Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Underground 5th Floor
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After returning to my post, the peaceful daily routine continued without a hitch.
Ian and Seo-rin would occasionally bicker, but lately, it felt like even that had died down quite a bit.
Seo-rin seemed to have finally sorted out her feelings, as she started treating me nicely again.
Thanks to that, these days the three of us were spending our time chatting and having a pretty good time.
"No matter how I think about it, we really need to toughen up our little airhead here."
"It's annoying, but I agree with you. She needs to be able to protect herself out there."
The conversation about my weakness, which had started out of nowhere, dragged on even longer.
"Honestly, from what I've seen, you'd grow super fast if you trained. You don't do any separate training or anything?"
"When would I even have time for that? And there's no one to teach me."
Ian shook her head with a sigh.
"Ha... What a shame. It would've been perfect if Yoo Seol were still around."
"Yoo Seol?"
"Yeah, she said you had talent for martial arts. But martial arts are so rare that only a handful of people know them—we couldn't teach you even if we wanted to."
"I have talent?"
"Yeah, didn't she tell you?"
'Ah... That time, huh...'
When I went to Yoo Seol's family...
While learning martial arts from her, the expression on her face back then—it hit me that it must've meant something like that.
"Well, she's not here now, so there's nothing we can do."
"You can't just brush it off like that."
"I agree. We can't just let it slide. You need to build your own strength."
-Grab
Seo-rin seized my hand.
"Just stick with me, and I'll teach you properly."
-Smack
Ian swatted away Seo-rin's hand from mine.
"Hey, you think she'd actually learn anything from you?"
"More than she would from you, probably."
"What? You with your lower circle count than mine."
"What good's a high circle if your brain's too dumb to adapt on the fly?"
And they're off again.
Whenever the three of us chat, this kind of sudden bickering between the two of them pops up out of nowhere.
"Stop! Stop it! I thought the fights were dying down lately, and now you're at it again?"
"......"
"......"
The moment they shut their mouths, I quickly decided to change the subject.
"Oh, by the way. Do you two know anything about Underground 5th Floor?"
It was just a vague curiosity with no real reason behind it.
Underground Levels 1 and 2 felt pretty much like the prisons back in my world.
Since I handled Underground 4, I got enough info on Levels 3 and 4 to satisfy me.
But no one ever mentioned Underground 5—not a peep.
Which only made my curiosity grow bit by bit.
They were pretty strong inmates on Underground 4, so I figured they might know something.
"Why Underground 5? Something happen?"
Seo-rin asked in a worried tone.
Guess all the incidents involving me lately had her pretty concerned.
"No, nothing like that. It's just... I've overheard stuff about the other levels from all over, but nothing at all about Underground 5."
"Hmm..."
They exchanged glances, looking troubled.
"Long story short, we don't know much either..."
That was more unexpected than I thought.
I'd figured they'd know at least a little.
"What we do know... There are three people locked down there?"
"And those three are probably each as strong as the warden here."
"So way stronger than you two?"
"Not sure about way, but yeah, stronger than us."
"Hold on."
Seo-rin was midway through when Ian cut her off.
"But why do you keep lumping me in with her? I know a bit about Underground 5."
"You do?"
Ian went on with a smug look on her face.
She clearly enjoyed knowing something Seo-rin didn't.
"How'd you find out?"
"Remember the Underground 5 breakout?"
"How could I forget? It was a total disaster."
"When the prison got half-wrecked, my curiosity got the better of me, so I sneaked a peek at Underground 5."
"Wait, you can do that?"
"Of course not. But when else would I get the chance? Figured I'd never have another shot. Not like I was planning to escape or anything."
I wanted to ask more about the Underground 5 breakout, but decided to hear Ian out first.
"That prison on Underground 5... Fuck, just thinking about it gives me chills.
Right when you step in, the air's different. The second you breathe, it's like, 'Yeah, no one's living down here.'
It's damp and musty, mixed with this metallic tang and mold that stings your nose.
But the scariest part? This faint... burning smell. Like mana burning away, creeping up little by little.
Like the smell of someone dying somewhere."
Ian must've smelled death before.
"Ceiling's ridiculously low too. Anyone over 170cm like me has to hunch over the whole way.
Walls are like black basalt, but when you touch 'em, they feel... alive, kinda wriggling faintly.
Like living stone. Your palm goes numb, and it's like a thought drills into your head: 'You belong here.'
That's the creepiest part."
"Wow, sounds terrifying just hearing about it. Totally different vibe from up here."
"Right..."
"But when the prison got wrecked like that, didn't you two think about escaping?"
"Ha..."
Ian let out a deep sigh right then.
It carried a lot of weight.
"Well... I never planned to escape anyway. And anyone from the other levels who might've? They're all gone now."
"Why?"
"The killing intent the warden put out back then? Insane."
"Yeah. It was just hard to breathe for us, but Underground 3? They probably couldn't even move."
Their faces brought that day back to life, crystal clear.
Still, part of me was surprised.
Even if Underground 3 was out, you'd think some on 4 or 5 would've tried to bolt. But nope.
"Plus, I heard Underground 5 isn't easy to break out of anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"Overheard it from some Underground 4 guy, so take it with a grain of salt. But apparently, each one's locked in their own isolated space—no contact possible. Who knows if it's true, though. No way to verify without going there ourselves."
Listening to Ian, one thought crossed my mind.
"Man, this place has breakouts way more often than you'd think."
"Kek... Ha... Hahaha!"
Ian suddenly burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
"Makes sense, doesn't it? Calling this the spot for the worst criminals isn't exaggeration. Bound to happen."
-Clang
Mid-sentence, Seo-rin's iron chains whipped out from behind and slammed into Ian's back.
"Ow! What the hell?!"
"'Bound to happen'? Watch your language."
"Ha... This bitch, why're you like this? You curse like a sailor yourself."
-Clang
Another hit.
"Ow! You wanna go?!"
"There's a guy here. Mind your mouth."
"Who are you to tell me? Ow, that hurts like hell."
"Enough, enough. Not fighting again, are you?"
-Grab
I caught Seo-rin's wrist.
"Seo-rin, you apologize first. Can't keep using violence in the prison like this."
The words barely left my mouth before she retracted her chains.
"......Sorry..."
"What?"
Ian looked shocked at the apology.
"Sorry? You just apologized? Damn, you've been weirdly off lately."
Ian was that surprised, so it must've been totally out of character for Seo-rin.
"Ahem... Anyway, back to the point. It's not that the prison's incompetent—it's that the people locked up here are too damn strong."
"Then just hire more guards, right?"
"You think they'd hire just anyone? More weak guards just means more hostages."
"What about me, then?"
"Exactly. Still don't get why they hired you, and there's no real way to protect you either."
"Ah..."
I decided not to mention the ring for now.
"Well, after all these incidents, things should stay quiet for a few days at least."
"Hey! Watch your mouth!"
Ian's sudden shout startled me.
"Wh-what?"
"You just jinxed it. Be careful."
"Pfft, I don't believe in that stuff..."
[Come to the warden's office.]
"Ha..."
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
The message from the warden screamed bad vibes.
'Please... at least say what it's about. Can't complain to the boss...'
My mood plummeted in an instant.
"Kuhahaha! Look at her face. Something happened, huh? Told you not to say it."
"Ha... Guys, I'll head up for a bit."
"Yeah, yeah, hurry back. It's boring without you."
What was going to happen today?
I was already worried.