Chapter 29

The Explorer I

When the Void erupted in the middle of Seoul, the entire Gangnam area was ravaged.

I’ve mentioned this in several of my stories, so you should be familiar with it.

Known as the "Gangnam Void Crisis," "Gangnam White Night," or "Summer in Seoul," this incident claimed even Old Man Scho’s wife, who fell victim to the "summer."

However, a few buildings remained intact amidst the void-infested Gangnam area.

If “intact” means a building looks neat from the outside.

Here’s a question:

Q. How can a building remain as intact as before, on land consumed by the void?

A. It’s also void.

Exactly. Eye for an eye, poison for poison.

To resist the void, there was only one solution: overpower it with an even stronger void.

Put differently, if you see a building in Gangnam that’s still “intact,” that means it managed to shrug off the void that obliterated half of Seoul’s population.

These were the highest-level dungeons.

All the sturdiest, scariest, and most brutal voids on the Korean Peninsula were concentrated in Seoul’s Gangnam.

The real estate market in the human world had collapsed, but among anomalies, Gangnam was still the hottest spot.

One of the most notorious dungeons was a hotel in the building nicknamed the “Tower of Sauron.”

Since the previous story involved an inn, today, let's talk about a hotel.

The building known as the “Tower of Sauron,” as many of you know, is the tallest skyscraper in Seoul.

Initially, it was a nickname with a hint of humor, but when the void devastated Gangnam, the building’s residents, office workers, and hotel staff vanished entirely. Thus, the name "Tower of Sauron" became literal.

Right after the void’s eruption, people had high hopes for the tower.

“That building looks fine!”

“There must be lots of survivors inside!”

It was already the tallest building on the peninsula. In today’s world, where the average height of Seoul’s buildings has reverted 50 years, it stood out even more.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard somewhere that the tower was designed to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake…”

“Could it really be intact inside?”

“There’s supposedly a portal to another world near the top of that building.”

“Let’s go in! Let’s check it out!”

First, residents from north of the Han River entered the tower.

They went missing immediately after entering.

In the initial stages of the apocalypse, a handful of missing people didn’t concern anyone. Even adding two zeros to the number wouldn’t change the situation.

But after a month or two, strange rumors about the Tower of Sauron started to circulate.

“It’s a place where you can’t return if you take even a single step inside.”

“A reconnaissance team is forming.”

At that point, the South Korean military, which had managed to hold on, launched an operation.

With the Ten Legs treating soldiers as delicacies and sweeping through the ranks, any surviving unit had to be elite.

The soldiers decided to borrow the wisdom of their ancestors, but from a much earlier time.

“We will form a single-file line and enter the tower. Every soldier will tie a rope around their waist.”

“Rope, sir?”

“Yes. This rope will link all the soldiers together. The operation will be called ‘Ariadne.’”

Like Theseus landing on Crete and facing the greatest labyrinth humanity had ever known, the soldiers approached this operation with the same determination.

“The frontmost row will go in first, then walk back outside if nothing happens. If we lose contact with the front row, cut the rope immediately so the others can escape. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. Prepare the ropes.”

A cautious and effective strategy.

The problem was that the Tower of Sauron wasn’t just any dungeon; it was a demonic castle that had survived the “Summer in Seoul.”

“We’ve lost contact with the soldiers who entered the door!”

“Pull the rope!”

“It won’t pull. Ugh, it’s not moving! It’s heavy as a rock!”

“We have no choice. Abort Ariadne. Cut the rope!”

“Yes, sir. Huh? The rope… why? No…?”

“What are you doing, you idiot! Cut the rope!”

“I can’t cut it! The rope won’t cut!”

“What the hell are you saying…? Whoa, we’re being pulled!”

“Aaaaah! Help me! Help me!”

“No! Hold on! If you’re dragged in, you’ll die…”

Incredibly, the rope seemed to have transformed into titanium. The military knives couldn’t even leave a dent.

The glass doors of the Tower of Sauron opened wide and dragged the soldiers in, swallowing them like noodles slurped up in one go.

A perfect feast.

“Aaaah!”

The soldier holding onto the door frame to avoid being pulled in was gone in a flash. His screams lasted only two seconds before fading.

With a squeak, the glass doors gently closed. If the Tower of Sauron could talk, it would probably say “Burp.”

The reconnaissance team was wiped out.

After this incident became known, the line of civilians daring enough to challenge the tower dwindled.

That’s right. Civilians stopped.

I, the Undertaker, lived by my own rules, far removed from normal sentiments.

What if I died in the tower? I’d just regress.

And so, I sought out a companion to explore the hotel with. It would be boring to go alone.

“Ah-ryeon, how about a hotel staycation this summer?”

“A h-hotel staycation?”

Sim Ah-ryeon’s ears perked up. She had the temperament of a loner but harbored an acne-like yearning for the life of an extrovert.

“Sounds nice, but… but, just you and me?”

The yearning spoke.

“No matter what, I mean, that’s a little…”

“Relax. It’s not that kind of trip. I’m just thinking of spending a few days at the best hotel on the peninsula. If you’re interested, come along. If not, I’ll ask someone else.”

“Uh…”

Sim Ah-ryeon blinked, swayed by my indifferent yet cool response, thinking, “Is he serious?” She had been consistently easy to sway since the first cycle.

“O-Okay… I’ll go!”

Two days later.

Sim Ah-ryeon screamed in front of the hotel entrance, carrying her travel backpack.

“You said it was a hotel! You said it was a hotel, guild leader! It’s the Tower of Sauron—here!”

“What are you talking about? There’s a hotel here.”

“Not is but was! They’re all gone! The buildings are ruined! It’s all ‘Gangnamed!’”

“Enough. Follow me. I need you to come in and sketch the landscapes and maps.”

“Aaaaah! I should’ve known when you said ‘hotel staycation!’ Somebody save me! No! No way am I going to die here where thousands have already died—I don’t care if you’re the guild leader, no means no――”

And so began the Undertaker’s fun exploration of the void.

As soon as we stepped through the glass doors of the Tower of Sauron, a stunning sight greeted us.

“Huh? There’s light…?”

The building that looked pitch-black from outside was brightly lit inside.

Not only that.

There were four perfectly operational elevators, two on each side of the entrance. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling was spotless.

It was as if――

“It’s like time hasn’t moved at all… How is this possible…?”

“Hmm.”

I nodded.

As an experiment, I pressed an elevator button. Srrr. The doors slid open without a hitch.

“Gasp. It’s working…?”

“Remarkable. Time hasn’t just stopped; the building is fully functional. Ah-ryeon, did you notice?”

“Huh? What?”

“Look outside.”

Sim Ah-ryeon, who had been captivated by the chandeliers and elevators, finally turned around. With her trademark shriek, she clung to my arm like a caterpillar.

“What’s that? Who’s that?”

Outside the doors—meaning just beyond the glass doors we had entered through—a man in a suit stood politely.

“He’s probably a hotel staff member, a doorman who opens doors for guests.”

“But there wasn’t anyone there earlier…”

“Remember this, Ah-ryeon: In the void, you can’t rely on preconceived notions. The glass doors we saw from outside and the outside we see now are two different spaces. Think of it like a picture in a frame.”

“Oh…”

“The problem is, we’ve stepped inside the frame. If we tried to open those doors now, they wouldn’t budge. Go ahead and try.”

“...…”

Sim Ah-ryeon cautiously tried to open the doors, but nothing happened. The hotel staff standing just beyond the glass didn’t even glance at her.

“It’s true…”

“That’s why ‘void’ fits better than ‘gate.’ Things that look like doors no longer mean anything as entrances or exits. To escape the void, you must follow the proper procedure or subjugate the boss.”

“The boss…”

“Of course, many voids don’t have bosses, which makes them trickier to clear. Let’s see how closely this void imitates a real hotel.”

I led Sim Ah-ryeon into the elevator.

Since this was one of the most luxurious hotels in Korea, the elevator itself was lavish.

The building boasted 123 floors, but we chose to enter the void through the hotel’s main entrance. So, the elevator only had four buttons.

[81F - Western Restaurant, Korean Restaurant, Bar]

[79F - Lobby, Guest Lounge]

[76F - Grand Banquet Hall, Small Banquet Hall]

[01F – Entrance]

Sim Ah-ryeon shifted nervously, intrigued yet uneasy.

“What if the elevator suddenly falls while going up…?”

“That’d be great.”

“W-What? But we’d die.”

“Sure, we might die, but the course would be incredibly short. If this void only entertains itself by making humans fall in an elevator, then… the risk level would drop.”

In that case, the Tower of Sauron would simply be classified as a void or anomaly called “Hotel Elevator,” and that would be the end of it.

Not dangerous, and easy to beat. Just don’t get in the elevator. Done.

As long as you’re not some pervert who gets excited by elevator vibrations, you could safely ignore it in future cycles.

“What are you even talking about, guild leader…? We’d die.”

“True voids don’t kill people. They make you want to live here forever.”

“Huh?”

Click. I pressed [79F].

Since we had entered through the hotel entrance, we were likely guests staying at the hotel.

And as guests, our first stop should be the “hotel lobby” to “check-in.”

Twitch!

When the elevator began moving, Sim Ah-ryeon’s shoulders tightened. I tapped her back gently.

“How long you survive successfully in a void depends on your understanding of its ‘personality.’”

“……”

“Remember that staff member standing beyond the glass doors? Even little details like that are important. In the void, no clue is insignificant. If a staff member is outside, it’s because ‘the void believes it’s a hotel.’”

“The void believes it’s a hotel…”

“Yeah. Like the saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ you need to follow the void’s rules unless you plan to mess things up right away. In that sense, the soldiers who tried to enter earlier were unlucky.”

“W-Why?”

“What guest would enter a luxury hotel in military gear, holding a gun? They were probably mistaken for terrorists and slaughtered.”

“...…”

I secretly wished the elevator would fall. By wrapping myself in aura and shielding Sim Ah-ryeon, I’d have a high chance of survival.

But this world was sincere in its desire to screw people over, especially me.

Srrr—

In less than a minute, the elevator reached the 79th floor.

And as the doors elegantly opened, I was sure this void belonged to our proud world.

“My God, guild leader! Look! It’s so luxurious here…”

The perfectly polished marble lobby welcomed me. Even the staff at the check-in counter smiled at us from afar.

“Hmm.”

A big “F-U” indeed.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried