Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Is That You? You Really?
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Ever since that boom earlier, not a single sound had reached my ears.
Or maybe it was because I was surrounded by all these walls, blocking out every noise.
Still, these thick, sturdy barriers were putting my mind somewhat at ease.
I shouldn't just sit here like this. Maybe I should try gathering more intel.
To prepare for whatever might come, I decided to collect as much information as I could.
"Hey, Seorin, by the way—how strong is this Seol person, exactly?"
"No idea."
"Pardon?"
Her expression made it clear she truly knew nothing, and it left me flustered.
"Didn't you know her personality and everything just a bit ago? You said you didn't know anything?"
"I mean I don't know how strong she is. Not that I know nothing about her."
She crossed her arms, pondering a little more.
"Well, for starters, she's around Peak Realm level."
"Peak Realm? What's that?"
I'd heard the term in wuxia novels before, but back then I wasn't big into them, so I had no real sense of what it meant.
"Basically, realms are divided into third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, Peak, and Transcendent."
"Got it."
"That's all I know, though. There aren't many people who use that kind of power around here, so even I don't have a good grasp on how strong Peak Realm really is."
Her words rang true, most likely.
There'd be no reason for her to lie to me in a situation like this.
"The strongest I've ever fought were guys who called themselves second-rate. Honestly, I couldn't feel much difference from Sword Users."
"I see..."
The conversation dragged on with little to show for it.
"Guess there's nothing for it, then. We'll just have to trust the upper floors to handle things."
"No need to worry about it."
"Easy for you to say, Seorin—you're a prisoner. This is my workplace. Of course I'm worried..."
"That's not what I meant. I mean you really don't have to worry."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You really have no clue, huh? Do you know how strong the Prison Warden is?"
Come to think of it, I'd never really considered the power of the warden overseeing this massive prison.
"How strong is she?"
"She's a Sword Master, at least. In a one-on-one, she'd beat most fourth-floor criminals without breaking a sweat."
"Sword Master?"
"Ha..."
My blank look must've given away that I had no idea what that meant.
She sighed at my face and continued.
"Knights are ranked in three tiers: Sword User, Sword Expert, Sword Master... like that."
"Oh, I know that much."
"What? Then you know everything—why the dumbfounded look?"
"I just don't know how strong a Sword Master is..."
"Hmm... In mage terms, probably around 7th to 10th Circle?"
"Huh? That's a huge range."
"Can't be helped. Knights only have three ranks, but the power gap between them is massive."
"Ah, got it."
Either way, from what she was saying, my worrying wouldn't change a thing.
This was a fight between monsters.
All I could do was cheer on the warden.
Three hours passed like that.
Exhausting.
This wasn't even a break anymore.
Sitting here for three hours straight with all that tension—it was torture.
Seorin, on the other hand, seemed carefree, fast asleep with no sign of waking.
Hah... when will this finally end...?
Clank.
Whirr...
It happened in that instant.
The walls blocking my side began rising back up.
Heart pounding with anticipation, I stepped out of the room.
"Did they catch her?"
Thankfully, it looked like the warden had wrapped things up successfully.
"Finally, I can go home."
Quit time had already passed by about an hour, so I couldn't have been happier.
Ding.
All personnel on Underground 3rd Floor captured.
Underground 4th Floor: Seol. Location unknown.
All guards below Sword Expert level or 5th Circle mage level are to remain on premises and monitor the situation.
In that emotional moment, my phone buzzed.
Had to be the dismissal order coming down.
I grabbed it eagerly.
'Huh?'
The second I picked it up and checked the message, my body froze.
The content was far from what I'd expected.
Guard Yuseohyun is to clock out immediately.
Overtime is illegal for male staff.
Therefore, leave without worrying about optics.
Seol was nowhere to be found.
Probably meant they'd lost her.
And with the order for all but the strongest guards—Sword Experts and 5th Circle mages—to stay put and watch the situation, it seemed the elite ones had gone after her.
In short: overtime confirmed for everyone else.
Agh... even after all this, I'm stuck with overtime...? Wait... what?
There was an addendum below the message.
Men aren't allowed overtime. It's illegal.
First time hearing that one.
Honestly, it didn't feel half bad.
Like I had some special privilege no one else did.
Of course, I felt bad for the other guards.
Having done plenty of overtime myself, I knew how maddening a night like this could be.
But if it's illegal for me to stay... what choice do I have? Yeah... no helping it.
With that, I dragged my heavy(?) footsteps toward the exit.
"Whoa..."
The scene outside was devastation incarnate.
The first floor above ground was scarred everywhere—blast marks, gouges.
Blood splattered in spots here and there.
The sight left me speechless.
Gulp.
Feeling good about being the only one heading home? What an idiot I'd been.
This wasn't the time to stroll out casually.
I scanned my surroundings and bolted for home.
No walking—not a chance.
It was pure terror, fear of death.
The thought of running into Seol made me sure my head would roll on the spot.
I sprinted home as fast as I could.
Sweat poured down my face, legs trembling.
Logically, I knew this wasn't smart.
Running a bit faster wouldn't stop a fourth-floor criminal from grabbing me if she wanted.
But I just wanted to get to my own space—my home—as quickly as possible.
Five straight minutes of running.
"Hah... huff... hah... huff... haa..."
Finally, I reached the park near my place.
Seeing the park meant home was close—I could breathe a little easier.
"Huff... haa... okay, slow down now..."
The park had a big reservoir in the center.
I walked slowly along the path by the water.
Have I gotten too comfortable around Seorin?
The gruesome state of the first floor flashed in my mind again.
"Phew... in the end, they're all criminals... Was I too complacent? Or maybe not... I don't know."
My thoughts were a jumbled mess.
Still, the Seorin I'd seen didn't strike me as all bad.
Sure, she sometimes choked me when embarrassed...
Just a bit dishonest about her feelings—not a bad person, though.
Of course, the records say she did those things...
I couldn't imagine Seorin doing something like that without reason.
Am I being too sympathetic to criminals? Or is this Stockholm syndrome?
Endless solo brooding wouldn't solve anything.
Yeah, just get home fast. Shower, crash, and worry about tomorrow. Thinking too much right now.
With that, I headed home along the reservoir path.
Swish...
The night air was so pleasant, it was hard to believe a prison break had just happened.
A gentle, cool breeze, and even with buildings around, the stars shone bright overhead.
Swooshhh...
Suddenly, a fierce gust blew.
Ugh.
A ton of fallen leaves nearby pelted my eyes.
"You?"
A cold voice.
Icy and sharp as a blade—it pierced my ears.
"You really?"
It came again.
Leaves in my eyes, I couldn't see, so I rubbed furiously until my vision cleared.
"Wh-who's there?"
The more I rubbed, the sharper my sight got.
"Huh...?"
There, standing before me.
A total stranger, yet I knew instantly who she was.
White hair, red eyes, sword in one hand.
Undoubtedly, the escapee Seol.
The aura radiating from her was unique.
Not like Seorin's or Ian's heavy air pressure.
It was pure killing intent, slicing at my skin.
A tingling from head to toe.
Just like my first encounter with that serial killer as a rookie guard.
My heart felt like it would stop.
No thoughts of what to do to escape.
Only one idea in my head.
Move, and you're dead. Don't even twitch.
As these thoughts raced, she approached slowly, step by step.
Thud... thud...
"Hmm... why aren't you answering? It's frustrating... You're that new guard, right?"
