The ocean stretched endlessly beneath the afternoon sky.
Cold wind moved quietly across the water.
Waves crashed softly beside the separated path created by Do-Yoon's water magic.
And in the middle of the ocean—
Do-Yoon continued walking slowly while looking completely dead inside.
"…I hate this."
At first—
Using water magic felt amazing.
Actually—
Not amazing.
Legendary.
The moment he separated the ocean earlier, he genuinely felt like the main character of some ancient myth.
The water moved perfectly beside him.
The ocean obeyed him.
Even the sunlight reflecting against the floating walls of water looked beautiful.
For the first thirty minutes—
Do-Yoon kept imagining himself dramatically.
A mysterious powerful mage walking across the sea.
Cold expression.
Black clothes moving in the wind.
Destroyed cape fluttering behind him.
Ocean split apart beneath his feet.
Absolute aura.
Absolute coolness.
But now?
Four hours later?
Everything became terrible.
Very terrible.
His legs hurt.
His back hurt.
His soul hurt.
Even the ocean looked annoying now.
"…How is this place SO BIG?"
Do-Yoon stared toward the distant snowy island again.
It still looked unbelievably far away.
Actually—
It somehow looked farther than before.
Which honestly made no sense.
Do-Yoon narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"…Are you running away from me?"
The island obviously gave no answer.
Do-Yoon sighed deeply.
"…Of course."
Then he kept walking again.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The separated ocean moved quietly beside him.
Large walls of water towered around the path.
Fish occasionally swam inside the floating walls.
At one point—
A fish stared directly at Do-Yoon.
Do-Yoon stared back.
"…What are YOU looking at?"
The fish continued swimming silently.
"…Rude."
Do-Yoon continued walking again.
Honestly—
The silence was becoming dangerous.
Because the more silence existed—
The more random thoughts entered his brain.
At first he tried thinking seriously.
About Min-Jae.
About survival.
About the entrance exam.
About the people he killed.
But after several hours—
His brain officially stopped functioning normally.
Now he was mostly imagining food.
"…Fried chicken sounds nice."
A few minutes later—
"…Actually ramen sounds better."
Then—
"…No wait."
"…Spicy ramen with fried chicken."
Do-Yoon nearly cried emotionally.
"I miss civilization…"
His stomach growled loudly again.
The ocean wind only made him feel hungrier.
Do-Yoon looked toward the water walls beside him.
"…Can I eat fish raw?"
He immediately shook his head.
"No."
"That sounds like a terrible life decision."
Then suddenly—
Another thought appeared.
"…Wait."
He stopped walking completely.
"If I have water magic…"
"Can I ride water?"
Silence.
Do-Yoon slowly looked at the ocean beneath him.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"…Wait."
"That actually sounds genius."
For the first time in hours—
Energy returned to his face.
Do-Yoon immediately stretched one hand dramatically toward the ocean.
"Water."
He paused dramatically.
"…Do cool things."
Nothing happened.
Silence.
"…Right."
"Specific instructions probably help."
Do-Yoon focused properly this time.
The ocean beneath his feet slowly started moving upward.
Water gathered together carefully.
Then formed a floating platform beneath him.
Do-Yoon's eyes widened.
"…IT WORKED."
The water slowly lifted him slightly upward.
Do-Yoon instantly became excited again.
"This is way cooler than walking!"
Then—
The platform tilted sideways suddenly.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT—"
SPLASH!!
Do-Yoon immediately fell into the freezing ocean.
Silence filled the area.
A few seconds later—
Do-Yoon slowly resurfaced from the water.
His red hair stuck messily against his face.
His black clothes were completely soaked now.
"…Cold."
Very cold.
Painfully cold.
Do-Yoon stared blankly into the distance.
"…I almost drowned because of my own magic."
Honestly—
That felt impressive somehow.
He sighed deeply.
Then slowly climbed back onto his separated ocean path again.
The magical black clothes thankfully dried themselves slowly.
Do-Yoon watched the water disappear from the fabric.
"…These clothes are carrying my entire life."
After resting slightly—
He tried again.
This time more carefully.
The water platform slowly formed beneath him again.
Do-Yoon balanced himself cautiously.
"…Okay."
"…Okay."
"No dying."
The platform slowly started moving forward.
Smoothly.
Quietly.
Do-Yoon's eyes widened with excitement.
"…WAIT."
"This actually works!"
The platform accelerated slightly across the ocean.
Cold wind moved through his hair dramatically.
His cape fluttered behind him.
And once again—
Do-Yoon started imagining himself looking legendary.
He crossed his arms confidently.
"…Yeah."
"This is definitely main character behavior."
Then the platform bounced violently against a wave.
"WOAH—"
Do-Yoon nearly fell again.
He panicked immediately.
"WHY IS DRIVING WATER SO HARD?!"
The platform wobbled dangerously.
Do-Yoon desperately balanced himself while screaming internally.
Somehow—
After several terrifying seconds—
The platform stabilized again.
Do-Yoon breathed heavily.
"…Okay."
"…No showing off."
For the next hour—
He carefully rode the water platform toward the snowy island.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Because every time he tried going faster—
Something terrible happened.
At one point—
The water platform accidentally launched upward like a ramp.
Do-Yoon flew through the air screaming.
Another time—
The platform split in half for absolutely no reason.
And once—
He accidentally created a wave so large that he nearly buried himself underwater.
Honestly—
Learning magic without instructions felt dangerous.
Very dangerous.
But despite all the suffering—
The snowy island slowly became larger.
Closer.
Clearer.
Now Do-Yoon could finally see details properly.
The island looked strange.
Very strange.
Tall white trees covered almost everything.
Snow spread across the ground.
Cold mist moved between the forest areas.
Even from far away—
The island felt dangerous somehow.
Do-Yoon narrowed his eyes carefully.
"…Definitely monsters there."
At this point—
He expected monsters everywhere.
Actually—
If there WERE no monsters—
That would probably surprise him more.
Still—
He continued moving closer.
And the closer he got—
The colder the air became.
Cold wind hit his face constantly now.
Even the ocean water looked darker around the island.
Do-Yoon slowly started feeling nervous.
"…This place feels creepy."
Then suddenly—
A loud sound echoed across the ocean.
ROOOOOOOOAR!!
Do-Yoon instantly froze.
His eyes widened.
"…Nope."
Another roar echoed again.
Much louder this time.
ROOOOOOOAAARRR!!
The water beneath him shook slightly.
Do-Yoon slowly looked toward the snowy island.
Deep inside the white forest—
Something huge moved briefly.
Trees shook violently.
Then silence returned again.
Do-Yoon stared blankly.
"…Absolutely not."
He immediately pointed dramatically at the island.
"I reject this place emotionally."
But unfortunately—
The island was still his only option.
Do-Yoon sighed deeply.
"…Why is my life like this…"
Still—
He continued moving closer carefully.
The snowy shore finally became visible now.
Ice covered parts of the beach.
Cold mist drifted quietly through the air.
The island looked beautiful.
But also horrifying.
Like a place specifically designed to kill people stylishly.
Do-Yoon slowly stepped off the water platform once he reached the shore.
Crunch.
Snow compressed beneath his boots.
Cold air instantly surrounded him completely.
"…WOAH."
The temperature difference shocked him immediately.
"This place is freezing."
He quickly wrapped his damaged cape tighter around himself.
Thankfully—
The magical black clothes kept him warm enough.
Otherwise—
He probably would've frozen instantly.
Do-Yoon looked around carefully.
Silence filled the snowy island.
White trees stretched endlessly ahead.
Cold wind moved through the branches quietly.
No people.
No buildings.
No signs of civilization.
Only snow.
And danger.
Do-Yoon slowly looked behind himself toward the endless ocean.
Then back toward the terrifying snowy forest.
Silence.
"…I miss my bed."
Honestly—
At this point—
Even Ji-Eun yelling at him sounded comforting.
At least yelling meant safety.
This place?
This place looked like death wearing winter clothes.
Then suddenly—
CRUNCH.
Do-Yoon froze instantly.
Something moved nearby.
Another crunch echoed from deeper in the snowy forest.
Then another.
Do-Yoon slowly lowered his body carefully.
His eyes sharpened immediately.
The cold wind moved quietly around him.
CRUNCH.
Closer this time.
Something was approaching.
Do-Yoon quietly created a small water blade beside his hand instinctively.
The sharp liquid weapon floated silently beside him.
His heartbeat slowly increased.
The snowy forest became completely silent again.
Then—
Two glowing blue eyes suddenly appeared between the trees.
Do-Yoon's expression slowly changed.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."