Up until now, I’d had plenty of chances to check Im Sungyeon’s stats through Lens of Lavzahi.

Even now, I could pull the lens from my pocket and look at her.

But her status screen was exactly the same as what I’d seen in the game. Nothing was different. Her ability was still Cleave Strike.

Cleave Strike was essentially the axe version of Ao’s Sword Wind. The crit rate and damage multiplier were a little different, but the principle was the same.

And in the game, you never had to fight the principal directly—so unless you got hold of Lens of Lavzahi, there was no way of knowing her ability at all.

“My ability? It’s called Cleave Strike. Basically, I can send out shockwaves with an axe. Why?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Lee Han-ye looked puzzled, as if she couldn’t understand why I was even asking. But then she suddenly let out an “Ah-ha.”

“Brother Hee-cheol. Your ability isn’t really Spike Bombs, is it?”

“And why do you think that?”

“Because in the HAUT duel video, you only used items the entire time.”

“I told you before—my ability’s too weak. That’s why.”

“Liar.”

With Sungyeon’s face, Han-ye smirked.

“You asked me what my ability was because yours wasn’t the same as in the game, right? Isn’t that it?”

Hmph. She’s not someone to underestimate.

At first glance, she seemed frivolous, like she just liked to talk.

But Han-ye had been impersonating Im Sungyeon for at least half a year—since April, when I possessed Nam Yein.

That would’ve been impossible without a sharp mind.

Good. She’s no fool.

I chuckled inwardly and said, “You’re right. My ability isn’t Spike Bombs.”

“Knew it. With those garbage aptitudes, you wouldn’t have won HAUT with just some weak attack ability.”

She looked smug, pleased with her deduction.

“So what’s your real ability?”

Was that just idle curiosity, or was she trying to draw information from me while riding the flow of the conversation?

It was hard to be sure. Best to be cautious.

“If you want to know that, you should share something with me too, shouldn’t you?”

“Mmm, give-and-take, huh? Alright. Since you’re green.”

Green?

I frowned at the odd remark. Then Han-ye pulled something out of her inventory and placed it on the table.

Smoke faded, revealing a crystal sphere, larger than a grown man’s fist, set on a stand.

“!”

A violet aura shimmered around the sphere.

My Craftsman ability activated instantly.

----------------------------------------

[CRYSTAL OF BOUND FATE]

LV.1 CONSUMABLE LEGENDARY

A CRYSTAL BALL THAT FORETELLS WHAT ROLE ANOTHER PERSON WILL PLAY IN YOUR LIFE.

“…What’s this?”

I asked to hide the fact that I could already see its status.

“Watch.”

Smiling, Han-ye picked up the crystal ball and looked straight at me.

The sphere glowed green.

“So that’s what you meant earlier by ‘green.’”

“Yup.”

“And what does it mean?”

“It means you’re beneficial to me.”

Beneficial?

I stared at her, and she hurried to explain.

“No, no, I don’t mean it like I’m using you. More like… being with you will lead to good results for me. That’s all.”

“So, it predicts the future?”

Han-ye nodded.

“How exactly?”

“I don’t know the mechanism. But this world is literally a game world. Science doesn’t explain half of what happens here. So something like fortune-telling magic isn’t that strange, right?”

“Fair enough.”

“Right?”

“Where did you get it?”

“After I woke up in Sungyeon’s body, a voice rang in my head. It said there was a special item in my inventory to help me survive in this world. When I checked, this was there. Since legendary items usually appear starting in Phase 2, I figured this must be it.”

It made sense.

So when we arrive in this world, we possess a character—and also get a special ability or item. But how is that determined?

I remembered what Han-ye had said earlier.

Before coming here, she’d seen a message: ‘Congratulations. You are the first in the world to fully clear the Gwangcheon Scenario.’

In my case, I cleared Hardcore Mode with a Craftsman build, and when I possessed Nam Yein, I gained the [Craftsman] ability.

So Han-ye’s bonus was an item that lets her foresee whether relationships will end in a good or bad ending.

“What are you brooding about? Brother” she asked.

Hearing Sungyeon’s face call me brother still felt surreal.

I pulled an item sling from my inventory.

“Whoa, a unique item? What’s that for? Huh? Why are you pulling that out?”

I said nothing, loading a petrification potion into it.

At that moment, the crystal sphere turned red.

“!!”

Han-ye leapt up from the sofa, summoning a massive double-bladed axe with impressive speed and skill.

“As I thought.”

I calmly put the sling and potion back into my inventory.

“So the crystal really works.”

“……”

Her eyes stayed wary, the axe still raised.

I took off my inventory belt and tossed it onto the table.

“Touch the crystal again.”

“……”

Keeping the axe in one hand, she placed the other on the crystal.

It glowed green once more.

“Not bad. A real-time fortune-telling tool. That’s a big boost to survival. Though just because it shows green doesn’t mean it’s always trustworthy.”

“…What are you trying to do?”

“I wanted to test your special item. That’s all. You can relax. Even if I attacked, I couldn’t beat you. And I had no intention of fighting anyway.”

“Really?”

I nodded, gesturing at my inventory on the table.

“You could strike me down before I even pick it up.”

“True enough.”

With that, she hooked my inventory with her axe handle, dragged it over, and sat on it.

“…Was that necessary?”

“You pushed me this far. I was trying to be friendly.”

“I’m not ready to be friends yet.”

She flinched, then glanced again at her crystal. It still shone green.

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t heard of your goal.”

“My goal?”

“Yeah. What do you plan to do in this world?”

“What do I plan…? Of course I’m going to find a way back. The sooner I can leave this old woman’s body and return to mine, the better.”

“Good.”

I smiled.

“Same as me.”

“Huh? Then—”

Instead of answering, I summoned my hammer.

“What’s that? A hammer? Wait—how did you pull that out without an inventory?”

“Hand me the inventory.”

She checked the crystal one more time, saw it was still green, then reluctantly handed it back.

I pulled out a few materials, placed them together, and struck them with the hammer.

The components shone, merging into a potion filled with crimson liquid.

“Here. A gift.”

I tossed it to her.

“A healing potion!? You just made that? That’s your ability?”

“Yeah. That’s my special trait.”

“Wow. So brother didn’t just get an item, you actually got an ability. Huh?”

Surprise flickered across Lee Han-ye’s face.

“Then… the Mysterious Craftsman was really you?”

“That’s right.”

Seeing how quickly she caught on, I chuckled.

“I had my suspicions, but it really was you all along.”

“You don’t need me to say it, but both our identities and abilities stay secret. No one else can know.”

“Of course. And that includes you keeping it from your squad.”

I nodded.

“Now, about getting back to our original world.”

At the mention of returning, Han-ye’s expression hardened. She fixed her eyes on me.

“I think the condition is seeing the ending of this world.”

“Yeah. I thought so too. When we arrived, it said a new difficulty had been prepared. That has to mean we’re supposed to clear it.”

“But this world is both identical to the game and completely different. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah. Because we can interfere and change the flow and outcome from the original scenario.”

Exactly.

If you looked at the altered timeline of events positively, you could interpret it like that.

“And even without us interfering, events sometimes happen on their own. Remember the transfer incident in the first semester?”

“Ahh, right. That was supposed to happen late in the second semester.”

I nodded. Talking with someone else who knew the game made things so much easier.

“And here’s the most important difference: if we die in this world, there might be no resurrection like in the game.”

“……”

Han-ye’s face froze.

“So you think that’s really the case?”

“It’s not something we can test, so we can’t know for certain. But I think the possibility is very high.”

“…Yeah…”

“That’s why your special item is critical. If it can foresee the future, then used properly it can help you avoid death entirely.”

I looked at the crystal sphere.

Wait.

“Han-ye. Doesn’t it look like that green light’s gotten stronger?”

“Oh—you’re right!”

Her face lit up.

“Guess sticking with you really is the right choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“The brighter the crystal glows, the more certain it is. That’s what it means.”

“……”

“What? Why’d you suddenly clam up?”

“Can other people use it too?”

“Uh… I’ve never tried.”

Of course.

“Mind if I borrow it for a second?”

She hesitated briefly, then handed it over.

“How do you use it?”

“Just hold it and look at the person—or think of them.”

“Simple enough.”

So you could test countless possibilities just by sitting in a room.

I held the crystal and looked at Han-ye.

Three seconds later—

“Click.”

Nothing happened.

“Guess no one else can use it.”

Pity.

If it had worked, I could’ve borrowed it in critical moments.

Which means the only way is indirect.

All the more reason to stay close to Han-ye.

Maybe I should run some tests with her.

I was about to ask her to try thinking of several people when—

“Ah.”

Her wristwatch buzzed.

“Hold on a sec, brother.”

I nodded, and she cleared her throat, switching her expression in an instant. Then she tapped her smartwatch.

“Yes?”

Oh.

In a blink, she’d turned into Im Sungyeon again.

She could probably go toe-to-toe with Seo Yui in an acting contest.

[Principal, there’s a call from the All Around Guild. They’d like to meet Nam Yein’s squad.]

It was a staff member’s tense voice.

Im Sungyeon—no, Han-ye—looked at me.

[They asked if 2 p.m. would be acceptable. How should I respond?]

“Hold on. I happen to be with Nam Yein right now.”

[Understood.]

She looked back at me.

I checked the clock—1 p.m. That left us plenty of time to talk with the others first.

I gave a nod. She nodded back.

“Tell All Around that 2 o’clock will be fine.”

[Yes, ma’am. I’ll inform them.]

When the call ended, her expression returned to normal.

“First Crystal, now even All Around wants your squad. That never happened in the game, even after winning HAUT.”

“True.”

“By the way, what about transferring? Are you really planning to go to Crystal?”

“That depends on how things play out.”

“How do things play out?”

I stood up, looking down at her.

“On whether we can destroy Forward or not.”

“!!”

Her eyes widened.

(End of Chapter)