Chapter 328
Chapter 328
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 328. The Wrong Premise
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"Mmph..."
"Mmph mmph..."
"Mmph?"
The three of them staring at the grassland, mumbling incoherently.
"Mmph..."
"Mmph mmph..."
"Mmph..."
"What the hell are you even saying."
"You told us to keep our mouths shut, and now you're complaining about it."
Song Arin glared at the others with narrowed eyes, and I could only stare at her in disbelief.
"You said to shut up, but we kept talking, so you did it."
"Oh, right."
Best not to try understanding her.
I turned my gaze away from Song Arin and looked back down at the grassland below.
Why the hell is there a grassland?
As I pondered that, the grassland vanished again.
"Daon was right."
"Mmph mmph."
Yoo Daon puffed out her chest proudly, her expression saying, See, I told you so?
"But why did we see a grassland?"
"Right."
And no sooner had I said that than Song Arin clapped her hands with a smack and muttered.
"Wasn't that grassland a bit weird earlier?"
"Weird how?"
I recalled the scene of the grassland I'd seen.
Swaying grass, an expansive plain stretching out.
"Not sure?"
"...Hmm."
Song Arin groaned and pressed her forehead firmly.
"No, it felt like something I'd seen before..."
"So what was it?"
"Ah, hold on. I'm thinking about it."
Song Arin shot me an irritated look.
"Then keep thinking, Arin, and we'll keep moving."
"Mmph mmph."
"Mmph."
"Mmph!"
The three of them nodded while mumbling.
It was kind of funny how I could tell who was who just from the muffled sounds.
I raised the lantern again.
Shone Truth on it. But damn, hard to figure out.
Unlike the first floor, this level was way too abstract. No solid info at all.
"Hey, you got anything?"
I held up the manual and asked. Only then did it finally start to open.
*Flutter!*
[Office Manual]
[OG - Consider the Five Senses]
1. Human senses are more reliable than you think, yet they betray you often.
2. In such cases, you must also seek the opinions of others, not just rely on yourself.
3. Especially, don't forget that someone with more experience than you might know better.
"Not helpful."
At my words, the manual stayed still for a moment, then fluttered open again with a *whoosh!*
[Office Manual]
[Please wait a moment.]
Wait for what? We're short on time.
I snapped it shut with a thud and looked at the others.
"Not much help."
"What do you expect from a damn book."
"It has saved my life a bunch, though."
"That's only possible because we're here."
Is that so?
Guess we do need both.
Without nodding or shaking my head, I started walking again.
The lantern swayed as we continued down the corridor with the three mumbling ones and the one chattering away.
...
How long had we walked?
"No end in sight."
"Doesn't feel like we're looping either."
Song Arin nodded at my mutter.
"Mmph mmph..."
"Mmph!"
Meanwhile, Yoo Daon and Jang Chaeyeon were glaring at each other.
Can't you just not fight if their mouths are covered?
At that moment, the lantern started flickering.
"...This isn't good."
I looked back at the lantern, and at the same time, a translucent window appeared.
[Name: Lantern of Truth]
[Age: Created N years ago]
[Specialty: Illumination]
[Talent: None]
[Background: In an era when humans were always the weak ones, they had to gather whatever they had to light their way.]
[Weakness: After time passes, the lantern must recharge itself.]
After time passes, the lantern must recharge itself.
That in itself isn't a big issue.
The problem is that it's listed as a weakness.
Meaning, when the lantern goes out, trouble happens.
The moment that thought crossed my mind,
*Click!*
The lantern went out.
In the darkness, I stared at the translucent window.
[Name: Lantern of Truth]
[Age: Created N years ago]
[Specialty: Illumination]
[Talent: None]
[Background: When the lantern goes out, people always had to find a safe place. Otherwise, the end was never good.]
[Weakness: Recharging.]
Recharging.
...
Song Arin looked around with her mouth still sealed, and Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon, who had been bickering muffledly, stopped fighting and started scanning the surroundings too.
"What?"
"...Something feels off."
Song Arin muttered and snapped her fingers. At the same time, the sealed mouths of Jang Chaeyeon, Yoo Daon, and Eirin came unstuck.
"Phew!"
"...Hoo."
"...Acting all high and mighty by yourself."
The three glared at Song Arin before turning their eyes forward again.
"But yeah, something's weird."
"Yeah. I see something."
"I just... feel bad."
Everyone but me was saying they felt off, so there must be something there.
At that moment, the yellow light came back on.
"Huh, the light's on."
As Yoo Daon muttered, someone appeared at the far end.
The wall that had shown nothing now had doors crammed side by side, and at the end stood an old man.
...
Jang Chaeyeon stared at the old man with a stiff expression, and I lifted my head to look at him too.
[Name: Midas' Hand]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This old man lives inside the hotel, embodying the loneliness of those he sees. Through this old man, the narrator-]
[Weakness: X]
...
I reread the background section.
Nothing but the name and background visible.
And it mentions the narrator.
Feels just like a painting.
The moment that thought hit me,
The old man slowly started walking toward us.
*Thud... thud...*
...
Hold on.
I drew my gun and aimed at the old man.
[Critical: 1->0]
The world turned black and white, red light—
"...Damn."
It didn't shine.
[Critical: 0->1]
Color returned to the world.
"What the hell. What is that?"
"Run."
"Yeah."
Fortunately, no one asked why or what.
Maybe because the old man was approaching us so grotesquely, or because the lantern had gone out—who knows—but we slowly started backing away.
"Hup...!"
Jang Chaeyeon reached out to push the old man, but a fierce wave passed right through him without budging him an inch.
"No good."
As soon as she said it, we turned and hurried away from the old man.
The good news was, he didn't follow.
"...Hoo..."
How far did we run from him? The lantern lit up again, the yellow light vanished, and darkness fell once more.
I turned my gaze to press forward.
"What was that just now?"
"...Felt like we went inside a painting."
As I responded to Yoo Daon's mutter, the four of them stared at me, forcing me to explain what I'd seen.
"So, basically, you're saying when the lantern goes out, we enter a painting?"
"That's how it seems for now. Even if not, that old man back there was definitely from inside a painting."
"If you say so."
Eirin nodded and drew her gun.
"If not, let's both shoot."
"...If we can."
From what I saw, no weakness was visible.
...
Meanwhile, Song Arin was pressing her forehead again, deep in thought.
"What's up, Arin?"
"No, just something feels off."
"What?"
"Well... hmm... can I even say this?"
Song Arin trailed off.
"If you put it like that, you're usually wrong, but I'll hear it!"
"Shut up."
Song Arin shot Yoo Daon a glare at her cheerful remark, then looked back at me.
"Anyway, listen. Lately, I've been doing some training."
"Yeah."
Training.
I had an idea what, but didn't voice it.
"And whenever I'm there, I get this frequent sense of dissonance."
"Dissonance like...?"
"Like a play or something."
Song Arin glanced around as she muttered.
"Anyway, it's weird."
"Got it."
If she says so.
At that moment, the lantern flickered again.
"Come on, how long has it been on? Already going out?"
"Hang on."
I tapped the lantern, but of course, it ignored me.
If I just knew what materials it's made of...
...
I stared at the lantern seriously, and at the same time—
*Click.*
The lantern went out again.
And once more, yellow lighting illuminated the area.
The old man was closer to us than before.
Right in front of him stood Yoo Daon, who had been at the front of our group.
The old man grabbed her wrist.
"Eek!"
Yoo Daon yanked her arm back in a panic, and—
*Crack!*
Her arm turned to plaster and crumbled into powder.
"Huh? Wha?"
As Yoo Daon stammered in confusion, the old man grabbed her face.
*Crunch!*
This time, her head turned to plaster and scattered as powder.
Yoo Daon staggered back toward us, and her powdered head reformed into her original one.
"Cough! Cough!"
Eirin and I supported her from both sides as she coughed up white powder.
"Daon, you okay?"
"No! My mouth's full of this gross powder! Bleh!"
She kept spitting out powder.
I checked her body, but she seemed fine otherwise.
We backed away from the old man again.
Next time the light comes on, he'll be even closer?
And next time, it might not be just Yoo Daon.
...
I racked my brain.
Song Arin said this place feels off, and my eyes say that man is from a painting.
So...
I drew my gun.
"What are you doing!"
Song Arin stared at me as we backed up, but I ignored her and locked eyes with Eirin.
"Eirin."
"Yeah."
She quietly drew her pistol.
I turned back to the old man.
[Name: Midas' Hand]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This old man lives inside the hotel, embodying the loneliness of those he sees. Through this old man, the narrator-]
[Weakness: X]
My thinking was wrong.
It's not that we enter the painting when the lantern goes out.
[Critical: 1->0]
The world turned black and white, and Eirin took a deep breath.
The premise was wrong from the start.
I raised my gun and lifted my gaze.