Etranger

“Hot damn…” he said while swallowing down hard.

“This is incredible!” she yelled aloud.

Overall, the terrain was flat with a slightly lowered center. They saw all kinds of staircases, strange buildings, and oddly large sculptures. The area seemed to reach several kilometers in diameter.

All the roads were spread out radially around the center. In the center was an octagonal shaped hole.

The layout reminded them of the previous Korean flag, one that had an octagonal shape in the center. There were probably many other things to see, but it was too dark for them to make everything out.

A huge moon was floating in the sky. A half-oval shaped moon shined on the opposite side.

What surprised them even more were the approximately 50 broken pot-shaped giant structures on the other side. Some were floating in the air, while some were on a floating mountain. They looked mysterious and bizarre under the moonlight.

The two approached the hole. The inside of the hole was shrouded in darkness. However, with his enhanced eyes, he could clearly see the entirety of the space they had inhabited in the last year.

Though the clouds were always covering the sky from below, there seemed to be no visual obstacles when looking down.

“So… this is what was shrouded beyond the clouds?”

“Yes.”

“They used some sort of camouflage technology. So even if we cleared the side mountaintops, it’s just an endless cliff downward…”

San frowned. He sat on the edge and took out one of his last few cigarettes. One could see the purple sky through his smoke. He broke out into laughter.

“Were we wrapped in a cocoon? Or caught in a Venus flytrap? Escape was impossible from the start. What does this mean? What the hell is this world? God’s land? Look at the buildings over there. Are they temples?” San asked.

“It’s certain that our hope to escape from this place doesn’t look too good,” Biyeon replied.

“Did we ever really have hope?”

“We need to find a way. We’re like tireless birds who flew up to here. Isn’t it too early to despair?”

Biyeon was looking at San rather calmly. He exhaled cigarette smoke straight up into the air.

“Hope… Okay, I’ve given my life for this pursuit, so it would be sad to see all that effort go to waste. Let’s figure something out. Do you have any good ideas?”

Instead of answering, she smiled. They slowly walked around, checking their surroundings. She looked forward.

She raised her hands and measured the height of the far away mountains. They seemed to roughly reach her eye level. The surrounding mountain peaks surrounding this place were either a bit higher or equal to their current location’s elevation.

They felt like they were trapped inside a phallic object. She imagined the shape of a male’s reproductive organ when she analyzed the pillar. A huge pillar with a space opened from the inside. It felt like this structure was a large phallic object.

She shook her head and then looked down. 

In the darkness below, she saw a path of lava flowing and huge forests that looked like blades of grass in the moonlight. She tore some paper and sprinkled it down below.

The paper scattered in the wind and flew away. She threw several objects upwards towards the sky. The wind was also blowing strongly above them. It felt like they were in the eye of a tornado.

She started meticulously writing something down. The two were constantly debating while walking around the octagonal area. Dawn must have arrived. Light started entering.

“Let’s go back. I think it’s time for the gods and workers of this place to go to work.”

“There’s quite a lot to prepare.”

“We’ve done this much, what’s a little more? We only live once.”

***

The sun rose. The view of the sky seen from the pillar’s summit at dawn was jaw dropping.

The temple made long shadows in the morning sun. It was an epic world of myths! It was a mystical civilization. A place where alphabets and runes are mixed, a feast of symbols that defined the conception of the world itself.

The two stood silent for a moment, forgetting to go down. San struck Biyeon’s shoulder. She looked once more at the sky before preparing to go down.

“Huh?”

She rubbed her eyes. She felt that the nearest massive structure had slightly moved. The sun’s rays overpowered the moon’s, making the moon seem like it was flickering like a camera shutter.

It seemed to be winking. It was just a brief moment, so she may have seen incorrectly. Her expression hardened. She looked up at the sky.

The sunlight pricked her eyes and made them sore. She started muttering,

“Did you say you were a Master? Have you been watching?” 

“Huh?”

San looked back at her with a puzzled face.

Biyeon just shook her head. However, their eyes and fingertips were actively moving around. The two were exchanging their non-verbal, secret signals.

***

San and Biyeon returned to the pit. It was dark where they were because the sun had yet to rise above the mountaintops.

They were tired from moving all night, but when they came back to the pit at dawn, they were surprised to find some interesting rewards. The Hawk was looking at them with a questioning glance.

Both of them smirked at the Hawk’s expression.

She looked towards the pillar of clouds. That place, like any other time, was full of clouds. Thunder and lightning could still be seen and heard inside the clouds.

“This… I knew it. I knew we were going to get a bonus. I’m so thankful that I might start crying.”

“There’s no turning back now. The gods must have felt bad for us, right? So, these are the last things they’ll provide us so we can do our best, right? Kekeke-”

His lips curved upward as he started to heartily laugh. 

“I'm actually grateful for the first time,” she said.

Episode 1. Book 3: Escape – Chapter 8

Their sweet, one-month long vacation finally came to an end.

The two were having breakfast. This would probably be their last meal here.

Biyeon took charge of making breakfast. The food they ate was quite salty. Even the dried fruits and jerky were salty.

In their backpacks, they packed all of their unsalted food. They also packed a small amount of salt.

‘Today... you guys will see everything you want to see. You can get your expectations up. It’ll be very exciting for both your body and mind.’

Biyeon stretched her arms out wide while watching the sun rise.

Behind her, Sans face shone red with both of his hands placed on her shoulders.

The two were walking around the plaza in front of their pit, busily checking their gear. The Hawk followed closely behind them.

Before long, as they expected, their cell phone rang. Perhaps today will be the longest and most spectacular day for the inhabitants of this place. To these two, and for the experimenters…

The afternoon sun was moving toward the top of the mountain range. The start of the new game was set in the afternoon, so there was some time to kill.

After moving around for a month, the couple took a sweet break. San and Biyeon slept comfortably under the shade of a tree.

Looking at their behavior, no one would believe that they were going to face the battle of their lives. They slept using their large backpacks, which were filled to the brim as if they were moving residences, underneath their heads.

“Hmm-”

The lying San slightly frowned.

“It seems like a strong enemy has appeared. Its energy is quite violent, no?” Biyeon said a little nervously.

“Yeah…” he answered while adjusting his hat.

“The great experimenters paid a lot of attention to this event.”

“So, we’re supposed to die here, right?”

“We could kill them, too.”

His eyes shone eerily bright.

“They’ve lived nasty lives anyway, right?”

Biyeon opened her phone and checked the message again.

***

San and Biyeon slowly got up and put on their gear and outfits.

In the square in front, two teams had already entered and took their positions. The teams were spaced out like a tripod. The two teams were looking at their side with a sense of ease.

According to the content of the conversation they overheard between Nil and Null, these guys were the strongest amongst the summoned pairings.

Suki and Beckham were the strongest group, and Yamato and Nami came in at a close second. It was difficult for San and Biyeon to understand where they stood, as they hadn’t crossed paths with these pairings before.

“Which assholes shall we kill first?” Suki said as she turned her head to the side.

She looked very beautiful and neat. Glossy black hair, white skin, and skin-tight clothing that wrapped her body from her chest to her butt. Her skin-tight clothing revealed her smooth legs and oozed sexiness.

Apparently, everyone was given new clothes before moving on to the next Pian.

“Wouldn’t it be better to deal with the country bumpkins over there first?” Beckham carefully asked while pointing at San and Biyeon.

“Does it really matter? You’re such an idiot. Since those Asian guys look stronger, we should take care of them before moving onto the weaker team. It’s not too late to kill the bumkins afterwards.” Suki tapped Beckham's cheek as she replied.

“Get up. We’re doing this for fun anyways. Just follow my lead,” she continued.

Beckham bent his knees to make it easier for Suki to push herself up. Afterwards, he got up and stood behind Suki’s right shoulder. She reached her hand out.

He pulled out a half-filled bottle of nectar and placed it on her palm. He then slashed his wrist and spilled blood into the bottle of nectar.

Suki drank half the content of the bloody nectar, mixed her own blood into the bottle, and passed it to Beckham.

After he drank the rest of the bloodied nectar, he put the empty bottle into his backpack.

As they wiped their mouths, their expressions turned fierce. A destructive power filled their body and an aura of violence started emanating out in all directions.

Even San and Biyeon, who were standing close to fifty meters away, could feel their killing aura.