The moment I stepped over the golden rope, my foot touched the ground.
It felt like I’d entered a special field in a game or something.
The fog vanished as if by magic, revealing the scenery around me.
But…
‘…It’s huge.’
Under the full moon, the field in the mountain was far larger than I had expected.
A massive field sprawling over the ridge.
The dark, deep greens swayed quietly under the bluish moonlight.
Yet, there was nothing peaceful or pleasant about it.
It felt ominous, unsettling.
– A strange scent lingers here.
He was right.
And among those swaying green plants, I noticed clusters of small, red berries… wait a minute.
‘…Ginseng?’
It was, wasn’t it.
Is this a field of ginseng?
Wait, ginseng is typically cultivated by people, but this didn’t seem to be human-grown…
‘…Wild ginseng?’
All of this is wild ginseng?
‘No way…’
I quickly scanned the field and saw a sign posted at the edge.
[千年]
Millennium.
“……”
I immediately turned around, intending to cross back over the golden rope.
– Mr. Roe Deer?
‘I’m outta here.’
Thousand-year-old wild ginseng?
It’s like opening a friend’s pencil case to borrow a pen and finding it filled with gold bars instead.
Just as I was about to cross back over the rope—
[Honored Guest!]
“……!”
[Ah, Honored Guest. Please, don’t leave me…]
A faint, trembling voice called out, with the sound of soft sobbing from behind me.
Slowly, I turned my head halfway.
[The ghost bound to the tiger is coming to take me! A terrifying tiger will tear me limb from limb and spit me out upon the earth! Please save me, please…!]
One of the berries in the field wobbled, as if waving at me.
Then, realizing I was looking, its leaves drooped dejectedly.
[Ah, my time has come. I will be shredded with nothing left but fragments of flesh…]
“……”
I turned fully to face the wild ginseng plant.
The bundle of berries shook vigorously in response to my gaze.
[Better to be consumed by you than to be taken by that wicked tiger! If you take me, boil me in a large iron pot, your illnesses will be cured, and even elderly parents will rise with newfound strength!]
Come to think of it, in folklore, wild ginseng was often depicted as a benevolent, mystical being.
A gift given to those of good character.
I knelt down in front of the trembling wild ginseng.
[Honored Gueeest!]
I reached out my hand to the wild ginseng… but then straightened up again.
[……?]
“Liar.”
The berries froze.
Then, as if the ground were quaking, an ominous, raspy voice erupted.
[Hah, you saw through me! You worthless thing!]
Yep.
‘This place is called Sangun-nim’s Burial Ground.’
Have you heard the tales that spirits do everything backward?
And here I was, in a place haunted by spirits and ominously named a burial site?
‘There’s no way that wild ginseng growing in a place like this would be normal.’
I wouldn’t be surprised if its properties were entirely reversed. I expected this.
[Heeheehee, hehehee!]
The wild ginseng started to wriggle and rise from the ground.
Its half-emerged form, glowing a sickly, bluish-purple, looked like something straight out of a zombie miniature.
It even began coughing up something dark and reddish like blood!
‘I prepared myself for this, but it’s still terrifying!’
[You will be buried too! You’ll be buried here and become ginseng, your limbs chopped so you can rot! Feel the agony of living deeeeeeeeath!]
The surrounding leaves twisted like tentacles, extending roots out of the soil, writhing and reaching toward me. Uwaaaahhh!
Without hesitation, I immediately grabbed something from my waist.
‘S-Snow White’s Apple!’
This item has the peculiar effect of inducing a sleep akin to death upon consumption.
So, what was I supposed to do with this?
‘I thought it would be hard to chew an apple in an emergency anyway…’
I’d ground it into juice in advance!
Splat.
I took out a sealed pack of juice made from the Snow White Apple and splashed it generously over the field in front of me.
The wild ginseng…
[Heeheehee! That won’t work! You fool! I shall rip your limbs asunder and—]
Thud.
…fell into a deep sleep.
“……”
Snow White’s Apple… its effect was as reliable as ever.
Carefully, I stepped closer.
The half-buried, grotesque ginseng lay motionless on the ground, completely knocked out.
It was a strange sight, like a cockroach lying flat after being hit by bug spray or a cat or dog dozing peacefully, belly up.
– Oh! Rude, but that was quite an amusing character! How about taking it as a souvenir?
Normally, I would’ve thought he was crazy.
But I cautiously examined the ginseng.
It had talked, shown emotions, tried to deceive me, and calculated its actions. Something like sap even seemed to be flowing through it.
So, if that’s the case…
‘Isn’t it… a sentient being?’
I’d found it—a substitute sacrifice.
* * *
“…So, you gathered all the materials, prepared the ritual, and for the sacrifice, you’re planning to use this strange wild ginseng… is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“……”
The people in the abandoned house looked utterly dumbfounded after hearing the abridged version of ‘What Kim Soleum (currently posing as security) encountered outside~.’
Maybe I summarized it too much.
But there was no helping it. I couldn’t explain exactly how I’d managed everything, so it ended up as, ‘Anyway, I got everything.’
‘I still feel a bit uneasy about bringing back the wild ginseng, but… it’s easier on my conscience than randomly picking a person to die.’
I had no idea whose land this belonged to, but if it was a real issue, Braun would’ve raised an alarm.
Trying to keep a natural expression, I looked around at the others.
They were still gawking at me, switching their gaze between the materials and the wild ginseng.
But they seemed to buy it.
“Wow, as expected from the Security Team… handling even things like this!”
Not quite.
Feeling a bit guilty, I glanced over at the actual member of the Security Team. The security sergeant lay among the middle schoolers, looking thoroughly bored.
Somehow, the kids had started chatting with him as if they’d already introduced themselves.
“Hey, you don’t look that strong.”
“No… I’m super strong.”
The kids were laughing, seeming a bit more at ease with more people around.
Section Chief Lee Byeongjin, checking the materials, glanced anxiously between Go Seonha and me, then gulped and said,
“S-So, we’re all going to the shrine now? To perform the ritual…?”
“Yes.”
“…The shrine is nearby, so as long as we move carefully, it should be fine. Nothing happened when I was there last time…”
Go Seonha, with a tense expression, looked back at me.
“By any chance, when you went out, did you visit the shrine too?”
“Yes.”
Taking advantage of Braun’s ability to erase my presence, I’d even burned the peach branches.
I’d nearly screamed a total of three (3) times from nerves.
“…Then that makes it easier. Just walk quietly, don’t make a sound, and move quickly. As long as we don’t make mistakes in the fog, we’ll be fine.”
“Understood.”
“…Alright, then. Let’s go to the shrine together.”
The time has come.