Chapter 127: Roy’s Hidden Battle

Even in serious situations, Heis had a knack for making things seem like no big deal.

“Are you finally in the mood to tell us what happened?”

If left alone, it felt like Heis and Solum would just keep talking about everything they hadn’t said before, forever.

But right now, Roy and Kim Chan had only gotten some unexpected free time from PD Shimjun because High Cycle was late arriving for the shoot.

No one suspected yet that Roy and Kim Chan had come here, but given a little more time, someone from the members might come looking for the two.

The most likely candidate was Song Doyoon.

Just the thought of Song Doyoon bursting into this scene made it feel like Ssongdokwan would be turned upside down.

On top of that, if a commotion started, the other members and the production staff would likely flock here as well.

The Earth had set up a barrier, but if there were a Hunter with sharp senses, they might get suspicious and try to break through the rock. Just as Roy was about to tell them to hurry up and speak if they had something to say, Heis spoke up in a grave voice.

“It’s not just one of them.”

“What?”

“I mean the Mud Magician. There are at least triplets.”

Not just one.

The idea that a being with such abilities was not unique was a terrifying thought.

……

I don’t think the legends said anything about this.”

“Exactly.”

At first, Heis and Charles also assumed there was only one Mud Magician.

After all, since it was a legendary being, they could only deduce its identity based on the legend.

‘Charles, the Mud Magician is over here! Why are you going that way?’

He noticed something strange when Charles tried to move in the exact opposite direction of himself.

Charles pointed in the direction he intended to go, looking puzzled at Heis’s question.

‘No. The Mud Magician definitely went this way.’

Heis was a bit stronger than Charles, but that didn’t mean he could completely disregard Charles’s instincts.

“We both saw the Mud Magician running away. But in different directions.”

From that moment, he instinctively felt something was off.

With no other option, the two of them split up.

But what do you know—there were two creatures waiting for him that looked exactly the same.

Tracking the Mud Magician’s tail had gone well, or so Heis thought.

At first, he believed he had cornered the Mud Magician.

“But it was a trap. There was mud everywhere.”

Even Heis needed a solid surface to gain traction and properly show off his swordsmanship.

But wherever he stepped, his feet kept sinking, making it nearly impossible to keep his balance.

He had never wanted Ris’s abilities so desperately.

“Even for me, taking on two Mud Magicians in a mud pit was tough.”

It wasn’t that he was afraid of the Mud Magicians.

Their magical energy was so strong he could feel it tingling in his skin, but Heis was confident he could handle them.

“The problem was that their underlings kept popping out of the mud. Creatures about half as tall as my waist, like dwarves.”

There’s no way to beat sheer numbers.

Dozens of mud dwarves rushed at Heis.

With barely any room to dodge, he had to fend off enemies attacking from all sides and eventually had his hands and feet tied up.

“After I finished off all the dwarves, they disappeared again. When I met up with Charles later, it turned out his situation was about the same.”

However, Charles said the Mud Magician he ran into was alone.

“What do they look like? Are their features really as unrecognizable as in the legends?”

“Yeah. They don’t have faces at all. They just look like lumped-together piles of mud.”

All the Mud Magicians wore pitch-black robes.

If they were human, you’d barely be able to see anything below the nose.

But sometimes, when they moved, you could catch a glimpse inside.

They had a human shape, but the Mud Magicians had no eyes, no nose, no mouth.

“Don’t tell me… are they reproducing?”

“Reproducing? Just the thought gives me chills.”

Heis and Charles had encountered a total of three Mud Magicians.

But the way Heis described the Mud Magician’s appearance reminded Roy of that Fan who transformed during Kkoribyul’s debut stage set.

That Fan had been a perfectly normal person—up until he turned into a mud monster.

Which meant, whether there was one real Mud Magician or several, it was certain they had the power to create beings that looked just like themselves.

“Roy hyung! Where are you?”

Just as Roy was about to ask Heis more about the Mud Magician’s characteristics, a familiar voice rang out from afar.

“It’s Song Doyoon.”

Just as Roy expected, Song Doyoon was coming to look for Roy and Kim Chan.

“We’ll go back to the shoot for now. Take care of the eggs for us, and watch carefully to see if anything strange happens.”

“Got it. We could use a rest, too.”

***

After rolling around in the mud and fighting mud monsters nonstop, even stamina-rich Heis was about worn out.

“Chan, let’s go.”

“Yeah, hyung. Just a sec!”

Roy signaled Kim Chan with his eyes. Song Doyoon’s voice, calling for them, was growing louder.

The voice was getting closer and closer.

It seemed Song Doyoon was turning toward the cliff and running this way.

“Charles hyung, it was really nice to meet you today. See you again soon! And here’s a gift.”

Apparently quite fond of Charles, Kim Chan pulled a bunch of snacks out of his inventory and handed them over.

Charles nodded heavily without saying a word. But he couldn’t hide the tips of his ears turning red beneath his hair.

“Hurry up.”

Roy grabbed Kim Chan by the arm and slipped out through the barrier. At just that moment, Song Doyoon popped his head over the edge of the cliff.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Just getting a bit of fresh air.”

Kim Chan approached Song Doyoon naturally.

“Is break time over? Why were you calling our names so loudly?”

“PD said to call everyone who wasn’t here yet. Come on, High Cycle sunbaenim have arrived.”

“For real?”

Apparently, they’d spent longer here than expected.

Roy and Kim Chan hurried to follow Song Doyoon toward the crowd.

“You two, come on!”

Shimjun greeted Roy and Kim Chan with a pleased smile.

He glanced at the assembled Kkoribyul and High Cycle members and clapped lightly.

“All the cast is finally here. We need to shoot the opening, so we’ll start filming in ten minutes.”

The High Cycle members had arrived faster than expected.

There was still a bit of daylight left, so the timing was perfect for filming.

“Hello, sunbaenim!”

“I’m Kim Chan.”

***

After listening to Shimjun, Roy and Kim Chan greeted High Cycle first.

In terms of debut years and current status, High Cycle were absolute seniors Kkoribyul had to be respectful to.

“Aigo, please take care of us!”

The one who responded to their greeting with cheerful ease was Kei.

His bright, smiling face matched his easygoing personality.

The crescent-moon eyes made him a charmingly handsome guy.

“…So, you’re the spirits.”

A man with a blunt look strode toward Roy.

Known as the dumpling-face, or Ddungsang for short, it was High Cycle’s member Irian.

“Oh…”

He gave off a similar vibe to Kim Jaewoo.

Kim Jaewoo was normally fine, but whenever he faced spirits, his handsome face would go silly with glee.

Irian wasn’t that extreme, but the sparkle in his eyes when he looked at the spirits was clearly filled with affection.

“Yes, sunbaenim. Should we all introduce ourselves?”

With a polite smile, Roy signaled to the spirits.

Ber, always quick on the uptake with this kind of thing, fluttered up to Irian’s shoulder and rubbed his forehead against Irian’s chin.

“Beep.” (Hey human, aren’t I cute? Give me lots of tasty things.)

He did it to help Roy, but also in the hopes that some treats might fall his way.

Aqua, Solum, and Ris also shyly approached Irian, each showing off their own adorable charms.

“Uh, uh… thanks, guys…”

Irian hadn’t expected such a warm welcome and turned bright red, patting the spirits on their heads one by one.

“If you give them tasty things, they’ll like you even more. I saw last time—they eat a ton.”

Kim Taejin, who’d witnessed the spirits’ monstrous appetites, added in.

“You want some of this?”

“Piit.” (Very much.)

Tempted by Kim Taejin’s words, Irian pulled out the snacks he’d packed for the shoot.

Ris fluttered the wings on his shell and let out a pleased little cry.

A mountain of snacks, most he’d never seen before, suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Thank you, sunbaenim. You guys enjoy these.”

As they watched, Shimjun signaled that preparations for filming were done.

The spirits, gathered around the snack pile, gave Roy a half-hearted nod.

Roy shook his head, watching the spirits forget all about him the moment food was around.

“Stand by. Cue!”

One of the crew snapped the slate. Han Jihoo and Kim Taejin stood in the center.

With the two of them as the focal point, the members lined up in a row and filming began.

“Hello, viewers. I’m Kim Taejin, leader of High Cycle.”

Kim Taejin’s intro was smoothly picked up by Han Jihoo.

“Hello, I’m Han Jihoo, leader of Kkoribyul. It’s an honor to be appearing on ‘Help the Junior and Senior Bond!’ with High Cycle sunbaenim.”

“No, no, the honor’s all mine. Kkoribyul is the hottest rookie these days.”

Han Jihoo and Kim Taejin exchanged compliments back and forth.

Roy, never much of a talker, stood quietly at the very end of the line, keeping a broadcast-ready smile on his face.

“I’m sure everyone is curious about where we’re filming today.”

“Some of you might have guessed already, seeing the ocean behind us.”

The two pointed at the endless sea behind them, striking a pose like show hosts presenting a product.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw the sea up close like this.”

“You too, sunbaenim? Since our Survival Program filming location was an island, I saw plenty of ocean back then, but since debuting, I hardly ever get to see it.”

Their nonstop schedule mostly kept them in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

From their dorm, they could see the Han River to their heart’s content, but it had been quite a while since they’d faced such a vast sea.

“I’ve heard rumors that Kkoribyul is even busier than High Cycle these days.”

“Not at all. We still have a long way to go to catch up with you, sunbaenim.”

Kim Taejin said it lightly, but Han Jihoo broke into a cold sweat for a moment.

High Cycle had a massive and overwhelming fan base.

Heoseongdan, Kkoribyul’s fandom, was still no match for Lovelone, High Cycle’s.