Chapter 124: Old Hand (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 124: Old Hand (3)

First, I briefly introduced myself, not as Bjorn Yandel, but as Hansu Lee. "I'm Hansu Lee. I'm twenty-nine."

"You have the same last name as me. I'm Baekho Lee. I was twenty-three."

"Was?"

"To be honest... I've been here for more than ten years."

"Oh, I see..." I had nothing to say to that. I had suspected that from the chat room's luxurious interior, but ten years? Poor guy. "Wait a minute, then you're older than me—"

"Big bro! We don't say things like that! I'm going back, so we should be counting our real ages!"

"Uh... if you say so." As a member of a Confucian nation where age was everything, there was no reason to stop him from wanting to be the younger one. Anyway, with that, the introductions were officially sorted out.

"Anyway, bro, I'm sorry, but will you excuse me if I do something?"

"Excuse you?"

"It's... a kind of simple test. I'm certain you are, but... still, I think I should still confirm it."

"What exactly are you confirming?"

"When I say a word, just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Oh, don't worry. This is something a Korean can't fail at."

Based on that explanation, it sounded like some kind of Korean test. Apparently, he was kind of a big shot in this world, and it seemed some guys pretended to be Korean to freeload off of him because of that. In that case, then, well...

"Then, let's begin?"

"Sure."

When I nodded, the guy took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. I didn't think this was a big deal, but the way he was acting was starting to make me nervous too. Of course, as he said, the quiz itself was easy.

"Kimchi?"

"...Stew?"

"Beef head?"

"Beef soup."

"Saudi?"

"Arabia."

"Military Code of Conduct."

"...Our resolution. By the way, I was a social service agent."

"Ah... anyway, this is the last one." Baekho paused to take a breath and gave me a grave look. Just as I was beginning to think all of that earlier was a joke, he opened his mouth. "Wan-yong Lee?"

"Son of a—hey, you asshole."

The moment the curse was about to unwittingly leave my mouth, my body stiffened as I sensed a strange energy. At some point while I was talking, Baekho had fixed me with a cold look that made me wonder if his earlier personality was just an act.

"I believe you. You're Korean."

What the hell was this bastard talking about? Baekho Lee, a player from Korea who had been brought here on the day he was discharged from the military and had lived in this world for over ten years... He seemed like a good kid, but...

Is something wrong with this guy's head too?

My eyes narrowed. However, after listening to the excuses that followed, I could see where he was coming from.

"Ah, sorry for being rude. That was a line I prepared for when someone passed the test. I didn't think it was going to take more than three years, though."

He must've been lonely. Even I, though thinking myself far removed from these kinds of feelings, missed conversations like this. Besides, when this guy first got here, there wouldn't have been a community like Ghost Busters, so he was left alone in an environment that would have been perfect for ruining someone's personality.

"So, what's your name?"

"I told you earlier."

"Not that, the name you use here. I have to know that to help you. Koreans are as good as dead without loyalty and community, am I right?"

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm grateful, but it's okay."

Baekho looked at me as if he couldn't understand. "Why won't you tell me? If you just tell me your name, you won't have to worry about taxes anymore." The boy's voice was full of confidence that could only come from someone who had already reached a certain level of standing here.

However, my answer was still the same. "If I gave you the same offer, would you tell me your name?"

"Uh, well, even if it's you, that's..."

"I am the same."

Had he finally realized that I was different from the average newbie? "What mode did you beat the game on?" Baekho asked, his expression much more interested than before.

"And you?"

"It was Times Ten." I heard that the founder of Ghost Busters did it at Times Fifteen. When I looked at him in surprise, he scratched the back of his head. "And Times Ten is nothing, either. It's still a cheat, anyway. That's why even though ten years have passed, there are still plenty of things I don't know. If I knew things were going to turn out like this, I would've just played the original."

Maybe it was because he'd survived in this world for over ten years, but his mindset was definitely different from those I'd met in the Newbie Room.

"So, what about you?"

I thought it over for a while before answering. "I also beat it at Times Ten."

"Oh, really?" I was a bit worried he'd think I was lying, but Baekho humbly believed my claim. "Yeah, anything else wouldn't be considered Korean."

"Huh?"

"Koreans are the best when it comes to gaming, right?"

That seemed like a little too much Korean pride for me but I didn't comment on it. After all, I felt bad for him. The least I could do was embrace him wholeheartedly. "Yes, you are completely right."

"Right? Ha, it's really very sad. If only there were a Korean patch, there would have been at least a few people who beat the original version..." Apparently, spending time exclusively with foreigners had intensified Baekho's patriotic pride. "Ah... then, do you want some GP instead?"

"That would be nice, but I won't cash it out. And there are a ton of ways to earn it."

"Welp. Your GP will probably pile up like mine."

Excluding our personalities, Baekho and I were similar in many ways. He didn't hastily reveal his identity, and despite how ditzy he acted, his actions seemed carefully thought out. That was probably how he'd survived for so long.

"Um... so there's nothing I can do for you?"

"It's okay, I didn't come in here expecting anything from you in the first place. Let's just meet up and chat once in a while."

"Bro...!" I guess my words made him feel like he was talking to a real countryman. Baekho wiped away non-existent tears, but only for a moment. "If you have any questions, just ask. I should at least do that much to save some face."

Boy, were his emotional ups and downs intense. It was tough to follow his energy. Since he was offering, though, I asked, "Do you know who the game master is here?"

"Ah, I don't know that. In fact, I only found the pill after robbing the Ministry of Security's headquarters in the early days."

"Then they won't know who you are, either?"

"So, what's your name?"

"I told you earlier."

"Not that, the name you use here. I have to know that to help you. Koreans are as good as dead without loyalty and community, am I right?"

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm grateful, but it's okay."

Baekho looked at me as if he couldn't understand. "Why won't you tell me? If you just tell me your name, you won't have to worry about taxes anymore." The boy's voice was full of confidence that could only come from someone who had already reached a certain level of standing here.

However, my answer was still the same. "If I gave you the same offer, would you tell me your name?"

"Uh, well, even if it's you, that's..."

"I am the same."

Had he finally realized that I was different from the average newbie? "What mode did you beat the game on?" Baekho asked, his expression much more interested than before.

"And you?"

"It was Times Ten." I heard that the founder of Ghost Busters did it at Times Fifteen. When I looked at him in surprise, he scratched the back of his head. "And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Times Ten is nothing, either. It's still a cheat, anyway. That's why even though ten years have passed, there are still plenty of things I don't know. If I knew things were going to turn out like this, I would've just played the original."

Maybe it was because he'd survived in this world for over ten years, but his mindset was definitely different from those I'd met in the Newbie Room.

"So, what about you?"

I thought it over for a while before answering. "I also beat it at Times Ten."

"Oh, really?" I was a bit worried he'd think I was lying, but Baekho humbly believed my claim. "Yeah, anything else wouldn't be considered Korean."

"Huh?"

"Koreans are the best when it comes to gaming, right?"

That seemed like a little too much Korean pride for me but I didn't comment on it. After all, I felt bad for him. The least I could do was embrace him wholeheartedly. "Yes, you are completely right."

"Right? Ha, it's really very sad. If only there were a Korean patch, there would have been at least a few people who beat the original version..." Apparently, spending time exclusively with foreigners had intensified Baekho's patriotic pride. "Ah... then, do you want some GP instead?"

"That would be nice, but I won't cash it out. And there are a ton of ways to earn it."

"Welp. Your GP will probably pile up like mine."

Excluding our personalities, Baekho and I were similar in many ways. He didn't hastily reveal his identity, and despite how ditzy he acted, his actions seemed carefully thought out. That was probably how he'd survived for so long.

"Um... so there's nothing I can do for you?"

"It's okay, I didn't come in here expecting anything from you in the first place. Let's just meet up and chat once in a while."

"Bro...!" I guess my words made him feel like he was talking to a real countryman. Baekho wiped away non-existent tears, but only for a moment. "If you have any questions, just ask. I should at least do that much to save some face."

Boy, were his emotional ups and downs intense. It was tough to follow his energy. Since he was offering, though, I asked, "Do you know who the game master is here?"

"Ah, I don't know that. In fact, I only found the pill after robbing the Ministry of Security's headquarters in the early days."

"Then they won't know who you are, either?"

"They probably have an idea. I also have a guy I've been suspicious of..."

"Who?"

"There are three. Should I tell you all of them?" Baekho called out the names of his suspects one by one. All of them were wizards, and except for one, they were so famous that even I had heard of them. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but don't ever expose your identity here. From what I can tell, there are a few bastards acquainted with the royal family too."

Baekho seemed to like me quite a bit since he offered me advice without me asking. Unlike my newbie friends, who said this place was 100 percent safe, I really liked his pessimistic point of view. To that end, I had one more question. "Is there any way the founder can find out my identity?"

"No. That would probably be hard. In the first place, they didn't make this space with their own efforts—it was more like a remodel."

"Remodel?"

"There were evil spirits in this city even more than a hundred years ago. On Earth, that was more than twenty years ago. So who were those people?"

Honestly, I hadn't even thought about that. Twenty years ago, Dungeon and Stone, not to mention LCD monitors, weren't even really in circulation. "I don't know, so just tell me."

"The answer is that they were from another dimension!"

"Another dimension...?"

"Yeah. I've never actually met them, but as far as I know, they claim they were brought here by reading books written about this world."

Apparently, there had only been a handful of evil spirits at the time, and rumor had it that all of them had unique powers. It was assumed that one of them created this space and that the person currently operating it had inherited it by chance.

I think I just heard some groundbreaking information.

At this point, I was getting curious about Baekho's identity too. What kind of person was he that he knew all of this?

Well, this works out in my favor, though.

I shifted my mindset and continued to ask Baekho whatever questions came to mind to clear things up, but the guy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't all-knowing, either.

"Ah... to be honest, I'm currently in hiding, so I'm a bit behind on current events."

"You're in hiding?"

"Yes. I can't tell you the details, but if you want more recent information, I can introduce you to a chat room. It's called Watcher of the Round Table. It's a kind of club for people with eighth-grader syndrome." The chat room Baekho told me about was a kind of community for experts, run in secret and only accessible via invitation. "Your nickname and face will be anonymous there, so you don't have to worry. I've heard that if you don't have any information to share you could get beaten up and kicked out, but... since you beat the game at Times Ten, I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

Like someone about to send his child off on a field trip, he explained every step of the process. The explanation was quite long, but all of it was useful, so I listened without interruption.

"Then I'll see you later," he said.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you. The pill I took was a prototype, so I can only stay here for an hour."

What was this generational gap? At this point, even if he started complaining about things "back in his day" out of the blue, I'd probably just keep my mouth shut and listen. It was clear he'd lived a tougher life than I.

"Buddy, you have to come back again, okay?"

"Okay, see you next time."

"And if anyone in the city messes with you, don't forget to let me know."

"All right..."

"Oh, and also—"

"It's fine, just go. You can just tell me the rest next time."

"Ah, right... next time... Okay! See you next time!"

Soon, the guy stopped looking at me with such an anxious expression and left with a simple smile. I exited the chat room too. Just as he instructed, I typed the code he gave me into the chat board's search bar and entered [Watcher of the Round Table].

[You cannot enter at this time. OPEN 03:00-03:10]

Baekho didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tell me about this. I had no choice but to spend my time browsing through Exchange posts and other bulletin boards. When the clock on the bottom right of the monitor pointed to three, I tried to enter the room again.

[New member status has been verified. Congratulations on becoming a member of the Watchers of the Round Table. This gathering is strictly anonymous...]

Messages containing the exact contents Baekho had told me about popped up, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the customization room.

Flash!

The room was full of all sorts of costumes and accessories. I wondered why I had to go this far to hide Hansu Lee's identity, but since these were the rules, it was probably better to just follow them. After perusing my options, I chose some relatively tolerable pieces, treating it like cosplay. I wore a slim-fit navy blue suit.

A mask is required, so I have to wear one.

The selection of masks was vast enough to fill an entire wall, but there were many empty spots, which suggested you couldn't pick one someone else had already picked.

Creaaak.

As soon as I put on one of the masks, which was in the shape of a lion's head, the door in the room opened by itself. A long red carpet guided the way. As I slowly walked forward, exploring my surroundings, a large round table appeared. There were dozens of seats, but only four people were there.

Tap.

They were talking familiarly with each other, but when I arrived, they all fell silent and stared at me. An oppressive silence ensued.

He wasn't kidding about this being a community for pros. Oh, those eyes are fierce. Don't you know that newbies should be cherished and cared for?

"Oh? I've never seen that mask before," someone in a yellow clown mask commented.

"You," said a woman wearing a fox mask, her voice high-pitched. "How did you get here? It's been over a year since we've gotten any new members."

Oh, I didn't know that bit of context.

"Tell us. Who are you and who recommended you?"

However, this was a question I had prepared for, so no problem.

"You must only tell the truth. That's how this place operates."

Just as she claimed, a special skin was active in this space. If you lied, your mask would break and you would be immediately banished from the chat room. However, there was one exception to this. Before the gathering began in earnest, it was okay to lie as much as you liked.

But seeing as everyone's keeping their mouths shut about that, they must all be in on this together. Or they're just curious about what kind of person I am.

I could see why Baekho had told me to come out swinging in the first meeting. It must have been advice borne of experience. I didn't particularly feel like it, but this time I decided to just follow the lines and directions that he gave me.

"Oh, m-me?"

"Yes, you—"

After acting like a noob for a bit, land a counterpunch when they least expect it. "Your mom sent me here."

That was right, I'd already heard it all from Sergeant Lee.

"They probably have an idea. I also have a guy I've been suspicious of..."

"Who?"

"There are three. Should I tell you all of them?" Baekho called out the names of his suspects one by one. All of them were wizards, and except for one, they were so famous that even I had heard of them. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but don't ever expose your identity here. From what I can tell, there are a few bastards acquainted with the royal family too."

Baekho seemed to like me quite a bit since he offered me advice without me asking. Unlike my newbie friends, who said this place was 100 percent safe, I really liked his pessimistic point of view. To that end, I had one more question. "Is there any way the founder can find out my identity?"

"No. That would probably be hard. In the first place, they didn't make this space with their own efforts—it was more like a remodel."

"Remodel?"

"There were evil spirits in this city even more than a hundred years ago. On Earth, that was more than twenty years ago. So who were those people?"

Honestly, I hadn't even thought about that. Twenty years ago, Dungeon and Stone, not to mention LCD monitors, weren't even really in circulation. "I don't know, so just tell me."

"The answer is that they were from another dimension!"

"Another dimension...?"

"Yeah. I've never actually met them, but as far as I know, they claim they were brought here by reading books written about this world."

Apparently, there had only been a handful of evil spirits at the time, and rumor had it that all of them had unique powers. It was assumed that one of them created this space and that the person currently operating it had inherited it by chance.

I think I just heard some groundbreaking information.

At this point, I was getting curious about Baekho's identity too. What kind of person was he that he knew all of this?

Well, this works out in my favor, though.

I shifted my mindset and continued to ask Baekho whatever questions came to mind to clear things up, but the guy wasn't all-knowing, either.

"Ah... to be honest, I'm currently in hiding, so I'm a bit behind on current events."

"You're in hiding?"

"Yes. I can't tell you the details, but if you want more recent information, I can introduce you to a chat room. It's called Watcher of the Round Table. It's a kind of club for people with eighth-grader syndrome." The chat room Baekho told me about was a kind of community for experts, run in secret and only accessible via invitation. "Your nickname and face will be anonymous there, so you don't have to worry. I've heard that if you don't have any information to share you could get beaten up and kicked out, but... since you beat the game at Times Ten, I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

Like someone about to send his child off on a field trip, he explained every step of the process. The explanation was quite long, but all of it was useful, so I listened without interruption.

"Then I'll see you later," he said.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you. The pill I took was a prototype, so I can only stay here for an hour."

What was this generational gap? At this point, even if he started complaining about things "back in his day" out of the blue, I'd probably just keep my mouth shut and listen. It was clear he'd lived a tougher life than I.

"Buddy, you have to come back again, okay?"

"Okay, see you next time."

"And if anyone in the city messes with you, don't forget to let me know."

"All right..."

"Oh, and also—"

"It's fine, just go. You can just tell me the rest next time."

"Ah, right... next time... Okay! See you next time!"

Soon, the guy stopped looking at me with such an anxious expression and left with a simple smile. I exited the chat room too. Just as he instructed, I typed the code he gave me into the chat board's search bar and entered [Watcher of the Round Table].

[You cannot enter at this time. OPEN 03:00-03:10]

Baekho didn't tell me about this. I had no choice but to spend my time browsing through Exchange posts and other bulletin boards. When the clock on the bottom right of the monitor pointed to three, I tried to enter the room again.

[New member status has been verified. Congratulations on becoming a member of the Watchers of the Round Table. This gathering is strictly anonymous...]

Messages containing the exact contents Baekho had told me about popped up, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the customization room.

Flash!

The room was full of all sorts of costumes and accessories. I wondered why I had to go this far to hide Hansu Lee's identity, but since these were the rules, it was probably better to just follow them. After perusing my options, I chose some relatively tolerable pieces, treating it like cosplay. I wore a slim-fit navy blue suit.

A mask is required, so I have to wear one.

The selection of masks was vast enough to fill an entire wall, but there were many empty spots, which suggested you couldn't pick one someone else had already picked.

Creaaak.

As soon as I put on one of the masks, which was in the shape of a lion's head, the door in the room opened by itself. A long red carpet guided the way. As I slowly walked forward, exploring my surroundings, a large round table appeared. There were dozens of seats, but only four people were there.

Tap.

They were talking familiarly with each other, but when I arrived, they all fell silent and stared at me. An oppressive silence ensued.

He wasn't kidding about this being a community for pros. Oh, those eyes are fierce. Don't you know that newbies should be cherished and cared for?

"Oh? I've never seen that mask before," someone in a yellow clown mask commented.

"You," said a woman wearing a fox mask, her voice high-pitched. "How did you get here? It's been over a year since we've gotten any new members."

Oh, I didn't know that bit of context.

"Tell us. Who are you and who recommended you?"

However, this was a question I had prepared for, so no problem.

"You must only tell the truth. That's how this place operates."

Just as she claimed, a special skin was active in this space. If you lied, your mask would break and you would be immediately banished from the chat room. However, there was one exception to this. Before the gathering began in earnest, it was okay to lie as much as you liked.

But seeing as everyone's keeping their mouths shut about that, they must all be in on this together. Or they're just curious about what kind of person I am.

I could see why Baekho had told me to come out swinging in the first meeting. It must have been advice borne of experience. I didn't particularly feel like it, but this time I decided to just follow the lines and directions that he gave me.

"Oh, m-me?"

"Yes, you—"

After acting like a noob for a bit, land a counterpunch when they least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expect it. "Your mom sent me here."

That was right, I'd already heard it all from Sergeant Lee.