Chapter 280
Chapter: 280
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 280
>Chapter Title: Yellow Zone (4)
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>“Huh! It’s a Silent Villain!”
“One of the Silent Villains has shown up in the Green Zone!”
“I heard PEP and the Glamping Guild were both gunning for them, but they’re still alive? What are they planning to loot next?”
The moment Seongjin stepped into the Green Zone after dispatching the attackers, players who recognized Owen started whispering here and there.
Seongjin found it surprising as he turned to look at the fox.
Silent Villain?
How on earth did a guy who’d been yapping nonstop the whole way here end up with a nickname like that?
“It’s not easy to talk in detail here. Follow me. We’ve got a little restaurant nearby that we’re using as a base.”
Owen said this with a face that had been stiff and tense since earlier. It seemed the way Seongjin had handled those attackers at the end had quite the impact on him.
It made no sense at all. Who was the one swinging an axe and smashing players’ heads the most spectacularly?
“Tell me. What the hell are you?”
Only after settling into a quiet corner of a deserted restaurant did the fox glare at Seongjin and ask in a low voice.
Whoa, whoa, don’t make that face.
No matter how hard you try to act tough, you’re just a cute animal buddy right now.
“I introduced myself earlier, didn’t I? Lee Seongjin.”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
Owen narrowed his eyes and scanned Seongjin from his head horns down to his hoof tips.
“What kind of guy are you that you can take out players that easily?”
“…Is that a problem?”
“Of course it is. You’re still a newbie. Your physical stats aren’t high, and you don’t have any decent gear. That means you killed them purely with your skills.”
Owen’s gaze deepened as he glared at Seongjin.
“And there’s only one explanation for that. You’re someone who’s already mastered the art of killing.”
Ah, now Seongjin understood why Owen was on guard.
‘But that won’t do.’
He needed to stick by this guy’s side, get his help, and slowly work toward his goal. Building walls from the start wouldn’t help anyone.
As Seongjin paused to choose his words carefully, his eyes happened to catch the adorable little hoof sitting on the table instead of a hand.
Hmm. Cute. This might tug at the heartstrings.
“How should I put it? The neighborhood I grew up in was a rough place.”
Seongjin lowered his eyes and began his story in a quiet voice.
“It was a place where you couldn’t guarantee your life if you let your guard down even a little. You’d wake up every day reminded of the fear of raids, and in the blink of an eye, the comrade next to you might be dead. I don’t think there was a single day I could sleep peacefully.”
After saying that much, Seongjin paused for a moment and lifted his small, flower-petal-like hoof toward Owen.
“Everyone there had to learn skills like these just to survive. If I seem skilled in your eyes, that’s a good thing. It’s perfect proof that I’ve managed to survive alone all this time.”
“Alone? What about your comrades?”
“The ones I was with all died. In the end, I’m the only one who survived.”
At those words, the fox’s pupils shook violently.
“You alone…”
Then his face suddenly crumpled, turning into an expression of endless pity.
He looked like he might burst into tears at the slightest touch.
“…I see. Sorry for suspecting you for no reason. It must be a really painful memory for you.”
“…”
“But don’t worry, newbie! From now on, we’ll all help you out!”
Seongjin, who had just thrown together a rough excuse, was the one left dumbfounded by the reaction.
‘Hey, man. Didn’t I tell you when we first met that I grew up in the Imperial Capital?’
Why are you so dense about everything?
Is this guy a pushover in a whole different way from Logan? No wonder they can’t let him out alone.
Unaware of Seongjin’s complicated feelings, Owen nodded eagerly and continued.
“Yeah. I figured there must be some circumstances. The fact that you’re here means you’ve been chosen by Status Window-san.”
“Chosen?”
“Yeah. Status Window-san is pretty good at judging users’ character. I’ve seen a lot of Guest ID users so far, but I’ve never met one with a really bad personality.”
Whether it was fortunate or not, Owen had completely dropped his guard toward Seongjin.
“For now, let’s finish registering as friends. Mind handing over your terminal for a sec?”
Sure enough, when Seongjin checked his pocket just in case, the broken Waypoint he’d been holding onto while sleeping appeared perfectly intact.
Even in this unclear place—dream or game—it emitted the same shape and glow as in reality.
“To think it followed me all the way here…”
“Haha. Like I said earlier, the terminal is what keeps us here, and it’s the source of Status Window-san.”
Then, looking at Seongjin’s broken Waypoint, he clicked his tongue.
“No wonder the graphics were glitching out so badly. With the terminal in this state, it’s no surprise. Maybe that’s why you don’t know much about Status Window-san either.”
“Is it okay like this?”
“Well, since it’s still covered in a skin properly, it doesn’t seem totally unstable.”
With that, Owen pressed his broken Waypoint against his own and began some complicated operations.
“I once partied with a guy who had a terminal with a chipped corner. The graphics were a bit unstable, but otherwise it worked fine.”
He said it was that friend’s idea to cover it with a skin to fix the graphics issue.
As if proving his words that the functions were fine, a small window soon popped up in front of Seongjin’s eyes.
〚Qr#^^E& has requested to register as ‘friend’ with □□□ □□. Accept?〛
〚Accept / Decline〛
Seongjin casually hit accept and fell deep into thought.
He’d heard all sorts of stories about this thing called the [Waypoint] so far.
But knowing it could function as a terminal to access other worlds made him think it couldn’t just be dismissed as a mere [relic] anymore.
-The Oracle’s [Waypoint] is an item from the main world, yet it partially possesses properties of the dimensional world’s material.
Dexter had said that back at the elder’s workshop.
Something that shouldn’t exist under the main world’s laws was somehow holding together in the world solely through advanced mental powers.
The principle behind it was hidden in the homunculus engine source—the foundation that made the dimensional world exist.
‘If the Waypoint made by the Oracle can serve as the foundation supporting multiple dimensions…’
Then perhaps the Waypoint itself could be the foundation of a dimension.
“How about registering our other friends while we’re at it? You’ll be hanging out with us a lot from now on.”
“Yeah, whatever you want.”
Watching Owen fiddling intently with the gem, Seongjin suddenly thought.
Come to think of it, the true nature of this [Status Window-san] that Owen followed was the same. From what he’d heard, it didn’t feel like mere text but more like a personality.
‘If the Status Window’s foundation is also the Waypoint, then whose personality is it?’
Whatever it was, it was clearly a highly uncomfortable and mysterious existence.
After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Seongjin concluded that the best course was to wean Owen off depending on the Status Window.
“Owen. You said you have a goal to achieve, right?”
“Huh? Yeah. All us Guest ID users do.”
“Then can you tell me what that goal is?”
Owen looked up and stared at Seongjin with an unreadable gaze for a moment.
A serious expression, unlike any before, crossed the fox’s endlessly cheerful and carefree face.
“…For my family. I have to protect them no matter what.”
Answering like that, Owen gripped the two crimson Waypoints tightly. He squeezed so hard that the joints of his hands turned white.
“They’re all I have left in this world now. I can’t lose precious people in such a meaningless way a second time. I’d do anything to stop that.”
“…”
“You’ve got something like that too, right? That’s why you’re here. You’re a Guest ID user, so you can understand my feelings perfectly. That’s why I’m willing to help a total stranger like you.”
Watching him silently for a moment, Seongjin finally replied.
“Alright, fine. For now, I’ll help you too.”
After that, Seongjin listened as Owen explained various things a newbie needed to know for a while.
The world they were in now was called the ‘Pangea Chronicle,’ a dimensional world, and most users accessed it through a place called ‘Impulse Soft.’
‘Impulse Soft?’
What’s that? It sounded familiar, like he’d heard it somewhere before.
While Seongjin tilted his head, Owen continued his explanation. Most of it was about the characteristics of Guest ID users.
“Guest ID users have various disadvantages compared to regular users. Like not being able to party with normal users, or not being able to use facilities like the auction house or high-end shops.”
During these explanations, Seongjin finally learned why Owen and his friends were called the ‘Silent Villains.’
“I hear Pangea Chronicle basically provides simultaneous interpretation between users. But that’s only for regular users.”
Guest ID users could communicate smoothly with regular players too. The system supported simultaneous interpretation for player convenience.
But it was different between Guest ID users. If they lived in different regions, they couldn’t understand each other at all.
“So that’s why you were talking through thoughts?”
Recalling when he first met them, Seongjin asked, and Owen nodded.
“Yeah. Fortunately, we can send thoughts to each other through Status Window-san.”
That’s why even when they were chattering away via thoughts, to others it looked like they were keeping their mouths shut the whole time.
Strangers might’ve found it a bit creepy.
“So you quietly chatted via thoughts while looting items all over the place?”
“Looting? What kind of rude way is that to put it?”
“Then why are people reacting like that?”
There had to be a reason they were called ‘Villains.’ The guild that attacked them earlier, and the reputation he’d heard entering the Green Zone.
The fox’s already red face flushed even deeper as he retorted.
“We only did normal play. We didn’t steal illegally or snatch others’ stuff.”
“Really?”
“…We just played a bit harder than others. We claimed dungeons with good item drops and camped them out.”
“…”
“Hey, hey, don’t look at me like that. We had no choice! Without access to places like the auction house, we had to stake our lives on dungeon items!”
It was then.
A sudden wave of intense drowsiness hit him, and his vision started flickering bit by bit.
“Oh, looks like Status Window-san has decided to log us out now. Guess it’s already morning.”
“Morning?”
“Yeah. Time to head back to reality.”
With that, Owen waved cheerfully at Seongjin.
“Nice meeting you. Hope we see each other next time you log in. Remember this spot as our meeting place. See ya, newbie.”
It’s not newbie, it’s Lee Seongjin, man.
* * *
Tweet tweet, tweet tweet.
Waking up in the Pearl Palace room to the welcome sound of birdsong he hadn’t heard in a while, Seongjin opened his eyes.
“It couldn’t have just been a dream…”
The events with Owen felt so vivid, but now that he was back in the Pearl Palace feeling reality, they all seemed like a distant dream.
[You’re awake, so why are you lazing around in bed? Not like you. Did you have a bad dream or something?]
As always, the Demon King stretched and grumbled from within the Flame Crystal.
Ah, right, the Demon King’s here. This is my reality.
Thinking that, Seongjin slowly got up. But then he tilted his head at how off his body felt from usual.
‘Why does my body feel so heavy?’
Aftereffect of the dream? Even after sleeping soundly, he felt an accumulated fatigue somewhere.
The condition drop showed in his training time too.
Seeing Seongjin unable to focus properly on meditation, Masain asked curiously.
“Your Highness, is something wrong? Could it be lingering fatigue from the trip?”
‘Yeah, I pulled an all-nighter gaming, Sir Masain.’
Unable to say that, Seongjin gripped the walnut cracker and quietly sighed.
‘I never even got into games back in school days…’
Yeah, now I get it.
This is why everyone warns about game addiction.
“Why are you so listless today?”
Then, a familiar clear voice came from behind.
Whoosh.
At the same time, a powerful holy power poured toward Seongjin, and the built-up fatigue vanished in an instant.
“…Sisle?”
Turning around, the little Sisle was smiling at him.
Now clutching a small bear doll instead of her diary, with Seo Iseo still stuck to her back full of wariness.
“What brings you to the Pearl Palace this early in the morning?”
A bit surprised by the unexpected visit, he asked, and Sisle tilted her head at him.
“Huh? Don’t you remember, big brother? You said you’d tell me all about our Rabiew in detail, and to come to the Pearl Palace whenever you had time?”
The little ice bear looked at Seongjin too, letting out electronic sounds like a song.
[Rab~iew!]
Uh, right.
That guy’s issue was still pending.