Chapter 27
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Split Paths and Puzzles
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"Let's clear this stage quickly for now."
In the silence where no one spoke up, Seung-hyeon Hunter was the first to open his mouth. Yoo A-han picked up after him.
"Right. Some hunters of unknown identity said some weird stuff too—"
"Weird hunters?"
My brother was the one who asked.
"Ah, Han Ji-un, you were already on the next stage, so you wouldn't know. It was exactly that."
She then gave my brother a quick rundown of what had happened.
"...So that's why you all look like such a mess."
My brother said that, then suddenly turned his head and stared at me for a moment before asking.
"Any injuries?"
"Huh? None..."
"You used up all your potions."
"......"
My brother's eyes narrowed slightly before relaxing as he let out a sigh and muttered quietly.
"It's partly my fault too..."
As the sigh escaped him, Ryu Cheon-hwa spoke up.
"First, let's hurry and clear it."
He nodded toward the gate. Everyone agreed, and without delay, they entered the gate.
A blinding light made it impossible to see for a moment, but soon my vision cleared, revealing our surroundings. A room dripping with garish colors that sent shivers down my spine, along with stairs and doors.
Once inside the gate, Seung-hyeon Hunter spoke first.
"Before we clear the stage, I have one question."
He confirmed everyone had entered safely, then continued.
"Han Ji-un Hunter. How did you get through the previous stage?"
"I just went."
"......"
I could almost hear Seung-hyeon Hunter's insides boiling, but I ignored it. He let out a sigh and asked again.
"I'm asking where the path came from that you took."
"I opened a manhole cover, and there was a path."
"Pardon?"
"What?"
I was the most shocked. People looked at me curiously at my sudden reaction. I gave an awkward smile, as if it was just absurd.
It might sound no big deal to just say he opened a manhole and it was there, but I knew that path. It was a rotten passage where you could go straight to the next stage without doing that play I did, but it was better to do the play instead.
My brother had gone through there. I thought he'd probably gone through the door we opened by solving the puzzles, but this guy with the novel's memories had crawled in there after all.
'Is he really insane?'
Instant-death traps that killed you in one hit. And there were ten of them.
Sometimes there were things like that. Passages rigged with attack-type weapons that were like indestructible, unattackable immortal NPCs in a game. And this lunatic was saying he'd broken through them to the next stage. No wonder I was floored.
'Han Ji-un had done it a few times before.'
Back then, it cost me an arm and a leg—literally—to get through, and this madman did it solo.
At this point, I was starting to think Han Ji-un himself was the cheat. The guy was just nuts. A path where you could lose half your body or die outright if you slipped up.
'...Whatever. Results matter, not how.'
I shook my head slightly to focus on the present.
Looking around again, I saw four staircases in the colorful room, each leading to a door.
"It's a fork."
"We need two people for one of them."
"Then how about the family duo goes together?"
Yoo A-han smiled brightly, pointing at me and my brother. Before I could ask why, she explained.
"Han Ji-eon was drained earlier, and he probably hasn't recovered much, so pairing with the strongest among us, Han Ji-un Hunter, seems best."
She glanced around at the others, as if seeking agreement. Ryu Cheon-hwa and Seung-hyeon Hunter nodded, while my brother showed no reaction, like he didn't care either way.
'No reason to object.'
In the end, I nodded silently in agreement too.
With everyone on board, Yoo A-han spoke again.
"Then let's decide where each pair goes?"
"No idea what's beyond, so just pick randomly."
Right after, Ryu Cheon-hwa climbed the second staircase and waited at the door for the others to choose.
"Hmm, fair enough. I'll take this one."
Yoo A-han took the first, Seung-hyeon Hunter the fourth, so naturally, my brother and I ended up with the third.
"See you later."
Ryu Cheon-hwa opened the door first and slipped inside. The rest followed suit.
No need for me to step up here. My brother and I were always going together anyway, and third was our usual spot.
Actually, the order didn't matter—the structure was the same no matter which you took. It was a simple path.
"......"
"......"
Creak!
Splat, drip. Various sounds rang out. While my brother took the lead, mowing down monsters, I just followed without doing a thing.
Normally, he'd chew me out to move and fight together, but the current him was different, so he said nothing. No other words either. Just silence.
—Kieeeek!
Once the last monster on the path was dealt with, true silence fell.
Looking at my brother, he was splattered in multicolored monster blood, looking quite flashy. The black robe made the bright blood stand out even more.
My brother picked something up from the monster, then repeated the process with the next one that popped out. Watching that, I spoke up.
"Brother."
Even with monsters jumping out, he hadn't flinched, but at my voice, he startled and turned, giving me a what-is-it look.
I hesitated for a second, then said.
"...Take it easy on yourself."
"Huh?"
Boom! In one motion, he killed a monster crawling across the ceiling—without even looking at it, eyes fixed on me—using his ability. As the pale sky-blue blood rained down on his face, I caught the faint upward twitch of his lips.
'Worst timing.'
It made him look creepy, like he was thrilled to be drenched in blood, but it was just bad timing...
There wasn't really anything to worry about with him. I meant it literally—spare your body a bit.
"......"
I blinked and spoke up.
"Anyway, what is this place?"
As I said it curiously, my brother suddenly stopped. Wondering why, I looked ahead and saw the path blocked; we couldn't go further.
I leaned lightly against the wall, watching him feel around it. Then I shifted slightly.
'Was it around here?'
Tilting my shoulder—click. The wall by my shoulder sank in with a press. I stepped back, and...
Rumble. The sealed door opened.
"...Lucky."
"Yeah."
My brother gave a small smile and proceeded. Like he'd expected it.
We entered the open door and walked some more.
"Another fork."
Including the way we'd come, four paths branched out.
"Which way—"
"No need."
Whoosh. Turning to my brother, he plopped down in the center of the not-so-wide crossroads. He laid out the things he'd picked from the monsters and fiddled with them.
"...What're you doing?"
"Assembling."
He picked up the gem-like shards one by one, trying to fit their shapes. I made a clueless face, then sighed and sat down too, helping match the gem shapes.
Click. Click. Only the sound of fitting gems filled the space. The red gem pieces stuck together naturally when matched right.
Silent assembly time. I glanced at my brother, who seemed even clumsier at it than me, then spoke.
"Brother, got a question."
"Yeah?"
"Those hunters the others and I met earlier—do you know them?"
"...Not really."
His brow furrowed slightly. The pieces I grabbed randomly didn't fit when he tried.
"You really don't?"
"Yeah."
"...Okay?"
Click. Click. Just the sound of gems again. After a few minutes, I held a nearly complete gem.
"Brother, that's the last piece for yours. Gimme."
"......"
His brow furrowed again. No idea what his deal was, but he handed it over.
Slotting the final piece in, the gem took perfect form.
"What do we do with this?"
"Down there."
"Down there?"
I asked, then noticed the indented slot on the floor—like I'd spotted earlier—and jolted in surprise. I stepped back, sat again, and felt the groove.
"If this fits here, that means the others come through these paths too... Ah, so these forks are where the others end up?"
My brother nodded. I nodded back like I got it, then quietly slotted the gem into place.
More silence. Minutes passed—I couldn't tell how many—until footsteps echoed from afar. Turning, I saw Ryu Cheon-hwa approaching from the left.
"Looks like second place."
"Yeah."
Ryu Cheon-hwa glanced at the floor between my brother and me, then showed the blue gem shards in his hand.
Assembly time again. The three of us sat in a circle, piecing the blue gem. Before we finished, Seung-hyeon Hunter and Yoo A-han emerged from the crossroads too, with their damn gem shards.
'...This is why I hate this part most.'
It took longer than fighting monsters, and I couldn't memorize every shard.
And after dozens of minutes...
"Done."
All the gems were slotted into the grooves.
Scrape— The floor split, spun with bright light, and then...
Boom!
"Ugh!"
The floor collapsed instantly, and we all plummeted somewhere.
Thud. I barely regained balance and landed safely, looking around. Thankfully, unlike before, we were all in the same spot. As I moved toward my nearby brother...
Boing.
"Ow."
Something hit my face. Nothing visible—reaching out, I touched an invisible something.
"A wall?"
Bang! I punched hard, but the invisible wall didn't budge.
"Brother!"
He looked at me, mouth moving like he was saying something, but no sound. So he couldn't hear me either.
"...What the hell?"
Thump thump thump. I checked the transparent wall again. It was still there.
"......"
Never saw this coming...