Chapter 13: Yerin’s Journey (3)

Kim Sera slowly reread the report Kim Won-jae brought.

“This can’t be right…”

The sudden spike in the measured readings, with no signs beforehand, was strange.

The first signs of the anomaly appeared two days ago.

The investigation team had been formed and renamed as the “Kim Sera Investigation Team,” and they set up base in this

fishing village just yesterday.

They had already begun the investigation, and although it had only been one day, they had finished scanning the area

multiple times with detectors and completed all data collection.

Kim Sera, as the chief researcher, proved she wasn’t given the title on a whim—what would take a normal scholar over a

week, she had verified and processed in a single day.

That’s why, just moments ago, she had been relaxed—criticizing a sloppy report from a senior researcher from Parang.

The heavy sea fog, and the initial level-1 anomaly reading…

“Just natural weather effects,” she had concluded.

Kim Sera had confidently determined that the lingering energy had simply condensed by chance and wasn’t something to

worry about.

She didn’t believe it was a “Concept” (Gwanyeom) either. If it were a real concept-type entity, even a newly formed one

would leave a very noticeable trace at the moment of its appearance.

Unless it was a very old and experienced concept hiding its presence, it wouldn’t be able to suppress the burst of energy

when it manifested.

In such cases, remnants would always linger thick in the air.

Aside from the fog, there were no missing people or other unusual signs. In fact, the detector readings were dropping

steadily.

So Kim Sera had planned to report to the government officer and officially wrap up the mission.

But during the 10 minutes she had left the tent, the readings—previously heading to zero—suddenly tripled.

“You didn’t bring the wrong report, did you?”

“No! I double-checked!”

With a shift this big, it was clearly not a fluke. The expedition that was expected to stall turned out to have caught

something big.

As Kim Sera lowered the report, she looked around at the other members.

All rookies. They seemed oddly excited by the incident, eager to prove themselves.

That’s the problem with newbies. In these cases, they should be contacting a higher-tier research center immediately.

‘Wait, which senior center is closest again?’

Parang and Jeondo…

‘Oh, right. The director of Jeondo is here already. And she’s also the leader of this team.’

Her face lit up, just like the rookies’.

If she could neutralize a concept and bring it back to the Jeondo Center… maybe she could finally return to Seoul.

Keeping her voice calm, she said:

“ What are you doing?”

“ what do you mean?”

Kim Sera shook her head and held up the report. Kim Won-jae clearly didn’t understand what the data meant.

Lack of experience.

Most people are taught that concepts only appear at level 5 or higher. But that’s only textbook knowledge. Reality is

different.

There are always exceptions. Some senior researchers from Parang and the government seemed to sense something but

weren’t acting—probably due to lack of certainty.

‘I’m different. I’m sure this time.’

“Everyone, gather the suppression and neutralization gear the government gave us. We’re going to the place where the

readings came from.”

“W-what? All of a sudden?”

“Do you think this is just a sensor glitch?”

“Well… it could be…”

“As a senior researcher, you should know. Don’t ignore this. The sensors might be sensitive, but they never lie.”

Kim Won-jae protested nervously:

“But Team Leader… It’s too dangerous to leave now. The fog is too thick. Visibility is zero. Shouldn’t we wait until it clears

up—like in 12 hours?”

Kim Sera looked out of the base. Earlier, they could still see the nearby village. Now, even that had disappeared. The fog

was only getting worse.

“No. We have to go now.”

“Team Leader Kim, I know you’re worried, but we can’t work properly without visibility…”

“I know. But if this really is the work of the concept I’m thinking of, waiting will only make it worse.”

“You suspect something specific?”

“The Mist. A fog that drifts over the sea.”

One of the senior researchers shook his head.

“That concept only appears in oceanic regions. Isn’t this a stretch?”

“Can you be 100% sure it’s not? Can you take full responsibility?”

“well…”

“I’m sure of it.”

After she said that with certainty, the senior researcher backed off, and everyone’s eyes turned to her.

“It’s always appeared near the sea, so I didn’t recognize it at first. The faint energy, the thick fog… I didn’t want to jump to

conclusions, but now the symptoms match. Once it finishes preparing, it reveals itself—always hidden in the mist.”

“From now on, assume the worst. If this is the Mist, it won’t let us use any electronic equipment. Nothing, visible or

invisible, can escape the fog once it settles in.”

“This fog won’t clear. Once you’re trapped, it stays until everything inside is dead.”

The more she spoke, the more people gulped in silence.

“Take all the suppression tools and gear you have! If the Mist is here, we’re already at risk just by being in this space. It’s

probably already trying to suck the life from our bodies.”

The Mist had always been the same.

It built a maze and consumed anyone who entered.

But now, she was in trouble.

The Deep Sea.

A concept that existed long before the Mist was born—yet still hadn’t evolved into an abstract idea.

They were both concepts, but not equal.

If the Mist was born from people’s thoughts, the Deep Sea grew from stronger feelings.

Fear.

The terror of the unknown.

“Should I grill it today? I steamed it yesterday.”

She had been living normally—eating fish in all kinds of ways, wandering the seas—when she met the Deep Sea.

In the territory war that lasted 10 days, she was utterly defeated and ran away, leaving everything behind.

“I was getting tired of fish anyway, geez!”

Now, that terrifying being Kim Sera had warned about—one that could trap even radio signals and prey on people’s

energy—was casually licking a lollipop.

The white-haired girl with rabbit ears was now blushing, holding her cheeks with both hands and rolling the candy in her

mouth like she was tasting heaven.

At first, when she dropped her pen in shock, I wondered if she didn’t like the taste.

But that wasn’t it.

From the way she was ignoring me now and just going “slurp slurp,” all her attention was clearly on savoring the candy.

Seeing how happy she looked made me kind of regret giving it away. I should’ve eaten it myself.

The candy my sister gave me before I left…

‘What if that candy was actually some royal treasure? Like a national sweet of a forgotten kingdom?’

The more I watched her enjoy it, the more suspicious I got. Otherwise, how could she react like this to a candy she’s

probably had before?

There are tons of things tastier than candy. Cakes. Ice cream.

“What… what is this?”

As if to confirm my suspicion, the girl flopped down and mumbled after finishing the candy.

‘Okay, now that’s a bit much…’

Now she was licking the candy wrapper off the ground, like she was heartbroken that it was gone.