Secrets Flow (1)

After sending the first letter, I received an email from Orchan confirming he’d gotten it. He said he’d believed exactly what Elon Busker told him—that it was a single-player game server. We exchanged several emails after that, agreeing to fight each other as fiercely as Changing wanted, and we swapped whatever information we each had. Of course, once the orcs reached the plains we were supposed to fight, so we stopped sending messages.

But after four full days with no attacks at all, Patrick grew curious and sent another email. There was no reply. He wondered if the orcs’ sudden inactivity was a feigned retreat meant to lure the humans out of the fortress. So he moved cautiously, first dispatching the cavalry. He impressed upon Baron Halitz, who would lead them, how critical their role was and begged him to stay safe at all costs.

Thus, even after riding out, Baron Halitz refrained from attacking first. He swept once around the orc encampment, carefully observing their reaction.

‘They really have lost their fighting spirit compared to the last battle. Could the Orc Lord truly be dead, just as the priests of Tablon said?’

As the cavalry circled the orcs, orc riders began gathering and riding out to meet them.

“We’ll draw the orc riders as far away as possible! Don’t hold back—use your throwing weapons first!”

Baron Halitz led the orc riders far into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the distance. Once the mages confirmed the riders were gone, they began filing out of the fortress gates. At Patrick’s suggestion they rode in carriages, and the sight of mages right behind them filled the soldiers with tremendous courage.

Just as cavalry and orc riders were natural counters, when the mages stepped forward the orcs responded with their shamans. In an instant, fireballs and multicolored elemental spells flew from both sides. At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first the two forces seemed evenly matched, but as time passed the orcs gradually began to lose ground. The most skilled shamans had left for the Valley of Origin to break the Orc Lord’s curse.

With the numerical difference, the moment the orc mages faltered the human side seized total dominance. Spells began raining down on the orcs holding the front line.

As flame magic slammed into the orcs, their once-sturdy battle line began to collapse. Soldiers pressed the advantage, widening the breach. On top of that, Jinwoo handed incendiary bottles to the avian Uba and the catfolk Oso, who hurled them from the front lines. The path forward opened even more smoothly.

The infantry commanders had only meant to test the enemy’s resistance in the opening clash, but once the line gave way so easily they rode the momentum and pushed deep.

“Krrgh! Don’t fall back! Target the mages! Send word for the orc riders to return at once!”

As they began losing ground due to the mages’ superior firepower, the goblin Maksha raged and shouted encouragement. But without the Orc Lord as their rallying point, the orcs’ morale could not be restored. The orc riders hurried back, yet the front line had already been completely overrun. Worse, human cavalry now trailed behind the returning riders, looking for openings. The orc riders found themselves trapped between infantry and cavalry, their greatest strength—mobility—rendered useless.

“Hey! You can’t stop the carriages here! Keep moving forward! The mages must stay right behind the infantry!”

The carriage carrying five mages had halted. Jinwoo ordered his mercenary brothers to force it onward. He believed the mages had to stay aggressive if they were to overcome their numerical disadvantage.

‘The orcs clearly outnumber us two to one, yet they show no will to fight at all.’

Watching the orcs crumble with almost no resistance, Jinwoo urged the soldiers forward. Marquis Marcel, observing from the ramparts, made his final decision.

“Send out every last soldier in the fortress! Push them with everything we have!”

With every spear-bearing man committed, the orcs—who had been holding thanks to sheer numbers—began to collapse. The orc riders, who could see the overall battle, were the first to turn tail. That allowed the cavalry to charge. Once the orc formation shattered under the cavalry assault, the orcs scattered in every direction.

After that, it was simply a hunt.

The ferocious orc warriors who had once crushed humans were gone. Reduced to starving stragglers wandering in search of food, they could only run. The cavalry’s pursuit lasted half a day. When the exhausted horses finally returned, triumphant cheers of “Alliance forever!” erupted across the battlefield.

Marquis Marcel publicly announced that the Orc Lord was dead, just as the priests of Tablon had claimed. He declared that the war between the Horde and the Alliance had ended in victory for humanity.

Patrick waited until the battlefield cleanup was mostly finished, then logged out and woke inside his capsule. He immediately sat down at his computer and checked his email. There was nothing from Orchan. He sent a message asking what had happened. The reply came back almost instantly.

“What? That’s definitely the address we’ve been using. How can it not exist?”

Refusing to believe it, he began searching for information on Orchan. As a pro gamer with some name recognition in Australia and New Zealand, a few details came up, including links to personal social media accounts. But every single one had been deleted or locked.

He wanted to fly to Australia immediately to check in person, but he had to log in every day. After much pleading, he finally managed to contact Orchan’s family.

“My brother had an accident while playing the game a few days ago. He injured his head.”

“His head?”

“Yes. After the head injury he developed infantile regression and was admitted to a hospital in New Zealand.”

“Infantile regression? Please tell me which hospital. And did anyone from Changing come?”

“Yes. Staff members arrived that same evening and helped with everything. The hospital is…”

Patrick jotted down the hospital contact information while his mind raced.

‘There’s definitely something wrong with the game.’

Just days earlier they had been exchanging normal emails. The idea that Orchan had suddenly been hospitalized in a psychiatric ward with infantile regression was impossible to believe. He wondered if the Tablon purification magic circle had somehow caused it, but the notion that something that happened inside the game could affect the real world was absurd.

After agonizing over it, Patrick went looking for the hardware lead Yasuke Yamashiki instead of his usual handler. Even though they were in the same division, he couldn’t meet Yasuke right away and had to wait. The entire development team was already on high alert.

Yasuke Yamashiki’s words made Elon Busker and the military officers realize the gravity of the situation. If a method to forcibly sever the connection became known, the consequences would be catastrophic.

“We must first determine exactly how they are cutting the connection. We were already planning to call Patrick in, and it seems he already understands the seriousness and came on his own.”

“Then why haven’t you brought him in yet?”

“We haven’t decided how much to reveal to him. Patrick still believes this is just a game. We would have to tell him he has been physically transferred to another world. Can he accept what he has done so easily?”

Because Patrick had spent his time as a public official deciding the life and death of not dozens or hundreds, but tens of thousands, the question was whether he could accept the truth.

“Then how about revealing everything to all the users at once?” Major General Michael suggested. No one spoke. It would be the same as officially announcing internally that they had gone to another world.

“While negotiating with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tablon church this time, I realized one thing. In the end, numbers are what matter. We only have four soldiers. It’s not enough.”

“So you intend to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tell all the users and place them under the command of the U.S. Department of Defense? Some of the users aren’t even American.”

Yasuke Yamashiki showed the user list, pointing out nationalities from Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and others.

“We will give them a single clear objective. We will ask them to help unseal God Busker so he can open the Gate.”

“Let’s do that. We’ll persuade them by promising not only financial gain but also honor once the connection to the other world is established through the Gate. And if persuasion fails, we will simply deal with them inside the game.”

When Elon Busker agreed with the Department of Defense’s opinion, the others could not object.

“Attach a military psychiatrist to Patrick and have him undergo counseling regarding everything he did while serving as a public official. We will also manage the mental health of the others once the truth about the other world is revealed.”

“Prepare to relocate everyone’s residences so they can be managed within the United States. From now on, all connections will be made at Changing headquarters. Bring Patrick in.”

While Patrick reeled in shock upon learning the truth about the other world, there were others elsewhere who were equally stunned.

“Is this really true? You’re saying this isn’t some game or movie plot, but an actual ongoing experiment?”

Kerinov, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), glared at Deputy Director Amoski, who had brought the absurd report.

“You used the Black Spider to obtain this nonsense? Twelve years of effort to plant her at the heart of the Pentagon, and you wasted her on this drivel?”

Kerinov felt like pulling the pistol from his coat and blowing Amoski’s head off right there.

“I also thought it was a counter-intelligence trap when the Spider delivered it. But after checking through multiple channels, it appears to be genuine.”

“Genuine? You think this makes any sense? Another world? Sending astral bodies to Mars by mistake and ending up in a new world—do you honestly believe this has any basis in reality? Are you still drunk from last night?”

Intimidated by Kerinov’s sharp gaze, Amoski swallowed hard and opened the attached documents.

“It is real, sir. We confirmed it by tracking the deaths of experiment participants and kidnapping the person investigating those deaths. A woman named Susan from a gaming addiction association reported it to the FBI. The agent in charge was transferred to the Department of Defense and entered the Pentagon.”

After Amoski emphasized that multiple verifications had been made, Kerinov began to wonder if there might actually be something to it.

“Fine. Let’s assume for now that it’s true. The Yankees are leaving Earth and going to another world. Then we should be able to go the same way, yes?”

“Yes. The report indicates that Elon Busker of Changing Group is leading the project. We must make contact with him.”

“Elon Busker, huh… Instead of Mars, a new world. Wasn’t he already on our recruitment list?”

“Correct. He once said that if we could fix his legs, he would hand over the entire Changing Group.”

“How could we fix legs that can’t be fixed? Gather information through anyone at Changing involved in the project, and find out whether we can reach this new world as well.”

“Understood. We will also release some of this information to our contacts in China and Britain.”

“Good. When the Chinese stir things up in America, Britain will demand the technology from its ally. That should make it easier for us to obtain it. Begin the operation.”

“What? I have to live in the United States now?”

The handler who came to the house explained that maintaining the testers’ secrecy had become difficult, so all testing would now be conducted at the U.S. headquarters.

“Every tester user from around the world will gather there. And once you go to headquarters, you will learn the enormous secret hidden within the game.”

The secretary spoke in a tone that suggested he was bestowing a great favor by revealing the game’s secret. Jinwoo almost shot back that he already knew, but held his tongue.

‘If I have to connect from headquarters together with the other users, my freedom of movement is going to be severely restricted.’