The third-year students of Eungwang High were familiar with the myth of the River of Creation, so they were well aware of the "corrupt darkness" that the White Tiger had separated.

However, it wasn’t something they would think about during a school trip, and upon hearing the term suddenly, they didn’t quite feel the sense of crisis or reality.

In fact, the malfunctioning devices and the recent dimensional alert felt more threatening.

Still, the Eungwang High students, with confused expressions, continued on their way up.

The one who spoke those words was Cheon Dong-ha, a trustworthy senior during their time at school, and Yeom Jun-yeol had acted on those words as well.

"Hurry up. Watch out for bottlenecks as you move. If you have the time, go up along the trail's outside!"

About 200 students chose the steep Gwaneumsa course, while around 300 took the relatively gentler Seongpanak course.

Though there were fewer on this path, it was still a lot.

If the 200 third-year students from Eungwang High, each with exceptional abilities, were to sprint along the narrow mountain trail simultaneously, it was clear that a disaster would occur.

Fortunately, most of the students still had energy left in their abilities, and with calm minds, the hike proceeded without incident.

Yeom Jun-yeol and the faculty began climbing outside the trail, starting from the ropes along the stairs, and those confident in their stamina and abilities began moving outside.

"Alright, I’ll run outside too..."

"Follow the steps."

Ma Jin-seung, who was about to foolishly follow students and teachers with far superior physical abilities, was stopped by Cheon Dong-ha.

Running outside the trail was, in fact, madness.

Not only was the path unkempt and difficult to run on, but there were risks of falling rocks, falls, and potentially getting lost or stranded.

In this special situation, those who were confident in their physical strength and abilities had allowed themselves to spend their energy and abilities for the benefit of others. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

At first, Ma Jin-seung, who had looked defeated, was now climbing the mountain to keep pace with the faster students, growing quieter as time passed, perhaps realizing how exhausting it was.

"What did Dong-ha see to say that? Is that really the corrupt darkness from the River of Creation?"

"He didn’t even climb back then. How would he know it’s the corrupt darkness?"

"Maybe it looks different through Dong-ha’s eyes. If you're curious, you could look too. You have Insight skills, right?"

"When I used the skill earlier, I couldn’t see anything. Would it show if we get closer? I’ll try using it again... huh..."

Meanwhile, the students who had initially been swept up by the atmosphere and were running began to feel something unusual as time passed.

In particular, the students using Insight skills changed their expressions.

The thing Dong-ha referred to as "corrupt darkness" was approaching, and even students with a smaller skill range could see it.

Even those who didn’t have Dong-ha’s superior eyes, insight, or knowledge could sense the ominous feeling it brought.

Without needing to use skills, students with sensitive senses were also feeling a sense of unexplained fear.

"Hurry, we need to get to the top quickly!"

One student with a high-level Insight skill fell into a panic.

Driven by curiosity, the student had gazed into the corrupt darkness and came into contact with the accumulated malice that had been refined and stored over the centuries.

The corrupt darkness bore a deep despair, fear, and malice that had even made the powerful Ho-jok, the most powerful tribe in Korea who had once received the favor of the Heavenly Gods, despair.

Even though the student only made contact through skill from a distance, the corrupt darkness was a horrifying presence that could ruin the student’s mind.

As a student in the middle of the group began to stagger, the formation collapsed, and the panic started to spread.

"Calm down."

With a rush of heat from above, the panicking student was lifted up into the air.

Yeom Jun-yeol, riding on Hongryong, grabbed the student’s collar and lifted them up.

To conserve his own energy, Yeom Jun-yeol had been running directly, but unable to leave the panicked student behind, he had quickly summoned Hongryong to lift the student.

The students who saw Hongryong realized many things in an instant.

‘Since he’s a descendant of the dragon clan, he’s probably had more opportunities to understand the corrupt darkness, and he must have sensed it much earlier than we did, yet he remains calm.’

‘At first, the sky wasn’t completely covered. If Jun-yeol had quickly ridden Hongryong and moved through the air, maybe he could’ve escaped...’

‘Jun-yeol has the power to escape alone, but he’s running with us.’

A student, feeling the warmth of Hongryong, thought similar thoughts and calmed themselves.

"Can you run? If you think you can’t, I’ll share my blessing and let you ride on Hongryong."

"...It’s fine, sorry."

Yeom Jun-yeol, who had moved forward with Hongryong and set the student down with the lead group, spoke.

Beneath the darkening sky, where the corrupt darkness blocked the sun, Hongryong was glaringly bright and warm.

Yeom Jun-yeol encouraged the student with a gentle tone.

"Keep going up. If anyone falls behind, I’ll bring them along. Don’t worry."

With Yeom Jun-yeol’s actions and words, the confusion and anxiety among the students subsided.

Yeom Jun-yeol was not only gifted in abilities, but also had a strong character and excellent leadership skills.

Ma Jin-seung, who had been planning to carry the confused student and run, was impressed by Yeom Jun-yeol but also secretly frustrated.

As Dong-ha had said, Jun-yeol was in a completely different league than Ma Jin-seung, so calling them rivals was far from appropriate.

But now, all Ma Jin-seung could do was run without disrupting the group.

"Don’t try to confirm the corrupt darkness with your Insight skills! I’ll keep an eye on the rear. Just focus on going forward."

In order to avoid the same situation from occurring again, Dong-ha warned, and the students who had witnessed the situation earlier refrained from recklessly acting out of curiosity.

The third-year students from the special player school, who had experience in dimension exploration, were well aware of those who had gotten hurt or even died from foolishly using their skills.

The students followed Dong-ha’s advice and no longer attempted to get closer to the corrupt darkness.

Dong-ha, who had been wary of them using their Insight skills again, finally felt relieved.

‘Other teachers or students with the ability to escape on their own are still here, and no one is abandoning the group. Everyone is trusting us.’

Dong-ha, who had considered sending a few students to a safe location under the pretext of calling for external support, quickly dismissed the idea.

He couldn’t know what the external situation was like, and pushing them into a more dangerous area could backfire.

After all, many knew they were climbing Hallasan, and there were students and teachers waiting back at the base camp.

More importantly, Jo Yi-shin and the Ho-jok were likely watching them closely.

‘Yi-shin has the same insight as me. He must know what’s going on with Hallasan and the corrupt darkness.’

That belief calmed Dong-ha.

Yeom Jun-yeol, who was calmly leading the students, was probably thinking the same thing as Dong-ha.

‘However, because of the corrupt darkness blocking the way, it’s difficult to sense the situation inside. So, I must thoroughly check the surrounding situation to prepare for the future.’

As Dong-ha was scanning the area, he spotted something running ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) toward the summit from a distance.

In the chaotic situation, he had briefly forgotten about the mountain goat that wasn’t a threat, but now, it was climbing the mountain at an incredible speed, stopping briefly to check if the Eungwang High students were keeping up.

It looked like a clumsy animal, yet it was incredibly fast on the mountain, and when it locked eyes with Dong-ha, it flinched, then continued running, pretending to be just another mountain goat.

‘...Anyway, seeing the intelligence in its eyes, it’s likely a transformed beast or a descendant. If it has no intention to attack, we can leave it alone.’

Dong-ha turned his head, and as if relieved, the mountain goat looked over again, clearly trying to gauge if Dong-ha had noticed it.

Given Dong-ha’s ability, he could see every movement the goat made, but the goat seemed completely unaware.

"To the summit!"

A student from the front shouted.

The terrain became gentler, and the end of a wooden stairway appeared.

A sign engraved in white letters on the black basalt read, "Hallasan Natural Monument Baengnokdam."

Beyond the railing, Baengnokdam lake could be seen, but there was no time to enjoy the view.

‘No sign of Gyeong-gu.’

Dong-ha briefly wondered if Gwak Gyeong-gu had come up the mountain as well, but he couldn’t see them, and there were no signs of them either.

‘The trail Gyeong-gu was on... is the corrupt darkness blocking it?’

Dong-ha looked toward that direction with hope, but it was obscured by the corrupt darkness.

The fact that he couldn’t see them meant they had either descended to avoid the corrupt darkness or had been consumed by it.

If it was the latter, it would be a terrifying situation.

But now, voicing his thoughts would only cause panic among the students, and there was nothing they could do.

Yeom Jun-yeol, perceptive as ever, glanced briefly at the Seongpanak trail before not asking any questions.

Instead, he looked back at the students who had reached the summit and spoke.

"There’s no one left behind. Thank goodness."

Soon, the students at the back and the teachers guarding them also arrived.

The Hallasan summit had a capacity of 1,500 people, and even with 200 Eungwang High students, there was plenty of space.

Some students sat down exhausted, but they couldn’t let their guard down and continued to look down the mountain.

The corrupt darkness could strike at any moment.

Fortunately, the corrupt darkness had not yet reached the summit.

"It can’t get close to Baengnokdam."

"This is a place created by Seolmundaehalmang. Plus, there’s a legend that the Jade Emperor and immortals came down riding white deer to have a feast here. That’s why it’s hard to approach."

The students seemed to relax, reassured by the legends surrounding Baengnokdam, which was said to have a sacred aura.

In contrast, the corrupt darkness had left its mark on the land around the Eungwang area across the sea, and the sacredness of Baengnokdam seemed to push the darkness away.

While the students were calm, Dong-ha still felt a chill down his spine.

‘Would the mastermind not know about Baengnokdam? It’s possible the corrupt darkness could consume the sacredness, but they might have anticipated that too.’

Dong-ha’s ominous feeling soon became reality.

The ground below shook gently at first, then the tremors grew stronger.

Kuuuuu...

The tremors brought heat and smoke with them.

Students with Insight skills, wary of the corrupt darkness, used their abilities to detect beneath the ground.

Dong-ha and the others on the summit quickly realized what was happening.

"Could it be? Are you all feeling the same thing?"

"After thousands of years of calm, why is the volcano erupting now?"

Students who had used Insight skills were speechless.

The water in Baengnokdam lake began to boil, and the ground cracked, with smoke and ash rising.

Soon, even students who hadn’t used their Insight skills could feel that something was wrong.

A volcanic eruption was imminent.

The eruption was starting from the summit, and the Eungwang High students were in the most dangerous spot.

‘During the replay, I sensed the earth’s energy just before the eruption. But now, the corrupt darkness blocked it, and I couldn’t sense it. Someone must have triggered the volcanic energy from beyond the corrupt darkness!’

At that moment, Yeom Jun-yeol, who had been pressing his hand to the ground, spoke to Dong-ha.

"The energy of fire is flowing through the ley lines. Someone’s triggering the volcano."

Dong-ha could see what the mastermind was trying to provoke.

The mastermind was once again trying to call only Yeom Jun-yeol.

Yeom Jun-yeol must have known that too, but he chose the same course of action as before.

"Dong-ha, find the path. There’s still a gap in the sky. I’ll find the source and use Hongryong to suppress the fire’s energy."