We are revising the expedition team count from 10, including Kim Suhyun, to 11 members. Apologies for any confusion caused. (__)
The first deployment was 500 soldiers. The second, 1,000. The third, 1,500. The fourth, 3,000…
Over the past two months, a staggering total of 6,000 troops have been swallowed whole by that damn hideout.
The thrill of victory was short-lived. Now, ominous rumors are spreading.
We can’t just stand by and do nothing. Instead of wasting more soldiers, it’s better to leave this kind of job to the experts.
Just wait. Those bastards. If I catch them, I’ll grind them to dust.
— From the Atlanta Secret Library, “The Fall of the Balkan Kingdom — Frontline Diary”
Thanks to Jegal Haesol’s transport ability, we leapt forward a distance that would normally take three days in an instant. He said this was the perfect limit for now—he wasn’t confident about the coordinates since he’d never ventured this far east, so he’d calculate as we went.
Three days is plenty. For today, we’d march and wait out the cooldown period, then leap once more to reach the vicinity.
Feeling confident, I looked ahead. Before me stretched a vast grassland, sparkling with a clear river. In the distance, a few caravans moved back and forth. Some were buzzing with excitement, likely setting out on expeditions, while others returned with heavy, subdued expressions—probably failed missions or lost comrades. Maybe both.
Leading us at the front was Im Hanna. She’d insisted on joining the expedition to sharpen her senses. Not a bad idea. Real combat experience beats endless training any day. She seemed to have taken something to heart since our last sparring match.
Just then, I sensed someone casually approaching from the side.
“Hyungnim, I’ve got a question.”
It was Jin Suhyun’s voice. He strolled over with his hands clasped behind his head, walking in a relaxed, almost lazy manner. In the past, I would’ve snapped at him immediately, but not this time. This was a lighthearted expedition, and the idea of monsters appearing so close was absurd. Besides, he was pretty skilled.
“What is it?”
“You said earlier we’d probably arrive tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So even without the transport ability, that means the city’s really close. Why hasn’t it been discovered until now? It’s been quite a while since Atlanta was conquered.”
Ah, I see what he meant. I looked ahead again and answered.
“Simple. Just because it’s a ruin doesn’t mean it’s easy to spot.”
“Huh?”
“Like I said, this place is a hideout. Not just any hideout, but one built by an ancient kingdom. It was designed to shelter royalty, so they put a lot of care into hiding it.”
“Hmm. Still hard to wrap my head around.”
“And it’s not that it hasn’t been found—it has. It just hasn’t made a big fuss. I doubt there are many users who actually know about it.”
“Then why keep it hush-hush? Afraid of attracting too many users?”
Sometimes, he’s amusing—asking questions and answering them himself. He’s capable of figuring things out on his own; he just doesn’t like to think too hard.
“That’s part of it, but mostly because very few people know about it.”
“Huh? What else?”
“No one who’s gone inside has ever come back out. So, their acquaintances can only speculate, not be certain.”
“…”
Jin Suhyun lowered his hands from behind his head, unclasped his fingers, and suddenly his expression turned serious.
“No one’s come back out… so it’s not a place to take lightly.”
I silently nodded. Breaking through the Abyssal Void head-on isn’t easy. But it’s possible, and there’s no need to go straight through. Someone once got lucky and cleared it, so we can follow their method.
“What do you think, Hyungnim? What if it’s like a mountain where a dragon sleeps, or the tomb of a barbarian king…?”
I chuckled lightly.
“Come on. It’s nothing like that. I’d say it’s probably easier than crossing a glacial snowfield.”
“Really?”
At that moment, Jin Suhyun’s tense expression relaxed.
“Ah, I was just worrying for nothing. Then I guess we can just trust you again this time, huh? Hehe.”
His cheerful voice made me stop walking without realizing it.
Did I sense something off?
“Suhyun, what’s wrong?”
Go Yeonju, who had been watching from behind, came over and asked. I barely managed to shake my head.
“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”
I fell silent and resumed walking. Behind me, I could hear Jin Suhyun and Lee Yujeong chatting excitedly. I quietly drifted into thought.
“‘We can just trust you again this time, huh?’” That phrase echoed in my mind. I understood what he meant, but the casual way he said it rubbed me the wrong way. Not just him—I, too, had thought the same. And that bothered me.
Why? Why did we think that way? It’s not something to take for granted.
Lost in thought, we moved eastward. The grasslands gradually gave way to rougher terrain. The bushes grew taller, reaching my knees, and the scattered trees thickened into dense clusters. The once gentle river widened and twisted through the forest, its rushing waters growing louder.
My mind felt heavier, but I forced myself to shake it off.
Focus on the expedition first.
A slight hiccup occurred in our plan—an error related to Jegal Haesol’s transport ability. I’d thought the cooldown was between one and two days, but it had actually shortened. Gehenna had shared a method to reduce the strain, so it wasn’t a bad mistake—if anything, it was welcome news.
Since night was falling, I briefly hesitated but decided to use the transport ability once more. We’d reach the area, set up camp, and enter the next day. A forced march made it doable.
After the leap, we found a suitable spot and pitched our tents. As I unrolled my sleeping bag, a savory aroma wafted through the air.
Gathering around the campfire that lit up the deepening darkness, Go Yeonju kindly pulled out a bottle of light herbal liquor. She said it was good for whetting the appetite before a meal, and I couldn’t refuse. The smooth taste slid down easily, with a pleasantly sweet finish on the tongue.
Just as I was sipping my second glass—
“Suhyun, there’s a message from Jo Seungwoo.”
Suddenly, Jeong Hayeon approached calmly and sat to my right, holding a communication crystal that had just gone dark.
“There’s a request related to the place we’re heading.”
“A missing person case?”
“No. They warned us to watch out for ‘bait.’”
“Bait…?”
Surprised, I nodded. It wasn’t unusual—sometimes uncharted ruins attract such dangers.
“Oppa, what’s bait?”
At that moment, I heard someone sniffling nearby. Across from me, Lee Yujeong was eyeing my cup—or rather, the drink in my hand. Asking a question but clearly more interested in the drink than the answer.
Tsk tsk. I clicked my tongue and offered the cup. Yujeong’s face lit up as she stood, but then she hesitated and slumped back down, shoulders drooping. Glancing sideways, I saw Go Yeonju shooting Yujeong a sharp look, then taking the cup from me and shaking her head. I guessed she meant I should be the only one drinking. One glass wouldn’t hurt, though.
Go Yeonju spoke gently.
“Yujeong, ‘bait’ means we could be the bait ourselves, so we need to be careful.”
“Unnie, that’s so mean. I can’t say anything since you made the liquor, but it was Oppa who gave it to me.”
“It’s natural for users to flock to discovered ruins. But that also means there are groups targeting those users.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Oh, right. The vagrants are gone now.”
“No, no.”
“But the ones Jeongmin hunted were the worst kind of vagrants. The ones we’re talking about live like users normally do, but then suddenly turn violent. If you know the term ‘massacre and annihilation,’ you’ll understand what I mean.”
“…Unnie, you’re mean.”
Yujeong pouted and buried her head between her neatly folded knees. I heard Jeong Hayeon chuckle softly.
“Anyway, I think we should tighten our guard tonight.”
“Well, I don’t think those guys are dumb enough to target us.”
Go Yeonju replied to Jeong Hayeon, who was sitting to my right.
“Come on, you can’t say that. Even a lion hunts rabbits with all its might. We never know what might happen, so we can’t let our guard down.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Ha-yeon unnie and Da-eun’s words make sense. Letting our guard down is a big no-no. They never promised they wouldn’t attack us, after all. Right, Yeon-ju unnie?”
The one who answered Nam Da-eun, sitting next to Jeong Ha-yeon, was Im Han-na, who was beside Go Yeon-ju. For some reason, she emphasized the words ‘letting our guard down’ and ‘promise,’ and her tone was sharp, almost prickly.
“Is that so? Well, only fools put blind faith in promises. Otherwise, you might just get a nasty blow to the back of your head.”
“Oh my, this medicinal wine tastes a bit off. What kind of herbs did they put in this?”
Go Yeon-ju raised her voice oddly, glancing sideways, and Jeong Ha-yeon, suddenly very interested in the drink, trailed off.
“Oh my, could this be that stuff? The one that boosts a man’s virility…”
“Oh my, what does that have to do with anything? Since when did Ha-yeon get interested in that kind of thing?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just saw the torn leaf and suddenly thought of the saying about a dog with mud on its tail and a dog with chaff on its fur.”
“Oh my, what a strange imagination you have. Don’t you think it looks more like a torn camisole?”
Suddenly, something felt off. On the left were Go Yeon-ju and Im Han-na; on the right, Jeong Ha-yeon and Nam Da-eun. The four women were split into two sides, staring intently at each other. Their faces were bright, but the atmosphere was tense—like they were smiling while aiming guns at one another.
Just then, as I calmly took another sip, a sudden curiosity struck me. Thanks to the medicinal wine, my appetite was waking up. I was starting to feel hungry. When we left the tent earlier, I definitely caught the scent of food—and I could still smell it now. But Go Yeon-ju and Im Han-na, who usually handled the cooking, were still sitting right here.
So then, who on earth was…?
“Ah, I’m exhausted~.”
Just as I was thinking that, thud—a heavy sound of something being set down echoed. The clear voice that followed sounded eerily familiar.
Suddenly, a nightmare from years ago flashed through my mind. I saw Seon Yu-woon, foaming at the mouth and collapsing after eating someone’s food at a festival. I silently hoped it wasn’t the same this time and slowly turned my head.
But then—
“…Geun-won?”
As my gaze shifted slowly, the first thing I saw was a little girl lying face down on the ground, motionless. Even ignoring the mess around her from cooking, she didn’t move at all—she was definitely unconscious. Hah. Even Geun-won, the ultimate information hub, couldn’t handle it.
“Dinner’s served!”
Finally, I spotted Vivian smiling brightly, wiping her forehead in front of a large steaming pot.
Clang!
Before I knew it, I dropped my glass.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
That incident isn’t directly related to this expedition.
You can think of it more like a turning point. :)