God's Atlantis

July 1st, Thursday.

I had reached a date I had never experienced before my regression.

The Gwangwon Sect was gone. Han Harin was still alive and well, and the public opinion that had once stirred up the entire country and condemned the Korean Hunter Association had gone completely silent.

When we caught the Thorn Mask, public opinion did boil over for a bit… but that was only temporary.

It was only because the Thorn Mask's true identity turned out to be someone from inside the Association that the media went wild.

If we had never caught him at all, things might have been different. But the Association had taken the Thorn Mask alive, and within a few days, interest in him simply faded away.

Baek Jieun, who had captured the Thorn Mask and resolved every related incident, made a name for herself as an outstanding talent. The Korean public came to see her as both beautiful and capable — an image that would only help her climb higher.

It feels a little strange having no information about the future starting today.

The days of coasting on future knowledge were over.

It was a little different from using original-work information in the amusement worlds. Original-work knowledge was information I had never experienced myself.

Still, the thought of regressing one more time is pure hassle.

I tried imagining going back thirty days. The Gwangwon Sect would still be intact, and I would have to resolve the Thorn Mask and every other incident all over again. On top of that, I would have to explain the situation to Han Harin a second time. Just thinking about it was exhausting.

Buzz. Buzz.

My smartphone vibrated. A glance at the screen showed Han Ayeong.

Did she come out of the dungeon today? I thought it would take a few more days.

I answered the call.

"Hello? Ayeong noona. Did everything go well?"

"…I heard the story from Harin."

"Ah. I was going to tell you myself, but Harin beat me to it. How much did you hear?"

"Everything. Including that you regressed thirty days. It was hard to believe, but Harin isn't the type to joke about something like this. And somehow… it feels like something you'd be capable of."

Han Ayeong's voice was serious. There was no hint of suspicion toward me. I felt a slight relief that she trusted me this much — I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of making her believe me.

"…Thank you for saving Harin, Yujin."

"I just did what was natural. Harin is my woman. Ah, of course, noona is my woman too. If something similar had happened to you… I would have tried to save you."

"Really? Even if it's empty words, it's nice to hear."

"It's not empty words. I mean it."

"…Mm. If you were in front of me right now, I might have given you a kiss."

I smacked my lips at the disappointment that she wasn't standing in front of me.

"I hadn't heard any news about you entering the country. Still abroad?"

"Yeah. I'll return the day after tomorrow, rest for about a week, then head to Europe."

"You're really busy too, noona. But noona — you heard about the Suwol Guild as well, right?"

"I heard."

"What do you think?"

Unlike me and Han Harin, Han Ayeong might have different thoughts about the Suwol Guild. She had been with them for quite a long time, after all.

"I'm pretty disappointed. And… this incident made me certain. The Suwol Guild isn't a place to stay long-term. Something's bound to blow up eventually."

"So you have no attachment to the Suwol Guild?"

"Not really? Even though I got a lot of support from Suwol Guild, I could get that much from other guilds too. But leaving Suwol Guild right now is impossible. There's the contract issue, and Suwol Guild wouldn't let me go easily either."

"I guarantee you Suwol Guild won't keep thriving forever."

I said it firmly.

"But noona. So you'll be in Korea for a week?"

I asked casually.

At the thought of enjoying the black-and-white sisters for a full week, strength already gathered in my lower body.

Having entered the world of God's Atlantis, I looked around.

About three days had passed since I returned from Hell.

Originally I had planned to use a spatial transfer scroll and head straight back to A-Plan Legion, but I changed my mind. Before returning to the Legion, I decided to raise my stats a little first.

Area 4,344 — the Ragged Laboratory.

This area already had a ruler. However, that ruler had never fully conquered the place. He had failed to properly clear it and instead obtained the title of ruler through a deal with the area's Prestige. In other words, he had negotiated with Prestige for dominion, and the system had recognized it.

So Area 4,344 is unofficially cleared territory.

But hardly anyone knows that. The ones ruling Area 4,344 are the Black Pillar Alliance — a professional criminal organization, just like Helten.

The Black Pillar Alliance.

They couldn't compare to Helten, but they were still a fairly large criminal force. Most of the exiles belonging to them were Chinese. The kind of people who thought they were the best, and who trafficked human beings without batting an eye — thoroughly rotten types.

Area 4,344 is just one of the zones they control. Even if I mess with it, they won't be able to respond right away.

The Black Pillar Alliance had plenty of enemies. They had brought their Chinese supremacy complex into Atlantis without discarding it, made enemies left and right, and eventually collapsed under the weight of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them. Because of that, despite being portrayed as a major criminal organization in the original work, their actual narrative weight was less than one percent.

I learned about this area through the setting book.

I looked around.

At a glance, Area 4,344 looked like an ordinary village — a settlement of about five hundred people. The architecture called Chinese wuxia to mind. The clothes the residents wore closely resembled traditional Chinese hanfu. The only jarring detail was their hair, which came in every color imaginable.

The residents glanced at me, then went back to their business. They seemed used to outsiders.

I wandered the village as if I belonged there, focusing mainly on the alleyways.

Found it.

Deep in an alley, a single wooden board lay on the ground. I approached, lifted it, and found a pitch-black hole underneath. It wasn't quite a sewer, but the smell and atmosphere rising from it were thoroughly unpleasant.

Without hesitation, I dropped into the hole.

The depth was about three meters. Dim light from fixtures set into the ceiling illuminated the surroundings. Humidity hung thick in the air, and iron bars filled every side. It looked like a prison. Most of the cells were empty.

Clunk!

A sound came from above. The board I had pushed aside slid back over the hole on its own. I felt no human presence — the board had covered the entrance by itself. Nothing surprising. This was that kind of world.

The humidity is so high it's disgusting.

I walked forward.

Sssssssss.

I turned my head. Inside one of the cages, a cobra had reared up, flicking its thin tongue and glaring at me with murderous intent. Those eyes clearly saw me as prey.

This thing dares bare its fangs at a human?

I kicked the cobra's cage. The bars rattled.

Sssssssssssss!

The cobra lunged at me. I took one step back. Blocked by the bars, it could do nothing. Its fangs gleamed viciously — and when I saw them extend nearly twenty centimeters, it was obvious this was no ordinary animal. Some kind of monster I didn't recognize, most likely.

I suppressed the urge to kill it. The animals locked in these cages were property of this place. I couldn't afford to cause trouble before I even started.

I sneered at the cobra and walked on.

Thud. Thud-thud.

The sound of something pounding against iron bars. Looking over, I found a snake and a giraffe. The snake was massive; the giraffe was small, like a juvenile. The two of them were companionably bashing their heads against the bars — but their eyes weren't on me. They were fixed on the floor.

There was a rat.

That rat tossed a dead companion into the cage. The snake and giraffe devoured the corpse in five seconds flat.

"Squeak. Squeak-squeak."

The rat bowed its head toward them in greeting, then vanished. It looked for all the world like it was saying, I'll offer this, so look after me.

In human terms, is that some kind of human sacrifice? You really do see everything.

The further I went, the stranger the animals became. A monkey harming itself, an otter slamming its head into the wall, a goat eating a jaguar — every last one of them was bizarre.

Whenever I passed, the animals stared at me with killing intent in their eyes. Without the bars, they would have thrown themselves at me without question.

I'm here.

At last, an iron door appeared at the far end. I opened it and stepped through into another corridor — one lined with doors. Just then, one of those doors opened and a man walked in. A bow and quiver hung across his back, and in one hand he clutched a rabbit by the ears. It was no ordinary rabbit. Its front teeth were razor-sharp, and a snake dangled from its tail.

Our eyes met. The man grinned and asked,

"Judging by the look of you, you're no hunter… a customer, then?"

"No. I didn't bring any money."

"Oh-ho. A challenger, then. Well — try not to die."

The hunter started walking ahead with a heavy tread. Perfect. Following him meant I wouldn't have to open every single door in this corridor myself.

He stopped in front of a door at the end of the passage — one that looked distinctly heavier than the rest — and put his weight into opening it.

Like the corridor I had come from, the space beyond was damp. But it was larger, with sofas for people to sit on, and nearly thirty people inside. About fifteen stood waiting with weapons at their sides, ten were hunters, and the remaining five looked like staff who worked here.

One of the staff members caught my eye.

A woman with pink hair, pale skin, and black eyes. She looked to be in her mid-twenties.

I approached her naturally.

She wore a sexy pink cheongsam that clung to her body, making the fullness of her D-cup chest impossible to ignore. The skirt was short enough to show off firm, white thighs. Her hips were full, and a panty string peeked out from the side.

"Welcome. I don't believe I've seen your face before. Are you a challenger?"

She asked with a smile. From the way she carried herself, she seemed to be the manager of this place.

"Yes. I've come to challenge."

"Perfect timing. There's only about thirty minutes left until today's challenges begin. May I have your name?"

"Do I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to give it?"

"If you'd rather not, that's fine. However, you'll have to bear any disadvantages that come from it yourself."

"What kind of disadvantages?"

"Hmm. Various ones? If I listed them one by one, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we'd be here forever. What will you do?"

My gaze was drawn to her lips. They were pink. When they parted slightly, the tongue I glimpsed was pink as well. A woman steeped in pink from head to toe. If her pussy wasn't pink too, I was going to be disappointed.

"…I'll take the risk."

"Then I'll call you Guest Number 62. That all right?"

"Number 62? Is that number significant?"

"It's the number of guests who haven't even given a false name. You're exactly the sixty-second. For reference, only about three people who refused to give their names have survived."

"Does the Black Pillar Alliance kill people for not giving their names?"

"Of course not. Nine-tenths of them died failing the challenge. Pretentious nobodies who tried to look cool."

"And the remaining tenth?"

"They suffered the disadvantages."

She smiled sweetly.

Her hand never stopped moving. She was writing about me in a paper ledger — Number 62, sturdy build, black hair, and so on. For the record, I wasn't concealing my appearance. I was using my real face. I was a man who had walked out of Hell alive. I wasn't weak enough to need to hide. Even if I became a target of the Black Pillar Alliance, it didn't matter. I would win.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Li Mei. There's about thirty minutes until the challenge starts, so please wait over there."

Li Mei.

I committed her name to memory. She was a woman who appeared in neither the original work nor the setting book.