episode_0026

Lee Ji-hye followed along without saying anything, then suddenly stopped.

“Wait, you can’t go in here.”

Lee Ji-hye spoke as if she was momentarily flustered. Her expression made it seem as if she was annoyed.

She was a law-abiding woman, so she seemed a bit uncomfortable. She looked like she would beat me up if I provoked her even a little bit.

Something must have made her uncomfortable. No matter what, she seemed to be trying to get too angry. Does this have something to do with it?

I looked at her expressionlessly and opened my mouth.

“Why?”

“This is an illegal area. Do not enter.”

The place I’m trying to enter is a forest that was previously off-limits.

There is a huge trap there, and if you go inside, strangely enough, you will end up back outside the forest. To be exact, it’s not like you’re teleporting or anything, but the further you go inside, the more lost you become, and you will naturally end up outside.

I guess it’s because my sense of direction has become strange.

When it was first discovered that such a place existed, naturally we immediately began investigating.

So they tried to take pictures using a drone or something flying in the sky, but even that failed because it was blocked by the trees. They say it was that difficult of a place.

So, it is said that the government designated this area as a restricted area in order to solve the mystery.

But I know the secret of this forest.

I now have the solution that allowed Seo Jae-hyeok to enter a hidden gate by chance. Especially since it was Seo Jae-hyeok who entered in the beginning, it was obvious that it was possible for me too.

Since it was a coincidence, I might not have known originally, but since Yoo Seo-ra, who was next to me in the original, described it properly, I couldn’t help but know.

I said with a smile for some reason.

“But what if there’s a hidden piece there?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it a waste to just leave it alone? But it’s also a waste to give it to someone else. That’s why I’m going to take it.”

Lee Ji-hye stared at me intently. It seemed as if she was trying to confirm whether what I was saying was a lie or the truth.

“Is that true?”

“Of course.”

I spoke very truthfully.

“I know where that is. I even know what kind of puzzle it is. But there’s a hidden piece?”

“Yes.”

He was frowning slightly, as if he was so dissatisfied with my monotonous words.

“What if it’s a lie?”

“Then, Lee Ji-hye, you can do whatever you want. You can take me to the police station, or you can just forgive me. You can do whatever you want, Lee Ji-hye.”

I smiled and spoke monotonously. It was such a simple statement that Lee Ji-hye seemed confused.

“Okay, allow me. Let me in.”

“Thank you.”

“Let me tell you one thing. Since this place was famous, I went in there myself and tried to solve the secret. But I failed. Other hunters couldn’t figure it out either, so you figured it out? Are you saying that’s what you mean?”

It seemed like he was very dissatisfied with that. It seemed like he felt rude because it seemed like he was putting down other hunters. That’s probably why I could see his expression was so unpleasant.

I totally understand. It’s even more absurd than saying that an elementary school student can easily solve college math problems.

Because I understood, I had no complaints about her expression.

I felt like apologizing to Lee Ji-hye, who thought I was a little arrogant.

“Just follow me for now.”

“I’ll do that.”

Slowly we enter the forest. In order to get the hidden piece in the forest. Of course, Lee Ji-hye still doesn’t believe it.

The sound of leaves swaying in the wind reached my ears.

I need to organize my thoughts.

To tell the truth, I had no intention of coming here. I had planned to live without worrying about these things until I met Masinism in person.

I thought that Yusera would just take care of everything.

Especially when you consider that later on, the hidden piece will belong to none other than Yusera.

But I also know that I can’t do that anymore. I don’t know what will happen if I act like that. Even if I know the original story, I can’t guarantee my future.

So, I needed to somehow recall the original information that barely mentioned hidden piece locations or coincidence locations. Since I am an information-hungry person, I need to take some kind of proactive action.

I want to use the information that will be most useful to me now, even if it may cause some harm later on without my knowledge.

A refreshing breeze blows towards me.

The sky was so covered with leaves that no sunlight could penetrate.

My mind was clear. No matter how anxious I was, I still felt certain that I could enter the gate.

‘Okay, let’s start now.’

I muttered to myself and stopped walking. Then I turned around and looked at Lee Ji-hye.

“Lee Ji-hye, please hold my hand.”

At my words, Lee Ji-hye’s expression changes to one of incomprehension.

“What? Why?”

“To enter the gate.”

“What does that have to do with holding hands?”

“I just want you to listen to me.”

Lee Ji-hye, who openly and blatantly showed her disgust at my words, grabbed my hand as if it was obvious to anyone that she didn’t like it. As soon as I grabbed her hand, I was able to become nervous.

‘I wonder if I can do it properly.’

What will happen to me if the original story is distorted and I can’t enter? This is no longer a novel, it’s reality. The information I knew might not be useful. My anxiety continued to rise.

‘For now, the conditions are met.’

First, there will be people with almost no mana at the average level.

I could say that I met that condition considering that I was just an ordinary person. Next, I would stand still in a place where the leaves were so thick that they blocked out the sunlight during the day.

If you have a partner to go in with, you must be in skin contact with them.

The conditions were really simple. Anyone could enter if they kept to this, so it felt somewhat lax. It was just that this could not be properly analyzed, and most of the people who entered were capable Awakened beings, so it had not been revealed until now.

In a word, I was unlucky.

I met all the conditions. I was standing still in a place where the sunlight did not reach during the day.

“Why are you still standing still?”

Lee Ji-hye questioned my actions. In fact, she was even more curious about my current actions because I was not that trustworthy.

I chuckled lightly and said lightly.

“If you keep still, you will see it.”

As soon as I finished speaking, something strange happened in this quiet place.

bang!

The ground shook violently. It felt as if a huge earthquake had occurred.

For an ordinary person, it was difficult to even stand properly. I felt like I was very self-conscious about my surroundings.

I felt like I would lose consciousness if I let my guard down even for a little bit.

That was the moment.

Kwakwang!

Another loud bang rang out, and the ground began to cave in. The thud thud thud, the sound was loud in my ears.

Without realizing it, I ended up holding Lee Ji-hye’s hand tightly.

I couldn’t help but cry out in pain for a moment as my head vibrated strongly. I was groaning loudly without making a sound.

bang!

Finally, there was another loud noise, and I could feel the surroundings becoming quiet. I opened my tightly shut eyes and slowly looked around.

I could vaguely see where it was.

‘Okay.’

I entered through the hidden gate as in the original.

Gate.

The place I’m currently in is a place where monsters often appear. The surroundings are dark and feel like a cave, so it feels like I’ve entered a dungeon in a game.

The humid air made that feeling even more so.

However, the place was too large to be called a cave, so I felt a slight sense of dissonance.

“Hey, where am I……?”

Lee Ji-hye, who was standing next to her, let out a voice in embarrassment.

“Didn’t I tell you? There’s a hidden piece. It’s here, so please help me.”

I spoke lightly and immediately raised my gun. The boss monster would definitely appear in a moment.

In fact, it is inevitable to feel a little anxious. The only equipment that Lee Ji-hye currently has is a small, worthless sword. No matter how strong she is, it is questionable whether she is as strong as the original story.

Of course, in terms of strength, Lee Ji-hye was still stronger, but when I thought about how she handled mana and the many hidden pieces and coincidences she had obtained back then, I couldn’t help but shake my head. Especially since Yoo Se-ra had even properly equipped herself at that time, it was inevitable that I wouldn’t believe her.

So, it was far from enough to defeat the monsters that would come out from now on.

‘Then I’ll just take out the hidden piece secretly.’

I’ve been thinking about this since Lee Ji-hye came without wearing her gear properly. So from now on, I have to have faith that she’ll somehow continue to hold on.

‘It’s quite possible.’

Since it was actually quite possible to knock her down, it would be easier to run away. Since I believed in Lee Ji-hye’s power in the original, I decided to take a somewhat reckless action.

Kookung!

The ground began to shake again. Unlike before, this was an earthquake that seemed to encompass the entire area, and it would have been perfectly fine for a normal person to feel fear.

I was able to continue to stand tall because I knew I wouldn’t fall anyway.

“What the heck this time!”

Lee Ji-hye shouted loudly, as if she hadn’t yet grasped the current situation. She continued to look around, and then her expression suddenly turned cold.

“The monster is coming out.”

Although it wasn’t immediately, Lee Ji-hye quickly realized what she had to do. She thought that a battle was about to break out, so she immediately lifted the small sword on her waist.

“So that’s why you called me.”

“Of course.”

I smiled and said briefly.

Then he reloads his gun and straightens his posture.

There was a glow on the ground. It almost felt like something was being summoned.

Hwaaak!

A sound like wind was blowing from somewhere nearby, and the surroundings were becoming increasingly noisy.

And finally there was a loud bang, like an explosion.

bang!

And unexpectedly, a huge monster was summoned in front of us with smoke and very quietly. The blue monster, which gave the impression of a giant, was quietly breathing without any reaction.

To an untrained eye, it may not look like he’s going to attack first, but after a little while, he’ll start swinging his arms. If you’re going to get hit like that, it’s better to strike first.

I checked the door behind the guy. It was definitely not there a moment ago, but it appeared with that monster.

I wanted to run right over there, knowing that there was a hidden piece behind that door. But I couldn’t go there yet.

“Ms. Lee Ji-hye. From now on, remember the parts I attack and only attack those.”

“What?”

“Look carefully.”

I aimed my gun at the monster. Then I pulled the trigger.

bang!

The bullet I shot hit that guy right in the middle of the nose. He didn’t even feel pain, so he didn’t scream or anything, but just flinched. There was a clear mark where I hit him.

There was no blood, but considering the guy’s strong defenses, I could tell that the attack had been successful.

I quickly aimed for the center of the guy’s chest. That’s probably where his heart is. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger and shot hard. After I hit him once, I opened my mouth.

“You can just focus your attacks there. Got it? ”

The moment Lee Ji-hye tried to answer, the bastard swung his arm. It was clearly too fast for me to dodge, but Lee Ji-hye picked me up and ran to another place.

As expected, it was Lee Ji-hye who was able to hold on to it properly and move it.

“Is that a weak point?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“There is something like that. It’s a secret, so I would appreciate it if you could keep it a secret.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guy turned his head and looked at us.

“Then, fight alone for now. I will move to another place.”

“Moving? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“If Lee Ji-hye can properly draw aggro, that’s fine.”

With that said, I fired again, hitting the exact spot I had aimed for earlier.

The reason I know that guy’s weakness is because it was in the original work, and after Yoo Seo-ra defeated him, he told me about it as a side story. Strangely enough, since the work was detailed in this regard, I was able to attack him without a single mistake.

“He’ll attack again. Let’s dodge it once and then start over.”

As I said that, I tried to smile as leisurely as possible.

“So please hold me one more time. Safely.”

“Okay, I understand.”

After he finished speaking, he quickly swung his arm towards us from the left.