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What does it mean that a person is planted in the ground?

“Grraagh!”

Here it was, the perfect example.

With only his head sticking out, the man was lodged in the earth, and the one responsible for this stared at me with an expressionless face.

“Should I kill him before I go?”

“Wait a minute.”

I squinted and looked at the man.

Soon, a translucent window appeared above his head.

[Name: Choi Sung Ho]

[Age: 30]

[Specialty: X]

[Talent: X]

[Background: He was hastily assigned to the second wedge operation by the management team, but all that remained was a torn soul and an empty shell.]

[Weakness: He is human except that he is a bit tough and does not feel pain.]

I thought if he had transformed, he would be called something other than a person. Is this something slightly different from the basic human distortion?

I pondered, looking at the man still yelling.

Is there no way to reverse this?

A torn soul and an empty shell.

“…”

As the manual said, it stated that he must be thoroughly killed.

Then—

Before I could voice my worries, Jang Chae Yeon reached out, clenched her fist, and just like that, the man’s neck twisted 180 degrees, and the sound ceased.

“Ending him is the right choice.”

Jang Chae Yeon said in a monotonous voice as she looked at me.

“This is entirely my judgment. Feel free to curse me.”

“…No, I would have done the same.”

“Yeah.”

Was this her way of being considerate? Jang Chae Yeon answered briefly and turned to walk ahead.

Once more, I began to walk, relying on just a single lantern light in the darkness.

“How many days have passed?”

“Today marks the second.”

Jang Chae Yeon immediately answered my question.

“In that case, we still have some time.”

It wouldn’t hurt to finish quickly.

Of course, this was under the premise that others were reinforcing the wedge from the other parts other than the east.

I should think about the possibility of failure too.

“If the others fail, the four of us might have to go another way.”

“Hey, don’t say ominous things like that. Whenever you say something ominous, it always comes true.”

Song Ah Rin clapped my arm in fright, and Yu Da On smiled at my words, nodding.

“No matter what happens, we just need to resolve it, right?”

“Right. Everyone, take a look at this for a moment.”

I pulled a hammer out of my pocket, and Yu Da On’s eyes widened as she looked between me and the hammer.

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Well, you see…”

As I shifted my steps, I began to explain the hammer to the others slowly.

“A hammer and an anvil?”

Hmm, as she mused, Song Ah Rin squinted her eyes as if lost in thought.

“I have a hammer, but no anvil.”

“Exactly.”

“Then we need to find an anvil?”

“Well, here’s the thing…”

I recalled the manual.

“The one who drives the wedge and the one with strong will.”

I felt like I had a notion of what to do, but for now, I should keep it to myself.

Jang Chae Yeon and Yu Da On seemed like they might worry unnecessarily otherwise. Not sure about Song Ah Rin though.

“Anyway, that’s that.”

“Well, yeah. If we have the answer, we just need to execute it.”

After Song Ah Rin said so, silence returned.

And so we wandered endlessly through the dark forest.

*

“Ugh.”

How long had we been walking? Yu Da On suddenly halted and pointed her finger at the sky.

“What is it?”

“The sun is rising.”

As I looked up at the sky following her words,

“Wow, it really is.”

The dark sky was gradually brightening.

At the same time, at the edge of my vision, I finally spotted the end of the forest.

“That’s… an open area, right?”

“It seems so.”

I squinted my eyes alongside Yu Da On as we gazed into the distance.

It was a vast clearing. Behind it, it looked like an endless plain spread out.

“Everyone, stay back.”

Yu Da On said in a serious tone as she stepped forward to exit the forest.

How long had we been walking to the center? She checked something and then turned around, waving her hand as if to signal it was okay.

“Let’s go.”

As I followed Yu Da On out, what appeared before us was the huge hollow I had seen earlier.

It was an unsettling hollow.

It seemed like it had been punctured right in the middle of the forest, resembling a wasteland devoid of trees or grasses, with only the red earth fluttering in the wind.

And within it,

“…Wow.”

“I just checked, and even if you get closer, it doesn’t bite your head or drive you insane.”

Yu Da On turned her body around.

Surrounding the object were sharp thorns.

The difference was that the bell was made of stone, and both the handle and the bell body were covered in blood.

It seemed like countless hands had gripped that handle, leaving smudged fingerprints all over.

As the sunlight shone upon the bell, a translucent window emerged above.

[Name: Wedge]

[Age: -]

[Specialty: Wedge]

[Talent: Wedge]

[Background: Countless sacrifices have been made. And in order to stop this, humanity has perished hundreds of times more. This wedge before you is the culmination of all those sacrifices. Stand strong while the one with a powerful mind drives the wedge again. If it’s too strenuous, borrow the strength of another.]

[Weakness: This wedge is already pulled out. It is destroyed when left still.]

“I think this is the wedge.”

“Right. Even if you brought in someone clueless, they’d probably know that this is a wedge.”

Song Ah Rin muttered as she stared at the wedge.

“Then, how do we stop this?”

“Well, you see…”

I stared fixedly at the bell.

As the manual flopped out from my pocket and opened a page.

[Manual for Office Staff]

Only a blank page welcomed me.

What is this? What does it want to say?

While I was picking up the manual, I felt a powerful gaze and glanced to the side.

Yu Da On’s gaze was fixed on the manual.

“…Yeah.”

As if she received some kind of understanding, she nodded.

“Da On?”

“Huh? Oh. It’s nothing.”

Yu Da On quickly shook her head, and Jang Chae Yeon stared at me again.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“…Is that right?”

Jang Chae Yeon stared at me quietly before looking at Yu Da On.

“I think it’s right for Yu Da On to do it.”

“I think that’s right too.”

Yu Da On nodded.

“I’m fine if my body bursts. I won’t die.”

“I think it might not be something like that.”

“Eh…? Then…”

“It’s a mental issue.”

And as if understanding my underlying meaning, Song Ah Rin nodded along and chimed in.

“So you want to do it.”

“Correct.”

“…I don’t want to admit it, but among the four of us, you would probably do the best.”

Song Ah Rin squinted her eyes tightly for a moment before looking at me.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

That was a quick assessment and choice from her.

“For now…”

I glanced at the others.

“Chae Yeon.”

“Yeah.”

“If I grab that bell, please hammer it.”

“Got it.”

Jang Chae Yeon nodded and took the hammer into her hands.

“Song Ah Rin.”

“I’m listening.”

“If I expect a mental attack, please lead everyone away or at least cast some hypnosis.”

“…I’ll try.”

Song Ah Rin frowned a bit as she replied.

“Da On.”

“Yes.”

“If it comes down to it, I might switch places with you, or something might attack, so please stay close by.”

“That’s what I’m good at!”

Yu Da On dashed to my side and stood.

With my left hand gripping the manual, I reached out to grasp the handle of the bell.

Nothing seemed to happen yet.

“Chae Yeon.”

“Yeah.”

When I spoke, she raised her hand, and the hammer swung through the air, striking the bell.

-Deng!

The sound rang out brightly as if I hadn’t been hit by a stone.

“Jae Heon!”

I lost consciousness.

*

I floundered in the darkness.

Just moments ago, I had been holding onto the handle of the bell.

Is this another realm? Or has my consciousness shifted?

“Focus.”

Someone tapped my shoulder.

It was a familiar voice.

It was the voice I had heard when I used the manual as a shield and also in the theater.

When I turned to look back, a child dressed in a black dress was staring at me with a rigid expression.

With black hair and a serene face, she had waved at me from the darkness.

I tried to respond, but it felt like a giant thorn was stuck in my throat, and I couldn’t speak.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

The child nodded and took my hand.

Surprisingly, I felt no sensation at all.

“It’s okay.”

Holding my hand, the child looked directly into my eyes.

“I’m here.”

And then,

-Deng!

A clear bell sound awakened me.

Immediately after, a headache crashed down on me again.

“You’re awake!”

I heard Yu Da On’s voice from behind.

“I’ll strike!”

Jang Chae Yeon shouted from behind, swinging her hands.

A fierce wind whirled around us, and next to me, Yu Da On was kneeling, standing beside me.

Her body and face bore scratches as if grazed by the wind, but she was completely unbothered as she met my eyes.

In contrast, I felt as if the wind had no effect on me, and I bore no wounds at all.

“Jae Heon!”

“Ugh…!”

I tried to respond to her, but as a splitting headache threatened to tear my temple apart, Yu Da On placed her hand over mine that held the bell.

“…!”

Yu Da On’s eyes widened momentarily,

-Kwa-jik!

I heard something piercing my skin.

The headache eased a bit.

What’s going on? Did Yu Da On share the burden with me?

How did she know something like this?

Yu Da On gripped my hand tightly.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

In a calm voice, she began to speak,

-Kwa-jik!

I heard the sound of skin breaking again.

As if in a hallucination, the images of the child and Yu Da On overlapped,

-Deng!

The bell sound rang again, echoing in my head.

“Ugh…!”

At the same time, it began to rain from the sky.

Time accelerated.

It became day, then night, then back to day again, repeating this cycle while the bell kept ringing endlessly.

“Haa… Haa…!”

“It’s okay.”

Like comforting a child, Yu Da On patted me.

-Kwa-jik!

Again, the sound echoed.

I turned to look at Yu Da On’s other hand.

She repeatedly thrust her hand into the thorns she had seen before.

-Kwa-jik!

“Jae Heon, you can do this.”

She once more thrust her bleeding hand into the thorns.

-Kwa-jik!

Blood splattered onto the ground.

She was not immune to mental attacks.

She was merely inflicting continuous pain upon herself to share the burden.

-Deng!

The bell rang again, and from afar, I heard Song Ah Rin’s voice resonating in my ears.

“Hey!! Be careful!”

Be careful?

Forcing myself to ignore the pain in my head, I lifted my gaze.

Before I knew it, a gaping black hole loomed above me.

I looked up at the translucent window emerging from the pain.

[Name: Moon]

[Age: -]

[Specialty: Time Shift]

[Talent: Time Shift]

[Background: Of course, there are numerous obstacles intended to interrupt when successfully driving the wedge.]

[Weakness: If you find and kill the one creating this phenomenon, it will cease.]

Have we succeeded?

-Deng!

As the hammer struck the bell, I heard something shatter, and the hole widened further.

A colossal force began to pull at my body.

“Be careful!”

At that instant, a powerful force gripped my neck.

Is Jang Chae Yeon using her psychokinesis?

As I thought that amidst the throbbing headache,

-Chijik!

I heard the sound of my clothing tearing at the back.

-CRITICAL: 1 -> 2

The translucent window emerged.

We succeeded.

As I found myself getting pulled into the black hole, I thought so,

“Jae Heon!”

Yu Da On held onto my legs tightly, dangling behind me.

As I turned my head to see the two who were reaching out with expressions as if the world had collapsed.

*

“…Heon.”

“…Jae Heon…”

“Jae Heon!”

“Ugh!”

I opened my eyes hastily, and Yu Da On was on her knees, shaking my shoulders.

“What? How are we still alive?”

“Alive or not, I just regained my senses after being sucked in and ended up here.”

“What is this place?”

“Well… I don’t know.”

Yu Da On trailed off, looking around.

It was a ruin.

As if a war had erupted, the buildings were all dilapidated, and no traces of humanity could be seen.

“What’s going on?”

I looked around.

Not even a single living creature in sight.

It was as if the world after humanity’s extinction, something straight out of a video clip.

That very world unfolded before my eyes.

“…Isn’t that the headquarters?”

While I absentmindedly scanned the surroundings, Yu Da On tugged at my sleeve.

“Yeah…?”

I looked up and followed her finger.

A familiar building stood before my eyes.

The Gangseo Branch of the Management Agency lay half-destroyed right before us.