Chapter 82: A Path to the Underground [3]
"Right. There must be an exit somewhere. We have to find it."
Everyone's gaze turned towards the large door in front of us. It was the only place that seemed to lead somewhere else.
Kamian approached the door. He tried pushing and pulling the doorknob.
But the door didn't budge. Then he tried sliding it to the side, but again, the door remained immovable.
"Tch, it won't move at all."
Of course. The door is locked right now. It can only be opened by unlocking a hidden mechanism. And of course, I knew where that mechanism was.
"I feel a sense of discord."
Again, I played the card of discord. It's much easier than making up reasons every time, so why wouldn't I use it?
"Is it that sense of discord again?" Kamian spoke as if it was ridiculous.
"Your ability to feel discord is amazing, senior." Annette admired sincerely. It seems that my character has taken on a certain trait. Not bad.
"There must be some mechanism."
"I was thinking the same."
Since it wouldn't open normally, thinking of a mechanism wasn't difficult. The important thing was where that mechanism was.
"Well, let's split up and look for it…"
Before Kamian could finish his sentence, I moved. The fifth from the front. The third from the left. A pillar engraved with a crescent moon.
The information stored in my head surfaced smoothly. I pressed the picture.
Click.
The wall with the picture turned, revealing a small empty space. The lock mechanism inside.
Click.
I unlocked the mechanism to the left. At that moment, Rumble! A sound like a machine operating came from the door.
"My, my goodness…" Annette's eyes widened in surprise.
"How did you find that so easily?"
Kamian seemed quite shocked as well.
Finding a secret mechanism in such a large space at once. Even I think it doesn't make sense. It's something that could only happen with a coincidence upon a coincidence.
But I have a master key.
"I told you I felt a sense of discord."
Discord.
Once could be a coincidence.
Twice could be a coincidence.
But from the third time, it's a completely different story.
I've already demonstrated my ability to them more than three times. In such a situation, people have no choice but to believe it's a 'real ability.'
"It's the ability that has saved my life several times."
I spiced up the last part with a bit of flair.
"Senior, you're really something." Kamian said with a complex expression. His 'really something' must have meant more than just my abilities.
That's how I felt.
"So thoroughly deceiving the eyes of the world…"
I could tell from Kamian's muttering that my thoughts were correct.
How could someone deceive the world so thoroughly and live like that? What a remarkable person.
"Se, senior must have his own circumstances. If you say it like that…"
Annette interjected, flustered. But I gestured to her that it was okay.
Then I smirked at Kamian.
"You know nothing."
"What do you mean?" Kamian frowned.
"I didn't deceive the world's eyes; I just lived that way. Spending money like crazy, eating only delicious food, drinking expensive alcohol, and having fun with women was all very fun and enjoyable…"
"Are you saying that something is different now?"
"Yes. It's become boring. No matter how fun the entertainment is, if it continues, it becomes boring and numb. That's human nature."
I continued with an expression of someone who had seen it all.
"So I've decided to live differently from now on. No exaggeration, no understatement, that's all there is to it."
He didn't look convinced. But he didn't look like he didn't understand either. At least he seemed to get the general flow of my psychology. That should be enough.
"I see."
No, childhood friend, why are you getting so solemn? Don't get solemn every time you hear such talk. It's embarrassing.
"Let's go in."
I deliberately ignored their reactions and walked towards the open door first.
"Wa, wait, let's go together, senior!"
The two followed me.
As soon as we stepped out of the door, we were greeted by a corridor stretching straight ahead. A tunnel extending so far that it was hard to tell where it ended.
"Let's go."
I walked ahead. They hesitated for a moment, then followed me. It seemed they realized there was no other way anyway.
Step by step, only the sound of footsteps echoed.
How long had we walked?
"Who made this space, and with what intention?" Annette suddenly spoke up. It was a natural question.
Such a massive underground space couldn't have been made by one or two people. A construction requiring a vast workforce and capital.
If there was such a large-scale construction, it would naturally be known to people.
Even if it was a thing of the past, it would have been recorded or passed down orally. But the people of the holy city don't know? That in itself is a mystery.
'I'm curious about that too, but…'
Of course, I know some of the mysteries of this underground space.
But not everything. I'm one of the very few users who have progressed to what seems like the latter part, but I'm not a user who has cleared it.
After all, no user has ever successfully cleared it. Anyway, I've never reached the end of this underground. The 14th floor underground was the last I reached.
"Who would know that here?"
Kamian said. An obvious answer. But I know a bit, man. There was no need to say that now, but…
"Wait."
I felt something and alerted everyone.
"Yes?"
"Turn off the light."
"Oh, okay." Annette immediately turned off the light magic at my serious face. Suddenly, it got dark around us.
But…
"A light…?"
Kamian muttered reflexively as he looked into the distance. He was right.
There was a flickering light in the distance. Whether it was artificial light or sunlight, there was definitely light.
"There seems to be something over there."
Hope shone in Annette's voice. The hope that, even if it wasn't an exit, we might find a clue to one. That hope was not wrong.
However.
"There might be someone there. Maybe even a dangerous entity like a monster."