A crowd quickly formed around the massive blue gate. Park Jiwon and Park Jinae stood in front of it, crying in each other's arms.
A tall man clad in black, intricate armor walked towards them. Police officers followed behind, blocking off the area with yellow tape.
The man gently tapped Jiwon's shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, are you the one who made the call?" Jiwon looked up, eyes blotched with tears. She nodded.
"Yes, that was us," she replied and stood up with her daughter. "They-they're still in there," she pointed to the sealed gate. "Please tell me that there's something- anything you could do to save them!" Jiwon begged relentlessly.
The man's lips pressed into a thin line, unsure of how to answer without sounding too dark. Pity flickered in his gaze as he looked past her and toward the gate.
"Unfortunately, we could only hope for the best."
__
An eruption of wind surrounded Iseul, flowing around him like a cocoon. The werewolf flew back with a big boom and remained motionless. Nari screamed. "...What?" he muttered.
What the hell just happened?
His hand was raised in the air awkwardly, unsure and confused. He looked up at it. The fan glowed golden in the dark. Suddenly, Iseul's eyes glowed red, and a familiar red system screen appeared.
[Balam Yong- The Wind Dragon
Rank: L
Info: A Legendary Fan donned by Yeongdeung Halmang herself, the goddess of wind.]
Iseul's eyes bulged out of his head. His mind was running a million miles a minute. Is it he who's S-Rank, or is it his weapon? This is BS.
First of all, he was S-Rank?!
He knew this world was a novel, but it was also his own reality, and he was a little lost on what to think. Does that mean he was the first omega S-Rank? Or did that event already happen?
He knows he shouldn't be thinking of this right now, as he planned to do so after dropping off his little sister. But now that he's in this predicament, does that mean this universe changed because of him?
And, what was with this fan? One second, it was a cheap and sturdy "weapon," but now, it's an actual weapon. A legendary-ranked weapon.
Shit.
Does that mean it costs- like, a trillion won? Imagine how much money he'd get for selling this?
That thought couldn't even go any further before it was instantly blocked by the red screen.
[This is a soul-bound item]
Iseul sighed. So much for that.
"And what's with this interface that answers all my questions?" he wondered aloud. He didn't remember hearing anything like that in this world or reading about it in the novel. The system appeared, speedily answering his questions.
[Skill: Red Eye
Rank: L
Info: An all-seeing eye that answers almost all the questions in the universe.]
Baek Iseul's already wide eyes widened further, this time questioning reality itself.
"How the hell..."
Iseul, too lost in thought, had yet to notice the loud noise he made while using his skill. That's when he heard it—a rumble, no, a stampede of footsteps. The monsters probably got attracted to the noise.
The ground rumbled beneath them, and Iseul was pulled out of thought. He turned towards Nari, who hid not far from him. Her long hair covered her face slightly as she looked at him with large, round, glassy eyes.
Her face looked like a large question mark. Iseul bit his lip and yelled, "Nari! Stay back there! Don't come out until I say so!"
She hurriedly nodded her head and put her hands over her ears, trying to block out the loud noise.
Baek Iseul didn't notice it until now, but his right hand, which was holding the L-Ranked fan, was still in the air. He brought it down and observed it.
The fan was no longer the sad one he bought from a market. It was now beige and black, adorned with a beautiful brown pattern of flowers and a butterfly.
The inside, though, was a masterpiece of its own. A beautiful artwork of who he could only assume was the wind goddess, Yeongdeung Halmang. She danced in the sky with her fan.
A beautiful smile graced her lips, and she looked eerily similar to him. He squinted his eyes.
He ignored that thought and left it for later.
Instead, he decided to ask this "system" something important. "Hey, system. Can I see my skills?"
The red interface immediately appeared.
[Red Eye: L
Fan Dance: S
Hurricane: S
Sayak Fan: S
Hanbang: S]
Iseul's mouth fell open, but he swiftly shut his mouth and reeled back his thoughts. All of these skills seemed useful, but not all of them in this situation.
If his traditional Korean knowledge doesn't fail him, then "Hanbang" is a healing skill and "Sayak" is a poisonous one. The unit from his first year in middle school about the Joseon Dynasty is still coming to haunt him to this very day.
He can't use poison because he doesn't want it to affect Nari. He also can't use Hanbang, obviously because no one's hurt. If Hurricane is what he thinks it is, then it'd also be too dangerous around Nari. It was probably the skill he used on the werewolf.
His best bet would be Fan Dance. "Wait, but how do I use it?" he asked into nothingness.
His Red Eye answered his question for him.
[Dancing gracefully will automatically activate the skill.]
Iseul scoffed. Dancing gracefully? It was a bit embarrassing, but he was a K-pop idol in his last life. He also learned a bit of contemporary dance in the midst of it. Shoving down his humiliation, he held the fan gracefully.
Hopefully, this body isn't too stiff.
"Is it like... this?" He moved his foot nervously and flicked his wrist. Out came a beautiful gust of wind, encapsulating the cold place. "Wow..."
Iseul's mouth hung open, and his eyes glimmered with curiosity. Iseul heard a few grunts from down the cave. He guesses he unintentionally attacked the creatures unknowingly.
He smirked at that, feeling proud of himself, then shivered. The cave was even colder now with his skills. He wanted to wrap this up swiftly and get out of here. Now, though, is he going to wait for them, or is he going to approach?
Undeniably, fighting the enemies rather than waiting for them to come, like Nari said was the best option. His lip quirked upwards as he walked forward, fan in hand.
Baek Iseul was a little anxious, but he should confront his enemies, right?