BXBX NOVEL Chapter 29 – Explorer I
Chapter 29 – Explorer I
Chapter 29 – Explorer I
In the heart of Seoul, when the void erupted, the Gangnam area turned into a wasteland.
This story has been mentioned several times in my tale, so you might be familiar with it.
The so-called ‘Gangnam Void Incident,’ ‘Gangnam White Nights,’ or ‘Seoul’s Summer.’ Even Sho’s mother passed away during the ‘summer.’
However, amidst the Gangnam area engulfed by the void, there were still several buildings left intact.
If the term ‘intact’ means that the exterior of the buildings looks neat when viewed from the outside.
Here’s the problem.
Q. If a building remains intact in land engulfed by the void, then that’s surprising. How could that be possible?
A. It’s also the void.
That’s right. Eye for an eye, void for a void.
Just like the principle of fighting fire with fire, if you want to withstand the void, you have to suppress it with an even stronger void.
In other words? If you still see ‘intact’ buildings in Gangnam, it means that those buildings have cast the spell of ‘It’s okay, repel’ even in the void that wiped out half of Seoul’s population.
Truly the most challenging dungeons.
Most of the sturdiest, scariest, and most monstrous voids in the Korean Peninsula are concentrated in Gangnam, even though the real estate market in the human world has collapsed, Gangnam still maintains its reputation as a hotspot among the mysterious beings.
Among them, one of the most famous dungeons is the hotel operating in a building known as ‘Sauron’s Tower.’
Yes. Since we talked about an inn in the last run, I thought we’d talk about a hotel today.
‘Sauron’s Tower,’ as it is nicknamed, is a skyscraper boasting the highest number of floors in Seoul, as you are all well aware.
Originally a somewhat whimsical nickname, after the void erupted in the Gangnam area, the original residents, office workers, hotel staff, etc., who were residing in the building, were all wiped out, so now it’s called ‘Sauron’s Tower’ for real.
In fact, just after the void erupted, people had high expectations for Sauron’s Tower.
“That building is intact!”
“There must be many survivors inside the building, right?”
Originally, it was the tallest building on the Korean Peninsula. Naturally, in the current state where Seoul’s average building height has regressed fifty years, it stood out even more.
“Oh, come to think of it, I heard somewhere that the tower was designed to withstand even a Richter scale 9 earthquake…”
“No way, is the interior still intact?”
“They say there’s a gateway to another world near the top of that building.”
“Let’s go in! Let’s check it out!”
And so, initially, residents from the north of the Han River entered Sauron’s Tower.
They disappeared shortly after entering.
Of course, in the midst of the apocalypse, no one paid much attention to a few missing people. Adding two zeros after the number of missing persons didn’t change the situation.
But after a month passed, and then two, strange rumors began to circulate about Sauron’s Tower.
“It’s said that once you open the door and step inside, you can never come out.”
“Let’s set up an investigation team.”
At this point, the Republic of Korea Army, which had managed to maintain its reputation, entered the operation.
As they were in the midst of a sweeping hunt, considering ten soldiers as a special meal, the surviving members of a unit were considered elite.
The soldiers decided to borrow the wisdom of the ancients. Just a bit too ancient.
“We will form a human chain and enter the tower. Each soldier will tie a rope around their waist.”
“What? A rope?”
“Yes. We’ll use this rope to connect all the soldiers in a line. The operation will be named ‘Ariadne.\'”
With the same determination as Theseus landing on the island of Crete facing the greatest maze of humanity in the distant past, the soldier commanded the operation.
“If there’s no response from the soldiers in the front line after entering, we’ll backtrack and come out of the hotel. If the front-line soldiers show no reaction, meaning their response disappears, immediately cut the rope with a knife and the remaining personnel will escape. Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“Alright. Get the ropes ready.”
It was a cautious yet effective method.
The problem was that Sauron’s Tower wasn’t just an ordinary dungeon; it was a demon castle that survived ‘Seoul’s Summer.’
“There’s no response from those who entered after opening the door!”
“Pull the rope!”
“I-I can’t pull it. It’s not moving! It’s as heavy as a rock!”
“We have no choice. Abort the Ariadne operation. Cut the rope!”
“Yes. What? The rope, why? Oh oh?”
“What are you doing, kid? Cut the rope!”
“Oh, it won’t cut! The rope won’t cut!”
“What nonsense… Oh oh oh? I’m being dragged!”
“Aaaah! Help me! Help me!”
“No! Hold on! If you’re dragged, you’ll die…!”
Surprisingly, the ropes seemed to have been replaced with titanium material at some point. Even the military knives couldn’t pierce them.
As the glass doors of Sauron’s Tower swung open, they engulfed the soldiers. It was as if the ropes were swallowed up in a single gulp.
It was truly a perfect ‘mukbang’ (eating broadcast).
“Ah, aaaah…!”
Even the soldier who desperately tried to hold onto the door frame until the end was suddenly dragged into the darkness. There was a moment of screaming, but it quickly faded away.
With a grinding sound, the glass doors settled back into place. Perhaps from the tower’s perspective, it wanted to say, “That was close.”
The investigation team was wiped out.
After this incident became known, the queue of civilians rushing into Sauron’s Tower without fear was abruptly cut off.
That’s right. That’s how civilians were.
As for me, the Undertaker, I lived far away from ordinary sensibilities.
What if I went into the tower and died? Well, then I’d just regress.
And so, I searched for a sacrificial lamb to accompany me to the hotel. It’s boring to go alone.
“Aryeon, how about a ‘ho-cation’ this summer?”
“Ho-cation?”
Aryeon’s ears perked up. With an inherent nerdiness and a longing for popularity, he had a childish desire for being an insider.
“It’s great, but… um, are you suggesting just you and me, Guild Master?”
He asked.
“Um, that’s a bit… well…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not that kind of trip. We’re just planning to stay at the best hotel on the peninsula for a few days. If you’re interested, come along, and if not, ask someone else.”
“Um…”
Aryeon blinked his eyes.
My indifferent yet chic response seemed to puzzle him. He’s been such an easygoing kid from the first run till now.
“Well, then… Okay, I’ll, I’ll go!”
Two days later.
Aryeon stood in front of the hotel entrance, screaming with his travel backpack on.
“You said it was a hotel! Y-You said it was a hotel! Guild Master! This is Sauron’s Tower――it’s here!”
“What are you talking about? There’s a hotel here.”
“It was, it’s not there anymore, right? It’s ruined! Everything, everything is ruined! ‘Gangnam,’ it’s all gone!”
“Quit your nonsense and come along. You need to come in and draw landscapes and maps.”
“Kyaaaah! I should have known from the moment you mentioned ‘ho-cation’! Help! I hate this! Even if you’re the guild master, I don’t want to be here where thousands of people have died――”
Doctor Jang’s exciting exploration of the void begins.
As soon as we opened the glass doors of Sauron’s Tower, a surprising sight greeted us.
“Huh? Lights…?”
Contrary to the pitch-black darkness observed from the outside, the building was brightly illuminated inside.
But that’s not all.
On either side of the building entrance, there were two elevators each, totaling four elevators neatly waiting. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling was spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust.
It was as if――
“It doesn’t seem like time is flowing at all… Hm…”
I nodded.
Just to test it out, I pressed the elevator button. Smoothly, without any issues, the elevator doors opened.
“Wow. Is it… moving…?”
“It’s amazing. It seems like it’s not just time that’s frozen, but the building is actually functioning. And Aryeon, did you notice?”
“Y-Yes? What?”
“Look outside the door.”
Aryeon, whose attention was drawn to the chandelier and elevators, finally turned around. And with his typical “Eek!” he clung to my arm like a caterpillar.
“W-What’s… who is that?”
Outside the door. In other words, just outside the glass door we passed by a moment ago… there was a man dressed in a suit standing politely.
“He’s probably a hotel staff member. A staff member who opens the door for guests.”
“B-But there was no one there earlier…”
“Aryeon, remember this. In the void, you can’t rely on your senses based on preconceptions. The glass door we saw from outside and the outside we see here are different spaces. It’s easier to think of that as just a picture in a frame.”
“Oh…”
“The problem is that we’ve stepped into that frame. Trying to open the door won’t work now. Go and try it.”
“…”
Aryeon cautiously attempted to open the door. But there was no response. Not even the nearby hotel staff paid any attention to Aryeon.
“Seriously…”
“That’s why the term ‘void’ is more fitting than ‘gate.’ Now, things like doors have no meaning as entrances or exits. To escape from the void, you either have to follow the proper procedure or defeat the boss.”
“Boss…”
“Of course, there are many voids without bosses. In that case, the strategies become a bit more complicated. Shall we see how far this void has successfully mimicked the hotel?”
I took Aryeon and got on the elevator.
Being one of Korea’s top hotels, even the elevator felt luxurious, preserving the glory of the past.
Although boasting a maximum of 123 floors, we chose the hotel’s main entrance as our route into the void. That’s why there were only four buttons on the elevator.
[81F – Western Restaurant, Korean Restaurant, Bar]
[79F – Lobby, Guest Lounge]
[76F – Grand Ballroom, Small Ballroom]
[01F – Entrance]
Aryeon kept nervously fidgeting, asking, “What if the elevator suddenly drops while going up?”
“In that case, it’s fortunate.”
“Huh? You mean I’ll die?”
“Yeah, you might. But then the course becomes drastically shorter. It’s like this huge void is satisfied with the fun of dropping humans with just one elevator… it’ll probably lower its standards.”
In that case, Sauron Tower would simply be registered as a void or anomaly named ‘Hotel Elevator,’ and it would be over.
It’s not dangerous at all, and the way to avoid it is quite simple. Just don’t take the elevator. That’s it.
Unless you’re a pervert who gets sexually excited by the vibration of the elevator, it’s perfectly fine to just ignore it from the next run onwards.
“What in the world… Guild Master, what are you saying? About dying?”
“Truly terrifying voids don’t kill people. Instead, they make you feel like you want to keep living here.”
“What?”
Click. I pressed [79F].
Because we entered through the hotel entrance, there’s a high chance that the guests staying at this hotel would be here.
If they’re guests, they should naturally stop by the ‘Hotel Lobby’ first and proceed with the ‘check-in.’
As the elevator started moving, Aryeon’s shoulders tensed up. I gave him a reassuring pat on the back and said,
“How long you survive in the void depends on understanding the ‘nature’ of that void.”
“…”
“Earlier, there was a hotel staff member standing outside the glass door, right? Don’t overlook even the smallest details. In the void, there are no meaningless clues. If there’s a hotel staff member outside the door, it might be because the ‘void believes itself to be a hotel.’ That’s a possible guess.”
“Believing itself to be a hotel…”
“Yeah. Just like how you have to follow the laws of Rome in Rome, unless you’re itching for a fight from the get-go, you should first obey the rules of the void. That’s why those soldiers who tried to enter here back in the day were out of luck.”
“Why? Why is that?”
“What guest in the world would enter a luxury hotel wearing military gear and carrying a gun all over their body? They’d probably be identified as terrorists as soon as they entered and get shot on the spot.”
“…”
I secretly hoped the elevator would just plunge down. If I could shield Aryeon with my body, there would be a higher chance of survival regardless.
But this world was sincere in messing with humans, especially when it came to teasing me in various ways.
Ding-
In less than a minute, the elevator arrived at the 79th floor.
And the moment the elevator door gracefully opened, I became certain that this void was also a space belonging to our proud world.
“Oh my… Guild Master! Look! It’s so luxurious here!”
The impeccably clean and polished marble lobby welcomed me. Even in the distance, employees were standing at the check-in counter, smiling at us.
“Hmm.”
This is quite a sticky situation.