episode_0023

A tremendous explosion was felt in the far distance.

Such a loud noise that even the skin vibrated from a long distance away.

Someone had definitely tampered with the dummy robots.

It seemed like Artemia paid particular attention to the power, as she mentioned.

…They couldn’t be the ones, could they?

No, they couldn’t be.

“Ugh! What, what is this mess!”

With all visible weapons shattered since no one like Chae Seol-ah used magic itself as a weapon, everyone nearby would struggle to keep up with their pace.

By rendering those reliant on weapons useless, it was a strategic move.

Now, all that was left was to rely on the main base.

If they managed to handle the target robots smoothly, they might just pass this test.

However,

There was still a snag.

The secret behind the hint Artemia provided remained unsolved, lingering in their mind.

Even though they strained their ears, they couldn’t find anything discernible by ‘sound,’ making their head ache for no reason.

“Oh, as expected, you’ve grown more than last time.”

“Ugh, go somewhere else. Why are you following me around?”

“Don’t you know? Two heads are better than one.”

“Two heads my foot.”

Since the alliance with Chae Seol-ah earlier, Choi Woo-gyeong had been trailing behind them.

While ostensibly helpful in disrupting others, they couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was an ulterior motive.

“….”

“Hwi-yu, someone seems to have triggered something again. Worried? Is it about your team?”

Their steps halted at another distant explosion sound.

As tempting as it was to join now, with half the time still remaining, they had to delay further.

According to the plan, 55 minutes lay ahead.

In the moment of choice and focus, he spoke.

“Are you a fool to genuinely worry about that?”

“What did you say?”

“You’re not really falling for this act, are you? If you believe, don’t look back.”

A pang of guilt struck them.

Belief meant not looking back.

Indeed, worrying now was merely contradictory.

Continually scrutinizing the back entrusted out of anxiety was essentially distrust.

“…More importantly, can you tell me now?”

“I’m telling you right now.”

“Not these jokes, I mean what you know about this world.”

Perhaps they had hoped to meet this person.

Choi Woo-gyeong was someone who had landed here long before them and adapted.

Simultaneously, he was a human who had been stranded here for years.

This could very well signify their future.

“You heartless bastard, rejecting teams, killing my subordinates, even passing on what the growling guy knew.”

“I only learned this from some elf guy. And I didn’t kill your subordinate.”

“Wasn’t it your girlfriend who killed him?”

“Well, she…she did kill him, but anyway.”

Damn, did it look like they were in a relationship to others?

Doesn’t matter. Right now, hearing the truth from him was more urgent.

Choi Woo-gyeong seemed to ponder over this.

It seemed difficult for him to readily share information.

But shortly after,

He finally opened up.

And the only condition he laid down was just one.

“…Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s it. Now listen carefully.”

Since our goal leaned more towards information gathering rather than winning the workshop battle, it was more than acceptable.

Thus, they finally got to hear about this place from another person.

Firstly, his landing here began with simply banging his head on a desk.

Waking up to an unfamiliar coastline, spending a week in dire straits, eventually leading to his current involvement with the Flame Tank.

“Listen, those of us in the tank also experienced a significant shock to the head.”

A significant shock to the head.

Could a concussion serve as a trigger to enter this otherworldly realm?

It was an absurd hypothesis, but it couldn’t be ignored.

According to what he said next, humans inherently had a greater capacity to absorb magic than the natives of this world.

So, this must have been the reason why both I and Chaeseol were able to handle magic faster, but even he didn’t know the exact cause.

“This is the basis on which you and I could compete.”

In other words, it meant that the more one adapted to this world, the weaker they became.

Of course, there were exceptions, but generally, as people spent time here, they drifted further away from magic.

In short, the longer the stay, the smaller the possibility became.

“Escape? Our leader is still looking into that.”

“What kind of guy is the leader?”

“Don’t even ask. A real monster, literally. To the point where you’d question if he’s human. I heard he’s been here for 5 years and only gets stronger as time goes by.”

The ‘leader’ he mentioned earlier was one of those exceptions.

So, what was the purpose of the Flame Tank, mostly composed of humans?

As curiosity arose about this, he began to reveal their purpose himself.

“It’s not surprising. Because they’re just like you. Even though it may seem like we’ve been idling here for years, everyone wants to go back. The Flame Tank is where such individuals gather, serving as a fence for each other.”

“…”

“Do you ever think about leaving? Don’t worry too much. To put it nicely, it’s like this, we have our own set of problems. We don’t have that tight camaraderie.”

He was a decent guy, but Choi Woogyung showed a bitter expression as he added those words.

I almost wanted to reveal his true nature, but decided to set aside the past for now.

“Lastly, want us to share what we’ve found out?”

“Yeah, if you haven’t just been fooling around for years, you must have found something.”

“Well, this is really expensive.”

Just in case, I brought it along.

Only a part of it.

“What, where did you get so much money from?”

“It’s your leader’s job. Not all of it, though.”

“Hah, he turned out to be quite the hotshot. But isn’t it childish to buy information with just money?”

“I’ll keep my mouth shut. If the fact that a large sum was spent enters the organization, it has to be shared. And…”

“…Really?”

A limited edition long padding coat.

“If we get out, I’ll give it to you. Two sets.”

“Haha! This guy is totally insane. Alright, what we’re looking for is…”

That’s when it happened.

“…Chaeseol?”

Emerging from the reeds, Chaeseol appeared with the sound of rustling.

Judging by the target robot in her hand, she seemed to have been hunting nearby and came after hearing our voices.

“Hanul.”

“I thought you were far away. Seems like you were close by.”

“Yeah.”

“How many did you catch? Where is that guy?”

“…35.”

…35?

Not a small number, but surely, at the blow I saw him deliver when we parted ways, five were instantly destroyed.

Moreover, she didn’t answer about Luna.

Even if we weren’t that close, she should know what he’s up to.

Something is off.

“Oh, this guy is Choi Woogyung, someone from where Kim Taegang used to be, with some useful information…”

Why?

Long bangs falling to the shoulders.

Dull eyes, face, expression, tone.

Everything clearly indicated it was Chaeseol, yet something felt unfamiliar.

As if someone was meticulously mimicking her, a sense of strangeness lingered.

“…That’s how it turned out.”

“Yeah.”

“We were still talking, so just a moment…”

“…Hyung.”

Just as he was about to continue talking with Choi Woogyung.

He was shedding tears while staring into the void.

At the same time as calling him “hyung,” he spoke into the empty space as if touching something, reaching out his hand to an unreachable place and fumbling around.

“Hyung!!!!!! Where did you go!!! Why!!! Why…!!!!”

“…Choi Woogyung!!”

Damn it, I had a feeling something was off, but now it’s certain.

No matter how much he shook his shoulders, it seemed like he couldn’t hear.

Suddenly, as if possessed by something, he continued to aimlessly search the air for something.

He appeared to be out of his mind.

All of this was exactly as it should be.

It all began after Chaeseol-a appeared.

“Hanul, Luna is over there. Come over for a moment; we need to discuss something.”

“Oh, really? What nonsense is that guy calling me for now? I’m busy.”

I followed behind Chaeseol-a towards where Luna was said to be.

Chaeseol-a’s hair fluttered.

The scent of the shampoo from another world that she used instead of regular shampoo.

Her habit of clasping her hands behind her while walking.

I walked for a while, examining everything one by one.

Finally, when we emerged from the dense reed field and reached the plain again,

I grabbed Chaeseol-a’s shoulder as our distance from Choi Woogyung had somewhat increased.

“…Logically speaking, it doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t.”

“Hanul?”

“The fact that Chaeseol-a calls Luna ‘Luna’ and the fact that she has only broken 35 things.”

“…?”

“And because she’s so damn sleepy, you can’t see what she’s doing right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s no kiss mark on her neck. You fake.”

I immediately punched the one resembling Chaeseol-a.

It barely dodged the punch and then took a step back, distancing itself.

“You’re not Chaeseol-a.”

“…Tsk tsk.”

With a tone full of certainty, the mask of the guy slowly began to come off.

Soon, the real appearance of the revealed guy was truly astonishing.