Memorize Chapter 245

As we exited through the east gate, the resident guards raised a vigorous salute. The sight made me keenly aware of the difference between Monica and Mule. The guards’ armor alone was a step above Mule’s shabbiness, but more than that, the scenery just beyond the gate was enough to make me nod in appreciation.

Well-paved roads stretched out across a vast expanse of green, splitting neatly into several paths, marked by a distant signpost standing tall. Looking around, despite being outside the city, I saw clusters of players gathered under the shade of the city walls or the towering trees nearby.

“Hahaha! The effect was no joke, I’m telling you! I took her to the Love House today, and she was all over me! Clinging to my arm like…”

“Damn, I’m jealous. Where’d you get the cash for a stamina potion? Those things aren’t cheap.”

“Heh, didn’t you hear? Your big bro scored big on the last expedition. Found a goblin village in the forest by dumb luck. Nabbed some gold and trinkets.”

“A goblin village? Do those still exist? Man, you hit the jackpot.”

Compared to Mule, which was practically a wasteland, this place felt like a park. The people around looked like they were out for a stroll or a picnic, almost fooling me into thinking the same.

‘Still, unless it was a major haul, a village wouldn’t yield more than 200 or 300 gold.’

I tilted my head briefly but soon understood when I saw the back of one of the speakers. A clan emblem marked his gear—clearly a capable combat player. If they were in a clan, regular goblins would be child’s play. They must have scored easy money. Either way, it wasn’t my business, so I let it go.

I raised the map, roughly gauged our direction, and led the expedition down the second path from the left. For at least today, the chance of running into danger was near zero, so I planned to push as far as possible, even if it meant a forced march.

“We’re starting a forced march now. Stay sharp and keep up.”

Turning back to signal the pace increase, I gradually quickened my steps. The sound of boots pounding the ground grew faster in rhythm with my stride.

For a while, we marched in near silence, focused solely on moving forward. Unlike before, when I’d adjust to the group, I set the pace to my own stats, and we covered ground at a pace I couldn’t have imagined back then. We kept up a brisk walk—almost a light jog—pressing on relentlessly.

About six hours in, without a single break, I started hearing ragged breathing from behind as more clan members struggled to keep up.

I paused to catch my breath and looked at the sky. The sun, hidden behind clouds when we set out in the morning, now blazed fiercely overhead. The fresh air mixed with the faint scent of the clan’s sweat, and I figured it was time to ease up a bit.

I called for a rest two hours later. We’d stopped at the edge of a forest, where the ground sloped upward into scattered hills. Climbing one of the hills, I was greeted by a dense cluster of tall trees blocking the view.

As I scanned the surroundings, sweat-soaked clan members began trudging up the hill, their hair dripping. A splashing sound drew my gaze downward—Go Yeon-Joo was playfully kicking water in a wide, concave pool of water gathered in the ground. Catching my eye, she grinned broadly and waved both hands.

“Huff, huff.”

“Haah, haah.”

“Huff, what’s with your panting? Sounds like you’re moaning or something.”

“Haah, shut up. I’m dying here. What, does it turn you on? Haah.”

An-Hyun and Yun-Jung bickered as they climbed the hill. I’d wondered if they could keep up with the brutal pace, but being melee classes with solid training, they managed just fine.

Soon after, An-Sol, Baek Hangeol, and Kim Han-Byeol appeared, having rested briefly below. Their breathing seemed steady, but their faces were pale—likely because their classes weren’t built for endurance.

An-Hyun, still catching his breath with deep inhales and exhales, finally calmed down enough to speak. “Hyung, this march speed is no joke.”

“I know. We’ll keep this pace for a while.”

“What? I mean, Yun-Jung and I can handle it, but what about the others?”

“The others?”

Casting a glance at An-Hyun, I saw the three shake their heads firmly—a silent assurance they could keep up. Shrugging as if to say, “Suit yourselves,” I watched An-Hyun blink dumbly in response.

If this were a dangerous or uncharted area, I’d have paced the march to conserve stamina. You never know when or where a fight might break out, so you’d need energy in reserve. But as I’d noted, Monica is a highly stabilized region. For now, I just wanted to get out of the safe zone quickly.

The clan members probably thought my haste was about rescuing the players who’d gone ahead. But I already had a hunch about what had become of them in the Gorge of Hallucination.

I told the clan we’d move out in ten minutes (I could’ve sworn I heard a silent scream from someone) and leapt down the slope.

Thud!

Crushing scattered leaves underfoot and straightening my bent knees, I saw Go Yeon-Joo still soaking her feet in the water, a languid smile on her face.

“Find anything?” She asked.

“Yeah. We’re on the right track so far. Honestly, it’s impressive—tracking with this speed and not a single misstep.”

“I just made a rough guess. Nothing compared to the Shadow Queen.”

“Ho ho.”

At my slight flattery, Go Yeon-Joo pursed her lips and let out a playful laugh. Pulling her feet from the water, she slipped on her shoes, leapt up, and did a midair flip. She landed lightly in a spot where the grass, though sparse, subtly pointed in one direction.

Sweeping the ground lightly, she nodded and spoke. "The Yeoulganyeok team had 10 members. And the first rescue team was made up of 14. Idiots."

“Any other traces?”

“There are, but they’re all over the place. Based on the timing IstanTel Law mentioned, these tracks are likely the ones we want.”

“Then we’ll follow this direction out of the forest and look for more traces.”

I turned my gaze eastward. According to the map, it’d take about a day to clear the forest at this pace, but if we kept up the speed, maybe half a day. Beyond the forest lay the Wailing Plains, a less stable region.

As I mulled over the plan, I sensed the clan members descending from the hill. I’d told them to rest below, so why bother climbing up if they were just coming down? Sighing, I lined them up.

“An-Hyun, take point. An-Sol, Baek Hangeol, center. Kim Han-Byeol, right behind them. Yun-Jung, rear. Go Yeon-Joo, you’re the keeper.”

The formation snapped into place, and we resumed the forced march with a shout to move out.

*

The sun had set, replaced by a mirror-like moon. The dim twilight vied with the moonlight in a fierce struggle to claim the land. Thanks to nearly a full day of forced marching, we’d finally emerged from the dense forest into the Wailing Plains.

I’d considered a night march, but we’d covered enough ground for one day, and for the sake of Baek Hangeol, still a greenhorn, I decided to stop here.

Baek Hangeol. There was definitely something about that kid. Despite his inexperience, you’d expect him to fall behind once or twice, but he gritted his teeth and kept up without a single complaint. That impressed me, if only a little.

Picking a campsite didn’t take long. In the middle of the plains, one spot was as good as another. After setting up camp with expedition-grade magic stones, we settled in. Thanks to Go Yeon-Joo’s rare display of cooking skills, we had a decent dinner.

As sleepiness hit after the meal, An-Sol and Baek Hangeol nodded off in sync. If you held a contest for the lowest stamina, those two would be neck-and-neck for first and second. Out of consideration, I put them on the last watch shift.

‘Crackle, crackle.’

To prevent a fire, we’d cleared the grass and dug a small pit for the fire, where embers glowed softly between the branches. An-Sol and Baek Hangeol had long slipped into their sleeping bags, breathing evenly. Go Yeon-Joo and Yun-Jung, up for the next watch, had just turned in.

Deep into the night, only An-Hyun, Kim Han-Byeol, and I sat silently around the campfire, staring into the flames.

After a while, An-Hyun, who’d been gazing at the fire, looked up.

“Hyung, I’ve got a question.”

“What?”

“Well, at the meeting, you said about the Canyon of Illusions…”

‘Aaaaaaah…’

Just then, a wail carried by the plains’ wind drifted into our ears. An-Hyun, about to continue, and Han-Byeol, clutching her knees with only her eyes peeking out, both flinched and glanced around, clearly hearing it too. I looked up briefly to check the moon’s shape before speaking calmly.

“Go on.”

“Uh, no, I swear I just heard a wail…”

“I told you, this is the Wailing Plains. It’s nothing. Ignore it.”

“Ugh, is it a ghost? I hate ghosts.”

I was about to scoff at Han-Byeol’s nonsense when I saw her throat bob with a nervous swallow, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. An-Hyun, though, didn’t seem to be exaggerating—he licked his lips and kept scanning the surroundings nervously.

“Dammit, now I’m all creeped out.”

“I said it’s nothing. This place is like that. The Wailing Plains is a huge area. Honestly, it’s kind of an interesting quirk.”

“What kind of quirk?”

“Every now and then, a random wail echoes across the plains for no reason. Haha, don’t get so spooked. This area’s pretty stabilized, so after one wail, it’ll probably stay quiet for a few hours.”

“Oh, really? Well, then…”

‘Aaaaaaah…’

But as if mocking my words, another wail reverberated faintly around our campsite.

‘Two times?’

“…”

“…”

An-Hyun and Kim Han-Byeol’s eyes locked onto me. Wondering if I’d misheard, I felt movement from someone I thought was fast asleep. It was Go Yeon-Joo. Irritated at being woken just as she was drifting off, she scowled and glanced around.

“Su-Hyeon, did you hear that?”

“I did.”

“How many times?”

“Twice.”

Her voice was slightly hoarse. But the moment I said “twice,” she sprang up, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings warily. Still on edge, she spoke again.

“One wail now and then is no big deal. The second wail… what was it again?”

“It’s a signal that something bad’s happened somewhere in the Wailing Plains. A danger warning.”

I smacked my lips and stood up. An-Hyun and Kim Han-Byeol looked back and forth between me and each other, confused. Signaling them to get up, I reached for the Sun-Moon Divine Sword at my waist.

‘Aaaaaaah!’

A wail, clearer than ever, rang out distinctly. It wasn’t just me—everyone awake had their faces harden in an instant.

“Third one,” I said.

Go Yeon-Joo, now fully awake, spoke in her normal voice. I let out a heavy sigh and finished her thought.

“It means someone’s died where that bad thing happened. An-Hyun, Kim Han-Byeol, wake everyone up.”