Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Yoo Sora's Answers
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Everyone held their breath, waiting for Yoo Sora's response.
For a brief moment, her eyes wavered.
I had no idea what she was thinking, but I hoped she wouldn't lie to me.
I already knew everything anyway.
"How did you... know it was made by us?"
She didn't deny it.
I felt relieved that she wasn't lying.
To achieve my goal, I needed to bring the green-eyed player along, after all.
I gazed out the window and continued.
"I looked into it bit by bit through various methods."
"Oh..."
"But there were a few things that didn't make sense, so I asked."
"Things that didn't make sense?"
"You're supposed to be around my age, Sora, so how did you get involved in creating Land of Ruin? The timeline just doesn't add up..."
Yoo Sora smiled brightly as she replied.
"So you don't know everything after all."
"Yeah, all I know is that you were one of the developers."
"...Would it be enough if I just told you how I got involved?"
"For now. I have more questions beyond this."
She didn't answer right away. She kept rolling her eyes as if sorting out her thoughts, filtering what she could say from what she couldn't.
Jeongwoo brought over two chairs and placed them beside us.
"Sit down and talk, both of you. I'll lie on the bed for a bit."
Yoo Sora lifted the corner of her mouth in a slight smile.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"Um... Cheonjae, could you maybe write down all the questions you have for me on a piece of paper first?"
I nodded.
It wasn't hard, and even if she made something up, I had a way to tell.
One, two, three, four.
I jotted down four questions on the paper. They weren't difficult to answer.
I didn't know how she'd respond, but I hoped for the answers I wanted.
Yoo Sora took the paper, tilting her head as she murmured to herself.
"How I got involved in game development... Why the developers are here..."
"If any are hard to answer or you don't want to, just say so."
"Oh, okay. Um... Why I've been pretending to be bad at the game until now... Whether I know how to get out of this game..."
After reading all the questions, she squeezed her eyes shut.
['Aidos' begins scanning Yoo Sora.]
[Lie Detector activated]
[Physical changes detection activated]
"......"
From now on, whenever Yoo Sora answered my questions, Aidos would tell me if she was telling the truth or lying.
Then I could draw a clear line with her.
If she lied, I'd ditch her this round.
If she told the truth, she'd go all the way to the end with me.
Once her thoughts seemed sorted, Yoo Sora opened her eyes and answered my questions in order.
"Cheonjae, the first question—how I got involved in the game—is simple."
......How?"
"I'm not one of the original five creators. I was an 'illustrator' who filled in temporarily when one of them left."
[Lie Detector result: Truth]
Truth.
......I see."
"Yeah, even when I joined, there were only five people in the company."
"So as an illustrator, you drew pictures and such?"
"That's right."
"What kind of pictures?"
Yoo Sora blushed shyly.
"Monsters... items... backgrounds... I just drew whatever they told me to."
......"
Drawing all the artwork in here meant she knew everything in the game, didn't it?
"So you know all the terrain and monsters too?"
"Just what they look like. Not their stats or where they spawn."
"Oh..."
I nodded.
If she only handled art, she probably didn't know much about the story.
Yoo Sora glanced at me cautiously before continuing.
"Then... for the second question—why the developers are here. Honestly... I don't know either."
"What?"
"I quit the company a while ago, so I don't know what's going on, and I just woke up one day to find the world like this."
[Lie Detector result: Truth]
Truth again.
This was one answer I really wanted, but it was completely off-base.
She just woke up and the world had changed.
Wasn't that the same as everyone else here?
......Sigh."
"Disappointed?"
"A little."
"Sorry."
"Well... no need to apologize. You got dragged in without knowing either."
Feeling frustrated, I pulled out a cigarette and put it in my mouth. I didn't light it. Blowing smoke during the conversation might distract Yoo Sora.
"But you're really believing everything I say?"
She didn't know about my lie detector. That's why she asked.
I flashed the friendliest smile I could muster.
"Of course."
"Even after I've been hiding it all this time?"
"You must have had your reasons. Thanks for telling me now."
Yoo Sora bowed her head, staring at the floor.
"I'm the one who's grateful that you believe me..."
"So, you'll answer the next question too?"
"Oh... Yes!"
The next question was one of the things I couldn't understand.
As a developer, she should've played the game at least a little, but she didn't know basics like how to get the first-aid kit, how to job-change to nurse, or how to use her exclusive skills properly.
Yoo Sora lit up with a bright expression, as if this question was a breeze.
"Oh! I didn't know because I never actually played the game."
......What?"
"I only drew art for Land of Ruin. I never played it."
"Developers don't play their own game?"
"Nope."
Aidos activated the lie detector.
I hoped it was a lie.
Developers not playing their own game? How ignorant is that?
[Lie Detector result: Truth]
'What the hell.'
I was so baffled I couldn't speak.
"No way! You didn't play the game from your own company?"
"Yeah. I don't like games."
......"
What could I even say?
She doesn't like games.
"Shall I answer the last question then?"
"Sure... How to get out of the game?"
"Yes."
I looked at her with a resigned expression. If she never played, how would she know how to exit?
She didn't even know how she ended up here.
I leaned back comfortably in my chair and gazed at her.
Yoo Sora looked straight into my eyes, clear and unwavering.
"I know how to get out."
"Oh—yeah, figured. Wait, what? You know how to exit?!!"
I kicked my chair back and shot to my feet. Then I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her hard as I demanded.
"You know how to get out?!"
She winced, shrinking her shoulders from my tight grip.
"Ow, that hurts, Cheonjae."
"Sora, do you really know how to exit this game?"
......Probably. Remember that method Hanjo mentioned last time?"
......You mean forced shutdown? Overloading the server to crash it."
"Yeah, that won't work. But there's something similar... a way to get kicked out of the game."
I leaned in, listening intently.
Everyone in the room buzzed with excitement.
Jo Younggi and Kim Yeonhui stood up and approached us.
Jeongwoo and Michael lounged comfortably on the bed, listening. Those lazy bastards.
Yoo Sora clapped her hands with a smack! and said to me.
"Use Lucifer. Blow up the game with that guy."
......Pardon?"
"The last artwork I drew for this game was destruction."
"Destruction? The game's ending is supposed to be me..."
Ah!
It hit me. After I wiped out all players, that guy who showed up claiming to be a developer said:
[Last Game hasn't started yet.]
......Does that mean the 'Last Game' subtitle has a separate ending?"
"I don't know how it ends exactly, but the destruction artwork I drew showed Lucifer covering the whole world in darkness. That was the title too."
"Darkness..."
"And they had me draw a status window like the one we see now, saying 'Server Shutdown'."
Lucifer shuts down the server.
I could grasp the meaning somewhat. The true owner of Land of Ruin wasn't the players—it was the NPC inside.
......Is this true?'
[Lie Detector result: Truth]
"Heh..."
Does that mean everyone has to die for the game to end? No! Then no players can ever leave.
That can't be right.
There has to be a way out of this game.
I'm sure of it.
I saw Jeongwoo's uncle's message...
Yoo Sora looked at me with concern.
"You okay?"
......Yeah. Thanks for telling me everything, Sora."
"No problem. Like I said earlier... sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. Things were hectic, and once I missed the chance, the timing never felt right."
"That makes sense. Oh! Any new content in the 'Book of the Lion' we got from Jang Yu's mansion?"
Yoo Sora nodded.
"Yeah, I think it'll appear in the seventh round."
"Why?"
"It says, 'When the beast with two horns takes flight, the prophecy begins.'"
......A flying beast with two horns... That's a demon."
"Exactly. That's why I said the book's story continues in the seventh round."
......I see."
For now, I'd gotten answers to everything I wanted from Yoo Sora. Some things even she didn't know, but I'd gained a ton of info anyway.
'Now... it's Michael's turn.'
* * * * *
Over a hundred white giants gathered in the wasteland, conversing.
Some had two heads, others three.
Beholders, where more heads meant greater combat power. They let out sinister laughs like villains plotting evil.
-Kyahahaha!
"You broke the tower because the AI glitched this time?"
A two-headed monster scorched by electricity all over its body—a Twin Beholder—replied.
"We almost destroyed it all, but damn Aidos came back and ruined it."
"Hoo... That AI guy—doesn't he step away around the time you went? Last time, when you hit the tower at dawn by mistake, it was easy to attack."
......Maybe?"
Thud-. Thud-.
A giant superior in physique and size to all others approached their gathering spot.
Unlike the emaciated beholders, this one had a pro wrestler's muscular build.
It wore armor made entirely of mithril, looking tougher than any other.
Just its size rivaled a whole building, and with that sturdy armor on top.
"Grrrrrr, you twenty went to the city and got beaten by humans?"