Chapter 20: A Brief Parting |
Well, thanks for this. My throat was parched, and you buying me a beer like this... I don't know what to say. What's your name...? Huh? Kim Su-hyeon? You don't mean *the* Kim Su-hyeon from the small city of Mul? I've heard of you! The story from the Cave of Screams is famous... Hehe. Meeting a celebrity like you and getting treated to a beer, I can't just sit here and do nothing. Right. Let me tell you a story. Wanna hear it?
Huh? You don't need it? Hold on. Just listen for a bit, please. I'm sure you'll find it interesting. There's a rumor going around that the Soul Commander who's all the rage in the big cities right now got his power during the Rite of Passage. Yeah. That Soul Commander. Everyone in the Hall Plain has gone through the Rite of Passage to get here, right? C'mon, c'mon. Sit down. The Rite of Passage is one of the places the angels have messed with the most.
There are a lot of behind-the-scenes stories about it, you know. Think about it. Back then, everyone was just struggling to survive. Who would wander around a place full of monsters for seven days? But there were some crazy bastards who did. They spent the whole seven days excitedly combing through every inch of the map. And when you do that, your chances of running into the Rite of Passage's boss monster inevitably go up. Huh? What do I mean? You've never met it? Looks like you were a pretty diligent one, Kim Su-hyeon. What I mean is... but before that, can I get just one more beer? Hehe... Thanks!
Try to remember. You must remember the yellow roofs and the blue roofs, right? Yeah. Yellow for the Rest Room, blue for the Save Point. When you go inside, the first thing you see is a warning, isn't it? You can't stay in a Rest Room for more than a day, and you can't stay in a Save Point for more than two. Stay any longer, and a boss monster will appear with 100% probability. Ugh... Just thinking about it gives me the chills. It looked like an alien, and it chewed people up like they were a tasty snack...
Yeah. I've met one. What did I do? I ran for my life, of course. The funny thing is, besides the starting, rest, and save points, there's another one. First time hearing about it? Of course you are. Where is it, you ask?
If you cut through the forest on the outskirts of the map, you'll come out onto a large road. I still remember it. That bumpy path. But you can't go down. It's swarming with Wraiths. So, you end up going up, and you'll find a city. But honestly, who would go that far? People don't even want to enter the forest. And even if they did enter the city, few have made it out alive. That's what we call a Trap Point. Literally, a trap.
The city at the Trap Point has all modern facilities and an abundance of food. It's a place that makes you nostalgic for Earth. It cleverly exploits human psychology to the point where you really don't want to leave.
A warning? There is one. It's there, but it's different from the warnings at the other points. It's written so simply that you'd think it's nothing important. Anyway, that city is extremely clever at manipulating people's minds. It makes you not want to leave. In the end, most users who find it end up settling down. They get complacent. They think they can easily survive the seven days there. The moment they get comfortable, it's over.
In the end, after two days pass, on the third day... you can guess what happens, right? Hehe. Huh? How do I know all this? Haha... Who knows. I'm just gonna drink some more.
As afternoon wore on, the sky began to darken. It was that awkward time, not quite early evening. It had seemed darker than usual in the forest, and now the clouds were gathering with a dark hue, making me wonder what I'd do if it started to pour.
Walking along the bumpy road, I grew impatient, constantly scanning the horizon for any sign of a village. It seemed I needed to pick up the pace. I channeled a bit of magic into my legs, and my speed increased significantly. As I moved quickly, I recalled the vision I'd seen with my Third Eye, the glimpse into the past.
It was incredibly brief, lasting only a second, but the scene I witnessed gave me a rough idea of what had happened to the party. This is what I saw: An Hyeon was running with An Sol on his back, having abandoned his longsword and shield. His face was a mask of urgency, as if something was desperately wrong.
Behind him, Lee Yu-jeong had a rather ambiguous expression. It was hard to tell if she was worried or angry as she followed An Hyeon. Only Kim Han-byeol remained calm, bringing up the rear, carrying the sword and shield An Hyeon had discarded.
It was clear that the party had been attacked or harmed in some way, and in the midst of it all, something had happened to An Sol. For now, I decided to follow the direction they had run. Since it was a well-trodden path, I figured I would eventually come across a village. And at that point, there was a high chance I would reunite with them.
What on earth had attacked them? What could have happened to make them run with such desperate faces? One question led to another. But racking my brain now wouldn't yield any answers. I decided to get the story from them later and quickened my pace once more.
As I was walking, something cold fell—a single drop that gently wet my cheek. I paused for a moment and looked up at the sky, only to see more raindrops rushing toward my face.
Plip. Plop. Plip. Plop.
Watching the intermittent drops, I reflexively wiped my damp cheek. I hoped a village would appear before the downpour began. And thankfully, as if my prayers had been answered, I spotted a cluster of buildings in the distance, just within the range of my vision.
The party must have gone into that village. However, since some villages were naturally infested with monsters, I couldn't help but worry if they had made it in safely. I shouldn't have wasted time; I should have just dealt with things at once and come with them.
Meanwhile, the raindrops dotting the path were growing more numerous. I had no desire to trudge through muddy slush. Slowing to a steady walk, I closed the distance to the village and reflexively activated Mana Sense. As I slowly scanned the village, I felt something strange and came to a halt.
"Wh-what is this?"
I had stuttered without realizing it. I composed myself and scanned again, more precisely this time, but the result was the same. Startled, I quickly gathered my mana and rushed into the village in an instant. When I reached the entrance and saw the modern-style buildings, my jaw dropped.
'There are buildings from Earth in the Rite of Passage? And so many of them?'
First of all, my party was in this village—no, this place that could hardly be called a village, more like a city—just as I'd expected. I could feel the presence of all four of them, which was a relief. That wasn't the problem. I was confused for two reasons. First, I couldn't sense a single monster in the city. Second, what lay before me was a city with modern buildings.
The cities in the Hall Plain don't have modern architecture. They have buildings you'd expect to see in the Middle Ages. In fact, during my first Rite of Passage, just getting used to that was a challenge in itself. But now, right before my eyes, were the familiar buildings I used to see on Earth.
My mind became a tangled mess from this unprecedented experience, but I quickly calmed myself and decided to assess the situation coolly. The first task for humans entering the Hall Plain is to adapt to the new way of life.
Compared to Earth, where science is highly advanced, life in the Hall Plain couldn't be called convenient. To help users adapt, the Rite of Passage deliberately used buildings identical to those in the Hall Plain to make the transition easier. A situation like this was unheard of.
Unless the angels had collectively gone mad, there was no reason for them to place such buildings in the Rite of Passage. But no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, the cityscape didn't change. This meant the angels were after something. And in that moment, the story I'd heard from a swordsman in a tavern long ago came to mind.
"The city at the Trap Point has all modern facilities and an abundance of food. It's a place that makes you nostalgic for Earth. It cleverly exploits human psychology to the point where you really don't want to leave."
Remembering the Trap Point, the city before me finally started to make sense. Before explaining the Trap Point, I have to talk about the boss monster. To put it simply, you cannot defeat the boss monster in the Hall Plain. Quite a few people have seen it, and they all say the same thing with one voice: *It's absolutely unbeatable. You have to run, no matter what.*
The boss monster has a condition for its appearance. It will unconditionally appear if you stay in a Rest Room for more than a day or a Save Point for more than two days. In other words, it was a warning from the angels: don't get complacent just because you've found a safe place; keep moving.
A shiver ran down my spine. I now understood why the city was so empty and quiet when I first saw it. I also understood why, despite the high caliber of my companions at the start, I had never seen any of them—except An Sol—in the Hall Plain. Connecting that to the city before me, I could deduce one possibility. No matter how skilled they were, they couldn't possibly face a boss monster.
I let out a deep sigh and fully entered the city. It wasn't that I didn't feel a sense of nostalgia seeing these buildings for the first time in ten years, but my priority was to find my party.
As I stepped into the city, I was greeted by buildings all painted in shades of ash gray. The structures, exuding a gloomy light as if to welcome me to this dark city, were deeply unsettling.
It was the thick scent of death, something only a seasoned veteran could perceive. Just how many people had died in these buildings?