Memorize Chapter 252

“Hm.”

As the man’s words ended, the already chilly air around us felt even colder. I let out a calm breath through my nose. His words were certainly intriguing.

I lowered the crystal orb I’d been holding close and extended it forward so everyone could hear clearly. The clan members, especially the younger ones, held their breath and followed the crystal with their eyes.

(Please, heed my words and turn back right now. But… the atmosphere’s been getting heavier, and it feels like they’ll find me soon. So, I’ll continue my story. First, let me introduce myself. I’m Jung Sung-woong, a year 4 player from the Riverside Clan.)

His voice became increasingly strained, as if death was closing in.

He began recounting what he had experienced, one detail at a time.

(It all started after we entered the Gorge of Hallucination.)

I listened calmly to the man’s words. His story detailed what happened in the Gorge of Hallucination. At first, there wasn’t much to it. They entered the gorge, found a ruin within two days, and the expedition team, brimming with confidence, stepped inside…

(The moment we set foot in the ruin, filled with excitement, we were confronted with a horrific sight: countless piles of corpses. Seeing rotting bodies scattered everywhere, we instinctively knew something was terribly wrong. We should’ve turned back then. But blinded by greed…)

‘Hm? Something feels off.’

As I continued listening, I sensed an odd dissonance in his words, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Up to the part about discovering the city in the gorge, nothing seemed particularly wrong. But the way the story unfolded felt subtly misaligned. His initially logical and composed narrative was starting to feel incoherent, like it wasn’t adding up.

(It was no exaggeration to call that place a city. But what was strange was that, despite the passage of time, it had the appearance of a perfectly intact city. It felt as if time had stopped… And the moment we entered, we were shocked. Dozens of people were waiting for us, weapons drawn. Let me tell you right now—they were vagrants.)

The man paused to cough again. Each cough brought up a handful of blood, though miraculously, none stained the crystal. Feeling the crystal’s magic with a slight grip, I could tell its remaining energy was nearly depleted. The playback was almost over.

As death drew closer, the man, struggling, opened his mouth with a voice on the verge of fading.

(It seems I don’t have much time left. Sorry for rambling. I’m just desperate. Anyway, you might remember the Golden Lion Clan’s plan to exterminate the vagrants. Most of them were said to have fled west, but some must’ve taken a different route. In my opinion, they were hiding in the Gorge of Hallucination, where players rarely venture…)

‘Vagrants? Not found as corpses, but alive?’

I furrowed my brow slightly at his words.

(We didn’t dare fight. At that moment, running was our only option. In the process, most of my comrades were taken down. I was at the rear… and, ashamed as I am to admit it, I ran without looking back, which is how I barely escaped. Or so I thought. Haha… But I suppose this is my punishment for abandoning my comrades—this sorry state.)

The man let out a self-deprecating laugh and sighed deeply. Then, with a voice that sounded like it was squeezed out with his last strength, he continued.

(Though I don’t have much time left… I’d rather end my life myself than face a miserable death at the hands of vagrants. But before I die, I wanted to leave as much of a trace as possible. Please, whoever sees this crystal, inform the main clan in the city immediately. I pray you make it out of here safely. Good luck.)

With that, the crystal’s screen flickered off with a faint pop.

I let out a long sigh and turned my gaze from the now-glimmering crystal orb. The clan members’ faces were shadowed with grim expressions.

“Vagrants, huh… This doesn’t seem like a small matter, Su-Hyeon. What’s the plan?” 

As I tucked the crystal into my pocket and stayed silent, Go Yeon-Joo tilted her head and spoke to me.

The clan members didn’t say a word, but as they listened to me, they exchanged glances, clearly wanting to turn back. Go Yeon-Joo, sensing my inclination to push forward, spoke in a persuasive tone.

“If vagrants are gathered there, doesn’t that make you a bit uneasy? The crystal alone seems like enough evidence. Why don’t we head back?”

“Player Go Yeon-Joo, I have one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Can you find any continuing traces of the expedition around us?”

Though it was a sudden question, Go Yeon-Joo calmly scanned the surroundings. She nodded and answered.

“Yes. There are clear signs of entry and exit. They’re a bit mixed, but they’re there.”

“Can you tell if this player was affected by mental magic?”

“What? Why would… I can’t tell something like that.”

“I see.”

I crouched down to closely inspect the scattered flowers around us. Soon, I found a familiar one. Picking it up, I held it up for everyone to see.

“This is called a Hyde Flower. In small amounts, it masks scents. In large quantities, it can even reduce your presence to some extent—a mystical effect. Why would these be here?”

“Well, maybe to protect the crystal from monsters roaming nearby? It’s one of the ways missing players leave dying messages. Not common, but not exactly strange either.”

“Right. But doesn’t something feel off?”

“What’s off about it?”

The man’s story sounded plausible at first glance. But for someone facing death, he was far too calm and composed. Sure, some players are naturally like that, but the issue lay in how he told his story.

In short, his narrative felt less like a plea for “help” or “save me” and more like an attempt to forcefully explain something.

In my memory, vagrants were found as corpses in the ruins. But this man claimed they were still alive.

He said he barely escaped. But would vagrants let him go so easily? And if he fled without looking back, how did he know his comrades were caught or killed?

He was pursued while escaping, sustaining life-threatening injuries. Yet, in that state, he gathered Hyde Flowers and left a crystal to protect his body.

Did the vagrants really not find his corpse? Did they not even search his body?

And what about the initial distress call we received?

More fundamentally…

'The Plateau of Delusion and the Gorge of Hallucination aren’t places you can just move through freely. And it’s hard to believe a few dozen vagrants took him down. Even I wouldn’t be confident in the Plateau of Delusion and the Gorge of Hallucination without Hwajung…'

Questions led to more questions, and my thoughts tangled into a complex web.

“I plan to stick to the original plan and push forward. The Mercenary Clan will enter the Gorge of Hallucination.”

I explained the doubts I could share with the group as thoroughly as possible, concluding that we’d confirmed the existence of the ruin and should press on a bit further to resolve these questions.

Fortunately, a few nodded in agreement, but the overall mood remained heavy. Sighing at their reaction, I decided to pull out my final card.

“It seems some of you aren’t keen on this. Let’s do this: as I said, I want to continue the expedition. I’ll hear everyone’s opinions, and if the majority wants to turn back, we will. Starting with Player Go Yeon-Joo, please share your thoughts.”

“I’d prefer to turn back. Honestly, even if there are dozens of vagrants, I don’t think Su-Hyeon and I would lose. But if they have someone on our level, that changes things. Sorry, but I think the crystal alone is enough evidence.”

Go Yeon-Joo answered promptly. As I turned to the others, the hesitant clan members began voicing their opinions one by one.

“Hyung, I’d also rather turn back. I get your point, but with the crystal, haven’t we achieved our goal? Sorry for opposing.”

“Hm.”

An-Hyun also voted to turn back. It seemed more people took the crystal’s story as truth than I’d expected, and the sentiment leaned toward avoiding unnecessary risks.

'There’s some really good stuff here…'

The thought of turning back left a bitter taste in my mouth. Just then, I noticed Kim Han-Byeol, who had been quietly lost in thought, slowly opening her eyes.

“I’m in favor.”

“Hm?”

“I think we should continue the expedition. Listening to the man’s words… I don’t know, something felt off. It’s hard to explain exactly, but I think there’s value in exploring a bit further, like you said.”

“Alright. So, two for, two against?”

I looked at Kim Han-Byeol with mild surprise before responding with a relieved expression. Yun-Jung, standing beside her, hesitated for a moment after seeing my reaction, then bit her lip firmly. That’s when it happened.

“I’m with Oppa too!”

“Three in favor.”

“You too? Ugh… fine, I don’t know. I’ll just go with Oppa. Honestly, I don’t fully get what’s going on, but following you has never led us wrong so far. If it’s just about checking the traces a bit more and not diving in headfirst, I think it’s fine.”

“Four in favor.”

Once An-Sol sided with me, Yun-Jung, who had been wavering, quickly chimed in with her support. With four in favor and two against, the matter was effectively decided. But since one person hadn’t spoken yet, I turned to the remaining clan member.

“The decision’s already made, but let’s hear it anyway. Hangeol, what do you think?”

“Me? I, uh, I’m not sure.”

“So, abstaining?”

“Yeah, I’ll abstain. I’m still not quite getting the hang of this expedition.”

Baek Hangeol opted out. Not bad. I looked at the two who opposed. Go Yeon-Joo, who seemed to think my point had some merit, wore an expression that suggested she was fine either way. An-Hyun, however, had his head bowed, sneaking glances at me. He seemed uneasy about opposing me for the first time.

'When we leave this place, I’ll need to get the clan settled quickly. Set some rules… I’ve been leading too much on my own.'

I roughly swept some flowers over the man’s corpse with my foot. Once it was decently covered, I spoke in a decisive tone.

“Four in favor, two against, one abstention. Based on the vote, we’ll continue the expedition. I understand your concerns. I’m not planning to push us too far. If we encounter a situation we can’t handle, we’ll turn back without hesitation.”

Leaving room for prioritizing survival seemed to lighten the group’s heavy expressions, if only slightly.

I started moving toward the direction of the traces. The clan members quickly reformed their formation behind me. Though no monsters had appeared yet, most were already preparing for combat. The crystal had clearly put everyone on edge.

Gazing at them for a moment, I signaled to move out.

---

I deliberately picked up the pace. My goal was to ease the uneasy atmosphere, and to do that, we needed to leave this strange, heavy air behind as quickly as possible.

The further we moved from the corpse, the less oppressive and sticky the atmosphere felt. But the discomfort didn’t entirely vanish. A subtle, indescribable vibe replaced the previous air.

“Su-Hyeon, hold on.”

While leading the march, Go Yeon-Joo called for a halt from behind. It was the first time since I’d led the Mercenary Clan that someone else requested a pause. Wondering what was up, I turned and saw An-Sol’s face, pale as a sheet.

“Sol, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Haa… haa… I’m sorry.”

“Are you tired?”

“No, it’s not that… I just keep feeling this weird pressure from earlier. I-I’m fine. I can handle it.”

'We’re probably almost there.'

I considered giving her a Mind-Clearing Pill but decided to resume the march since she said she was okay. Instead, I sent An-Hyun, who was at the front, to stay by her side and report her condition immediately. With that, we started climbing the mountain path again, moving from gentle terrain to a steeper slope.

About 30 minutes later, a strange, almost metaphysical heaviness pressed down on my entire body before suddenly lifting.

[Potential Ability: Mind’s Eye (Rank: A +) has been activated.]

[Potential Ability: Blessing of the War (Rank: EX) has been activated.]

I quickly raised my hand to signal a halt and scanned the surroundings. I was currently at the front, which meant the field effect had just intensified significantly after crossing some invisible line.

At the same time, I heard someone collapse behind me.

“Hyung! Sol…!”

“I know. Hangeol, give me the bag.”

Her face was buried in the ground, making it hard to see, but I could clearly sense her distress. The Mountain of Delirium, the Plateau of Delusion, and the Gorge of Hallucination—these three fields’ effects were like poison to someone with trauma like An-Sol.

Without delay, I took the bag from Baek Hangeol and pulled out the box containing the Mind-Clearing Pills. As I laid An-Sol, trembling uncontrollably, on the ground and forced her mouth open, An-Hyun’s worried voice came from beside me.

“Hyung, what’s happening?”

“Don’t cross forward yet. We’re almost there. An-Sol’s probably just reacting early because she’s sensitive.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, once we cross this point…”

I placed a golden Mind-Clearing Pill in An-Sol’s mouth. The round pill melted on her tongue and dissolved into her system.

As her trembling began to subside, I calmly stood up and continued.

“…we’ll have reached the Plateau of Delusion.”