Round Table

A small pylon with a pentagram drawn on it was placed at the center of the table.

The old man, gazing at the pylon with fascination, spoke.

“Is this it?”

A question without context.

Eisuke nodded.

“Yes. It is a divine artifact bestowed upon us by Kadalan.”

“Hooh... I finally get to see it. But where is Kadalan?”

“It would be difficult for him to manifest today.”

“Hmm, is it because of the rain?”

“Rather than that, hasn’t he been manifesting quite frequently lately? It seems he is recovering his celestial energy.”

“I suppose.”

Then, a woman with strikingly dyed red hair spoke.

“But Eisuke, didn’t you say it’s still incomplete?”

“That’s right. It’s still incomplete.”

“Then why call us here?”

“For a trial.”

“A trial? Does Kadalan know about this? If you’re doing this without his knowledge, I’m out.”

Eisuke placed a single, beautifully colored feather on the table.

“As you can all see, this is a feather from Kadalan’s wing.”

“A token?”

“Yes. This trial was directly instructed by Kadalan.”

Everyone present nodded. Having seen his feather, there was no room for doubt.

After briefly glancing at the feather, the woman asked.

“So where do you plan to conduct it?”

“Kadalan mentioned that three conditions are necessary for a successful summoning of the pylon.”

“What are they?”

“First, pure ether.”

“Pure ether? Does that mean we need magic stones?”

“Magic stones won’t be nearly enough.”

“Then what do we use?”

“If we draw in Ichiro’s ether instead, it should be possible.”

“Ah... So that’s why we were told to keep Ichiro alive?”

“Probably?”

“Then what’s the second condition?”

“The temperature must be between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius at the time of summoning.”

“That’s quite specific.”

Ignoring the old man’s murmurs, Eisuke stated the third and final condition.

“And lastly, the location must be a sealed channel.”

“If it’s a sealed channel, would Shibuya Station work?”

“What if something goes wrong while casting it in our country? What then?”

“Oh, right. Then where would be a good place? Do you have a location in mind?”

“Somewhere we can move freely, close enough to Japan, but also a place where any side effects won’t harm us at all.”

“And where would that be?”

“Korea.”

The most well-known river island in South Korea was Yeouido.

The second most recognized was Bam Island.

Bam Island became widely known even to people outside the region after the appearance of a channel.

The so-called Bam Island Channel was the first channel to emerge in South Korea.

At that time, a sea serpent appeared there. Sea serpents were troublesome aquatic monsters to deal with.

Fortunately, there were no major casualties, but the site still required careful monitoring.

Even though a channel going berserk doesn’t guarantee the same type of monster will appear, one can never be too cautious.

Lee Seong-jun, the deputy team leader of the Channel Safety Team, was monitoring the Yeouido and Bam Island areas, but for the past four years, the Bam Island Channel had remained quiet.

Because of this, Seong-jun was only glancing at the monitor while reading a web novel.

‘This is good.’

It was a novel recommended by a friend.

It was quite enjoyable.

“Kukuku.”

No, rather than just enjoyable—it was so engrossing that he lost track of time.

He had started reading yesterday and had already paid for 100 chapters.

“Jongsu is adorable. He has no chance of winning.”

Jongsu was a character who constantly challenged the protagonist, a martial artist, trying to beat him in any way possible.

Of course, he always failed.

And that struggle felt endearing to Seong-jun. After all, he, too, had once been a high schooler with a similar reckless spirit.

“Hehehe.”

Chuckling to himself, he suddenly realized he had breezed through five more chapters.

“I should’ve paced myself. Only 80 chapters left now.”

Clicking his tongue at the remaining count, Seong-jun regretted not waiting for the novel to be fully completed before starting it.

Just then.

“Huh?”

The ether graph, displaying the sealed channel’s status, was fluctuating wildly.

There was only one possible meaning.

“T-Team Leader! The Bam Island Channel readings are abnormal!”

Even as he spoke, the ether levels continued to surge. Soon, a warning message appeared on the screen.

The team leader, who had hurried over, shouted.

“Put it on the screen!”

Click, click, click!

Moments later, the CCTV footage from the Bam Island Channel appeared on the monitors.

Bam Island and its surroundings entered their view.

Bright white light masses were shooting up everywhere. It was an unprecedented phenomenon, even for the team leader.

“......”

“Team Leader!”

“Ah... Oh. Contact the management bureau immediately and request emergency response level six! And also—ah! The Abyss Guild recently relocated their headquarters to Yeouido, right?”

“Yes!”

“Then get in touch with the Abyss Guild right away. Ask if they can spare any personnel. Tell them we’ll cover the service fee if necessary!”

“Understood!”

As the Channel Safety Team members sprang into action, the team leader stared blankly at the monitor.

Perhaps... the tragedy from nine years ago was about to repeat itself.

“Just the other day, it was raining as if the sky had a hole in it, and now it's completely clear.”

“Indeed. But I heard there’s another rain forecast for late afternoon.”

While stirring the wok, Choi Sungkyun peeked into the kitchen and said.

“Ah, I should remember to bring an umbrella. By the way, boss, do you like rainy weather?”

“I used to hate it. Whenever it rained, it brought back bad memories.”

“So that means you like it now?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say I like it, but I don’t dislike it as I used to. What about you, Team Leader?”

“I like the rain. When I was a kid, I often went to the market with my mom, holding her hand. But for some reason, every time I tagged along, it would start raining.”

“Sounds like the rainclouds were following you.”

“It seems that way. Anyway, even as a child, I always thought the sound of the rain was just like the sound of a pancake sizzling in the pan. So, I’d stare straight at my mom while she was haggling with the market vendor.”

“How did you look at her?”

“Like this.”

As he turned his head, Choi Sungkyun shot him a sorrowful gaze. Seo-jun chuckled and drizzled a few drops of oil into the wok.

“Then my mom would take me to the pancake stall. I’d sit down and eat two pancakes in one sitting. Maybe that’s why I like rainy days—it reminds me of the old times…”

“Here you go.”

Seo-jun plated the fried rice nicely and handed it to Choi Sungkyun. Sungkyun swallowed hard before speaking.

“I just barged in unannounced before opening hours, and now I’m getting a free meal. Hahaha!”

“I couldn’t resist Team Leader Choi’s sorrowful gaze.”

“Puhaha! Really? I’ll have to use that trick more often then.”

“Ah, do you want some ketchup?”

“No, thanks. I’m not one of those awful grown-ups who eat fried rice just for the taste of ketchup.”

Seo-jun smirked, washed his hands, and placed the wok he had just used into the sink.

Park Yeon had been nagging him to reduce the amount of dishwashing, but what could he do? The dishes kept piling up.

Then, it happened.

Seo-jun frowned.

‘This is…’

Park Joon-sik had mentioned it before. He’d been getting called out more frequently these days.

Lee Myung-seop had said something too. A research team suggested that the mysterious fires occurring in Districts 12 and 13 might not be mere arson.

And Seo-jun had occasionally felt an eerie energy. But each time, it had been fleeting.

Now, that energy had returned. What was once just a momentary feeling was now clear and distinct.

Rrring!

“Ah, what now? I’m eating… What? Bamseom? Got it. I’ll head there. Gather the team… Oh! And bring the equipment.”

Choi Sungkyun jumped to his feet.

“Boss, I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Sounds like something happened.”

“Yeah. There’s an anomaly at the Bamseom Channel.”

“Bamseom?”

“Well, your restaurant is far enough away that you probably don’t have to worry. But just in case, you should avoid using the bridge for now. If the Bamseom Channel goes wrong, there’s a high chance aquatic monsters will be summoned.”

“Got it. Thanks for the heads-up.”

“No need to thank me. And as for this fried rice… freeze it for me! I’ll come back and eat it later.”

With that, Choi Sungkyun placed a ten-thousand-won bill on the counter and rushed out of the restaurant.

As soon as Choi Sungkyun arrived at the temporary camp at the site, he asked for an update.

“What’s the situation?”

“We’re still monitoring.”

“Monitoring? I thought emergency response level six had been activated.”

“It has, but… the disturbance is too strong to approach.”

“Disturbance?”

When Choi Sungkyun repeated the word, a team member handed him binoculars. Though he could see Bamseom without them, the binoculars would allow a clearer view.

The temporary camp had been set up in Yeouido Hangang Park.

Looking through the binoculars, he saw that there were indeed intense energy waves.

“A channel black hole?”

A channel black hole.

Any living thing that approached would be sucked in. The returnees were those who had been pulled into such channel black holes.

“It seems so.”

If that were the case, approaching recklessly was out of the question. Anyone who got too close risked being swallowed by the black hole.

“What did Abyss Guild say?”

Just then, someone entered the temporary camp.

It was the Director of the Management Bureau, Lee Myung-seop.

“The high-ranking awakened members of the guild have no available personnel.”

“Did you tell them we’d pay for their services?”

“Yes. But it seems they really don’t have anyone to spare. Apparently, they have a boss monster raid scheduled in their dungeon today.”

“What about Narak? Did they respond?”

“They’re sending reinforcements, but…”

“But what?”

“The personnel they’re deploying are in Incheon, so it’ll take some time for them to arrive.”

“Why the hell are they in Incheon?”

“I don’t know about that either…”

“Damn it. What about the other guilds?”

“We just sent out cooperation requests.”

Lee Myung-seop nodded as he observed the energy waves beyond.

“Director! The ether levels are spiking!”

At the monitor operator’s urgent report, Lee Myung-seop hurriedly checked the monitor. Indeed, the ether levels were surging.

And this was…

“A precursor phenomenon…”

The operator murmured in panic.

It was a precursor phenomenon.

The sign that monsters were about to be summoned.

“Where’s Team Leader Lee?!”

Lee Myung-seop called out in an attempt to contain the crisis.

He was the only SS-rank awakened in the Management Bureau.

“He just passed Gongdeok Station!”

“That’s too late!”

When a precursor phenomenon appears, in nine out of ten cases, monsters follow.

There was a recent case with Gate 12-K98 where no monsters appeared, but that was pure luck.

And there was no guarantee that Bamseom would be as lucky.

Just as Lee Myung-seop anxiously bit his lower lip, deep in thought—

“I’ll go in.”

It was Choi Sungkyun.