Chapter 342: Comeback (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 342: Comeback (1)
Hansu Lee's room felt familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.
It... feels like it's been a long time.
Glancing around for a moment to see if anything had changed, I sat on the chair and moved only my toe to turn on the computer.
Whirl!
My goal in the community today was simple. As always, gathering information was a top priority. The difference was that, unlike usual, said information had been accumulating for two and a half years.
I should check the bulletin boards first.
The Round Table, which could be said to be the main event of my nights at the community, would only open in three hours, so I used the mouse to check various bulletin boards instead. It was quite a cumbersome task. To get the gist of what had happened while I was gone, I had to go through the long list chronologically.
[Wow, anyone been to Bjorn Yandel's house?]
I went there with some people he helped on the first floor and it felt strange to see the flowers piled up. It really hit me that he was dead too. His comrades are totally mourning.
When I saw that post, I paused. Hmm, since there's a lot of talk about me here, I can probably start reading from here.
tetyys: Why the fuss over one dead NPC?
└Sogeking33: Fair, no one would care if a punk like you died, right?
└SoDamnToxic: Candidate for the next barbarian chieftain, first adventurer-turned-nobleman in ten years, and rumor has it that the palace is going to send knights to hold the funeral procession to commemorate the death of a hero... It makes sense why bastards with inferiority complexes would flock to this.
Ki11Humans77: What a waste. I heard he created a new clan and was curious how it would grow.
After checking the comments on the first post I clicked, I pressed the back button. Then I moved through the pages slowly to read through the posts one by one. One month, two months, three months... as time passed, the bulletin board was flooded with posts focusing on the hottest topics at the time.
Just look at the stories about my 'death' that used to be all over the bulletin board.
It took barely a month for the frequency of those mentions to not only decrease but stop entirely. However, starting the next month, I started popping up in posts again. Someone had added new fuel to the fire.
[Is the rumor that Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit true?]
Wherever I go these days, that's all I hear. They wouldn't be saying that if it was complete nonsense.
[Three reasons why Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit]
Click thumbs up while you're here~
[Do you logically think he can be an evil spirit?]
If you argue with me, you're a newbie who's never even seen Bjorn Yandel. If you agree, you get a beastwoman girlfriend.
arolf5205: He's right. All the people saying Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit are probably newbies.
1spring: Bjorn Yandel is not an evil spirit. Do I get a shifter girlfriend now?
Bling0_0: Hmm, but I still think he's an evil spirit...
Bjorn Yandel's Life After Death, two months in: the bulletin board was plastered with discussions about whether I was an evil spirit or not. Up to this point, most people thought it was a rumor. There was a comment in the middle that bothered me, though.
teckmonkey: It's possible that's not a rumor but a fact. Some say that the rumors were first started by Bjorn Yandel's closest comrade.
When I saw they described them as a comrade and didn't refer to a specific person, though, I lost interest. I was used to trolls flocking to every hot topic.
Click, click.
Three months after my death, my name was barely ever mentioned. Then, six months later, my name, which was slowly being forgotten, suddenly blew up on the bulletin board. The palace had made an official statement that Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit.
[Hey, was that declaration made by the palace real?]
[Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?]
[He was a candidate for chieftain and even received a noble title. How can he be an evil spirit? Something has to be wrong.]
Everyone seemed confused at first, but gradually evidence began to emerge and the vibe shifted to acceptance. If you assumed I was an evil spirit, there were several suspicious things about me that you could point to as proof.
[Thinking about it, it was kinda weird]
How is it possible to go up the ranks that quickly? It's too strange to even just write him off as an outlier.
tunaboot: Counter-argument 1: even if he was an evil spirit, it still doesn't make sense.
└BrutalizerX: Counter-argument 2: Bjorn Yandel was living with three women.
└WingPizza: Counter-argument 3: Bjorn Yandel is known as a giant who's well over eight inches. I'm talking about his kidney, of course.
Of course, my name wasn't a hot topic for long. Aside from it being shocking news, there was not enough fuel to keep the fire burning. Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit? How surprising—but, so? How long were they going to talk about a dead guy? That was the vibe. Well, some people hypothesized that there must be some big motivation behind the fact these rumors were being spread about a dead person and that the palace was just now revealing they were true, but unfortunately, that was the extent of their theories. There was no way insider information would make rounds on a free bulletin board.
Click, click.
I continued to read the posts after that, but there wasn't another topic that served to fire up the entire bulletin board until several months later. It was just business as usual, people saying what they wanted to say.
Then, one year after my death, there was an incident that set fire to the community.
[Guys, did you hear about the Nartel Clan?]
The Nartel Clan was the clan headed by adventurer Melter Fend, whom I had worked closely with during the battle against Noark all those years ago. Apparently, almost 90 percent of the clan had perished in the labyrinth—and the cause was already widely known.
godFLEXyou: Yeah, I heard they were attacked by Noark and only a few came back alive.
Bastards from Noark, who were last known to have left their castle walls, were discovered in the labyrinth. All kinds of speculation circulated: there was a portal outside the walls, or perhaps they may have created a new portal through some ritual. One person even said they were likely people who snuck into Rafdonia right under our noses and hid their identities.
Then, one year and one month after my death, a medium-sized clan was wiped out in the labyrinth. It was a clan active on the Dark Continent, where the Nartel Clan suffered its catastrophe. Because there were no survivors, the cause of their annihilation was unknown.
teckmonkey: It's possible that's not a rumor but a fact. Some say that the rumors were first started by Bjorn Yandel's closest comrade.
When I saw they described them as a comrade and didn't refer to a specific person, though, I lost interest. I was used to trolls flocking to every hot topic.
Click, click.
Three months after my death, my name was barely ever mentioned. Then, six months later, my name, which was slowly being forgotten, suddenly blew up on the bulletin board. The palace had made an official statement that Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit.
[Hey, was that declaration made by the palace real?]
[Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?]
[He was a candidate for chieftain and even received a noble title. How can he be an evil spirit? Something has to be wrong.]
Everyone seemed confused at first, but gradually evidence began to emerge and the vibe shifted to acceptance. If you assumed I was an evil spirit, there were several suspicious things about me that you could point to as proof.
[Thinking about it, it was kinda weird]
How is it possible to go up the ranks that quickly? It's too strange to even just write him off as an outlier.
tunaboot: Counter-argument 1: even if he was an evil spirit, it still doesn't make sense.
└BrutalizerX: Counter-argument 2: Bjorn Yandel was living with three women.
└WingPizza: Counter-argument 3: Bjorn Yandel is known as a giant who's well over eight inches. I'm talking about his kidney, of course.
Of course, my name wasn't a hot topic for long. Aside from it being shocking news, there was not enough fuel to keep the fire burning. Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit? How surprising—but, so? How long were they going to talk about a dead guy? That was the vibe. Well, some people hypothesized that there must be some big motivation behind the fact these rumors were being spread about a dead person and that the palace was just now revealing they were true, but unfortunately, that was the extent of their theories. There was no way insider information would make rounds on a free bulletin board.
Click, click.
I continued to read the posts after that, but there wasn't another topic that served to fire up the entire bulletin board until several months later. It was just business as usual, people saying what they wanted to say.
Then, one year after my death, there was an incident that set fire to the community.
[Guys, did you hear about the Nartel Clan?]
The Nartel Clan was the clan headed by adventurer Melter Fend, whom I had worked closely with during the battle against Noark all those years ago. Apparently, almost 90 percent of the clan had perished in the labyrinth—and the cause was already widely known.
godFLEXyou: Yeah, I heard they were attacked by Noark and only a few came back alive.
Bastards from Noark, who were last known to have left their castle walls, were discovered in the labyrinth. All kinds of speculation circulated: there was a portal outside the walls, or perhaps they may have created a new portal through some ritual. One person even said they were likely people who snuck into Rafdonia right under our noses and hid their identities.
Then, one year and one month after my death, a medium-sized clan was wiped out in the labyrinth. It was a clan active on the Dark Continent, where the Nartel Clan suffered its catastrophe. Because there were no survivors, the cause of their annihilation was unknown.
At one year and three months, the number of clans disappearing on the seventh floor without a trace rose rapidly, and there were even several eyewitness accounts citing the presence of people from Noark. Most of the sightings were on the seventh floor.
At one year and four months, the palace recognized the gravity of the situation with Noark and started distributing identity tags again. Knights were also sent into the labyrinth to patrol the lower floors, but nothing improved. Despite verifying the identities of all entrants on the first floor as soon as the labyrinth opened, none of them were found to be from Noark.
One year and six months: Mindful of the fact that Noark's faction only appeared on the seventh floor, the palace allied with several large clans to form an expedition team. After suffering countless losses, they returned. Still, they did get something out of it.
[Breaking News: Latest News on Noark]
This is trustworthy information obtained from a prisoner taken captive during the expedition. The guys from Noark opened a portal outside the castle walls and apparently, it takes you straight to the seventh floor. Of course, even the asshole we captured doesn't know how that's possible, nor does the palace know anything.
New information came to light. More time passed. After one year and eight months, the palace forbade ordinary adventurers from entering the Dark Continent and formed a second expedition team. As a result of flooding the floor with countless troops, they achieved a pyrrhic victory.
[It's really war now]
With the seventh floor as the stage, a full-scale power struggle began. They decided that if the bastards from Noark were able to stay holed up on the seventh floor and expand their power, it would lead to major issues in the future. Numerous adventurers participated in the battle for the enormous reward offered by the palace, and new war heroes gained fame every day. A prime example was the Seven Powerful—seven heroes who did not have much fame before but made a name for themselves by playing a major role in this war.
[Now that I'm thinking about it, Bjorn Yandel's party had an insane talent pool. How can two members of the Seven Powerful come from one party?]
Time passed, and once I finished checking the most recent post made ten minutes ago, I took my hand off the mouse. Even just skimming it, looking through two years and six months' worth of material had taken more than two hours.
Why don't I take a break and process this?
I got off the chair and lay on the bed. To start, I had learned very little new information while looking around the forum. That was natural. I'd heard all kinds of stories from Erwen during the ten days I'd spent stuck at home. I was already aware of the major events in the timeline of the past few years, including the stories about Noark.
Still, it was nice to get a feel for how people were feeling at the time by looking around...
Besides, there were posts with trivial information Erwen hadn't told me about—for example, the adventurers who had been declared brain-dead due to the pillars of fire that fateful day in Dimension Square were all cured.
Anyway, should I check the Exchange for information this time?
After taking a short break, I sat in front of the computer and started combing through the backlogged posts one by one. Time passed, and at 3:09 am, it was time to enter the Round Table.
***
Creak.
Goblin entered through the open door and cheerfully said hello. "Oh, Ms. Fox! Long time no see!"
At one year and three months, the number of clans disappearing on the seventh floor without a trace rose rapidly, and there were even several eyewitness accounts citing the presence of people from Noark. Most of the sightings were on the seventh floor.
At one year and four months, the palace recognized the gravity of the situation with Noark and started distributing identity tags again. Knights were also sent into the labyrinth to patrol the lower floors, but nothing improved. Despite verifying the identities of all entrants on the first floor as soon as the labyrinth opened, none of them were found to be from Noark.
One year and six months: Mindful of the fact that Noark's faction only appeared on the seventh floor, the palace allied with several large clans to form an expedition team. After suffering countless losses, they returned. Still, they did get something out of it.
[Breaking News: Latest News on Noark]
This is trustworthy information obtained from a prisoner taken captive during the expedition. The guys from Noark opened a portal outside the castle walls and apparently, it takes you straight to the seventh floor. Of course, even the asshole we captured doesn't know how that's possible, nor does the palace know anything.
New information came to light. More time passed. After one year and eight months, the palace forbade ordinary adventurers from entering the Dark Continent and formed a second expedition team. As a result of flooding the floor with countless troops, they achieved a pyrrhic victory.
[It's really war now]
With the seventh floor as the stage, a full-scale power struggle began. They decided that if the bastards from Noark were able to stay holed up on the seventh floor and expand their power, it would lead to major issues in the future. Numerous adventurers participated in the battle for the enormous reward offered by the palace, and new war heroes gained fame every day. A prime example was the Seven Powerful—seven heroes who did not have much fame before but made a name for themselves by playing a major role in this war.
[Now that I'm thinking about it, Bjorn Yandel's party had an insane talent pool. How can two members of the Seven Powerful come from one party?]
Time passed, and once I finished checking the most recent post made ten minutes ago, I took my hand off the mouse. Even just skimming it, looking through two years and six months' worth of material had taken more than two hours.
Why don't I take a break and process this?
I got off the chair and lay on the bed. To start, I had learned very little new information while looking around the forum. That was natural. I'd heard all kinds of stories from Erwen during the ten days I'd spent stuck at home. I was already aware of the major events in the timeline of the past few years, including the stories about Noark.
Still, it was nice to get a feel for how people were feeling at the time by looking around...
Besides, there were posts with trivial information Erwen hadn't told me about—for example, the adventurers who had been declared brain-dead due to the pillars of fire that fateful day in Dimension Square were all cured.
Anyway, should I check the Exchange for information this time?
After taking a short break, I sat in front of the computer and started combing through the backlogged posts one by one. Time passed, and at 3:09 am, it was time to enter the Round Table.
***
Creak.
Goblin entered through the open door and cheerfully said hello. "Oh, Ms. Fox! Long time no see!"
"Yes, hello."
"I guess we're the first ones again today?"
At Goblin's question, the woman in the fox mask, Versyl Gowland, offered an unenthusiastic chuckle. She knew this question wasn't being posed to check, but to make personal conversation. Versyl had nothing she wanted to say to Goblin.
"...Haha, it looks like you have some more things to think about? I'll be quiet."
"Thank you."
A while later, Deer and Crescent arrived almost at the same time. When she checked, the time was 3:05. There were still five minutes left for people to enter.
"Looks like those two haven't arrived yet?"
"...I'm sure they'll come soon." She answered Deer's question with a rueful laugh.
The members who had not yet joined the gathering were Clown and Queen. They would probably participate today. Well, rather, they'd probably just check who had come and then turn around and disappear again, just as they had been doing for the past year.
"Still, since there are four of us, we can hold a proper gathering today."
"...We couldn't even do a round last time because Deer wasn't here, right? Why didn't you come then?"
"Goblin, do I have to tell you the reason why?"
"Well... no. Yes. I was just curious."
As they exchanged meaningless chatter before the gathering, the door opened again. This time it was a woman. "Oh my, it's been a while, everyone." Although her presence could not be compared to Lion's, Queen crushed even Clown in terms of useful information and had proven her worth at this meeting.
"Are you just going to leave again this time?"
At Crescent's polite question, Queen laughed awkwardly. That was answer enough. Everyone knew what she was thinking.
She thinks participating in this gathering is pointless without that man here.
Even after Lion stopped coming, she attended the gathering for a while and shared various pieces of information. But at some point, she started simply checking who was there and leaving before it even began. The same went for Clown.
"Pshehe, are you all gathered again?"
"Clown..."
There were two minutes left until the gathering began. Everyone's eyes turned to Clown as he arrived. Most of their reactions were not favorable. There had been many run-ins with Noark recently. Though most of their reactions weren't as intense as Crescent's, they couldn't be cordial to a member of Noark.
"Looks can't actually kill, you know." Clown chose an empty seat and sat down, not minding the glares. Instead, he stared at the clock on the wall, waiting desperately for one particular person to arrive. This was a very familiar sight to the other members by now.
"Hah... looks like he isn't coming today, either."
"...I heard there have been sightings of Noark trying to crawl down to the sixth floor. What is the reason for that?"
"Eh? Why would I tell you that when the gathering hasn't even started?"
"That's... because you don't participate in the gathering..."
"Oh, Mr. Deer... then you should have brought me something more entertaining a long time ago, don't you think? It's because it's so boring that I leave every time."
"...Do you think acting like that will make you look like Lion?"
"Pshehe, that wasn't my intention." When Clown laughed mockingly and got up, Queen also stood up as if on cue. "Anyway, since it looks like he won't be coming today either, I'll leave."
"Me too..."
Fox stared at their backs and sighed quietly. As much as their absence was a loss, she was once again reminded of the necessity of one specific person's presence.
Jeez, where has Lion disappeared to?
At first, Clown and Queen had joined in on coming up with all kinds of theories as to his disappearance: he lost interest, the GM banished him from the community, etcetera. There were many other hypotheses, but the most memorable was Goblin's: that he might have been Bjorn Yandel. If he had died, the timing were all very coincidental.
"Pshehe, Mr. Goblin, why don't you quit being a paladin and become a writer instead?"
Goblin was only laughed at for his hypothesis, however. Although no one else said anything harsh, the other members did not take his suggestion seriously. That was because when Lion first appeared at the Round Table, Bjorn Yandel hadn't even been an adventurer for a year yet. Someone active on the third and fourth floors at best could not possibly behave like he had.
However... Maybe he guessed right...
Fox was beginning to think that the hypothesis could be correct. Although there were many holes in the theory, if that really was the case, it would explain why Lion hadn't been seen for two and a half years.
Creak.
Just as she was thinking that, the tightly shut door slowly began to open, and everyone jumped. The reason was simple. Clown, who was stomping away from the table, hadn't even reached the door yet, and there was no one who hadn't arrived yet. Or there shouldn't have been, except for one person.
Tap.
Beyond the open door, a man appeared. The man, who could freeze everyone in the room with his mere presence, spoke as if he had just stopped by out of boredom.
"Long time no see."
Lion was back.
"Yes, hello."
"I guess we're the first ones again today?"
At Goblin's question, the woman in the fox mask, Versyl Gowland, offered an unenthusiastic chuckle. She knew this question wasn't being posed to check, but to make personal conversation. Versyl had nothing she wanted to say to Goblin.
"...Haha, it looks like you have some more things to think about? I'll be quiet."
"Thank you."
A while later, Deer and Crescent arrived almost at the same time. When she checked, the time was 3:05. There were still five minutes left for people to enter.
"Looks like those two haven't arrived yet?"
"...I'm sure they'll come soon." She answered Deer's question with a rueful laugh.
The members who had not yet joined the gathering were Clown and Queen. They would probably participate today. Well, rather, they'd probably just check who had come and then turn around and disappear again, just as they had been doing for the past year.
"Still, since there are four of us, we can hold a proper gathering today."
"...We couldn't even do a round last time because Deer wasn't here, right? Why didn't you come then?"
"Goblin, do I have to tell you the reason why?"
"Well... no. Yes. I was just curious."
As they exchanged meaningless chatter before the gathering, the door opened again. This time it was a woman. "Oh my, it's been a while, everyone." Although her presence could not be compared to Lion's, Queen crushed even Clown in terms of useful information and had proven her worth at this meeting.
"Are you just going to leave again this time?"
At Crescent's polite question, Queen laughed awkwardly. That was answer enough. Everyone knew what she was thinking.
She thinks participating in this gathering is pointless without that man here.
Even after Lion stopped coming, she attended the gathering for a while and shared various pieces of information. But at some point, she started simply checking who was there and leaving before it even began. The same went for Clown.
"Pshehe, are you all gathered again?"
"Clown..."
There were two minutes left until the gathering began. Everyone's eyes turned to Clown as he arrived. Most of their reactions were not favorable. There had been many run-ins with Noark recently. Though most of their reactions weren't as intense as Crescent's, they couldn't be cordial to a member of Noark.
"Looks can't actually kill, you know." Clown chose an empty seat and sat down, not minding the glares. Instead, he stared at the clock on the wall, waiting desperately for one particular person to arrive. This was a very familiar sight to the other members by now.
"Hah... looks like he isn't coming today, either."
"...I heard there have been sightings of Noark trying to crawl down to the sixth floor. What is the reason for that?"
"Eh? Why would I tell you that when the gathering hasn't even started?"
"That's... because you don't participate in the gathering..."
"Oh, Mr. Deer... then you should have brought me something more entertaining a long time ago, don't you think? It's because it's so boring that I leave every time."
"...Do you think acting like that will make you look like Lion?"
"Pshehe, that wasn't my intention." When Clown laughed mockingly and got up, Queen also stood up as if on cue. "Anyway, since it looks like he won't be coming today either, I'll leave."
"Me too..."
Fox stared at their backs and sighed quietly. As much as their absence was a loss, she was once again reminded of the necessity of one specific person's presence.
Jeez, where has Lion disappeared to?
At first, Clown and Queen had joined in on coming up with all kinds of theories as to his disappearance: he lost interest, the GM banished him from the community, etcetera. There were many other hypotheses, but the most memorable was Goblin's: that he might have been Bjorn Yandel. If he had died, the timing were all very coincidental.
"Pshehe, Mr. Goblin, why don't you quit being a paladin and become a writer instead?"
Goblin was only laughed at for his hypothesis, however. Although no one else said anything harsh, the other members did not take his suggestion seriously. That was because when Lion first appeared at the Round Table, Bjorn Yandel hadn't even been an adventurer for a year yet. Someone active on the third and fourth floors at best could not possibly behave like he had.
However... Maybe he guessed right...
Fox was beginning to think that the hypothesis could be correct. Although there were many holes in the theory, if that really was the case, it would explain why Lion hadn't been seen for two and a half years.
Creak.
Just as she was thinking that, the tightly shut door slowly began to open, and everyone jumped. The reason was simple. Clown, who was stomping away from the table, hadn't even reached the door yet, and there was no one who hadn't arrived yet. Or there shouldn't have been, except for one person.
Tap.
Beyond the open door, a man appeared. The man, who could freeze everyone in the room with his mere presence, spoke as if he had just stopped by out of boredom.
"Long time no see."
Lion was back.