Stepped Outside
Stepped Outside
'Where is this place...'
Squishy-squishy, moving the earth, I cautiously advanced forward. Struggling to make the most of a sense that wasn't working properly, I desperately tried to grasp the overall structure.
'It was brave of me to come out...'
Maybe it's because it's the first time I've stepped outside, but there were just too many limitations.
First, my power wasn't working properly.
I tried to use the surrounding earth to make an earth doll, but moving it was as difficult as when I first handled earth, so I gave up.
'I can feel vitality, but somehow it feels different from the vitality of my own body...'
It felt like the quality was different from my body inside the barrier.
'In the end, I can only move with the earth that Cynthia pulled out for me.'
There might be a way to go back and get Cynthia to pull out more earth for me, but having already come this far, it felt wasteful to go back. The desire to explore the outside a little more was strong.
'I have no idea where this is...'
Second, my perception range was very limited.
It was something I realized after coming out to the outside world, but it seemed the range I could perceive was based on my body, the earth.
I tried to expand my perception range like I could when I was inside, but it wouldn't expand any further, and I could only sense the area immediately around the earth.
'The surrounding earth won't move properly, and my perception range only extends around the earth I brought from inside the barrier...'
Of course, just like I did inside, if I practiced diligently with the outside earth, I'd likely become proficient, but right now, sightseeing outside was the priority.
But I couldn't find a path. To get out of the mountain, following a trail would be best, but no matter how much I crawled around and sensed, I couldn't see anything that looked like a trail.
'Should I just go back then... huh?'
Just as I was worrying about whether to go back, I suddenly felt an insect within my perception range looking at me.
'It looks peculiar... more importantly, it's looking at me?'
The creature had a greenish sheen all over its body, with red patterns scattered across it.
After staring at me for quite a while, it seemed to lose interest, quickly flew away, and disappeared.
'It's gone... huh? It's coming back?'
No, the creature I thought had disappeared came back again, stared at me, disappeared again, and repeated this pattern.
'This... is it telling me to follow?'
Hesitantly, I followed, and the insect finally started moving forward. The meaning was indeed to follow.
'Is it okay to follow an insect...'
I felt a little worried, but soon decided to follow it. I remembered how to get back to my dwelling, so I wouldn't get lost.
'Okay, let's follow.'
The creature's speed was fast, so I, having rolled the earth into a round ball shape, started rolling along, following the insect.
"Haah... what the hell is this commotion first thing in the morning..."
Lee Seo-ah, an agent at the Management Bureau who was summoned by her Team Leader first thing in the morning, found herself getting unnecessarily worried upfront.
'Was there something during patrol yesterday...? No, the detector didn't even go off...'
Even as she worried about this and that, her legs didn't know how to stop, and she eventually found herself standing in front of the Team Leader's office.
'Please don't let it be a reprimand... Team Leader-nim is scary...'
Knock knock-
"I, It's Lee Seo-ah."
-Come in.
With the Team Leader's permission, she opened the door and entered. Inside the room, a solitary table sat in the middle, and scraps of paper were chaotically plastered all over the walls.
The Team Leader was sitting at the table, staring intently at a laptop. Lee Seo-ah gulped.
'His face looks serious... did something happen?'
"Agent Lee Seo-ah."
"Yes, yep!"
Surprised by the suddenly called title, she blurted out a response mixed with a shout, making the Team Leader look at her with eyes that seemed to wonder why she was acting like this.
'S, so it's not a big deal... right?'
"...I looked at your patrol record from yesterday, but it seems no abnormal signs appeared or were visible. Is that correct?"
"Yep, that's correct! The detector was normal, and visually it was normal too!"
"I see... so that's how it is."
The Team Leader started tapping the laptop keyboard, inputting something. Lee Seo-ah, who had been standing still, couldn't bear the silence and finally asked the Team Leader a question.
"Uhm, by any chance, was there something wrong during yesterday's patrol..."
"Ah, not that. However, we got a call from the Observation Agency, you see. It seems an anomaly has appeared in the area Agent Lee Seo-ah is in charge of."
"M, my area, you say?"
"That's right. The Dobongsan Mountain area. I also heard testimony from the night shift person in charge, but they said there was no reaction either."
"Ah..."
'I, if the Observation Agency observed it, doesn't that mean it really appeared? Is this dangerous?'
Lee Seo-ah began to fall into confusion. For her, with only half a year since joining the Management Bureau, this current ordeal was the first of its kind she'd experienced.
'An anomaly? Except for the one I encountered before joining, this is the first time...!'
Whether he knew of her worries or not, the Team Leader subtly brought up the topic.
"I trust Agent Lee Seo-ah's patrol record, but since we received contact from the Observation Agency, I'd like you to patrol once more. I'll assign one Infantry member to accompany you. If you notice anything conspicuous, record it without fail. Understood?"
"Yep, understood!"
"Good. That's all the business. You may go."
"Yep, excuse me."
After leaving the Team Leader's office, she paused for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"Phew... good thing it wasn't a big deal..."
"What's a good thing?"
"Kyaak?!"
Lee Seo-ah was startled and looked ahead. In front of her stood a woman who was just as startled.
"You scared me... was something going on?"
"Ah, Min-ah..."
The woman was Choi Min-ah, Lee Seo-ah's friend.
She was wearing a white lab coat, the symbol of a researcher. In contrast, Lee Seo-ah was wearing a black uniform.
"What happened first thing in the morning that you got called by Team Leader-nim? Did you make a mistake or something?"
"No, it's not that..."
Lee Seo-ah explained the whole story from beginning to end. Choi Min-ah frowned.
"An anomaly? From the Observation Agency? You need to be careful. Are you going alone?"
"No, they said they'll attach one Infantry member."
"Hmm, well that's a relief. If the Observation Agency found it, there must be something there."
Lee Seo-ah and Choi Min-ah were childhood friends. Moreover, they were together when they first encountered an anomaly, so they joined the Management Bureau together too.
Although their statuses as an agent and a researcher were slightly different, their bond was solid.
"I need to be careful? Among anomalies, there are many bizarre ones too. For example, the neck of the Infantry member going with you rotates 360 degrees~"
"St, stop teasing..."
"Hehe. Well, it's a warning to be properly vigilant. Among those creatures, some exist that parasitize humans. You haven't encountered many either, right? How many times is this for you?"
"Ex, excluding the one I met before... it's the first time."
"First time? Then you really need to be careful. You can't miss even the smallest thing? Anomalies often start from minor things."
"Yep. I know."
At Lee Seo-ah's answer, Choi Min-ah smiled and patted her shoulder.
"Alright, do well and come back. Don't get hurt."
"Yep..! I'll go and come back!"
With that, the two went their separate ways. Lee Seo-ah, holding official documents, headed towards the area where the Infantry was.
'How far are we going? We've come quite far...'
Quite some time had passed since I started following the insect. I'm not sure exactly, but I could tell the blazing sunlight was starting to wane.
'Roughly 5-6 hours, maybe...?'
Even considering the few times the insect creature paused to hunt for food and rest, I had moved quite far from the barrier where my dwelling was.
By this point, I began to doubt whether following this creature was the right choice.
'Would it have been better to just go on my own... no, even if I did, I would have just become a lost child.'
Wasn't I the one who ultimately chose to follow the creature? I have no choice but to trust my own decision.
How much time passed like that? The insect quickly flew and landed somewhere.
'Huh? That's... Hangul, isn't it?'
The object it landed on was a sign with Hangul written on it. The sign had the phrase 'Caution: Falling' written on it.
'Hangul... so this really is the Republic of Korea.'
The feeling was new. Being reborn from death in my own country into the earth? Even light novels don't have light novels like this.
'...I wonder what happened to the house I lived in.'
I still remember that the place I lived in my past life was Incheon.
Where is this place? Is it far from Incheon? How long would it take to get there? Nostalgia for the past washed over me powerfully.
'...I can't, no. I shouldn't think like this. Right now, I need to think about the present.'
I almost got lost in the past and floundered. Clinging to a past I can't even properly remember is nonsense.
'Focus, focus! Right now, I need to figure out where this place is.'
Now is the time to observe what the area around the barrier is like. It's time to discern what exists and what is dangerous.
I looked at the sign. The sign showed the way to a safe hiking trail.
'If I follow this way, a trail will appear, right? Good. Thank you, nameless insect.'
I made a tentacle from my handful of earth and waved it at the insect. I tried to make a hand, but there wasn't enough earth.
Whether the insect accepted my greeting or not, it flew away without even looking back. In the end, the creature had guided me towards the trail.
'I should repay it somehow if I meet it later. What does it like?'
And so, I set off to find the trail. Not long after, I found a well-maintained path. And then...
'Gasp... It's a person...!'
I found a person. Not a human-shaped Goei like Cynthia, but a real person.