Silence fell.
After briefly organizing my thoughts, I let out a small, habitual sigh. Seeing this, Ragna slowly closed his eyes and then opened them. "You're calmer than I expected. I knew you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."
Actually, I sighed because it was plausible. "Well, maybe it's best to ignore it. A dimensional collapse is a catastrophe that can't be predicted or prevented."
That was definitely true. Even in the game, a dimensional collapse always happened suddenly. There were more times when it didn't happen than when it did.
It happened perhaps once every 100 rounds.
Of course, once it exploded, there was no disaster like it. I didn't know anything about the second half of the maze, where it could be solved to some extent, but in the first half, pressing the escape key and restarting the game saved more time.
"So, where is the information coming from?" I calmly checked what I needed. Intuitively, I thought this was the cause of my anxiety, but I still couldn't be sure.
"A mage from the Tarutein school named Shernal Fergang. Apparently, he's been studying dimensional collapse for quite some time." After giving me the name of a mage, he said he didn't know anything else.
"I see. I'll look into the rest. Anyway, thanks for the heads-up."
As soon as I turned towards the door, I heard a voice behind me. "Are you leaving... today?"
Well, since a new search has appeared, shouldn't I start there?
***
As always, the tavern was noisy. The silver-haired fairy who sat in the corner tapped her index finger on the table. It was a habit of hers that came out when she was worried.
"Phew..."
In the last three months, her kind and pretty little sister Erwen had changed. Not only did she ask for help with the training she hated so much, but she pushed herself to the limit as if sleep were a waste of time. She had also become sharper. Not so much with Daria, who shared her blood, but her way of speaking, her eyes, and her actions when dealing with other people were completely different from before.
Even so, it's not a bad change, so I'm glad…
Excessive ambition and distrust of others? As an explorer destined to venture into the labyrinth, these were welcome traits. In fact, they allowed her to grow considerably. Erwen, who managed to contract the Four Great Spirits, also succeeded in forging her will by enlightening three of them.
But that wasn't all. Her archery, martial arts, and dagger combat skills were improving daily. To be honest, it was to the point that Daria wondered how this talent hadn't blossomed until now. However, what made her sigh was the reason for the change.
How long can I hide it?
It was the death of a barbarian she called Mister and trusted emotionally. In fact, it was ridiculous to call it death since it was alive and well, with the reputation of Little Balkan.
Should I tell him before it's too late?
The first time Daria heard from him, she was stunned. Then, anxiety. She thought it was only a matter of time before they caught her now. But Erwen, who had secluded herself in her room every day and dedicated herself to training, had not yet heard the news.
«Have you heard that? I heard that Jet Black Sword could become a disciple of Sword Master».
«Hey, where did you hear such strange news? Swordmaster, that worthy man, would not accept a simple explorer as an apprentice».
Sitting alone in a corner of the tavern, Daria was relieved to hear the conversations of the explorers around her.
Certainly, the rumors are fading little by little.
Stories previously heard throughout the city were buried by new ones. She was a little dizzy when news of the barbarian was heard again in the taverns, how he exorcised an evil spirit and murdered a priestess of Karui, but even all that had almost disappeared.
Yes, let's leave it at that.
Soon, Daria made up her mind. Actually, it wasn't something to worry about. As someone who had chosen to live as an explorer, when would there be another time of growth like this?
«Hello, fairy. If you are here alo-»
«Get lost, if you don't want a hole in the middle of your forehead.»
Pushing away the approaching drunk, Daria left the tavern. He visited this place wondering if perhaps the barbarian had done something else and it had become a hot topic again, but he decided not to come again.
Toc, toc
When he returned home, he knocked on his sister's door. There was no response. She inserted the key, wondering if Erwen had fallen asleep on the floor.
Clic.
The door opened with a screech. He soon saw his little sister. His eyes were closed as if he was meditating while invoking the Four Great Spirits.
«Must...» Judging by the slight movement of his lips, it seemed like he was muttering something. Daria approached silently and listened to her more accurately. «I must get stronger. I must strengthen myself. I must get stronger. That way I won't lose anything. I can have it all...» He repeated the same words as if he wanted to brainwash himself.
«Erwen?» Daria hurriedly woke up her sister.
Surprisingly, Erwen's expression was calm. «Oh, are you here?»
«You... Are you okay?»
«What's good?»
«You... were muttering something to you-»
«Hey? I was just talking to the spirits.» It was clear that this was not a conversation to have with the spirits, but Daria pursed her lips as she was ordered to leave. «I'm training right now, can you come back later?».
«Sure...»
Daria left the room helplessly. He returned to his bedroom and thought about what had just happened. These were the kinds of things that couldn't be dismissed as zeal or dedication. It was almost like an obsession. It wasn't that serious after the incident ten years ago.
What is the problem? That barbarian couldn't be that important.
Daria stiffened as she remembered the biggest change that had occurred lately.
Oh, maybe it's because he ate that essence?
Daria took a book off the shelf. In the past, he had bought it from the guild at a fairly high price. The Low Rank Essence Compilation contained information on all essences between ranks 7 and 9. First, he read about the essence that Erwen had absorbed this time.
Where is Carnivaro?
It was a monster that only appeared in the Witch's Forest, but luckily, she received the essence in the process of saving an explorer who was fleeing the forest after being chased by him.
Ah, I found it.
Turning the pages of the book, she read the text while summoning a fire spirit to illuminate her.
Carnivaro: rank 7
Agility (Medium), Resistance to darkness (Low), Resistance (Low), Precision (Medium), Sixth sense (Low), Hearing (Medium), Obsession (High)
*Greater agility and sensitivity when moving
*Mina de maná (rojo)
*Sabueso (Azul)
*Pursuit Arrow (Green)
Mientras composes the contents, a parte is parallel to the mackerel. «Obssesión... is high?». From receiving a waste, and I find it the silence that Erwen has absorbed three months.
Iron Hill Pursuer: rank 8
Strength (Low), Physical endurance (Low), Leg power (Low), Jumping power (Medium), Ground endurance (Low), Cognitive interference (Low), Agility (Medium), Obsession (Medium)
*Increases penetration when a surprise attack is successful.
*Piercing arrow (Red)
*Eruption of the terrain (Blue)
*Weakness Detection (Yellow)
What... is this?
Again, there was obsession, and medium.
Could this too...?
He even read the first essence that his little sister absorbed. It was just as she expected.
Goblin Archer: rank 9
Flexibility (Low), Smell (Low), Poison tolerance (Low), Cognition (Low), Cognitive interference (Low), Precision (Low), Vision (Low), Agility (Low), Obsession (Low)
*Inflicts paralysis poison when using a bow weapon.
*Thief step
Even here there was obsession. Now Daria could imagine the situation in her mind. Erwen's obsession with power was due to this statistic.
So what do I do?
She couldn't just erase an essence that had been absorbed with money, but her heart was too heavy to leave it at that.
If you consume an essence to replace it... I will have it erased then.
After much deliberation, he came to a conclusion. However, when he quickly washed and lay down on the bed, he was faced with a new question. If Erwen discovered that the barbarian was alive before, where would her obsession go?
***
Ten days had passed since he heard the news of the dimensional collapse. However, was it an unfounded rumor, a fact or an illusion of someone who believed it to be true? Although I was quite busy looking for answers, I didn't get much.
«Shernal Fergang?» Raven, who always helped me when I visited with questions, had nothing this time. «Even if you ask me to meet them, I had never heard that name. The Tarutein school has no interaction with mine in the first place».
«...Ya veo.»
«Anyway, when you come next week, leave the whole day free. The winner has been decided by draw».
«Winner?»
«Have you forgotten? In exchange for researching the work, you agreed to help my elders with their research, right?»
I do not remember. I just didn't know you were going to do a giveaway. Dang, I'm worrying now...
I had never had luck in a draw in my life. Anyway, after that, I tried several things to meet the wizard named Shernal Fergang, but they all failed. Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate.
«Bjorn! Did you hear it?! They say there will be a dimensional collapse soon!» After meeting old colleagues, Missha returned and made a fuss. If she knew, it meant that the news had already spread. In fact, when I went to the tavern at night, everyone was talking about dimensional collapse.
But the problem is that no one knows its origin.
What mouth did it come from? And what was it based on? Without talking about it, everyone was creating anxiety and inflating rumors.
This... is strange.
I felt a strange sense of disharmony. For news to spread like this, shouldn't it have a plausible basis? Now the gossips had added many myths as proof, but at first there was none of that.
Is someone deliberately raising rumors?
After observing the situation closely from the beginning, I came to that conclusion. Of course, it was just a guess, but no matter how he thought about it, the current situation was strange.
Ugh, I think there really is something behind this.
It was suffocating. I wanted to get information coming and going from a place more secret than a bar, but the wall of reality was too high. How was a barbarian who had built a reputation fighting alone going to get such information?
If it hadn't been for Ragna in the first place, he wouldn't have known the name Shernal Fergang.
I soon decided. In my hand was the Ghostbusters letter and the pill that accompanied it. For the sake of complete anonymity, I initially planned to take it after at least three months, but...
I can advance it a month or so.
Soon, I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed it.
[Has consumed GB-027.]
There was no immediate drag on the spirit world. According to the information I learned from Raven and found in the secret library opened by Ragna, the meeting was held at midnight on the 15th of each month.
I only had to wait three days.
Time passed quickly, and the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. I felt as if my mind were leaving my body.
[Your soul has resonated and is drawn to a specific world.]
***
When I woke up, there was a computer in front of me in a pure white space that resembled the universe. It probably would have been difficult to even tell where up and down were if it weren't for that machine.
What is this now?
It was a completely different start than I expected, but I slowly took a step forward toward the computer. It was a feeling I'd never experienced before, like riding a robot and controlling it to walk forward. As I stumbled toward the computer, I checked the monitor to see that it was on.
[Please enter the password].
A short phrase appeared on a black DOS screen. I entered the password without thinking much about it.
[King of Rafdonia, son of a bitch]
The PS in the letter didn't just mean postscript.