Chapter 368: Black Star (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 368: Black Star (1)
Click, click.
I used the mouse to navigate to the chatrooms first. This was one of the first things I did every time I came to the community.
[Long Live Korea's Independence - 0 people are online.]
As expected, no one was in the Korean chatroom where I first met Baekho.
Man, a part of me wants to just meet and have a candid conversation with him...
After briefly checking the chat, I switched over to the bulletin board. Normally, people started posting explosively once the community opened. There was no better time to get a quick overview of what had happened in the past month.
Breaking News: Count Ramleonde dead during expedition.
I heard the leader of Orcules and four other members destroyed him. Rumor has it there's a high chance the vacant position of Third Corps Commander will go to the chief of staff, who performed the duties on his behalf during this expedition.
these99: Now that Wall of Gold's weakness has been revealed, the rear will no longer be a good place for freeloading.
└SecureId7: Why not? It doesn't even look like a lot of people died. At most, they'll just increase the number of patrols next time.
stevencastle: But isn't the chief of staff that prick Eltora Tercerion?
└OP: Yep. The prime minister's son.
└stevencastle: Ugh, I'm never going to the Third Corps now. I've never had an encounter with that bastard that ended well.
As expected, most of the posts on the bulletin board were about the war.
[Has anyone heard the news about Blood Spirit?]
I heard she killed Lighthouse Keeper, or whatever that member of Orcules's name is. Is that true? From what I hear, Blood Knight, Corpse Collector, and Wailing Witch were on his team.
marcelone: This is a fact that everyone in the know already knows, but just so you're aware, I heard she didn't kill him alone but joined forces with the Golden Wizard.
└OP: Wow, really? I heard they were colleagues a long time ago. I guess they don't have bad blood, contrary to the rumors.
└marcelone: Still, there's a lot of speculation since their opponents were so strong. Even Blood Spirit couldn't defeat Lighthouse Keeper while fighting all of them at once.
Tsk, so there are people who are suspicious.
If doubts were being expressed here, there might even be investigations in motion elsewhere.
Click, click.
I continued to read the posts, my mind wandering. A long while later, I suddenly received a message.
Ding!
[From: Ghost Master]
The GM's nickname was written as the sender, but that wasn't particularly noteworthy. System messages and announcements within the community were always sent under this name. More than 90 percent of the messages in my inbox were from the GM.
But I'm worried that my karma's about to come back and bite me.
Sensing I was about to reap what I'd sown, I clicked on the link. It was exactly what I expected.
[I wasn't able to contact you last month. If you have time, we should meet.]
I had received an invitation from the GM. This wasn't particularly surprising. I expected him to contact me. In fact, the bigger surprise was that it took him so long to do so.
To be honest, I thought a message would come right after the last meeting.
I exposed the GM's identity at the Round Table, and Soul Queen would have reported this to him immediately.
But the fact that he contacted me a month later...
There were two possibilities: either he wanted to carefully take his time before meeting with me, or he, for some reason, wasn't reachable the last time the community was active. Well, that didn't matter.
Then what should I do...?
Leaving the message on the screen, I took some time to think this through. It wasn't like the GM would ban me or something if I declined the invitation. I'd been diligent about crafting the persona of a big shot while in Lion's mask. If he had a brain, he wouldn't try to go against me, especially when he almost died after banning Baekho.
Yeah, let's meet him at least.
Now that I'd made my decision, there was no reason to hesitate. I closed the window, found the secret chatroom, and entered the password he included in the message.
The password is 0720? Is that some kind of anniversary?
The thought occurred to me but even if my hypothesis was correct, it wasn't like that was relevant information.
Shaaaaaa!
Soon, the monitor lit up with a flash. When I opened my eyes again, I was in an old-fashioned study, with the faint scent of books in the air. This place gave off a calming vibe for some reason, and it was also somewhat familiar to me. I'd been here once before. At the time, rumors of a dimensional collapse had been circulating. While asking around to see whether the rumors were true or not, I obtained information from a man here.
It had been Elfnunalove, the man with that strange nickname above his head. At the time, I never suspected he could be the GM. I figured he was probably feeling the same way.
"Long time no see, Elfnunna. Or do you prefer Mr. Lion?"
"Either one, I don't care."
"Your tone of voice has changed a lot since last time. Or is this your true self?"
I had no reason to answer that, so I just ignored him and sat on the sofa across from him.
When I did, the guy plastered on a fake smile. "Anyway, this is our third meeting. Isn't it strange? Life is so unpredictable."
It was definitely strange. During our first meeting, I was in the position of a newbie seeking info, and the second time we met had been in a chatroom with Baekho.
"It's just as I said. You won't be able to meet up with Mr. Lee here from now on."
This guy had given me a brief summary of what happened to Baekho out of respect for Baekho's countryman, and that was the end of it. To him, I had just been a rare Korean player. Nothing more, nothing less.
"You have become much quieter since we last met. Then let me be direct. I don't believe in fate or coincidences. What do you want from me?"
What do I want, huh?
"What makes you think I want something?"
"Our first meeting, at least, was definitely intentional."
So, that's how you're interpreting this. Although it really was a coincidence.
"You were the one who invited me to the chatroom back then," I pointed out.
"Yes, I did. But now that I think about it, it's strange. The fact that you mentioned the wizard named Shernal Fergang from Tarutein School in your forum post as well. No matter how I look at it, I can't help but think you were trying to reel me in. You intentionally posted something I would find interesting, didn't you?"
To be honest, I thought a message would come right after the last meeting.
I exposed the GM's identity at the Round Table, and Soul Queen would have reported this to him immediately.
But the fact that he contacted me a month later...
There were two possibilities: either he wanted to carefully take his time before meeting with me, or he, for some reason, wasn't reachable the last time the community was active. Well, that didn't matter.
Then what should I do...?
Leaving the message on the screen, I took some time to think this through. It wasn't like the GM would ban me or something if I declined the invitation. I'd been diligent about crafting the persona of a big shot while in Lion's mask. If he had a brain, he wouldn't try to go against me, especially when he almost died after banning Baekho.
Yeah, let's meet him at least.
Now that I'd made my decision, there was no reason to hesitate. I closed the window, found the secret chatroom, and entered the password he included in the message.
The password is 0720? Is that some kind of anniversary?
The thought occurred to me but even if my hypothesis was correct, it wasn't like that was relevant information.
Shaaaaaa!
Soon, the monitor lit up with a flash. When I opened my eyes again, I was in an old-fashioned study, with the faint scent of books in the air. This place gave off a calming vibe for some reason, and it was also somewhat familiar to me. I'd been here once before. At the time, rumors of a dimensional collapse had been circulating. While asking around to see whether the rumors were true or not, I obtained information from a man here.
It had been Elfnunalove, the man with that strange nickname above his head. At the time, I never suspected he could be the GM. I figured he was probably feeling the same way.
"Long time no see, Elfnunna. Or do you prefer Mr. Lion?"
"Either one, I don't care."
"Your tone of voice has changed a lot since last time. Or is this your true self?"
I had no reason to answer that, so I just ignored him and sat on the sofa across from him.
When I did, the guy plastered on a fake smile. "Anyway, this is our third meeting. Isn't it strange? Life is so unpredictable."
It was definitely strange. During our first meeting, I was in the position of a newbie seeking info, and the second time we met had been in a chatroom with Baekho.
"It's just as I said. You won't be able to meet up with Mr. Lee here from now on."
This guy had given me a brief summary of what happened to Baekho out of respect for Baekho's countryman, and that was the end of it. To him, I had just been a rare Korean player. Nothing more, nothing less.
"You have become much quieter since we last met. Then let me be direct. I don't believe in fate or coincidences. What do you want from me?"
What do I want, huh?
"What makes you think I want something?"
"Our first meeting, at least, was definitely intentional."
So, that's how you're interpreting this. Although it really was a coincidence.
"You were the one who invited me to the chatroom back then," I pointed out.
"Yes, I did. But now that I think about it, it's strange. The fact that you mentioned the wizard named Shernal Fergang from Tarutein School in your forum post as well. No matter how I look at it, I can't help but think you were trying to reel me in. You intentionally posted something I would find interesting, didn't you?"
He was a funny guy. What would I gain from that?
"The thought makes me shudder because it means you knew me well enough to pull something like that."
It was a ridiculous leap to make, but there was nothing to gain by saying so out loud so I decided to stop this line of questioning here. "...I'm sure you didn't call me to talk about that."
"Are you avoiding an answer?"
Avoiding? Well, I can't tell him the truth.
"Think whatever you wish."
"I will."
"So, the reason you called me here."
When I took the reins and steered the conversation where I wanted it to go, the GM smirked. "What a weird question. You were the one who called me."
Huh? Where did that come from?
I fell silent in response to this strange plot twist, and he was happy to talk to himself. "I have no idea how you found out my real name. But wasn't the reason you told Soul Queen so that you could meet with me?"
He was so confident yet so wrong that it gave me secondhand embarrassment. I was suddenly faced with a new conundrum, but as always, I didn't let myself get caught up in the little details.
"I see."
Since he already thinks this way, let's change tactics a little.
"So you aren't a fool," I said.
"So you mean..." The man trailed off, staring at me.
I responded with a shrug. This guy was probably feeling me out too. It was obvious this was a ploy to get information out of me. If I played along with whatever he was accusing me of, he would take it as fact, but if I denied it, he would be able to eliminate at least one theory. In fact, it didn't hurt this guy to take all the shots in the dark he wanted, just to see what landed.
So I'll make sure he misses.
Soon, I opened my mouth. "Yes, there is something I want from you."
When I thought about it, this wasn't a bad place to be. I wasn't just saying that; there were some things that I wanted that only a GM could get.
"In that case, you could have contacted me discreetly."
Oh, that...
"That's no fun," I replied vaguely.
He once again cooked up his own interpretation. "...I don't know, it seems to me that you only did that to intimidate me."
Well, you can think whatever you want.
I got back to the point. "So, are you not going to ask?"
"...About what?"
"What I want from you."
He stared at me in silence for a moment, then sighed. "All right. Let's hear it. What is it that you want from me?"
I answered after a short pause. "Lift the ban on Baekho Lee."
If there was something I wanted that I really needed the GM's power for, this would be it. If Baekho came back to the community, we could talk. I also needed to dig up information on my cat whom he was temporarily fostering.
But it seemed he'd anticipated this request. "I see, so this is what you were after." Surprisingly, the GM was unshaken. Well, it wasn't unusual for players to form factions based on nationality. "Then was it Baekho who told you my identity?"
He was a funny guy. What would I gain from that?
"The thought makes me shudder because it means you knew me well enough to pull something like that."
It was a ridiculous leap to make, but there was nothing to gain by saying so out loud so I decided to stop this line of questioning here. "...I'm sure you didn't call me to talk about that."
"Are you avoiding an answer?"
Avoiding? Well, I can't tell him the truth.
"Think whatever you wish."
"I will."
"So, the reason you called me here."
When I took the reins and steered the conversation where I wanted it to go, the GM smirked. "What a weird question. You were the one who called me."
Huh? Where did that come from?
I fell silent in response to this strange plot twist, and he was happy to talk to himself. "I have no idea how you found out my real name. But wasn't the reason you told Soul Queen so that you could meet with me?"
He was so confident yet so wrong that it gave me secondhand embarrassment. I was suddenly faced with a new conundrum, but as always, I didn't let myself get caught up in the little details.
"I see."
Since he already thinks this way, let's change tactics a little.
"So you aren't a fool," I said.
"So you mean..." The man trailed off, staring at me.
I responded with a shrug. This guy was probably feeling me out too. It was obvious this was a ploy to get information out of me. If I played along with whatever he was accusing me of, he would take it as fact, but if I denied it, he would be able to eliminate at least one theory. In fact, it didn't hurt this guy to take all the shots in the dark he wanted, just to see what landed.
So I'll make sure he misses.
Soon, I opened my mouth. "Yes, there is something I want from you."
When I thought about it, this wasn't a bad place to be. I wasn't just saying that; there were some things that I wanted that only a GM could get.
"In that case, you could have contacted me discreetly."
Oh, that...
"That's no fun," I replied vaguely.
He once again cooked up his own interpretation. "...I don't know, it seems to me that you only did that to intimidate me."
Well, you can think whatever you want.
I got back to the point. "So, are you not going to ask?"
"...About what?"
"What I want from you."
He stared at me in silence for a moment, then sighed. "All right. Let's hear it. What is it that you want from me?"
I answered after a short pause. "Lift the ban on Baekho Lee."
If there was something I wanted that I really needed the GM's power for, this would be it. If Baekho came back to the community, we could talk. I also needed to dig up information on my cat whom he was temporarily fostering.
But it seemed he'd anticipated this request. "I see, so this is what you were after." Surprisingly, the GM was unshaken. Well, it wasn't unusual for players to form factions based on nationality. "Then was it Baekho who told you my identity?"
He already seemed convinced Baekho and I were in cahoots, so there was no reason for me to confirm or deny. "Who knows?"
"What... are you two planning?"
"Well, there's no reason I can't answer that..."
"...Really?" He looked dumbfounded. It seemed he hadn't expected me to actually answer his question.
Jeez, you have to let people finish their sentences.
"If you bring me something worthwhile."
The GM frowned. "Are... you talking about an interesting piece of information?"
So, Soul Queen told you about that, too.
When I maintained my silence instead of refuting him, the guy tapped his knee with his index finger. "Hahaha..." Then, suddenly, he started to laugh like a deflated balloon.
What the—? That's scary.
"I guess you are quite confident in yourself, huh?" This cold question was a complete one-eighty from the amiable, polite tone he was using earlier.
"I wouldn't say I'm not."
"I'm very similar."
"Does that mean you refuse my terms?"
He answered without hesitation. "Yes. There is no reason for me to share my information in a one-sided exchange just because you demand it. If you want the ban on Baekho Lee lifted, you bring me something worthwhile." The GM got up from his seat and immediately looked at me in a way that told me he intended to have the last word in this conversation.
Hmm, well, I'm glad he gave me time to throw in my two cents.
"How unfortunate," I said with sincere disappointment. "To think you thought I was making a deal."
The guy tilted his head at my words.
Don't pretend like you don't understand what I mean. Even if you've been pretending not to be, you've been scared of me from the get-go.
"Your tone of voice has changed a lot since last time."
This guy had maintained a polite attitude despite my rudeness.
"...I don't know, it seems to me that you only did that to intimidate me."
He felt noticeably threatened by my actions.
"In that case, you could have contacted me discreetly."
And rather than voicing his anger at the things I'd done, he first expressed disappointment instead.
"I'll give you three months," I said.
"...Are you threatening me right now?" I neither confirmed nor denied that. As always, the interpretation was up to the listener. Soon, he said, "...Even Baekho Lee couldn't touch me."
Wow. You know, if you say it in such a small voice like that, it only looks like you're trying to give yourself a pep talk.
Anyway, there were a few things I had to set straight. "Actually, I seem to recall you almost died at his hands. Do I look as soft as him?" He didn't answer. "Remember. Three months. After that, I'll go find you myself."
It was now my turn to stand up.
***
"Whew... I feel much better here."
Leaving the chatroom and returning to my bedroom, I collapsed on the bed. This was something I'd experienced countless times since first putting on the Lion mask, but it still drained me every time.
I didn't know things would play out like this.
Originally, I planned to meet up with the GM and ask him how much he knew about me, that kind of stuff. If possible, I'd bring up Baekho too. Yeah, that had been the original plan.
But to think he was that afraid of me.
Throughout the conversation, the plan changed. The Magic Engineer, Yurven Havellion, now had an unknown, powerful man who knew his identity. It seemed that had served to cause the GM considerable anxiety, and being able to pick up on that quickly worked to my advantage.
Still, even though his identity was exposed, he didn't seem wary of the palace.
As I slowly replayed our conversation, a question that hadn't occurred to me earlier came to mind. If I spilled the fact that he was an evil spirit to the palace, I could guarantee the GM's downfall without even having to lift a finger against him. So why did he only seem concerned about direct threats?
Does he have someone in the palace who can sweep the issue of him being an evil spirit under the rug?
If so, I wanted to share that person.
...That couldn't be possible, though, right? Even the end of our conversation is bothering me...
I recalled the request he made of me before leaving the chat.
"Password. Don't say anything about the password."
It was a rather off-putting exchange. What about the password? Seeing as he was bringing it up, I figured it had to have some kind of significance. I kept quiet because I couldn't figure it out, which apparently was answer enough for him.
"Perhaps you don't have anything to do with him, then... Sorry for keeping you. I'll see you again soon."
Man, that just made me more uneasy. The password, 0720... What was the GM trying to find out from me with those numbers?
He already seemed convinced Baekho and I were in cahoots, so there was no reason for me to confirm or deny. "Who knows?"
"What... are you two planning?"
"Well, there's no reason I can't answer that..."
"...Really?" He looked dumbfounded. It seemed he hadn't expected me to actually answer his question.
Jeez, you have to let people finish their sentences.
"If you bring me something worthwhile."
The GM frowned. "Are... you talking about an interesting piece of information?"
So, Soul Queen told you about that, too.
When I maintained my silence instead of refuting him, the guy tapped his knee with his index finger. "Hahaha..." Then, suddenly, he started to laugh like a deflated balloon.
What the—? That's scary.
"I guess you are quite confident in yourself, huh?" This cold question was a complete one-eighty from the amiable, polite tone he was using earlier.
"I wouldn't say I'm not."
"I'm very similar."
"Does that mean you refuse my terms?"
He answered without hesitation. "Yes. There is no reason for me to share my information in a one-sided exchange just because you demand it. If you want the ban on Baekho Lee lifted, you bring me something worthwhile." The GM got up from his seat and immediately looked at me in a way that told me he intended to have the last word in this conversation.
Hmm, well, I'm glad he gave me time to throw in my two cents.
"How unfortunate," I said with sincere disappointment. "To think you thought I was making a deal."
The guy tilted his head at my words.
Don't pretend like you don't understand what I mean. Even if you've been pretending not to be, you've been scared of me from the get-go.
"Your tone of voice has changed a lot since last time."
This guy had maintained a polite attitude despite my rudeness.
"...I don't know, it seems to me that you only did that to intimidate me."
He felt noticeably threatened by my actions.
"In that case, you could have contacted me discreetly."
And rather than voicing his anger at the things I'd done, he first expressed disappointment instead.
"I'll give you three months," I said.
"...Are you threatening me right now?" I neither confirmed nor denied that. As always, the interpretation was up to the listener. Soon, he said, "...Even Baekho Lee couldn't touch me."
Wow. You know, if you say it in such a small voice like that, it only looks like you're trying to give yourself a pep talk.
Anyway, there were a few things I had to set straight. "Actually, I seem to recall you almost died at his hands. Do I look as soft as him?" He didn't answer. "Remember. Three months. After that, I'll go find you myself."
It was now my turn to stand up.
***
"Whew... I feel much better here."
Leaving the chatroom and returning to my bedroom, I collapsed on the bed. This was something I'd experienced countless times since first putting on the Lion mask, but it still drained me every time.
I didn't know things would play out like this.
Originally, I planned to meet up with the GM and ask him how much he knew about me, that kind of stuff. If possible, I'd bring up Baekho too. Yeah, that had been the original plan.
But to think he was that afraid of me.
Throughout the conversation, the plan changed. The Magic Engineer, Yurven Havellion, now had an unknown, powerful man who knew his identity. It seemed that had served to cause the GM considerable anxiety, and being able to pick up on that quickly worked to my advantage.
Still, even though his identity was exposed, he didn't seem wary of the palace.
As I slowly replayed our conversation, a question that hadn't occurred to me earlier came to mind. If I spilled the fact that he was an evil spirit to the palace, I could guarantee the GM's downfall without even having to lift a finger against him. So why did he only seem concerned about direct threats?
Does he have someone in the palace who can sweep the issue of him being an evil spirit under the rug?
If so, I wanted to share that person.
...That couldn't be possible, though, right? Even the end of our conversation is bothering me...
I recalled the request he made of me before leaving the chat.
"Password. Don't say anything about the password."
It was a rather off-putting exchange. What about the password? Seeing as he was bringing it up, I figured it had to have some kind of significance. I kept quiet because I couldn't figure it out, which apparently was answer enough for him.
"Perhaps you don't have anything to do with him, then... Sorry for keeping you. I'll see you again soon."
Man, that just made me more uneasy. The password, 0720... What was the GM trying to find out from me with those numbers?