-awoo!
Then, a wolf howl was heard from afar.
“Darn it.”
I quickly turned my head and saw Eunji looking at me while tilting his head. I took turns looking at him and the stairs, contemplating.
“Would it be better to go down?”
-awoo!
I decided to go down without worrying about the wolf howling that followed.
‘I need a torch.’
I looked around and picked up a long branch. Then, I undid the bandage that wrapped around my forearm. Fortunately, the wound has stopped bleeding, so it won’t be too much of a problem to apply some medicine.
I put the bandage down on the ground and took the lighter out of my crossbody bag. After soaking the bandage with lighter oil and wrapping it around the end of the branch, I turned to Eunji.
“Eunji, light it up.”
Eunji spewed out a small fire the size of a fist. Just like that, the bandage caught fire and the torch blazed brightly.
I stretched out my hand towards Eunji. As if he was waiting, he slithered up on my arm and rested his head on my shoulder.
So we went down the stairs. I reached out to the opened wooden plank at the entrance to the stairs and closed it.
It was completely dark, so it was difficult to tell what was what. I slowly descended the stairs with the help of the torch flame.
I held the loaded flare gun in my other hand and stretched it out so that I could pull the trigger at any moment, keeping an eye on my surroundings. The tension stiffened my shoulders.
I don’t know what’s under these stairs, but I hoped it would be better than the monsters up there.
The long stairs ended at one point and the hard ground touched my feet.
I lifted a torch to illuminate the surroundings and found a dark hallway where I couldn’t see properly. The hallway was very narrow and low in height. Only small people can enter.
It seems that men with large stature like Enoch and Kayden could not pass by. Maybe that’s why it felt more creepy.
‘Who made this?’
Jenas?
I think it’s better to sit on the steps and go up when the sun is bright than to explore this suspicious space alone.
‘But I can’t pass by without examining it properly.’
The information I have about this island is very insufficient.
In other words, if you have even a fingernail of information, you should actively look into it. Who knows, maybe there’s another place like Jenas’ cabin.
I took a deep breath and moved on. The space was narrow, so I stretched out the hand holding the torch forward and moved carefully. It was a stone-walled hallway, so it was cool and chilly.
-plink, plink.
The sound of water dripping was heard exceptionally loud. Somehow I got goosebumps, so I walked forward and turned the torch to look behind me.
I couldn’t see the end in front, and the back was the same because I had been walking for so long.
I stood still in the middle of the hallway. After a while, I came to my senses thanks to Eunji on my shoulder who rubbed his head against my cheek.
“Thank you.”
After whispering to Eunji, I started walking again.
***
I feel like I’m running out of oxygen.
I was deeply troubled as to whether I should go back the way I had come.
‘Would it be better to go out and find Enoch and Kayden?’
But I don’t know where they are.
I paused, pondered, and walked again. This dark hallway has no end in sight.
At that time, Eunji, wrapped around my arm, stretched his head forward and stared straight ahead, showing his sharp fangs.
-kwaah!
I stopped on the spot, feeling tense.
I stretched my hand holding the torch far forward, but all I could see was an inch in front of me.
And at that moment, the sound of something approaching came from afar.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
It was an eerie sound as if something huge was rolling over.
There’s nowhere to hide because the hallway is narrow and low in height. Dammit. I don’t know what it is, but am I dying here in vain?
……no, I can’t just stay still.
‘I have to run right now!’
I turned over to go back the way I had come. Then Eunji, who was on my shoulder, suddenly slithered up on my head.
“Huh? Eunji!”
Startled, I called him, but he relentlessly slithered up. There must be a ceiling above, but he disappeared into the darkness.
I lifted the torch in wonder and saw tree roots intertwined like a steel structure. Eunji was hanging between them, looking at me and flicking out his tongue.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
The faint sound gradually came closer. Luckily this hallway is very long.
I immediately put the torch in my mouth, jumped up, and gripped the tree roots in the ceiling tightly.
Still gripping the roots, I then folded my legs and tucked them in between them.
‘Damn it, I think I’m going to fall.’
My hands trembled like aspens. Even in high school physical education, I was always last in the rankings when it came to hanging on the bar. On top of that, I was now injured in my arm.
The torch in my mouth also might touch the tree root, making it more difficult for me to maintain my posture.
‘But I have to live.’
Somehow, not giving up at times like these gives me the strength to keep holding on.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
The sound was getting closer and closer. I thought it was the sound of something like a rock rolling, but listening to it still, it seems a bit lighter than a rock.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, I could see something moving in the distance at the end of my vision.
Large rats were coming rolling in groups.
Seeing them getting closer gave me goosebumps. I pressed my body close to the ceiling and waited for them to pass through the hallway.
Before long, the rat ball rolled under me and went right past me.
I breathe a sigh of relief—
-crack.
The root I was holding in my right hand snapped. Hearing that sound, the rat ball, which had been disappearing far away, stopped abruptly.
-crack. This time, the root in my left hand snapped. As a result, my upper body tilted downward.
‘Crap. Fxxk!’
I braced my legs to keep from falling to the floor. Then, I stretched the torch in my mouth forward so I could see.
The rats that had been clumped together like a ball in the distance suddenly scattered and ran towards me.
I hastily landed on the floor and waved the torch at them to keep them away from me. When I did that, the rats halted and retreated.
At that moment, Eunji who was hanging from the ceiling slithered down to the floor.
The reaction of the rats who discovered Eunji belatedly was unusual. They started running away with loud noises as if frightened, and some hesitated and looked around. A supreme predator appeared in front of them, so it was understandable.
The problem is that those rats are also monsters, so Jenas might have figured out my location through them.
‘Dammit.’
Eunji slithered down to the floor and came over to me. He glanced sideways at me.
“Do whatever you want.”
When I gave my permission, he wagged his tail once and then opened his mouth wide. As he inhaled, even the rats in the distance rolled over in the wind and were sucked into Eunji’s mouth.
The flame of the torch died out as the wind blew through the narrow hallway with a strong suction force. After a while, the wind stopped and Eunji’s muzzle returned to its original size. There was not a single rat left in the hallway.
Eunji glanced up at me and flick out his tongue. Before long, he burped. Do snakes burp?
Who cares. Eunji is not even a real snake.
“Good job.”
At my praise, Eunji slithered around in circles as if he was in a good mood. How cute.
‘If it wasn’t for Eunji, I would have been in big trouble.’
As expected, Eunji is the best. I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and walked toward the end of the hallway again.
In fact, it was a gloomy space where there would be nothing strange if a rat popped out. Seeing that Eunji ate them, they must have been rats with mana.
I moved a little hastily. I have to quickly find out what’s at the end of this hallway and then look for Enoch and Kayden.
After walking for thirty minutes, I could see a dim light at the end of the hallway.
I took out the flare gun I had put in my crossbody bag for a while, loaded it, and carefully walked over to the light.
-awoo!
Then, a wolf howl was heard from afar.
“Darn it.”
I quickly turned my head and saw Eunji looking at me while tilting his head. I took turns looking at him and the stairs, contemplating.
“Would it be better to go down?”
-awoo!
I decided to go down without worrying about the wolf howling that followed.
‘I need a torch.’
I looked around and picked up a long branch. Then, I undid the bandage that wrapped around my forearm. Fortunately, the wound has stopped bleeding, so it won’t be too much of a problem to apply some medicine.
I put the bandage down on the ground and took the lighter out of my crossbody bag. After soaking the bandage with lighter oil and wrapping it around the end of the branch, I turned to Eunji.
“Eunji, light it up.”
Eunji spewed out a small fire the size of a fist. Just like that, the bandage caught fire and the torch blazed brightly.
I stretched out my hand towards Eunji. As if he was waiting, he slithered up on my arm and rested his head on my shoulder.
So we went down the stairs. I reached out to the opened wooden plank at the entrance to the stairs and closed it.
It was completely dark, so it was difficult to tell what was what. I slowly descended the stairs with the help of the torch flame.
I held the loaded flare gun in my other hand and stretched it out so that I could pull the trigger at any moment, keeping an eye on my surroundings. The tension stiffened my shoulders.
I don’t know what’s under these stairs, but I hoped it would be better than the monsters up there.
The long stairs ended at one point and the hard ground touched my feet.
I lifted a torch to illuminate the surroundings and found a dark hallway where I couldn’t see properly. The hallway was very narrow and low in height. Only small people can enter.
It seems that men with large stature like Enoch and Kayden could not pass by. Maybe that’s why it felt more creepy.
‘Who made this?’
Jenas?
I think it’s better to sit on the steps and go up when the sun is bright than to explore this suspicious space alone.
‘But I can’t pass by without examining it properly.’
The information I have about this island is very insufficient.
In other words, if you have even a fingernail of information, you should actively look into it. Who knows, maybe there’s another place like Jenas’ cabin.
I took a deep breath and moved on. The space was narrow, so I stretched out the hand holding the torch forward and moved carefully. It was a stone-walled hallway, so it was cool and chilly.
-plink, plink.
The sound of water dripping was heard exceptionally loud. Somehow I got goosebumps, so I walked forward and turned the torch to look behind me.
I couldn’t see the end in front, and the back was the same because I had been walking for so long.
I stood still in the middle of the hallway. After a while, I came to my senses thanks to Eunji on my shoulder who rubbed his head against my cheek.
“Thank you.”
After whispering to Eunji, I started walking again.
***
I feel like I’m running out of oxygen.
I was deeply troubled as to whether I should go back the way I had come.
‘Would it be better to go out and find Enoch and Kayden?’
But I don’t know where they are.
I paused, pondered, and walked again. This dark hallway has no end in sight.
At that time, Eunji, wrapped around my arm, stretched his head forward and stared straight ahead, showing his sharp fangs.
-kwaah!
I stopped on the spot, feeling tense.
I stretched my hand holding the torch far forward, but all I could see was an inch in front of me.
And at that moment, the sound of something approaching came from afar.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
It was an eerie sound as if something huge was rolling over.
There’s nowhere to hide because the hallway is narrow and low in height. Dammit. I don’t know what it is, but am I dying here in vain?
……no, I can’t just stay still.
‘I have to run right now!’
I turned over to go back the way I had come. Then Eunji, who was on my shoulder, suddenly slithered up on my head.
“Huh? Eunji!”
Startled, I called him, but he relentlessly slithered up. There must be a ceiling above, but he disappeared into the darkness.
I lifted the torch in wonder and saw tree roots intertwined like a steel structure. Eunji was hanging between them, looking at me and flicking out his tongue.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
The faint sound gradually came closer. Luckily this hallway is very long.
I immediately put the torch in my mouth, jumped up, and gripped the tree roots in the ceiling tightly.
Still gripping the roots, I then folded my legs and tucked them in between them.
‘Damn it, I think I’m going to fall.’
My hands trembled like aspens. Even in high school physical education, I was always last in the rankings when it came to hanging on the bar. On top of that, I was now injured in my arm.
The torch in my mouth also might touch the tree root, making it more difficult for me to maintain my posture.
‘But I have to live.’
Somehow, not giving up at times like these gives me the strength to keep holding on.
-duduk, duduk, duduk.
The sound was getting closer and closer. I thought it was the sound of something like a rock rolling, but listening to it still, it seems a bit lighter than a rock.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, I could see something moving in the distance at the end of my vision.
Large rats were coming rolling in groups.
Seeing them getting closer gave me goosebumps. I pressed my body close to the ceiling and waited for them to pass through the hallway.
Before long, the rat ball rolled under me and went right past me.
I breathe a sigh of relief—
-crack.
The root I was holding in my right hand snapped. Hearing that sound, the rat ball, which had been disappearing far away, stopped abruptly.
-crack. This time, the root in my left hand snapped. As a result, my upper body tilted downward.
‘Crap. Fxxk!’
I braced my legs to keep from falling to the floor. Then, I stretched the torch in my mouth forward so I could see.
The rats that had been clumped together like a ball in the distance suddenly scattered and ran towards me.
I hastily landed on the floor and waved the torch at them to keep them away from me. When I did that, the rats halted and retreated.
At that moment, Eunji who was hanging from the ceiling slithered down to the floor.
The reaction of the rats who discovered Eunji belatedly was unusual. They started running away with loud noises as if frightened, and some hesitated and looked around. A supreme predator appeared in front of them, so it was understandable.
The problem is that those rats are also monsters, so Jenas might have figured out my location through them.
‘Dammit.’
Eunji slithered down to the floor and came over to me. He glanced sideways at me.
“Do whatever you want.”
When I gave my permission, he wagged his tail once and then opened his mouth wide. As he inhaled, even the rats in the distance rolled over in the wind and were sucked into Eunji’s mouth.
The flame of the torch died out as the wind blew through the narrow hallway with a strong suction force. After a while, the wind stopped and Eunji’s muzzle returned to its original size. There was not a single rat left in the hallway.
Eunji glanced up at me and flick out his tongue. Before long, he burped. Do snakes burp?
Who cares. Eunji is not even a real snake.
“Good job.”
At my praise, Eunji slithered around in circles as if he was in a good mood. How cute.
‘If it wasn’t for Eunji, I would have been in big trouble.’
As expected, Eunji is the best. I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and walked toward the end of the hallway again.
In fact, it was a gloomy space where there would be nothing strange if a rat popped out. Seeing that Eunji ate them, they must have been rats with mana.
I moved a little hastily. I have to quickly find out what’s at the end of this hallway and then look for Enoch and Kayden.
After walking for thirty minutes, I could see a dim light at the end of the hallway.
I took out the flare gun I had put in my crossbody bag for a while, loaded it, and carefully walked over to the light.
