Chapter 382: Us (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 382: Us (1)
I didn't even think to wonder why he was there at first.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart pounded faster than when I had been fighting the Deep Sea Giant. It felt like an eight-ton truck had just crashed into the back of my head. I only came to my senses when he spoke.
"Wow, what the—did you really kill that by yourself?" Though I'd only conversed with him in that form a few times, that voice and that tone were things I could never forget.
Baekho Lee.
The moment I recognized that this was really happening, I realized there was an old man beside him—Fallen Scholar. For now, these were the only two I could see in the area.
He's working with Baekho now, even though they were fighting each other back then?
My mind was all jumbled up. Aside from the fact that they were apparently teammates now, why were they here? Could it be because of me? No, wait, what happened to Erwen and Amelia, who I left behind? I told them to stay put until I got back.
"How interesting. I've never heard talk of anyone like you around," Baekho said.
"Of course you have," Fallen Scholar interjected. "You remember the man who was a hot topic not too long ago, don't you?"
Baekho nodded. "Oh, right. Him. He does fit the description."
"We don't know for sure yet, though."
"Then we can find out now. Hey, are you that guy named Schuitz or whatever?" This was an incredibly rude way to kick off a first conversation, but I was rather relieved.
...So he didn't come looking for me. And that probably means... He's here for Atlante itself.
We had been keeping an eye out for the people who cleared the other Red Rock Island events. It must have been these guys.
Then that means this encounter is purely coincidental...
Just as I was thinking that, he said, "When are you going to answer?"
Ha, this rude son of a bitch.
"Why don't you reveal your identity first?"
At my question, he smiled like he liked my attitude. "Baekho Lee. You?"
"Probably the person you're thinking of."
"Wow, how interesting, running into a celebrity here."
"Celebrity?"
"I heard you fought four-on-one against those bastards from Noark? How could you not be famous when you seemingly appeared out of thin air? Not to mention that elf girl Blood Spirit is looking after you."
I didn't have anything in particular to say to refute that. The population of people in the labyrinth decreased exponentially as you went up. Once you got to even the seventh floor, most people knew each other. The appearance of a strange and powerful man whose name and face were unknown must have seemed odd.
"Wait, that means the girl is here too," said Fallen Scholar.
"Come to think of it, I don't see any wizards. Looks like we missed them while teleporting over here."
I once again breathed a sigh of relief at their conversation. If what they were saying was true, that meant Erwen and Amelia were safe.
"So, what's your business here?" I asked, walking in the direction of the essence. If a fight broke out, I planned to absorb this essence right away. Although the color was different than what I wanted, I figured it would come in handy for now.
Just then, Baekho spoke in a playful tone. "Stop right there. Don't touch the essence for now."
Essence?
This was a clue that would help me analyze the current situation. It seemed Baekho was here for the Deep Sea Giant's essence. Normally that would have been enough of an explanation for me, but my brain, working overtime on pure survival instinct, asked questions I would have otherwise overlooked.
Why come here to find one instead of the ninth floor where Deep Sea Giants appear in groups?
This gave way to one of two potential explanations.
"Come on, didn't you say you beat the game at Times Ten? In ten years, you'll be like me. Realistically, I have no more areas to improve..."
One: Despite his claims back then, Baekho's level wasn't actually that high. Two: He for some reason was not able to go to the ninth floor right now.
Tap.
I stopped walking toward the essence for now since I had no idea how that lunatic would react if I got any closer. But it wouldn't be good to come across as meek. "This is my loot."
At my slightly belligerent tone, Baekho raised his hands in a gesture for me to calm down. "Now, now. No need to be so sensitive. I only stopped you to see if we can make a deal."
"A deal?"
"What I need is that red essence over there. If you don't really need it, why don't we make a trade?"
To be honest, none of what he said really made sense to me. I ended up firing back, "Why would you bother making a trade?" As was evident from his rude attitude, Baekho considered me beneath him. Why was he still proposing a deal, leaving the easier way on the table?
Baekho's answer was completely unexpected. "So, what, should I kill you and steal it? To be honest, I'm annoyed about coming all this way for nothing... but it's not like you cheated or anything. Whining just because you got to it first would be trashy of me."
"...What if I refuse the deal?"
"Well? Then I'll be disappointed and come back next time."
This thought process was much too normal. It left me speechless, but looking back, I kind of got it. This guy's ultimate goal was to return to Earth, right? He probably followed some kind of personal code of his own, just as I had until now.
"Fine."
Surprisingly, the situation was proceeding more peacefully than I thought it would. In the worst-case scenario, I even considered the possibility of a melee. At this point, however, I didn't think things would get that far. The proposal of a trade wasn't bad for me, either.
"What will you give me in exchange for the essence?"
Baekho seemed to contemplate this for a moment before posting the item in the trade window. "Another essence of a Deep Sea Giant. I've been killing them regularly these days. I have blue and green—"
I immediately cut him off and answered, "I'll go with green." This was even more good news, at least for now.
"What, you wanted that one?"
"Green sells for a higher price on average. Besides, I can save on a test tube." Baekho nodded in acceptance at my answer and took out a test tube from his sub-space. "But how can I trust that comes from a Deep Sea Giant?"
"If I was going to scam you, I wouldn't have proposed a deal, would I?"
Jeez, don't glare at me just for being a little suspicious.
Just then, Baekho spoke in a playful tone. "Stop right there. Don't touch the essence for now."
Essence?
This was a clue that would help me analyze the current situation. It seemed Baekho was here for the Deep Sea Giant's essence. Normally that would have been enough of an explanation for me, but my brain, working overtime on pure survival instinct, asked questions I would have otherwise overlooked.
Why come here to find one instead of the ninth floor where Deep Sea Giants appear in groups?
This gave way to one of two potential explanations.
"Come on, didn't you say you beat the game at Times Ten? In ten years, you'll be like me. Realistically, I have no more areas to improve..."
One: Despite his claims back then, Baekho's level wasn't actually that high. Two: He for some reason was not able to go to the ninth floor right now.
Tap.
I stopped walking toward the essence for now since I had no idea how that lunatic would react if I got any closer. But it wouldn't be good to come across as meek. "This is my loot."
At my slightly belligerent tone, Baekho raised his hands in a gesture for me to calm down. "Now, now. No need to be so sensitive. I only stopped you to see if we can make a deal."
"A deal?"
"What I need is that red essence over there. If you don't really need it, why don't we make a trade?"
To be honest, none of what he said really made sense to me. I ended up firing back, "Why would you bother making a trade?" As was evident from his rude attitude, Baekho considered me beneath him. Why was he still proposing a deal, leaving the easier way on the table?
Baekho's answer was completely unexpected. "So, what, should I kill you and steal it? To be honest, I'm annoyed about coming all this way for nothing... but it's not like you cheated or anything. Whining just because you got to it first would be trashy of me."
"...What if I refuse the deal?"
"Well? Then I'll be disappointed and come back next time."
This thought process was much too normal. It left me speechless, but looking back, I kind of got it. This guy's ultimate goal was to return to Earth, right? He probably followed some kind of personal code of his own, just as I had until now.
"Fine."
Surprisingly, the situation was proceeding more peacefully than I thought it would. In the worst-case scenario, I even considered the possibility of a melee. At this point, however, I didn't think things would get that far. The proposal of a trade wasn't bad for me, either.
"What will you give me in exchange for the essence?"
Baekho seemed to contemplate this for a moment before posting the item in the trade window. "Another essence of a Deep Sea Giant. I've been killing them regularly these days. I have blue and green—"
I immediately cut him off and answered, "I'll go with green." This was even more good news, at least for now.
"What, you wanted that one?"
"Green sells for a higher price on average. Besides, I can save on a test tube." Baekho nodded in acceptance at my answer and took out a test tube from his sub-space. "But how can I trust that comes from a Deep Sea Giant?"
"If I was going to scam you, I wouldn't have proposed a deal, would I?"
Jeez, don't glare at me just for being a little suspicious.
"So, the deal? Are you going to accept it or not."
"...I'll trust you this once."
In response, Baekho tossed me the test tube. Throwing it was an act of disrespect I didn't quite abide by, but well, I still caught it.
"Now that you have what you want, can you get out of the way? This old man is too scared to go over there."
When I widened the distance between us, Fallen Scholar stepped forward to put the essence into a test tube. That concluded our trade.
So it wasn't for Baekho. Then is he planning on feeding it to a teammate?
As I was quietly pondering this, Baekho spoke to me. "Schuitz, was it?"
"That's correct."
"So uptight. Speak comfortably."
"This is comfortable to me."
"If you say so. Anyway, I want to ask you something, is that cool?" When I gestured with my eyes for him to go on, Baekho decided to be direct. "Are you Bjorn Yandel?"
This guy really doesn't have brakes, huh?
Thump!
My heart dropped, but I didn't show it. I reacted like I found the question ridiculous. "Why are you asking that?"
"Someone with an unrecognized name and face suddenly appears out of nowhere, and that elf girl is following that person around, calling him 'Mister?' I'm sure she's not a fool, so that's strange, no?"
It was sound logic. The members of the Round Table suspected me for the same reason as well.
"So, your answer?" Baekho glared daggers into me. It was obvious what he was doing.
He's using a lie detector ability. If I keep my mouth shut, he'll interpret that however he wants. He may even get aggressive.
I quickly got my thoughts in order. There were two contenders for Baekho's presumed lie detection skill. One gave you the ability to distinguish between true and false, and the other only identified lies. You may argue these were the same thing, but they were completely different because of the gift I had from Auril Gavis. If he had the latter ability and his skill didn't react to my words, he'd accept whatever I said as truth.
...I might even be able to figure out which essence he has.
It didn't take long to come to a decision. "I'm not Bjorn Yandel," I answered, my eyes locked on his.
Baekho chuckled. "Really? That's unfortunate."
Based on his voice and expression, he didn't seem to doubt me at all. Thanks to that, I was able to identify one of the many essences he must have taken. After all, if it were the first option, he wouldn't have been able to accept my statement so easily. It would only have been natural for him to question why something I said couldn't be categorized as either true or false.
Well, I expected this, seeing as he didn't doubt anything I said earlier, but this confirms it.
With this, I'd identified a way to gain an upper hand in conversations with Baekho. But I wasn't satisfied with that alone. "Can I ask you a question too?"
"Yeah, well, give and take. You can ask."
I immediately obtained a free pass to pose a question of my own. I took a moment to think it over.
"Aren't you going to ask?"
There were mountains of questions I wanted to ask.
When are you going to use the Stone of Revival you're rumored to have? How did you join forces with Fallen Scholar?
"So, the deal? Are you going to accept it or not."
"...I'll trust you this once."
In response, Baekho tossed me the test tube. Throwing it was an act of disrespect I didn't quite abide by, but well, I still caught it.
"Now that you have what you want, can you get out of the way? This old man is too scared to go over there."
When I widened the distance between us, Fallen Scholar stepped forward to put the essence into a test tube. That concluded our trade.
So it wasn't for Baekho. Then is he planning on feeding it to a teammate?
As I was quietly pondering this, Baekho spoke to me. "Schuitz, was it?"
"That's correct."
"So uptight. Speak comfortably."
"This is comfortable to me."
"If you say so. Anyway, I want to ask you something, is that cool?" When I gestured with my eyes for him to go on, Baekho decided to be direct. "Are you Bjorn Yandel?"
This guy really doesn't have brakes, huh?
Thump!
My heart dropped, but I didn't show it. I reacted like I found the question ridiculous. "Why are you asking that?"
"Someone with an unrecognized name and face suddenly appears out of nowhere, and that elf girl is following that person around, calling him 'Mister?' I'm sure she's not a fool, so that's strange, no?"
It was sound logic. The members of the Round Table suspected me for the same reason as well.
"So, your answer?" Baekho glared daggers into me. It was obvious what he was doing.
He's using a lie detector ability. If I keep my mouth shut, he'll interpret that however he wants. He may even get aggressive.
I quickly got my thoughts in order. There were two contenders for Baekho's presumed lie detection skill. One gave you the ability to distinguish between true and false, and the other only identified lies. You may argue these were the same thing, but they were completely different because of the gift I had from Auril Gavis. If he had the latter ability and his skill didn't react to my words, he'd accept whatever I said as truth.
...I might even be able to figure out which essence he has.
It didn't take long to come to a decision. "I'm not Bjorn Yandel," I answered, my eyes locked on his.
Baekho chuckled. "Really? That's unfortunate."
Based on his voice and expression, he didn't seem to doubt me at all. Thanks to that, I was able to identify one of the many essences he must have taken. After all, if it were the first option, he wouldn't have been able to accept my statement so easily. It would only have been natural for him to question why something I said couldn't be categorized as either true or false.
Well, I expected this, seeing as he didn't doubt anything I said earlier, but this confirms it.
With this, I'd identified a way to gain an upper hand in conversations with Baekho. But I wasn't satisfied with that alone. "Can I ask you a question too?"
"Yeah, well, give and take. You can ask."
I immediately obtained a free pass to pose a question of my own. I took a moment to think it over.
"Aren't you going to ask?"
There were mountains of questions I wanted to ask.
When are you going to use the Stone of Revival you're rumored to have? How did you join forces with Fallen Scholar?
And...
"That woman is now Baekho Lee's teammate."
Why did Clown say Missha is your teammate? Where is Missha? How the hell did you trick her?
I swallowed back the many questions I wanted to ask right now. The moment I did, he'd show an even greater interest in me than he already was. Now was not the time. After all, I had no idea how he'd react when I told him I was Hansu Lee. I still didn't know what kind of dots this guy was connecting.
"Baekho Lee," I called, and he chuckled at my best attempt at pronouncing his name as a local. "Since we're talking about Bjorn Yandel, let me ask this."
"What is it?"
"Why did you spread the rumor that Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?"
Baekho's mouth tightened ever so slightly. "You... You already knew who I was?"
"Of course. You're famous."
"Really? Well, anyone who's anyone seems to know me these days." Baekho was momentarily thrown off by my question but he didn't seem suspicious. "Anyway... I guess Blood Spirit managed to figure that out, huh? That I was the one who started that rumor."
"So, your answer?"
Baekho tapped a finger on his waist, mulling over my question.
"His comrades are coming."
Before he could say anything, however, Fallen Scholar spoke up, having finished storing the essence in a test tube. Baekho's expression shifted accordingly. "Really? Then I guess we have to bounce."
"Is there even a need for that?"
"It'd be annoying to run into them. Maybe not for me, but they'll definitely go after your guns a-blazing. Kitty said so herself: don't touch his former teammates."
"But how will she be able to find out what happens here?"
At Fallen Scholar's words, I reflexively gripped my hammer tighter.
Right at that moment, Baekho's chipper smile dropped and his cheerful voice went cold. "...Gramps, don't cross the line."
"...It was a joke. I'll use a Multi Teleportation spell."
While I was relieved about that, I was also enraged. "Kitty" had to refer to Missha. I was suddenly hit with a sense of loss I hadn't felt when I'd only been told Missha had become Baekho's teammate.
"Wait," I said, beating all my emotions down. "I want you to answer my question before you go."
"Oh, right. You asked why I started that rumor, right?" Baekho, who looked as if he had completely forgotten, shot Fallen Scholar a look. Fallen Scholar tutted and nodded his head.
For some reason that tutting sound gave me déjà vu. I felt like I'd been in this exact situation before. Why? Why did it seem familiar? The moment that thought came to mind, a magic circle formed around Fallen Scholar, emitting a blue light.
Shaaaaaa!
What's happening?
This turn of events was so sudden that it took me a while to figure out what was going on.
Is it an ambush?
Just as that possibility popped into my confused mind, Baekho proceeded to put on the most obvious act I'd ever seen. "Ah! What! Gramps! Don't turn on teleportation in the middle of a conversation! I can't answer him then! Schuitz, right? Sorry, I'll tell you the next time I see you. It's not because it's a hard question to answer, really. Okay? Okay—"
Flash!
Baekho's voice fizzled out and disappeared the moment the light flared. It was so ridiculous that I was rendered speechless.
Squeeze.
Right, I forgot he was Korean. It had been a while since I'd been played. Ever since I arrived in this world, I was always the one playing with someone else.
No, wait...
A thought belatedly occurred to me, and I quickly shattered the test tube.
[The Essence of the Deep Sea Giant is being absorbed into your soul.]
Fortunately, the essence was real.
***
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 7
Physique: 1,461.40 (New +231.01)
Spirit: 521.3 (New +78)
Special Ability: 1,807.65 (New +62.4)
Item Level: 8305
General Combat Power: 5866.60 (New +371.41)
Acquired Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Storm Gush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Gachabone - Rank 6 / Deep Sea Giant - Rank 3 (New)]
And...
"That woman is now Baekho Lee's teammate."
Why did Clown say Missha is your teammate? Where is Missha? How the hell did you trick her?
I swallowed back the many questions I wanted to ask right now. The moment I did, he'd show an even greater interest in me than he already was. Now was not the time. After all, I had no idea how he'd react when I told him I was Hansu Lee. I still didn't know what kind of dots this guy was connecting.
"Baekho Lee," I called, and he chuckled at my best attempt at pronouncing his name as a local. "Since we're talking about Bjorn Yandel, let me ask this."
"What is it?"
"Why did you spread the rumor that Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?"
Baekho's mouth tightened ever so slightly. "You... You already knew who I was?"
"Of course. You're famous."
"Really? Well, anyone who's anyone seems to know me these days." Baekho was momentarily thrown off by my question but he didn't seem suspicious. "Anyway... I guess Blood Spirit managed to figure that out, huh? That I was the one who started that rumor."
"So, your answer?"
Baekho tapped a finger on his waist, mulling over my question.
"His comrades are coming."
Before he could say anything, however, Fallen Scholar spoke up, having finished storing the essence in a test tube. Baekho's expression shifted accordingly. "Really? Then I guess we have to bounce."
"Is there even a need for that?"
"It'd be annoying to run into them. Maybe not for me, but they'll definitely go after your guns a-blazing. Kitty said so herself: don't touch his former teammates."
"But how will she be able to find out what happens here?"
At Fallen Scholar's words, I reflexively gripped my hammer tighter.
Right at that moment, Baekho's chipper smile dropped and his cheerful voice went cold. "...Gramps, don't cross the line."
"...It was a joke. I'll use a Multi Teleportation spell."
While I was relieved about that, I was also enraged. "Kitty" had to refer to Missha. I was suddenly hit with a sense of loss I hadn't felt when I'd only been told Missha had become Baekho's teammate.
"Wait," I said, beating all my emotions down. "I want you to answer my question before you go."
"Oh, right. You asked why I started that rumor, right?" Baekho, who looked as if he had completely forgotten, shot Fallen Scholar a look. Fallen Scholar tutted and nodded his head.
For some reason that tutting sound gave me déjà vu. I felt like I'd been in this exact situation before. Why? Why did it seem familiar? The moment that thought came to mind, a magic circle formed around Fallen Scholar, emitting a blue light.
Shaaaaaa!
What's happening?
This turn of events was so sudden that it took me a while to figure out what was going on.
Is it an ambush?
Just as that possibility popped into my confused mind, Baekho proceeded to put on the most obvious act I'd ever seen. "Ah! What! Gramps! Don't turn on teleportation in the middle of a conversation! I can't answer him then! Schuitz, right? Sorry, I'll tell you the next time I see you. It's not because it's a hard question to answer, really. Okay? Okay—"
Flash!
Baekho's voice fizzled out and disappeared the moment the light flared. It was so ridiculous that I was rendered speechless.
Squeeze.
Right, I forgot he was Korean. It had been a while since I'd been played. Ever since I arrived in this world, I was always the one playing with someone else.
No, wait...
A thought belatedly occurred to me, and I quickly shattered the test tube.
[The Essence of the Deep Sea Giant is being absorbed into your soul.]
Fortunately, the essence was real.
***
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 7
Physique: 1,461.40 (New +231.01)
Spirit: 521.3 (New +78)
Special Ability: 1,807.65 (New +62.4)
Item Level: 8305
General Combat Power: 5866.60 (New +371.41)
Acquired Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Storm Gush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Gachabone - Rank 6 / Deep Sea Giant - Rank 3 (New)]