The Emergency Meeting (1)
Pfft.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing Strawberry Latte speak his mind so candidly was just plain funny.
Well, we were close enough that we could talk to each other like this.
His blunt way of speaking hasn't changed a bit.
Even after being transmigrated into a bleak dark fantasy world, seeing him remain completely unchanged brought a strange sense of relief.
Still, it puts my mind at ease.
I had been so exhausted from constantly acting solemn, pretending to be strong, and swaggering around like any other Sword Master...
But now, letting go of the act for just a moment and behaving not as "Gaon" but as my true self, I finally felt like I could breathe.
Is this why people get so excited when they run into someone from their hometown in a foreign land?
Considering we met in a different dimension, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this was a "dimensionally different" level of joy.
Haha.
"No, but seriously, Hyung."
It was while I was lost in those silly thoughts.
Strawberry Latte looked at me and asked a question.
"I mean, how on earth did you pull all of this off in just a single month?"
Honestly, his reaction was completely natural.
After all, the achievements I had unlocked would have taken at least several months even if one were playing it as a game.
But now that Lost Elder had become reality, accomplishing all of this in a mere month was practically impossible.
Ah, of course...
...That was only the case for a "normal character."
"It's all thanks to a hidden skill."
Dumping all my points into a single stat to commemorate my 200th playthrough had been a stroke of genius.
If not for Soul of the Sword Master?
I could guarantee there would have been no dream, no hope.
I wouldn't have even survived against Barba, the Human Butcher, in the Underground Arena in the first place.
Hearing my answer, Strawberry Latte furrowed his brow slightly and asked back.
"A hidden skill? You mean that Soul of the Sword Master thing? What does that even do?"
"...I didn't explain it to you?"
"Aside from the fact that you got it by dumping all your points into swordsmanship talent, not really."
Ah, right.
Come to think of it, I had been transmigrated into the game right after sending him the photo of my monitor screen.
And after Strawberry Latte arrived, I was too busy sending other information within the message limit to explain my own situation.
It makes sense he wouldn't know.
Reaching that conclusion, I gave him a rough explanation of what Soul of the Sword Master did.
"Holy crap..."
After listening to my explanation, Strawberry Latte let out a low gasp of admiration.
"...That is seriously broken. No wonder it's classified as a 12-star Mythic-tier skill."
Tell me about it.
Honestly, even I thought it was an absurdly overpowered skill.
Though, to scrape by and survive in this bleak world, I suppose having at least this level of ability was a necessity.
"But... thinking about it, I don't think I could have done what you did, Hyung, even if I had that skill."
"Why?"
"I mean, who else could utilize a 0.01-second instant-kill skill so perfectly?"
Strawberry Latte continued.
"Who else but you could map out such a meticulous growth route with a glass cannon whose base stats average out to 1?"
"..."
"And even if someone did plan it out perfectly, they probably would have failed halfway through from a lack of guts and decisiveness."
Hearing that, I fell into silent contemplation.
Well, yeah...
I had to admit it.
It felt a bit awkward to say it myself, but no one else could have pulled off this plan.
Looking back at my journey so far, I had chosen to walk paths that were recklessly dangerous.
There were moments where a single mistake would have turned everything to ash.
Yet, the reason I was able to survive so stubbornly was due to the experience and knowledge I had accumulated over 200 playthroughs, far more than just the Soul of the Sword Master skill itself.
And as for having the guts and decisiveness... that was probably just thanks to the correction from my 'MAX' Willpower stat.
"Anyway,"
Strawberry Latte said, looking at me.
"Thanks to you, I'm alive. If it weren't for you, Hyung, I would have been dead meat."
"..."
"Thank you, really. I mean it."
I quietly looked back at him.
Although his body had undergone many changes after passing the ritual of the Defier of Fate, his pinkish hair remained the same.
A hair color that matched his username, Strawberry Latte, strangely well.
It was the character customization he insisted on every single time he played the game.
Yoon Jung-ho.
That was Strawberry Latte's real name.
A bookworm who graduated from a science high school, completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering at Yonsei University, and was currently pursuing his PhD at MIT.
A gamer who relieved his academic stress by playing Lost Elder in his spare time, only to suddenly end up ranking second on the Hall of Fame.
And now...
He was a companion to whom I could completely open my heart, in a world where I had felt entirely isolated.
"I'm grateful too."
"Huh? For what?"
"Well, I finally have a partner to share in all the upcoming misery. Thanks to you, my workload is going to lighten up a bit."
"Uh, wait..."
Strawberry Latte made a grimace.
"...Misery? What on earth is your next plan that you're saying stuff like that?"
I stared at him in silence.
Did he sense something ominous in my gaze?
Strawberry Latte flinched and asked back with an anxious look.
"Wait a minute. Why aren't you saying anything? What are you thinking..."
"Jung-ho."
Strawberry Latte—no, Yoon Jung-ho—blinked.
"You know the easiest way to progress through Lost Elder, right?"
"That's..."
After a brief hesitation, he answered.
"...Planting one of your own people in each of the major factions."
As expected of Strawberry Latte.
Living up to his rank-two status, he gave me the exact answer I wanted.
"Exactly. And I've already secured two factions."
"..."
Lea de Karayan of the Ruins Merchant Group.
And Adelia, Sikan Bauer, and Arwen of Midtemple.
They were all on my side.
"But I don't have a reliable person inside the Wintersield Magic Academy yet, do I?"
And lo and behold.
Coincidentally, the perfect candidate had just appeared right here.
Someone who was well-versed in mage characters, knew the entire storyline inside out, and could fully comprehend my actions.
And above all, someone who had walked an elite path since high school, dedicating himself to 'studying' and 'research'—a background that suited a magic academy better than anyone else.
"Jung-ho."
"..."
"I'm really sorry to ask this of you, but..."
Pat.
I placed a hand on Yoon Jung-ho's shoulder.
There was only one way to groom him into a core figure of the Wintersield Magic Academy.
"Go back to being a grad student here, too."
"WhatthefuckareyoutalkingaboutHyungIfinallyescapedbeingagradstudentbytransmigratingintoagameandjustfreedmyselffrombeingamagicacademyslavesowhyareyoutryingtomakemeaslaveagainallofasudden."
Hop, skip.
In the middle of the abyss, a dark corridor where not a single ray of light penetrated.
"Hmm~ hmm~"
Doricco Shiro hummed a tune as she skipped cheerfully down the hallway.
Soon, she entered a cavernous chamber and called out a bright greeting.
"Hey! Long time no—"
She froze.
Doricco Shiro had no choice but to lower her voice.
For some reason, the atmosphere in the room was unusually heavy.
Of course, the meetings of the round table were always held in a serious atmosphere, but this silence felt entirely different.
It was as if a stickier, more chilling tension was lingering in the air.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A room submerged in darkness.
Three figures sat silently around a circular table.
Though their outlines were faint, Doricco Shiro recognized them instantly.
Their silhouettes were far too distinct to mistake.
Among them, a knight clad in dark red armor turned around.
There was no head upon the knight's neck. In its place floated a pitch-black sphere.
A part of the sphere suddenly tore open.
A hideous mouth revealed itself, taking up the entirety of the space. Sharp, dark-red fangs protruded haphazardly from the grotesque slit.
"You are late."
"..."
"Take your seat, Doricco Shiro."
"...O-okay."
Doricco Shiro cautiously took her place in an empty chair.
Even for someone like her, who dealt with all kinds of horrific curses and bizarre rituals on a daily basis, that mysterious knight never failed to give her goosebumps.
The black sphere squirmed once more.
When speaking, a hideous mouth would tear open; when listening, a twisted ear would protrude from the side of the sphere.
When looking at someone, bloodshot eyeballs would pop out.
It was a chilling sight—sensory organs appearing and disappearing only when needed—and no matter how many times she saw it, she could never get used to it.
"Now that everyone seems to be gathered, let us begin the meeting."
The knight led the meeting on behalf of the group.
"I assume you all know why we have been summoned today?"
"Of course."
The woman sitting opposite answered in an alluring voice.
In place of hair, several tentacles could be seen writhing on her head.
"'They' have already told us. Camilo is dead, isn't he?"
"...Yes."
The knight nodded heavily.
His gaze drifted toward an empty seat at the round table.
Including Doricco Shiro, four people occupied the table, but one seat, engraved with a skull pattern, remained empty.
It was the seat where Camilo von Taribas used to sit at every gathering.
"Taribas's absence feels particularly hollow today."
"..."
"Though he has departed from our side, his art will remain in our memories forever."
Hearing those words, Doricco Shiro pouted and snorted.
Hmph! Art, my foot...!
Camilo von Taribas.
To Doricco Shiro, he was nothing more than a bizarre pervert.
That perverted Lich had invited her to his exhibition hall multiple times.
He had thought that, as a fellow necromancer, she would understand his "art."
"Since you are also an expert in handling the dead, surely you can properly appreciate my work?"
"...U-huh. I-it's cool. The best. Wow."
Naturally, Doricco Shiro had never once liked Camilo's art.
His works were merely grotesque and cruel.
I-I only pretended to like it because I was scared...
How could she possibly comprehend a mind that praised the dead and treated them as playthings?
To Doricco Shiro, necromancy was merely a means to an end.
In contrast, for Camilo, the corpses themselves were the objective.
...Honestly, Gaon's sword was way more artistic.
The strike she had witnessed that day in the Sky Ocean Forest.
Even as her consciousness was fading, she couldn't forget that beautiful slash that cut through both the Sea Moon Mother's spiritual body and the barrier at the same time.
It was a sight so beautiful that it was on a completely different level from the perverted Lich's disgusting art.
"Anyway,"
The tentacle-haired woman opposite her spoke up.
"Camilo's death is one thing... but why did you call this meeting?"
The knight replied.
"The gods have spoken."
"..."
"They say the 13th Sword Master, who slew our dear Lord Taribas, killed the Defier of Fate last night as well."
"What...?"
The other three flinched in shock.
The Defier of Fate.
A genius mage who had attained immortality solely through his own power.
None of the Five Nightmares were ignorant of his existence.
Even if they weren't close, immortals naturally had some degree of interaction with one another.
"I-if that's true..."
The third Nightmare, who had remained quiet until now, spoke up.
Trembling all over, he began to bite his nails anxiously.
"...I-is that bastard planning to hunt down all the immortals? Am I next? What do I do? If he killed Camilo and the Defier of Fate just a month apart, he must be insanely strong!"
"Calm down. That is precisely why I have gathered everyone here—to discuss our countermeasures."
After calming the coward, the knight turned his gaze toward Doricco Shiro.
Three bloodshot eyes and a long mouth popped out from his black sphere.
"Doricco Shiro, I heard you encountered the 13th Sword Master in the Sky Ocean Forest recently."
"...Uh-huh."
"Tell us what kind of person he is. You are the only one among us who has faced him directly."
"Uh, well..."
Doricco Shiro fell into thought for a moment.
The other three stared at her intently.
"I don't know? He seemed really nice and friendly."
"...?"
"For starters, we're best friends now! Hehe."
Silence fell over the meeting room.
Everyone stared at Doricco Shiro with expressions of utter bewilderment and disbelief.
Regardless, Doricco Shiro just giggled with a bright, innocent face.
"It would be so much fun if you guys became friends with him too! I'll introduce you later!"
"..."
"..."
"..."