The Bare Equator
Late at night, I flew across the island. Just as the crocodile had described, there stood a separate villa complete with a hot spring. The number of staff on duty felt sparse. Since it wasn't a proper hotel but rather the youngest dolphin's personal space, security was light.
"Things are going smoothly."
The moment I folded my wings and prepared to land, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me. I stopped midair.
"What is this… this strange feeling…"
I decided to retrace my steps carefully. My instincts were screaming that I had overlooked something important.
Had the crocodile-headed gardener set a trap? That was impossible. No matter what trap he had laid, it couldn't have been powerful enough to threaten me. Even if he brought hundreds of sea creatures, I possessed the strength to handle them alone. That realization sent a chill down my spine.
"Is the event… really this easy?"
Even if the Equator was the first event, something felt off. Everything had gone far too well. That was precisely why this unease had been masked until now.
"Think again… What am I missing?"
If the sea creatures weren't the source of the danger, I needed to broaden my perspective. For instance, to the Equator itself.
Let's retrace slowly. We had followed the wind to find the Equator. At its end, we discovered this island. Equator—the character for "red" paired with the character for "path." Because there were no paths in the sea, "path" became "island," and through my summoning, "red" became "heat." Wasn't that how we found the scorching island?
This crimson island was home to creatures suited to its climate, and it featured a resort that matched its beautiful scenery. Then the "festival" began. The sea creatures I desired were supplied, and the amenities Park Seona wanted were provided. Everything was perfect. As if it knew exactly what we wanted.
"…"
What was an event? If I had to pick the single thing in this world most saturated with malice, it would be an event. Suspect everything. What had I overlooked?
Then I noticed an odd sensation. An energy that shouldn't have been felt.
"It's hot…"
The most precious item I possessed was the White Stone. I had fashioned it into a sash wrapped from my right shoulder to my left side. Along that path, I now felt intense heat. The White Stone, which should have been blocking heat, was deliberately transmitting it to me?
It was late at night. A cool breeze blew gently across the beautiful island, palm trees swaying. "The clams Baengnae found… they were cooked inside, weren't they?"
I manipulated the White Stone and wrapped it around my head. Crack— I opened the eyeholes and looked beyond the visible domain. The beauty I had seen until now was gone. No buildings, no hot springs, no palm trees—nothing. Only a massive red island and a towering volcano stared down at me in silence.
The seven strokes of the character meaning "Red" symbolized redness, nakedness, emptiness, and nonexistence.
Damn it. All of this had been a crimson lie. We had reached the Equator by going against the wind. Where did the wind begin? Nowhere. This was the Equator—an island of "nothing" using the character for "bare."
"The events just keep getting worse."
The community had warned not to fight the sea creatures of the Equator but to flee immediately. I should have found that strange. Every guide had a "total annihilation route," yet the only advice was to avoid combat entirely. Probably because everything was fake.
"A nonexistent path and island…"
I looked up at the volcano. It wasn't about to erupt immediately, but if we had stayed here for a few days, we would have been wiped out. We wouldn't have escaped the fate of those beach clams.
"No… this heat. It might erupt soon."
The Equator event would likely end automatically once we left the island. Its essence would remain intact. It was the kind of event that succeeded only if you resisted its temptations and escaped.
"Wait—essence?"
Community posts repeatedly mentioned "a red reef rising and capsizing the ship." Since the ship was an inanimate object, illusions wouldn't have worked on it. The power controlling the reef must have been real. And it had to be somewhere on this island.
I returned to the resort—or rather, to the bare red mountainside where I had believed the hotel existed. Park Seona, who had been sleeping, was horrified by the changed scenery.
"Huk… What… what is this?"
"So you can see it now too."
"Why did everything suddenly disappear? I… how long was I asleep? It feels like I wasn't out for even thirty minutes."
I calmed the disoriented Park Seona. We didn't have much time.
"To put it simply, it was all fake. Head back to the ship. I'm going to check out the volcano."
Park Seona swallowed hard as she gazed at the mountain peak.
"You're going… up there?"
"Yeah. Get the ship ready to depart at any moment. I'll be back before it's too late."
I stored all the zombies except the witch. An interesting fact: the sea creatures that had already become zombies now existed in reality. Perhaps it was because they were bound by my laws, as the "Abyssal Monster" had mentioned.
"Am I starting to show signs of the 6th stage too?"
As I floated into the sky on the witch, Park Seona—having finished her preparations—waved.
"I'll be waiting on the ship! Nanggun-nim!"
"Don't activate weird clichés…"
Once I gained enough altitude, I stored the witch as well. All that remained was to fly toward the mountain peak.
Rumble— The event, realizing I had dismantled its setup, began to respond. The ground shook violently. Below, I could see Park Seona stumbling.
"It's putting up a fight."
I flew swiftly toward the descent. As I neared the volcano's crater, intense heat pressed against me. But I wasn't particularly tense. If it could spew magma, it would have done so already. Natural phenomena didn't occur that quickly.
"Once the illusion was broken, it was already half over."
Honestly, the temptation had worked well. Just yesterday, I had been quite pleased watching sea creatures being hauled in by the dozens, unaware that it was all fake.
"Well then… shall we go see the truth?"
Near the crater was a small cave. In front of it stood a statue carved in the shape of a pink dolphin. So that was why the resorts had used a dolphin theme—it had actually existed. I descended before the statue and entered the cave. The interior was surprisingly spacious and comfortable. It didn't feel natural. Deeper inside, something that could be called a door appeared. A solid iron door, firmly shut like a bunker.
Bang— Bang— Bang— An iron door discovered on an island stripped of its lies. There had to be a resident inside. Sensing I was close to the truth, I pounded on the door. As expected, no one opened it. I changed tactics and crushed it with the White Stone.
Crunch— Crack— The door slid open on its own.
"Huh, what? A malfunction?"
At that moment, a shout came from inside.
"Hey, you crazy bastard!"
Inside stood a pink dolphin beastman wearing a white lab coat, glaring at me. He looked like some kind of scientist. With a thoroughly flustered expression, he pointed at me, mouth agape. The room resembled a control center, with monitors observing the island and various buttons.
"Do you control the red reef from here too?"
"How did you—?"
I took that answer as confirmation. This was the core of the Equator. I rushed past the iron door toward him. Conversation could wait until after I subdued him. The dolphin grinned.
"Hah! You think you can take me on in this space?"
With his cry, a crocodile-shaped robot rose from the floor. It resembled the gardener.
"Nothing more original?"
I placed both hands on the robot, vaulted over it, and grabbed the dolphin by the throat. He seemed about to say something, but that could wait until after he became a zombie. High-intelligence targets couldn't be given time to stall.
Crack— Even after he died, the crocodile robot attacked, so I smashed it. Meanwhile, Baengnae, who had been summoned, infected the dolphin. Now all that remained was to learn how to control the reef through the newly zombified creature.
"That's more like it. This fits the event's level. Just difficult enough, with proper tension. The resort was far too peaceful… I need to be more careful from now on."
After some time, the dolphin rose as a zombie, body twitching. Thanks to his high intelligence, he immediately spoke in coherent language.
"Kek… Aigoo, my neck…"
Without wasting time, I cut to the point.
"Stop the eruption and tell me how to control the reef."
The dolphin stared at me blankly before his expression turned grave. He rushed to the machines and began frantically typing.
"We need to evacuate! The volcano is about to erupt!"
Thud— Thud— Thud— The broken iron door behind me slammed shut violently, and several more walls dropped over it, like a fire barrier being erected.
"The master destroyed the core wall, so this place isn't safe either! Please follow me!"
That was why he had suddenly opened the door. The volcano was about to erupt, and since I had broken it, he didn't want to die with me. We followed the dolphin underground. While evacuating, I asked the most important question.
"The red reef can still be used, right?"
The dolphin panted as he answered.
"I don't know. If the god still recognizes me as a follower, it might be possible… but since I've been bound to the master, I can't be certain."
"God?"
Thinking about it, creating the red reef and spreading illusions across the island felt closer to divine power than science. I swallowed the question I was about to ask. This wasn't the right time. But one thing was certain—I felt that through this guy, I could dig up answers to the things I was curious about. The System, the riders, the sponsors. Given how this world was entangled, the "god" the dolphin spoke of was undoubtedly a sponsor. And not just any sponsor—an existence that had reached beyond the sponsors of our previous rider generation.
"Then was the cat god also a god somewhere?"
A great being from some failed world. Was that what she had been?
I ran deeper into the collapsing cave, toward the growing darkness.