Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Traitor Within
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We arrived at the hideout where Korean players had gathered.
I’d thought it was a rundown spot since they’d been hiding out while coming down the stairs.
But when I opened the iron door at the bottom of the basement, a completely different space appeared from the entrance.
Clang.
“Ria, good work.”
It looked like a high-class wine bar.
It was at least a hundred pyeong in size—maybe more.
As we entered the room, the mustached man closed the iron door behind us.
Clang.
“You’re the Korean players who just arrived?”
I answered.
“Yes. We got here today.”
“I see. How did you end up meeting Ria?”
Kim Ria grabbed the mustached man’s hand and pulled him along.
“Uncle, sit down and talk.”
“……All right.”
He looked suspicious of us.
I didn’t know why, but they seemed extremely wary of outsiders.
Every player in the room was glaring at us.
Thirty… six of them.
That’s really few.
Following Kim Ria inside, we reached a place marked VIP Room.
We sat around a large round table.
Thud.
I spoke first.
“There’s a place like this under the temple?”
The mustached man replied.
“A secret location. Only those with the Thief job can open it.”
It was something I didn’t know.
I wondered if there was anything about the Land of Ruin I didn’t know, but then I realized.
I didn’t remember useless trivia.
This place probably wasn’t that important.
“I see. Oh, right—you asked how we met Ria?”
“……Yes.”
“When we first arrived in the city, Ria jumped out from an alley.”
“Ria did…?”
“Yes. She greeted us and then collapsed right away. We took her back to our lodging and treated her.”
The mustached man looked back and forth between Kim Ria and me, then nodded as if convinced.
“I see. Sorry for the late introduction. I’m Jeong Ha-gyun, the leader of the Korean Union.”
The mustached man extended his hand to me.
As I started to lift my hips from the chair to shake it, I felt a surge of killing intent.
Jeong Ha-gyun, who resembled a wildcat, was glaring at me.
His eyes said he didn’t trust me.
I didn’t know what they’d been through, but it was intense.
“……I’m Kim Cheonjae.”
“Kim Cheonjae? Cool name. A genius, huh.”
Kim Ria jumped into the conversation.
“Uncle! This guy took down Psycho Hanjo!”
“……What? Psycho Hanjo?!”
The Korean players gathered inside started murmuring.
-That guy took down Psycho Hanjo?
-No way…. We couldn’t even beat him all together.
-Nah, he’s lying. Anyone can talk big.
-What are you saying? You think Ria would lie? Wow…. He’s a big shot….
I smiled brightly and continued.
“Could I get a rundown of the situation here?”
“……What situation are you curious about?”
“Well…. We haven’t gathered much info yet. I’d like to start with when the main game for this round begins.”
Jeong Ha-gyun raised one eyebrow, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
Inhale.
Exhale—
“When does the next game start?”
“Yeah. We need to know to participate.”
“Did you choose A Course?”
I nodded.
Jeong Ha-gyun slowly exhaled smoke as he looked over our group members one by one.
When no one answered, Kim Ria cut in.
“Uncle! Why are you dragging this out? The next game starts in ten days.”
Ten days?
That’s the day Li Kuangla arrives here.
The timing lines up worse than I thought.
I sipped the iced water in my glass and asked Jeong Ha-gyun.
“Ha-gyun.”
“Speak.”
“Just to be sure—I don’t suppose there’s a spy in here?”
At my sudden question, Jeong Ha-gyun blinked silently.
I kept my eyes on his and continued.
“I know it’s not something for a newcomer like me to ask.”
“……”
“You’re being so openly wary of us that it’s making me uncomfortable.”
To win the fourth round, I needed to work with these guys.
Better clear up any misunderstandings quickly.
Jeong Ha-gyun took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and stared at me.
“Whew—. If you felt that way, I apologize. You saved Ria’s life, and I was rude.”
“No. If there’s a mole, it’s understandable.”
“……I don’t know why you’d think that, but to cut to the chase: you’re right.”
Jeong Ha-gyun stood and pointed outside the VIP room as he continued.
“There’s a traitor among us.”
“……And you haven’t found them yet?”
“Yes. We’re all suspecting each other.”
“Could you tell me why you think that?”
Jeong Ha-gyun stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and pulled an old-fashioned pistol from his pocket.
It looked ancient.
“Weapons. A week ago, we were supposed to receive weapons from an outside player, but that day, at that place, at that time—the Japanese ambushed the trade spot! I don’t know which damn bastard leaked the info….”
“Weapons…?”
“Yes. Weapons for the main game of the fourth round starting in ten days: ‘Conqueror’s Return.’”
I scratched my head.
“You mean weapons for the war?”
“Yes.”
“Who were you getting them from?”
“……Sorry, I can’t tell you that. We’re not close enough yet.”
Jeongwoo flicked his glass with his finger, knocking it over. The iced water spilled across the table onto the floor.
“Hey. If you don’t trust us, then leave.”
Jeong Ha-gyun clicked his tongue, stood, and turned his back to us.
“If you leave here? Where to next?”
Jeongwoo slammed his fist on the desk and stood.
Bang!
“Anywhere.”
“The Japanese are out there with fire in their eyes, hunting Korean players. The Chinese too.”
“Just kill them all.”
“Do you have the skills for that?”
“……Want me to show you?”
An ominous tension flowed between them.
I pressed down on Jeongwoo’s shoulder to make him sit, then continued.
“Both of you, calm down. We didn’t come here to fight.”
Kim Ria, gauging the mood, swung her palm wide and smacked Jeong Ha-gyun’s back.
Smack!
“Uncle! What are you doing?”
“Ow…. What are you doing?”
“They’re the ones who saved me! And if you’re going to treat new players like this, why even form a union?”
“……”
“Are you trying to break up the union?”
Jeong Ha-gyun dropped his head with a hurt expression.
“No….”
“You’re not going to let them take our castle again? Don’t you remember last game when our group and your guys all died? Aren’t you going to get revenge?”
“……”
“If you’re leaving, you go. We’re sticking together.”
Jeong Ha-gyun scratched the back of his head with an awkward look.
“……Sorry.”
“We’re barely holding on even united, so why fight…. Sorry, Cheonjae.”
I grinned at her.
“It’s fine. Shall we continue the talk?”
* * * * *
Michael Beach and Yoo Sora lay on the sofa, catching some sleep.
Jeongwoo, on bad terms with Jeong Ha-gyun, went out to scout the city.
I listened to their strategy with Jeong Ha-gyun while looking at the map.
“Here to here. One chance.”
“……On the day the main event starts, they all come out to the castle, right?”
“That’s right. I’ve repeated this fourth event here several times. It’s always the same.”
“Four times? So the Japanese have taken the castle four times?”
Jeong Ha-gyun nodded bitterly.
“Psycho Hanjo that Ria mentioned. That bastard isn’t moving to the next round—he’s staying here, so we’re stuck.”
“……So this Psycho Hanjo player completed the event but is still hanging around?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why?”
I asked even though I knew.
The reason Hanjo wasn’t going to the fifth round.
Probably because of the ‘jenny.’
Belonging to a conqueror nation means you get dividends from the castle’s taxes once a week.
His strategy to save up money and grow in the fifth round.
It was obvious.
Still, I asked Jeong Ha-gyun again.
Someone at the leader level would gather jenny much faster by questing or hunting during tax time.
Jeong Ha-gyun scribbled on the map with a pencil and said to me.
“Money. No, jenny.”
Bingo.
“He’s staying here to collect jenny?”
“Yes.”
I rested my chin on the desk and asked Jeong Ha-gyun.
“Someone at his level would gather it way faster by hunting. Why stick it out in this city?”
“……The day the Japanese first took this castle. Four months ago. There was a player who overwhelmingly pushed him back.”
“……And?”
“He thinks he’ll lose to that guy if he goes to the next round like this, so he’s not moving.”
A player in an enemy nation too scared to move.
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“He’s scared?”
“Yes. That player was that strong.”
“……Which nation was that strong player from?”
“Korea.”
“What?! But you didn’t take the castle?”
Jeong Ha-gyun sighed.
“Exactly. That bastard…. No, that person. He didn’t want to work with us.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“He said he chose B in the story flow and didn’t want to fight.”
The word ‘man-child’ flashed through my mind.
“……What a weirdo.”
“Exactly. The only fight he got into while staying here was when he got drunk at a pub and tangled with Psycho Hanjo.”
“He didn’t join the battlefield?”
“No. He didn’t step up for anything else. Something like ‘if the weak don’t want to die, don’t come to the next round’….”
He’s from the same nation, so you’d think he’d help….
“Do you know who he is?”
“……Yes. He told us about himself and left a message.”
“A message? What’s that?”
“He left a note saying if any of these people come, go to the next round with them.”
“……Can I see that note?”
“Hold on. Where did I put it….”
Jeong Ha-gyun pulled a notebook from his jacket’s inner pocket, wetted his finger with saliva, and flipped through it.
Flip. Flip.
“Ah, here it is. Should I read it?”
“……Yes.”
I sipped the water from my cup as I listened.
“High-Level Player. Myeong Nikjin. Ji-gun. Chakan i.”
Pfft—!
I spat out my water.
“What?”
“Yes?”
“No. Read it again.”
“……High-Level Player. Myeong Nikjin. Chakan i. Ji-gun.”
Me. Jeongwoo. Jo Young-gi. And Ji-gun, whom I hadn’t met yet.
Four names called out. Meaning he knew all of us.
I cautiously asked Jeong Ha-gyun.
“By any chance. The name of the player who came by…?”
Jeong Ha-gyun closed the notebook and tucked it back into his jacket.
“Uh…. Not a real name. He gave a nickname.”
“What nickname?”
“……Goti. Assassin Goti.”
* * * * *
The rain had stopped.
Yet the dark clouds shrouding the ‘Conqueror’s Land’ hadn’t lifted.
Ma Jeongwoo slowly walked the dark alley, scanning his surroundings.
Thud thud thud thud thud.
He heard horses galloping.
The ground shook, so it wasn’t just one or two.
He cautiously peeked out from the alley.
Japanese soldiers were searching shops and houses.
-Hey, old man. Seen anyone who looks like this? No? Then die!
Bang!
Crazy bastards.
They started killing players and NPCs just for saying they hadn’t seen them.
He saw the wanted posters the Japanese were waving around—faces of Kim Cheonjae’s group.
Ma Jeongwoo gritted his teeth and watched their actions.
The one who looked like the Japanese commander grinned slyly and shouted.
“This is to everyone. Fire on sight for any Korean or Chinese players. Kill them all!”
-Hai! Then we don’t need slaves anymore?
“Just kill them. Well…. Maybe keep the women and kids. For when we’re bored—.”
Bang! Bang bang!
Three gunshots rang out from the castle walls.
Everyone’s eyes turned there.
Suddenly, the Japanese players on the walls saluted the flag.
Bam— bampam— parabam bam!
Majestic music blared across the castle grounds.
NPCs automatically knelt and looked up.
Players glanced at each other, then knelt like the NPCs.
The Rising Sun flag at the castle’s peak.
From the loudspeaker beneath it, Hanjo’s voice emerged.
-To all players in the castle. Starting now, I’m placing a bounty of 100,000 jenny per Korean player you hunt and bring in.
100,000 jenny.
That’s a billion won in cash equivalent. Pointless to calculate, of course. But it was undeniable—a huge price on Korean players’ heads.
-Repeating broadcast. 100,000 jenny per Korean player. 1 million jenny if you find their hideout. That is all!