3. ???pia

All of Sehan’s words were mere hypotheses in his mind. He said that if they didn’t want to believe him, they didn’t have to follow him, and there was no one who said they would go separately.

Whether it was because there were people that the monster appeared, or if the open field was the habitat of the monster, it was still unknown.

However, as the snake monster appeared, a path wide enough for a car to pass through was created in the forest, and people decided to move by car.

Yuju, Sehan, Hansol, Yeonji, Yeonhee, Hyeong-jin, the middle-aged police officer, and the young police officer. The remaining people were these eight.

Sehan divided them into two teams of four.

The team assigned to search the forest first consisted of Sehan, Yuju, Hansol, and the young police officer.

Sehan’s SUV, chosen for its sturdiness, entered the depths of the forest. As they traveled through the dense trees, a path appeared that seemed to have been cleared by someone.

?This place is ?????. Welcome, everyone.?

At the beginning of the path, there was a signboard.

“It’s Korean!”

Although the letters on the signboard were somewhat broken, Hansol exclaimed in excitement upon seeing the words in Korean.

In this world, where nothing was ordinary, the sudden appearance of the words in Korean felt even more alien.

Sehan felt a sense of unease, as if someone was watching them, trapping them here to die.

“How could the words here be in Korean? Could there be someone else?”

“But it says ‘Welcome.'”

The young police officer, Hae-jun, said with a twisted expression on his face.

“How can that be? How can there be someone welcoming us here?”

The atmosphere grew tense. Sehan was the only one who maintained composure, regardless of what was being said. He examined the large rock beneath the signboard and asked Yuju.

“It might be good to go down and take a closer look. Is that alright?”

After Yuju’s request to discuss things in advance, Sehan had been asking such questions more frequently. There were times when Yuju felt embarrassed, him having to seek permission even for trivial matters.

“Let’s go together…”

Yuju blushed slightly and followed him down. There didn’t seem to be any immediate danger, and it seemed better to have Yuju accompany him rather than leaving her alone. So, Sehan silently descended without saying a word.

As the two of them descended, Hae-jun and Hansol also followed them.

The Korean characters were written on a boulder as well, but they were much more severely damaged than on the signboard.

?? Instruction: ????? ????? Path (Difficulty: ?, Very Easy)

????1. ?? ??? do ??d ?????, yo? ???? ???? ?ad! ???????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????, ?? ???? ???? ? ???? ????!

??ep 2. ???? ???????? ?????? ??????, ? ???? ???? ????! ????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ??an ???? ??n!

St??3. ??? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ????????e! ???????, ?????? ?? die!?

Sehan frowned. From the word ‘Instruction,’ he could deduce that it was something related to the instructions for using something.

However, despite the claim that it was very easy, the important characters were all erased. At this point, even with his intelligence, there was almost nothing he could deduce.

?Die?

The only recognizable word was ominous. Despite feeling uncomfortable, Sehan stared at the word intently. It was their native language encountered in this strange and twisted world, serving as a tool to reminisce about the past.

Sehan instinctively knew that this boulder was important. It seemed to provide a significant clue while taunting them.

“What could this mean? An instruction?”

“An instruction for what?”

“Step, die…?”

The faces of the three individuals examining the fragmented letters looked grim. However, no matter how closely they scrutinized the broken words or searched the surroundings of the boulder, they couldn’t find any further clues.

“Let’s keep watch.”

They reached a tentative consensus, unable to give up or ignore the lingering suspicion.

The four of them got back into the car and headed inward.

Screech!

The car abruptly came to a halt. The road abruptly ended, revealing a cliff.

“It’s a lake! There’s a lake!”

Below the cliff was a large, clear lake with a sparkling jade color. The white mist surrounding its edges and the enchanting and mysterious hues of the lake were reminiscent of a landscape from a fairyland. Captivated by the beauty of nature, Hae-jun and Hansol gazed down at the area beneath the cliff.

“If we’re careful and it’s not too steep, we can make our way down, right?”

“Can we use it as drinking water? The water looks clear.”

Before Sehan could say anything, the two of them leaned forward eagerly. Sehan rummaged through his pocket and handed Yuju a handkerchief, gently pulling her shoulder.

“Let’s go back.”

Sehan covered the puzzled Yuju’s mouth with the handkerchief and they returned to the vicinity of the car.

“Why?”

Hae-jun and Hansol followed him, their faces showing discontent as they asked.

Water was essential for human survival. Until now, they had been using sap from the maple tree as their drinking water, but after witnessing the tree transforming into a monster, they felt uneasy. That’s when they discovered the lake. Hae-jun and Hansol couldn’t easily give up because of Sehan’s words, even though they were hesitant.

Instead of explaining with words, Sehan demonstrated his reasoning through action. He looked around and picked up a large rock, throwing it far away.

Since the cliff wasn’t extremely high, they could see clearly as the rock landed in the lake.

Splash! As soon as the rock touched the surface of the lake, they heard a sizzling sound, and the surroundings started bubbling and boiling.

“It’s sulfur dioxide.”

“Sulfur… What?”

Hae-jun asked in confusion.

“Simply put, the entire lake is filled with sulfuric acid.”

“….”

“Based on the formation of this region, it seems to have been a volcanic area. Although it may appear safe at the moment, we don’t know when volcanic activity may resume. The smoke you see over there is believed to be sulfur dioxide emitted during volcanic eruptions, and the gas dissolves in the lake water, creating strong sulfuric acid…”

As Sehan continued his explanation, he noticed the furrowed brows of the others. They all stared at him with their mouths agape.

‘Isn’t this common knowledge?’

As Sehan’s words reached its end, none of the three understood this common knowledge. Sehan looked at their Yuju’s expression, which were no different from the two men’s – Yuju had graduated in business administration, completely unrelated to volcanoes, and Sehan, who was Yuju’s senior in the same major of business administration – and eased his expression slightly.

“Anyway, it’s dangerous to get too close. Let’s go in the opposite direction. It’s better to stay as far away as possible.”

This time, no one objected.

The three of them realized one fact: in order to survive, Sehan’s words were the law and the truth.