“It was probably then that the classification was first raised. Since the Gamma-class manager had disappeared, it was a natural measure. But coincidentally, that manager was my father’s junior, and my father personally set out to find him.”
“……”
The ending was obvious.
The Beta-class manager who left to find his junior returned safely—but he had lost his mind.
He had faced the Abyss there.
“We never found out what he experienced there… what he saw… Nothing at all. He just kept repeating the same words—that the Abyss was watching him.”
“Still, does he really need to be contained as an entity?”
Choi Harin nodded.
“He’s my father, but he’s also a manager of the Tree. Objectively speaking, his condition isn’t good. As you saw earlier, when his madness intensifies, he becomes extremely aggressive. And as time passes, it’s only getting worse.”
Well…
If someone at the level of a Beta-class manager seriously started attacking other managers, the damage would be significant.
“I just feel so helpless. If I could at least know what happened inside that well, I might be able to find a solution… But there’s no information at all. Haha. Sorry, I keep talking about depressing things. I’m not usually like this…”
“I understand.”
“At times like this, I feel disgusted with my own powerlessness. If I had become a Gamma-class manager instead of working in Intelligence, I could’ve gone inside myself and seen it with my own eyes. What happened in there? What lurks inside that place to have turned my father into this? Everyone else awakens their abilities, so why am I…”
Just an ordinary, powerless person?
Her soft murmur carried a mix of emotions tangled together.
Thinking back, Choi Woosik had asked Taeseong a strange question as well.
—“…I’m fine. But aren’t you feeling anything?”
—“I’m asking if you don’t feel… some kind of gaze.”
Taeseong had answered that he felt nothing, and at that, Choi Woosik’s demeanor had completely changed, driving him out.
He remembered Choi Woosik’s expression at that moment—filled with fear, urgency—yet it seemed like those emotions weren’t directed at him at all.
Just what was that well?
What had the Abyss done to a Beta-class manager to reduce him to this state?
‘The crystal embedded in Choi Woosik’s forehead… unlike any I’ve seen before, it was black.’
Taeseong’s thoughts deepened.
If that well itself was some kind of ‘being’…
Then maybe… I could consume it?
“You know, wherever I go, I always carry a resignation letter with me. The urge to quit this damned company comes up more times than I can count. Having to witness all these horrors, seeing the managers I was close to vanish without a trace… Over time, it wears you down.
After all, they were someone’s child, someone’s parent.”
“……”
“But I can’t leave. No matter how hard it gets, even when I think, ‘This time, I really have to leave’… My father is still here. How could I leave when the only place that might hold a way to bring him back is here?”
Taeseong asked,
“The Abyssal Well… Is there a containment report on it?”
Choi Harin’s eyes slowly widened.
“Oh…? Yeah, of course, but… why?”
“I’m just curious. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at the report, would it? I’ll be a Beta-class soon anyway.”
Sensing an unplaceable unease in Taeseong’s gaze, Choi Harin spoke cautiously.
“Well… I guess not? But just in case, let me say this—don’t even think about going in there.
That entity… it’s not about strength or weakness. There’s just too little information about it. Even its only survivor ended up like that.”
No matter how strong Taeseong was, against an entity like this, his strength might not mean anything.
That was exactly why, when Alpha-class manager Park Woo-man suggested entering himself, the higher-ups unanimously opposed it.
Everyone acknowledged his strength, but even with just the slightest chance—
If he were to enter and return so deranged that he couldn’t even distinguish friend from foe…
That would be a catastrophe capable of destroying the entire branch.
The managers were caught in a situation where they could do nothing but keep sending exploration robots or seal the containment room completely.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
But that was the managers’ perspective.
Taeseong’s was different.
When he faced Choi Woosik, he hadn’t felt any sense of crisis.
That meant that his predator instincts—his very nature as a devourer—had judged Choi Woosik as prey.
Moreover, when he looked into those murky eyes, he caught a glimpse of the Abyss itself.
As the famous philosopher once said, when Taeseong gazed into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazed back at him.
And so, he realized—the man before him, though wearing Choi Woosik’s form, was nothing more than an empty shell.
He hadn’t told Choi Harin, but he had a suspicion.
That the only reason Choi Woosik had returned alive wasn’t because of his skill—
But because something within the Abyss had chosen him.
As an observer.
A scout.
For its next prey.
After parting ways with Choi Harin, Taeseong headed for the employee dormitory.
Though he hadn’t used it in a long time, the interior was spotless—thanks to the cleaning staff, who had taken care of it while he was away.
He appreciated their consideration, but this place was only temporary.
Now that he was becoming a Beta-class, he’d soon be moving to the high-class executive residence, where only upper-tier managers lived.
Of course, Sooah would be coming with him.
Dressed comfortably, Sooah greeted him.
For a moment, Taeseong felt gratitude for being able to be with his family.
“Oppa, you’re back?”
“Yeah. Have you eaten?”
“I did.”
“How did your talk with the branch chief go?”
Taeseong briefly summarized his conversation with the branch chief.
“The Korean branch isn’t easy either.”
“That’s just how it is.”
As they chatted, Sooah eventually went to her room.
Since Yukina’s death, she had been reflecting deeply on the nature of strength.
Taeseong planned to personally train her when he had time.
He would always protect her, but in this godforsaken Tree, surviving as a manager required relentless improvement.
Left alone, Taeseong lit a cigarette and opened the containment report Choi Harin had given him.
The first file—
The Abyssal Well.
.
.
.
【A-Rank Entity Management Report】
No. 09999.
Entity Name: Abyssal Well.
Rank: Alpha.
- Initially classified as Gamma. However, following the disappearance of Gamma-rank manager ‘Oh Youngwoong,’ the entity was reclassified as Beta.
- After Beta-rank manager ‘Choi Wooshik’ failed his exploration, the entity’s danger level and rank were reassessed.
- Subsequently elevated to Alpha rank.
Danger Level: 8.
- Black-Rank Hazardous Entity.
Information:
A mysterious well that suddenly appeared. Despite multiple exploration attempts using exploration robots, no information regarding its interior could be obtained.
- To investigate its interior, Gamma-rank manager Oh Youngwoong was sent into the well. However, after an extended period with no response, he was confirmed to have disappeared.
- Beta-rank manager Choi Wooshik personally attempted an exploration but returned showing various symptoms of mental deterioration, including auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, and delusions.It was determined that he was no longer fit to serve as a manager.
- Following this, Beta-rank manager ‘Choi Wooshik’ was designated as the Beta-rank entity ‘One Tainted by the Abyss’ and placed in isolation.
※ Observation Impossible.
The containment chamber for this entity has been sealed.
.
.
.
Taeseong furrowed his brows as he flipped through the document. He then pulled out the next entity management report—‘One Tainted by the Abyss.’
.
.
.
【B-Rank Entity Management Report】
No. 09998.
Entity Name: One Tainted by the Abyss.
Rank: Beta.
Danger Level: 6.
- Red-Rank Containment Entity.
Information:
A former manager who suffered mental contamination after exploring the entity known as ‘Abyssal Well.’ shows various symptoms of psychological instability and has been confirmed to lack the ability to distinguish between friend and foe. As a result, the subject was reclassified as an entity and placed in isolation per higher management’s decision.
Notable Characteristics:
Repeatedly murmurs phrases related to the ‘Abyss’ in various languages.
※ If contamination symptoms worsen, the responsible manager is advised to execute immediate termination.
.
.
.
Having reviewed all the files, Taeseong fell into thought.
A scale formed within his mind, weighing the intangible values he held.
Gratitude and resentment. Practicality and loyalty.
‘Would taking on an Alpha-rank entity assignment benefit me?’
‘Is the risk worth the potential gain?’
‘Is it even within the realm of possibility to restore Choi Woosik’s sanity?’
‘Is Choi Harin a valuable ally?’
‘Between the favours she has done for me and the grudges I hold, which carries more weight?’
And finally…
‘What do I want to do?’
Taeseong reached a decision.
Setting aside emotional appeals and thinking rationally—Choi Harin was someone who could continue to be useful.
Since the moment he joined the Tree, she had helped him on more than one occasion.
Of course, he hadn’t forgotten the pranks she pulled.
However, even considering everything, the favours she had done for him—the goodwill she had shown—far outweighed the rest.
More than anything…
“I am not afraid.”
Taeseong had absolute confidence in himself.
Even if the Abyss gazed back at him, he would not be devoured.
The endless hunger dwelling within him howled in his gut.
Urging him to consume.
To devour and grow stronger.
If he could feast upon an Alpha-rank entity, Taeseong would become far more powerful.
‘I am a predator.’
He had clawed his way up from the very bottom of the food chain to the top. And yet, he had realized there was another pyramid above him.
So what?
If there was a new pyramid, he would simply climb his way up again.
That was how he had lived.
That was the way of a predator.
And the path he had walked thus far was proof of it.
However—
‘It’s too soon for now. To hunt strong prey, I must prepare accordingly.’
Even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit.
And a wolf?
“Tactically.”
Special Management Team Leader Lee Taeseong’s first entity management mission—Would be the ‘Abyssal Well.’
