The footsteps descending the stone stairs were light and brisk. Like a fairy delicately stepping on the dewy grass in the dawn, the footsteps of the warrior, echoing faintly like the subtle sound of trickling dew, were devoid of any weight.
Grass on Top Flying.
The movement technique, which left almost no trace or sound, was perfectly embodied in the warrior’s feet.
The steps he had honed for stealth did not just minimize the sound; they almost eradicated the warrior’s very presence. Breathing quietly, there was hardly any sound of breath, and despite his existence, a person’s presence was nearly imperceptible. The body heat that should have been felt was suppressed so well that only the warmth emanated outward. The clothes fitted snugly, eliminating even the slightest noise that could be caused by rustling.
Though it wouldn’t be accurate to say he was at the pinnacle, he could certainly be regarded as a proficient caliber. Not being at the top meant a higher likelihood of falling into traps or alarms, and truly skilled warriors or those with sharp instincts could notice him…
Fortunately, this building appeared to have a mess of security.
With a flimsy lock and a completely worn interior.
‘And the chain was thin as well.’
The warrior smirked at the thought of entering.
To think it could be severed so easily, without even being excessively reinforced.
Even if it was a chain made in China, one would think it should be sturdier than that.
Rumor had it that in Chinese factories, it’s common to just dig a hole and pour molten metal to create goods, leading him to suspect that the chain wrapped around the door was one of those cheap defective products.
‘By the way, what happened to that chain?’
The easily severed chain lay scattered on the floor like trash.
They had entered, leaving the chain behind…
It occurred to him that maybe he should clear that chain away.
What if a passerby noticed the severed chain and found it odd?
Moreover, considering where the chain was lying…
‘Now that I think about it, where was the chain?’
Suddenly, the warrior was hit by a wave of doubt.
Had the chain fallen outside the building, or was it inside?
That question arose in his mind.
‘Probably inside.’
However, the warrior quickly realized that he was thinking strangely and chuckled softly.
Of course, it had to be inside.
They confirmed that Park Jinseong was inside the building before entering.
Having received information that Park Jinseong had gone out and then returned to the building, it was evident the chain wouldn’t be outside, right?
There was a person remaining inside the building, so there was no way the chain would be wrapped on the outside of the front door. There was no reason for it to be that way, nor could it be.
Would someone really wrap a chain around the handle on the inside and then lock it from the outside?
Why would they do that?
Furthermore, the chain was pulled tight; the lock holding it was also firmly secured, facing outward. The tautness didn’t allow for any turning of the lock, making it absurd to think it could be locked that way.
‘Right. The lock was turned to our side.’
As he recalled entering, the warrior suddenly realized something strange.
‘Wait a minute. Why was the lock facing our side?’
Our side.
In other words, the outside.
Why was the lock facing outward?
With the chain wrapped so tightly that it couldn’t be turned?
Why the hell?
‘Wait a minute. Was the lock… the right key?’
He couldn’t remember.
Was it opened with a key, or did it require a password?
Was the lock made of metal or some reinforced plastic?
No, what did the lock even look like?
Did it exist at all?
But if it didn’t, the chain wouldn’t be so tightly wrapped, would it?
‘The chain?’
The warrior felt a sense of incongruity wash over him.
The chain.
Right, the chain.
Where had the chain gone?
Inside… was it?
‘Wait a minute.’
The warrior abruptly halted, feeling an unexplainable chill run down his spine.
Fortunately, as he had mastered a high level of footwork, he was able to stop silently.
‘Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute…’
As he stood still, the warrior realized something was amiss, and his expression turned grim.
‘Why can’t I remember?’
His memory was fuzzy.
His memories were unclear.
Stuffed with printed information and haphazardly inserted illustrations, they felt flimsy and superficial.
Why was that?
There were no gaps in memory, nor was his mind dull.
Why was this happening?
‘No matter how easy I may think this task is…’
Had he been careless?
Had he underestimated things?
He admitted it.
That was right.
But still.
No matter what, he was a warrior.
A warrior’s body was far more trained than that of ordinary people.
And that body included the brain.
Warriors judged faster than ordinary folk and had rather sharp memories.
The higher a warrior ascended, the more their brain’s capability increased.
Of course, it was likened to the chicken and the egg situation.
Opinions suggested that it was not the fact that being a warrior led to brain enhancement, but rather that people with good brain capacity often became warriors.
However, regardless of anything, there were very few cases of diminished intelligence unless one was immersed in peculiar martial arts. While there might be instances of foolish or dim-witted behavior, those were issues of software, not hardware — the brain itself was usually sharp.
That held true for him as well.
Though he could be a bit narrow-minded and blind, no one had ever branded him as foolish.
He could memorize most books after just one read and could replay in his head whatever he had seen as if it were on CCTV.
So why?
Despite having such memory retention, why couldn’t he remember things clearly?
‘This is strange.’
The warrior’s anxiety grew, solidifying his expression further.
‘This is.’
This is.
‘I feel as if I was piecing together a puzzle with just a few images.’
The warrior’s expression twisted more and more.
There were not just one or two strange things.
‘Why did I think there were no artifacts in the first place?’
Once he realized the incongruity, a cascade of strange points followed like pulling out a potato, leaving a string of potatoes behind.
‘I didn’t use any equipment to detect artifacts, nor did I concentrate my energy to search for them. I didn’t run around looking for them. No, I didn’t even look with my own eyes. I just concluded that there were no artifacts.’
Something was going wrong.
‘Moreover, the atmosphere. No matter how easy the operation was, why did we stroll around as if we were on a picnic? Even when breaking into a regular family’s home, I’d at least maintain minimal tension, so why didn’t I feel any tension entering a shaman’s place?’
No, this was wrong.
‘The elevator was the same. Why didn’t I even glance at the elevator? Using the elevator passage could have allowed for a stealthy entry. There likely weren’t any CCTV cameras inside, making it more discreet than the stairs. With our skills, going up wouldn’t be a big deal. The risk of the elevator operating could be mitigated by hacking it or cutting off electricity…?’
It had all started off wrong.
‘And when we moved down the stairs, why did the atmosphere suddenly change as soon as we stepped in?’
A wrong start led them down a wrong path continuously.
‘And why did we naturally split into two groups?’
A wrong way.
A wrong judgment.
‘Even if they’re amateurs, they’re shamans. For safety’s sake, three of us should have gone. Why did we think to divide into two?’
Everything was wrong.
‘No, from the start.’
Everything was.
‘Why was I headed underground?’
A chill.
Finally realizing that something was seriously off, the warrior understood it wasn’t just a mistake.
It wasn’t merely wrong.
From the very beginning.
From the start until now, everything was wrong.
‘Dammit.’
Guided by something unseen, he had come this far, foolishly descending the stairs.
Why had he made that judgment without any solid reasoning, naturally splitting into two to traverse up and down the stairs?
Moreover.
Moreover…
‘Why, why am I here alone?’
He was alone.
Two had gone up, but only one went down.
Only he was left.
‘Dammit!’
The warrior bit his lip hard and jerked his head to look back.
Looking back revealed the vague outline of the stairs.
He could only see the outline through the thick darkness.
The outline of the stairs stretched long, indicating just how far he had descended.
Right.
Long.
It stretched long.
‘Does this even make sense?’
He had descended using footwork.
No matter how carefully he tried to be silent, the efficiency and speed of his movement with footwork far surpassed normal rates.
Yet he hadn’t reached the basement yet?
Had he been going down stairs all this time?
With each revelation of incongruity, the warrior’s face drained of color.
A chilling realization hit him.
‘Why are the stairs still going on?’
He had never encountered a landing.
He had simply kept descending.
In a straight line.
Continuously down the stairs.
Such a strange thing.
