Chapter 93: Player (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93: Player (5)
"Did you properly collect the computer that was handed over to the police?"
"Yes, sir. I've erased all traces of it as well as its memory, so there won't be any news about it or anything like before."
The old man nodded at the woman's report and slowly read the paper on the desk, a document summarizing a man's life. It didn't take long for him to read the entire page. "He has strong bad luck, but that's all."
The woman nodded in agreement. The man's life had so many twists and turns that even that was an understatement, but other than that, there was nothing special about it. His workplace was normal, his academic background was normal, and his interpersonal relationships were normal. Everything about him was normal except for this game.
"I just don't understand."
That's what makes him seem even more special.
Auril Gavis' legacy, Dungeon and Stone, was a flop. This was a conclusion that had been reached after lengthy deliberation. No one disagreed that it captured that world better than any other work, but it was impossible to beat, which was why it had been scrapped five years ago.
"...But to think someone who has cleared it would show up at this point. Could it be that it wasn't a failure?"
The old man, who had been muttering, shook his head. Didn't everyone agree that even if someone managed to clear it, there was no guarantee that this project would produce better results than the others? His conviction was not wrong.
"However... I am a little curious how this turned out."
Then, the old man opened his laptop and entered the name of the only player to clear his legacy, which had been deemed impossible: Hansu Lee.
***
[Current GP: 139,000]
After selling information about the Lord of the First Floor and Skull Island, I did not sell anymore. There were two reasons for this. First, each case took more time than I had expected because the buyers were suspicious of me due to my lack of transaction history. They believed me after a few questions, and both bought the information, but it would be more correct to say that they trusted this community rather than me, since you couldn't reenter this place if you dared to scam someone and get kicked out.
The second reason was more important than time.
If I sell information all the time, I'm sure someone will notice.
As the saying went, an angular stone was bound to get hit by the chisel. No matter who it was from, I wanted to reduce the attention I attracted as much as possible. I didn't really need GP at the moment, anyway.
Ding!
Just then, a message arrived.
[From: Ghost Master]
I had seen this nickname a few times in notices. In other words, this was a message from the community moderator. My heart pounded like I'd been caught red-handed, but when I opened it, the message itself was nothing special.
[Elfnunna's transaction history now exceeds 10. EXP +10. Your member rank has been adjusted: Undead -> Goblin.]
It was an automatic notice that got sent out as your community rank went up. It was not like there was a significant benefit to having a higher rank, but there was nothing bad about it going up, since there were some rooms with rank restrictions.
Type.
I posted a question using the GP I had earned. The amount of GP I offered as compensation was ten thousand to one hundred thousand, showing a willingness to pay more for valuable information.
[Your Exchange request has been posted.]
After posting, I spent some time exploring the community in the same way I might surf the web. Looking at the jokes and humorous posts on the general bulletin board, I felt as if I had returned to the real world. It was in the middle of doing this that I learned the going rate of GP.
Two million stones for one hundred thousand points?
My current amount of GP was about 140,000.
Shit, then did I just earn 2.8 million stones by answering two questions?
This was jaw-dropping at first, but when I thought about it, this wasn't so implausible. It wasn't like the information I sold hadn't been valuable.
I can sit on a pile of money just by selling information here.
All of a sudden, I even wondered if there was a reason to go into the labyrinth anymore. However, to me, the act of exchanging GP for money still felt dangerous.
Let's not think weird thoughts. Let's not get greedy and instead just use this as a place to gather information.
Therefore, I set up a new iron rule and made up my mind. As I was looking around the rest of the community board, I heard another notification.
Ding!
When I checked the monitor, I saw a new message had arrived.
[Elfnunalove requested a one-on-one chat.]
Elfnunalove was an uncomfortable nickname for me, but I pressed "accept" without hesitation. There was only one thing they could be contacting me about.
I was worried, but someone showed up before the end of the day.
Finally, an information seller appeared.
***
I was in a library with an old-fashioned interior and was a little surprised when I smelled the faint scent of books.
It's very well decorated. How much did they spend on this?
This was on a whole other level from the vacant lot that was the background of the Freshmen Room, or the desolate field that became my base whenever I started a conversation. It must have cost a sizable amount of GP. However, I didn't think it was just an act of indulgence.
There's no doubt that this alone builds some level of trust...
After taking a brief look around, I spotted a white man and greeted him. "Hello."
"Hello. You are Elfnunna, correct? Take a seat." As soon as I sat down, the man immediately got to the point. "You want to know about a mage named Shernal Fergang, from the Tarutein School?"
"That's right." If I had only asked about the dimensional collapse phenomenon, it would have been difficult for me to discern whether the other person was lying or not. But if I asked about Shernal Fergang, that was a different story—as was evidenced here. "To be exact, I want to know more about what he's done recently."
"Hmm, is it because of the rumors about the dimensional collapse?"
The man immediately associated the name with the idea of dimensional collapse. The reliability of the information that followed further increased. So, I decided to be open with my questions. "Are those rumors true?"
The man asked for twenty thousand GP in exchange for an answer, and after I accepted, he continued talking. "If you're asking if those words came out of his mouth, yes, that's right. But if you're asking how true the rumors are... Actually, they're not."
[Your Exchange request has been posted.]
After posting, I spent some time exploring the community in the same way I might surf the web. Looking at the jokes and humorous posts on the general bulletin board, I felt as if I had returned to the real world. It was in the middle of doing this that I learned the going rate of GP.
Two million stones for one hundred thousand points?
My current amount of GP was about 140,000.
Shit, then did I just earn 2.8 million stones by answering two questions?
This was jaw-dropping at first, but when I thought about it, this wasn't so implausible. It wasn't like the information I sold hadn't been valuable.
I can sit on a pile of money just by selling information here.
All of a sudden, I even wondered if there was a reason to go into the labyrinth anymore. However, to me, the act of exchanging GP for money still felt dangerous.
Let's not think weird thoughts. Let's not get greedy and instead just use this as a place to gather information.
Therefore, I set up a new iron rule and made up my mind. As I was looking around the rest of the community board, I heard another notification.
Ding!
When I checked the monitor, I saw a new message had arrived.
[Elfnunalove requested a one-on-one chat.]
Elfnunalove was an uncomfortable nickname for me, but I pressed "accept" without hesitation. There was only one thing they could be contacting me about.
I was worried, but someone showed up before the end of the day.
Finally, an information seller appeared.
***
I was in a library with an old-fashioned interior and was a little surprised when I smelled the faint scent of books.
It's very well decorated. How much did they spend on this?
This was on a whole other level from the vacant lot that was the background of the Freshmen Room, or the desolate field that became my base whenever I started a conversation. It must have cost a sizable amount of GP. However, I didn't think it was just an act of indulgence.
There's no doubt that this alone builds some level of trust...
After taking a brief look around, I spotted a white man and greeted him. "Hello."
"Hello. You are Elfnunna, correct? Take a seat." As soon as I sat down, the man immediately got to the point. "You want to know about a mage named Shernal Fergang, from the Tarutein School?"
"That's right." If I had only asked about the dimensional collapse phenomenon, it would have been difficult for me to discern whether the other person was lying or not. But if I asked about Shernal Fergang, that was a different story—as was evidenced here. "To be exact, I want to know more about what he's done recently."
"Hmm, is it because of the rumors about the dimensional collapse?"
The man immediately associated the name with the idea of dimensional collapse. The reliability of the information that followed further increased. So, I decided to be open with my questions. "Are those rumors true?"
The man asked for twenty thousand GP in exchange for an answer, and after I accepted, he continued talking. "If you're asking if those words came out of his mouth, yes, that's right. But if you're asking how true the rumors are... Actually, they're not."
"What do you mean?"
The man took a moment to organize his thoughts, then said in a matter-of-fact tone, "It means that there won't be a dimensional collapse."
"What grounds do you have for saying that?"
"I'm afraid those grounds include high-ranking figures and political tensions..." To put it simply, he meant that this was information too valuable for twenty thousand GP.
"I'll pay twenty thousand GP more."
"If you want to know that much..." The man nodded and smoothly continued. "The Tarutein School focuses on the study of labyrinths, especially dimensional magic. And the master wanted to experiment."
"Experiment...?"
"I can't go into details, but it's not a dangerous experiment. There just needs to be fewer adventurers than usual in the labyrinth."
That was why the Tarutein School had spread a rumor from the mouth of one of its wizards into the city. They deemed that if rumors of a dimensional collapse went around, it would deter paranoid adventurers from entering.
"...Is it okay for you to just tell me all of this?"
"I'm not 'just' telling you, but selling it for GP." That confident response left me with nothing more to say. The man chuckled and continued. "What do I care about all of this in the first place? It's not like I'm the master of that school. Besides, sooner or later the royal family will post an official statement denying the rumors."
"...The royal family will?"
"What, do you think the Rafdonian royal family will sit still? Fewer adventurers entering means the mana stone supply will also decrease."
Hmm, that was true. After hearing the brief explanation that followed, everything made sense. The reasons he'd effortlessly provided were also convincing. It didn't seem like he was lying, either. When I said that I would complete the transaction here and send the remaining twenty thousand GP separately, the man shook his head.
"Come to think of it, it's all right. You seem to be a fan of theirs too."
Twenty thousand GP was four hundred thousand stones, but he was saying he wouldn't accept it just because I was a fan of a specific user? Although I just said thank you for now, curiosity blossomed inside of me. How long had this person been here? Five years? Ten? However long it had been, one thing was clear: he had established himself in this world firmly enough that four hundred thousand stones was nothing to him.
Which is probably why he knows information that I wasn't able to learn for days no matter how hard I tried.
Once again, I was determined not to forget where I came from. I didn't care which mode he had cleared—Times Fifteen, Times Twenty, Times Thirty, or Times One Hundred. This was not a game. It was a ruthless reality ruled by a savage provision that only the strong survived.
Little Balkan or not... I'm still just a newbie here.
I realized that compared to the road I'd walked thus far, I had a much longer way still left to go. But I wondered why—when only a moment ago I had been determined not to forget where I came from—I was now smirking.
This is fun.
The places that the man who'd bought the strategy for the Lord of the First Floor, the woman who wanted information on Skull Island, and the man standing in front of me would have reached over the years—it never once occurred to me that I couldn't get there myself.
***
It started as a black DOS screen. After a brief loading period, a beep sounded, and a log filled with the selected player's actions filled the monitor.
Beep, beep, beep!
The log's rules were simple. Only actions were recorded.
[The coming-of-age ceremony has been successfully completed.]
[New equipment has been equipped.]
[You have stepped on a goblin trap.]
Choosing a shield at the coming-of-age ceremony, a harrowing entrance into the labyrinth, stepping on a goblin trap, and crawling on the floor bleeding for hours, killing someone on the first day, becoming friends with an elf met by chance, and reaching the second floor on the first try with no weapon...
"Outrageous bastard."
The more he read the log, the more speechless the old man became. All the more so because this was a log in which only actions were recorded. Every action had a rationale. The old man, who had seen many player logs, could see the reasoning behind the decisions that Hansu must have made in the moment. He had to because they were the right choices. And so, Hansu took action like he was playing a game. It was truly amazing. How many players had made illogical decisions in the disconnect between the game and reality?
"...How many of them reached the second floor on the first try?"
"To my knowledge, 117 players."
That was quite a large number, but the old man was sure that of the 117 players, there was no one who'd had to deal with such bad starting conditions.
He's a fascinating one.
The old man, who continued scrolling down the journal, froze at one point.
[Vampire Duke Cambormere has been slain. EXP +5]
[Higher-class mutant bonus. EXP +1]
[Guardian kill bonus. EXP +3]
[The Essence of the Vampire Guardian is seeping into your...]
Before he knew it, the log on the screen had arrived at recent activity.
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 3 (New +1)
Physique: 155 (New +75)
Spirit: 90 (New +44)
Special Ability: 115 (New +85)
Item Level: 98 (New -104)
General Combat Power: 381.5 (New +204)
Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7, Vampire (Guardian) - Rank 5 (New)]
Character stats that would have been hard to believe even for a player of several years had all been attained just two months after waking up in an unfamiliar body. Of course, some luck must have played a role.
However, if it were possible to do all this through pure luck, there would have been at least one similar case before.
Statistics were like that. As sample sizes and data accumulated, the number of special cases decreased, and unclear information became solid facts. Surprisingly, the probabilities derived from this process had almost no margin of error, depending on how big the sample size was. In other words, the variable of luck was extremely insignificant in statistics.
However, there were some cases where the impossible became possible, like zero becoming one. An anomaly that existed beyond the realm of statistics, where even the reason for its existence could not be determined because there were simply no other samples for comparison.
Click, click.
The old man raised the player's Observe rank to maximum.
[An abnormal amount of progress has been made. The administrator will now be monitoring your character.]
He suddenly thought back to when everyone had agreed that this was a failure. The last words he had offered were, "I only judged the situation logically. Even if it's just one person throughout my entire life, if I can send them through to full completion, that would result in a higher potential."
Maybe he was right.
"What do you mean?"
The man took a moment to organize his thoughts, then said in a matter-of-fact tone, "It means that there won't be a dimensional collapse."
"What grounds do you have for saying that?"
"I'm afraid those grounds include high-ranking figures and political tensions..." To put it simply, he meant that this was information too valuable for twenty thousand GP.
"I'll pay twenty thousand GP more."
"If you want to know that much..." The man nodded and smoothly continued. "The Tarutein School focuses on the study of labyrinths, especially dimensional magic. And the master wanted to experiment."
"Experiment...?"
"I can't go into details, but it's not a dangerous experiment. There just needs to be fewer adventurers than usual in the labyrinth."
That was why the Tarutein School had spread a rumor from the mouth of one of its wizards into the city. They deemed that if rumors of a dimensional collapse went around, it would deter paranoid adventurers from entering.
"...Is it okay for you to just tell me all of this?"
"I'm not 'just' telling you, but selling it for GP." That confident response left me with nothing more to say. The man chuckled and continued. "What do I care about all of this in the first place? It's not like I'm the master of that school. Besides, sooner or later the royal family will post an official statement denying the rumors."
"...The royal family will?"
"What, do you think the Rafdonian royal family will sit still? Fewer adventurers entering means the mana stone supply will also decrease."
Hmm, that was true. After hearing the brief explanation that followed, everything made sense. The reasons he'd effortlessly provided were also convincing. It didn't seem like he was lying, either. When I said that I would complete the transaction here and send the remaining twenty thousand GP separately, the man shook his head.
"Come to think of it, it's all right. You seem to be a fan of theirs too."
Twenty thousand GP was four hundred thousand stones, but he was saying he wouldn't accept it just because I was a fan of a specific user? Although I just said thank you for now, curiosity blossomed inside of me. How long had this person been here? Five years? Ten? However long it had been, one thing was clear: he had established himself in this world firmly enough that four hundred thousand stones was nothing to him.
Which is probably why he knows information that I wasn't able to learn for days no matter how hard I tried.
Once again, I was determined not to forget where I came from. I didn't care which mode he had cleared—Times Fifteen, Times Twenty, Times Thirty, or Times One Hundred. This was not a game. It was a ruthless reality ruled by a savage provision that only the strong survived.
Little Balkan or not... I'm still just a newbie here.
I realized that compared to the road I'd walked thus far, I had a much longer way still left to go. But I wondered why—when only a moment ago I had been determined not to forget where I came from—I was now smirking.
This is fun.
The places that the man who'd bought the strategy for the Lord of the First Floor, the woman who wanted information on Skull Island, and the man standing in front of me would have reached over the years—it never once occurred to me that I couldn't get there myself.
***
It started as a black DOS screen. After a brief loading period, a beep sounded, and a log filled with the selected player's actions filled the monitor.
Beep, beep, beep!
The log's rules were simple. Only actions were recorded.
[The coming-of-age ceremony has been successfully completed.]
[New equipment has been equipped.]
[You have stepped on a goblin trap.]
Choosing a shield at the coming-of-age ceremony, a harrowing entrance into the labyrinth, stepping on a goblin trap, and crawling on the floor bleeding for hours, killing someone on the first day, becoming friends with an elf met by chance, and reaching the second floor on the first try with no weapon...
"Outrageous bastard."
The more he read the log, the more speechless the old man became. All the more so because this was a log in which only actions were recorded. Every action had a rationale. The old man, who had seen many player logs, could see the reasoning behind the decisions that Hansu must have made in the moment. He had to because they were the right choices. And so, Hansu took action like he was playing a game. It was truly amazing. How many players had made illogical decisions in the disconnect between the game and reality?
"...How many of them reached the second floor on the first try?"
"To my knowledge, 117 players."
That was quite a large number, but the old man was sure that of the 117 players, there was no one who'd had to deal with such bad starting conditions.
He's a fascinating one.
The old man, who continued scrolling down the journal, froze at one point.
[Vampire Duke Cambormere has been slain. EXP +5]
[Higher-class mutant bonus. EXP +1]
[Guardian kill bonus. EXP +3]
[The Essence of the Vampire Guardian is seeping into your...]
Before he knew it, the log on the screen had arrived at recent activity.
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 3 (New +1)
Physique: 155 (New +75)
Spirit: 90 (New +44)
Special Ability: 115 (New +85)
Item Level: 98 (New -104)
General Combat Power: 381.5 (New +204)
Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7, Vampire (Guardian) - Rank 5 (New)]
Character stats that would have been hard to believe even for a player of several years had all been attained just two months after waking up in an unfamiliar body. Of course, some luck must have played a role.
However, if it were possible to do all this through pure luck, there would have been at least one similar case before.
Statistics were like that. As sample sizes and data accumulated, the number of special cases decreased, and unclear information became solid facts. Surprisingly, the probabilities derived from this process had almost no margin of error, depending on how big the sample size was. In other words, the variable of luck was extremely insignificant in statistics.
However, there were some cases where the impossible became possible, like zero becoming one. An anomaly that existed beyond the realm of statistics, where even the reason for its existence could not be determined because there were simply no other samples for comparison.
Click, click.
The old man raised the player's Observe rank to maximum.
[An abnormal amount of progress has been made. The administrator will now be monitoring your character.]
He suddenly thought back to when everyone had agreed that this was a failure. The last words he had offered were, "I only judged the situation logically. Even if it's just one person throughout my entire life, if I can send them through to full completion, that would result in a higher potential."
Maybe he was right.