M E M O R I Z E

The passageway was still dark. Vivian did reveal the Light Spell, but it was not her area of expertise, it was not enough to rid the cave of darkness.

Suddenly, I missed Ha-yeon. It is because users who are skilled in authentic magic can be very helpful in battle as well as at this time. I could see things in the dark by increasing my eyesight, but it was a slightly different matter than brightening my vision at all.

Anyway, is it about 50 minutes now?

It has been a while since I entered the central entrance. I've never seen monsters before while marching on the lead. I didn't even notice anything strange. The feeling of walking so far was not more than just an empty passageway or below.

It's actually pretty boring to keep marching around like this without anything happening. Whether the children began to relax gradually, they had been chatting in a small voice for 10 minutes.

At first, I looked back at him because of his silent nature, or because he was annoyed by his crooked voice, but I never looked back when I was shaking my head in a meaningful way.

“Hey, Clan Road. I suddenly have a question. ”

As you continue through the tedious march, Helena approaches and talks to you. Curiously shining eyes and a strange smile on his mouth, he probably had something really curious. After asking Seon Yoon to step forward for a while, I slowed down a little.

“I wonder what. ”

“It's no different.... Right now, humans are trying to cross this region called the Steel Mountains, right? ”

“That's right."

“Then why are you trying to cross this steel mountain range? at the expense of death. Humans already have a home on one continent, and there's nothing they need to survive. ”

“That's it. Crossing the Steel Mountains brings a new continent. ”

“Do I have to discover and have a new continent? Can't you be satisfied with what you've been given? ”

Hmm. From the perspective of a dragon, rather than a man, it must be a different perspective.

Helena's voice, which was initially playful, was getting lower as she continued. Like a voice seeking answers from a wise man. Then Sasha is sneaking up on me and pushing her ears. I straightened my throat for a moment before opening my mouth quietly.

“It's a bit different from satisfaction. First of all, how much do you know about users? ”

“I've heard a little bit, but I know a little bit. ”

“Fine. First of all, Hall Plain is a world of power. Users have a duty to be strong in order to survive. But the way to be strong, when you look at it big, is very limited. ”

“Isn't there a way to train yourself? ”

“There is a limit to training as long as the user information is set up. It's determined by its own potential. It's like a line was drawn from the start. That's why we have to find another way. Go around outside and kill monsters, discover ancient ruins, explore to get good weapons, class gold coins, and more.... but in the end, it also has limits. Resources and achievements that lie dormant on one continent are never limitless. If you keep digging, it will disappear someday. And that's what the North Continent is now, and users are coming in all the time. ”

“Ho. So we're pioneering a new continent for emerging users? ”

“Of course, there are aspects of creating conditions for new users, but that's not the ultimate goal. I know it sounds silly, but we call the new continent a land flowing with milk and honey. They think that there are valuable resources and profitable achievements in the new continent that have not yet been pioneered. There's a continent like that, and the users won't stand for it? He also risked his life to join the expedition, so he deserves his privileges. After a certain amount of stomach filling, it might open up to other users. ”

“You're saying we're pioneering a new continent for progress, but you're still guaranteeing priority to those who suffer. ”

I nodded slowly.

“But I still don't understand. I don't know if it's because of a different point of view from mine, but I think that's a secondary reason. Why, so why do we have to cross this steel mountain range? If it's a new continent, there are places that haven't been pioneered to the north either. Why don't you organize a large expedition like that? ”

Helena continues to ask questions without tiring. At that moment, I had to feel my heart burning. Suddenly, everyone seems to be focusing on this story. I felt the need to be careful what I said.

“I'm not sure. And you can't just stand there. ”

“Certainty?”

“There was a time eight or nine years ago when Barbara was still a frontier. Now, like the Steel Mountains, we've crossed through the central forest and hit Barbara, and then we've discovered other cities and set up a home called the North Continent. In the process of attacking…. Actually, in the ancient library in Barbara, we found a record of a new continent called Atlanta. On the contrary, there was no mention of undiscovered areas in the north. ”

“Indeed. That's what certainty means. Then you shouldn't just stand there.... ”

“The continent of Atlanta will someday be saturated. Then we'll have to find another continent. The problem with leaving without another continent in Atlanta is that there is not just one North continent in the world called the Hall Plain. ”

“Not one? ”

“Isn't our North a new continent called Atlanta when we leave the Steel Mountains? Other continents are the same. As the Eastern Continent marches into the Desert of Desert, Florence, as the West marches into the Frost Canyon, Iris, and as the Southern Continent marches into the Castle of Orc, a new continent named Ragnarok will emerge. So think about it, if you keep pushing it in the opposite direction of the continent, what would happen in the past? ”

“… we're bumping into each other. ”

That's the right answer. You have to compete for the last continent called Terra, but you can't say that.

Fortunately, Helena no longer asked if she had solved her curiosity enough, and soon she nodded slowly.

“Thank you for your kind words. Thanks to you, I feel very busy. ”

... Do you feel overwhelmed?

Soon, Helena returns to where she belongs with a slightly lonely face. Suddenly, a lot of thoughts hit my head.

Why did Helena suddenly ask me this question?

What does it mean to feel so alone?

And what does the last shade of loneliness mean?

“Clan Lord! ”

However, Yoon Yoon urgently called me without any time to think deeply. As he folded his thoughts and approached the front, Seon Yoon, who was standing still, pointed forward. I immediately sent a stop signal and carefully looked in the direction that it was pointing to Seungwoon.

I guess I was too involved in the story. I was able to forget the dull feeling for a moment, but suddenly there was a murky light leaking out in front of me. There was still some distance left, but now a new entrance is visible, almost at the end of the passageway. And in it, something stands up and stares us in the face.

It was not one. They looked like users in some ways, but also looked like scarecrows in some ways. As high as the eye can see, it is not visible from this distance.

Bang!

Suddenly, one of the things that was standing suddenly collapses. At that moment, I felt strong in my eyes. Soon, the clans felt a swift gathering, and I quietly drew my sword.

… at least I could see it clearly. As soon as one fell, a black shadow swiftly entered the space beyond the entrance.

“Soo-hyun, shall we cast a shadow? ”

“You can even stand in the fog. ”

Goon and Sasha said at the same time. But I calmly shook my head. It's because I just turned the horsepower detection as high as possible, but I didn't feel any movement. If so….

No way.

“I'll be right in. ”

After giving the instructions, I took a quick step through the corridor. After a quick walk for about five minutes, I was able to reach the cavity beyond the entrance.

The identity of the murky light leaking out was a torch hanging on the wall. The area was about two-thirds the size of the cavity, and a total of nine caves were drilled in the direction we came in. That is to say, all the passages are connected in one space.

But that wasn't the point. As soon as I finished searching around and looked at the center, Seon Yoon next to me said, "Huff.” I hear breathing.

“Soo-hyun, what's going on? ”

Goyeon asks, but soon stops for a moment to make sure you've checked the center, then turns around and starts running across the street.

Standing straight in the middle is not a scarecrow. Eight corpses shaped like scarecrows, to be exact.

At the end of the eight wooden sticks embedded in the dirt floor, the users were each plugged into their chests. The lower abdomen was brutally ripped off, and the intestines and organs didn't appear to have been scraped off at all. The only thing that's intact is your head and your limping arms.

I approached the corpse of the man in front of me and took a closer look. The man's face was distorted at the time of his death, and his mouth was torn and fixed. It is still strange to see blood flowing, smiling or crying.

“That's the second Joe that went in from the right. ”

On one knee, the other suddenly says, turning the corpse upside down. If it's the second pair from the right... It was a tightening that included the woman who had fallen on her bones when she first came into the pit. A woman who accused me of being poor in the way she welcomed sustained jokes.

I mean, a group was massacred. What they just assumed appeared to be true.

By the way, I don't see a woman's body, only a man's.

“Clan Road. Wait a minute. Look at this. ”

The rest of you removes the stick with your head on it and points to the floor. That's where the body collapsed. A slight bend in your lower back allows you to see a warped beetle's blood on the ground. It was the same handwriting I saw when I first came down to the pit.

Be arrogant. Where are you complaining about your willful entry?

So I paid a little attention this time. How about this? Isn't this bad? Heehee, heeheehee!

P.S. Ah. I'll thank the other three.

“You bastards! ”

An-hyun's angry voice echoed in unison. I glanced at Ahn Hyun and turned my gaze to the way he touched my shoulder. I was looking at myself with a slightly puzzled face to see if I had finished searching.

“Soo-hyun, it's strange. There's no sign of him. ”

Boom... Boom...

“There has to be a way in or out... Soo-hyun?”

“High-play. Shh. ”

“… Ah. ”

“ ……. ”

I guess I heard it now, too. I turned to the cave, which had just come in after I sent the signal to be quiet.

The sound of someone walking powerlessly. The sound is coming from the right side of the cave that we came in from, based on the direction that we are looking at now.

Buzz bump... Buzz bump...

This is not normal footsteps. I feel like I'm walking slowly and slowly, and sometimes I hear the wheezing of my feet. And….

“... the smell of blood is vibrating. ”

Sasha shrugs her nose and says in a straight voice.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Oh, I've been really busy working on the whole income tax thing today. You know, I just printed out my receipt and said it was clean to go to the bank, so I skipped lunch and went to the PC room. The home printer is broken. But what the hell is the problem? The password keeps getting weirder and weirder if there's a security keyboard conflict. I wrestled for an hour, and then I came home. And I solved it with an electronic payment in 30 minutes. You scared me that the local tax payment was complicated, but I did what I was told, so I took care of it quickly. -_-a

Earlier today, I would like to personally resolve your question. I'd like to draw you a map, but I'm not very good at it. I tried to draw it once, but it wasn't more than just a circle and a square, it wasn't less than that. I was embarrassed, so I couldn't show you the painting, and I just explained everything else in writing.