“…So, I think it would be best to get Mercenary Lord’s opinion on this part.”
“I agree.”
“Yes. Then… Mercenary Lord?”
“…….”
“Mercenary Lord?”
“…Ah. Y-Yes.”
A voice called my name a couple of times.
Startled, I looked up and saw dozens of users all staring at me. Among them, Han So-young sat in the place of honor, quietly fixing me with her usual emotionless gaze.
I quickly shook my head. I must have spaced out for a moment.
“Do you know what was just discussed?”
“Yes. Since we successfully secured the monster samples, the next step is to plan our future advance…”
“…So you were listening after all. But I’d appreciate it if you could focus more during the meeting.”
“Sorry about that.”
Since I had been lost in thought, I apologized sincerely.
Han So-young nodded calmly and pointed to the map hanging in front of us. She wanted me to go up and explain. As I slowly stood, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling inside me.
No, actually, I felt a bit hurt.
Last night, Han So-young was definitely different. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how, but it felt like she wasn’t the Han So-young I knew.
Troubled, I barely slept and came to the meeting, but she seemed exactly the same as always—as if last night’s events didn’t bother her at all.
That made my feelings even more complicated. Seeing the usual Han So-young was a relief, but at the same time, a pang of disappointment welled up inside me.
Damn it. I don’t even understand my own feelings.
Anyway.
“Then, I’ll briefly explain the plan for our advance.”
If there’s no answer now, it’s better to forget everything and focus on the operation, just as Han So-young said.
With that in mind, I turned to the large map. This wasn’t a map for navigation but an incomplete one we were creating as we advanced. Aside from the path the Northern Continent had taken so far, there was no other information.
I pointed to where the Southern Expedition had stopped and drew a straight line forward.
“First, the route is simple. As before, we’ll move straight ahead without deviation.”
“A straight line… so a direct approach. May I ask why you chose that direction?”
Han So-young asked immediately, and I nodded lightly.
“As I mentioned in the previous meeting, we have a three-step plan for dealing with the monsters. Step one: secure samples. Step two: research and develop countermeasures. Step three: attack and eliminate their base.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We’re currently at step two. Now, the remaining task is step three. So, the priority is to find the monsters’ base. And I’m confident that the base lies in the direction we’re heading.”
“……”
Han So-young said nothing, but her expression clearly asked why I thought so. The other users looked equally curious.
After a moment, a man calmly raised his hand, requesting to speak. I gestured for him to go ahead, and he stood up quietly. I’d seen his face a few times but couldn’t recall his name.
“Mercenary Lord, it’s true the monsters keep attacking us. But I don’t understand how that fact leads you to believe their base is in the direction we’re heading.”
A fair question, but sharper than I expected.
Because, honestly, I do know where the base is. I wanted to say that but held back, opening my mouth quietly.
“Just as a side note, let’s think about this for a moment. I’ll give you an example.”
“An example…?”
“Yes. Suppose we’re on the Northern Continent, and the monsters launch a large-scale attack from the Steel Mountains. How would we respond?”
“Well… ah.”
The man’s face flickered with realization. He wasn’t completely dull.
What I meant was to think from the monsters’ perspective.
“Of course, one reason is that they see us as prey and attack us. That’s true. But I thought from their point of view. Why would they try to scout us yesterday?”
“To gather information about us… that’s what I think.”
“Exactly. To put it more precisely, it means they haven’t given up on us yet. Strictly speaking, from the monsters’ perspective, we’re invaders who have trespassed into their home. That’s the basis for the direction I chose.”
“Hmm.”
I decided to wrap it up there, deliberately vague. I didn’t want to go into too much detail because most of what I was saying was just an excuse.
Whether it’s right or wrong, explaining it all in detail would only tire me out. Here, I had to act as if I knew nothing about the Steel Mountains. So, just planting the idea that this is why we should advance this way would be enough.
The man tilted his head but soon said he understood and sat back down calmly. As he sat, someone else immediately raised their hand.
It was Warrior Lord, Go Oh-hwan.
I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, so I spoke without hesitation.
“Even if we don’t find the base, it’s not a big problem.”
“Mercenary Lord, I understand what you mean, but what if we don’t find the base…”
Go Oh-hwan started to speak but stopped mid-sentence, staring blankly at me. I smiled inwardly.
“Our goal is just to clear a path, not to stabilize the entire Steel Mountains. If we don’t find the base, isn’t that fine too? The Southern Expedition will advance as far as possible by the set time, then hand over to the Northern Expedition.”
Honestly, this wasn’t something to say lightly in a meeting, but it didn’t really matter. I was sure there were more than a few users dissatisfied with the Eastern Expedition. They were unhappy with the progress—despite benefiting the most from the Flame Territory plan, they had stopped advancing halfway.
“I agree with Mercenary Lord.”
After a brief silence, Han So-young’s voice came.
“Since we’ve entered the Steel Mountains, it’s a path we have to take and an area we must conquer. So there’s no reason to avoid the monsters now, but likewise, no need to seek them out deliberately. We just need to do our job.”
We just need to do our job.
Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted to say.
Han So-young then straightened up and looked at me.
“Then, we’ll accept Mercenary Lord’s plan and end this morning’s meeting here. Everyone, prepare to depart immediately.”
And with that, the morning meeting ended.
Time passed.
After breaking camp, I crossed the shadowed hills in a straight line, just as I said in the meeting.
But the expedition that left in the morning faced no interference even by late afternoon. I scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, but no monsters appeared—not even a trace.
Thanks to that, we marched quickly and covered a good distance, but I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. The first time we came here, it wasn’t this easy.
Honestly, it was a bit disappointing. I think momentum is like a current. When it goes down, it plummets endlessly, but when it goes up, it climbs without end.
Since yesterday, the Southern Expedition’s momentum started rising, and I wanted the monsters to appear to some extent. Now that we had figured out how to respond, gradually fighting would build experience and confidence, further fueling our upward momentum.
I planned to sharpen our edge by the time we attacked the base, but at this rate, we’d only get duller. Still, it was out of my hands, so I had to accept it.
Anyway, once we crossed the shadowed hills, the base would be just ahead.
Thinking that, I increased our pace to get through quickly, but a request for a rest came from the rear, forcing us to stop briefly. The melee fighters didn’t seem too tired, so it was probably the mages or priests running low on stamina.
After ordering a 20-minute break, I leaned against a hill and sat down. Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, I calmly sorted through the questions swirling in my mind.
…Suddenly, I felt like I was missing something very important.
The surroundings were dark. Truly a dark space. It was as if a black curtain had been drawn over everything, filling the area with pitch-black darkness.
It felt like underground—no light at all.
And in that space wandered a woman.
“Brother!”
The woman was none other than Ansol.
Her face was desperate, revealing her inner turmoil.
She had been wandering this space for thirty minutes. In truth, Ansol didn’t know why she was here. All she remembered was finishing the march safely today, having dinner, standing guard, then falling asleep inside the tent.
But when she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.
“Brother!”
She called out again, but no answer came. She had called several times already, but it was all in vain.
In that situation—
Ansol briefly wondered if this might be a dream. But it was pointless. If it were a dream, she should be able to wake up. She pinched her cheek, rolled wildly on the floor, but nothing changed. The scene before her eyes remained exactly the same.
“Ora-beoni—!”
Still, Ansol called out to Kim Suhyun. When she couldn’t see anything and was powerless to do anything, there was only one thing she could do: pray silently for someone to come and save her, and wait endlessly.
How much time had passed?
By the time she was growing weary of wandering aimlessly—
“Help… please…”
Suddenly, from somewhere, a faint voice drifted softly to her ears.
Ansol’s slow steps came to an abrupt halt. With eyes full of unease, she cautiously glanced around.
“W-who was that just now? Is someone there?”
“Help… please… I beg you…”
This time, she heard it clearly. Someone was calling for help.
Though she couldn’t see anything, Ansol carefully turned her head toward the direction of the voice.
“Is… is it a person?”
“…How did you get in here?”
After a brief silence, a voice, hoarse and cracked as if worn down by hardship, answered Ansol’s question. Despite the roughness, there was a strangely gentle quality to it, as if it had once been quite beautiful.
“I… I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m here either. W-where exactly is this place?”
“…I see. Alright. First, calm down. From now on, you must keep your voice down. Absolutely no loud noises.”
Without realizing it, Ansol lowered her voice as much as she could.
“Y-yes. Yes.”
“Good. Now, can you come to where I am? Don’t run—walk slowly.”
The voice guided her gently, like a mother soothing a child.
Listening to the calm tone, a small thread of comfort finally wove its way into Ansol’s heart. It wasn’t just because she wasn’t alone. For some reason, the voice didn’t carry any ill will. If anything, it sounded a little pitiful.
“Take two steps to your left… good. Now, reach your arm straight out in front of you.”
Obediently, Ansol took the steps and extended her arm. Then, astonishingly, the space that had been completely dark began to change.
The darkness itself remained, but at her fingertips, she felt a rough texture. A cold sensation, like touching a heavily rusted iron door.
“Push the door slowly. Very slowly. Even if it’s just a little bit at a time, don’t make a sound.”
All along, the voice kept repeating the same warning: no noise.
Ansol swallowed hard, tension tightening her chest. She pressed her hand forward little by little, pushing the invisible door.
But—
Creak, screech!
Maybe because the door was so old, despite her utmost caution, a noise escaped. Though faint, in the eerie silence it echoed unnaturally loud.
“A-ah… no…”
A voice filled with disappointment rang in her ears.
Ansol’s instincts screamed that something had gone wrong.
“W-what do I do now?”
“I’m fine. You have to run. Somehow, just run.”
“Y-yes?”
“There’s no choice. I don’t know how you got in here, but that noise just woke Father’s consciousness. He knows you’re here now.”
“What? What does that mean…?”
“He’s already close. No time to explain—go!”
For the first time, the voice’s tone rose sharply. Ansol panicked. She was told to run, but where?
As she stood there, unsure what to do—
Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped into a heavy silence. At the same time, an overwhelming, indescribable sense of dread washed over her entire body.
She stared blankly ahead. Still, she saw nothing.
But she could feel it clearly.
Something unknown, radiating an intensely evil aura, was rapidly approaching her.
If she stayed here, she would surely die.
No—
“N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n…”
At that moment, whatever it was had already reached right in front of her.
“G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g…”
Suddenly, darkness seized the crown of her head, twisting it upward. Her mind went blank from the shock.
Her mouth fell open.
“Ora…beoni…”
Then—
“Don’t stay still!”
From the open door, a sudden pale arm shot out, grabbing Ansol’s arm and yanking her fiercely inside.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
A sharp scream echoed through the dark space as her body was pulled in, stomach lurching.
“Run! Run!”
Even as she was dragged, the voice urging her to flee rang in her ears.
Instinctively, Ansol turned her gaze toward the direction the voice had come from.
And at that moment—when she confirmed the source of the voice—
“I told you to run… hehehehehehe!”
Ansol’s eyes snapped wide open, as if they might tear.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
A piercing scream shook the tent.
Goyeonju woke instinctively.
“Ugh, uhahaha, uhehehahaha!”
Hearing the eerie voice, she quickly sat up.
Her next moves were swift. She lit the light stone using the shadows and pulled a dagger from beneath her pillow, scanning her surroundings. But what she saw wasn’t an intruder—only Ansol, drenched in cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
One by one, the mercenary clan members sharing the tent began to stir.
“A dream… a dream…”
Ansol’s voice was strained, soaked with fear. Goyeonju immediately moved to embrace her.
“Sol, what’s wrong? Hey, what’s going on?”
“Someone… was asking for help… but…”
Though she babbled incoherently, Ansol’s hands kept moving aimlessly through the air.
“It’s okay. It’s okay now. Calm down.”
“No… no, no… they said to run… and to tell us…”
But since Ansol was the one speaking, it couldn’t be dismissed as nonsense.
Now, Ansol was frantically gathering her sleeping bag. Goyeonju watched quietly, then turned to the still-dazed clan members.
“Yujeong, go get the clan leader right now.”
“Huh? Uh, okay?”
“Quickly!”
“Y-yes!”
Yujeong dashed out.
Then Goyeonju looked at Im Hanna.
“Hanna, bring me a large notebook and a quill. The bigger, the better.”
Without question, Hanna blinked sleepily a couple of times, then got up and rummaged through her bag.
Soon, she returned with the notebook and quill. Goyeonju placed them before Ansol and handed her the pen. Miraculously, Ansol gripped the quill tightly, as if she’d been waiting for this.
Goyeonju said nothing more. She just held Ansol close, whispering soothing words.
After a moment—
“Seven… eleven… no, fourteen…?”
Ansol’s head drooped slightly as she trembled. Clutching the quill tightly, she began to move it across the page.
It was a drawing.
Ansol was sketching something. Her strokes were clumsy, her hand shaking, making the image messy—but it was clear the drawing depicted a shape.
“One…”
After finishing one figure, she drew another beside it.
“Two…”
She found an empty space and added yet another.
Though slightly different, the shapes all looked very similar.
Goyeonju focused on the clearest figure. As she pictured what it might be, she furrowed her brow.
“What is this…?”