Chapter 6 – The Alleyway in the Back

20 years ago.

A small gate began to open in an alleyway.

That night, it was especially dark.

A man discovered the gate, which was only big enough for one person to pass through.

Humans were curious creatures.

This occurred during the time when the term “gate” was starting to spread across the world.

If there was an opportunity to enter, that meant there was a path to the entrance.

What would happen if I went inside?

Unable to contain his curiosity, the man wedged himself into the small gate.

What he saw before him was a zone.

There was a tall highrise, but it couldn’t be called a city.

There was a low building, but it couldn’t be called the countryside either.

It was a space where dazzling edifices and piles of rubbish housing coexisted together.

The man came to a sudden realization at the sight.

This place was his new beginning.

He was the new king of a land that had not been occupied yet.

After that day, the man started to gather illegal dealers there before anyone could take claim of the area. Those individuals included people who handled all kinds of weapons, drugs, and were in the same line of business.

They harbored much skepticism after the appearance of heroes, so they could be easily persuaded.

That was how the man rose to power.

He formed connections with powerful figures while accumulating his wealth.

He founded his own kingdom.

Now, in present time. 

The alleyway, otherwise known as the kingdom he founded, was designated as an area that no one could mess with.

This was the information I uncovered while playing V. AGE.

“Geez, to think I’d be visiting here of all places.”

I let out a small sigh.

A dark street like this had always been out of reach for me.

Since my stamina was 2, I was too exhausted to move around after school. But if by chance things worked out well in the alley, I could produce quite high stats until I graduate.

Let’s endure it this one time. Once I raise my stamina later, I won’t get tired even if I walk for hours.

I mustered up my shaky legs and left the subway station.

It took an hour by train.

30 minutes by bus.

30 minutes on foot.

After going over the two-hour mark, I was able to find my way to the alley.

“…I have to go through here?”

There were many paths leading to the alley, but there was only one gate to enter from. In order to avoid confusion, the walls had a staircase marking symbolizing the alleyway.

A path with those wall patterns existed.

That path was shrouded in darkness, nothing could be seen ahead.

I came all the way here, so I couldn’t just go back.

I took a step forward toward that dark road.

“Hah… Is this the right way…“

One step. 

Two steps.

At first, I was afraid I made a hasty decision, but as I continued to walk forward, I was able to regain my composure.

I most certainly would not have approached this place at all if I had set my fortitude below 6.

That was probably the only good thing I did right, which was setting my fortitude stat high.

Attaboy to my crazy self, who set my stamina to 2, and fortitude to 8.

Come to think of it, Hayeon was afraid of the dark, wasn’t she?

As I traversed through the pitch black road, she came to my mind.

This happened in our childhood, during our early elementary school days.

On the day of her birthday, Hayeon’s parents had passed away due to a fire.

The child stood by herself, having lost both her parents to a funeral home. She had no other relatives, and was the sole remainder of her bloodline.

My parents lived next door to Yoo Hayeon’s family and had met her parents before. As such, they could not bear to sit around and witness her in that state.

If it’s okay with you, would you like to move in with us? 

No matter how jumbled my memories were, I could not forget that scene.

Hayeon stared at my parents’ outstretched hands with vacant eyes. Her small glassy eyes gazed at them, before she took my family’s hand.

Why did she dislike the dark then, you ask?

It happened on the day Hayeon first came to our house.

In the evening, my parents gave her a spare room to stay in temporarily. They then blew out the fluorescent lamp for her so that she could sleep.

I was told Hayeon had fallen asleep without a word after they draped the blanket over her.

That was from my parents’ perspective.

Early in the morning, my parents went to check up on her to see if she slept well.

When they lifted up her sleeping blanket, I heard them shrieking.

“H-Honey! Hayeon is…!!”

I recall waking up to that noise too.

When I went to her room, I saw Hayeon, white as a sheet, her tiny body trembling.

My parents hadn’t realized since the blanket had covered her, but she had sat still like that from the moment it went dark up, stricken with fear, unable to let out a sound.

I wondered if it was because the fire had broken out when they blew out the fluorescent lamp and lit the candles on the cake to celebrate her birthday.

Hayeon became afraid of the very dark itself.

…There’s no need to turn on the lights if it doesn’t get dark.

Ever since then, Hayeon’s room was lit bright even during the nighttime.

Hayeon had always annoyed me, but I always felt bad for what happened to her.

Whilst I was recalling the past, I was able to find a shining gate in the dark.

“This is the gate.”

Seeing something like this in person, which I normally experienced through games, heightened my sense of reality.

I was one step away from the alleyway to the underworld.

Finally, I’m here…

I couldn’t help but to be disturbed when I found the size of the gate to be larger than I expected.

It could let more people in and out than it used to.

I was 170cm tall, so about 5 or 6 times more?

The size of the gate was another piece of bad news.

It’s none of my business, but…

I didn’t want a lot of people to die…

This case was something I couldn’t handle.

The only thing I could do was simply pray.

 “Why was the gate still here? Those foolish punks…”

It was widely believed that a gate’s core must be broken in order for it to close. In other words, the larger the gate, the stronger its core, leading to higher risks.

A monster had been growing there for 20 years.

Any more thinking would’ve given me a headache, so I decided to stop.

Let’s just look after myself.

Who am I to worry about others?

I disappeared into the gate.

 ***

When I entered the alleyway’s gate, I saw a myriad of steps before me.

The more you went up, the more divided the economy was, and the more you went down, a bunch of slums formed.

It was a place run by the law of money and power.

Yeah, this has always been a trashy place.

Let’s just do my job and get out of here.

I had to catch the last train back to school, so I quickly climbed the stairs.

Why are there so many damn stairs…

What if I faint here and fall victim to human trafficking?

It could end up happening. 

With my trembling legs leading me, I was able to reach my desired floor.

Block B; it was located in the middle of the alleyway.

I put my hood on, went deeper into the alley.

I’m seriously scared to death.

As I went up the stairs, most of the people I saw were deranged.

A man high on drugs.

A lunatic woman who was beckoning me with her fingers.

The people from the lower floor were not there because they wanted to be.

You could enter as you please, but the same did not apply when you exited the place.

The purpose of the watch guards was to turn those who ventured here out of curiosity or were forcibly dragged here, into addicts.

Since the gate was situated in a desolate place, they needed manpower. Consequently, once you fall into addiction, they could order you to do anything they want.

You should never let your guard down here.

Ah, I want to go home already.

I hastened my steps toward the location of a store I remembered from the game.

Plod.  

I passed through several pubs.

Plod.  

I passed the illegal arms dealer.

Plod. 

I passed the entertainment district.

Just a little further.

I was almost there.

At that moment, two people emerged from the store in front of me.

“That’s why I chased him out?”

“What about that prick?”

“Huh, he should be at the dumping grounds by now? Wanna go see if he kicked the bucket or not?”

They snickered amongst themselves, casually chatting about murder.

Their badges had the symbol of the alley’s watch guard.

Ah. This isn’t good.

They were red from the alcohol, looking at me.

“Hm? Isn’t this a new face?”

“…You with the hood, come here.”

What a shame, I would’ve made it if I went just a little further.

Realizing my situation, I quickly turned around and started running. 

“Hey, you! Stay right there!!”

“You’ll kill me if you catch me. Would you stay put if you were in my shoes?”

It was serious, I actually would be killed if they caught me.

Since it was considered treason to go against the watch guards, I squeezed every ounce of my stamina and bolted.

Turn right to the street.

Then, to the left.

The buildings and pathways in the alley were as complex as a maze.

It was rather enjoyable even though I was on the run.

It would’ve been more fun had I been a normal healthy person.

I should’ve raised my stamina a little more.

The speed at which I consumed my stamina was abysmal.

The sound of the footsteps kept approaching from behind.

I was in a dire situation. 

“Damn it.”

It was a dead end.

There was nowhere for me to escape.

I could only hear the sound of bustling steps. 

Is this how I’ll die?

Seriously?

From what I read, the people in this story lived happily ever after though?

I realized it was my fault for not understanding how risky it was instead of this being because of fate.

Trudge. Trudge.

Their footsteps were gradually closing in on me.

Is there anything else I could do?

Beg Hayeon to save me?

Should I call her now? 

H-Help me! Yoo Hayeon…!

Would that even work?

It’d be faster for me to die than for her to get here. 

There must be some other way…

I looked around my surroundings, there were small glass shards and cracked bricks on the ground. 

Wait, a brick?

That’s good.

I’ll hide by the curve and break his skull when he comes closer.

As for the other one…

I’ll think about what to do when the time comes. 

It’s important that I at least bring one of them down.

It was a temporary measure and the best method to increase the likelihood of my survival.

Trudge. Trudge.

The man’s light steps gave away his positioning; he was nearby.

Just a little more. A little bit more.

Before the other could react…

I heard the footsteps next to me. 

When I saw a human figure appear at the curve, I swung the brick and smashed it at the man’s head.

Wham!

I could hear the dull sound of the strike.

Flesh met flesh.

I could feel someone touching my arm, which was holding the brick.

W-Who… is this?

“Oh my, what are you doing to me all of a sudden?”

“Who…” 

I’d never seen this person back there on the alleyway. This person, who had just blocked my attack.

It was not a man who had been following me, but a woman with long white hair.

She was staring at me with eyes the color of blood.

“That’s my question, who are you?”

She licked her red lips, with a bewitching gaze.

Why is she looking at me like that?

Her eyes harbored something inexplicably ominous.