Chapter 290: Big Fish (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 290: Big Fish (2)
Thump.
My low, steady heart rate gradually shortened. "...You're Auril Gavis?" He was perhaps the one person who could answer all the questions I'd had since waking up in this body. "Are you... really, the one who made that game?"
"I'm pretty sure we agreed to alternate who asked the questions, but since I understand how you're probably feeling, I will answer this one." He nodded. "That's right. I made that game."
Jeez, so it really was him. Assuming he wasn't lying, of course.
"Now, since I revealed my name, it's your turn. What is your name?" Now that the ball was in his court, he asked a question of his own.
He must be asking for the same reason I did.
Names were important, especially in a spiritual world where appearances meant nothing. As could be inferred from the fact that the Fallen Scholar wore the appearance of a child here, in this place, we took the form we considered our own. But that anonymity disappeared the moment we revealed our names. It opened up an opportunity for him to find me on the outside.
"Hansu Lee." I revealed my real name, which I hadn't told anyone aside from Baekho.
Of course, the old man wasn't satisfied with this. "Oh? I guess that means you're from Korea? But my question was the name you use here, not that."
"The name I use here, huh?" Okay, I figured he would ask that. "Nivelles Enze."
That was technically a name I used here too, right? Since I'd already dealt with Baekho, who was able to distinguish between truths and lies, I deliberately threw in a trick. This could be the creator of the Round Table, after all. If this was the man who created the jewel system that formed the basis of the gathering, I didn't think it'd be weird to assume he might have an ability like that.
It doesn't hurt to be careful...
At my answer, the man gave me an unreadable look. "Hmm..."
"Is there a problem?"
He just stared at me for a moment before announcing the end of his turn. "No. Then it's your turn now."
My head was spinning. What should I ask first? There were so many things I'd always wanted to ask if I ever met this man, so it was hard to prioritize.
Yes, let's ask that first.
I picked one of the questions from my list. "Why did you call us into this world?" This was the root of all action: motivation. Why had he done something like this?
Instead of answering, Auril Gavis made a strange remark. "...You certainly are special."
"What does that mean?"
"I have met a few people from Earth, but most believe they are just inside a game."
Oh, so that was what he meant. To be fair, I used to think that way, too. However, after going through so many hardships here, I'd managed to obtain plenty of clues. To think they could still be so deluded. This place was its own separate world. If my theory were correct, Dungeon and Stone was simply a game based on said world.
"So, your answer?"
"Fair, as far as you're concerned, there would be nothing you'd want to know more than that." Soon, Auril Gavis opened his mouth and gave me the reason these people had to bring beings from a distant realm to this world. "Because you are the only ones who can open the door to the Gate of the Abyss."
"What? The Gate of the Abyss? What could that possibly be—"
Auril Gavis cut me off. "Questions are asked one at a time. Wasn't that the rule?"
"Ah..." Yeah, that was true. "Ask me."
When I relinquished my turn, the man grinned. "You... Did you use the Fragment of Records Stone?" The eyes of the wrinkled old man twinkled with eager anticipation. The Fragment of Records Stone was a family heirloom passed down through generations of Noark's castellans, and a treasure with the incredible ability to reverse time.
The heck, how did he figure that out?
The moment he brought it up, my heart skipped a beat. And rightfully so, because I hadn't imagined for a moment that the question he would ask after my name would be one that cut straight to the heart of my entire situation.
Shit, what do I answer?
It was already too late to casually brush the question aside by asking what the Fragment of Records Stone was. He would have already noticed that I was flustered, too.
"You can take your time," Auril Gavis said.
I quickly made up my mind. "What made you think that?"
Of course, I knew that asking this was no different from half-confirming his suspicions, but what else could I do? Not only was this someone on whom lies didn't work, but there must have been something I did that made him think that in the first place. Auril Gavis had already skipped straight to certainty. If he weren't certain, he would never have mentioned the Fragment of Records Stone in front of me.
"I have three reasons." Auril Gavis smiled as he explained the basis of his suspicions, like he was explaining something to his grandchild. "One, you are too strong to have only been here a year. Two, you weren't one of the people I invited to this place. Three, you may be strong, but not enough to invade my territory without permission."
"Just with that...?"
"Haha, it's not 'just.' For all those things to be true, there's no other explanation but that one."
I still don't understand, though...
"So can I assume the answer to my question is a yes?"
It would be ridiculous to deny it now, so I just coolly admitted to it. It was a pity I'd been exposed in two questions, but what could I do? I just had to do damage control from this point on.
"Haha, since you're from Earth, you wouldn't have come from the past. What year are you from?"
"The questions were one at a time, I believe."
"Ah, that's right. Go ahead." Auril seemed to be in a good mood. "So, what are you curious about now? What the Gate of the Abyss is? Whether the witch is alive? Hmm, or you might be wondering if the outside world is really hell, like the king claims." He sounded like he would answer anything I asked.
It's oddly getting on my nerves.
Was it because I'd seen him coldly dismiss the other members earlier? Auril Gavis's strange kindness was rousing my rebellious side.
Should I just abandon ship now?
I even started to wonder if it would be wiser to end the Q&A session here and ask to be sent outside. There was no rational reason for me to feel that way, but it wasn't the kind of thing I should overlook. Based on my experience, ignoring these gut feelings usually led to disaster.
But if not now, I may never get another chance to find out these things.
I couldn't deny that this was too precious an opportunity to pass up simply because it was a bit uncomfortable. This old man would have all the answers. Soon, I made up my mind.
"Ah..." Yeah, that was true. "Ask me."
When I relinquished my turn, the man grinned. "You... Did you use the Fragment of Records Stone?" The eyes of the wrinkled old man twinkled with eager anticipation. The Fragment of Records Stone was a family heirloom passed down through generations of Noark's castellans, and a treasure with the incredible ability to reverse time.
The heck, how did he figure that out?
The moment he brought it up, my heart skipped a beat. And rightfully so, because I hadn't imagined for a moment that the question he would ask after my name would be one that cut straight to the heart of my entire situation.
Shit, what do I answer?
It was already too late to casually brush the question aside by asking what the Fragment of Records Stone was. He would have already noticed that I was flustered, too.
"You can take your time," Auril Gavis said.
I quickly made up my mind. "What made you think that?"
Of course, I knew that asking this was no different from half-confirming his suspicions, but what else could I do? Not only was this someone on whom lies didn't work, but there must have been something I did that made him think that in the first place. Auril Gavis had already skipped straight to certainty. If he weren't certain, he would never have mentioned the Fragment of Records Stone in front of me.
"I have three reasons." Auril Gavis smiled as he explained the basis of his suspicions, like he was explaining something to his grandchild. "One, you are too strong to have only been here a year. Two, you weren't one of the people I invited to this place. Three, you may be strong, but not enough to invade my territory without permission."
"Just with that...?"
"Haha, it's not 'just.' For all those things to be true, there's no other explanation but that one."
I still don't understand, though...
"So can I assume the answer to my question is a yes?"
It would be ridiculous to deny it now, so I just coolly admitted to it. It was a pity I'd been exposed in two questions, but what could I do? I just had to do damage control from this point on.
"Haha, since you're from Earth, you wouldn't have come from the past. What year are you from?"
"The questions were one at a time, I believe."
"Ah, that's right. Go ahead." Auril seemed to be in a good mood. "So, what are you curious about now? What the Gate of the Abyss is? Whether the witch is alive? Hmm, or you might be wondering if the outside world is really hell, like the king claims." He sounded like he would answer anything I asked.
It's oddly getting on my nerves.
Was it because I'd seen him coldly dismiss the other members earlier? Auril Gavis's strange kindness was rousing my rebellious side.
Should I just abandon ship now?
I even started to wonder if it would be wiser to end the Q&A session here and ask to be sent outside. There was no rational reason for me to feel that way, but it wasn't the kind of thing I should overlook. Based on my experience, ignoring these gut feelings usually led to disaster.
But if not now, I may never get another chance to find out these things.
I couldn't deny that this was too precious an opportunity to pass up simply because it was a bit uncomfortable. This old man would have all the answers. Soon, I made up my mind.
Let's forget all the little curiosities and ask about what's important. Are you from here? Then how did you shift dimensions? Do you have comrades who share your objectives, and for what reason did you create this spiritual world?
Swallowing back the many other questions I had, I asked, "Why are you trying to open the Gate of the Abyss?" When it came to people, motivation was one of the easiest things about them to grasp. What drove this man's actions?
Auril Gavis answered after a brief pause. "Why do you ask that?"
"I thought we agreed to one question at a time."
"Haha, don't look so cold. I was just wondering if you shouldn't ask what the Gate of the Abyss is first."
His question was justified. It was just that it wasn't a reasonable one in my opinion.
"Haha, I think I'm starting to understand what kind of disposition you have," he said.
"So, what is your answer?"
"I planned to answer any question you had for me, but this seems a bit unfair."
"Are you saying you won't answer?"
"I still don't know who you are very well. Everything has a proper order."
Ha, I didn't expect him to take that stance. Then would we have to end the question-and-answer session here?
"How about this instead? If the Gate of the Abyss opens, you'll be able to return to your original world. How about that? It's not what you asked, but isn't that enough?"
Auril Gavis threw that tidbit at me almost like it was a reward. It was obvious that this was how he had always been planning to answer if I asked him why he wanted to open the Gate of the Abyss.
But that can't be all of it.
I got the feeling he was hiding the actual important part. If the only thing the Gate of the Abyss did was allow us to return, he'd have no reason to bring us here.
Welp, this is why I wanted to check his motive... If this is how he wants to play this, I can just pass on things that are difficult to cover up from now on, too.
"Fine, it's your turn now." I casually handed him the reins like I was satisfied with his answer. We proceeded to exchange rapid-fire questions.
"What year are you from?"
"Year 154."
"Twenty years from now."
He slowly interrogated me about my personal information, and I did the same.
"Is your relationship with the palace hostile?"
"...You could say that."
"What do you mean? I want you to be clear."
"We are adversaries."
Hmm, is that so? So you aren't all in one boat.
"The one who sent you the invitation must have been me from the future—no, wait, let me rephrase the question. Who gave you the invitation?"
"An evil spirit from Earth nicknamed the GM."
"...GM?"
"I don't know anything else about him, either."
"I see. It's now your turn."
"Why is the palace hiding the fact that the outside world is normal?"
"Hmm, I guess that information's spread that far in the next twenty years?" Auril sneakily tried to feel me out but when I didn't respond, he gave me an answer. "The palace believes that is the best way to protect this world."
"You mean it's not because of a simple lust for power."
"Unfortunately." Taking up the next turn, Auril asked what difficulty I beat the game at.
I answered, "Times Fifteen."
"...You're lying."
Geez, so stone-faced. But that confirmed one thing: there really was a lie detector running.
"Anyway, I don't understand. Why would you lie about this and not the rest..." Auril trailed off like he'd come to a realization. "The original! Could it be that you cleared my original version?" He raised his voice in excitement.
Damn it all.
It was checkmate. The moment I answered in the negative, it would become another answer entirely.
Jeez, and he said my questions were unfair?
It was ridiculous, but what could I do? This was a world where the strong got everything, after all. A small fry like me could only swallow it. I kept my mouth shut, unable to honestly say "no."
The old man took my silence as confirmation. "You did, you did! Right, there is no way the Fragment of Records Stone would react to someone who crossed over from a rubbish, mass-produced product like those other versions!" he rambled feverishly and mostly to himself. As I listened, I felt a little awkward. "Tell me, how did you beat it? How long did it take? No, what did you originally do for a living?"
It suddenly seemed like the old man was desperate. However, because the elderly tended to have extreme emotional ups and downs, I felt a need to verify whether that was actually the case. "I want to drink something."
"Huh? But you can't feel thirst here..."
"Then are you saying I'm lying?"
When I took off my mask and frowned, the old man quickly made a cup and filled it with water.
Hmm, this won't cut it.
"Soda."
"...Soda?"
"I want it to be soda, not water."
"Ahh! You mean that?" The old man quickly changed the liquid in the cup. It was clear, but it was definitely soda, given the bubbles that shot up from the bottom. I couldn't stop myself from chugging it down.
"Aah..." Unlike the tasteless and odorless drinks that I usually found in Hansu Lee's bedroom in the community, I felt the refreshing sensation of carbonic acid slide down my throat.
Burp.
"Haha, you drink heartily, like a man. Anyway, if you've finished, I want you to answer me now. Are there many others who have beaten the original in twenty years, like you?"
At that question, a smile spread across my face. Rightfully so, because my barbarian instincts that were finely attuned to hierarchical structures were telling me something. I didn't know what was so important about clearing the original, but maybe I had the upper hand now.
"Hmm, are you that curious?"
Let's forget all the little curiosities and ask about what's important. Are you from here? Then how did you shift dimensions? Do you have comrades who share your objectives, and for what reason did you create this spiritual world?
Swallowing back the many other questions I had, I asked, "Why are you trying to open the Gate of the Abyss?" When it came to people, motivation was one of the easiest things about them to grasp. What drove this man's actions?
Auril Gavis answered after a brief pause. "Why do you ask that?"
"I thought we agreed to one question at a time."
"Haha, don't look so cold. I was just wondering if you shouldn't ask what the Gate of the Abyss is first."
His question was justified. It was just that it wasn't a reasonable one in my opinion.
"Haha, I think I'm starting to understand what kind of disposition you have," he said.
"So, what is your answer?"
"I planned to answer any question you had for me, but this seems a bit unfair."
"Are you saying you won't answer?"
"I still don't know who you are very well. Everything has a proper order."
Ha, I didn't expect him to take that stance. Then would we have to end the question-and-answer session here?
"How about this instead? If the Gate of the Abyss opens, you'll be able to return to your original world. How about that? It's not what you asked, but isn't that enough?"
Auril Gavis threw that tidbit at me almost like it was a reward. It was obvious that this was how he had always been planning to answer if I asked him why he wanted to open the Gate of the Abyss.
But that can't be all of it.
I got the feeling he was hiding the actual important part. If the only thing the Gate of the Abyss did was allow us to return, he'd have no reason to bring us here.
Welp, this is why I wanted to check his motive... If this is how he wants to play this, I can just pass on things that are difficult to cover up from now on, too.
"Fine, it's your turn now." I casually handed him the reins like I was satisfied with his answer. We proceeded to exchange rapid-fire questions.
"What year are you from?"
"Year 154."
"Twenty years from now."
He slowly interrogated me about my personal information, and I did the same.
"Is your relationship with the palace hostile?"
"...You could say that."
"What do you mean? I want you to be clear."
"We are adversaries."
Hmm, is that so? So you aren't all in one boat.
"The one who sent you the invitation must have been me from the future—no, wait, let me rephrase the question. Who gave you the invitation?"
"An evil spirit from Earth nicknamed the GM."
"...GM?"
"I don't know anything else about him, either."
"I see. It's now your turn."
"Why is the palace hiding the fact that the outside world is normal?"
"Hmm, I guess that information's spread that far in the next twenty years?" Auril sneakily tried to feel me out but when I didn't respond, he gave me an answer. "The palace believes that is the best way to protect this world."
"You mean it's not because of a simple lust for power."
"Unfortunately." Taking up the next turn, Auril asked what difficulty I beat the game at.
I answered, "Times Fifteen."
"...You're lying."
Geez, so stone-faced. But that confirmed one thing: there really was a lie detector running.
"Anyway, I don't understand. Why would you lie about this and not the rest..." Auril trailed off like he'd come to a realization. "The original! Could it be that you cleared my original version?" He raised his voice in excitement.
Damn it all.
It was checkmate. The moment I answered in the negative, it would become another answer entirely.
Jeez, and he said my questions were unfair?
It was ridiculous, but what could I do? This was a world where the strong got everything, after all. A small fry like me could only swallow it. I kept my mouth shut, unable to honestly say "no."
The old man took my silence as confirmation. "You did, you did! Right, there is no way the Fragment of Records Stone would react to someone who crossed over from a rubbish, mass-produced product like those other versions!" he rambled feverishly and mostly to himself. As I listened, I felt a little awkward. "Tell me, how did you beat it? How long did it take? No, what did you originally do for a living?"
It suddenly seemed like the old man was desperate. However, because the elderly tended to have extreme emotional ups and downs, I felt a need to verify whether that was actually the case. "I want to drink something."
"Huh? But you can't feel thirst here..."
"Then are you saying I'm lying?"
When I took off my mask and frowned, the old man quickly made a cup and filled it with water.
Hmm, this won't cut it.
"Soda."
"...Soda?"
"I want it to be soda, not water."
"Ahh! You mean that?" The old man quickly changed the liquid in the cup. It was clear, but it was definitely soda, given the bubbles that shot up from the bottom. I couldn't stop myself from chugging it down.
"Aah..." Unlike the tasteless and odorless drinks that I usually found in Hansu Lee's bedroom in the community, I felt the refreshing sensation of carbonic acid slide down my throat.
Burp.
"Haha, you drink heartily, like a man. Anyway, if you've finished, I want you to answer me now. Are there many others who have beaten the original in twenty years, like you?"
At that question, a smile spread across my face. Rightfully so, because my barbarian instincts that were finely attuned to hierarchical structures were telling me something. I didn't know what was so important about clearing the original, but maybe I had the upper hand now.
"Hmm, are you that curious?"