[537] Such a problem (1)
After falling into the Abyss, Miro and the others walked through a destroyed world at sunset.
The fact that the apocalypse was completely different from what they thought was telling us how far the future of information has jumped.
The place we arrived was a contaminated area, and everywhere we looked, it was painted with disgusting slime.
“Most of the city is like this. What is this?”
As Miro stomped on Mucus, slime rose from all sides and attacked her.
Rian swung his sword and cut it off, and the slime that fell on the floor soaked into Mucus again.
Marsha pulled out the smoking pipe she was holding and shouted.
“Oh really! Don’t step on it! How many times already!”
“But it is fun. Cheoltteokcheoltteok.”
said Fermi, looking across the city.
“The sun is setting. For now, I need to find a place to rest.”
Marsha approached, puffing smoke.
“The ground must be dangerous. I also care about the strange things flying around.”
“How about that cave over there?”
Lian pointed to the subway entrance installed on the sidewalk.
“It’s okay. You can’t get into the building anyway.”
Krrrr.
Then, a ground creature walked from the corner of the block.
It had only been a few hours since they arrived here, but it was an unusual event for them, who expected that Mucus would have driven out all creatures on the ground.
“Is it a monster?”
It had a huge face resembling a lion, its mouth was torn down to its ears, and its teeth were jagged like nails.
It was an Electric Liger, one of the few walking animals in Apocalypse.
Regardless of the Mucus covering all sides, the guy walked straight toward Miro and the others.
There was no doubt that mucus splashed, but bluish electricity radiated from the body, and it was quickly burned.
“You have adapted to the environment. First of all, it is an electric monster.”
“I will deal with you.”
As Lian stepped forward while holding the handle of the greatsword, Fermi raised his hand to stop it.
“no. Any magic has compatibility. Then I, who can use all magic, is the right person.”
At the same time that Fermi swallowed the chip, the Electric Liger rushed at it, spewing electricity.
‘Lightning Thunder.’
A powerful thunderbolt thumped down three times, and the Electric Liger screamed and spread to the floor.
“Of course, a true wizard can break any match.”
Marsha pointed.
“You are laughing. Is it just because it’s a waste of money?”
“Of course, there are parts like that.”
The corner of Miro’s mouth went up.
‘A clever fellow.’
Apocalypse is a world made of code.
Therefore, Fermi was trying to determine whether the powers of the electric series were the information of the monster or the information of the world.
‘If it’s monster information, electricity is immune. But Fermi’s blitz went right in. Therefore, although it is a virtual world, incarnation and law are separated just like in reality.’
Fermi thought, tapping his chin.
‘At least for us, death here means death in reality. The key is to find Sirone as quickly as possible.’
Marsha asked.
“By the way, how many casino chips can you swallow?”
“It can fit as much as the size of the stomach. However, if you overdo it, you may experience symptoms of headache or vomiting. Why are you trading?”
“If the operation requires it. Let me think about it for a moment.”
Fermi looked closely at Marsha.
‘I said I’m an outsider.’
In the past, it was a method of extracting magic, but if you had experienced catharsis, your current abilities would likely be different.
“By the way, what are your abilities? I feel bad because I feel like I’m the only one.”
“That’s because you are a broker. Product introduction is basic. I can’t reveal yet. Do you know why?”
Fermi turned around and pointed his index finger.
“Your tattoo is pretty. What do you mean?”
A small tattoo was engraved on the back of Marsha’s left hand, who was holding a pipe.
It was a cross-shaped dagger with a handle that looked like smoke.
“It was engraved after I left Galliant Island. There are several more besides here. For example… here.”
Marsha put her hand in the skirt dance and pushed it deep below her belly button.
“If you’re curious, can I show you? Would you like to check it out?”
Seeing Marsha’s meaningful gaze, Fermi shook his head.
“I will decline. I don’t have any hobbies like that.”
Any further interest would be a matter directly related to life.
“Stop going in. The sun is setting.”
When I went down the stairs at the entrance of the subway with Lian as the lead, the train was overturned in an endless tunnel.
Miro said, lighting up with Shining Magic.
“Fortunately, there is no mucus. Let’s not stray too far from the entrance, though.”
Kyaaaaaaaaa!
The moment he finished speaking, a terrible scream came from the other side of the tunnel.
“Help me! please!”
“let’s eat! let’s eat! We eat!”
As the incomprehensible words echoed through the tunnel, Miro and the others immediately prepared for an attack.
“Hey hey.”
A vent next to the railroad tracks came off with a rattle, and a man peeked out his face.
“You can’t go that way. You’ll be eaten by the underworlders. If you want to live, come this way.”
‘Even if they say so…’
It was the same that no one could believe anyway.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Another scream made Miro decide.
“Let’s follow. No matter who you fight with, it’s better to at least talk to each other.”
‘Come to think of it…’
The man was speaking their language.
As the maze and the others jumped down the vent, a narrow tunnel continued.
The man who walked several tens of meters from him opened the iron door installed in the wall and said.
“Come in. This is my home.”
The house, which had been remodeled into an engine room, was full of objects of unknown purpose, such as digital music players and monitors.
“Honey, what’s going on?”
“A guest has arrived. Prepare the tea.”
The man who asked his wife looked back at the maze and said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human. Are you guys Abyss Walkers?”
“Abyss Walker?”
The man shook his head as if he had made a mistake.
“I mean the people who came in through Undercoder. A normal human with no loss of information.”
Miro said.
“that’s right. And you too?”
“It was quite a long time ago. I don’t know how much time has passed in the real world.”
When the wife brought the car, the man offered a seat.
“Sit down. My name is Malta. A wizard just like you. This is my wife, Curia.”
“hello? I am a Maltese wife.”
Miro asked as she sat down on the sofa.
“Wizard? But why did you fall here?”
“The name of this world is Apocalypse. It’s part of The Abyss. Maybe it’s the same reason as you. I came here on my own to find my wife.”
Fermi realized from Curia’s unresponsive appearance even after hearing this.
‘The information is lost.’
“My wife in the real world is a vegetable. I was a pretty good wizard too, so I searched for a way in every way, but in vain. That’s why I came in. To this hell with my wife.”
“But my wife…”
“I know it’s fake. But what does it matter? You can’t even imagine how long I’ve been in this world. Then, all of a sudden, I had this thought. The real me would already be dead. Then everything became clear. That my place to stay is here.”
“Is there any way out?”
Malta shook her head.
“doesn’t exist. There is no way to get out of The Abyss no matter what means are used. Although some psychopath made some strange noises.”
“psychopath?”
“It was a human named Gaold. He was crazy as I could see. His hair is shaggy, his eyes are hollow, and his body is covered with skin and bones, so underground people don’t think he has anything to eat.”
Miro’s eyes sparkled.
“You met? Where are you now?”
“Already left. He said he was going back to reality, so he asked how I was going to get out. So do you know what that madman said?”
Malta spread his arms as if he was absurd.
“They say that to get out of hell, you have to go to the edge of hell. haha! Who can’t think of that?”
A soft smile formed on Miro’s lips.
‘You’re still moving, Gaold.’
Even though the incarnation was asleep, the information that formed him was stretching toward the extreme even in the world of the end.
“Actually, it’s not like I haven’t tried.”
Malta unfolded a paper-sized map drawn by hand under the sofa table.
“I went out to do what he said. But I couldn’t even last a week. If you leave the city, it’s all desert desert desert. Maybe that person is dead.”
“No, my friend is not dead. Until I die.”
Fermi pointed to a dot on the map.
“Is this our location?”
“yes. When I decided to live here, I researched it thoroughly. First of all, there are many underground facilities in this world. The building has hundreds of rooms. Some places are so full of mucus that you can’t even get in. They call it mucus here.”
“What’s the tree sign and the sun sign?”
“The tree of life and the colony.”
Malta told me about the race of children of the sun.
“There are 3 trees of life in this city, so there are also 3 colonies. They are governed by different archons. It’s not particularly belligerent, but the problem is the underground.”
“The screams you heard in the cave?”
“okay. Its appearance is similar to that of humans, but it is agile as if it uses schema. Since they cannot photosynthesize, they mainly hunt. They use strange weapons, so you’d better avoid them if possible.”
The man, speechless, held out his hands and said.
“You can take it if you want. It is no longer useful to me anyway.”
“Ah, thank you…”
Fermi said the moment Lian reached out for the map.
“No, I memorized it. For now, let’s rest here and look at the colony from tomorrow.”
“…”
Lian’s hand was quietly withdrawn.
“It’s not a problem to take a break. You can also use it as a forward base. It feels good to meet someone after a long time. Except for that madman from last time.”
“thank you. Then I’ll take care of you for a while.”
“You can use the facilities to your heart’s content. As a wizard, water is enough. I also learned how to charge electricity. There are many convenient things in this world. If you want to wash up, use the bathroom.”
Looking at Malta’s friendly smile, Marsha sucked on the pipe and stood up.
“Then I will wash first. I’m embarrassed that the mucus splashed.”
“Press the button and water will come out.”
Marsha, who raised her hand for Malta’s consideration, went into the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and took off her clothes.
“Whoa, I’m tired.”
Leaving herself in the water dripping from the shower, she looked at her body reflected in the full-length mirror.
She has 7 tattoos on her body.
The last one, on the back of the left hand, between the breastbone of the right palm, below the navel, on the inside of the left thigh, above the hipbone, was out of sight.
Of course, it was not actually engraved on the body, but it was a magical tattoo to activate the ‘dagger of immorality’.
‘Sirone…’
The wounds suffered by his adoptive father as a child were comforted by the catharsis given by a boy.
-You can kill me.
Of course, the trauma has not disappeared, but I have a mindset to actively overcome the wounds of the past.
It was the value of life that cannot be converted into material things.
‘If I can pay off my debt with this…’
The seven tattoos disappeared when the regulation eating out was lifted.
After taking a shower and wiping her body, she carefully found a new toilet she had never seen before and sat down with her chin resting on it.
“By the way, how much do you expect to receive when this job is over? I need to expand my business slowly. huh?”
After finishing her errands, Marsha looked around.
“Toilet paper…”
There were green and red buttons where the toilet paper would normally be.
“what?”
When I pressed the green button, water with strong water pressure was sprayed from under the toilet seat.
Marsha, who flinched, stood up with a surprised look and looked at where the water came from.
“What is it? Is it a monster?”
It may not be a big deal to those familiar with it, but it was an incredibly humiliating event for Marsha, who lived in the past.
“Just…!”
I wanted to smash it and throw it away, but I couldn’t destroy the property from the point of view of living on top of it.
“…”
Five minutes after that.
“Oh cool.”
When Marsha came out, wiping her hair with a towel as if nothing had happened, Miro, who had been concocting a plan with Fermi, turned her head away.
“Is the water okay?”
“Clean. Oh right, Mr. Miro.”
“huh?”
A cunning smile like a cat appeared on Marsha’s lips.
“Are you not going to the bathroom?”
midnight that night.
A huge sphere of light appeared in the colony northwest of the city.
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