Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: ACT.22 To Survive (1)
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“We haven’t seen these before, right? You think it has something to do with that mission thing?”
“Damn it. They could at least tell us what they’re for. It feels wrong not to pick them up, but it’s a pain to collect them all. They’re even heavy. And since we all agreed not to proceed with the mission anymore, aren’t they just a nuisance?”
“So what are you going to do? Throw them away?”
“No, who said I’d throw them away? It’s just an expression… I have a feeling I’ll regret it later if I do, so I’m holding onto them.”
“Some people said they picked one up, found out it was nothing, and just left it behind.”
In their hands were yellowish, coin-like objects.
They were none other than tokens.
I glanced at them and, thinking it was a good opportunity, asked the twins.
“How many tokens have you two gathered?”
“Tokens?”
“What’s that…?”
“Are you talking about those coin-like things?”
Jo Min-ah tilted her head and pulled a token from her pocket.
“Aren’t those the things that sometimes drop when you kill a monster?”
“Yeah. We’ve been picking them up just in case, but…”
Jo Min-woo also took out a token he was carrying.
If they were picking them up as they appeared, they should have at least a few.
I nodded and continued.
“That’s them. How many do you have?”
“Not many. Five?”
A long way to go.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue at that.
But it was to be expected.
As long as they were operating as a party and not solo, the tokens would be split among them.
They’d have to kill that many more monsters, but with everyone focused on clearing the mission and not knowing what the tokens were for, they were being relatively neglected.
Even though those tokens were the most important thing in this chapter.
At least the twins, including Choi Yeon-soo, were only a party of three, so they had this many. Those who cleared the gate in parties of six or more probably had two at most.
“You should get tokens from the monsters attacking the residential area, too.”
“Oh, that’s right. I saw one drop earlier. Just one out of all those monsters, though.”
Of course.
The official way to obtain them was by dealing with monsters inside the gate.
The monsters attacking the residential area were merely an event.
The drop rate for the tokens was bound to be low.
“Collect more. About fifty.”
“What? Fifty of these?”
“You have to. If you want to survive and move on to the next stage. Things like this don’t just appear for no reason, do they?”
You have to collect tokens to survive.
Those words made everyone’s expression turn serious.
“…I guess they wouldn’t give these out for no reason, right? We never got them from killing monsters before.”
“That’s true. Since they started appearing with this new mission thing, it’s right to assume there’s something to them. Especially if you’re the one saying it, Oppa.”
“But, Hyung. The drop rate for these tokens is so low. How are we supposed to collect fifty?”
“You’ll manage if you keep at it.”
*Rattle.*
I took a pouch from my inventory and held it out.
When Jo Min-woo reached out as if to ask what it was and opened the pouch, dozens of gleaming tokens revealed themselves inside.
Jo Min-woo’s jaw dropped.
“Th-These are all tokens!? Hyung, you got all of these in just a few hours!?”
“I told you. It’s possible.”
Not just Jo Min-woo, but Jo Min-ah as well, stared at the pouch, speechless.
Deciding this was enough motivation, I took the pouch back and added.
“Of course, it’ll be tough to collect this many just by hunting the monsters attacking the residential area.”
“Does that mean we have to clear the gate? But we all agreed to only proceed up to the third stage…”
Jo Min-ah cautiously glanced around and lowered her voice.
An agreement made between the players, centered around the guild masters.
But I knew that agreement wouldn’t last long.
“Just carry on as usual. I’ll let you know when the time is right.”
When I spoke with a faint smile, the twins exchanged glances but nodded.
“By the way, Oppa, isn’t your phone ringing?”
“Hm?”
She was right.
I must not have noticed because I had it on silent mode.
The Red Zone’s influence should have knocked out most communications, but it was impressive that this one worked.
It seemed Jo Min-ah’s mana detection had improved considerably.
I checked the caller’s name and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
-You finally picked up. Do you know how many times I’ve called since yesterday?
Cha Eun-ha’s grumbling voice tickled my ear.
She must have called while I was transported to the other world.
Her signature mix of formal and informal speech was the same as ever.
“Something came up. The reception here isn’t great either.”
-Oh, right. The Red Zone? I think I heard something happened.
“You knew.”
-Well, I’ve been in regular contact with Min-hwa-unni.
“So, what’s up?”
-Oh, it’s nothing much. I just heard you went missing, so I called because I was worried…
“Worried?”
-…About the kids, the kids! They get all antsy when you disappear!
I shifted my gaze to the twins.
She wasn’t wrong.
-Anyway, my master said it would be best to let you know separately. About the situation here.
Cha Eun-ha and Jeon Do-jin had been given different orders and had gone to Busan.
The reason being that some unsavory movements had been detected there.
Even though she would have reported to Lee Min-hwa, the fact that Jeon Do-jin thought it best to tell me separately meant he must have sensed something.
-We’ve got a lead on a drug cartel from the West. They’re dealing a drug that works on players.
“…But you don’t have a positive ID yet?”
-They’re so meticulous… Whenever we try to investigate, all traces of them vanish, so it’s been a tricky situation.
It would be.
That drug cartel, which started its activities in Busan, wasn’t just about drug distribution.
It was the starting point of a huge vortex, joining hands with various other factions to completely ruin the region of Korea.
“When you get information and try to start an operation, does the enemy somehow find out and disappear without a trace?”
-Uh, yeah. It’s been so annoying to keep missing them by a hair’s breadth.
“It’s probably pointless to look into people who entered Korea within the last two weeks. They would have smuggled themselves in. Instead, find the mole who’s colluding with the enemy. Don’t catch them, though. If you feed them false information, you can catch the others more easily.”
-Smuggled? Is there a way to cross the monster-infested sea?
“Planes are impossible, but the sea is another story.”
This incident was happening around the right time.
However, they shouldn’t have been as meticulous as Cha Eun-ha described.
It was clear that some variable had appeared on their end as well.
‘Pentagon Eagle.’
I recalled the letter I had forced Harrington to write.
It seemed the day to use it was not far off.
***
“It’s been a while.”
The Disaster of Verdure was dead, but Dongmyo Station was still overgrown with plants.
Previously, survivors from the Dongdaemun base had conducted regular patrols, so it felt like it had been touched by human hands, but now even that was gone.
Yet, there was one place.
A place that was different.
“Old Master Wang.”
Descending the dimly lit stairs, I arrived at a place exactly as I remembered it.
But there was no one at the counter, and no reply.
I had expected this, so I forced the door open and went inside.
“No, is that really true?”
“Ha, have you been deceived your whole life? I’m telling you, it’s real. Don’t you trust me?”
“Tsk, you have to trust someone trustworthy.”
“Haha, listen to this fellow’s mouth. I’m Wang Chun-bae. I’ve lived my entire life on trust.”
“You’ve lived a wasted life, then. A wasted life.”
As I reached the space where I had bought several items before, I heard someone talking from an open door on the right.
I checked inside through the crack in the door.
There was another old man talking with Old Master Wang.
“Anyway, with that Red Zone or whatever, I can’t live where I used to, so I’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Is that a request or a notification? What’s your game?”
“What does it matter? I used to stay over often when we were kids. Wasn’t your house my house, and my house your house?”
“That was when we were kids, more than sixty years ago, my friend! I can still picture you barging in without any regard for my family!”
“You didn’t have one.”
“You son of a bitch.”
‘As I thought.’
He was always here around this time.
Confirming the person I wanted to meet was here, I knocked lightly.
“Hm? Who is it?”
“Old Master Wang. It’s been a while.”
“Ah, you’re the one from back then…”
Fortunately, Old Master Wang recognized me and smiled faintly.
“So you’re still alive. Well, for someone who knows about this place, you must be no ordinary fellow.”
“I plan to keep surviving.”
“Indeed, you should. Are you making good use of the bracelet I gave you back then?”
“Still am.”
I rolled up my sleeve to show him the Hwarang’s Bracelet.
Old Master Wang nodded, looking satisfied.
After our brief conversation, I shifted my gaze to the person behind Old Master Wang.
He, too, was exactly as I remembered.
The Great Master’s master.
In terms of skill alone, he was superior to the Great Master, a truly supreme being.
‘He said he evacuated here around this time.’
Very few people knew that the Great Master had a master.
Sojuk Im Deok-hwan.
I had met him a few times while playing the game, but I had never gotten a custom order from him.
The reason was simple.
“No.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“I can tell by your eyes. You’re thinking of asking me to craft some equipment, aren’t you? I’m not interested.”
He had quit being a blacksmith.
I had once chanced upon and used a few pieces of equipment he had made before he quit.
They were truly outstanding.
So much so that they could be compared to the work of a blacksmith who had received the divine power of Hephaestus, the god of smithing, who was far away in Greece.
“Sorry, but I don’t do this work anymore. It’s no use no matter what you say, so go back.”
“It’s just as he says. If you try to offer a lot of money, you’ll just get a thunderous scolding, so give it up.”
Old Master Wang laughed heartily and waved his hand.
Instead of answering, I opened my inventory.
Im Deok-hwan showed his discomfort with an ‘I knew it’ look.
“Didn’t you hear what this fellow just said? No matter what you offer, I have no intention of taking on a commission…”
“No.”
I remembered what Im Deok-hwan had said in the game.
That if there was something that could reignite the extinguished flame in his heart, he might pick up his hammer again.
What that something was.
I knew all too well.
“You have no choice but to accept this commission.”
“Ahem. Even though I said it’s no use…?”
Upon seeing the Blacksteel, Im Deok-hwan froze completely.
His gaze was fixed solely on the Blacksteel.
His trembling hand slowly reached out for it.
“Y-You… where did you get this?”
His lips, which had been mumbling for a while, barely parted, and his nostrils flared.
“I’ve never seen an ore like this. It’s impossible. In my entire life, this is the first time I’ve seen such an unbelievable ore!”
As expected of the Great Master’s master.
To recognize the value of an ore he’d never seen before with just a brief look and examination.
Old Master Wang, who was next to him, also widened his eyes and kept exclaiming in admiration.
‘Of course it’s his first time.’
It was an ore that didn’t exist on Earth at all.
An ore that could only be obtained by crossing into another dimension.
Just as he said, it was ‘unbelievable’ for this ore to exist on Earth.
“With this, with this, it might be possible…!”
Im Deok-hwan, who had been speaking excitedly, looked at me, paused for a moment, and then cleared his throat.
“Ahem… what is it. You. You’ve got something interesting there.”
“I think it’s a fascinating item, too. But… since you’re not interested, Old Master, I suppose there’s nothing to be done.”
As I feigned resignation and went to put the Blacksteel back in my inventory, a hand urgently grabbed my arm.
It was, without a doubt, Im Deok-hwan’s hand.
I slowly raised the corners of my mouth.