novelraw Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Hidden Piece (1)
The building's 1st floor lobby.
‘First…….’
I checked the building's directory.
‘3 basement floors, 9 floors above ground. The guys I saw first fled upwards.’
After I gauged the number of people who might have been here, the number of monsters, and so on.
‘Looks like nothing special.’
I went down to the 1st basement floor, caught my breath, and sat down.
“Hoo…….”
I controlled my body with a basic breathing technique.
It seemed I needed to first recover the vital energy and blood that had been damaged by the overload.
‘As soon as I recover, I must find the Hidden Piece first.’
As this was the first scenario, I didn't expect anything incredibly precious from the Hidden Piece.
However, because it was the beginning, useful things would appear.
Things that would help with recovery and rest.
It would be useful for me, of course, and it would also help in treating the people poisoned by the ‘Star Ash’.
Around then, I felt a presence and looked toward the stairs.
Soon, one person came up.
There was a man who looked to be in his 20s.
He hesitated, approaching me, and spoke.
“Excuse me Sir?”
Seeing his close-cropped hair, he seemed to be a soldier on leave or someone who had recently been discharged.
Seeing how naturally he used the polite 'sir' ending, I even thought that might not be the case.
What bothered me more than that was the fact that this human was on the 1st basement floor.
‘The guys I saw first fled upwards. But this guy is standing guard in the basement.’
It was strange.
Then what were the guys who fled upwards?
‘Did the survivors split into two groups? Hmm……. Looking at the contents of the first scenario, the probability of that happening is low.’
There was a possibility that monsters and humans were divided from each other, but it wasn't certain.
The young man continued to ask.
“Um, by any chance, did you come from outside?”
The survivors were in a situation where they couldn't come or go, blocked by the ‘Star Ash’, so a person from outside was bound to seem peculiar.
“Yes.”
I replied, searching my memory.
‘But who is this?’
Since the time I had lived was so long, more things had passed into oblivion than remained in memory.
I didn't remember that man either.
‘A human who will die before long, not even worth remembering.’
It just meant he wasn't a particularly important person.
“What’s the situation like outside right now?”
The young man asked, looking around fearfully.
“Was there any, perhaps, military, or some kind of movement? The government’s response?”
“The situation is just as you think.”
“……Pardon? That’s…….”
“Don’t ask any more. It’s annoying.”
At my attitude, the nameless young man flinched and trembled.
He had suddenly become afraid.
That man must also be a person who had crossed this terrible tragedy; he was surely not an ordinary person.
Besides, what were those shriveled corpses that man had brought?
And what about the bloodstains on his body?
“But, are you alone?”
“Pardon? Ah, um…….”
The young man’s speech, his actions, everything was awkward.
Of course, how many people would be accustomed to this situation.
But still, it was a bit…….
It was to the point of looking pathetic.
It was irritating.
“What kind of idiot makes someone stand guard alone? It should be 2-person teams at a minimum.”
“……Pardon? That’s.”
“Your leader?”
“Uh…… Manager Nam is busy.”
Manager Nam?
‘Hmm, I think I’ve heard that name.’
A little interest sparked at that name.
[The Constellation ‘Six-Eyed Prophet’ says that Han Chulwoon precognition is incomplete.]
[The Constellation ‘Six-Eyed Prophet’ gives a subtle smile.]
“Instead of saying he’s busy, shouldn’t you be reporting that an outsider has come in? What are you doing here?”
“That…….”
“Hurry up and go.”
To the guy who was only then stealthily sizing me up and backing away, I asked one last time.
“You, your name?”
“Lee Heoseok…… Sir.”
“Right. I’m Han Chulwoon. Be observant and take care of yourself.”
“Pardon?”
He asked again, but I did not answer.
“Yes……. Uh…… I’ll be going then.”
Lee Heoseok went downstairs.
***
After Lee Heoseok went down.
Puhu-
Srrk.
I focused on the woman and the child.
Puh-
Srrk.
A breath slowly fading.
Puh-
Srrk.
I had fed them a ‘Blue Orb’ to alleviate the ‘Star Ash’, but it was not a poison so trivial as to be completely cured by just one.
Puh-
Srrk.
The woman's breathing was stabilizing, but the child's trembled unsteadily and sometimes stopped for a moment.
Then it would exhale as if coughing.
‘The child is in a precarious state.’
I was thinking of finding something to help the two of them recover.
‘But what was it?’
I couldn't remember this building's Hidden Piece.
Long ago.
I had started here before, but it wasn't a place I came to often.
‘I've tried starting from every place in this area, but the more I did, the more my memory just blurred.’
The repetition of the same situation helps memory, but in some ways, it also shakes it.
My innumerable memories of regression were entangled with each other, making it hard to distinguish them, as if they were one lump.
Some were memories of failure.
Some were memories of success.
Moreover, they were memories that had been varied countless times in similar forms.
‘It would be nice if there was something like a memo pad where writing remained even after regression.’
Unfortunately, what remained in my mind was only a feeling of familiarity, not precise data.
This is what happened when I strayed just one step off the path I often took.
‘Hmm.’
Like flipping through the pages of a bookshelf that was too old and neglected and had crumbled.
I carefully traced my memories, but not one thing was clear.
In truth, the biggest problem was that from some point on, I had become so strong that I could clear the early scenarios even if I did them roughly.
There was no need to memorize such things to the point of a headache.
‘……Does it not matter.’
At times like this, using an associative memory technique wasn't bad either.
It was a method of pulling out latent memories by looking around at the surrounding terrain, situation, people, etc.
Regardless of the theory, its practice was simple.
It was just a matter of poking around the surroundings enough to grasp a thread of memory.
‘I have the feeling of familiarity, so if I move around a bit, I’ll probably remember.’
Around then.
The Observer appeared.
It appeared like faint smoke, spinning and gathering at one point, and soon formed a shape.
“Hello there.”
She covered her face with an opaque veil and wore a wedding dress with a short skirt, looking splendid in a way that didn't suit this place.
Amidst the total darkness, only she shone white.
“Hmm? You're not surprised to see me.”
Hellia.
That was this Observer’s name.
The long train extending from below the short skirt was transparent like a wave, emphasizing her beautiful legs, and she stood slanted in a model-like pose as if showing it off.
Indeed, it was a form that drew admiration.
It was quite beautiful to look at, but just like all other Observers, this was just a mockery.
A mockery of humans and their civilization.
To cover that shell with the beauty crafted by civilization, and then drive humanity to the brink.
It was awful.
Furthermore, that existence was no different from an implementation of the theme.
I looked at her with tired eyes.
“Because you're not surprised to see me, either.”
At my answer, her lips drew a soft arc.
Because she felt a boldness from this man.
It wasn't unpleasant.
Rather, it was good.
This was, after all, a personality favored by many Constellations.
It was a daringness befitting a hero, and a personality that could also be seen as psychopathic depending on the situation.
Good and evil.
Either side was fine.
It was worth the Constellation showing interest.
“Seeing you, you seem like someone who enjoys a commotion. Am I right?”
“Not really……. If you have nothing important to say, just go.”
Unlike Morsallia, who had floated in the air, she supported herself on the ground with her two legs and, clack clack, walked over to me.
“It's important to me. Tell me. What did you do in that Star Ash.”
Her eyes weren't visible, but she was probably looking at the two half-corpses.
She must be curious.
“It’s not something you need to know.”
“Hmm?”
Hellia tilted her head.
And she puffed up her cheeks and said.
“Being daring is good, but being this incautious. It must be hard for you to be favored.”
“Don’t need it.”
“Oh my? A man of your caliber wouldn't be ignorant of what kind of beings the Constellation are. Isn't that too rash?”
“I just don't rely on fake affection.”
[The Constellation ‘Ruin of the Gigantes’ nods.]
[The Constellation ‘Ruin of the Gigantes’ likes Han Chulwoon-’s daringness.]
“Well, I suppose that’s one answer.”
Hellia smiled sweetly, but I found this situation ridiculous.
How roughly these things called Observers, who possessed this absolute power, did their jobs.
Also, how exclusive they were.
They didn't share information with other Observers.
Even though they could.
In fact, Hellia didn't even know what had happened to the Witch Morsallia.
But there was no need to talk to her for long.
Since, just in time, seeing her had started to revive my memories.
‘Hmm. I roughly remember the Hidden Piece now.’
Hellia had been helpful, too.
Now, it was time to get rid of the annoying Observer.
“Here they come again.”
As I gestured with my chin toward the stairs and spoke, only then did Hellia also feel the presence approaching.
‘Oh my? This human noticed it more keenly than I did.’
Thinking that, she prepared to leave.
Because if the Observer was present, the natural conflict between people wouldn't occur, so she had to retreat offstage.
“Well then, have a good time.”
She dissipated like cigarette smoke and disappeared.
‘Right. I should have a good time.’
Before the people arrived, I took care of the woman and child first.
‘It’s good that it’s close.’
While talking, I found a graffiti-like shape drawn faintly on one wall.
It was a pattern reminiscent of ancient sacred carvings.
‘Plains, well, sun. Are these the three symbols?’
After I confirmed the shape.
‘Let’s go in.’
I placed my hand on the drawing.
The three people were sucked into the drawing.
***
I opened my eyes in the middle of a plain.
‘I’ve arrived at the Hidden Piece.’
Fateful encounters like this were hidden here and there.
It was a place called a ‘Dimensional Fault’.
Like a world hidden in a 2nd dimension.
When one entered the flat surface, a place with another space-time emerged inside it.
The flat surface that had recorded the story appeared, having become reality.
This was because of the form in which the ‘Legends’ or ‘Folktales’ where Constellations resided were transmitted.
It was because they were first recorded by oral tradition, then on paper, and now on electronic devices.
However, there were no Dimensional Faults that existed as spoken language.
Because in an era when stories were conveyed only by rumor, no matter how great the origin of the story, it couldn't have a fixed form.
Because the content changed slightly with each person who spoke it, it was varied countless times without being able to settle as a single legend.
But, after stories began to be recorded in writing or pictures, the story could have a fixed form, enough to settle as a single legend.
Therefore.
It was not strange that fragments of folktales were compressed into such a 2-dimensional flat surface.
In a sense, it was an imaginary world recorded on paper.
‘What world’s story is this place?’
I looked around, trying to grasp the situation.
‘I’ll know if I look around.’
I didn't know what fragment of a folktale I had entered, but this environment wasn't bad.
Because it was a place with a clear sky, green plains, and clean water.
‘A Dimensional Fault with a well, this is good luck.’
It was a good place to rest, and a place that would help the half-corpses recover.
‘This place will be good.’
The only tree in this vicinity was casting a long shadow.
I laid the woman and child in that shade, and then drew water from the nearby well.
Starting with the woman, who had begun to recover little by little, I replenished her hydration.
At first, I just wet my fingertips with water and moistened the inside of her mouth so it wouldn't dry out.
‘There’s a reaction.’
The woman's lips, which hadn't moved, twitched minutely and seemed to suck in the water.
Her lips, which had been dry and hard like jerky, also seemed to be softening little by little.
‘Her recovery is fast.’
Next, I let the water flow in one drop at a time.
Wetting her lips first, I slowly checked her reaction.
‘Yes.’
This, too, was a talent.
It seemed I had picked the woman well.
On the other hand, the child's side was not looking good.
‘Hmm……. There’s no reaction even when I wet him with water.’
It would be good if even a slight sign of recovery, like on his lips or skin, was visible.
‘Is he going to die like this?’
It was something that couldn't be helped.
Even if I tried to heal him, if he died before that, there was nothing I could do.
I would just do what I could.
‘Tsk. That, too, is his fate.’
After taking those basic measures, I looked around and stood up.
As it was a Hidden Piece hidden in the first scenario, the difficulty would be insignificant.
Probably, a very familiar…….
It was then.
A group of people with long ears and beautiful appearances, weren't they fleeing from far away, screaming?
‘Elves?’
[Hidden Quest]
[Nameless Story]
[Orc Nomad Pillagers have appeared. The Elves are fleeing.]
[Help either the Elves or the Orcs and earn their favor. You will be able to receive a gift from them.]
‘It’s a familiar story.’
This was a form where familiar fantasy races were added to the story of Korea being harassed by nomads.
It was a phenomenon that occurred as fragmented folktales mixed somewhere.