The air was thick and damp, clinging to their skin as Shun and Gu ventured deeper into the cave. The darkness stretched endlessly before them, occasionally flickering as the small flames of their torches cast brief, wavering light across the rough stone walls. With every step, the firelight grew bolder, illuminating more of the path ahead, and their hopes lifted as the cave continued its winding course through the mountain. The fact that they hadn't yet encountered a dead end was promising—it meant the cave might truly lead to the other side of the mountain.
The flickering flames danced across the walls, casting eerie shadows that moved with them. Shun and Gu walked cautiously, alert to the potential dangers lurking in the dark. Caves like these were often home to creatures poisonous spiders, snakes, perhaps even a bear, animals that wouldn’t hesitate to attack intruders. The oppressive heat and humidity of the cave made their trek all the more exhausting, and sweat clung to their clothes. Shun wiped his brow and took a swig of water from the gourd slung over his shoulder.
“We might be in luck, Brother Gu,” Shun said, his voice echoing softly off the cavern walls. “If the cave keeps going like this, in another hour or two we could be on the other side of the mountain.”
Gu, wiping his own brow, nodded but remained cautious. “Even if it does continue, the real question is, will there be another exit? That’s what matters, Brother Shun.”
Shun nodded, acknowledging the truth in Gu’s words. The cave stretching on was a good sign, but an exit on the other side was not guaranteed. As they pressed forward, their torches lighting the way, Shun suddenly caught sight of something unusual near the floor to his right. Through the dim, flickering light, he noticed the glint of something metallic—a chain, rusted and weathered by time, lying near the cave wall.
“Brother Gu—” Shun began, but before he could finish, Gu’s voice echoed from a few steps ahead.
“Brother Shun, come look at this!”
Shun quickly moved toward Gu, and as he did, he realized the chain continued along the ground, leading directly to where Gu stood. When he reached him, Shun saw what had caught Gu’s attention: an iron door, partially embedded in the rock of the cave wall. The door was old, its surface scarred and pitted with age, and chains were fastened to it, many of them broken or cut, their severed links scattered across the ground.
The door was solid, with no visible handle or lock—completely sealed, as though it had been built directly into the cave itself. Shun stared at it in disbelief, his mind racing with questions. Who had built this door? And more importantly, what was behind it?
“A storage room of some kind?” Shun ventured, his voice tinged with curiosity as he stood next to Gu.
Gu, wiping sweat from his brow, shook his head slightly as he examined the door. “Maybe, but whose? And why here, in the middle of a cave?”
The two stood in silence for a moment longer, both of them trying to puzzle out the significance of the sealed door.“This door... it doesn’t belong here,” Gu said finally, his voice low. “Someone went to great lengths to keep something locked away.”
Shun stood and took a step back, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword instinctively. “Do you think it’s worth trying to get it open?”
Gu hesitated, his eyes fixed on the sealed door. “We don’t know what’s behind it. It could be dangerous... or it could be exactly what we need.”
Meanwhile, back in the open chamber of the cave, Minho sat inside the small hut, her mind swirling with questions about the [Smartphone]. The mysterious device lay in her hands, its soft glow illuminating her face as she stared at the screen. Earlier, she had typed the word "sword" to test it out, but now she found herself uncertain.
After all, she wasn’t fully familiar with the [Smartphone's] language—a strange mix of Han and Kalie, both of which she could only decipher slowly, using her notes and the Kalie Language book she’d found. Even with those aids, she wasn’t confident in constructing proper sentences. Her fear was simple: if she searched for something with incorrect wording, the [Smartphone] might not understand her at all.
She sighed, frustration creeping in as she pondered what to ask next. Suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind. Minho quickly flipped through her notes, trying to spot characters that resembled those on the screen. She carefully tapped out the word "[Internet]" in the search bar, recalling that the browser had mentioned this term when she first opened it. It was supposed to be connected to some "vast knowledge." But what was the [Internet] exactly? She didn’t know, and asking the device itself what it meant felt like a good place to start.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
As she pressed [Enter], the screen flickered for a moment before a list of results appeared, each filled with unfamiliar symbols and words. Minho squinted at the screen, trying to make sense of it. She couldn’t read every word, but through a slow process of matching the characters to her notes, she began to decipher bits and pieces.
The first result had words like "network," "global," and "information." Minho jotted these down in her notebook, carefully translating as she went. Her notes revealed that the [Internet] was described as a vast collection of information that connected people, places, and ideas across distances—an invisible web of knowledge that anyone could access, provided they had a device like the [Smartphone].
Minho paused to process this. The idea of a vast network where anyone could share or find information was mind-boggling. In her world, knowledge was passed down orally or stored in books—hard to come by, and often controlled by those in power. But here, in this other society, the [Internet] seemed to allow anyone to look up anything at any time, as long as they knew how to ask.
The second result mentioned something about "[Websites]" which, after some more careful translating, she understood to be something like individual collections or archives files within the [Internet], each focused on different topics. Some websites were dedicated to learning, others to sharing news, while still others were for entertainment or connecting people with one another.
The more Minho read, the more the picture came together in her mind. The [Internet] was a tool, a resource that housed an unimaginable amount of knowledge. It allowed people to learn new things, solve problems, or even entertain themselves with a few taps of the finger. And what was even more incredible was that it wasn’t controlled by any single person. From what she could gather, the [Internet] was open to anyone, a shared resource that spanned the world.
Minho sat back, her mind racing. This could change everything. If she could learn to use the [Smartphone] properly, she could tap into an endless well of information—far more than any single person in her village had ever dreamed of having access to.
The thought of all that power at her fingertips excited her, but it also made her a bit uneasy. What kind of society could create something like this? A place where knowledge flowed so freely yet seemed so controlled by those who understood its language. She stared down at the [Smartphone], feeling a sense of awe.
As she continued reading, lost in the endless possibilities of what the [Smartphone] could teach her, a sudden noise made her jump. The device emitted a chime, and a small box popped up on the screen. Startled, Minho flinched, dropping the [Smartphone] onto the hay. Her heart raced as she quickly knelt down, bowing repeatedly in an attempt to appease whatever mysterious entity might be emerging from the glowing box. It was a habit she had developed from the first time she found the [Smartphone], her instincts kicking in to show respect in the face of the unknown.
But as moments passed and nothing happened, Minho realized she had acted out of fear once again. Embarrassed, she sat back up, glancing around the hut to make sure no one had seen her. She gingerly picked up the [Smartphone], feeling foolish for having bowed to it. The glowing box was still there, waiting on the screen.
This time, she looked closely. The box had some text in it, along with a strange red symbol that drew her attention. She carefully read the words and jotted them down into her notes, as she always did.
The sentence was strange: “Your [Device] has [Battery] at 25% [Battery Saver] has been turned on. Please [Charge] your device to avoid [Shut Down].”
Minho didn’t understand most of it, but If the [Smartphone] was alerting her, it must mean something was about to happen.
Her mind raced. The [Smartphone] had never made such a noise before. Did this mean it was in danger? She needed to figure out what these words meant.
Minho decided to take it step by step. First, she typed the words “[Shut Down]” into the search bar, copying the characters carefully. After a few moments, the results appeared, filled with more unfamiliar symbols. She squinted at the screen, her fingers tracing her notes to decipher the meaning. Slowly, it became clear: “Shut Down” meant the device would stop working, that it would turn off completely. Her eyes widened in alarm. If the [Smartphone] turned off, would she be able to turn it back on? What if she lost access to all the knowledge it contained?
Her heart pounded as she quickly typed in the next unfamiliar word: “[Charge].” After a bit of painstaking translation, she found that it meant to “refill” or “restore power.” It became clear to her that the [Smartphone] needed something to keep it functioning—something called "charge." Without it, the device would power down and stop working altogether.
Minho’s face turned grim as the realization hit her. The [Smartphone] was running out of whatever energy it used to stay on. The message had said the [Battery] was at 25%, and from what she gathered, this meant it had only a quarter of its energy left. If she didn’t figure out how to “charge” it, the [Smartphone] would shut down soon, leaving her with no way to use it.
She tapped her foot nervously, feeling the weight of the situation. Searching for “[Battery]” next, Minho learned that it was something inside the device that stored energy, and it had to be refilled periodically. Her eyes darted to the bottom of the [Smartphone], where she noticed a small port she had never paid attention to before. Was this where the energy went? She had no idea what kind of power source this strange device used, but it was clear she needed to find a way to “charge” it or risk losing access to it altogether.
Minho searched for more information on how to charge the device. She came across results showing images of cables and symbols related to energy. From the bits she could understand, she realized the [Smartphone] needed to be connected to something in order to regain its energy. But how was she supposed to do that? The [Smartphone] came from a different society, with technology completely alien to her. Whatever method they used to restore energy, she certainly didn’t have it here in the cave.
Her mind raced, considering her options. The [Smartphone] had been with her for some time now, and this was the first time it had warned her about running out of power. But now that she knew it could run out of energy, the sense of urgency set in. She couldn’t let this incredible device shut down. She needed to find a way to keep it alive.
Determined, she scrolled through more results, desperately searching for a solution. She found vague references to something called a “charger”—a tool that could transfer energy to the [Smartphone]. But she had no idea where she could find one.
Minho sighed. Outside, Tao was still standing guard, unaware of the challenge Minho now faced. She was alone in this, at least for now. If only there were a way to create or find this “charger” in her world...