Runaway (1)

Ever since we descended from the rocky mountain, I had been tracking Kang Hyun. The situation I was overhearing through my "earpiece" was simply too suspicious.

Afterward, taking advantage of the moment Shindra's gang entered the restaurant, I slipped out the back door alone and planted landmines on their vehicles.

"Hmm."

And just like that, I ended up forming an impromptu party with Kang Hyun.

"Hmmmm..."

We walked through the city together. Instead of fleeing outward, we walked deeper in, blending into the crowd. Even as we moved, I kept a sharp eye out for any useful items we could scavenge.

"...Well, look at this."

In a magic shop tucked away in the city, I discovered a book titled Mana Accumulation. It was a specialized text on nervous system implants. In this world, implants designed to be grafted onto the central nervous system had already been developed.

"Mana Accumulation..."

It was highly appealing. Not that I wanted to get an implant grafted onto myself, but the design methodology of the implant itself caught my fancy. It was incredibly magical.

If I play my cards right, I might even be able to manifest the implant as a spell formula.

A spell formula is both a cognitive image and a physical reality. Therefore, if I could understand the operating principles of the implant, I would be able to manifest it.

"Will we have time to read?" Kang Hyun asked, turning a book over in his hands.

I held up the book to the shopkeeper. "How much for this?"

The shopkeeper held up three fingers. "Three thousand."

Surprisingly cheap. Besides, I had plenty of cash on hand that I'd received from Seer.

"Then... what if I add this and this?" I picked out about three more related books.

Honestly, I was desperate. I had to strengthen my nervous system by any means necessary. The more I used Sequence, and the more I learned about it, the more clearly I felt it: this technique was eating away at my lifespan.

"Fifteen thousand."

"If I buy three mana stones as well, will you throw these in as a bonus?"

"...Thirty thousand, including the mana stones."

I guess the mana stones were the real money-makers. I peeled off a stack of cash and paid. Kang Hyun bought three books of his own—a fantasy novel series. He'd just asked me if I had time to read, yet here he was, doing the exact same thing.

Once outside, we sat on a nearby bench. I stuffed the books into my bag and pulled out the mana-treated carbon-fiber plastic I'd bought at the repair shop. Kang Hyun watched with curiosity.

"What are you going to do, Hyung?"

"Watch. You'll find this pretty interesting."

I placed a mana stone on the plastic and, using it as a medium, engraved a familiar spell formula onto it. The plastic squirmed and reshaped itself into a drone. Kang Hyun's eyes widened.

"This should last about a week."

"That long?"

"We have a mana stone, after all."

Of course, even without the help of a mana stone, my spell formulas lasted quite a while. Call it the power of talent—my Phenomenon Maintenance Power was simply superior. But even so, without a steady supply of mana, two or three days was the absolute limit. To keep it active for over a week, a mana stone was essential.

"...Incredible," Kang Hyun murmured, staring at the drone with eyes as round as saucers.

"Why? Do you wish you'd become a spellcaster too?"

"No."

I connected Sequence to the drone. Now, everything this little guy saw and heard would be transmitted directly to me. It was a much deeper connection than a standard familiar.

Whirrrr. The drone rose into the sky, becoming an eye looking down from above. I shared its field of vision. ...There they are.

"Let's start moving."

Tailers had attached themselves to us from a distance. Even I hadn't noticed until I sent up the familiar. They certainly were meticulous.

"Yes. Where should we go?"

I stood up and looked off into the distance. About a ten-minute walk away, a suitable sign came into view.

"Since we've left our eyes and ears outside, we should find a safe place to stay inside."

Kang Hyun's gaze followed mine. "...There?"

"Yeah."

"It's a four-star hotel. It'll be a decent place to stay for a while."

At my words, Kang Hyun wore a slightly bewildered expression.

"Follow me. We've already got tails."

Information flowing in like fragments ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from all over the continent. An answer found by tracing those extremely minute and faint, yet clearly bizarre pieces. A mind that doubted the outside from within the world, like a blind man inferring the shape of an elephant.

Seer looked up at the sky stretching endlessly beyond the high-rise windows. The word "endless" felt strangely limiting now.

"How do you plan to deal with them?" Shindra, his sister, asked.

Seer answered briefly. "I will throw them into the labyrinth."

It was the only countermeasure, and at the same time, an experiment born of mild curiosity. If their home was a labyrinth, how would they warp inside a labyrinth within a labyrinth?

"Fine. Let's assume you're right, one way or another." Shindra glared at Seer and continued. "Though it's still hard to fully believe."

The series of battles had been a process of confirmation and verification. The sibling rivalry between Shindra and Seer was by no means a lie. However, now that a common enemy had appeared—one that shook the very foundation of the entire world beyond just the two of them—their individual pride and power struggles had to be set aside.

"Will our struggles even amount to anything?"

"It is better than not struggling at all."

Seer's goal was to prevent them from clearing the labyrinth. What the purpose of "NaN World" was, even Seer did not know yet, but it would be far better than sitting idly and waiting for annihilation.

"Then... hm?" Shindra frowned, looking at her terminal. A message had just arrived. "They say the capture failed."

"A pity. But there are no blind spots for us in this city."

Suddenly, Seer's rimless glasses flashed. A message was received. "They say he confessed."

Kim Dong-ha. He had confessed the method to escape the labyrinth.

"What is it?"

"WP."

"...WP?"

"Yes. If they perform certain actions here, they obtain World Points, and they can return by purchasing a ticket at the exchange office."

The exchange office. A building of unknown origin that had existed since before Seer was born. It was the moment the true purpose of the place, which the residents used like a bank, was finally confirmed.

"Then the answer is clear. We just need to capture them all..."

As he turned around, something caught Seer's eye. Under the sofa. A tiny button lying on the office floor, which was always kept spotlessly clean. It looked like a mere button, but looking closely... it was imbued with mana. A wiretap.

"..."

Seer quietly searched his memory. A certain past rewound in the lenses of his rimless glasses.

Seol Ha-woon asking if he liked alcohol. The moment Seer had turned around to get the snake wine, Seol Ha-woon's reflection was cast on the window glass. Dropping a small button and sliding it under the sofa...

The corner of Seer's mouth twisted. "So you were alive."

"That's the current situation. Do you understand?" Inside the four-star Armand Hotel, I relayed the wiretapped details to Kang Hyun.

Kang Hyun asked. "How did you notice, Hyung?"

"It's not that I noticed..." I simply hadn't believed him in the first place. When a person cannot trust someone, they search with all their heart and soul for reasons not to trust them.

"Anyway. From today on, we cooperate."

"Yes."

WP was no longer the goal. The exchange office where tickets were purchased would be watched, and the explorers would be captured without even knowing why they were being hunted.

"Hyung. What do you think the outside world is like right now? The PDs and writers, I mean." Kang Hyun looked around the hotel room. "There must be cameras filming us inside here right now, too."

"They're probably thrilled, thinking they hit the jackpot. They probably feel like they're shooting a movie."

"...The ratings must be great, at least," Kang Hyun said, a complicated expression crossing his face.

Just then, several suspicious footsteps were detected on the first floor. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠movements of a large group cluttered my mind.

"They're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coming up."

"Pardon?" Kang Hyun tilted his head. As I had walked up this hotel, I had installed explosives in every nook and cranny, imbued them with spell formulas, and connected my five senses to them using Sequence. In other words, the presence around the explosives was transmitted directly to me.

The price of such a convenient technique was a splitting headache. "...It hurts like hell," I muttered, taking a sip of black tea.

Kang Hyun asked, turning his broadsword over in his hands. "Hyung. How will the enemies move?"

"They'll try to hunt down the explorers one by one."

We had no reason to blame them. It was perfectly understandable. If anything, we, who treated their entire world as entertainment, might be the real problem.

"How should we move?"

I looked out the window. "Well. We only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need to know one thing. Our opponent is smart."

Seer was smart. The movements of people from outside the world had occurred in just a single week, and because of that, he had doubted his own existence, and further, became convinced of a 'brain-in-a-vat' reality. We must not engage in a battle of wits with him.

"No plan is the plan. There is nothing stupider than making a plan against a smart guy. Trying to play tricks on someone with a brilliant brain yields no answers. They are people who have lived their lives thinking only of how to counter thoughts. In the end, it comes down to intuition and instinct. With variables derived from no plan and randomness, we must pull off something he can hardly imagine."

"What kind of no-plan?"

"Hmm..." Downing the black tea, I sat facing Kang Hyun. Snap. I snapped my fingers.

Thud! A small vibration rose from the bottom of the hotel.

Beeeeep! The fire alarm also went off.

In five minutes, everyone inside this hotel would evacuate. Even if this was a labyrinth, there was no need to wipe out civilians.

"I'm going to blow up the hotel. From the inside."

Kang Hyun blinked. Right now, we were staying on the thirteenth floor. And I was planning to bring down this entire hotel.

"The hotel."

"Yeah."

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. The presences in my ears fluctuated violently. It was the sound of guests evacuating. The headache felt like it was crushing my brain. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I waited until they had all left.

Boom! Just in case there were people who were hard of hearing or slow, I triggered another small explosion.

Pitter-patter. The presences going down the stairs gradually faded, and instead, heavy footsteps coming up grew distinct. I opened my eyes again.

"We'll worry about the details later... actually, let's not think about them at all." Raising my leather-gloved hand, I asked, "Are you ready?"

Kang Hyun drew his sword and placed it across his knees. It seemed his preparation posture was drawing the sword. He answered, "Yes."

Press. I lowered my thumb as if pressing a detonator.

KABOOM! A sudden, plunging vibration shook the building. A thunderous explosion erupted.

A blast destroying the hotel's structure. It was an act of violence caused by my spell formula.

Crumble... Debris poured down from the ceiling. Within the dismantling structure, I looked at Kang Hyun.

Kang Hyun was calm. There was no change in him. No fear, no terror, no joy, not even a hint of agitation. His eyes were simply as peaceful as a lake.

Transparent, but a bottom whose end could not be seen. I was reflected in Kang Hyun's pupils. Because he was staring at me. Was he, too, trying to look into my principles?

Like this, since some point, we have been trying to gauge each other. Trying to fathom each other. Although we know nothing yet, and we are nothing but unknowns to each other, I am sure. Someday, we will know. You will know me, and I will know you. Therefore... the one who grows impatient loses.

CRASH! The floor collapsed. The hotel, its balance torn apart, collapsed helplessly like a house of cards. Darkness enveloped everything.