Chapter 502: Age of Exploration (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 502: Age of Exploration (3)
After Butterfly's turn, the Round Table continued.
"The person who made the modded version of Dungeon and Stone wasn't Auril Gavis."
Wolf's information was similar to last time, with the clear goal of trying to make the players hate Auril Gavis less.
"I wonder what you guys will think of this, pshehe. Noark was able to defeat the eighth floor's Lord of the Floor last month."
Clown was also able to easily get through his turn with information about Noark, which he was affiliated with.
Then it was finally my turn.
"If you defeat the boss of Skull Island and then go up to the tenth floor, you can trigger a special event."
Everyone's focus immediately honed in on me, wondering what I was going to say, but I quickly passed my turn with a random piece of information I had that wasn't all that important.
"...A special event. I'm excited to see what it is. Ah, of course, I guess the war will have to end before I can experience it for myself. Pshehe."
It had been a while since I'd last shared a piece of information about the game. The new members didn't find this strange at all, of course. For these players, game knowledge that got the green light could be extremely valuable in its own right.
"All right, guys, let's all do a bit better this time around." The members who had known me for a while now, however, were quick to react. They tried to encourage each other to share more important information this time since they assumed that the previous turn must have bored me.
"Then... I guess it's my turn again."
Again, we went around the room sharing information, starting with Queen. I listened and made an effort to commit it all to memory. There were some genuinely shocking and useful pieces of information shared, but I wasn't able to concentrate on any of them. And the reason was simple.
Missha Karlstein is a traitor. Not only that, but she's a traitor to me.
Those words echoed through my head on repeat. Before I knew it, the second round had ended, and we were almost near the end of the third round.
...What the hell did she mean by that? Missha is a traitor? I thought I'd worked everything out with her and things were finally looking up. Baekho Lee... is that bastard trying to do something? Was this what he meant by Plan B?
All kinds of possibilities cluttered up my head.
I need to hear more.
Butterfly was the one who shared that information. However, despite what I was hoping, she made no mention of Missha in the second or third rounds. If I wanted to hear more, then I'd have to be the one to take action.
"Pshehe, why are you all so surprised? Is Rafdonia that afraid of Noark's growth?"
How could I bring the topic up naturally? If I pressed for details on why she was a traitor, that would definitely raise suspicion. "Lion is Bjorn Yandel" rumors were already rampant at the Round Table. I had to carefully consider each and every move I—
Oh, it was already my turn. When I tuned back in, I realized that everyone was staring at me in complete silence.
...Let's just wait one more round.
I decided that if there was still no mention of Missha in the next round, then I would take action. For now, I threw out, "If you defeat the Lord of the Floor Heavenly Sky by yourself, you can acquire an active effect of your choice."
It was a difficult piece of information to acquire but one that didn't do you any good even if you knew it.
Shaaaaaa—
When a green light appeared, there was a moment of silence around the Round Table. Of course, it didn't last long.
"I-It's possible... to defeat a Lord of the Floor alone...?"
"Well, if you played the game on Times One Hundred mode... then I guess it might be?"
"Pshehe. Do you really think Mr. Lion would have played the game in a mode like that? Why do you think he shared that with us?"
Since it was information related to a Lord of the Floor, there were no objections. Honestly, even if I shared a piece of complete bullshit with them, as long as a green light appeared, they would all assume it had some greater, secret meaning.
Then is it Queen's turn again?
"I think I've heard everything worth hearing this month. I'll stop here and take my leave then." However, when I glanced at her, Queen suddenly announced she was leaving. And, unfortunately, it seemed the main reason was because of me. "...After all, even Mr. Lion looks bored."
It wasn't that I was bored, it was just that I was having trouble concentrating since my mind was elsewhere. And the reason I was sharing information about the game was because that way I wouldn't have to overthink what I shared.
"That's a shame... I really thought you'd be happy to hear about Noark defeating the Lord of the Floor. Pshehe..." Clown seemed to also be disappointed since he didn't receive any praise or attention from me despite doing his best to bring me a worthwhile piece of information this month. "Well... I guess this kind of information isn't anything special to Mr. Lion."
Clown seemed pretty depressed but promised to come back next month with even more interesting intel.
Man, I can't ask them to go another round with the mood like this.
So with that, the Round Table came to an end for the month.
***
The day after Ghostbusters, I awoke in the afternoon following a good night's sleep, and Versyl Gowland dropped by the house to see me.
"What's the matter?"
While I had a feeling I already knew why she was here, I feigned ignorance. Versyl asked to speak to me in private, saying she had urgent information for me.
"I... I don't know what this will sound like to you, but... I received some information alleging Missha Karlstein is a traitor."
I was right. The reason she ran over here to talk to me as soon as she woke up was this.
"A traitor?" I prompted.
"I don't know for sure if it's true. No, I am sure, but... I don't know the details."
Versyl then asked me to reconsider having Missha join our clan, but I flat-out refused. "I can't make a decision like that without knowing more."
"I see... That makes sense..."
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to simply ignore your concerns. I will do my best to look into it, but can you also try and find out more as well?"
"...All right. I'll look into it, then."
"Thanks."
Well, that settled that. At the next Round Table, she would put on her fox mask and work to dig up more info. Since I wouldn't have to ask myself, this would definitely lower the risk of my identity being exposed.
It was a difficult piece of information to acquire but one that didn't do you any good even if you knew it.
Shaaaaaa—
When a green light appeared, there was a moment of silence around the Round Table. Of course, it didn't last long.
"I-It's possible... to defeat a Lord of the Floor alone...?"
"Well, if you played the game on Times One Hundred mode... then I guess it might be?"
"Pshehe. Do you really think Mr. Lion would have played the game in a mode like that? Why do you think he shared that with us?"
Since it was information related to a Lord of the Floor, there were no objections. Honestly, even if I shared a piece of complete bullshit with them, as long as a green light appeared, they would all assume it had some greater, secret meaning.
Then is it Queen's turn again?
"I think I've heard everything worth hearing this month. I'll stop here and take my leave then." However, when I glanced at her, Queen suddenly announced she was leaving. And, unfortunately, it seemed the main reason was because of me. "...After all, even Mr. Lion looks bored."
It wasn't that I was bored, it was just that I was having trouble concentrating since my mind was elsewhere. And the reason I was sharing information about the game was because that way I wouldn't have to overthink what I shared.
"That's a shame... I really thought you'd be happy to hear about Noark defeating the Lord of the Floor. Pshehe..." Clown seemed to also be disappointed since he didn't receive any praise or attention from me despite doing his best to bring me a worthwhile piece of information this month. "Well... I guess this kind of information isn't anything special to Mr. Lion."
Clown seemed pretty depressed but promised to come back next month with even more interesting intel.
Man, I can't ask them to go another round with the mood like this.
So with that, the Round Table came to an end for the month.
***
The day after Ghostbusters, I awoke in the afternoon following a good night's sleep, and Versyl Gowland dropped by the house to see me.
"What's the matter?"
While I had a feeling I already knew why she was here, I feigned ignorance. Versyl asked to speak to me in private, saying she had urgent information for me.
"I... I don't know what this will sound like to you, but... I received some information alleging Missha Karlstein is a traitor."
I was right. The reason she ran over here to talk to me as soon as she woke up was this.
"A traitor?" I prompted.
"I don't know for sure if it's true. No, I am sure, but... I don't know the details."
Versyl then asked me to reconsider having Missha join our clan, but I flat-out refused. "I can't make a decision like that without knowing more."
"I see... That makes sense..."
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to simply ignore your concerns. I will do my best to look into it, but can you also try and find out more as well?"
"...All right. I'll look into it, then."
"Thanks."
Well, that settled that. At the next Round Table, she would put on her fox mask and work to dig up more info. Since I wouldn't have to ask myself, this would definitely lower the risk of my identity being exposed.
"I'll be heading out then. Contact me whenever you need me."
"All right."
Versyl left, and around evening time, a letter arrived at the house.
"Mister! You got a strange little letter," Erwen said, holding the mail she'd retrieved from the mailbox. "I think you should look at it!"
On the surface of the envelope was a drawing of a white tiger. The envelope had already been opened, and when I read the note inside, it was filled with letters and symbols that didn't exist in this world.
Here's what you asked for, bro.
Why the hell did he send it in Korean? What if someone else had seen it? Or worse, recognized the characters? Even though I was fuming, I still read through the letter's instructions on how to get outside the city walls.
...It's a more complicated process than I thought.
This much information was impossible to memorize in one go, so I decided to fold the letter and store it away in my sub-space instead.
It's nice to have options. After all, you never know what's going to happen. That's why you always need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. This is also why...
"Emily, can you look into Missha?"
"What do you mean?"
Afterward, I filled Amelia in on what happened at the Round Table and asked her to investigate.
"I'll try, but there's a good chance she'll eventually catch on. Even catching her the first time wasn't easy."
"That bad? I figured you would be much better than her at stealth, given the essences you have."
"If she did approach us with some sort of ulterior motive, then there's a high chance she's hiding an essence from us."
That gave me pause. "Don't get too close to her, then. Just keep an eye on her for the time being."
"Will do."
I let out a sigh. Even though she had set limits, now that Amelia was investigating Missha, we were sure to uncover the truth.
With that settled, I spent the rest of the day resting, then returned to my busy schedule the following morning. I stopped by the holy land again to sell plots of land and visited the former chieftain to hear how previous meetings among the heads of the races went. I also popped over to see Raven as well.
"Records Stone...? Do you mean the Fragment of Records Stone? The legacy of Gabrielius?"
"Both the Records Stone and its fragments. If you have a book or any other information about them, please tell me. It might attract you some unwanted attention, though, so don't look too much into it."
"All right, I'll keep that in mind. But Mr. Yandel, are your preparations for your next quest going smoothly...?"
"There've been no issues so far, but I guess you can never be sure until you head into the labyrinth."
"That's true. After all, nobody knows anything for sure until the expedition starts. But about Versyl Gowland... how is she?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think? Wizards play the most critical role in expeditions like this! Last time I saw her, it seemed that she didn't know much about history..."
"Well, that's all right. She's good at fighting, and she's trustworthy. So that's more than enough to make up for that."
"...Is that so?"
"I'll be heading out then. Contact me whenever you need me."
"All right."
Versyl left, and around evening time, a letter arrived at the house.
"Mister! You got a strange little letter," Erwen said, holding the mail she'd retrieved from the mailbox. "I think you should look at it!"
On the surface of the envelope was a drawing of a white tiger. The envelope had already been opened, and when I read the note inside, it was filled with letters and symbols that didn't exist in this world.
Here's what you asked for, bro.
Why the hell did he send it in Korean? What if someone else had seen it? Or worse, recognized the characters? Even though I was fuming, I still read through the letter's instructions on how to get outside the city walls.
...It's a more complicated process than I thought.
This much information was impossible to memorize in one go, so I decided to fold the letter and store it away in my sub-space instead.
It's nice to have options. After all, you never know what's going to happen. That's why you always need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. This is also why...
"Emily, can you look into Missha?"
"What do you mean?"
Afterward, I filled Amelia in on what happened at the Round Table and asked her to investigate.
"I'll try, but there's a good chance she'll eventually catch on. Even catching her the first time wasn't easy."
"That bad? I figured you would be much better than her at stealth, given the essences you have."
"If she did approach us with some sort of ulterior motive, then there's a high chance she's hiding an essence from us."
That gave me pause. "Don't get too close to her, then. Just keep an eye on her for the time being."
"Will do."
I let out a sigh. Even though she had set limits, now that Amelia was investigating Missha, we were sure to uncover the truth.
With that settled, I spent the rest of the day resting, then returned to my busy schedule the following morning. I stopped by the holy land again to sell plots of land and visited the former chieftain to hear how previous meetings among the heads of the races went. I also popped over to see Raven as well.
"Records Stone...? Do you mean the Fragment of Records Stone? The legacy of Gabrielius?"
"Both the Records Stone and its fragments. If you have a book or any other information about them, please tell me. It might attract you some unwanted attention, though, so don't look too much into it."
"All right, I'll keep that in mind. But Mr. Yandel, are your preparations for your next quest going smoothly...?"
"There've been no issues so far, but I guess you can never be sure until you head into the labyrinth."
"That's true. After all, nobody knows anything for sure until the expedition starts. But about Versyl Gowland... how is she?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think? Wizards play the most critical role in expeditions like this! Last time I saw her, it seemed that she didn't know much about history..."
"Well, that's all right. She's good at fighting, and she's trustworthy. So that's more than enough to make up for that."
"...Is that so?"
Following my meeting with Raven, whenever I had the time, I gathered my clan members three times a week. On the surface, the purpose of the meetings was to work out the bad blood between Missha and the other members before our quest this month.
"...I haven't found anything in particular yet."
After each one, I received constant reports from Amelia about her investigation, but thus far, she hadn't unearthed anything strange about Missha.
"...This is the most well-funded expedition I've ever been on."
Sometime later, Melbeth sent us supplies for our upcoming quest—a mix of combat and support scrolls, all sorts of potions, navigation-related Numbered Items, and more. The supplies were versatile enough to be useful regardless of whatever environment we might find ourselves in—whether we ended up hiking a mountain, traveling over water, or traversing through fire. On top of that, they were also of the highest quality.
This must have cost a lot of money...
It also gave us insight into just how high Melbeth's expectations were when it came to us finding information on this new hidden area. Still, though they were a bit overzealous, I was confident that we could live up to those expectations. As such, we continued to spend the days preparing for our quest.
"Bjorn..."
"Not Bjorn. It's 'Chieftain,' First Elder."
"Ah, because we're in the holy land! I'll keep that in mind."
The sun was starting to set as Ainar and I made our way down the forest path. Eventually, we came across a clearing full of dozens of young warriors with bright, excited expressions on their faces. At the sight of them, I couldn't help but smile. I then yelled out, "Congratulations, young warriors! As of today, you will leave the holy land and be reborn as true warriors!"
A quick scan of the crowd told me everything I needed to know.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
There were no newbies this time around.
***
Evolution was a constant, exponential process, and when looking at the entire history of humanity on Earth, the best example of this would be the Industrial Revolution. In just the past few hundred years, humanity enjoyed explosive growth and development. So then, what about the barbarians? When had the barbarians undergone their most radical period of development and evolution?
As of today, I could confidently answer.
Now.
Proof of that could be seen here in this field. Even the tutorial's script had drastically changed.
"Now, step forward one by one and choose the weapon, as well as the armor, that suits you."
Numerous weapons and pieces of armor lined the shelves of the armor stand. That, however, was only the beginning.
"Come here. You shouldn't put your gaiters on like that. Here, do it like this."
"Thank you... It's my first time ever putting them on."
Not only did we now provide them with a chest plate, but we also provided them other pieces of equipment as well, including a bag full of various basic supplies that were essential for any quest, including a compass, water bottle, and potions.
Roughly a million stones per person...
The amount of resources given to our young warriors had more than tripled, but that was no problem. After all, if we ever needed money, all we had to do was sell some more land.
With this level of support, they'll surely progress quickly and earn lots of money that they can spend on buying land.
We were still in the beginning stages, but at this rate, the self-sustaining cycle I'd been striving toward would soon be achieved.
"Ugh... It's so tight...!"
The young warriors seemed uncomfortable with the weight of their new armor, but they thankfully didn't try to act cocky or brag about how they didn't need it. That was all because they had a role model to look up to.
"Bear with it. You will get used to it in no time."
"But still—"
"It's not a choice! It's only natural for a warrior to wear armor! Just look at the chieftain! If you want to be a great warrior as well, you must wear armor!"
There were no longer any warriors in our tribe who refused to wear protection.
"...I'm going to save up and buy lithinum armor!"
Even the lithinum armor I tended to use had turned into the mark of a skilled and respected warrior.
"Now, go forth! To where your destiny awaits!"
After giving them their basic equipment I had Versyl, who was waiting outside the holy land, group them together with the Binding spell. After that, they all headed into the labyrinth.
"...I hope everyone comes back safe."
"Don't worry, Ainar. I'm sure there won't be nearly as many looters aiming for their hearts now that the Magic Tower labeled them a forbidden magical ingredient."
"That makes sense..."
Barbarians were the type to survive no matter the circumstances. With the support and supplies we gave them this time, all of them would definitely come back alive.
I hope they grow up fast so we can raise the price of land even higher.
Anyway, after confirming that all our young warriors had entered the portal, I got ready myself. I had officially fulfilled my role of Chieftain for the night.
"Mister..."
"It's not 'Mister.'"
"...What?"
"From here on out, call me 'Captain.'"
Now, it was time for our own quest to begin.
Following my meeting with Raven, whenever I had the time, I gathered my clan members three times a week. On the surface, the purpose of the meetings was to work out the bad blood between Missha and the other members before our quest this month.
"...I haven't found anything in particular yet."
After each one, I received constant reports from Amelia about her investigation, but thus far, she hadn't unearthed anything strange about Missha.
"...This is the most well-funded expedition I've ever been on."
Sometime later, Melbeth sent us supplies for our upcoming quest—a mix of combat and support scrolls, all sorts of potions, navigation-related Numbered Items, and more. The supplies were versatile enough to be useful regardless of whatever environment we might find ourselves in—whether we ended up hiking a mountain, traveling over water, or traversing through fire. On top of that, they were also of the highest quality.
This must have cost a lot of money...
It also gave us insight into just how high Melbeth's expectations were when it came to us finding information on this new hidden area. Still, though they were a bit overzealous, I was confident that we could live up to those expectations. As such, we continued to spend the days preparing for our quest.
"Bjorn..."
"Not Bjorn. It's 'Chieftain,' First Elder."
"Ah, because we're in the holy land! I'll keep that in mind."
The sun was starting to set as Ainar and I made our way down the forest path. Eventually, we came across a clearing full of dozens of young warriors with bright, excited expressions on their faces. At the sight of them, I couldn't help but smile. I then yelled out, "Congratulations, young warriors! As of today, you will leave the holy land and be reborn as true warriors!"
A quick scan of the crowd told me everything I needed to know.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
There were no newbies this time around.
***
Evolution was a constant, exponential process, and when looking at the entire history of humanity on Earth, the best example of this would be the Industrial Revolution. In just the past few hundred years, humanity enjoyed explosive growth and development. So then, what about the barbarians? When had the barbarians undergone their most radical period of development and evolution?
As of today, I could confidently answer.
Now.
Proof of that could be seen here in this field. Even the tutorial's script had drastically changed.
"Now, step forward one by one and choose the weapon, as well as the armor, that suits you."
Numerous weapons and pieces of armor lined the shelves of the armor stand. That, however, was only the beginning.
"Come here. You shouldn't put your gaiters on like that. Here, do it like this."
"Thank you... It's my first time ever putting them on."
Not only did we now provide them with a chest plate, but we also provided them other pieces of equipment as well, including a bag full of various basic supplies that were essential for any quest, including a compass, water bottle, and potions.
Roughly a million stones per person...
The amount of resources given to our young warriors had more than tripled, but that was no problem. After all, if we ever needed money, all we had to do was sell some more land.
With this level of support, they'll surely progress quickly and earn lots of money that they can spend on buying land.
We were still in the beginning stages, but at this rate, the self-sustaining cycle I'd been striving toward would soon be achieved.
"Ugh... It's so tight...!"
The young warriors seemed uncomfortable with the weight of their new armor, but they thankfully didn't try to act cocky or brag about how they didn't need it. That was all because they had a role model to look up to.
"Bear with it. You will get used to it in no time."
"But still—"
"It's not a choice! It's only natural for a warrior to wear armor! Just look at the chieftain! If you want to be a great warrior as well, you must wear armor!"
There were no longer any warriors in our tribe who refused to wear protection.
"...I'm going to save up and buy lithinum armor!"
Even the lithinum armor I tended to use had turned into the mark of a skilled and respected warrior.
"Now, go forth! To where your destiny awaits!"
After giving them their basic equipment I had Versyl, who was waiting outside the holy land, group them together with the Binding spell. After that, they all headed into the labyrinth.
"...I hope everyone comes back safe."
"Don't worry, Ainar. I'm sure there won't be nearly as many looters aiming for their hearts now that the Magic Tower labeled them a forbidden magical ingredient."
"That makes sense..."
Barbarians were the type to survive no matter the circumstances. With the support and supplies we gave them this time, all of them would definitely come back alive.
I hope they grow up fast so we can raise the price of land even higher.
Anyway, after confirming that all our young warriors had entered the portal, I got ready myself. I had officially fulfilled my role of Chieftain for the night.
"Mister..."
"It's not 'Mister.'"
"...What?"
"From here on out, call me 'Captain.'"
Now, it was time for our own quest to begin.