The subway station had fallen under the influence of the legion after conquering the dungeon.  

There were modified vehicles and trams that could be used to safely move along the railway.  

Once those two things were secured,  

We thought it wouldn’t be difficult to advance to other regions.  

However.  

“It’s as if the wall reaches up to the sky, and there’s no end in sight.”  

“A wall, you say?”  

“I only received the report, so I’m not sure of the exact nature of it. But it seems to be blocking us from going beyond this line. You should hear the details from this one.”  

Another vampire emerged from the shadows.  

It was in a strange state – battered and haggard, with one arm completely missing.  

“Salute! I am honored to meet the master’s master!”  

Despite his condition, he seemed to have its military discipline intact.  

He tried to salute with the missing arm and got flustered when it wouldn’t move.  

“Report in detail.”  

“Yes, sir!”  

He began explaining his reconnaissance mission from the start.  

It seems there were originally three people heading north, but two of them had died in the harrowing journey.  

Honestly, I don’t really care about the adventure details.  

What’s important is what happened after they reached the wall.  

“The further north we went, the further warmer it became.”  

“It got warmer?”  

“Yes. As you know, the area north of the Daegwallyeong Pass should be cool, not warm. I was puzzled by that too, but once we went a certain distance, I understood the reason.”  

That reason must be the black wall mentioned earlier.  

“Before getting close, it wasn’t even visible. But at some point, a wall reaching up to the sky came into view.”  

If the wall is truly that tall, it should be visible from here as well.  

Apparently, it’s only visible once you approach it.  

And,  

“It wasn’t a concrete wall. It was a shimmering black wall, almost like a shadow. Heat was emanating from it.”  

“Heat.”  

“No, not just heat… For a regular human, it would be a lethal heat even just to approach it.”  

“So, you just came back then?”  

“No. Your order was to investigate the situation outside. If it was a physical barrier, I might have doubted it, but seeing the shimmering, I thought we could pass through. However…”  

The vampire subtly raised his hand.  

This is the result of trying to put his hand into the wall.  

Vampires are hard to kill, except for the vital heart. Even with severe injuries, a few blood feedings can restore them.  

They can even heal by hunting monsters, so I wondered why it was left severed.  

Turns out it was meant to be a demonstration.  

Looking closely, it wasn’t severed, but completely burned away.  

“The heat around the wall is nothing compared to the heat radiating from the wall itself.”  

“….”  

“After that, I gathered as much information as possible on how the barrier is spread out, and now I’ve returned. And I’ve combined the reports from the other comrades who came back from different directions to draw that line.”  

In other words,  

“So, this mysterious black wall has completely cut off Gangwon-do from the outside world?”  

“That’s what we’ve concluded.”  

“Who? And why?”  

“I don’t know the reason, but… Isn’t it obvious who?”  

The vampire points up to the sky with its remaining hand.  

“It must be that bastard who turned the world into this state.”  

“….”  

This news shattered my hope, just when a glimmer of hope to return home had appeared.  

‘The boundary surrounding Gangwon-do…’  

Come to think of it, there was something I remembered from the “Occupation Status” report.  

‘[Occupied Region – ROK. 17]’  

 [Currently Occupied Regions]  

[Mountain Range – 3%]  

[Small Towns (3) – 3%]  

Whenever I looked at the Occupation Status report,  

or when the system message about an achievement popped up,  

I’d rarely see that [ROK. 17].  

Republic Of Korea.  

So, 17 must be…  

‘Our country has one special city, six metropolitan cities, one special autonomous city of Sejong, and one special autonomous province of Jeju… Plus eight regular provinces, making a total of 17.’  

It’s just a guess, but my intuition tells me this guess is likely to be correct.  

And that number 17 is probably referring to Gangwon-do.  

Does that mean we’re doomed to be trapped in Gangwon-do forever, carrying out this occupation?  

“No, that can’t be the case.”  

“What?”  

If we are doomed to be trapped here forever, then the very division itself would be unnecessary.  

They could just completely cut off information about other regions.  

And yet, the system was hinting at the existence of other regions with its categorizations of [Major Region ROK] and [Sub Region ROK. 17].  

The reason is likely one.  

‘This “game” that is currently being conducted on a small scale will eventually expand to the major region level.’  

For now, it’s just a squabble over Gangwon-do, a province of South Korea.  

But someday, it may escalate to a larger territory…  

Perhaps even the entire South Korea.  

‘And maybe even beyond that.’  

Well, even if such an event occurs, that would be in the distant future.  

Our task is singular.  

If my prediction is correct, someday we will be able to remove that barrier and move out.  

The important thing is to grow stronger so as not to miss that opportunity.  

“The elated feeling just now has dampened a bit.”  

I was excited at the prospect of soon being able to go home and see my parents.  

But well, things are never that easy.  

If anything, we’ve been too successful lately.  

This world is certainly not an easy one.  

‘But hope hasn’t vanished yet.’  

I don’t know how long that barrier will exist.  

Perhaps we’ll have to directly break through it ourselves.  

I don’t know when that might become possible, but it won’t be impossible forever.  

It’s just a postponement.  

I can only take comfort in thinking that way.  

“Ah… Is that really true?”  

“So, advancement to other regions is blocked, then.”