[Information Acquisition]
“First Recon Team, take a camera and enter. Get clear footage of the interior.”
At Michael’s command, the five Warrior-class Awakened, clad in iron armor, nodded and leaped into the hole. Thanks to the Blacksmith class, Nick’s base was relatively well-stocked with armor, allowing them to produce their own iron weapons and gear.
“We wait ten minutes. If they don’t come out, the Barbarian Recon Team goes in.”
Michael had no intention of blindly rushing inside. True to the name Narak (Abyss), he expected the place below to be the primary stage for the Evil Gods, and he had no desire to jump into that trap recklessly.
“Hmm... Erickson. How many minutes has it been?”
“Nine minutes. Ah, it’s ten now.”
“They aren’t coming out...”
“Should we send in the Barbarian team?”
“Do it.”
The first recon team was, for all intents and purposes, a throwaway card. Warriors were the most common class, so he had sent them in with the mindset that he had nothing to lose. Furthermore, he had specifically selected those who had caused trouble within the camp, so he hadn’t held any real expectations for them. They were expendable.
“Barbarian team, ready.”
“The five Warriors didn’t make it out. If it were safe, they would have returned immediately. But the fact that they didn’t suggests the entrance likely disappears the moment you step inside. Perhaps everyone gets scattered the second they enter. Still, try your best to return alive.”
“Heh. Got it, Michael. Don’t worry so much. We’ll just take a quick look and come back.”
Oliver, the leader of the Barbarian team, laughed and patted Michael on the shoulder. Oliver had been Michael’s comrade-in-arms since the very day the disaster began, and he was one of the key figures in the camp whom Michael trusted. Because of this, Michael believed that if it were Oliver, he would surely return alive with vital information.
Soon, the ten Barbarians leaped into the hole of the Abyss, praying for a safe return.
About twenty minutes later.
Only one team member returned, covered in blood, clutching the severed left arm of the late Oliver.
“What... why are you the only one...”
“M-Michael... this... the Captain told me to give this to you... *Gahk*...!”
The sole survivor handed Michael the left arm, or more accurately, the camera that was tightly gripped in that hand. Then, he collapsed and died, vomiting blood and maggots. Soon, his body began to swell rapidly, and larvae started bursting out from his tearing skin. The larvae were quite large, toothy, and aggressive.
“Damn it!”
Michael and those nearby quickly incinerated the survivor’s corpse. It had all happened before Michael could even discern if he had been infected by something.
‘Just what... is the state of things down there...’
The shock of Oliver’s death and the worms spewed by the survivor lasted only a moment; Michael pulled himself together and quickly checked the footage.
The contents of the video were horrific. The place where the Barbarian recon team had arrived was an incredibly dark location. When they illuminated the surroundings with the light sources they had brought, they saw a cave where water reached their ankles, and blue eggs were densely packed into the walls, floor, and ceiling.
The Barbarians began wandering around looking for an exit, and soon, eel-like worms tore through the eggs one by one, traveling through the water to burrow into the Barbarians’ bodies and devour them from the inside. That was how they were infected by the mysterious worms and died. Like the last survivor who had just died, the infected all vomited maggots from their mouths as they perished.
Ten had entered, and all ten were infected. The only ones who hadn’t died immediately were three Barbarians, including Oliver.
‘It’s impossible to discern what those worms are just from the camera footage... I have to go in myself... It seems I’ll need the priests’ barriers and purification as well.’
The camera footage ended with Oliver being swallowed by arms reaching out from the wall while he was catching his breath. The severed left arm must have been cut off before Oliver was completely pulled in. In any case, one of the two remaining survivors had managed to escape clutching Oliver’s arm, and the other was likely still down there. Michael expected him to be dead as well.
“No more reconnaissance. Anna, get ready. We have to go in. Have all the priests stand by... and call Aran, too. Players alone... won’t be enough.”
Having realized the difficulty of the Abyss through the video, Michael summoned all the top combat power of the base. It felt like it was going to be a difficult journey.
The Abyss was a much more dangerous place than I had thought. If you entered blindly without prior information, you wouldn’t even know what killed you. The underground floors of the Black Market were similarly dangerous, but back then, I had two experts of the Black Market underground: Cheshire and Aila. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for those two, the Black Market underground might have been impossible to clear. It might have looked like I hard-carried by summoning Kesia at the end, but I wouldn’t have even reached that point without Cheshire and Aila. So, I needed an expert’s advice this time, too.
‘Hey, Evil Gods, are you available to talk?’
While on my way to find Henry’s head, I stopped for a moment and spoke to the Evil Gods. I was curious if the Abyss and the Narak were separate places, and since Narak seemed to be the domain of the Evil Gods, I wondered if I could get some help. Of course, I knew well that communicating with me consumed causality, but since my life was on the line, I had to ask.
[Narak and the Abyss are different. The Abyss is much deeper and gloomier than Narak. Also, we have already taken measures. Further help is difficult.]
[And we are hungry, so provide an offering. That is all.]
A response that seemed as simplified as possible came back from Kashnakas. As expected, Indikron seemed to be in a state where even answering was difficult, and Kashnakas also felt like she had barely managed to respond. Botamilli was always difficult to talk to on the surface anyway.
‘"Already taken measures," huh... Hoho.’
It seemed they had already done something even before I asked. I was being completely looked after by the Evil Gods. Above all, feeling that I had reliable allies made me feel good. I smiled slightly and continued searching for Henry’s head.
‘No, where did it go...’
But why wasn’t it there? Did the head grow legs? Henry’s head had disappeared. So, I decided to ask the slaves who were working.
“Hey, have you seen a living head?”
“Yes? Ah... it’s in the playground vegetable garden.”
Just as the nameless slave who had been cleaning the windows said, Henry’s head was rolling around in the vegetable garden set up in the playground.
“What the, what are you guys doing!!”
“Ah, Mr. Owner...”
“That... well...”
The kids were playing by doodling on Henry’s head with markers. These kids were the children of the survivors who had been at Hyeseon Girls’ High School from the start, and since Sister Heeseon liked kids, I hadn’t kicked them out. Still, I couldn’t feed them for free without them doing any work, so they spent most of their time with the plant farmer, Joo In-hye, watering plants in the playground garden or doing simple labor. Of course, that labor was half-play, and the rest of the time they spent learning Hangul or simple arithmetic—they were just freeloaders.
“Phew. Alright, everyone, don’t cry and go do your work. And if you touch Mr. Owner’s things without permission again, you’re in trouble.”
“Yes... sorry... Mr. Owner...”
“If you understand, go on now.”
It was annoying... but since they hadn’t smashed Henry’s head, and Henry himself was laughing as if he enjoyed playing with the kids, I decided not to scold them too harshly. I couldn’t exactly sacrifice kids just for doodling on a head. And their parents or guardians, who would hear about the commotion, would probably scold them for me.
‘It’s not like they don’t understand words...’
Since they had already experienced countless deaths, they knew that if they messed up, they could be kicked out, so they wouldn’t do it again. Above all, if I harmed the kids, public sentiment would go to hell. Even if they were my slaves, unless I exterminated the Good Gods, I needed to maintain some public favor. It would be a disaster if a large-scale rebellion broke out because the slave brands were lifted due to the Good Gods’ meddling... No, but it makes no sense for them to rebel just because the brand was lifted a little...
‘Come to think of it, am I not the ultimate dictator...? I protect them from zombies, I’m the first to move when a crisis occurs, I’ve never let people starve, I fix their disabilities, I clear out those who slack off and don’t work, I get rid of the old geezers, I treat them when they’re sick...’
In particular, turning the intellectually disabled into Alcide-infected entities had played a huge role in restoring public sentiment. Since I had turned those who could never properly understand words their whole lives into normal people—albeit with slightly grotesque appearances—they couldn’t help but be moved.
‘I only lived for my own benefit... but by chasing extreme profit, the people around me ended up living well too?’
I hadn’t intended to act like a savior, but it felt like I had become one by accident.
“Excuse me, Henry. The... doodles on your face, are they okay?”
“Haha. Well, they’re just kids, so that can happen. And I was the one who asked to be taken out. It’s stuffy inside the building... I wanted to see the sunlight.”
Henry laughed as if it were nothing. Moreover, it wasn’t that the kids had taken him out on their own; it seemed Henry had asked to be taken out and played with them. He was a more laid-back head than I thought.
“Say, Henry. The entrance connected to Narak has opened. So, I was wondering...”
“What...? Hoho... No wonder, I thought I smelled an unpleasant scent of blood...”
Henry smiled with sharp eyes. He looked very excited. It seemed he was already thrilled at the thought of going to find his body in Narak.
“So, I have a few things to ask you.”
“Is it about Narak?”
“Yes. Two of my subordinate slaves just went in and came back...”
I relayed the story I had heard from Lee Seon-jae and Lee Hoon and asked about the internal structure and dangers of Narak.
“Hoo... Of all places, it seems the entrance opened in the second most shitty area of Narak. At least it seems to be where the Seeker is located... so that’s a relief...”
“The Seeker? That one with the many arms...”
“Yes. We call them the Seekers of Narak. They are helpful for survival. As long as you don’t offend them, there’s no need to fight.”
“Aha... But what do you mean by the second most shitty?”
“Hmm... Where should I start explaining... First, Narak is broadly composed of four zones. The most shitty place among them is the Trapped Nest. A place teeming with insects everywhere... the worst place.”
Henry’s explanation began. He was very well-versed in Narak.