I will go into Guga's underground.
When he heard those words, Gu Seong-yeol froze as he was. His expression twisted slightly, and the heat that had filled the room seemed to dissipate somehow.
"Underground?"
"Yes."
Guga's underground. That word seemed to strike deeply at Gu Seong-yeol. A stronger heat than before flickered in his eyes.
⸻
"…I remember you mentioning that last time."
"That's correct."
Do not concern yourself with Guga's underground.
Those were the words Gu Seong-yeol had spoken in passing, and I remembered them clearly.
But still—
"I must go, so I'm telling you."
"That's presumptuous."
A chill filled the air. His reaction made it clear he had no intention of allowing it. Naturally. Guga's underground…
"You're not even a head of a branch family. What right do you have to try and enter the underground?"
⸻
A head of a branch family, or the main family of Guga.
Only someone of that rank could enter.
The only reason I had a chance this time was because I was destined to become a branch head.
So I sought my father's permission.
But now…
"I'm not someone who becomes anything."
From Gu Seong-yeol's perspective, I was nothing.
"Still, can't you make an exception?"
"Do you need me to repeat myself?"
"I know it's not allowed. But I still want to try."
"I'll say it again—"
"If you think about it, I'm not all that different from the head of a branch family, am I?"
…
At those words, Gu Seong-yeol closed his mouth.
I wasn't all that different from a branch head.
That must be what silenced him.
"…You."
He looked surprised, as if he didn't expect me to say it so openly.
"I've already been to Guga's underground. I also know well what's down there."
"And you still want to go, even knowing that?"
"There's something I want to ask."
"To the ones down there?"
"Yes."
"….."
"If you say no, I'll accept it. But in the end, I'll find my own way."
"A way…? What, are you saying you'll force your way in?"
"If that's the only way, then I have no choice."
"Hah."
Gu Seong-yeol scoffed in disbelief.
"What do you plan to do with that body?"
He was in a state with no inner power at all. He couldn't even handle a mid-level martial artist.
Even entering the underground with strength intact made survival difficult. With a weakened body like his, it would be even worse.
But he knew all that.
"I still want to go."
"Why on earth?"
"There's something I need to ask one of them."
"..."
"It'll only take a moment."
Gu Seong-yeol looked at him with a grim expression. It was deadly serious.
At that moment—
"You don't even seem interested in inheriting the family, and yet you're so brazen."
"...Haha."
The sharp words forced a hollow laugh from him. They hit directly at the truth in his heart.
"You know what it means to go to the underground, and what's down there, yet you still insist?"
"I don't know the meaning behind it. No one ever told me."
The underground of the Gu clan.
He didn't know how it came to be or why it existed. But once he became the acting head of the family, he came to know a few things:
'Their names.'
And that the Gu clan was responsible for managing that place until their deaths.
From that, it was clear:
'It's related to karma.'
And that karma was linked to the role of "proxy master" — the burden assigned by the world itself.
In addition:
'The beings locked down there.'
They clearly looked like entities from another realm.
'There's something connected here.'
Something tied to karma had to be involved.
Among those beings…
If the Black Dragon Sword tried something with them, then he had to confirm it for himself.
Also—
'Since it's not the real world anyway…'
He thought he might gain something here that wasn't obtainable elsewhere.
As father had once said:
'Do as you wish.'
And that, regardless, it would all lead to the conclusion anyway.
So having heard that, he simply acted on what he wanted.
Gu Seong-yeol remained silent, staring. Would words get through to him? Probably not. This was little more than a shameless insistence to go in anyway.
However
'If I'm truly doing as I wish…'
Then maybe this way would work too. It was also a kind of test.
After a moment of silence—
"…There's a condition."
Huh.
To his surprise, Gu Seong-yeol gave a positive response.
'It actually worked?'
If this world was manufactured, then maybe acting on desire truly did change things.
Or maybe—
'It's just Gu Seong-yeol's decision.'
He couldn't be sure, but either way, it worked out.
"What's the condition?"
"I'll tell you after you return. But you must accept it, no matter what. Will you?"
"That's terrifying."
The word "must" was terrifying. He hesitated a moment, not knowing what might be asked of him.
Still—
"Hmm."
To gain something, you have to give something up. After pushing this far, agreeing to one condition seemed fair.
"I'll do it."
"..."
Hearing that, Gu Seong-yeol waved a hand. Sparks flared—fwoosh!—and a drawer opened on its own.
From within, something floated out and arrived in front of him.
An official seal.
He knew it well.
"Use it. You know how, don't you?"
"Yes."
He grabbed the seal.
"It's a half-pass. Nothing more."
"That's enough."
He nodded and turned. As he opened the door—
"..."
Someone was waiting for him. He recognized the figure.
It was the Chief of the Gu Clan.
"I will escort you."
"…Yes."
The Chief had clearly expected him to emerge with the seal.
Maybe because he wasn't human, there was something unnervingly off about him.
⸻
Entrance to the underground.
He arrived. At the threshold, the Chief quietly stepped aside.
"Be careful down there."
"..."
With the Chief's bow, he headed inside.
The stairs weren't long. For a place supposedly hidden, it wasn't very deep.
Soon, he reached the bottom. In front of him was a massive door.
'Every time I see it…'
It radiated ominous energy. Hard to describe exactly, but the feeling was undeniable.
"Hmm…"
He raised the seal and touched it to the door.
Krrrk—!!
Fwoosh!!
As the seal met the metal, sparks flew, and the mechanisms inside activated.
It didn't take long. It wasn't like the Taoist underground—no intricate mechanisms.
The door began to open.
Creak.
It moved on its own, heavy and imposing.
He stood, tense, watching it open.
'It's coming.'
As soon as the door opened, he expected that terrible sound and overwhelming pressure—
He stepped in.
Tap.
His foot landed fully inside. He swallowed.
The pressure… should have hit by now.
But—
'It's not coming?'
His eyes darted around.
'What? Why?'
No oppressive force.
He looked around the room.
A wide row of prison cells, just as before.
But—
"Huh?"
As he looked into the cells, his eyes widened.
"Where did they go?"
Gone.
What should have been there—wasn't.
That wasn't right.
They had to be here.
He suddenly had no purpose.
They were supposed to be here.
He walked deeper in. By now, the pressure should've had him fainting.
'I'm fine.'
He was completely fine.
'What the hell is going on?'
He kept walking, eventually reaching a door to the next chamber.
He had never gone that far before. He'd never even considered it.
But now—
'With no one here… I came all the way.'
Would the next chamber be the same?
He reached out, intending to go further—
⸻
—Stop.
He froze.
He didn't turn around.
The voice hadn't come from the room.
It had come from within him.
It was—
'Ancestor.'
His voice.
"You must not go further."
"What is going on? Why is there nothing here?"
He let his hand fall from the door.
"An anomaly."
"...An anomaly?"
"Yes, an anomaly."
"What do you mean?"
"You know this world was crafted based on various information, right?"
"Yes."
"But this place is different. Your mother could not reach it."
"...My mother couldn't reach it?"
"A limitation of information. Don't go any further. This part wasn't prepared."
"So what's stored down here in Gu's underground is that important?"
"Yes, and beyond that door, even more so."
"Hmm…"
He understood.
He took a step back.
"I see. This place is dangerous."
A place his ancestor explicitly warned against.
So—
"I have to go."
"What?"
Clack!!
"….!"
He grabbed and pulled the door.
"Why won't you…!"
His ancestor sounded shocked.
But he clicked his tongue.
"Enough with the cryptic warnings. Don't talk like danger alone is reason enough."
He was sick of it.
"I need to know."
He was tired of being in the dark.
He couldn't take it anymore.