The final bell rang, but Chun Ma didn't move. His hands were folded neatly over his school desk, eyes staring at the corner of the classroom. Deep in thought.
"Earth to Chun Ma," Woo-jin said, snapping his fingers. "You've been staring into nothing for like five minutes."
Chun Ma blinked slowly. "This world confuses me."
"Yeah, welcome to being a teenager."
"No," Chun Ma said. "I mean this entire realm. There are too many glowing boxes. Too many screens."
Woo-jin laughed. "You mean the internet?"
Chun Ma turned to him. "You've said this word before. What is the internet?"
Woo-jin paused. "Uh... well... imagine a massive scroll that everyone in the world can write on, watch, argue over, and get very addicted to."
Chun Ma narrowed his eyes. "That sounds like a cursed object."
"You're not wrong."
Later in The Club Room
Hana stood waiting, holding her phone like a sword.
"Okay. Which one of you went viral?"
Chun Ma looked at her, puzzled. "Viral? As in, sick?"
"No, as in—look at this!"
She played a video. Chun Ma, fighting off thugs in a BBQ joint. Glasses askew. Eyes sharp. Calm amidst chaos.
"I do not recall a camera," Chun Ma murmured.
"Seventeen thousand people saw this. You're trending."
"I have not even begun to trend."
Woo-jin laughed nervously. "He doesn't know what that means."
Hana folded her arms. "You better keep a low profile, or we're all screwed."
Chun Ma stood. "Then teach me."
"Teach you what?"
"This internet. If I am to survive here, I must understand this... glowing scroll world."
Hana looked at him like he just offered to duel a vending machine. "…You're serious?"
"As death."
Inside of PC Café
Neon lights. Teenagers yelling. Ramen cups stacked like towers of shame.
Chun Ma stepped inside and stopped cold.
"…This place hums."
"That's just the fans," Woo-jin said.
He pulled Chun Ma to a computer and sat him down.
"Okay. First lesson. This is a keyboard. You type with it."
Chun Ma stared at it, then jabbed a key with one finger. The screen changed.
He jumped back.
"It responded."
"Yes. Because it's not a stone tablet, it's a machine."
"…It is like training a tiger with polite claps."
Woo-jin sighed. "This is gonna take a while."
They opened a browser.
Chun Ma flinched again.
"Why does it flash so much?"
"Ads."
"Are these… magical traps?"
"In a way."
He opened the video of the BBQ fight again. Chun Ma studied it in silence.
Finally, he asked, "Is this… how they all see me?"
"Yep. Pretty cool, huh?"
"No. My left side is wide open."
Woo-jin blinked. "That's your takeaway?"
Suddenly, the screen flickered.
A notification appeared.
⎛System Notification⎠
"Coordinates Unlocked - Dungeon Detected"
Location: 2.3km — 'Trial of the Frozen Path'
Hint: Begins in shadow, ends in ice.
Reward: Unknown. Risk: Moderate.
Chun Ma's posture straightened.
"I must go."
"To where?"
"The system calls."
"…Can it call after I finish my snack?"
"No."
Scene: Behind a Convenience Store
A broken sign. A half-frozen stairway.
"This feels illegal," Woo-jin muttered.
"It is… quiet," Chun Ma said, eyes narrowing. "Too quiet."
They entered.
Cold air wrapped around them like a wet blanket. The hallway ahead was dimly lit. Ice crusted the walls.
The door slammed shut.
The lights died.
⎛System⎠
Trial Start: "Frozen Path"
Rules: No light. No screaming. No touching walls. Survive 5 minutes.
Bonus: +Skill if successful.
Woo-jin squeaked. "I hate this already."
Hye-rin appeared behind them, calm as ever. "Good place for a nap."
Seo-jin whispered, "Spirits are watching."
Chun Ma breathed slowly. He closed his eyes.
Let instinct take over.
Darkness pressed in—but he felt the hallway. The movement of air. The shift in pressure.
A whisper slid past his ear.
Not real. An illusion.
He stepped forward, unfazed.
The others followed, some reluctantly.
Minutes passed like hours.
Then—
⎛Skill Unlocked⎠
Inner Sense (Lv. 1): Navigate without sight. Fight in silence.
Side bonus: Can now dodge small objects while blindfolded.
He opened his eyes.
"I understand this place."
A light blinked.
⎛Trial Complete⎠
+1 Wisdom, +1 Inner Sense, Title Gained: One Who Walks the Path
The exit opened. Outside, the night air felt warm.
They stood in silence.
Woo-jin finally said, "That was awful."
Chun Ma looked at the sky.
"Yet necessary."