Do-Jun opened the balcony window and looked outside. The weather app on his phone showed a morning temperature of eighteen degrees Celsius—quite chilly. It seemed like winter was just around the corner. Winter held a special significance for Do-Jun, as it was the season he came back to Earth from the Central Plains. As he took a sip of his coffee, Do-Jun found himself wondering what kind of person he had been in the past. During his endless years of perseverance in the Central Plains, Do-Jun had transcended human limitations, achieving a level of strength beyond comparison. But in exchange, he had also lost much—most notably, his memories from his previous life on Earth. In the early morning hours, a commuter on their way to work, still groggy, yawned widely as they headed toward the subway station. The scene was a quintessential glimpse into the busy life of modern people. Do-Jun found himself projecting onto that image. He, too, had once been an ordinary office worker, living a busy life on Earth. A mundane life on Earth. Do-Jun was fairly satisfied with his current lifestyle. His smartphone vibrated briefly, signaling an incoming text. Do-Jun opened the message. Jung Young-Chul: Good morning, Supervisor Lee. Here is today's report: Behemoth will be deployed to the fourth floor of the Core starting at 9 AM. Please take note. Stay safe during your commute and be mindful of the large temperature fluctuations. Sincerely, Jung Young-Chul, Hunter’s Bureau Chief. Do-Jun put his phone back in his pocket and sipped his coffee again. Today was his day off. He wondered how the construction was progressing. The Water Serpent was classified as a catastrophe-rank monster. Although it was known as the entrance between the sixth and seventh floors of the Core, that was only because it had coiled itself around the passage long ago, blocking the way. Originally, the passage between the sixth and seventh floors was a zone heavily influenced by magical energy, lethal enough to kill most adventurers who tried to pass through. The Water Serpent, however, swallowed adventurers, shielding them from the magic's effects, and then transported them to the seventh floor. In a way, it was providing a service to adventurers. However, if someone displeased it, they would be imprisoned and left to die inside its stomach cave. Currently, the Water Serpent was silently repairing the entrance to the seventh floor, wielding a shovel. “Shit, shit, shit!” it cursed. What had it done to deserve this? The Water Serpent, who had been enjoying peaceful days, recently encountered Do-Jun and narrowly escaped death. Do-Jun possessed terrifying strength. The Water Serpent’s ultimate ability, the Curse of Water, which could destroy even Solomon’s Demons or Transcendents trapped inside it, had no effect on Do-Jun whatsoever! He continued shovelling. Magic was a tricky obstacle for adventurers exploring the Core. The deeper they descended, the stronger the effect of the “curse” became, requiring adventurers to acquire artifacts or clear Core achievements to build magic resistance. The entrance to the seventh floor was an especially perilous zone saturated with magic that could kill instantly. The Magic Devourer, an artifact shaped like a shovel, nullified such magic. Do-Jun had given it to the Water Serpent. Category: Tool/Miscellaneous Grade: Treasure of the Deep Realm Description: Removes magical energy in specific zones. “Agh!” the Water Serpent wailed. Despite its efforts, the endless clumps of magic infuriated the Water Serpent. In a fit of rage, it threw the shovel far away and collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out. Do-Jun had said he would come to inspect the progress today, but Water Serpent didn’t believe him. “There’s no way someone who descended to the seventh floor could possibly come back to the sixth,” it said, as if trying to reassure itself. The end of the Core, the lake deep in the Deep Realm, only permitted ascension with a blessing. The system itself forbade climbing back up through the floors. Defying the Core’s laws would result in immediate death by the Core’s Curse. But then, a massive Fissure split the air. The resting Water Serpent opened one eye to glance at the Fissure, and its expression turned pale. “L-Lee Do-Jun...” it stammered. Do-Jun, who should have been on the seventh floor, had appeared on the sixth again. The Water Serpent, still in its human form and lying on the ground, suddenly jumped up and looked around nervously. Quickly grabbing the shovel, it hurried to the entrance of the seventh floor and started clearing the magic residue frantically. Do-Jun’s eyes narrowed as he approached the seemingly busy Water Serpent. He scanned the piles of magic residue still blocking the entrance to the seventh floor. “You’ve been slacking,” he muttered. “L-listen, Lee Do-Jun. This is impossible to clear in just a few days. As you know, this is the accumulation of magic residue from thousands of years. It’ll take at least a month to finish!” Of course, that was a lie. The Water Serpent had only started the construction that morning. Do-Jun was certain it had been slacking off all this time. “Ten pages per day,” he said to the serpent. “I’ll check back in three days.” With that, Do-Jun’s figure vanished. Nearly a month had passed since Ryzagal arrived on Earth. After Do-Jun destroyed his nest connected to the sixth floor, Ryzagal cast a restoration spell on it. He believed the nest should have fully recovered by now and was planning to return to the sixth floor soon. “So, you’re leaving tomorrow?” Do-Jun asked. “Yes. But I’ll visit Earth from time to time.” Ryzagal had come to say goodbye and was having a casual drink at Do-Jun’s home. Do-Jun poured him another glass. The clear liquid in the green bottle was called soju in Korea, and the two of them had already finished three bottles. Feeling pleasantly tipsy, Ryzagal’s face was slightly flushed. “Sorry for destroying your home,” Do-Jun apologized. “N-no, it’s fine. I practically asked for it.” Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Ryzagal was in a good mood. His month-long stay on Earth had been nothing short of wonderful. At first, he had been terrified of Do-Jun. He had been cautious, worried that one misstep might cost him his life. He couldn’t understand why dragons and Transcendents didn’t flee from Do-Jun. But as time passed, he began to understand why. Ryzagal thought that Do-Jun was a fascinating human. If he was even human, that is. Regardless, he exuded a comforting warmth. It seeped in slowly, day by day, and that warmth—it reached the heart. Over the past month, Ryzagal instinctively came to realize just how much Do-Jun genuinely cared for those around him. Ryzagal downed his glass in one go. “Aaaah, this is good.” “Yeah.” Do-Jun smiled faintly and casually drank his soju. Unlike Ryzagal, he showed no signs of intoxication. Still, he enjoyed the ambiance of drinking together. “May I ask you for a favor?” Do-Jun asked. “Of course. Whatever you need.” “Eventually, Earth’s Rankers will reach the sixth floor.” “Ah... You mean those humans called Behemoths, right?” “Yes. When they arrive on the sixth floor, please look after them.” Do-Jun smiled warmly. Meanwhile, the Water Serpent was hard at work removing magic residue. It didn’t understand what Do-Jun had meant by “Ten pages per day,” but it instinctively felt an enormous threat. Ten pages? What could that mean? And if it was “per day,” surely the threat would only increase with time. “Huff, huff... Dammit.” It couldn’t help but curse. Three days had passed since Do-Jun’s visit. The Water Serpent hadn’t stopped working, and the results were becoming clear. At last, only one final scoop of debris remained. The dark, sticky lump of magic residue stuck in the corner was removed, and finally, the entrance to the seventh floor was spotless. The Water Serpent was confident that even the most careless adventurer could pass through without issue. A Fissure opened. The Water Serpent twitched its lips and scurried toward it. “W-welcome back!” it greeted Do-Jun. He nodded and walked toward the seventh floor entrance to check on the work. Honestly, he hadn’t expected it to be completed in just three days, but thanks to the Water Serpent’s hard work, not a single speck of magic residue remained. “You’ve done a good job,” Do-Jun said. “Haha, thank you.” The Water Serpent exhaled a long sigh of relief internally. At that moment, Do-Jun pulled something out of Ivela’s pouch. It was a stack of blank paper—thirty sheets in total. “You only need to write thirty pages of reflection. Fill both sides completely. No large handwriting, understood? Oh, and make sure it’s in Korean.” Do-Jun also placed three children’s Korean workbooks—Korean for Kids Volumes 1, 2, and 3—on top of the stack of blank papers that the Water Serpent was holding. With a stunned expression, the Water Serpent looked back and forth between the Korean books and Do-Jun’s face. Then, Do-Jun vanished. The Water Serpent opened a Korean workbook and started studying it. 1. Start Learning with the Basic Vowel ‘ㅏ’! 2. Add Basic Consonants to the Basic Vowel to Learn Consonants! 3. Learn Characters with the Seven Basic Final Consonants (ㅇ, ㅁ, ㄹ, ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅂ, ㅅ)! The Water Serpent clutched its head in frustration. It could read the books that Do-Jun had left with him using an interpreter artifact, but fully writing in Korean was impossible. In the end, it had no choice but to learn Korean step by step. The whole situation felt like sheer torment. It flung the book away. At that moment, another Fissure opened. Startled, the Water Serpent quickly scrambled to pick up the book, pretending to study as though nothing had happened. However, the one emerging from the Fissure wasn’t Do-Jun, but Ryzagal, the second-ranked dragon. The Water Serpent had noticed the Fissure rippling in the area where Ryzagal’s nest used to be and had suspected the seal might have been broken. Still, it never imagined that its suspicions would prove correct. D-dammit! I thought I’d finally have some peace after Lee Do-Jun left...! The Water Serpent tensed up, praying fervently that Ryzagal wouldn’t come its way. Ryzagal’s gaze landed on the serpent, and as he started walking toward it, the Water Serpent felt a chill run down its spine. Ryzagal glanced at the Korean For Kids Volume 1 book in the serpent’s hands, the second and third volumes scattered on the floor, and the stack of blank paper nearby. Then he scratched his head. “Reflection paper?” he asked the serpent. The Water Serpent flinched in shock and asked, “H-how did you know?” “How could I not? I basically lived and breathed reflection papers while I was on Earth.” “Anyway, it seems you’re struggling with Korean. That’ll make writing these pretty tough.” Ryzagal sat down beside the Water Serpent. “Hand it over. I’ve got nothing better to do, so I’ll graciously teach you the greatness of Korean.” “You know Korean?” the serpent asked. “Of course. For your information, I scored full marks every time I took a pop quiz. Ah, if you’re wondering what full marks mean...” Recalling Yong-Yong’s lessons, Ryzagal straightened his shoulders with pride.