
His body froze solid.
I spoke quietly.
"You've worked hard until now."
"Y-Young Master Do-hyun..."
He looked up at me with terror-filled eyes.
"Time to call it quits."
"P-Please spare me! I-I'll do anything...!"
I shook my head.
"Not like that."
"Th-Then...?"
"Get out of this crime business and live normally from now on. I'm done with it too."
Wang's eyes went wide.
He looked utterly flustered by the unexpected response.
Well, of course.
Even I thought Baek Do-hyun wasn't the type to say something like that.
"How much did I tell you?"
"P-Pardon...?"
"About the doping agent."
Luckily, I knew all about the doping agent Wang was selling.
Who sold it, its effects, side effects, reasons for selling—I had it all down pat.
Experimental Awake was a key item heralding the prelude to Chapter 1 of Red Ark's main story, "Dimensional Beast Awakening."
I was checking how much Baek Do-hyun had actually told him.
"Y-You called it drugs, and said to sell them to make money. Then you, uh, threatened—n-no, requested my cooperation..."
"And...?"
"You told me to target Arcana students mainly... Said they were ideal customers since it amplifies Psyker abilities..."
"Anything else besides the doping agent?"
"Uh, y-you hate kimchi. And, uh, you rent a room alone instead of living in the dorms..."
I fired off various questions to gauge exactly what he knew.
Fortunately, that was the extent of it.
From what I gathered about Wang's situation, he was just a poor lamb blackmailed by Baek Do-hyun, thinking Experimental Awake was mere drugs.
There didn't seem to be any other couriers besides him.
For the record, Wang's superpower was "disguise."
That's how he'd sold to desperate Arcana students craving power—changing his appearance each time—until Yubyeol-ha caught him.
But that raised one odd point.
Why had Baek Do-hyun risked using an ordinary student like Wang as a courier?
No matter how capable a regular guy was, if Wang got nabbed, it would naturally expose Baek Do-hyun's involvement.
Dismissing Baek Do-hyun as simply careless felt off.
Wang had no reason to lie about what he'd heard.
"Y-Young Master Do-hyun... C-Can I really stop selling the drugs now...?"
I'll think about it later.
The priority was always putting out the fire in front of me.
I brushed back my annoying bangs and nodded.
"Sorry for putting you through all that. I had my own circumstances. I know it's spilled milk now, and it might not mean much..."
"N-No, it's fine! Really! I didn't mind at all! You don't need to apologize, Young Master!"
Baek Do-hyun must've really terrorized him, because even my apology had him trembling.
For Wang, who clearly wanted to bolt as soon as possible, I issued a send-off, and surprisingly spry for his bulky build, he scurried down from the rooftop.
"Well then..."
As a monster in a weird spot, I wanted to avoid hunters as much as possible.
But fate wouldn't let me off that easy.
⚙ TRAIT INFO ⚙Level 1 - Hypnotic Eyes Eyes that induce hallucinations in people. Can show visions to targets who meet your gaze. Evolution Conditions: Evolution Points 100, Establish alliance with Yubyeol-ha.
The system's trait "evolution condition" was to establish an alliance with Yubyeol-ha.
An impossible condition right now.
But.
For some reason, I thought maybe this could become possible.
A chill ran down my spine.
If it was, it meant this "system" might have foreseen all this.
I checked my smartphone message one more time and headed down from the rooftop to the classroom.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Arcana Dimensional Beast Hunter Academy.
In a state-of-the-art training room in the annex, a single girl was honing her skills.
She gripped a massive scythe utterly mismatched to her petite frame.
Hunter Gear - Death's Scythe.
This weapon, modeled after the mythical Grim Reaper's sickle, was a special armament forged from dimensional matter dropped by slain Dimensional Beasts.
The girl's golden eyes darted rapidly.
Before her loomed the hologram of a monster over 5 meters tall, charging at her with murderous intent.
"Hoo..."
She took a cold, deep breath.
In that instant, a flash erupted in the training room.
A beat later, a thunderous boom.
KABOOM───!!
As the flash faded and the roar subsided, the monster hologram vanished.
⚔ TRAINING RESULTS ⚔2nd Year Cadet Yubyeol-ha. Grade 3 Dimensional Beast Gluttony ── Cleared in 0 min 15 sec. Psy Ability - Ahura Mazda, Identified Rank S Dedicated Armament - Death's Scythe Current Erosion Rate: 55% Overall Evaluation: A
Only after hearing the announcer's mechanical voice did Yubyeol-ha finally relax.
Grade 3 Dimensional Beast Gluttony.
A vicious entity deemed impossible for rookies to solo.
Yet Yubyeol-ha, a mere 2nd-year cadet, had butchered it effortlessly.
Staring at her record, the girl hailed as the next big hunter talent after Special-Class Lee Gyeo-ul wore a dissatisfied expression.
"Still can't one-shot it without a big move, huh..."
She clicked her tongue.
No other cadet in all of Arcana could match her records.
Only a 3rd-year like Kang Chang-su might stand beside her in specific scenarios—and even that felt unreasonable.
Blessed body, overwhelming Psy ability, exceptional combat sense.
Yubyeol-ha, born with every "hunter" trait imaginable, was the object of envy for all Arcana cadets.
"Fuck..."
Her only flaws: a foul mouth and rotten temper.
After finishing training and turning in her hunter gear, as she headed back to the dorm...
"Yubyeol-ha!"
Her one and only friend, Haena Rolling, came rushing up.
"Haena."
Born of British-Korean mix, Haena had lived in the UK for 16 years but spoke Korean fluently.
A 2nd-year Arcana cadet and Yubyeol-ha's roommate to boot.
She had the personality to be besties with someone as prickly and foul-mouthed as Yubyeol-ha.
"What's up?"
"Oh, someone was waiting for you at the school gate! Hehe, thought you'd wanna know!"
"The school gate? You didn't have to bother... Who is it?"
Yubyeol-ha gave a wry smile at the thoughtful, caring Haena.
Despite keeping others at arm's length, she couldn't help opening up to Haena's genuine kindness.
"Baek Do-hyun! Long blue hair, red eyes, guy student! Thought he was a celeb at first. Dude's skin is whiter and smoother than mine—and I'm a girl! Kinda girly, but super mysterious vibe!"
Yubyeol-ha's eyes narrowed the moment she heard the name Baek Do-hyun.
What the hell? Why's he come to see me...?