Inside Hansu Lee's room.
Now, every time I came here I felt like I was back in my hometown. Even though it felt so comfortable and familiar, it still felt unfamiliar at the same time, even this room that was once my home.
Haz clic.
First, I turned on the community by pressing the main power unit. I waited a moment for the messages to appear, because there was nothing else to do until the Round Table opened at three.
[Long live Korean independence!] – 0 people connected.
Baekho wasn't here again. Judging by the way he threatened the GM to undo his banishment it seemed like he was looking for a way to get back somehow, but I figured it hadn't happened yet.
He said returning home was his ultimate goal...
Remembering the aspiration that Baekho expressed in the past, I thought of the GM. What was the GM's goal? Was it coming back too?
...Then why did he ban Baekho? Hmm... I don't know.
Something was still happening somewhere I didn't know.
Anyway, it would be nice if the hard work wasn't in vain.
Hoping that the plan to use Kharon as a substitute would work well to clear up suspicion, I organized the things I knew about the GM. There weren't many. First of all, he was a magician. He was a big fan of Elfnuna, to the point that he used the nickname Elfnunalove in the community.
No, wait... What will happen if he finds out I'm him? Will you help me with this and that?
For a second I even thought I could get a strong godfather in this world with this, but in the end, I went back to square one.
Not at all.
In a way it was in line with the fact that I tried not to reveal my identity to Baekho until the end. I didn't know the GM's intentions, not to mention that the GM had even sent a community invitation pill to Bjorn Yandel once before. Simply put, it meant that he didn't approach me to invite me into the community if I turned out to be a player, and therefore I had to hide thoroughly, even if that may have been of good intention. Nobody knew how human relationships would end. For some, revealing that I was an evil spirit was tantamount to giving them a leash with my neck tied. I had also seen some bad examples with my own eyes.
«Well, if you wish, I will exile you myself. Hans Chrisen is an evil spirit!»
If the same thing that happened to Hans G happened to me, what choice would I make then? Could you reject a forced election?
Clic, click.
I emptied my head and moved the mouse. As quite some time had passed, several messages appeared on different bulletin boards. I had fun browsing them. Thus, about thirty minutes passed since the opening of the community. Added a post:
[I'm from Noark and I have something to tell you].
The content of the post began like this.
I thought about it many times, worried about being kicked out for being from Noark, but I leave this message because everyone has to know, whether on the surface or underground. Right now we are out. Not within the walls, but in the real outside world.
It was shocking content that denied the basis of this universe.
Surely you are thinking that this doesn't make sense, but it is true. We escape from the palace and leave, and we are still alive and well. To be honest, I don't know if the witch's curse disappeared over time or if it didn't exist from the beginning, but one thing is clear. The outside world is perfectly fine. The plants grow and if you get close, you can see bugs eating grass. The same goes for wild animals.
The poster then spent many words describing what the outside world was like, and then described what had happened as a diary. I slowly read that entire long text. My first impression was that it didn't seem like a simple joke.
It can't be someone spouting nonsense to try to drag aggro...
Well, no one would risk being banned for making a joke like that. Still, the comments went crazy.
Brutalizer X: Here is the interest you asked for.
arolf5205: I was wondering what this post was but I only read the top part and immediately broke down. Surely no one is stupid enough to believe this.
I started with the comments above dismissing it as lies made up by an attention bitch.
ryanzeus31: But if this is real, isn't the palace screwed? If there really is an outside world where people can live without mana stones then there is no way this damn city can survive.
furryking1955: Maybe that's why they hid it. It's impossible that they didn't know.
Those who believed to some extent in the content of the message were concerned about what would come next.
Gareth: Wow, I was wondering where that old man appeared and disappeared, did he go outside?
Others left comments as if they knew something.
NIKAMOTO: Old man? What is that? Respectfully please share your information.
Gareth: We were waiting in front of the portal to finish off all of Noark's bastards as soon as they came out, but suddenly an old man appeared and teleported with all of them.
Kni8htofroom: If you're going to lie, at least try a little. How can you move all those people with Mass Teleportation?
Gareth: I don't know. And I don't want to make you understand it. Anyway, what do I do now? Ugh, I thought the palace side would be more comfortable and I chose the knight's route. Now the palace is ruined?
From this comment, public opinion gradually leaned towards the feeling that the post was true. The soldiers who participated in the conquest from the palace side had begun to testify one by one.
amulet: It may be hard to believe, but it is true that they escaped by teleporting. I was there too, so I can say this clearly as a fact.
kongkong2: This person has only been posting from a gentleman's perspective for a few years. So is all this real?
The post was recorded as a popular post and witnesses on the palace side turned around, and even some from Noark made an appearance.
EXBlunt: Wow, the outside air is nice. Are we the winners for going underground a long time ago?
xxfblz: Yes, we can live well without mana stones. Have fun working like slaves in exchange for taxes.
I started to get confused too. It seemed plausible to me that the outside world was fine. In fact, I also felt a sense of incongruity when I saw the guards standing atop the castle walls. But there was something I couldn't understand.
Why do they tell us this?
It wasn't strange to have someone from Noark in the community, but why did they share their situation? Because they thought it was their duty as players?
No, it can't be.
If it really was that, he wouldn't have had to get stuck on the first floor and cross the death line to clear the way. Those guys then remained completely silent. They did not reveal the plan for a surprise or prank attack, and as a result, most of the scouts on the surface were killed. Of them, many were obviously players.
...Then it would be correct to assume that it was ordered by Noark.
They had a pretty good reason for that, too. If they lied about escaping outside, it would help them evade the palace chase.
But if the outside world is not right, the palace will not fall into the trap anyway.
Immediately confronted with a contradiction, I let out a big sigh.
Ugh, what's going on?
In the end, I couldn't stand it and left a comment.
Elfnunna: I have a question for the people of Noark. If the outside is really good and you are there right now, why do you reveal it here? When you've been quiet all this time.
Soon, a response notification sounded.
FIRE: Wow, are you really Elfnuna? I'm raising a fire-capable archer. Please give me some advice.
bigfisher: He really believed it. It's Elfnunna, not Elfnuna.
Bling0_0: But it could be the real one. I heard that the original nickname was taken by someone at first and cannot be used now after their death.
There were no comments with substance. Geez, I was just asking Noark.
Those.
I clicked my tongue and looked at the time. Surprisingly, there were about ten minutes left until the Round Table opened. As the comments were constantly updated in real time, the night had flown by.
Yes, there will surely be useful information there.
I stopped reading the comments and lay down in bed for a while. As soon as the time came, I entered the Round Table.
It will be here, right?
I was worried that clown was away because he took a beating throughout the meeting last time, but luckily the guy was resilient.
«So you are here too, Mr. León. Pshehe.»
Acting friendly again? I filtered that greeting through the other ear and sat in my usual place. The current contestants were Duende, Cornamenta, clown and Reina. For some reason, Fox wasn't there.
«It's strange. She was always the first to come», Duende questioned and observed my reaction. True, since I was the one who spoke to Fox separately in the end, he must have wondered if something had happened.
Since I didn't know anything about Fox's absence either, I remained silent. How long has it been since then? Soon it was time to start the meeting and Fox still didn't show up. But instead, Crescent Moon, who had caused much speculation by not attending the last meeting, made an appearance.
«¿Oh?»
«So you weren't dead, Mr. Crescent Moon».
Thanks to that, the attention that was focused on Fox's absence was transferred to him.
«A new figure. Nice to meet you. I came for the first time last time and I still have a lot to learn». Like the talented extrovert that she was, Queen approached him to greet him first.
Crescent Moon was in a strange state. He probably should have been curious about Queen, whom he didn't know at all, but just sat there and said nothing. Was this person always like this?
«Pshe, playing important. What happened to you? Tell us at least. Can't you see that everyone is curious?» Clown asked, and the other members said nothing about his rude behavior. They were also curious to know what the hell had happened to Crescent Moon.
«...I wasn't in the mood at the time». I guessed that kind of attention was uncomfortable when Crescent Moon briefly revealed her situation. Although there were no details, it was not difficult to know what he meant. After all, those were the times. The same thing happened with that deep voice.
«It seems like he's lost someone». Antlers clicked his tongue and murmured. Crescent Moon did not respond.
At that, Duende looked between clown and Crescent Moon anxiously. The reason was simple. «So thank goodness you came. Your enemy may be here».
«What do you mean by that...?» Not having been here last time, Crescent Moon did not know what Clown's identity was.
«Clown is the Corpse Collector».
When Hornamenta revealed the information without hiding her bad feelings, Crescent Moon froze. There was a brief silence.
«I see. clown is... So you are...». Then Crescent Moon looked at clown. Had he really lost something to Noark? In that look, I felt a rather sharp murderous energy.
But as someone who had experienced something greater, Clown just laughed as usual. «Pshehe, how are you going to kill someone with that?».
Crescent Moon looked at clown silently, then released her tightly clenched fist. Suddenly, his murderous energy also disappeared. Crescent Moon knew it too. Although the enemy was before his eyes, there was nothing he could really do here. «Someday I will go look for you», he said in a calm and restrained voice.
Clown grimaced after a brief interval. «...Pshe, I'll be waiting for you».
Anyway, that ended the personal conversation between the two.
«Now, since the door is closed, why don't we start soon? I've been waiting for this for a month!» Soon, Queen led the rally with a forced and bubbly attitude. That's how long it took us to decide the order.
«Yes, now. So I'll go first today». Clown claimed the first turn. No one said anything but he could feel like they were waiting for the words to come out of his mouth. «This could get a little exciting», Clown told us and then set his sights on Crescent Moon. «Since we're talking about you coming to look for me, how do you plan to do it? You've all seen the bulletin board, right? That the outside world is perfectly fine and that everyone who lived in Noark is outside». Soon Clown put his hand on the jewel and murmured briefly: «That's all true».
As if to prove it, the jewel of the Round Table let out a green light.