Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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Evening time.
Near the academy, in a one-room apartment.
The room was packed with "Dark Knight" merchandise like bromides and figurines.
It was Isia's place.
She had enrolled with a "Gold" rating, which entitled her to free dorm access, but she turned it down.
It was because she'd been bullied since childhood for not speaking, leaving her with a mild case of social anxiety.
Because of that, she immersed herself more in the cyber world than reality.
In the cyber world, Isia was the manager of a cafe with 300,000 members.
The cafe she ran was called "†Knight Order†".
It was the official(?) fan cafe for "Dark Knight".
Isia sat in front of her computer, digging through CCTV footage from across Seoul.
This was her daily routine.
She found "Dark Knight" videos faster than anyone else and uploaded them.
That's how her cafe gained popularity.
As a result, "†Knight Order†", a latecomer among fan cafes, had somehow climbed to the top spot.
That didn't mean Isia could view CCTV from every corner of Seoul.
She couldn't hack devices on internal networks without specific vulnerabilities.
When that happened, she went there in person to hack them.
"Meow. Meow."
'Lately, Dark Knight hasn't been showing up. Is he taking a break from activities?'
Isia felt depressed about "Dark Knight" halting his activities recently.
She recalled how, not long ago, "Darkness Jumper" had impersonated "Dark Knight".
Internet communities everywhere had torn him to shreds.
There was some supportive public opinion, but more than half the posts were full of hate.
'He must be pissed because of those trash bags...! He's the one who humbly cleans up the shadows, and they slander him like that!'
Isia pulled up the captured best posts from "Hero Korea" at the time.
Every single one was provocative content that hurt the hearts of "Dark Knight" fans.
She had screenshot them all back then, half-expecting they might come in handy someday, even though it tore her up inside.
She posted something on the cafe.
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[Why Dark Knight Video Uploads Are Delayed]
Hello.
This is the cafe manager.
The reason I, who's always brought Dark Knight info faster than anyone, hasn't posted anything lately is because Dark Knight himself hasn't been active at all.
In my view, it must be because of the indiscriminate hate during the impersonation incident—he probably felt disillusioned.
All the work he's done, and they bash him without a shred of evidence.
As one member of the Knights, I feel utterly heartbroken.
Below are the best posts from the largest domestic hero community at the time.
【Facts That Make Grand Delusion Dark Knight Fans Shut Up lol】
【Dark Knight Fans Are So Pitiful^^】
【Dark Knight Seems to Kill People Out of Inferiority Complex lolol】
【Let's Compile Dark Knight's Evil Deeds.txt】
【Dark Hero? X. Serial Killer? O】
Shouldn't we at least do a cheering event among ourselves? ^^
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Comments poured in right away.
When she, the cafe manager, posted, reactions came fast.
[Is that true ㅠㅠ Hero Korea, those rotten bastards,,]
[Hope he comes back soon.. Watching him take down villains felt so good]
[Can't understand why people hate on each other so much..]
Isia felt relieved knowing there were others who thought like her.
"Haa."
She sighed and resumed her CCTV search.
But then she spotted some unusual footage.
It was after "Darkness Jumper" had been taken down.
In an alley far from Seongsan Bridge.
Dark Knight entered.
And soon after, a man and a child emerged from the alley.
"Nyaat?!"
Isia's tail shot straight up.
She replayed the recording over and over.
The CCTV must have been in a perfect spot to avoid detection by "Dark Knight".
But that also meant his appearance in the footage was blurry.
'I-is this... Did I finally find Dark Knight?'
Until now, "Dark Knight" had always chosen spots without CCTV to avoid exposing his disguise.
'As a person, he had to slip up eventually!'
Around 180 cm tall, male.
The quality was so poor she couldn't make out his face or clothes clearly.
But the police or association would salivate over even this much info.
Isia copied the file first, then deleted all the relevant CCTV data.
She thought this info had to stay with her alone.
'I won't post it on the cafe either. Dark Knight is my prince alone.'
"Grrr."
Unknowingly, she let out a low purring growl.
Isia thought of her club junior she was meeting tomorrow, Shin Noda.
A bit rough around the edges, but with idol-like looks.
Even for a hardcore "Dark Knight" fan like her, he did stir her heart quite a bit.
'If only Dark Knight looked like that! With righteous conviction and that face... Kyaa!'
That night, the apartment owner got multiple complaints about "someone keeping a cat."
***
Evening time.
The three of us were sitting on the sofa, watching TV.
Laura looked up at me while watching a smartphone ad.
"Buy me a smartphone."
"Why? You don't even have anyone to contact."
"I'm bored when you guys go to school!"
Park Ha-yeon chimed in.
"Laura's 12, so yeah, it might be good for her to have a phone."
"Sure, whatever. It's not like I can't afford it."
"But why doesn't Laura go to school?"
Her sudden question threw me off.
I hadn't really thought about it.
'What do I say?'
After a moment's hesitation, I blurted out something plausible.
"Oh, Laura's parents live abroad normally, but they're staying in Korea temporarily. They'll take her back in a few months, so it's not worth enrolling her in school short-term."
"Oh, okay?"
"Right, Laura?"
"Y-yeah. That's it."
With both Laura and me agreeing, Park Ha-yeon didn't pry further.
It seemed like she'd just tossed out the question without much thought anyway.
The news came on TV.
[This morning, a mummy-like, emaciated corpse was found on a mountain in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Police suspect an ability user criminal and have launched an investigation.]
A familiar line.
Foreshadowing for a main event I'd seen countless times in the game.
In a month, a gate collapse would happen on that mountain.
Since it was a remote area, news spread late, and the situation escalated badly.
Endless monsters poured out.
Not enough heroes.
Nearby villagers got massacred without aid.
I remembered at least thousands dying.
Upper-rank Awakeners gathered late to suppress it, but the dead stayed dead.
Academy students got deployed later for mob cleanup.
That's where the protagonist shines big time in the story.
'I could wait till then, but is it right to let people die...?'
The gate's main monster was E-rank "Hell Ant".
Not tough for Awakeners, but unimaginable terror for civilians.
I'd seen the side story on clearing that gate, so I knew the details.
Gate rank D.
Monsters weak individually, but overwhelming in numbers.
Still, using the dungeon's gimmicks made the horde manageable.
Even without that, I was pushing past A-rank toward S.
Nothing scared me.
'Alright. Let's save them.'
The dilemma was whether to bring the kids.
Such safe combat experience wasn't common.
I was already worried Park Ha-yeon lacked experience since I skipped main story content.
After some thought, I decided.
I'd bring them.
'Park Ha-yeon, Isia, Laura.'
Isia was a character I needed to raise, and her skills helped with dungeon gimmicks.
'I'll suggest a weekend camping trip.'
Children's Day was coming up soon.
Luckily, it overlapped with the weekend, giving three full days off.
I had plans with Isia after school tomorrow, so I could mention it then.
The concern was if she'd refuse.
My bond with Isia was still shallow.
No guarantee she'd join a camping trip.
'Might as well invite the whole club? It's not a big group anyway.'
I thought about the club members.
The academy admitting them meant they had combat utility.
Mostly D-rank, but not worthless.
'For teaching Park Ha-yeon party play, it might even be better?'
I texted the club president, Lee Sang-hyeon, right away.
I'd cover all expenses, so how about camping?
Laura or Park Ha-yeon might complain, but since I was paying, they'd have nothing to say.
Come to think of it, they might even welcome it.
A reply came.
Sudden, but positive.
We'd discuss details in the clubroom tomorrow.