“This sure does look different…”

The first thing I noticed while coming out of the airport was the change in the architecture. Long gone was the modern look, replaced by towering spires, narrow archways, and soot-darkened stone.

Lamps lined the cobblestone streets as the gray clouds covered the sky.

It looked like it would rain at any second.

But most importantly…

“It’s damn cold.”

I quickly covered up with a jacket, bringing my hands to my mouth and huffing warm breath over my fingers. While I knew it was cold, it was still colder than I expected.

‘Maybe I should go buy some stuff later.’

“I’d like to go to the city center.”

I made a mental note to myself before taking a taxi and going to the heart of the city. For now, the most important thing that I needed to do was understand more about the Twisted Man and its origins.

The quest brought me here, but it didn’t specify what I needed to do.

‘Still, I don’t think it should be too hard. I’m sure some locals might know about the situation, and if worst comes to worst, I can just ask the Guilds.’

If the locals were clueless, the Guilds surely weren’t.

They’d at least know something.

*

It took about twenty minutes for the cab to reach near the heart of the city, stopping just at the edge where the old road began to rise in a slight slope.

“Cars aren’t allowed in the city. This is as far as I can bring you.”

“…This is fine.”

Scanning my phone with the driver’s, I quickly paid and hopped out of the cab before heading toward the heart of the city. Pubs and cafés lined the street, their signs swinging gently in the wind, and the uneven cobblestones made each step feel just a bit awkward.

The pubs were relatively full, with people standing outside in the biting cold while holding onto large pints of beer. They all talked with one another, some leaning against the side of the buildings.

I tried listening in on their conversation, but I gave up after a few seconds.

Their accents…

‘I can’t understand a single thing.’

They were speaking English, but it almost felt like they weren’t.

Just trying to decipher their words was enough to give me a headache. So I gave up on following their conversation and drifted elsewhere, letting the noise fade into the background.

‘No matter how much I search on the web, I can’t find anything. Do I have no other choice but to make conversation with the locals?’

The thought made me feel nauseous.

I kind of hated talking to strangers or people in general.

If possible, I didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but seeing no news about the Twisted Man on my phone, it looked like I didn’t have much choice. With a quiet sigh, I scanned the street and eventually spotted a group speaking English that was clear enough to understand.

I ended up approaching them.

“Excuse me.”

“…Hm?”

The first one to stare at me was a chubby man with thinning white hair and a graying mustache. He sat on a stool, his body leaning on the table next to him.

“I’ve never seen you before. Who might you be?”

“I’m not from around here.”

“A tourist?”

The man’s brow raised in surprise.

“At such times? You mustn’t have done your research.”

He began to chuckle alongside his three other friends. I could only force a smile while waiting for them to finish.

The chance came a minute after.

“Actually… I’m not really a tourist. I’m more here for work. I’d love to be a tourist, but I don’t have the time to be one.”

I retrieved my wall and displayed my Guild badge.

“I’m actually here to investigate a certain case that happened a while back in this city. If any of you have any clues, it would be helpful.”

The faces of the group immediately changed the moment I spoke. I could feel a certain tension linger in the air as the group stared at each other. Eventually, the chubby man spoke, his tone a lot heavier than before.

“What… are you trying to ask for?”

I could tell from his sudden change in demeanor that I was touching on some sort of taboo topic.

But that gave me all the reason to ask further.

‘The more they act like this, the more likely I’m onto something.’

“I’ll be blunt. Recently, there’s been an incident with a certain anomaly in Maldovia island. We’ve managed to contain it, but I’m looking for some information about it. I’ve heard the anomaly appeared on the island quite a while back. About a certain Twisted Man. Do you have any information for me?”

“….”

My words were met with silence.

The tension that lingered before grew more pronounced as the four men looked at me. Seeing how silent they were, I opened my mouth again, but I was cut off by the chubby man.

“Earl Street 15.”

“Hm?”

“Go there and you’ll find what you need.”

Earl Street 15? Find what I need?

I wanted to ask more, but the moment I tried, the group started talking with one another, completely ignoring my presence. Getting the message, I stopped trying and took out my phone, opening the navigation app and inputting the address.

‘Oh, so it’s not too far from where I am.’

It said that it was a twenty-minute walk. Which wasn’t exactly short, but it was walking distance.

As such, without wasting any time, I headed in the direction of the address.

Walking along the streets, I realized that the closer I got to my destination, the more run-down everything became. The cobblestone path grew increasingly worn, with stones missing and holes all over. Cracks crept along the sides of buildings, and graffiti began to cover the walls in layers.

There was also a terrible stench filling the air.

It smelled rotten, and after a certain point, I found myself covering up my nose due to how bad it was getting.

‘How can someone even think of living here?’

Questions began to fill my mind as I drew closer to the destination. Was I being trolled? Did the group mess around with me and tell me the wrong information? That… would make sense when thinking about it.

The moment I pulled out my badge and asked questions, they all felt strangely hostile.

I didn’t know why, but I could see why they’d lie to me.

Still, since I had already made my way to the destination, I planned on seeing it through to the end. In the end, I still had four days to find the right place. This wasn’t going to set me back by much.

“It should be this place.”

Eventually, I came to a stop in front of a residential building. The lower levels were riddled with cracks, the concrete crumbling in places, while garbage bags were piled haphazardly along the outer walls.

A narrow set of metal stairs clung to the side of the building, rusted all over, leading up to the second floor, where the dim lights of a single apartment glowed.

It was the only apartment with the lights on.

After a little bit of hesitation, I decided to make my way there before knocking on the door.

“Hello?”

To Tok—

“…Is anybody in there?”

I took a step back after knocking, waiting for someone to open the door. A stifling silence followed as I waited, feeling the sounds around me enhance. From the creaking of the metal railing beneath, to the slight dripping sound of the broken pipes.

All of it felt pronounced, growing louder with each second.

But soon…

Creeeeaaak!

The door creaked open, and a pair of sunken eyes peered out from behind. Enough to make me shudder as an aged voice shattered the silence.

“W-who are you?”