The Ghost Master, the administrator with authority to run the community and someone considered a legendary veteran among players at the same time.
«Eres tú. GM».
For a moment, I was short of breath.
¿Hans in es el GM?
I was perplexed. If that was true, why did a fish as big as the GM approach me hiding its identity? Because I was famous and wanted to see my face?
No, it can't be.
The GM suspected that I was a player, so he approached me during the banquet to probe me, and even followed me. Yes, this was a more plausible hypothesis, even if that wasn't so charming to me.
Then the magic of the blasts must have been used by him.
Once the hypothesis was established, the issue was resolved naturally. As he followed me, the carriage and smoke bomb exploded, blocking his view, and he would have been curious to know if I was alive or not.
I'll think more about this later.
I returned to the most important topic. The man who fell from the sky, and called Hans I the GM, had a charisma that made even knights tremble. What was the identity of this man?
«Lift the ban, now. If you don't, you will die here».
Hey? Lift the ban?
Unknowingly, chills ran down my spine. The reason was simple. There was only one person I knew who would make such a request to a GM: a proud son of Korea, Baekho Lee. Of course, there was a chance it wasn't him. He was sure it wasn't just one or two who had been banned by GM. It made sense to hold a grudge and come make a fuss.
«Can't you hear me, old man?»
For some reason, I kept seeing Baekho.
…¿Are you really?
Thinking that, I etched the guy's appearance into my head once again. He was about five feet tall, dressed in a neat suit with no equipment, and unless he was wearing a costume, he was human. She had pale skin, no visible scars, and platinum blonde hair combed with pomade. The guy had features that anyone would think were good-looking, but perhaps because of the different look in his eyes, he gave off an atmosphere closer to that of a bad guy than that of a charming gentleman.
«Lord Yandel». While I was watching the guy, a gentleman approached me and whispered: «You must not run away».
«...What do you mean?»
«He is not the type of person you can work against». His voice was clearly nervous. Could it be that he knew who this man was?
«Who is that man?» I hurriedly spit out my question.
«That man...»
The moment the gentleman was about to respond, his gaze wandered towards us. «Oh, right. You were here too».
Ha, how did you hear that whisper from so far away?
«Bjorn Yandel.» Seeing that he pronounced my name correctly, he seemed to know who I was, but perhaps not so well. «I heard you hit that distraught teenage bastard? And only in your first year». The guy grabbed Hans I tightly by the neck and expressed his curiosity towards me, as if he discovered something interesting by accident. «I ask you just in case... Are you a player?».
Ha, no wonder it made me nervous that he knew my name. This kind of premonition was never wrong. I only had one answer to give him.
«...So you are an evil spirit». I didn't pretend not to know what I was talking about, but I drew the line by calling the opponent an evil spirit. Whether this guy was Baekho or not didn't matter. After all, what could he say with so many people watching?
«Hmm, that's strange. You may have made a name for yourself, but not enough to get the GM interested». Murmuring: «Unless you're a gamer...», the guy narrowed his eyes. «Eh.» His mouth smiled, but he spoke with a voice that contained no emotion. «Just answer yes or no».
«Don't answer... ugh!» The gentleman giving me advice was hit in the stomach by something invisible and flew away. It was obvious whose job it was.
«Oh, are you worried that there are too many people? Don't worry. If you are a player, I will kill them and get rid of them all. Mhm. I can provide you with that service to resolve my curiosity». The guy smiled and forced me to choose again. «Yes or no».
I could barely suppress the answer: «No». That was because the question itself was questionable. Ask the same question only with yes or no answers? As if he had the ability to discern the truth...
Such an essence exists.
Since there was no information, it would be wise to be careful.
«If you don't want to answer, just say no. You just have to say a word. I'm just curious».
The more obsessed he became with an answer, the more my doubts grew. So I only had one option left. «I'll ask the questions first». Instead of remaining silent, I changed the subject, implying that I did not want to cede the initiative to the enemy. «Evil spirit, are you one of the murderers?».
I asked a question that a barbarian who knew nothing about a GM would say. Gentleman or this guy, my silence would leave both sides questioning each other.
Of course, this guy wasn't going to fall that easily either. «I told you to answer yes or no». The moment he spoke, the air became heavy. My body hardened as if I had encountered my natural enemy.
Is it killer energy...?
I couldn't understand it at all. Was it really possible to emit such a concentration of murderous energy outside the community? I did not know. Right now, only one thing was certain.
«Wow, you're holding up well». This guy was like a tyrant, a capricious one who nevertheless achieved what he wanted no matter the time or place. «Answer now».
My head went blank. Was this how the clown felt at the Round Table? My breathing stopped and my vision blurred as if the blood vessels leading to my brain were blocked. Suddenly a thought came to me.
...What happens if I say yes?
I could not stop the thought even knowing that it was a vain hope that lived in a weak mind.
If this guy is really Baekho... Can't I just reveal my identity?
Maybe that would help me. We were both Korean, after all. If what he showed me in the community was his true personality, he could treat me like a real big brother.
Yes, just maybe...
Depending on my answer, there might be a future where Baekho would carry me and grow my strength so that one day we would escape this world together. But the moment that future came to mind, I instantly got sober.
There were several reasons. To begin with, I didn't know if it was Baekho or not. Furthermore, the moment I revealed my identity, hundreds of civilians here would turn into mute corpses.
«…¡Bjorn!»
«¿Missha?»
When I turned in the direction of the sound, I saw Missha running towards me in a hurry. True, it was close to my house. He probably came as soon as he heard the commotion just in case. However, the situation was not good.
«Oh, your girlfriend?» The man saw Missha and smiled as if a good weakness had come out. The pressure that was temporarily narrowing my body disappeared and I was able to move freely.
Dash.
I immediately threw my body in front of Missha and blocked her path to protect her from a possible surprise attack.
«The Red Cat Tribe is definitely cute». The man nodded as if he understood. Then he asked Missha again, for some reason, not me. «Answer with a yes or no. Red Cat, are you a player?»
«Hmm? J-player?»
«An evil spirit».
«Nn-no, I'm not!» Surprised by the sudden question, Missha answered and the guy nodded.
«It's true».
«You have nothing to answer. Missha, get behind me». I quickly hid Missha behind me.
Seeing that, the guy laughed. «Ha, a player wouldn't deal with an NPC... How strange. Why don't you answer?»
A cold sweat had been running down my back since before. If he responded, he would discover that he had lied. If he didn't, it would seem suspicious too.
«Why should I do what the enemy wants?» I added a barbaric reason and completely avoided answering.
«It's true». The guy nodded in acceptance and asked playfully: «But you, are you really going to be my enemy?».
Ha, look at that look. Is this what it means to smile with your mouth, but not with your eyes?
«If you don't answer, I'll kill that red cat». Before long, he checkedmate. I knew it wasn't just a threat as soon as I heard it.
Damn. What should I do?
I turned the gear fervently, but couldn't think of an adequate answer. That was the moment.
[«...Sr. They are Lee. »]
«¿Eh?»
[«Until next time.»]
A light burst from Hans I's body, although he had been held by the neck all this time, only moving his eyeballs.
***
«Ha, this son of...» Baekho cursed and stood up. It was a vast farm with a refreshing fruity aroma. It didn't take him long to recognize where he had fallen. There was only one place with a farm like this, Rafdonia District 6, Gnome Tree. «Ugh, how annoying. Now that bastard will never get out of the magic tower first...»
Baekho willingly admitted that he had lost the guy. Even if he ran straight there now, there would be nothing left. It was an obvious error in his judgment. He distrusted the wizard's teleportation escape. That's why he grabbed him by the neck so he couldn't make a throw. But a teleportation without launch, and against none other than himself?
«So you're not a nobody either, huh?».
He regretted underestimating the opponent, but quickly got rid of him. It had already happened. It was not convenient for him to regret the past. Besides, it wasn't like he didn't win. He found out that bastard was the GM.
All I have is time, so I just have to run a little more.
Baekho scratched his head and soon turned his attention elsewhere.
«In the end I didn't get a response».
Bjorn Yandel, a barbarian he met by chance while chasing the GM.
«...Well, it doesn't matter».
Baekho decided to stop worrying about whether that barbarian was a player or not. Not only was it likely that he was not a player, Baekho's interest in the barbarian had already completely cooled. Even though he was a player, he wasn't particularly interested now. The bastards satisfied with this world and playing ball to the NPCs did not help with their plans.
He collapsed.
Baekho collapsed to the ground nonchalantly. Using the Space Interference skill, he picked the grapes hanging from a tree and floated them to his mouth.
«Naturally produced grapes are the best».
Good air, delicious food, and the GM wouldn't leave the magic tower for a while.
I'm too lazy to go to Bifron.
It wouldn't be bad to stay here for a while.
***
Two days had passed since that incident, the granting of the title, the assassins, the GM, and even Baekho Lee. Truly, a lot had happened in a single day, and the last two days were taken to resolve it. First, start with the murderer.
«We will take them for questioning».
The captured killers were escorted to Mozlan. According to the news I heard from the gentleman today, they were hired by a stranger. Apparently the bomb that killed three knights was also received from that someone.
«His orders seem to be to kill you and steal the essence they gave you».
Many things were suspicious. The essence? Good. The box containing the test tube was more than sturdy. It was also more than possible to kill me and take me by surprise.
«What if I ate it before?»
«We didn't understand that part either».
That, not to mention the huge bounty the contractor put on my head, meant the gist was just an excuse. Otherwise, there was no reason to bet on my life, so Mozlan assumed the contractor was from Noark, at least until yesterday.
«...So it's probably one of the great clans?».
Mozlan concluded that the culprit of this incident was one of the great clans. Apparently Noark would have sent more reliable guys. This type of commission did not suit them. More importantly, they had more than enough motivation.
«That's right. After hurting you, they probably planned to blame the palace. In fact, several such tricks were discovered in various taverns that night».
It was a reasonable assumption, but I had questions. Why did clown say that, then? Was it because he had obtained that information beforehand?
Well, he just said there would be a murderer. He didn't say he was from Noark...
Maybe he thought that since they weren't sending the killers anyway, there was nothing wrong with telling us in advance.
...Or it may be that none of them really come.
A feeling of shame came over me for some reason. Ha... why did he have to live in fear even in the city? Anyway, enough talking about the murderer.
To go directly to the results, the GM was not Hans I.
«The Hans Ifreia you met that day has to be someone in disguise».
When his house was raided, the real Hans Ifreia was unconscious. Just in case, they also investigated for mana, but the real Hans did not have an iota of magical talent. Simply put, someone borrowed his identity.
That was the disappointing part. He hoped this would help reveal the GM's identity.
Still, it wasn't a complete loss.
It was one of the few consolations. First of all, I found out that the GM suspected me of being a player. At least I had some time to prepare.
Since he saw that I didn't respond, his suspicion would have deepened. It will probably point to the community's next opening.
Luckily, I had a guess as to this part, so I came up with a way to deal with it. Anyway, in the next one.
They are Lee.
For starters, that guy was Baekho for sure. The GM called it that in the end.
«...Mr. Baekho Lee. Until next time».
This was said through magic, not his voice, while his neck was being pressed. Well, it didn't mean much.
«He... I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to tell you».
When I asked the gentleman at the time who Baekho was, that was the only answer he gave me. I figured that's why life was a matter of opportunity. If Baekho hadn't cut off his words then, I was sure he would have told me.
It sure is dangerous...
Even if I met Baekho again another day, it would be difficult for us to be as friends as before. Should I say that I learned that their personalities were completely different? I thought the innocence he showed me in the community would be his true self, but the difference was too much.
He was a real bully...
Anyway, I went from Baekho to Missha. In truth, this was the most annoying and suffocating part.
«Bjorn, don't think about this strangely and just listen, okay? You're not going to disappear out of nowhere, are you...?».
Missha started looking at me anxiously.