Chapter 189: A Moment in Barbara
Chapter 189: A Moment in Barbara
The seasons in the Hall Plain were similar to those in Korea. Natural phenomena like snow and rain occurred in this world as well. Although spring and autumn were a bit shorter, the climate was never so harsh as to make life difficult.
If I were to compare the current time to Earth’s calendar, it would be around June. It was, for all intents and purposes, early summer. The weather was pleasant. The sun was just beginning to set, and the beautiful colors of the twilight sky offered a sense of comfort to the Users, for whom survival had become a daily routine. However…
“Those of you who have finished teleporting, move out quickly!”
“What are the representative clans in the southern cities doing? You’re the closest to the Steel Mountains!”
“We’ve sent a communication to the Blue Wolf Clan, the representative of the general city of Khan! But it seems they were caught off guard too!”
“Fuck! What do you mean, caught off guard?! If a rescue request comes in, they should dispatch a team immediately! Are the small cities of Coran and Monica just sitting there sucking their thumbs?”
“Well… as you know, Coran is jointly managed by several clans… The Su Clan is representing them at the moment, but they seem to be dragging their feet. Istantel Low Clan said they would consult with the Blue Wolf Clan first…”
“What? Dragging their feet? Consulting? Are you kidding me? Users’ lives are on the line, and they’re doing what?”
The moment we stepped out of the Warp Gate, a cacophony of voices greeted us. Several Users with the golden lion emblem on the right side of their chests were rushing about, their rough shouts occasionally cutting through the din. The weather was certainly beautiful. But seeing their desperation amidst this peaceful atmosphere created a strange, unbalanced sense of contrast.
“Those sons of bitches! So this is how they’re going to play it?! Grrr!”
Seeing a member of the Golden Lion Clan grinding his teeth beside me, I couldn’t help but scoff. They didn’t seem to be reflecting on what they’d brought upon themselves. In their heyday, they certainly had enough power to control the Northern Continent. However, they hadn’t controlled it as a single entity. To be precise, they had friendly clans that followed their rule, and together they were able to exert influence over the clans in other cities that resented their control. In other words, before the expedition, the scales of power had been tipped, to some extent, in their favor.
But now, those scales had tipped completely in the opposite direction. The Users who had participated in this expedition were the elite members of their respective clans. In the 1st playthrough, the survival rate of the expedition had been just over 10%. They had first exhausted their strength in the plan to exterminate the Vagabonds, and then, in the Steel Mountains expedition, they lost all the forces they had carefully preserved until now.
It was a case of reaping what they sowed. They had been 100% confident in the expedition's success, which was why they had structured the main force around themselves and their allied clans. Had the expedition succeeded, they might have tipped the scales even further in their favor, but they had failed miserably. And with devastating losses.
Watching the User who was still shouting, I wanted to say, “Who told you to form the expedition like that?” but I just kept my mouth shut and exited the Warp Gate with my clan members.
The scene outside the Warp Gate was completely different from any I had seen before. Ah, but having been through the User Academy, perhaps it wasn't entirely new.
“Whoa.”
“Wow.”
Outside the Warp Gate, the massive scale of the metropolis of Barbara and the Users swarming its streets came into view. Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoojung’s eyes went wide as they let out sounds of awe. For them, this must have been a starkly different sight from the small city of Mule where they had been staying.
“……”
Just then, noticing that another familiar voice was missing, I turned my head to see an empty spot.
“Where’s Ahn Sol?”
“Huh? Where’d she go? I’m sure she came out of the Warp Gate with us.”
At my question, Ahn Hyun looked around with a start. When he really couldn’t see her, he looked like he was about to lose his mind. Fortunately, the sharp-eyed Ko Yeonju pointed in one direction with her pretty finger.
“There she is.”
“Wh-Where! Ah. Phew. Sol-ahhhhh!”
Ahn Hyun let out a huge sigh of relief upon spotting Ahn Sol. Then, he waved his arms wildly and shouted at the top of his lungs. I also turned to where Ko Yeonju was pointing and saw Ahn Sol staring blankly at the Warp Gate. At Ahn Hyun’s shout, her head snapped up, and she began to toddle toward us.
“How could you wander off! You’ll get lost like that!”
“I’m sorryyy.”
“Seriously. Pay attention. Or Soohyun-hyung will scold you, you rascal.”
“Okay. I won’t do it again. I’m sorryyy.”
Beside me, I heard Yoojung chirping, “Shouldn’t that be ‘wench,’ not ‘rascal’?” I looked at Ahn Sol with a steady gaze. When our eyes met, she bowed her head deeply. I tilted my head for a moment, observing her behavior. Normally, she would have immediately looked sullen or pouted, but her expression now was different. It was the face of someone with a worry, a concern on their mind.
But I quickly turned away, thinking it was probably nothing. It seemed likely she was still affected by the earlier clash with the Beech Tree Clan. They weren't Vagabonds or monsters; they were fellow Users who had been decapitated. Expecting someone with her personality to laugh it off like Ko Yeonju was a tall order. So, I decided to start walking toward our destination.
It was then that someone lightly tugged on my clothes from behind before hopping in front of me. She then spoke to me, her voice full of curiosity.
“Oppa, oppa. I have a question.”
“What is it? Where we’re going now?”
“Nope. I’m sure Oppa’s got that handled. I mean the Warp Gate.”
“The Warp Gate?”
I asked, and she nodded emphatically.
“I learned about it at the User Academy. Every city is connected by a Warp Gate, right? And you pay a fee based on the distance. But why do we have to pay? When we went through the Rite of Passage or entered the Hall Plain, we used it for free.”
Yoojung blinked, looking up at me with curious eyes. I gently stroked her hair and fell into thought. (She beamed and happily rubbed her head against my hand.)
Technically, the teleporters for the Rite of Passage and those connecting cities are Warp Gates, while the ones in places like the Inn of Beginnings or temples are Portals. The Rite of Passage could be seen as a system managed by the angels, but the Warp Gates in the cities were not.
To put it simply, the Warp Gates in the cities were relics of the ancient Hall Plain. And the responsibility of activating and maintaining them fell entirely on the Users—or more accurately, on the representative clans managing each city. The efficiency of ancient magic was well-established, so maintenance wasn't prohibitively expensive. All that was needed was a continuous supply of magic power.
Of course, the city-linking Warp Gates weren't all-powerful. They had a clear limitation: they couldn't be forced. For example, the Warp Gate in the metropolis of Barbara was composed of twelve magic circles. The crucial point was that the formula constituting these magic circles was bidirectional, not unidirectional.
Of course, there was no way they would understand all this if I explained it now, so I summarized only the important parts. Yoojung pouted and pursed her lips.
“Aha. I see. So those guys are just lining their own pockets for no reason?”
“The price is probably a burden for Users without much money. In any case, it’s true that it costs money to maintain, but not as much as you’d think. The revenue from usage fees far exceeds the maintenance costs. As such, the Warp Gate is a cash cow that always generates high profits for each city. It’s a good thing they’ve frozen the prices by distance for now; otherwise, they would have skyrocketed. Or so I heard back then.”
Warp Gates are convenient. They allow for instantaneous travel between distant cities, completely eliminating the risk of being attacked during transit.
In any case, the fact that Users managed the Warp Gates meant they could also arbitrarily block their use. The method was simple. The gates in each city had to react to each other, but if one side unilaterally cut off the magic supply to the circle connecting to a specific city, the Warp Gate couldn't be used unless force was applied. And at the current level of the Users, applying such force was impossible. So, if a gate was effectively cut off, the only option was to travel by land.
And the day when the Warp Gates would become unusable was not far off. Soon, after the Vagabonds descended and the civil war began, the gates in each city would be shut down. This was because if the enemy used them to warp a large number of troops into a city, the damage would be immense.
This was all in the future, still more than a month away. So, before that happened, we needed to hurry and move to the city where we would establish our base.
As I explained these things, my clan members and I soon arrived at a large pub. It was a tavern that looked luxurious even at a glance. As I was about to head up the stairs, I felt the envious gazes of some shabby-looking Users passing by. I felt a little bad for Ko Yeonju, but just comparing the external size, it was on a completely different level from The Demure Lady.
“Gentle Breeze. I heard this place is really expensive. It certainly looks nice.”
“Hohoho.”
As Hayeon spoke in her clear voice, Ko Yeonju let out a small laugh. I led the clan members inside the Gentle Breeze pub. For some reason, Ko Yeonju’s laughter didn’t sound entirely pleasant.
Just then, I heard someone mutter, “Ugh, damn it.” I turned toward the sound and saw Vivian scowling. Even so, her lips were moving nonstop, so it seemed she was still researching the elixir. The focus of an alchemist was truly something else.
The reason for her curse was likely that after being in the quiet and deserted Mule, the sudden influx of Users in Barbara was disrupting her concentration. Biting her lip and fuming, she finally snapped.
“Damn it! Why are there so many people here! It’s so annoying. The Demure Lady was great because there was practically no one there.”
“Ho. Ho. Ho.”
Ko Yeonju laughed once more. That clueless Vivian.
I was worried we wouldn’t find a seat, but thankfully, there were a few empty tables scattered around the first floor. The place wasn't empty, but it wasn't packed either. It was, in a word, moderately full. The reason we came to such an expensive place was that pubs, especially high-end ones, were the best places to gather information.
Any User who could afford to come here had to be reasonably wealthy, which meant they were likely established to some degree. It was far more helpful to listen to the words dropped by Users with the skill and wealth to be here than to listen to the baseless rumors spread by the riffraff in some cheap tavern.
“Welcome! How many in your party?”
“Eight.”
“Hmm~.”
As we opened the door and entered, a cute-looking User with her hair tied up neatly greeted us. She must be a waitress here. Her eyes were smiling, but the gaze that peeked through her slightly narrowed lids quickly scanned our entire group. She was sizing us up.
Soon, as if she had finished her assessment, she broke into a wide smile. Then, in a voice even more amiable than her initial greeting, she spoke.
“We’re delighted to have you! I’ll show you to your table right away!”
The waitress led us to a table with a good view. Following her, we sat down on chairs covered in soft fur, and several other employees rushed over to set our table. After everything was set, the waitress who first guided us said, “Please take your time, and call me when you’ve all decided,” with a charming eye-smile. As I watched her bow respectfully and turn away, I saw the others scratching their heads with awkward expressions, which made me chuckle. I don't usually approve of this sort of thing, but being treated well didn't feel half bad.
“Shall we get something to eat first?”
“Hyung! That waitress just now. Is she a User?”
As I picked up the menu they had left, Ahn Hyun quickly chimed in.
“Of course she’s a User. Does she look like a Resident to you?”
“Then why is she here?”
“Huh? She’s working to earn money. Don’t you know what a part-time job is? A part-time job.”
“What? Why would a User work part-time here? This is the Hall Plain, isn’t it?”
“Well, even Users have to make a living. And to make a living, you need money.”
I snorted and then sighed. Judging by their reactions, it wasn't just Ahn Hyun; Lee Yoojung and Ahn Sol also had question marks floating above their heads. Right. You guys wouldn't know. Since the Rite of Passage, have you ever gone hungry, or had to save up money just to get a single piece of gear?
I say this again and again, but for Users who weren't exceptionally skilled, this was their daily life. They were mayflies, worrying about their next meal. On top of that, they lived fiercely, skipping meals and sleep just to afford better equipment. The kids probably thought they had been through some tough times themselves, though.
Come to think of it, they seemed to have a lot more questions since we arrived in Barbara. It was proof of just how much I had coddled them, raising them in a bubble. As I smiled wryly, Ko Yeonju clicked her tongue and sighed.
“My, you’ve all been raised so delicately~.”
“Wow. I see. People do this here too. Well, the pub is big and nice, so I guess they can afford to hire staff. It makes sense they’d hire Users as employees.”
“……”
Ahn Hyun paid her no mind whatsoever. He seemed only interested in satisfying his own curiosity. And Ko Yeonju… she wasn't laughing anymore. She just wore a deep smile, and I had the illusion that a cross-shaped vein was throbbing on her forehead.
I handed the menu to Hayeon, telling her to pick whatever she wanted, and slowly looked around. I could spot a few Users who looked like they had “I’m a pretty skilled User” written on their foreheads. What they all had in common was that every single one of them wore an incredibly serious expression.
I took a sip of water and quietly activated Third Eye.