52
Chapter 52
Until now, we believed the fog created the monsters.
We thought of it as a kind of field effect that disrupted modern weaponry and common sense, creating the ideal hunting ground for monsters. It made sense; the tactics and sheer physical force humans had honed through an endless history of war were not easily overcome.
World peace? Humanity has likely spent less than a hundred years living without war. Let's not forget that our friends in Africa and the Middle East are very much part of humanity too.
In any case, we had a twisted sense of human superiority, a pride born from our long history of conflict. We believed that because we were unrivaled in war, we could crush everything with raw firepower as long as that disgusting fog was gone.
But now, Kang Ah-reum, the Seoul Mage, was telling us something different.
With her sharp, angular jawline, Kang Ah-reum revealed a completely different perspective on the fog. She tapped her chest as if frustrated and spoke.
"Have any of you felt a gaze scouring through the fog?"
"A bright yellow gaze? You mean the monsters that seem to swim through the mist?"
"Swim... I like that description."
Kang Ah-reum gave a bitter smile at my words, then opened her notebook and placed it on the hood of the car. She tapped it with her index finger, clearly prompting us to read it.
Her blatant gesture caused the Supreme Mages to lock eyes. It was one of those moments where we communicated silently, exchanging thoughts without a word. Unspoken conversations flickered between us.
Let's see. Why? So, you're not going to get the info? It feels fishy. Is she lying?
Feeling that we'd spend the rest of our lives just staring at each other, my unrivaled courage pushed me to step forward.
"Ouch! Jemin, why did you suddenly push me?"
"Se-jun, why don't you take a look."
"Absolutely not!"
Due to Lee Se-jun's violent refusal, I ended up checking it myself. Kang Ah-reum watched us with a pathetic look, arms crossed, before letting out a smirk and shaking her head.
"You guys play in such a cute way."
"Let's start with the talk about the bright yellow gaze and the fog."
That was the first thing I brought up as soon as I looked at the notebook.
Kang Ah-reum's notebook contained numerous secrets and unexpected pieces of information. Among them was a rational theory regarding why the monsters appeared.
I pointed to that section and looked at Kang Ah-reum.
"Ordinary people mutate the moment they make contact with that bright yellow gaze?"
"Yep. It's the most powerful factor in mutation."
Kang Ah-reum met my eyes confidently and scanned the Supreme Mages. She knew her information was incredibly special, and she shrugged as if telling us to be grateful that she was sharing it as a favor.
Shin Na-in looked openly uncomfortable, and Lee Se-jun yawned repeatedly with total indifference, but the Pastor and Hamza seemed to listen intently, knowing the value of this information. Their eyes were sparkling.
Only after seeing the attention focused on her did Kang Ah-reum give a satisfied smile and strike a pose with her hand on her hip.
"People in the early stages or those who didn't have the right info probably thought it was easier to move when the fog thinned. They thought they could avoid the monsters more easily. But that was a fundamentally wrong judgment. They had the cause and effect backward."
According to Kang Ah-reum's explanation, it worked like this.
Opinions varied among the Seoul Mages as to why this was happening, but there was one common claim: whether the bright yellow gaze was the cause or the result, it was one of the most critical factors in mutation.
The bright yellow gaze.
Mutation begins the moment one is exposed to the gaze of something massive that has nested throughout Seoul. This bright yellow gaze is active the night before the fog thins, and on days when the fog is thick, it reportedly stays holed up in its nest and rarely moves.
Once the bright yellow gaze scans an area, hiding anywhere in a building is useless.
The bright yellow gaze pierces through the fog, and even through human structures and obstacles.
Only those who have learned magic can avoid mutation even if they are hit directly by the bright yellow gaze. They might suffer severe aftereffects or brief nausea, but at least the infection or mutation doesn't start. Furthermore, it becomes possible to use cover to avoid the gaze.
However, ordinary people mutate the instant they are exposed to the bright yellow gaze; the only difference is the speed of progression, but they are either already harboring a monster or destined to become one.
Therefore, according to Kang Ah-reum, most ordinary people hid underground, and even mages stayed underground rather than on the surface unless there was a special reason.
"It's not yet fully determined whether the fog thins because the thing moves, or if it moves because it's the night before the fog thins. We call that bright yellow gaze the Searchlight, or sometimes the Lighthouse."
"..."
"Special Forces were deployed? That's hilarious. No matter how skilled the reconnaissance team is, it's useless if they're exposed to the gaze. Only mages have a chance of surviving in Seoul. Or ordinary people clinging to a mage. Unless the Special Forces are hidden mages or got the info and hid underground, we'll just have monsters in Special Forces uniforms wandering around."
The laws of Seoul were cruel, but simple and clear.
If you're a mage, you live.
Non-mages? You die.
I wondered if there could be a place more mage-friendly than this.
"How did you find out they get weaker in the fog?"
"The fog thins in cycles. Roughly every three days. The third day is the final hurdle. On the third day, even the Mimic Beasts stop attempting those clumsy imitations. Relying on their superior sight and hearing, they simply charge and begin hunting ordinary people. The activity of human slimes also increases significantly. You can think of it as a slug that was pickled in salt water coming back to life."
"Wait a second."
I returned to the Supreme Mages to discuss the situation.
I felt skeptical because Kang Ah-reum handed over her information far too easily. Since she was the first friendly survivor we had encountered, cross-referencing the facts was difficult.
"Do you think her words are true?"
"I'm not sure. It's a part we hadn't considered, but it's just so different from what we expected..."
The Pastor smacked his lips, unable to finish his sentence.
He seemed to be weighing the possibility that, despite how shocking and vital the information was, it might not be entirely true.
Shin Na-in's reaction was similar.
"Jemin, she is a second-stage mage of the Hearing Line. When someone whose true intentions are unknown shows a level of kindness that exceeds any reasonable payment, they might be using a tactic to manipulate our thoughts. Above all, there is a rational reason to be wary and suspicious of her words."
"What is it?"
"She does not believe in the Lord. Which means she cannot be as honest as a faithful Christian."
*Sigh*. For fuck's sake.
Rather than bickering with Shin Na-in, I decided to listen to Lee Se-jun and Hamza. Lee Se-jun spoke candidly with an indifferent look.
"We're all wearing the same gas masks, yet some are 'younger siblings' and some are 'misters'? Hmph. I have no interest in such an insolent woman."
"Can't help it if I look young. What do you think, Hamza?"
"She isn't dangerous. But I don't know if she's telling the truth."
Since Hamza's magic only judges danger, it made sense that he couldn't determine the truth of the matter.
Still, since I knew she wasn't a threat, I decided the value lay in securing this as primary information to cross-verify with other survivors later. I opened my backpack, rummaged through it, and pulled out a bundle of military notes.
"Here, take this."
"What are these scraps of paper?"
Kang Ah-reum took the military notes with a skeptical expression.
"Do you think the Korean won still has value now that Seoul has collapsed? The last news I saw was the stock market hitting the circuit breaker. To evacuate through the Secondary Blockade Line, you now need tickets issued by the military, and these military notes are those tickets. 100 per person. It takes a hundred days of manual labor to get this many, but we brought some specifically for friendly survivors."
"Really? It's that bad? How bad?"
It seemed the mention of a stock market circuit breaker didn't quite hit home for her. But I didn't know any more than that.
As I looked around to see if anyone else knew, Hamza spoke while adjusting his backpack strap.
"No exchange rate news has come out since it broke 3,000 won. Since they aren't accepting dollar exchanges, the actual rate is probably even more chaotic."
"Is that what 'ruined' means?"
I could only shrug in the face of Noonim Kang Ah-reum's innocent question.
There's an old saying that more is better, so if the exchange rate number is huge, maybe it's not as ruined as we thought?
I wondered if South Korea was actually doing better than expected.
Realizing the nation's unexpected tranquility, I didn't hesitate to explain our situation to Kang Ah-reum.
"We'll keep what you told us in mind, but please understand that we have to be cautious. We haven't been inside for very long."
"Sigh... Right. It makes sense if outsiders still think the fog comes first. Well, we're all doomed anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter."
In the end, the Supreme Mages decided to take some time before accepting Kang Ah-reum's information as absolute truth. They felt cross-verification was necessary once they met other survivors.
Instead, we told her our objective—crossing the Han River—shared our planned route, and asked for advice from Kang Ah-reum, the local.
Hearing that we intended to cross the Han River, Kang Ah-reum nodded.
"Crossing the Han River. Hmm."
"So, we're planning to head up along the Line 8 tracks."
"Are you guys crazy?"
With a dazed expression, Kang Ah-reum walked to the vehicle's trunk, pulled out a map, and placed it back on the hood.
Her hands were clean, perhaps because she prioritized hygiene for long-term survival. However, more importantly, there was something right in the middle of the Line 8 subway tracks we intended to follow.
"Past Seokchon Lake, and then Lotte Tower."
"Wow. I'll finally get to see a Seoul landmark."
As Lee Se-jun let out a rare, faint smile of joy, a thunderbolt of a statement struck him.
"Lotte Tower is the nest of the bright yellow gaze."
***
April 17, 2028, 6:24 PM.
The Supreme Mages decided to stay at Kang Ah-reum's hideout for a day. This was because she was a rare friendly local survivor, and secure hideouts were hard to find.
We needed a spot to regroup and clear our minds, so there couldn't have been a more perfect time or place.
In this ruthless Seoul, where things vanish from your head the moment you close your eyes, receiving this kind of hospitality isn't easy. Moreover, Hamza's background as a Pakistani medical student proved invaluable here.
Though his specialty was surgery, Hamza was still far better than most quacks.
Hamza had brought something along that none of us Supreme Mages had even considered. He pulled out an item that every woman isolated in Seoul would have longed for. The moment Kang Ah-reum saw it, she looked visibly moved, and her favor toward Hamza skyrocketed.
"Sanitary pads? You actually brought these?"
"Women live in Seoul too. Since they're isolated and can't move around easily, those who survived would need high-quality pads. We'll give them to you as a sign of our friendship."
"You guys are such wonderful people. It's rare to see anyone like that in Seoul..."
The remaining four of us had taken off our gas masks, disassembled our weapons, and were watching the scene while diligently scrubbing gunpowder residue with cleaning rods.
We were all utterly amazed by Hamza's foresight.
Even the Pastor, while pouting his lips, couldn't help but praise Hamza's preparedness.
"It seems Islam brought more than I expected. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that we've achieved better results than anticipated..."
"Is that much preparation and consideration what it takes to get a girlfriend?"
As I reflected on my own lifelong status as a solo, Shin Na-in clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"If you had tried that, Jemin, you would have started in prison. You'd have been dragged out via a plea deal after awakening the Holy War Formula and drafted to the first blockade line as a specialist soldier."
"I guess I'm just not meant for love~."
Even as I spoke lightheartedly, I didn't forget the most important part. To increase our firepower against monsters, we decided to mark each magazine with tape or pens and buff each bullet loaded into them one by one.
I took out the combat knife and, closing my eyes tight, carefully pricked the index finger of my right hand before smearing my blood on each bullet.
A stinging sensation shot up from my fingertip, giving me goosebumps, but I endured it. This was my secret weapon for killing monsters in a single hit. After buffing them, I loaded them into the magazines.
Meanwhile, we discussed the route.
"If we follow the tracks, we'll pass Seokchon Lake and head toward Lotte Tower. That means we'll be approaching the nest of the bright yellow gaze; should we proceed?"
"There are clear pros and cons."
For once, Lee Se-jun offered a plausible opinion.
"The pro is that by moving near the nest of the bright yellow gaze, we don't have to worry about other hostile mages. Considering there are various abilities we haven't identified yet, that's a significant advantage. As for the con, I'm sure you all know."
"Honestly, people are just as dangerous. It's hard to maintain one's faith in a place like this."
The Pastor raised a stained hand while assembling his K2 rifle by muscle memory.
"But considering that monster, we should also think about detouring. While we could gain something from a battle, it's fundamentally a high-risk move that consumes a lot of ammunition. The cost is too high."
It was around then that Shin Na-in finished assembling his weapon with a *clink* and performed a chamber check.
He examined the map Kang Ah-reum had lent us, pointing various places while keeping his fingers slightly elevated to avoid leaving smudges or dirt.
"Looking at this, we could detour toward Olympic Park by turning right at Garak Market Station. However, we wouldn't be able to use Jamsil Bridge, our shortest route, and would have to use Olympic-daero instead. We'll have to go a bit out of our way, Pastor."
"Wasting time isn't ideal, but we have no choice. We can only pray that the Lord protects us."
The Supreme Mages' route was tentatively modified.
We decided to turn right at the massive cross intersection where Songpa-daero and Yangjae-daero meet to head toward Olympic Park.
The plan was for me to use my Stage 1 Hearing and Stage 1 Eye skills to fix our direction via clairvoyance, use alleys to avoid Human-skin Jellyfish packs, and minimize fatigue by sticking to the main roads.
Of course, this long journey required the sacrifice of myself, Baek Jemin.
I had to buff one magazine for each person using the blood of my right hand. The stinging sensation as the metal touched the wound made me worry I might get a metal allergy. I wondered if getting a fever from a metal allergy would allow me to just slack off and absorb magic knowledge.
Unfortunately, having been born with an abundance of parental love, I've never even had a common cold in my life.
But the sacrifices didn't end there.
To grant a Hand Line Stage 2 enchant to everyone's gas mask, I had to prick the index finger of my left hand with the combat knife. After closing my eyes and doing this several times, I felt cold gazes upon me.
Lee Se-jun, who usually takes a lot of heat from me, seemed particularly annoyed.
"Just prick it already. I don't know why you become such a coward at times like this."
"The fact that my precious left hand has to be pricked by such a crude combat knife..."
My precious magic staff, where my Stage 2 Eye magic was memorized, for such a trivial matter...
Lamenting, I nevertheless pricked my left hand to increase the survival rate and convenience of my allies.
*Prick, sting*.
The reason tears flowed at this sensation was not because of the pain, but out of sadness...!
Thus, using the blood of my left hand, I carved [Purification] into everyone's gas masks. I decided that we couldn't rely solely on filters, since we didn't know what kind of toxic environments we'd encounter.
We decided to plan the learning of new magic characters once the fog thickened again and we secured a hideout.
I had a gut feeling I'd finally be able to learn something new.
When I mentioned this, everyone treated me like I was crazy at first. Only Noonim Kang Ah-reum, who was carefully packing the sanitary pads Hamza gave her, agreed while tidying the trunk.
"There's a rumor that the more monsters you hunt, the faster you awaken magic seals, almost like gaining experience. It could just be someone's way of tricking people into hunting, but it's not a bad thing if there are fewer monsters."
"Is Seoul actually a goldmine???"
Level up for free by catching mages stronger than me, and level up by killing mobs.
Isn't this place practically a paradise for mages?
Is there even a reason to leave? When the fog is thick, I can just spam magic and slaughter monsters.
Noonim Kang Ah-reum looked at me and then at the other Supreme Mages.
"Is he always like this?"
"He's just a guy who came here because he wants to learn magic."
Hearing Lee Se-jun's blunt words, Kang Ah-reum let out a deep sigh toward me.
"You would've learned the Inverse Alteration-type if you'd stayed in Seoul."
***
April 18, 2028, 5:48 AM.
The sun rose. I could tell by the grey color of the fog clouds.
We looked more determined than usual, thanks to sharing a meal of boiling hot Spam ramen for dinner. With our spirits high, we did a quick rinse of our mouths with salt water and put on our gas masks.
It was time to part ways.
Even though no one said it, I could see everyone packing their bags, including Noonim Kang Ah-reum.
"Why are you packing, Noonim?"
"My location can now be tracked with my Incantation Phone, so I have to move. People in Seoul need at least two hideouts now. If an Inverse Alteration-type mage comes and raids you, it's game over."
The shutters of the underground parking lot opened.
Seoul was submerged in thick fog once again. Visibility was 10 meters. It was thick enough for magic usage to be unobstructed. Right on cue, the dark blue phone buzzed to deliver a message.
[Fog thick. External activity easy.]
Just as I put it back in my chest pocket, Noonim Kang Ah-reum leaned in and whispered only to me.
"Hey. The Pastor and the foreigner are Dogma-types, right?"
"..."
"Be careful with Dogma-type mages. Dogma-type magic is different from Alteration-type. That's why they'll be targeted more. I don't know the exact reason why, so just be cautious."
Leaving us with those words, Noonim Kang Ah-reum headed back toward the interior of the parking lot.
I didn't know if it was vital information or just a warning, but she was a rare local survivor. Since we'd shared ramen, I didn't want to leave without saying anything, so I waved.
"Let's hope we both survive until next time."
"Sure~."
Without looking back, Kang Ah-reum waved back and vanished behind the shutters. The descending shutter divided us once more.
It was inevitable; the Supreme Mages had to cross the Han River, and Kang Ah-reum had to exit Seoul.
The other Supreme Mages didn't say much as they watched me exchange farewells.
Only the Pastor's eyes looked resolute behind the lens of his gas mask.
"Let's move."
"Yes sir."
We are the Supreme Mages.
With every step we took into the fog, our destination became clearer.
We are moving toward the truth.
Though some might call it hell.
April 18, 2028, 5:50 AM.
Exploration Day 4.
We are still in hell.
End
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