Before the Department of Defense research institute operation began, when Gong Cheong-hyeon joined.

When Im Yeon-hwa asked if he had come after hearing from the chairman, Gong Cheong-hyeon confirmed and added the following:

"To be exact, I came after hearing from that child."

"It seems that you also heard about the child’s plan, Mr. Gong Cheong-hyeon."

Although no name was mentioned, the teachers in the room all thought of the same person.

Jo Yi-shin.

He was an exemplary student, though he occasionally skipped classes. The one who made the biggest effort to prevent his absences was Gong Cheong-hyeon.

The sight of Jo Yi-shin walking with the kindly smiling Gong Cheong-hyeon to class was something the two teachers had witnessed several times.

However, if the aristocratic faction had not directly requested Gong Cheong-hyeon, but rather if Jo Yi-shin had moved him, there was a slight sense of unease.

‘Why did they ask Mr. Gong Cheong-hyeon and not Mr. Ham Geun-hyeong, the homeroom teacher? The students of 2nd year, class 0, follow their homeroom teacher just as much as our cute students.’

‘Mr. Ham Geun-hyeong is skilled in ranged combat, but he is stronger in close combat than most players, and he's also good at stealth. Meanwhile, Gong Cheong-hyeon shares similar abilities with me...’

Gong Cheong-hyeon’s next words shifted the teachers’ focus.

“I would have followed even if I hadn’t heard the plan in detail.”

There was a sense of unwavering belief in his words.

Im Yeon-hwa and Je-gal Jae-gul widened their eyes slightly. Regardless of their trust in attendance, it was clear that Gong Cheong-hyeon trusted Jo Yi-shin.

Even without sharing the same level of truth with higher beings, like Je-gal Jae-gul, there was sincerity in Gong Cheong-hyeon’s words.

While the two were deep in thought, Gong Cheong-hyeon suddenly asked a question.

“I heard that you, Im Yeon-hwa, noticed the signs of this situation the quickest. Is it related to the project you're currently working on?”

Im Yeon-hwa, a strong teacher, hadn’t taken the homeroom role for class 0 this year.

Although there was a rumor that she didn’t take the position because she was shocked by the graduation of her beloved Woo Gi-hwan and his group, this wasn’t the real reason.

Im Yeon-hwa had been cooperating with a project at the association, requested by her older sister, Im Ji-hwa, this year.

She still handled administrative tasks in her role as the head of the research department and taught a course on the Jinjok, but she had less time than before.

Despite being busy, with someone like Gong Cheong-hyeon around, Im Yeon-hwa had focused on extracurricular activities and delegated the homeroom position to him.

It was no surprise that Gong Cheong-hyeon was paying attention to Im Yeon-hwa, especially since she had noticed the anomaly and acted when the military academy exchange started.

Without hesitation, Im Yeon-hwa responded to Gong Cheong-hyeon’s unexpected question.

“I won’t deny it. It’s hard to give a detailed answer right now. And there’s someone we need to track down, isn’t there?”

“Yes, that’s right. If the child’s prediction is correct, Lee Yeoreum has probably been taken underground.”

Before Im Yeon-hwa infiltrated the research institute and delivered the map, Jo Yi-shin had already predicted that Lee Yeoreum would be dragged underground.

According to external information, the Department of Defense research institute consisted of ground facilities and an underground parking lot, but there were no concrete clues suggesting another facility deep underground.

Jo Yi-shin explained his reasoning when asked about his assumptions.

“A party with enough resources to mobilize state power and maintain security would be conducting intelligence research. They must have a subterranean facility. It’s probably deep enough that even cadets or officers with insight abilities wouldn’t notice it.”

Jo Yi-shin’s prediction turned out to be correct, and Im Yeon-hwa found the path leading underground.

The underground facility was being guarded with the highest level of security.

No matter what kind of experiment or actions took place, there was no way for the outside world to know; it was deep enough to be beyond detection.

Having once been an experiment subject, Im Yeon-hwa felt a strange sensation.

At least when she was a subject, the experiments had been conducted on the surface. She couldn’t understand why they had dug all the way down here for whatever they were trying to do.

Im Yeon-hwa briefly explained the infiltration route.

“Direct access to the underground isn’t possible. In about 5 minutes, an air purification and energy circulation device will be activated for about 10 seconds. We’ll move during that window. If we fail to move in time or can’t control the energy output, we’ll be caught.”

Im Yeon-hwa pointed to the schematic she had projected as a warning, but none of the teachers seemed afraid or worried about others. They all seemed to think it was completely doable.

Instead of questioning the movement process, Gong Cheong-hyeon asked something else.

“Wouldn’t the research institute have noticed the small gap during the air and energy circulation process? It’s likely that they’ve installed a recording device right before the vent to secure this area.”

Im Yeon-hwa nodded vigorously, as if she had already anticipated this.

“Yes, I’ll be leading the way and disabling the recording device as we move forward.”

“Disable?”

“Breaking it or destroying it.”

“That’s a bit different from the stealth I was imagining.”

Je-gal Jae-gul thought, ‘It’s not just a little different, it’s quite different...’ but he didn’t say it out loud.

Thinking about the fact that a student’s family was involved in such a dangerous place made him uneasy.

While they discussed how to handle the recording devices, Gong Cheong-hyeon made a suggestion.

“If we disable all the recording devices as we move forward, it will take time. How about trying these on?”

Gong Cheong-hyeon presented armor items with stealth effects.

One was a cloak, and the other was a mask.

The mask, in particular, was shaped like a crow.

The moment Im Yeon-hwa and Je-gal Jae-gul saw the crow mask, they quickly recalled related information.

The first thing that came to mind was the crow mask that had been worn during the raid on the Fight Club run by their former colleague, Choi Pyeon-deuk.

Due to the involvement of the aristocratic faction and the association, information about the crow mask had been erased, and even the initial records were now questioned for credibility, but the two teachers hadn’t forgotten about it.

The next thought that followed was the Demon King of Bystanders and Silence, Sidelentium.

‘Recently, the Black Wind Forest sent members stationed abroad back to the Korean Peninsula, sharing information about the demon clans. Sidelentium was among them. Although its danger level was marked as low compared to other demons...’

‘It seems that a crow has been roaming our school lately, probably in cooperation with the aristocratic faction?’

As they thought about the crow mask, Gong Cheong-hyeon continued.

“I’ll be wearing the crow mask. I won’t force the teachers to wear it.”

The teachers didn’t hesitate for long.

Though they wanted to ask why it had to be the crow mask, they decided it was better to ask later after the mission was over.

There was no doubt that something symbolizing a crow was protecting Eungwang High, and they were currently working together.

All of them donned the crow masks and moved toward the deep underground of the Department of Defense research institute.

It wasn’t easy to move quickly and discreetly through a path not designed for human passage, but they didn’t seem to struggle at all.

Compared to the task of quietly tracking down misbehaving students in the vast and complex Eungwang High without disturbing anyone, this was easy.

“There’s high-voltage current flowing here, but it should be fine, right?”

“Yes.”

After passing through the ventilation shaft, the teachers moved along thick electrical cables.

Though the cables were thick, they were too narrow to walk on comfortably, and the uneven surface made it difficult to maintain balance, but no one stumbled.

Moreover, they surrounded themselves with energy to avoid being electrocuted. If their energy output was too low, they would be shocked, and if it was too high, it might trigger a discharge or detection.

Still, the teachers in their crow masks walked as if they were on a school patrol.

Click!

As they stepped on the electrical cables, they slightly wobbled, and Im Yeon-hwa briefly disappeared from sight before returning.

No wind pressure was felt, so it seemed as though she had teleported.

What she had done was find the recording device in front and knock it out, then returned.

Im Yeon-hwa cheerfully said.

“Devices around these kinds of facilities often malfunction. If we break one or two, they won’t check immediately. If important guests are around, even more so.”

No soldiers would perform checks or cleaning tasks in front of guests.

Even if the base were turned upside down, the checks would happen after the guests left, not while they were still there.

It was possible for someone to be sent to verify quietly, but even if they came, they wouldn’t be able to find the teachers and would just prepare to replace the broken devices.

Having advanced by moving through the corners while disabling the devices, the teachers were now getting closer to their objective.

“The door is closed.”

“There’s no window or gap.”

The teachers had advanced by exploiting the gaps created during the setup of the research institute’s essential facilities.

However, for the truly crucial security measures, the facilities were prepared to prevent even the equipment managers from accessing them.

Im Yeon-hwa, who had infiltrated the place before, had never reached this point, so she paused to think for a moment.

“Luckily, there’s a handle.”

“There’s a handle, but it looks like it can’t be opened from this side.”

Im Yeon-hwa pointed to the door, and Je-gal Jae-gul stopped her.

The handle wasn’t just a handle—it was one of the latest security features with a fingerprint recognition panel.

Im Yeon-hwa seemed to have recognized it, responding.

“But pulling the handle is much easier than breaking down the wall. It’s also easier to distinguish between the door and the wall.”

Seeing Im Yeon-hwa speak so naturally, Je-gal Jae-gul suddenly thought of the students in class 0 that he had taught.

Im Yeon-hwa had grown excellently and become a teacher, but if she had attended Eungwang High, wouldn’t she have been placed in class 0?

“Still, if we force it open, it’ll be obvious, so we should be careful...”

Whirr!

Just as Je-gal Jae-gul tried to stop her, a mechanical sound echoed from afar.

Then, a strong sensation of power filled the air.

It was energy.

Energy was said to be handled only by the Jinjok, but a very small number of humans, particularly exceptional players, could faintly sense and feel it.

The three teachers recalled Jo Yi-shin’s warning.

“It would be great if we could secure evidence and rescue Lee Yeoreum before the energy moves, but it’ll be difficult. If you sense the energy, act °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° quickly.”

Im Yeon-hwa loosened up and walked toward the door.

“We’re a bit late. From now on, we need to change the plan. Since we’re wearing masks, it should be fine.”

Gong Cheong-hyeon and Je-gal Jae-gul also steeled themselves.

At this point, their infiltration operation was over.

The infiltration mission had shifted to a raid and recovery operation.

As Im Yeon-hwa gripped the handle with her gloved hand, a faint warning sound echoed, but it was quickly drowned out by a louder noise.

Ignoring everything—the structure of the door, its working principles, the seals, and the security systems—Im Yeon-hwa yanked the door open.

Bang!

The door, surprisingly sturdy, exploded as soon as Im Yeon-hwa opened it.

“We’ve been spotted by the recording device. From here on, let’s just break everything as we go.”

As soon as the door opened, they moved swiftly.

Im Yeon-hwa balled her fist and relaxed her hand again, while Je-gal Jae-gul and Gong Cheong-hyeon scattered in different directions, starting to destroy the recording devices and automated defense systems.

Gong Cheong-hyeon used Taeho-kwon to break the ceiling, punched through, grabbed a recording device, and smashed it, while Je-gal Jae-gul shattered the neck of the mini laser turret that had been targeting them.

They quickly closed the distance toward the source of the energy.

But as they got closer to the source of power, Je-gal Jae-gul and Gong Cheong-hyeon felt an unsettling sensation.

The air seemed heavy, pressing down on their throats and skin, making it feel strange when they spoke or moved their hands.

However, the unease quickly turned into a different sensation as they recalled the provocation Jo Yi-shin had made.

“The enemy will be on guard against the aristocratic faction and the incantations. They will have prepared countermeasures for the large weapons and incantations.”

Since this case was tied to the rose garden, there was a high likelihood that similar tactics had been prepared.

Jo Yi-shin had known this, but instead of sending their homeroom teacher, Ham Geun-hyeong, to the mission, he sent two incantation practitioners.

There was a reason for that.

“A great battle requiring incantations awaits. I want to see how far the teachers' powers can go.”

It was called a "check," but it was close to a test.

If they didn’t pass this test, Jo Yi-shin would hesitate and avoid using them for his plans.

Gong Cheong-hyeon and Je-gal Jae-gul had decided to respond to their student’s provocation.

They carved their words and thoughts into the air as they moved toward the place where the energy was surging.