The fortress is being destroyed.
I don’t know whether the Bald Octopus doesn’t care that the fortress I built is collapsing, or if it’s trying to tell us that the enemy within is more fearsome than the enemy without, but it seems like the fortress is not even on its mind.
Watching the clutter explode with a ‘Poom! Pooong!’ as the tentacles flail about, I even begin to wonder if this thing even built the fortress in the first place.
Perhaps this fortress has no real meaning to it.
Isn’t that odd though?
Even if you assume it was built to collapse like dominoes, the craftsmanship is so artistic that it’s almost a shame to knock it down. But the creature doesn’t seem to have any such sentiment as it crumbles its carefully constructed tower with reckless abandon.
Of course, explosions and falling dominoes have their own artistic merits, but somehow this feels a little different.
Maybe it’s absurd to expect common sense from something so unusual residing in a singularity. It’s funny to even try to understand things beyond human perception by human standards.
I might be a bit special even among the strange, so I can think rationally, but expecting rationality from this Bald Octopus (is it analogous to ‘Yeonjeonbbae’?) feels almost greedy.
But I truly want to reap all those tentacles sprouting like beards.
However…
What exactly did Sosik do down there that’s provoked this thing to chase him so furiously? I used him as bait, but the results are so effective that it’s almost unsettling.
This doesn’t feel like a simple reaction to an intruder entering its domain.
I only wanted to check if there was something down there, not engage in some full-scale battle.
So now I’m curious…
What on earth did Sosik do down in that pitch-black darkness?
Maybe he insulted the singularity in some way?
Though he split from me, fundamentally he’s a natural singularity like me, so there’s a possibility he speaks fluent singularity profanity.
Enough idle talk…
Since I can’t lead my tentacles to reap its beards, I need to find some other method.
The problem is we’re tangled up in a situation where we don’t know what to do next.
If Sosik’s success is causing complications like this… well, such is reality.
No, what exactly did he do down there? I’m dying of curiosity.
Meanwhile, as I hear bubbling sounds and come to my senses, I see a tentacle with suckers falling down with a ‘Whoosh!’.
Hmm, did Kim Cheon-soo see this? How would he have seen it?
…All my party members are truly competent.
This attack, though heavy and powerful, feels as slow as a yawn to me now. The art of the sword versus the shield.
The balance won’t tip until someone pulls out a pistol from their pocket.
My pistol probably has some gimmick concealed somewhere.
Would a pistol even be effective against the creature, considering Kim Cheon-soo wouldn’t last long against it… No, that doesn’t seem balanced if all its beards were to be reaped and its skull shattered.
Hmm…
The more I think about it, the stranger it feels that I might actually be quite strong…
Right now, I’m just running around because of Kim Cheon-soo, my punching bag.
Thinking of him reminds me of something strange I picked up earlier. That peculiar object that didn’t belong with the monsters…it’s still floating before Kim Cheon-soo’s face.
Now I notice Kim Cheon-soo blowing bubbles toward it. In a way, it seems to be pointing to it as a clue or key.
…Were those bubbles earlier not about avoiding tentacles, but rather about showing me this?
I’ll correct myself: though that guy might seem incompetent, he’s actually quite perceptive.
To think someone could see something from an angle no human should be able to… feels unnatural.
Anyway…
I deftly dodge the collapsing debris and grab that bubbling thing amidst the jelly.
Thinking it might be a clue, it now looks key-like.
…Actually, isn’t this really a key? I thought it was a screw, but this looks more like a key.
The problem is I have no idea where it might be used.
It would be funny if it blatantly showed where to use it…
Hmm.
Should I have looked around more carefully?
Did I poke the hornet’s nest too early?
I should’ve smoked before poking.
How much longer can Kim Cheon-soo hold out?
Moving too violently might not be good for him.
…It seems Kim Cheon-soo is suited to the pistol. In any case, this is a factor that limits my movements. This isn’t so much about Kim Cheon-soo being inadequate, but rather a reminder of how powerless humans are against the singularity.
Now I understand why the monsters are so amateurishly targeting me. They must be trying to lure me to their side.
Hmm… Is there no other way?
Let’s use Sosik here. Sosik is sure to gain the creature’s attention.
…Or, maybe the bald octopus’ ‘singularity insult’ is chasing Kim Cheon-soo and I, but is actually targeting Sosik?
Deciding, I tapped Sosik dangling on my shoulder.
When he first burst out of that hole, I was worried Sosik might turn into a flat jelly noodle, but now with more experience, I feel he might not be able to kill the octopus, but he should be able to evade it.
On a side note… I’m also curious about what this ‘singularity insult’ actually is.
If Sosik doesn’t show me this time, I have a feeling I’ll carry this curiosity forever.
…Hmm. Anyway, it’s just a side note.
With that resolve, I patted the creature’s body, asking it to go ahead to lure the Bald Mustached Octopus.
With an unmistakable look of irritation, Sosik gave me the ‘just this once’ face, then hopped down from my shoulder and onto the floor.
As expected, the chasing creature focused on Sosik, entering a standoff.
It was a tense moment.
Suddenly,
The Bald Mustached Octopus, instead of lunging at Sosik, began flailing its tentacles wildly and started charging back toward me and Kim Cheon-soo.
…What is this?
Did you betray me in some ‘singularity negotiation’, Sosik?
This wasn’t the case as the creature extended a tentacle toward me, and the previously unenthusiastic Sosik suddenly rushed forward and, in front of the Bald Mustached Octopus,
Started rubbing its own head until all the hair was gone.
Then he proceeded to dramatically polish his now shiny, bald head in circles.
…Are you some kind of devil?
Regardless of my astonishment, I wondered if this would actually work on the singularity. The aesthetic sense of a singularity is not human, so it would never fall for such an幼稚 provocation—no,
Wait, it fell for it.
The creature, which had just extended its tentacle toward me, turned its attention back to Sosik with apparent fury, flailing its tentacles madly.
Sosik gave me an exasperated look, glanced at me once, then disappeared into the remaining debris.
The enraged bald octopus chased after Sosik, making a racket and moving further away.
…It seems both humans and singularities alike can’t stand someone mocking baldness.
Did he do something similar in that dark hole? Or did he emit light from his head?
What a cruel guy… I had anticipated this, but I still… feel a bit bitter.
Still, I couldn’t waste the opportunity Sosik created for me, so I tightly gripped the presumed key in my hand and looked around.
I briefly considered attaching a breathing apparatus to Kim Cheon-soo. Although the creature’s words might be helpful, his condition seemed to worsen significantly after speaking, so I decided to save it for a crucial moment.
While thoroughly searching the debris fortress,
An object that made me think, “Why is something like this here?” came into my view.
The strangely out-of-place item was none other than… train tracks.
Yes, those tracks that a chicky-chick-pock-pock train runs on.
Is this also a part of the debris fortress?
Isn’t it a bit random to be here?
Since I’ve now discovered something that seems out of place, I’ve decided to follow it. Which direction is direct? Let’s proceed in the direction away from the hole for now.
Following the tracks, another strange scene appears.
Most of the tracks seemed obscured by debris. However, it appears that the debris collapsed while the bald creature was rampaging, revealing them starkly.
Of course, this is why I failed to notice them before. The debris was almost arranged to conceal the tracks.
Once I realized this, it felt like this was the right answer. Exactly how it became the right answer, or why there are train tracks in the sea… I don’t know.
Still… isn’t it common in manga for trains to run on the surface of the sea?
No, it’s just strange.
I quickened my pace at the sound of “Uji-jeon!” coming from somewhere nearby – the sound of buildings collapsing.
While Sosik is helping now… I don’t know when his motivation might wane and he collapses.
