Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Doll for Yoo Sora
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“You were trying to give that bear doll to Yoo Sora?”
Then why come to me instead of going straight to her?
While waiting for me to finish showering, no less.
-Waaah!
Specter’s wail echoed through the mansion, drawing everyone to my room.
The first to arrive was Ma Jeongwoo.
He looked baffled as he asked me,
“What’s this punk doing here?”
“……No idea.”
Next came Michael, rushing in wearing nothing but his panties.
“Cheonjae hyuuung! What’s going onuuu?”
He must’ve come in such a hurry—same gender or not, I couldn’t help but avert my eyes.
“Ah, it’s nothing, so put that flopping thing away.”
“Huh? What do you meeean?”
“What else? That…… Ah, forget it. Get out of here. Jeongwoo, take Michael and wait outside. And make sure…… no one comes into this room.”
Jeongwoo glanced at Specter and nodded. He was quick on the uptake and instantly grasped what I meant.
In a mansion with only four people, telling him to keep everyone out
meant, in short, don’t let Yoo Sora come here.
Slam.
I closed the door and resumed my conversation with Specter.
“Why give that doll to Yoo Sora?”
“……Because it’s that sister’s.”
“Sora’s? That doll?”
“Yeah!”
The invincible being of the ‘Land of Ruin,’ a monster that inspired overwhelming terror, was crying just to deliver a doll to Yoo Sora.
‘……’
Could Jeongwoo and my deduction be right after all?
I tilted my head and continued.
“But why come to me? Why not go to Sora yourself?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
His expression didn’t seem like he was lying.
That left me with two possible inferences.
One: He knew but was pretending not to.
In that case, he’d have some purpose with me.
Two: He truly didn’t know.
In that case, either Yoo Sora had some special mechanism, or Specter’s abilities were restricted……
My gut said the latter was more likely.
There’d be no reason for Specter, an NPC directly controlled by the system, to pretend ignorance if he knew her location.
So why didn’t he know where Yoo Sora was?
A system limitation, or Yoo Sora’s special power.
‘……’
I raised one eyebrow and said to him,
“……Hand over that doll. I’ll deliver it to Yoo Sora.”
“No way. I have to give it to that sister myself.”
“You have to? Who said that?”
“……My uncle.”
“Who’s your uncle?”
Specter opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t, then clamped his lips shut.
I softened my face as much as possible and continued gently.
“Can you tell me who your uncle is? I need to know so Sora noona can receive the doll, right?”
“My uncle told me not to say his name.”
“Then what were you going to tell Sora noona when you gave her the doll?”
“……”
“It’s okay, just tell me. Even if it’s not the name, what were you planning to say to Sora noona? Hmm?”
Specter’s body suddenly trembled. Then, as if seeing something I couldn’t, he stared into empty space.
“Ah…. It’s already this late…. Bro, I gotta go to work now.”
“What about the doll?”
“Sigh…. Uncle said to deliver the doll quick….”
“Then it’s perfect. You need to deliver it fast, but you don’t have time. I’ll pass it on for you, right?”
“……”
“Just give me that doll and go.”
“……”
“……Hand it over!”
I forcibly snatched the bear doll from Specter’s hands.
I could tell he wouldn’t resist much even if I did this.
[System Message]
[‘Mysterious Doll’ has been transferred from Specter to player Kim Cheonjae.]
I gripped the bear doll tightly.
Its previously transparent color slowly returned, turning into a cute brown teddy bear.
“Huh? Huh?! Huh!! No, bro! How’d you touch my doll?”
“How? What do you mean?”
“Unauthorized players aren’t supposed to be able to touch it!”
“……Then I guess I’m authorized?”
Specter blinked in confusion.
“Th-that can’t be….”
I held up the bear doll and grinned.
It was light.
Not heavy enough to have a human head inside.
“G-give it back! The doll!”
“Relax. You said you were giving it to Sora, right? I’ll deliver it safely, so trust me.”
“Liar! You’re gonna keep it!”
“What would I do with a teddy bear? I’m too old for that.”
Specter eyed me suspiciously.
“If you don’t give it back, I’ll kill you.”
A threat flexing his power.
A method that had zero effect on me.
I shrugged.
“Go ahead and try.”
“……Huh?”
“Kill me if you can.”
“……”
No one but me would dare act like this toward Specter.
Because no one else had pinpointed his weakness.
“I know you can’t kill me.”
“…….”
“You can’t touch anyone but designated players. Right?”
Even with my provocation, Specter didn’t flare up. I’d stated pure fact, so he didn’t know how to respond.
Most players thought Specter only targeted low-rankers,
but another fact was that Specter’s attack ability didn’t react to top-rankers.
In other words—
Since our group had stopped at the sixth round, I was definitely a top-ranker.
I smirked.
“Kid, this is punishment for threatening me.”
“Punishment?”
I smacked Specter’s head with my palm.
Whoosh-
Smack!
Invincible or not, I could touch him.
An attack only possible for a necromancer who could touch souls.
Specter clutched his head.
I made a smug face.
“How’s that?”
“Ow! You almost cracked my skull!”
“Didn’t crack, idiot.”
“Ugh…. So you know who I am.”
“Yeah. I haven’t said it, but your uncle probably knows too?”
“……?!”
A look of shock.
It was an ability any player would know, but Specter himself hadn’t realized it.
‘……Is that normal?’
Pretending to think, I rested my chin on my hand and continued.
“Shall I say your name?”
Specter swallowed hard and glared at me.
“……Go ahead.”
“Your uncle’s name is…. Nah! Forget it. What’s the point of chatting with you.”
“Say it. You don’t know, do you?”
“Just assume I don’t. I don’t care who your uncle is anymore.”
I slowly chipped away at his mental defenses to make him spill it himself. But Specter was an NPC managed by the system.
He didn’t fall for it easily.
He just made a brief thinking face before swiftly changing the subject.
“If you don’t deliver that to Sora noona, I’m really in big trouble!”
“I’ll handle it so you’re not, so don’t worry, kid.”
“Argh, seriously….”
Specter glanced back and forth between me and the empty air, then grimaced.
Whatever was going on, he was definitely in a rush.
My face lit up with a bright smile.
His face darkened.
Specter waved his hands frantically.
“Bro, then seriously…. You have to deliver that doll to Sora noona! Got it?”
“Got it. Got it. Got it! Don’t make me repeat myself—now go! I’ll give it to Sora.”
“……Okay.”
Specter turned away.
I hadn’t expected him to give up so easily. He looked like a kid and acted like one too.
Beep.
A red hologram message appeared.
[*Warning: It is recommended to return the doll to its owner.]
The system message sounded like a warning, but I wasn’t worried.
The rule was to explicitly state contents beforehand for any major penalties.
‘Worst case, it’ll be some light punishment.’
Specter rubbed his face, wiped away tears, and flew out of the mansion.
After confirming he was gone, I held the bear doll up to the mirror again.
“……Hmm.”
Yoo Sora’s face was gone.
It just showed the doll’s original form.
What was that head of Yoo Sora’s I saw earlier? And what Specter had said back at the pub when we first met.
‘Yoo Sora looks just like someone.’
For Specter to say that, Yoo Sora was no ordinary person.
“Indeed….”
I sat on the floor and examined the bear doll from every angle. I pressed its eyes, nose, mouth, belly button-like spots, one by one. No reaction, so I even punched it.
Just a teddy bear.
But
Specter wouldn’t be carrying around just any teddy bear.
“……Let’s see.”
I tore off the bear doll’s arms. Cotton stuffing burst out. Then I ripped the legs and body, rummaging inside.
Just more cotton.
Finally, I checked the head. A clump of cotton spilled out. Nothing else.
Was it really just a teddy bear?
As I sifted through the cotton, a small black object caught my eye.
“A USB?”
It was unmistakably a USB drive.
Faint white text on the black USB read:
[From. Administrator]
[To. Yoo Sora]
Only sender and recipient.
From the Administrator to Yoo Sora.
“……As expected.”
* * * * *
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Kim Cheonjae, can I come in now?”
“……Yeah.”
Ma Jeongwoo entered, glancing around as if searching for Specter.
“Specter gone?”
“Left five minutes ago.”
“What’d he say?”
I stepped closer to Jeongwoo and whispered,
“……Let’s talk, just us two.”
“……About Specter?”
“Yeah. Where’s Sora and Michael?”
“Outside the door.”
“Then tell them to go rest in their rooms for a bit.”
“Something they can’t hear?”
I nodded.
Jeongwoo shouted toward the door.
“Sora! Michael! Both of you go back to your rooms and rest. I’ll call when we’re done!”
Yoo Sora and Michael replied in unison.
-Got it!
-Okay!
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
After confirming their footsteps fading, I resumed.
“I snatched the bear doll from Specter.”
“……What?! That thing he was hugging?”
“Yeah.”
Jeongwoo twisted his face in disgust.
“Sigh…. You’ve got some guts. What if he’d attacked?”
As expected, even Jeongwoo didn’t know Specter couldn’t attack top-rankers.
I flashed a grin.
“I’d handle it.”
“Whatever. How’d you grab it? He’s a spirit—untouchable.”
“Well….”
I explained everything since Specter arrived: the events, the bear doll he handed over, and the USB found inside.
Plus my personal take on Yoo Sora.
Ma Jeongwoo listened intently, then nodded.
“If that’s true, we could use Specter to uncover this game’s secrets. Why we’re gathered here, the reason behind it all.”
“Probably.”
“How about arranging a meeting between Specter and Yoo Sora, then interrogating them?”
“……Tough. Those occasional system messages suggest someone’s watching us. Who…… I don’t know.”
I gave Jeongwoo an awkward smile and a wink.
He pretended to gag, then continued.
“……Anyway, where do we check that USB? Need a computer.”
“Major Kim Juncheol’s office is safest, don’t you think?”
Among places with computers, the mayor’s office at Gyeongseong City Hall or
Major Kim Juncheol’s office in the Special Forces Goblin Unit were ideal.
The rest were public computers that might have viruses logging everything.
“Major Kim Juncheol…. Head there now?”
“No. Let’s open this USB after we finish the seventh round.”
Jeongwoo shrugged.
“Seventh round? Why?”
“Whatever’s on here can’t leak out. We need a place with perfect, airtight security.”
“……After the seventh round, you mean that place?”
“Yeah. Major Kim Juncheol’s secret spot.”
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