Episode 473:
What is the most important thing in the hidden world?
mentality? Mental strength is important. The harsh world where your mental health is completely scratched just by taking a breath causes you to experience depression that you have never experienced before the moment you let down your guard. The moment your mind becomes weak and weak, your chances of survival become indescribably low.
food? Food is important. My mental strength is already dropping, so I can’t even eat. It is not for nothing that a healthy mind comes from a healthy body. Even if it was not a mental problem, ample physical strength was needed to avoid monsters and escape danger by following the rules.
Nest? A shelter is important. To add a little bit of exaggeration, this is a world where you can escape with just mental strength. Humans have always required an appropriate amount of sleep and rest. There had to be at least one safe zone to make that possible.
But beyond all of this, there was one thing that was most important.
“Wow, really… Is this real…?”
“Evande. “Fuck, this is really Evande.”
He was a very cooperative team member.
“I’m bored.”
As Park Da-hoon muttered, they were quite upset right now.
In the underworld, the presence of others was a significant variable and risk factor. I didn’t know when that bastard would go crazy and come after me, and a team member who was working fine could go crazy at any moment and act like a slithering slug.
Still, people were needed. A team member who cooperates well improves the mood of the entire team and thus maintains mental strength. Even if you were a team member who didn’t know how to do anything, if you could brighten the mood, it was of great value.
“Ha…”
On the other hand, the uncooperative team member was exactly the opposite.
“This one is a mess. “What should I do, Dahun?”
No matter how capable you are, the more dangerous it gets, the more dangerous it becomes, and it will never be helpful.
Park Da-hoon said to my sister.
“…Now that’s done, you too, come back. “Why are you arguing with a murderer? It’s dangerous.”
“The world is this harsh. “You should take care of the kids and don’t go out.”
“Even if you worry….”
Song In-myeong wrinkled his face as he looked at Park Da-hoon, who was giggling, and Park Da-young, who was guarding in front of him.
“Do you know what I’m good at? These kids have a knack for making people angry. Hey, I hate it too…! Do you think I came to the other side of the world with you because I like it? “If I had the choice, I would have taken you with me!”
“Ahhhh…! Ah, you pervert! Please don’t approach my uncle! I heard you ripped off his skin the other day! Do you know how much trouble you had because of that?! Because of the smell of blood, there are strange rumors going on at work, huh?! “It’s all because of you!!”
“uh…?! Did you hear a strange rumor?! What a rumor! “Why the fuck don’t I know? I should know!”
“Get out of here you pervert!!”
Park Da-hoon, who was protecting two kindergarten students in his arms, muttered.
“Is it okay for us to talk like this…?”
“ah.”
“Ah…”
I forgot for a moment due to the shock of being forced to form a team with an unfounded combination, but this was a hidden world. Raising your voice was not a wise choice when you never know when and where a dangerous monster might pop out.
The three entered into a brief truce.
“Let’s just keep quiet until we escape. huh?”
“That’s what I have to say. Come here, Dahun. “Children, don’t talk to that person.”
“You’re making me feel bad, really?”
The good news was that Song In-myeong seemed to have no intention of harming the students.
‘…It’s all thanks to you, this too.’
Dayoung Park judged the situation calmly.
Song In-myeong was a crazy person who had survived alone in the hidden world, barely feeling the pressure of it. It’s worse than not having troublesome team members like us. It would have been easier to kill him.
Nevertheless, Song In-myeong did not kill them. Although I was angry, it was better than murderous intent. Should I say that I have a strong feeling of avoiding poop because it is dirty? The fact that Song In-myeong put up with such terrible troubles for us, weak students, meant that he decided to persevere and endure them.
‘And if you’re not Mr. Song In-myeong, there’s no reason to do that. As my uncle told me before, there is a high probability that he is trying to avoid touching us, the people around him, in order to gain favor.’
In that case, we should have been on guard, but we should not have continued to provoke. Dayoung Park softened her expression.
“…Are you going to come with us?”
“Wow, can you please turn it off then? huh? “Are you telling me to fuck off now?”
“Oh, get the fuck out of here. “Even when people try to say nice things, why do they take it so crookedly?”
“I really don’t like that brat….”
“Are you calling me a brat because of the age difference between you and me? Aren’t you a college student? “I’ll be a college student in just one year, right?”
I really didn’t want to be provocative, but the problem was that I kept getting hot in the back of my head and wanting to have a major conflict with the author.
But Dayoung Park persevered.
‘Be patient.’
She had a younger brother who was like a rabbit and children who were like foxes. As someone who had to guard and protect them, I couldn’t have a conflict with a dangerous person named Song In-myeong.
It may seem like it’s already a little late, but I had to restrain myself because the other person could die in an instant if he wanted to.
‘Even if I really don’t feel like it…’
Just as the uncle once said, Song In-myeong was quite a useful human resource for our allies. Regardless of emotions, that is an undeniable fact. If I could get Song In-myeong’s help to get out of this aquarium
, there would be nothing better…
‘…so good…’ than that.
maybe.
“….”
“Are you finished organizing your thoughts?”
“…Can I take your kind question as a sign that you will help us? “It is the complete help that people in the world universally talk about, that does not kill us or attack us.”
“of course!”
Song In-myeong laughed out loud.
“If I save you, he will think better of me.”
“This bitch?”
Park Da-young was afraid of what else Sangtorai would demand from him under the pretext of helping her this time, but that was something that could be prevented in reality anyway.
Since it would be a problem that could be covered by just blocking the guy giving the ‘gift’, I decided to humbly get help from the other person for now.
Aside from that, I hated seeing a serial killer cackling with pleasure.
“…Then should I go back to the entrance? “It looks like it’s blocked by water, but it still seems much safer to go outside than to wander around the aquarium where you never know what might pop out.”
Their location was the connection point between the first theme zone, ‘Underwater World’, and the second theme zone, ‘Stream Friends’. In reality, there were ordinary rectangular water tank tubes lined up, but now in the other world, they were twisted into intricate shapes like ceramics or glass crafts, and the water inside was leaking out.
The ‘underwater world’ they had just passed through was filled with deep blue water that could easily be seen with the naked eye. To return to the entrance of the aquarium, you had to pass through the first theme zone, but even inside it didn’t look like friendly water that could breathe. The rippling wall of water gave a strange eerie feeling.
Song In-myeong blinked at Park Da-young’s words, which she brought up to change the topic.
“uh? “Didn’t you know this?”
“What?”
“There’s a guy in the concert hall back there. I did not know?”
“….”
“Wow, did you really just come here without knowing? “Of course I thought you were following me.”
Park Da-hoon asked instead of Park Da-young, who froze.
“…You have an uncle? “I mean, in the last theme zone of the concert hall?”
“You’ve been commuting to the aquarium these days. “I came to see it because I thought I was trying to get used to my fear of water.”
“Uh… fuck, I really have a lot to say, but…”
“I guess you guys also thought about the fact that I came here to overcome my fear of water? Then why does he look like that? “Oh, I didn’t expect to be at the aquarium today, but since I keep stopping by these days, I guess I just wanted to give it a try?”
Song In-myeong snorted as he was left speechless by the accurate guess.
“Hey, what should I do with this? “I came here to bring the kids to meet you, but they ended up wandering into the other side of the world.”
“Why are you scratching your insides like this?”
“You are not easy either. “Someone is scratching their head when they see someone else.”
Song In-myeong looked around and continued speaking.
“Anyway, he’s probably in there. I followed him after hearing that he had stopped by the aquarium… so it would be natural for him to be deeper than where we are now. “I don’t know exactly where they are or if they went to the exit first.”
“…Oh, I see. “Maybe he went out first.”
“But the chances of that happening are slim, right? I heard that these days, once you enter the aquarium, you stay there right before it closes. “The most likely possibility is that he is somewhere in there.”
“….”
Park Da-young had a lot to say.
‘…Why do you know that? Why are you playing with a bastard like that? Does that mean there is a man here? If the man wasn’t there, I would have gone straight back to the entrance and jumped out, but that wouldn’t have been possible either. I miss you uncle. What is this situation, who am I….’
Park Da-young, who was struggling, soon composed her mind.
“…Now that you understand, let’s go further inside.”
“Command?”
“I’m asking you a favor. “Because I know that you can kill all of us at any time if you want to.”
“I like that.”
Park Da-young, who cursed Song In-myeong in her mind, gathered her younger brother and children and moved on to the next theme of ‘Underwater World’, ‘Friends by the Stream’.
There were bizarre water tanks lined up in a long hallway, but fortunately, there were no believable monsters or traps yet, apart from the sight that made me sick just looking at them.
Park Da-young muttered, recalling the memory of the last time she came.
“Here… where was this…”
“? Can’t you read the writing? “It’s called ‘Friends by the Stream.’”
“Wow, thank you so much for letting me know.”
“Why are you so picky? Oh, are you afraid I might kill you? “Don’t worry~ I have my own tastes too.”
“Wow, that was really curious information.”
…Anyway, that’s how it happened.
“For some reason, you seem to be in a good state of mind and can see the writing clearly, but we can’t see anything like that. “I only realized it because you just told me about it.”
“How can people be so weak?”
“Don’t argue, I’m mad too. Survivors of the underworld say this is average.”
Although it was already my third time in this world, the mental pressure and pain was still there. I couldn’t even see the writing at the entrance to the theme zone, and my brain was muddy and my stomach was nauseous, as if I had ridden the gyro drop 10 times in a row, so something that was no big deal in reality became a burden.
This sense of what was natural becoming no longer natural makes you feel as if you are losing your eyesight, losing your tongue, or losing your brain. I wondered if I would feel this kind of frustration if my well-used legs or arms were cut off.
‘I feel sick to my stomach because they say that human beings don’t feel that way…’ This
is Song In-myeong, who makes me wish I fell on the street and broke my nose and the back of my head. Even if it had been someone else, I would have been a little envious and envious, but the fact that that bastard was fine made me seething inside.
‘God, why is the world so unfair?’
Park Da-young, who cried out to God with a sorrowful face, stepped forward.
“First of all, there are no monsters that stand out…”
“Aren’t there any rules like Eonhak High School?”
“…They said that every underworld building has rules. The difference is whether it is seen as a rule or just an environment…”
“Did you do that?”
“…yes.”
“That’s right.”
Song In-myeong waved his hand to stop Park Da-young and entered the theme zone. The theme zone, named ‘Friends by the Stream,’ was made up of a thin, transparent glass-like floor. There was no water tank like you would see in a real aquarium.
Song In-myeong, who was kneeling down on one knee and looking at the floor, extended his hand in that direction.
That moment.
“…!”
Quack!
The sound of flesh being torn apart.
“Oh my.”
Song In-myeong took out his hand while muttering in a calm tone, and a large piece of flesh on his index finger had fallen off. For a very brief attack, it was a deep injury.
Song In-myeong muttered as he looked at the floor that absorbed the dripping blood without a single wave.
“…It turned…”
This was water, not glass.
A puddle of water where you couldn’t see what was inside, didn’t make any waves when someone moved, and couldn’t even tell the depth. What that meant was clear.
It means that we have to face what will happen in the future without knowing anything.
“….”
“….”
There was silence.
(Continued in the next part)
