Finding the third token proved my hunch right.
It didn't take any huge display of intelligence or advanced knowledge; really just observation, mixed with something anyone with enough time and patience could've noticed.
The first token was found in an almost mundane spot in the forest. Nothing special, but there was symmetry in its placement. When we moved on in the direction I'd subtly pointed and the second token showed up, I realized those points formed an imaginary straight line.
Lines make angles, angles make shapes. It didn't take much to link that to one of the most basic symbolic forms in mysticism: a five-pointed star.
I could've tried forcing other interpretations: a cross, a circle, some random shape. But no… it felt too obvious. Choosing a star wasn't just aesthetic; it was functional.
In Western mysticism, the pentagram is a recurring figure. For some, it's a symbol of protection; for others, it represents balance between the five elements — earth, fire, air, water, and spirit. In occult traditions, it stands for order within chaos.
And from a math perspective, it's just overlapping lines that create intersections. Points that naturally become notable locations.
So it made sense: if someone wanted to hide tokens to test perception and logic, they'd place them following a symbolic pattern.
An inverted star is perfect for that: five points and five intersections, ten spots in total, matching the ten tokens.
While the group celebrated silently, I let out a low comment, more to myself than to them.
"The three tokens seem kind of aligned, don't they?"
No one answered at once, but I saw Yi Yerin's eyes narrow behind her glasses and her mind start running through the idea.
Kim Jiwon, unsurprisingly, couldn't help jumping in.
"Aligned? Like… you think there's a pattern?"
I shrugged, keeping my tone casual, almost lazy.
"Aren't games like that? They put items at points that form shapes… stars, crosses, that kind of thing. Easier than scattering them randomly, but it could just be coincidence."
It was a weak explanation, but enough to steer them toward the right answer.
Yi Yerin pushed her glasses up and murmured, almost to herself.
"Makes sense. If there's a logic, we don't have to search blindly."
Dong Minseok added after stashing the third token with him.
"If that's true, we need to figure out what shape it is."
Lee Hyunsik glanced at me as if he realized the suggestion had come from me, but he didn't say anything.
He crouched down, grabbed a dry stick, and started drawing in the muddy ground. First he marked three points, the places where we'd found tokens so far, then connected them with straight lines.
"If we follow this pattern…" he muttered, focused.
The sketch was still rough, but it already hinted at something bigger. The lines didn't make a closed shape yet, but they pointed to the possibility of a defined form.
Kim Jiwon, never able to hide his excitement, crouched beside him, eyes shining like it was an epic discovery.
"This is starting to look like a treasure hunt!"
Yi Yerin frowned and stepped closer. Her analytical gaze ran over the lines scratched in the dirt, and she crossed her arms almost automatically, like she wanted to lock the thought inside her head before saying it out loud.
"Three points aren't enough to define the shape for sure. But… if we assume they're not placed randomly, the most plausible geometry would be a regular figure."
She crouched down, put one hand on the damp ground, and used her fingertip to finish Lee Hyunsik's lines. It wasn't perfect, the dirt wasn't a chalkboard and her finger wasn't a compass, but the shape that emerged left little doubt.
"A star?" Kim Jiwon guessed, his voice full of excitement, not even trying to hide it. "I bet it's a star!"
Dong Minseok let out a low sigh, studying the sketch.
"It's too early to be sure, but you can't ignore the possibility."
Kang Doyun, who'd been quiet until then, stepped closer. His shadow fell over the drawing, and his narrow eyes followed each line.
"If it is a star, we've got ten reference points: five tips and five intersections. That matches the ten tokens the evaluator mentioned exactly."
His logic sounded solid enough to be taken seriously.
Park Jinho laughed, but it came out nervous, almost out of place in the heavy forest air.
"So they didn't scatter them randomly? Everything's been organized from the start?"
"That's what it looks like," Lee Hyunsik said, still holding the stick and tracing the geometric lines in the mud. "But even if we're right about the pattern, hitting every point together will take too long. And we don't know how many others might've already been there."
No one argued. The reasoning made sense and was a valid point.
The problem was, it was almost a sentence for what came next.
The sky was already starting to change color, and even without a visible sun, the body notices the signs.
The air cooled, the light through the trees dimmed, and the forest took on a thicker shadow, like the whole place was getting ready for night.
My body reacted too. The weight on my shoulders felt heavier, my legs told me I was tired.
I knew that feeling well: my internal clock reminding me I'd long passed the hour I usually go to sleep.
I checked my watch. Four hours, thirty-two minutes, and twenty-one seconds since the tutorial started.
The conversation started up again naturally among them.
Kim Jiwon was the first to suggest splitting up to cover more ground. Yi Yerin, even if she didn't like the idea, admitted it would be more efficient than all of us moving together.
Dong Minseok, as expected, accepted quickly because he trusted others' judgment.
And Lee Hyunsik was the one who sealed the consensus, with that posture of someone used to taking the lead.
"Let's split up again," he said, straight to the point. "Each group goes a different direction. That way we increase our chances and just depend on luck."
It sounded logical, but logical didn't mean safe. Even with a pattern guiding the way, finding all the tokens wouldn't be simple.
There was the time problem, and the high chance that others might find them first, even by coincidence.
Unless you could mentally project the correct size of a five-pointed star across the whole forest, getting to the exact token spot would rely on intense focus and luck.
Any moment of distraction could knock us off course, and here on uneven ground with hidden roots, identical trees and treacherous paths, a slip of a few degrees could mean wasting entire hours heading the wrong way.
I could guide Dong Minseok, Yi Yerin and Kim Jiwon correctly.
Not hard when I already had the pattern memorized.
But Lee Hyunsik would be relying on his own ability to guide his group.
Still, Lee Hyunsik was Lee Woojin's brother, and that alone had to mean something.
Lee Woojin was the kind of guy who constantly bragged. Nothing pleased him more than playing the "exemplary older brother", always one step ahead, always with the last word, always ready to teach, even when no one had necessarily asked.
If there was one thing I doubted little about, it was that Lee Woojin would've taught his younger brother something useful.
Of course, there was a chance Lee Woojin kept everything to himself, leaving Lee Hyunsik only with the shadow of an unreachable ideal.
But knowing Lee Woojin, that seemed unlikely.
He loved showing off his achievements, and there was no better way to do that than to dump his "wisdom" on anyone nearby, especially his younger brother.
Either way, Lee Hyunsik should have picked up something from that overbearing attention. Enough to develop at least some skill.
In the end, it would be up to him.
At that point, Dong Minseok, without ceremony, held a token for a moment before extending his hand and offering it to Lee Hyunsik's trio.
"You deserve one for what you've done so far."
Yi Yerin narrowed her eyes; her mouth opened like she wanted to protest, then she held back. Kim Jiwon clearly didn't like it; his restless fingers in the air showed his reluctance, but he said nothing.
In the end, only Dong Minseok's calm face stayed steady, convinced of his own generosity.
Despite everything, it wasn't completely unexpected.
A gentle fool was perhaps the best way to describe how Dong Minseok acted.
Lee Hyunsik accepted the token with a restrained nod. His face showed a mix of awkwardness and discomfort, like he hadn't asked for it and didn't know how to react.
But before he walked off with his companions, he turned to me.
"My brother will be happy to know you showed up, Choi Haejun."
My attention snapped to him, waiting for him to read in my eyes that this was totally unnecessary.
He hadn't addressed me at any point until now, and of all moments he chose this one to speak? It couldn't help but sound suspicious.
I complained silently, but answered as neutrally as I could.
"Send my regards to Lee Woojin-ssi."
Lee Hyunsik raised his eyebrow slightly, maybe not expecting such formality, but didn't push it.
"I hope we meet again after the tutorial's over."
With one last wave, Lee Hyunsik, Park Jinho, and Kang Doyun walked off in the opposite direction from where we'd come, disappearing into the trees already taking on the shadows of night.
I stood there for a few seconds, watching their backs until they vanished.
If he mentioned Lee Woojin now… did that mean Lee Woojin was here too, in the Another World?
The idea kept spinning in my head like a misfitting gear grinding against the others.
That guy with all his showing off, bragging about achievements and giving lessons about how a "good older brother" should act... it would be weird if he wasn't involved when his own brother Lee Hyunsik was here.
Unfortunately, my thoughts were cut off by Dong Minseok breaking the silence right after Lee Hyunsik's group disappeared into the trees.
"I never thought you knew someone from here, Haejun-ssi."
The comment came with a half-surprised, half-curious smile, and it wasn't just him. Kim Jiwon and Yi Yerin were looking at me the same way, like something extraordinary had happened.
I wondered to myself what kind of image they actually had of me. A total loner? Someone who spends his days locked up at home, with no human contact beyond classes and required interactions?
Maybe they weren't that far off, after all.
Still, there was something uncomfortable about realizing that everyone seemed genuinely surprised just by the fact that I knew another human being besides them.
"It's the first time I've heard of you knowing someone outside college," Dong Minseok added, scratching the back of his neck with that gesture he always makes when trying to sound casual but can't hide his curiosity.
Kim Jiwon, unsurprisingly, didn't waste a second.
"So who was he, after all? This Lee Woojin? Where do you know him from?"
I kept my tone superficial, my voice flat, like I was talking about something trivial.
"Someone I met when I moved to Seoul. We weren't exactly close, just acquaintances, I think."
Kim Jiwon blinked, expecting me to add more, maybe some detail explaining the relationship, but I gave nothing. Yi Yerin seemed to weigh my words carefully, but she didn't push either.
Maybe they realized there was nothing to gain by asking too many questions.
The truth, of course, was different. Lee Woojin was also someone who'd been in "that place." Another one being shaped to be able to contribute to the world.
But that wasn't something I planned to share.
It was just an uncomfortable reminder that the past doesn't stay buried as easily as I'd like.
I used the brief pause that followed to change the subject before they dug too deep into my circumstances.
"Don't we need to decide whether we're going to keep searching or stop and rest a bit?"
Dong Minseok answered first, after a few seconds of silent thought.
"Better to rest first. Pushing on could be dangerous, especially since the light's running out."
No one argued. Fatigue showed on everyone's face, especially Kim Jiwon's and Yi Yerin's.
We looked for a few minutes until we found a safer spot with relatively flat ground, wide roots to lean on, and enough fallen branches to improvise a shelter against the wind.
It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was the best we could hope for in that silent forest.
As everyone started to settle, I let my voice cut through the quiet.
"I'll stay up a bit longer. You guys can go to sleep first."
They nodded without question and gave themselves over to rest, but Kim Jiwon didn't follow. He came over and sat next to me without asking, as if it were natural.
Dong Minseok and Yi Yerin, exhausted, didn't take long to fall into a light, restless sleep, their bodies finding the best positions they could among roots and branches.
Just the two of us remained, surrounded by the muffled sound of the wind through the trees, the thick silence broken only by the rustle of leaves.
Then Kim Jiwon broke that silence in a low voice, almost a whisper.
"You were going to refuse, weren't you?"
I didn't look at him, keeping my eyes on the darkness of the woods, like there was something out there more interesting than his confession.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping in surrender.
"You have the right to be mad at me for dragging you into this. I know you'd rather avoid trouble."
You know, and yet you still chose to drag me along.
This is a very selfish attitude on your part, Kim Jiwon.
I didn't bother answering; I just let the accusation hang in my head like an annoying ember that wouldn't go out.
Because he was right and he wasn't. Yes, I avoided trouble when I could, but I wasn't naive enough to think you could run from everything forever.
That's just statistically impossible.
And that's always how Kim Jiwon had been: smiling, carefree, someone who thinks he can pull others into his pace without asking if they want to.
But he still had some usefulness left to burn before I acted against him.
And I was still curious about the stories his sister used to tell.
…
The choice to split up started to weigh on Lee Hyunsik even before he tasted the metallic blood in his mouth.
If he could go back, he would've chosen not to split up, even knowing the odds would be worse overall.
Now, though, he had to face reality.
Park Jinho and Kang Doyun were already on the ground, fallen like puppets with their strings cut.
Lee Hyunsik had barely managed to hold his own. His best hits, the moves he'd trained over and over, only took down two opponents.
But they weren't two — they were five.
Five against three.
And now, only he was still standing.
The man who seemed to lead that group stepped toward him. Blonde-dyed hair contrasted with pale skin, eyebrow and ear piercings, a crooked smile that didn't carry any humor.
Han Taeyang wasn't using an improvised branch like the others. In his right hand was a military-style knife, a short blade ready to cut through flesh.
The others were content with makeshift spears and sharpened sticks, not as deadly, but Han Taeyang looked prepared.
He leaned in, eyes half-closed, studying Lee Hyunsik like an insect trapped in glass.
"Look what you made us do," he said, twirling the knife lightly like he was scolding a kid. "This could've been easier, you know?"
Lee Hyunsik breathed hard, hot blood running down his forehead and blurring his vision. Still, he kept his fists clenched.
"Now tell me nicely how you found your token."
Silence burned for a few seconds. Then Lee Hyunsik spat blood on the ground and answered hoarsely.
"Go to hell."
That answer cost him. Han Taeyang's punch came straight to his face, hard enough to send him sliding into the mud. Pain throbbed in his jaw, but Lee Hyunsik didn't cry out.
"This won't work," Han Taeyang said, spinning the knife between his fingers like it was a toy. "Don't waste my kindness, you hear?"
The others laughed along, but no one came closer.
This was a show only Han Taeyang wanted to put on.
Still, Lee Hyunsik didn't answer.
He remembered his brother's warnings about Choi Haejun very well.
That was the kind of man he shouldn't provoke.
But in this moment, he was running out of options.