* * *
The streets were bustling with students.
I wasn’t sure if this was the norm or if it was because of the upcoming conference.
After all, this was my first time visiting the Royal Academy.
‘Everyone looks exhausted.’
The younger students still had a faint trace of liveliness, but even that was rare.
Admission was difficult, but graduation was even harder.
That was why the Academy’s graduates were in such high demand everywhere.
For commoners, this place was a land of opportunity.
For nobles, it was a means to elevate their family’s prestige.
Even for noble heirs with predetermined futures, enrolling in the Academy was a necessity.
Simply graduating was considered an outstanding achievement.
‘And yet, Raizen manages to be the top student here? That guy is insane.’
And he didn’t even look worn out.
On top of that, he was presenting a thesis at the conference.
Unless he had 48 hours in a day, how was that even possible?
‘Ugh, thinking about Raizen again.’
At this point, it was becoming a sickness.
Shaking off my thoughts, I quickened my pace, searching for a quiet, secluded spot.
Once I was sure I was alone, I retrieved an invisibility necklace from my inventory and slipped it on.
Tapping the central gemstone twice, I felt a strange sensation ripple through my body from head to toe.
‘Did it activate?’
I glanced down at my hands.
They had turned semi-transparent, hazy.
My arms, too, were fading from sight.
I had already tested how far the invisibility effect extended when I first received the necklace, but using it in an actual situation made me a bit anxious.
Looking around, I spotted a large glass window on a nearby building and hurried toward it.
Standing in front of the window, I slowly lifted my head.
‘Whew, good.’
I wasn’t visible. Even though I was standing right there, there wasn’t even the faintest reflection.
Relieved, I suppressed my presence as much as possible and slipped away from the crowd.
I moved into a narrow alley between two buildings and took a deep breath before closing my eyes.
‘The Divine Beast’s egg… Where is it?’
I began my search using holy energy.
Before long, I sensed a strong, distinct presence of divine energy—the very energy I had been tracking all this time.
Back at the ducal estate, I had to widen my range significantly before I could locate it.
‘It’s close. Really close.’
But… where exactly?
The way I sensed divine energy was like seeing tiny glowing dots on a black background.
I could tell the general direction, but not the precise distance.
Just then, a soft ding rang in my ears.
Startled by the unfamiliar notification, I opened my eyes.
A system message had appeared before me.
[You have completed the first condition of the quest.]
[As a reward, you will receive a hint.]
[Hint: Touch.]
‘Touch?’
So I have to touch something…?
But what?
I don’t even know where the Divine Beast’s egg is yet.
It was confusing, but I tried to think rationally.
‘Something I can touch.’
Right now… there was only one thing.
Closing my eyes again, I resumed my search.
A powerful surge of divine energy was close by.
I couldn’t physically touch it, but I reached out in my mind, as if making contact.
The moment I did, a strange sensation spread through me, and my vision turned white.
My heartbeat pounded loudly as an invisible force pulled me forward.
As if drawn by instinct, I took a step.
I had no way of knowing the exact location, but somehow, I was certain—if I followed this path, I would reach the Divine Beast’s egg.
I had no idea how long I walked.
By the time I stopped, I had strayed far from my original location.
The grand buildings were nowhere in sight, replaced by a vast forest looming ahead.
‘Here.’
Before me stood an old, abandoned building.
Its rough, gray walls were cracked in places, its design crude and unpolished.
It didn’t even seem like it belonged in the Academy.
And yet…
‘There must be a reason why they haven’t demolished this place.’
I was close now.
I could feel the Divine Beast’s egg calling to me.
My heart pounded so loudly my ears rang.
The entrance was, predictably, locked.
I wasn’t surprised.
Instead, I moved along the outer walls, checking each window.
‘Locked.’
This one, and that one—every single one was shut tight.
But I didn’t give up and kept trying each window.
Finally, one slid open with a soft creak.
‘Got it…!’
I slipped inside and quietly shut the window behind me.
Scanning my surroundings, I found the interior to be surprisingly clean—too clean for an abandoned building.
Someone was using this place.
Maybe for private research, or some kind of secret experiment.
‘There’s no telling when someone might show up.’
The interior was built with wood.
Because of that, every step let out an ominous creaking sound.
It wasn’t something that could be concealed—anyone inside would immediately realize another visitor had arrived.
‘I need to do this as quickly as possible.’
There could already be someone here.
But there was no use in being cautious when every step made a noise.
Frustrated, he quickened his pace despite the risk. Fortunately, he didn’t sense any other presence.
Following the call of the divine beast’s egg, he arrived at the basement.
Unlike the wooden upper floors, the basement had stone flooring.
Cracks ran along the walls in every direction—it looked like a great battle had taken place, or perhaps someone had intentionally tried to destroy the place.
At the center of the room stood what seemed to be a half-shattered altar.
As he approached, a chilling breeze swept past him, sending shivers down his spine.
Instinctively, he rubbed his arms.
‘This place feels like somewhere I shouldn’t be.’
It was as if the space itself was rejecting him—no, rejecting any outsider.
But turning back wasn’t an option.
He could feel it now, the divine beast’s egg was right before him.
He stopped in front of a door. It was oddly placed deep within the underground space.
The surrounding walls were full of cracks and damage, yet this door alone remained intact.
A magical sigil was drawn on it—half resembling a wing, half like tree branches, with the intricate design positioned at its center.
[Touch it.]
A voice, warm like a spring breeze, whispered into his ears before fading away.
Strangely, it was a voice he felt he had heard before.
‘…I should just do as it says, right?’
Slowly, he reached out toward the magic sigil.
The moment his fingertips brushed against the cool surface of the door, an indescribable wave of emotions surged through him.
It was overwhelming—both bittersweet and heartrending, a feeling impossible to define.
By the time he regained his senses, his face was drenched in tears.
Hastily wiping them away with his sleeve, he pushed the door open.
It swung open effortlessly without a sound.
Inside, everything—from the walls to the floor—was made of ivory-colored marble.
There was no furniture, nothing at all except for a single egg at the center, glowing as though made of pure light.
Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded harder.
A strange sense of joy, an inexplicable feeling of reunion, welled up within him.
As if drawn by an unseen force, he approached the egg and reached out.
Then—
‘You little bastard!!’
A man—his father—raised a soju bottle high in the air.
Without hesitation, he brought it down on his son’s head.
Struck by the unexpected attack, he collapsed instantly.
‘You think you’re all grown up now? You dare look down on your father…?’
His father slurred his words, his voice thick with intoxication.
His bloodshot eyes and flushed face reeked of alcohol.
Staggering, the man crouched down and rummaged through his son’s pockets.
Eventually, he found a wallet and scowled.
‘Didn’t I tell you to keep some cash on hand?! Damn brat. I must be a fool for raising a useless son like you.’
After muttering to himself for a while, he took out a check card.
Then, as if he had no more use for it, he tossed the empty wallet carelessly onto the floor and nudged his son’s motionless body with his foot.
‘Hey. How much is in there? What’s the PIN?’
He didn’t answer.
Not that he could.
Even if he had been capable of speaking, his response wouldn’t have changed.
Irritated by the silence, the man kicked him hard.
‘I said, what’s the damn PIN, you little shit?!’
His father’s furious shouting suddenly came to a halt.
‘…What the hell? Why is there so much blood…?’
It seemed he had finally noticed the pool of blood spreading across the floor.
Stunned, he nudged his son’s body again—then bolted out of the room in a panic.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Leaving him alone.
And then—he died.
“…Ah.”
This was… a memory.
The moment he had died.
A memory he hadn’t even realized he had forgotten.
He had always known, vaguely, but now that it had returned in full detail, it didn’t feel good at all.
‘But… at least I remember how old I was in Korea.’
Back then, he had been twenty-four.
His mother hadn’t been satisfied, but he had managed to get into a decent university.
Yet because of his father’s abuse, he had barely finished one semester before enlisting in the military.
After being discharged, he had immediately moved into a goshiwon (Single-room occupancy) to escape.
He wanted to graduate without taking any more breaks, so he had thrown himself into work, desperately saving money.
That day—his mother had begged him to come home, just for a bit.
But when he arrived, she wasn’t there.
Only his father was.
And that was how he ended up getting killed by a soju bottle to the head.
‘I recovered a lost piece of my memory.’
Was it because of the divine beast’s egg?
He lifted his head to check.
“…?”
The egg was gone.
* * *
