Chapter 570: Closed Doors (4)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 570: Closed Doors (4)

In a strange world where you needed to hide the fact that you were an evil spirit to survive, there existed a haven where players could safely and anonymously communicate with each other.

But now, Ghost Busters was closing its doors.

The shockwave brought on by this announcement was like nothing I'd ever seen on the forums before.

[Don't shut down.]

Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open. Keep it open.

There were people throwing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tantrums in the message boards.

[GM, try to close the server. Try it.]

Won't matter when I'm dead.

Some making threats.

[GM and admin team: Please read.]

Hello. I am an ordinary person who fell into this world almost five years ago. Just like everyone else here, I have also had multiple brushes with death, and most of them were the result of choices I made.

There were times I wanted to just give up and let myself rest.

However, whenever I found myself feeling weak, the one thing that pulled me out of the darkness was the Ghost Busters community...

Some earnest posters trying to convince the admins to not shut the server down.

[GP refund request.]

I just made one, so when will it go through?

It's a lot of money for me. You're not going to scam us, right?

Some who cared more about their own losses rather than the loss of the community.

[My best guess as a veteran of twelve years as to why Ghost Busters is closing its doors.]

As everyone in the know will know, the GM has a secret connection to the royal family. The only reason this community was able to exist in the first place was thanks to the royal family letting it...

Some tried to make sense of what was happening and shared their theories, and so on. Every post on the page was about Ghost Busters shutting down, and I couldn't blame any of them.

Click, click.

I was also in shock and was reading through every post I could find on the topic. All the while, a single question burned in the back of my mind.

Why is the server shutting down?

Soon, though, my scroll through the board stopped. It was becoming painfully apparent that further reading wouldn't yield any relevant information. Ninety percent of the posts were rage and troll posts or otherwise incoherent ramblings.

Yeah, I'd be better off thinking through this myself. I probably knew more than these people did, anyway.

Hmm... I think the most likely explanation is that there's been some sort of an issue with the royal family.

That part was easy to deduce. I already knew for a fact that the GM and the royal family were working together. However, that wasn't the real problem here.

But why would the royal family suddenly try to close the server?

I couldn't understand their angle at all. Was there simply some sort of personal conflict between the GM and the royal family? That was definitely a possibility, but I figured there might be a different, more political, reason at play here too.

I sighed. "This is going to be a pain in the neck."

The shutting down of the forum was already an unfortunate piece of news, but what was even more upsetting was the timing.

"Why did it have to be while I'm stuck in the basement..."

If Ghost Busters disappeared, it would be impossible for me to hear about anything happening outside the labyrinth while I was in Basement Floor One. In other words, I would lose the ability to communicate with or sway the outside world in any way.

After spending a while longer mulling over potential explanations for the shutdown, I grabbed my mouse.

"Let's just ask."

Talking with the man himself would be much more productive than trying to figure this out on my own. I was different from the ordinary users who were stuck throwing tantrums in the comment section, after all.

I knew the GM's nickname.

[You have sent a private message request to Elfnunalove.]

It was a nickname that made me uncomfortable every time I saw it, but even so, I bit the bullet and sent a message request.

...Is he busy or something?

Despite waiting a while, a response never came. My request wasn't refused, but I didn't get a message asking me to hold on for a bit either.

Tsk, then I'll just keep waiting while I do other things...

I clicked over to the chat rooms.

[Long Live Korea's Independence - 2 people are online.]

All right, it seemed those two were already inside.

After sliding my cursor over the 'join' button, I took a breath to gather myself. Then—

"Oh! Brooo! You're here! Your younger brother is here to greet you!"

"Hansu, you saw the announcement, right? We were just talking about—"

Though I felt a little bad doing this to Hyeonbyeol right in the middle of her welcome, as soon as I entered the chat room, I glared at Baekho Lee and said, "Hyeonbyeol, could you step out for a second?"

"...What?"

"I need to talk to this bastard."

I wasn't here for a friendly tête-à-tête.

Hyeonbyeol stared at me for a moment, then left the chat room without another word. The ensuing silence was hesitantly broached by Baekho Lee.

"Bro... are you mad at me...?"

His innocent act was despicable. It wasn't like he was even scared of pissing me off. If he were the type of guy who could be intimidated, he wouldn't have gone around scheming behind my back in the first place.

"Hey, just what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, blunt as a rock to the head.

He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about, though. "Eh? Wait, bro... Calm down for a second... You need to tell me what this is about first..."

Okay, so you wanted to see how much I knew?

Well, I didn't have a reason to hide it. If the community was going to close after today, I likely wouldn't get a better opportunity to talk to this guy on neutral ground ever again.

"The Stone of Revival."

Just as with Missha, all I said was that, and it seemed that was all he needed to understand the situation he was in.

I sighed. "This is going to be a pain in the neck."

The shutting down of the forum was already an unfortunate piece of news, but what was even more upsetting was the timing.

"Why did it have to be while I'm stuck in the basement..."

If Ghost Busters disappeared, it would be impossible for me to hear about anything happening outside the labyrinth while I was in Basement Floor One. In other words, I would lose the ability to communicate with or sway the outside world in any way.

After spending a while longer mulling over potential explanations for the shutdown, I grabbed my mouse.

"Let's just ask."

Talking with the man himself would be much more productive than trying to figure this out on my own. I was different from the ordinary users who were stuck throwing tantrums in the comment section, after all.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I knew the GM's nickname.

[You have sent a private message request to Elfnunalove.]

It was a nickname that made me uncomfortable every time I saw it, but even so, I bit the bullet and sent a message request.

...Is he busy or something?

Despite waiting a while, a response never came. My request wasn't refused, but I didn't get a message asking me to hold on for a bit either.

Tsk, then I'll just keep waiting while I do other things...

I clicked over to the chat rooms.

[Long Live Korea's Independence - 2 people are online.]

All right, it seemed those two were already inside.

After sliding my cursor over the 'join' button, I took a breath to gather myself. Then—

"Oh! Brooo! You're here! Your younger brother is here to greet you!"

"Hansu, you saw the announcement, right? We were just talking about—"

Though I felt a little bad doing this to Hyeonbyeol right in the middle of her welcome, as soon as I entered the chat room, I glared at Baekho Lee and said, "Hyeonbyeol, could you step out for a second?"

"...What?"

"I need to talk to this bastard."

I wasn't here for a friendly tête-à-tête.

Hyeonbyeol stared at me for a moment, then left the chat room without another word. The ensuing silence was hesitantly broached by Baekho Lee.

"Bro... are you mad at me...?"

His innocent act was despicable. It wasn't like he was even scared of pissing me off. If he were the type of guy who could be intimidated, he wouldn't have gone around scheming behind my back in the first place.

"Hey, just what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, blunt as a rock to the head.

He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about, though. "Eh? Wait, bro... Calm down for a second... You need to tell me what this is about first..."

Okay, so you wanted to see how much I knew?

Well, I didn't have a reason to hide it. If the community was going to close after today, I likely wouldn't get a better opportunity to talk to this guy on neutral ground ever again.

"The Stone of Revival."

Just as with Missha, all I said was that, and it seemed that was all he needed to understand the situation he was in.

"Ah." Baekho Lee's expression changed in an instant. The look in his eyes shifted from worry at my anger to disappointment. "Looks like she failed." He let out a short sigh. "Did she tell you?"

I was reminded once again that this guy was really messed up in some fundamental way.

"Or did she just get caught?" he continued. "I mean... I didn't really trust her to pull it off in the first place—"

"Baekho Lee," I cut him off. If I had to sit here listening to him ramble on, I wouldn't be able to control myself. So, I clenched my jaw and spoke as calmly as I could. "Why did you do it?"

Why did you give Missha the Stone of Revival?

Baekho Lee tilted his head. "That's not like you, Big Bro." A slow smirk spread across his lips. "Don't you already know the answer?"

To be honest, he was right.

"Just answer the question," I pressed anyway. "Why did you do it?"

Finally, Baekho spoke. "Because you were frustrating me."

"...So you wanted to use the Stone of Revival on me?"

"Yes. You can't cut those people out of your life, so I was just trying to help you out. These relationships won't mean anything when we go home—you know that, right?"

A self-serving asshole who would use any method at his disposal to achieve his goals—that was Baekho Lee's true nature.

I didn't even need to ask about the rest of his plan. If I'd lost my memories, he would have approached me with a kind smile and called me "Big Bro."

However, letting my anger show here would mean losing.

"Really? Well, anyway, thanks," I said dismissively.

"...Huh?"

"For the Stone of Revival. It's a ridiculously rare item, and I ended up getting one for free. It must've taken you a lot of work to get your hands on, huh? I mean, it sucks that you didn't get to achieve your goal, but oh well," I mocked, making it clear that he wasn't going to get the stone back even if he begged me for it.

However, the response I got from him was completely different from the one I expected.

"Oh, really? Actually, I'd be grateful if you held onto it."

He wasn't just pretending not to be concerned. He was being genuine.

"You're not going to die, anyway," he explained. "You still need to clear the final floor and complete the 'wish' like you're destined to. Do you know why I gave the Stone of Revival to you even while knowing that?"

That was apparently a rhetorical question, as he didn't even give me a chance to respond before continuing.

"Getting brought back using the Stone of Revival would mean you still aren't dead. Which would mean you can still carry out what's written on the Records Stone, right?"

Put simply, a situation in which the Stone of Revival might end up getting used on me was a situation where I was genuinely in danger of dying.

"The events written about in the Records Stone are like a river. The water is flowing in a set direction and will reach its destination eventually, but anything could happen in between."

That was the reason Baekho Lee gave Missha the Stone of Revival and sent her back to me. The mere fact that the Stone of Revival was now in my proximity meant that the possibility of me actually needing it someday had become real. In other words, he'd changed the flow of the river to nudge me toward the path he wanted.

"Ah." Baekho Lee's expression changed in an instant. The look in his eyes shifted from worry at my anger to disappointment. "Looks like she failed." He let out a short sigh. "Did she tell you?"

I was reminded once again that this guy was really messed up in some fundamental way.

"Or did she just get caught?" he continued. "I mean... I didn't really trust her to pull it off in the first place—"

"Baekho Lee," I cut him off. If I had to sit here listening to him ramble on, I wouldn't be able to control myself. So, I clenched my jaw and spoke as calmly as I could. "Why did you do it?"

Why did you give Missha the Stone of Revival?

Baekho Lee tilted his head. "That's not like you, Big Bro." A slow smirk spread across his lips. "Don't you already know the answer?"

To be honest, he was right.

"Just answer the question," I pressed anyway. "Why did you do it?"

Finally, Baekho spoke. "Because you were frustrating me."

"...So you wanted to use the Stone of Revival on me?"

"Yes. You can't cut those people out of your life, so I was just trying to help you out. These relationships won't mean anything when we go home—you know that, right?"

A self-serving asshole who would use any method at his disposal to achieve his goals—that was Baekho Lee's true nature.

I didn't even need to ask about the rest of his plan. If I'd lost my memories, he would have approached me with a kind smile and called me "Big Bro."

However, letting my anger show here would mean losing.

"Really? Well, anyway, thanks," I said dismissively.

"...Huh?"

"For the Stone of Revival. It's a ridiculously rare item, and I ended up getting one for free. It must've taken you a lot of work to get your hands on, huh? I mean, it sucks that you didn't get to achieve your goal, but oh well," I mocked, making it clear that he wasn't going to get the stone back even if he begged me for it.

However, the response I got from him was completely different from the one I expected.

"Oh, really? Actually, I'd be grateful if you held onto it."

He wasn't just pretending not to be concerned. He was being genuine.

"You're not going to die, anyway," he explained. "You still need to clear the final floor and complete the 'wish' like you're destined to. Do you know why I gave the Stone of Revival to you even while knowing that?"

That was apparently a rhetorical question, as he didn't even give me a chance to respond before continuing.

"Getting brought back using the Stone of Revival would mean you still aren't dead. Which would mean you can still carry out what's written on the Records Stone, right?"

Put simply, a situation in which the Stone of Revival might end up getting used on me was a situation where I was genuinely in danger of dying.

"The events written about in the Records Stone are like a river. The water is flowing in a set direction and will reach its destination eventually, but anything could happen in between."

That was the reason Baekho Lee gave Missha the Stone of Revival and sent her back to me. The mere fact that the Stone of Revival was now in my proximity meant that the possibility of me actually needing it someday had become real. In other words, he'd changed the flow of the river to nudge me toward the path he wanted.

I was honestly amazed by how crafty he was, but I kept my expression carefully neutral and forced out a casual laugh.

"Baekho, aren't you being a little impulsive right now? I know you're upset your plan failed, but you didn't have to shoot yourself in the foot. Now that you told me all that, I'll just—"

"Nah, I know you, Big Bro. Even if you know my plan, you probably won't be able to get yourself to throw the Stone away—not when your allies could die at any time. I think I remember people mentioning you got really sad when some loser wizard died a few years back."

My vision went red as he crossed the line with that last bit, but I otherwise couldn't deny the truth in what he was saying.

He had hit the nail on the head.

Even with the penalty that they would lose their memories, I would use the Stone of Revival on my allies without hesitation if the situation ever presented itself. In fact, at that moment, I would be grateful that I was lucky enough to have one.

"Well, if you're still going to get rid of it, you can. It can't be helped. Plan B's going pretty well, anyway. By the way, what ended up happening with Missha Karlstein? If you figured out she had the Stone of Revival, you must be dying of betrayal right now. Oh, based on the look on your face, it looks like I'm spot on. Well, if you've completely shut her out, just give her back to me. Going out and finding another Ice Double Swordmaster to cultivate would be a pain in the neck. But hey, aren't you a hypocrite? You're constantly lying and manipulating people too, including Kitty. Does that lady barbarian know the truth about you yet? That you're an evil—"

I cut him off before he could get any further. "Shut up."

"...What?"

"Please, shut up. I really want to kill you right now."

I was willing to own up to it. If this was a situation where getting mad first meant losing, then I was the loser today.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to kill someone in this place, no matter how much you might want to. However...

"Wow, scary. But bro, calm down. I have a new offer for—"

"Baekho." I let his words flow in one ear and out the other, and then I said what I wanted to say. "Even if I tell you I never want to see you again, we're going to meet again at some point, right?"

"Uh... I guess?"

"When we do, I'll fulfill your wish."

"Eh? What do you mean...?"

What do you think? Aren't you always going on about it?

How much you want to leave this damned world.

"I'll see you then."

With that, I left the chat room.

The next time I blinked, I was back in Hansu Lee's room. It took me a while to calm down, and my first thought once the anger had passed was of Hyeonbyeol, who would have been waiting outside.

She must be really confused...

However, I didn't want to go back into the chat room and explain everything right now. I needed to recover some of the energy that the encounter had drained from me.

In a quiet place, by myself.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

I spent some time spaced out on my bed, feeling my mental battery recharge a bit. I thought back to the conversation I had with Baekho Lee and regretted a few things I'd left unsaid.

Then I sighed, got up from my bed like a zombie, and checked the chat room.

[Long Live Korea's Independence - 0 people are online.]

Hyeonbyeol wasn't in the room. She had probably waited around for a bit before getting bored and leaving.

I felt a little bad about that, but I let it go for now and checked my inbox. The message request I had sent to the GM still had no response.

I feel like I'm getting ghosted...

It wasn't like he was too busy to read a message.

However, I didn't let myself get too frustrated. When I left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the labyrinth, I could personally go look for the GM myself. Plus, even if I couldn't reach him right now, I still had a way of talking to an admin tonight.

Click, click.

When I clicked the link, a simple, familiar message appeared before my eyes.

[Welcome, Watcher.]

It was time for the final meeting of the Round Table.

I was honestly amazed by how crafty he was, but I kept my expression carefully neutral and forced out a casual laugh.

"Baekho, aren't you being a little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impulsive right now? I know you're upset your plan failed, but you didn't have to shoot yourself in the foot. Now that you told me all that, I'll just—"

"Nah, I know you, Big Bro. Even if you know my plan, you probably won't be able to get yourself to throw the Stone away—not when your allies could die at any time. I think I remember people mentioning you got really sad when some loser wizard died a few years back."

My vision went red as he crossed the line with that last bit, but I otherwise couldn't deny the truth in what he was saying.

He had hit the nail on the head.

Even with the penalty that they would lose their memories, I would use the Stone of Revival on my allies without hesitation if the situation ever presented itself. In fact, at that moment, I would be grateful that I was lucky enough to have one.

"Well, if you're still going to get rid of it, you can. It can't be helped. Plan B's going pretty well, anyway. By the way, what ended up happening with Missha Karlstein? If you figured out she had the Stone of Revival, you must be dying of betrayal right now. Oh, based on the look on your face, it looks like I'm spot on. Well, if you've completely shut her out, just give her back to me. Going out and finding another Ice Double Swordmaster to cultivate would be a pain in the neck. But hey, aren't you a hypocrite? You're constantly lying and manipulating people too, including Kitty. Does that lady barbarian know the truth about you yet? That you're an evil—"

I cut him off before he could get any further. "Shut up."

"...What?"

"Please, shut up. I really want to kill you right now."

I was willing to own up to it. If this was a situation where getting mad first meant losing, then I was the loser today.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to kill someone in this place, no matter how much you might want to. However...

"Wow, scary. But bro, calm down. I have a new offer for—"

"Baekho." I let his words flow in one ear and out the other, and then I said what I wanted to say. "Even if I tell you I never want to see you again, we're going to meet again at some point, right?"

"Uh... I guess?"

"When we do, I'll fulfill your wish."

"Eh? What do you mean...?"

What do you think? Aren't you always going on about it?

How much you want to leave this damned world.

"I'll see you then."

With that, I left the chat room.

The next time I blinked, I was back in Hansu Lee's room. It took me a while to calm down, and my first thought once the anger had passed was of Hyeonbyeol, who would have been waiting outside.

She must be really confused...

However, I didn't want to go back into the chat room and explain everything right now. I needed to recover some of the energy that the encounter had drained from me.

In a quiet place, by myself.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

I spent some time spaced out on my bed, feeling my mental battery recharge a bit. I thought back to the conversation I had with Baekho Lee and regretted a few things I'd left unsaid.

Then I sighed, got up from my bed like a zombie, and checked the chat room.

[Long Live Korea's Independence - 0 people are online.]

Hyeonbyeol wasn't in the room. She had probably waited around for a bit before getting bored and leaving.

I felt a little bad about that, but I let it go for now and checked my inbox. The message request I had sent to the GM still had no response.

I feel like I'm getting ghosted...

It wasn't like he was too busy to read a message.

However, I didn't let myself get too frustrated. When I left the labyrinth, I could personally go look for the GM myself. Plus, even if I couldn't reach him right now, I still had a way of talking to an admin tonight.

Click, click.

When I clicked the link, a simple, familiar message appeared before my eyes.

[Welcome, Watcher.]

It was time for the final meeting of the Round Table.