The rest of the forest expedition passed surprisingly smoothly.
For most trainees, it was ten days of misery.
Blisters.
Burnt food.
Cold nights.
Arguments over whose turn it was to gather firewood.
More than once, instructors had to step in to prevent fights between exhausted young knights.
But for Con and his group—
The days felt almost peaceful.
Their shelter improved each night.
Their meals were warm and filling.
Fish from the river.
Small game from simple traps.
Wild herbs Con somehow knew were safe to cook.
Tomas happily declared on the fifth day,
"If knighthood fails, we should open a restaurant."
Daren laughed.
"A forest restaurant?"
"Exactly."
Mikel shook his head.
"You two are idiots."
Jorin simply glanced at Con.
"…you're doing it again."
Con tilted his head.
"Doing what?"
"Making everything look easy."
Con smiled faintly.
"I just remember how to do things."
Behind him—
Something flickered briefly.
[Skill Activated: Hunting – Advanced]
[Skill Activated: Wilderness Cooking – Expert]
The glowing messages faded quietly.
No one saw them.
Con couldn't see them either.
But the system continued watching silently.
On the seventh night, the instructors gathered around their own fire.
Their conversation was quieter than usual.
One of them looked toward the distant trainee camps.
"…that blind boy."
Another instructor nodded slowly.
"Constantine."
The first one frowned slightly.
"He's strange."
A third instructor added,
"Strange doesn't cover it."
"He built a shelter faster than half the trainees combined."
"And he fishes like he grew up in the water."
"His hearing is unbelievable."
The instructors fell silent for a moment.
Then the man who had followed Con into the forest two nights earlier spoke.
Quietly.
"…there's something else."
The others looked at him.
He hesitated.
His mind replayed the image again.
The raised hand.
The whispered spell.
The bear vanishing from existence.
His fingers tightened slightly.
"…forget it."
Another instructor raised an eyebrow.
"That didn't sound like 'nothing.'"
The man shook his head.
"It's just a feeling."
He stared into the fire.
"I think that boy…"
He stopped again.
Because the truth sounded insane even in his own mind.
Finally he muttered quietly,
"…we should keep an eye on him."
The others nodded.
That much felt reasonable.
Meanwhile—
Con sat beside the fire with his friends.
Tomas poked at the flames lazily.
"Three more days."
Daren stretched his arms.
"I might actually miss this place."
Mikel snorted.
"You'll miss sleeping on the ground?"
"No."
"I'll miss Con cooking."
Jorin glanced at Con again.
"…you've been thinking a lot lately."
Con chuckled softly.
"Have I?"
"Yeah."
"You go quiet sometimes."
Con leaned back against a tree.
Looking up toward the dark forest canopy.
"Well…"
That was true.
His thoughts had been busy ever since the night in the capital.
The Mirror Realm.
The system.
The thousands of skills stored inside him.
And the strange ability to travel anywhere through mirrors.
He hadn't told anyone.
Not even his closest friends.
Because he knew the truth.
If people learned about it—
Everything would change.
Kings would hunt him.
Mages would study him.
The academy would lock him away.
And Harun…
His grandfather might become a target too.
So the secret had to remain hidden.
At least until he understood it better.
There were still questions he needed to answer.
The hooded girl.
His missing memories.
And the name the system had used.
Lee Eunwoo.
Con's fingers tightened slightly.
That name still felt distant.
Like it belonged to someone else.
But deep down—
He knew the truth.
It had once been his.
He simply didn't remember why.
Daren suddenly nudged him.
"Hey."
Con blinked.
"What?"
"You spaced out again."
Tomas grinned.
"Thinking about a girl?"
Con snorted.
"Hardly."
Mikel chuckled.
"The festival girl."
Daren pointed accusingly.
"The one you ran after."
Jorin nodded slightly.
"That's suspicious."
Con shook his head.
"You're all ridiculous."
But deep inside—
He couldn't deny something.
The sound of that girl's footsteps still lingered in his memory.
And the strange pain in his chest had not completely disappeared.
It felt like a thread left unfinished.
Like a door he had almost opened.
Con quietly stared into the fire.
I'll find her.
Not because he understood why.
But because something inside him insisted it mattered.
Behind him—
The system flickered one more time.
[Host Condition: Stable]
[Memory Lock: Active]
[Mirror Gate Access: Available]