The sensation of endlessly falling below was truly terrifying. After the collapse of the road, there was no need to open his eyes in the complete darkness. The sound of the wind echoed heavily in his ears. Falling like this would probably lead to death. As he thought about it, he heard someone swearing beside him. It was Hamin.
Whether one should consider this fortunate or unfortunate while falling like this, Sihyun couldn't decide. Just when he wondered how he ended up being travel companions in the afterlife, suddenly, Hamin grabbed him. Even in the midst of falling, Sihyun widened his eyes at Hamin, who was holding onto him as if protecting him.
"Hamin?"
As he called out in doubt, Hamin, with a stern expression, gestured for him to stay silent and tightened his grip. Startled by his sudden action, Sihyun closed his mouth and clenched the staff in his hand. There was barely any mana left. Struggling to cast a barrier, he coughed up something hot and bitter. Once again, he heard Hamin's curses.
It would have been great if he could copy the flying skill. Unfortunately, he had used up all his copying chances during the battle with Road today. He had done everything he could. Now, all that was left was to wait quietly for the fall. Closing his eyes, after a while, there was a thud as his body hit the ground. The barely made barrier broke into pieces.
"Ugh!"
Hamin let out a groan of pain. Thanks to Hamin holding onto him while falling, Sihyun experienced less impact. Sihyun, who got up a beat later, noticed Hamin, who was coughing up blood. Without asking if he was okay, it didn't look okay. He regretted not leaving some mana to heal instead of casting the barrier. At that moment, Hamin coughed up blood once again. Sihyun clenched his fist as he saw Hamin struggling.
"Why did you embrace me while falling?"
When Najik asked, he opened his eyes with a questioning look. In the midst of this situation, it was a look that seemed to ask why that was even a concern. Sihyun sighed, then reached out to him. His violet eyes widened. Ignoring that gaze, he used healing.
Squelch.
Due to using mana beyond the limit, this time Sihyun coughed up blood. Feeling that Hamin's bones were somewhat aligned, Sihyun, shaking, barely managed to lower his hand, resisting the urge to vomit any further.
With no strength to move a fingertip, he laid back. The whole unfamiliar space came into view.
"...Regrettable."
"Who cares."
Hamin muttered weakly. After a long battle and falling while embracing him, he was undoubtedly exhausted. And that applied to Sihyun as well, who had not accepted Hamin's words and had countered them. Sihyun, quietly closing his eyes, breathed slowly. Feeling the rise and fall of his diaphragm, he sensed mana flowing slowly like a sluggish stream. Maybe after another hour, he would be able to move.
"...Any idea where this is?"
"Are you going to find out?"
"I have a feeling."
"Even if you know, it's a strange place."
"I know that much."
"What are you expecting?"
"Forget it."
Lying side by side with Hamin, Sihyun sighed at the unproductive conversation. If he were to die today in the battle against Road, he wondered if it wouldn't have been better. It seemed like this was his tomb.
No luck or support.
If he had just one lucky day, he wouldn't ask for any wishes.
Sihyun regretted making a promise not to buy lotto tickets. Thump, he grimaced as the dust from above fell directly onto his face. Whether it was because of the dust or it entered his eyes, it stung.
"Hey, Kang Sihyun."
"...Can you move?"
"I don't know about me, but you should be able to endure this much."
Having barely aligned their bones, Hamin rose from the ground like a zombie. Despite the likely pain, he showed no signs of discomfort. For some reason, it felt like the atmosphere demanded his own rise too. Trembling arms supporting his body, Sihyun tried to stand, but Hamin pushed his chest with his chin, and thud, he landed back on the ground.
"What's up?"
"You thought I was dead?"
Similar to before, but the words were different. What did he mean? Narrowing his eyes, Sihyun asked, and Hamin raised his head as if embarrassed. Then he let out an awkward sigh, feeling like he turned into a cartoon character.
"Why didn't you stop me?"
He tilted his head, suggesting something.
"Do you think the teachers will come to rescue us?"
"Uh-huh."
"Then choose."
"...Choose? Choose what?"
"Option 1: Wait for the teachers to come down for the rescue. Option 2: We explore and find an exit ourselves."
"Is there even an exit?"
"Open your eyes wide and look around."
With a grim expression, Hamin gestured with his chin, and Sihyun's gaze followed. Suddenly, there was a sinkhole, and at first, it seemed like just some dirt falling. Yet, nearby stairs became visible. It looked as if this place had been here from the beginning.
"...Stairs can naturally appear too."
"Would that even happen?"
"..."
Only then did Sihyun understand Hamin's suggestion. Instead of waiting helplessly for a rescue party that might not come for who knows how long, it would be better to go down, explore, and maybe find an exit. Sihyun looked back at Hamin after glancing at the stairs that seemed dimly lit.
"What if it's dangerous down there?"
"Then we come back."
"Hmm."
Sihyun, with his mouth closed, pondered for a moment. In truth, he felt like lying down here and doing nothing. Hamin sensed that and suggested waiting until he recovered somewhat. Sihyun looked straight ahead. The ceiling, occasionally dropping bits of dust, still didn't show a single point of light. His mind was slowly processing the situation.
Before falling, he saw Road's body falling, covering the hole. It meant that to rescue themselves, the teachers had to clear Road first. However, dealing with that massive creature? And even after removing it, there was another issue. How long did it take to fall from the surface to here? It was quite deep. Even if they cleared Road, it was uncertain whether the teachers or awakened individuals from the association could safely make it down here.
If there was any solution, it was to wait for Haewoon's mana to recover and use his flight buff to come down. However, they had to wait until his mana recovered, and Haewoon's mana recovery speed was slower than others. It would take a while.
So...
"...It should be okay for a short while."
After calmly considering, Sihyun spoke. Hamin, walking forward, leaned against the wall. The sound of him breathing steadily reached Sihyun's ears.
"...It could have been worse if I fell alone."
Whether Hamin was being sarcastic or not, he muttered quietly. When Sihyun asked what he meant, he sighed again. Now, it was difficult to guess the meaning behind that sigh.
Everything has become complicated.
"Are you becoming like Yoo seowoo?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're saying incomprehensible things like him."
Cursing, Hamin grumbled. Sihyun, now seeing a more familiar Hamin, laughed a bit, realizing that his hands were shaking less than before.
"Do you resemble him?"
"What do you mean?"
"You both talk nonsense without any sense."
Damn. Hamin muttered in disgust, possibly swearing. Finally, Sihyun, who looked at Hamin and kept turning, felt that his neck was stiff.
There seemed to be no need to continue the conversation, so Sihyun closed his mouth, and silence ensued. This darkness and stillness, resembling the quietness of dawn, made Sihyun suddenly recall the first time he slept in the dormitory.
Hamin groaning and whining like he was ill while calling for his brother.
"..."
Sihyun opened his mouth once, then closed it again. It seemed unnecessary to ask and talk about something.
Maintaining the quietness, time passed, feeling like mana filling the void. The trembling in his fingertips stopped. With enough mana to heal Hamin and maybe cast a barrier once, Sihyun finally stood up. He shook off the dirt and dust from his hair.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go."
"Don't you need treatment?"
"Take care of your body yourself."
He spoke mockingly. Sihyun, who frowned at Hamin, who didn't know how to speak politely, decided not to retort and took a step back. It was because he remembered who had hurt him.
Why did you hug me and fall?
He had never asked to be saved while injured.
Sihyun, who quietly expressed his dissatisfaction inwardly, even felt his own face was thick and let out a bitter laugh. Slowly, as he stood up from his seat, his legs trembled as he touched the ground. It felt like he would break if someone tapped him from behind. Sihyun, who had become uneasy, idly rolled his foot. Tap, tap, as he tapped the ground with the sole of his shoe, Hamin turned around. Sihyun shrugged as his gaze seemed to momentarily hold a hint of pity.
"There's a bug."
Casually stating, Hamin gave me a suspicious glance, then reached out his hand to me.
"What?"
"Catch it."
"Are you scared?"
Well, it was so dark under the stairs that it could be scary. Understanding, when I raised my hand over his hand, Hamin wrinkled his expression.
"I'm just saying, if you leave me alone, I might roll down."
"You'd be fine."
"Seriously."
"Yeah."
Sihyun, urging Hamin with a nod, walked briskly. One step, stepping on the stairs and going down, the sound of small grains rolling down could be heard. Sihyun tightened his grip for a moment, took a deep breath, and lifted his foot again.
"Just in case I'm telling you, if I become dangerous, I'll leave you."
"You think so?"
Expressing that as a warning not to expect, when I looked at him as if he was amazed, he nodded sadly. Unfortunately, what I just said was sincere. Sihyun paused for a moment, looked at him, and continued walking. One step, two steps, three steps... twenty-six steps.
Damn, these stairs were ridiculously long. In fact, if it were like a hundred steps, what would I do, I thought, making a groaning sound. Hamin asked if it was difficult. Sihyun lowered his head and said, "It might be difficult after forty..." as if he were thinking. Ignoring Hamin's insincere offer to carry him if it really got difficult, he continued.
How many steps had I come down?
At the end, after coming down fifty-four steps, something other than stairs finally came into view.
"Ugh."
Sihyun wrinkled his nose at the piercing smell and covered his nose. Whether the space was separated or not, just going down one step, a nauseating smell vibrated. It was a smell so disgusting that it gave you goosebumps. Sihyun held his breath for a moment, took a step forward, and the air rising along with his foot was indescribably eerie.
Blue pupils scanned the surroundings. Despite the somewhat clean space for such a smell, it was surprisingly clean. A statue-like thing was visible, and in the middle, there was something like a huge altar. Sihyun, who walked forward little by little, held his breath again when he faced the altar. The altar, seemingly made of stone, was soaked in dark red. And from there, a disgusting smell emanated.
The indescribably foul smell seemed to be ominous.
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