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There are generally two qualities of sleep.

First, there’s the “slept well” scenario.

Second, there’s the “didn’t sleep well” situation.

If I sleep well, I wake up feeling great; if I don’t sleep well, I wake up feeling terrible.

However, I’m currently experiencing the contradictory situation of having slept soundly but waking up in a bad mood.

“…”

I feel no fatigue at all, but the distinct anxiety from a nightmare lingers in my mind.

I turn my head to look at the three people.

Yu Da On, who is sleeping with her forehead crinkled up; Jang Chae Yeon, who is curled up in a blanket; and finally, Song Ah Rin, who is sleeping after kicking off her blanket.

They’re all sleeping in such varied ways.

How much time has passed?

Checking my phone, it’s 3 a.m.

As I watch the soundly sleeping people, I head toward the drawer.

They said to give what I need most.

What could possibly be what I need the most right now?

-Drrrr!

The noise from the drawer echoed loudly in the silence, causing me to glance back and check if they had woken up, while also peering into the drawer.

“…”

Inside the drawer lay a single hammer.

What’s this?

As I stared blankly at the hammer, a translucent window appeared above it.

[Name: Hammer]

[Age: Unknown]

[Feature: Hammering]

[Talent: Hammering]

[Background: If there’s an anvil, a hammer can always do its assigned job.]

[Weakness: Without an anvil, a hammer is nothing.]

Hammer, and anvil?

I rummaged through the drawer thoroughly.

Sure, there’s a hammer. But wouldn’t there need to be an anvil too, according to the explanation?

“…”

But the anvil was nowhere to be found.

“…”

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly, a voice from behind sent chills down my spine, and I quickly turned around.

Jang Chae Yeon stood there, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“What’s happening?”

“…Oh.”

It was Jang Chae Yeon.

“You startled me.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Hearing my words, she lowered her head as if hurt.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No… I’m not scolding you or anything.”

It took a few more minutes to reassure the downcast Jang Chae Yeon.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Nothing—”

“Not nothing at all, right?”

Jang Chae Yeon looked up at me.

Her eyes shone in the dark.

“I can tell just from your expression.”

“…”

“I might not be able to solve your problem.”

Jang Chae Yeon slowly said, taking my hand and guiding me.

She sat down heavily on the sofa she had been sleeping on, patting the seat next to her with her palm.

-Tap, tap.

“Sit.”

“…”

As I sat next to Jang Chae Yeon, she leaned back deeply and opened her mouth.

“I probably won’t be able to help. I know less than you and can’t think smartly.”

“That’s not what I meant—”

“I know. You wouldn’t think of me that way.”

Jang Chae Yeon turned her gaze to the window.

“But I think of myself that way.”

“…”

“I’ve always made the wrong choices and paid the price for them.”

Her gaze returned to me.

“But I’m a fool, so I can listen to you better. I won’t offer any clumsy opinions.”

“…”

“Just tell me.”

Jang Chae Yeon’s gaze was on me.

“It might not be something nice to hear.”

It’s pointless to talk about this manual or the end of the world.

“Right. It might not be nice to hear. It could increase your worries.”

“Right. So…”

“But if that means you’ll worry less, I can listen to it a hundred or a thousand times.”

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon always had a talent for leaving me speechless. Since the first time we met.

“…Alright.”

In the end, I had no choice but to spill all my thoughts and what I had seen to her.

About the mountain lodge, the note, and the content of the manual, and the hammer.

“…”

After listening to everything, Jang Chae Yeon fell silent for a moment before she spoke.

“I see.”

“…”

“…”

“…Is that it?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Are you not worried or anything?”

“Not at all.”

She shook her head slowly.

“You’ll always show the most correct path, just like always.”

“…”

“And I’ll just pave that path beautifully.”

She looked at me with earnest eyes.

I could feel trust pouring from her gaze.

Why does it make me feel foolish for having such thoughts until now?

“Being with you, Chae Yeon, somehow… well, I feel warm inside.”

“…I’ve never heard that before, but if you say so, I guess I’ll be that kind of person.”

Jang Chae Yeon replied with a soft smile and turned to the other two.

“Should we wake them up?”

“…”

“We don’t have much time. And since they’re sleeping here, don’t you feel like fatigue is lifting quickly?”

“…That’s true.”

“Then let’s wake them up.”

The other two quickly woke up.

“What? What were you two talking about?”

“Uh? Just, um…”

“Secret.”

As soon as she woke up, Song Ah Rin squinted at both of us, and before I could respond, Jang Chae Yeon put her finger to her lips and replied.

Song Ah Rin’s expression contorted slightly, and she began to complain while packing her things.

“…No time. Let’s hurry.”

“We were awake first, you know?”

“Don’t question every single thing I say! Just get ready!”

Was it really necessary to shout like that?

Before heading out, I thought about whether the others could find the anvil or any other items, but nothing turned up.

After tidying up, we stepped back outside.

We walk through the still dark night.

“Waking up and still being night feels weird, like we’re on a night trip!”

As usual, Yu Da On spoke while walking ahead.

“It is actually a night trip after all.”

It was still four in the morning.

-Patapat…

“What’s coming?”

Jang Chae Yeon, who stood next to me, grabbed my arm and whispered while Song Ah Rin narrowed her eyes and replied.

“Wait. That’s a person.”

“A person?”

“They’re conscious.”

“What about hostility?”

“If I could tell that, I’d be a human radar.”

Song Ah Rin mumbled as she squinted her eyes.

Soon, with the sound of footsteps, someone appeared.

“Ugh… huff…!”

It was a man panting heavily.

He looked to be around my age.

He was holding an old gun, and his clothes looked like something from forty years ago.

“…”

Jang Chae Yeon stepped forward and reached out her hand, and the man widened his eyes when he saw us.

“It’s a person! It’s a person!”

He raised both hands high and charged toward us, and

“Gah!”

Yu Da On expertly grabbed his extended arm, twisted it, and slammed him to the ground.

“Who are you?”

Yu Da On asked coldly as she pinned him down, a tone not typical of her.

“Wait.”

Song Ah Rin slowly approached and touched her finger to the man’s forehead, which was pressed against the ground.

His thrashing body suddenly stopped, and he looked at us with calmer eyes than before.

“Explain.”

“…I’ve been lost here for a month.”

“A month?”

Song Ah Rin turned to look at me.

She stepped forward and faced him.

“…How did the wedge operation go?”

“…Wedge.”

His expression turned to despair from my words.

“…We failed.”

“…What?”

“The first wedge operation team failed, and I was included in the second wedge operation team, but…”

His expression grew darker.

“We failed. It’s over for us. We unleashed ‘it.’”

“No, what’s ‘it’?”

“‘It’ is—”

He stopped mid-sentence, staring blankly into space.

“I can hear it.”

“Pardon?”

“I can hear the bell.”

“…”

I looked at the other three, but they all met my gaze and shook their heads.

None of us could hear the bell.

“What kind of bell is it?”

“Ah… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Suddenly, he began moving his body crazily.

“I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…!”

“Uh, what’s… the strength…!”

Yu Da On, who was holding him, muttered in panic, and his form began to change.

“Grrrk, I’m sorry…! Aah!”

His voice began to distort, and

“Grrrk…!”

Like he had lost his sanity, he started writhing and bit Yu Da On’s arm.

“Ugh—”

Yu Da On’s flesh scattered into the air as he roughly shoved her aside and got up.

-Thud!

Immediately, Jang Chae Yeon sank him back into the ground.

“…Huh?”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me.

Does she mean to kill him?

What on earth is this? Why did this man suddenly appear, and how did he transform into such an inhuman state so quickly?

“…Wait.”

Before I could nod, Song Ah Rin stopped Jang Chae Yeon.

“…Hey.”

“What?”

After locking eyes with me, Song Ah Rin gestured toward the man.

“Connect with him.”

“…”

I doubted my ears.

“What did you say?”

“Connect with him. You know from last time that it works.”

Song Ah Rin took a deep breath.

“Only then can we understand better. That’s what you said, right?”

“Song Ah Rin, I don’t know what that man hears, but—”

“I know. It’s a wave strong enough to change his physical form. If so, it’s not something simple.”

“…”

Her gaze met mine.

“Understood.”

“Good. Weakness doesn’t suit you.”

Song Ah Rin smiled as she looked at me.

[Method: 1]

A violet thread emerged from above Song Ah Rin’s head.

“…Excuse me?”

“Do it.”

When Song Ah Rin nodded, she moved the thread toward the still writhing man and pierced it into his head.

“…Urgh.”

The reaction was immediate.

Song Ah Rin clutched her head and knelt down.

“Song Ah Rin!”

“…Shh, I’m okay.”

She murmured and stood up.

Her eyes were already red from bursting blood vessels.

“…I hear the sound. The bell.”

After leaving those words, she started to walk as if entranced.

“Da On, is it the east?”

“…Yes.”

I quickly confirmed with Yu Da On, and after looking at the compass, she nodded.

Walking alongside Song Ah Rin, I checked her condition.

“Song Ah Rin.”

“Quiet. I’ll explain from now on.”

Speaking with painful pauses, Song Ah Rin continued.

“The wedge is a seal.”

“A seal?”

“Inside it, there’s a giant with a bell.”

With her eyes as red as a rabbit’s, she murmured.

“When the bell rings… we lose ourselves.”

-Drop.

Tears mixed with blood fell from her eyes.

“Song Ah Rin!”

“Shut up. I’m okay.”

She waved her hand and continued.

“The way to drive in the wedge is easy.”

She stared blankly into the distance.

“A person with strong will grabs the wedge while another drives it in.”

A person with will, the wedge, and the hammer.

“That’s all.”

I quickly cut the thread connected to Song Ah Rin, and she staggered before collapsing to the ground.

“I feel like I’m dying…”

“Are you okay?”

“No, everything’s bright red.”

After wiping her blood tears, Song Ah Rin stood back up.

“Do you understand?”

“…”

The hammer and the anvil, the one who drives in the wedge and the one with strong will.

“I think I understand.”

I understood the wedge. But what is that man, and why did we meet him here?

My gaze wandered far away.

The manual fell from my pocket and unfolded.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[AT – Withstanding Mental Attacks]

1. No matter how strong your mind is, one can be susceptible to mental attacks.

2. During such times, divert your attention with pain or focus on another place.

3. If even that is hard, hold the manual in your hand. It will help you.

The manual seemed to have reached the same realization as me.