The Time of Truth (1)
“The official doesn’t usually meet outsiders individually due to his busy schedule, but he agreed to see you right away, Mage. Please follow me.”
Though he hadn’t finished packing his house and belongings and still couldn’t leave for the United States, Jinwoo had already arrived in the fantasy world’s capital, Hayden. He had come to meet the official Patrick regarding his reward. Of course, having already learned through the letter delivery that Patrick was a user, he was also visiting to probe him further.
Once the attendant set down the tea and left the room, leaving the two of them alone, Patrick immediately stood up and extended his hand.
“You’re the Korean user, correct? I was quite surprised when I checked the list. I thought you weren’t a user after seeing how greedily you chased after money.”
Jinwoo shook his hand, though he had no idea what list Patrick was referring to.
“I’d heard rumors, but I never expected another user to be this close.”
Jinwoo already knew Patrick was a user from reading the letter, but he phrased it as if he’d only heard it from someone in charge. Fortunately, Patrick didn’t ask who had told him. He seemed to assume it was common knowledge.
“But why are you so obsessed with the money here when it’s completely useless?”
“Well, because if you melt the gold coins—”
Jinwoo stopped mid-sentence. Melting gold coins would turn them into real money back on Earth, so of course anyone would want them. Yet Patrick’s tone suggested he didn’t understand that at all.
Maybe… this guy doesn’t even know you can take gold coins back to Earth?
Jinwoo began to suspect that Patrick didn’t realize items could be carried through the inventory.
“You need gold to eat well around here. Imperial officials might always dine on fine cuisine, but mercenaries like us don’t have that luxury.”
“Ah, I see. Gourmet food is indeed a major part of the game.”
Patrick nodded in agreement.
“You keep saying ‘official.’ It just slips out.”
“Hahaha. Call me whatever’s comfortable.”
“Don’t you feel it more when you drink the beer here, Official? That craving for a cold can of beer from your inventory?”
“Kuhaha. I do miss a cold beer. It’d be nice if we could bring some over. It’s a shame there’s a limit to bringing Earth items here.”
“R-right…”
Jinwoo closed his mouth at Patrick’s words. He had tested the waters with the beer comment, expecting something like “Just bring it in your inventory!” Instead, he got talk of limits. Patrick seemed to think only of receiving items like the ones the early development team had sent, not realizing he could carry them himself.
Jinwoo considered explaining how the inventory worked, but decided to keep quiet for now. There was no need to speak first. Even after arriving in the U.S., he would only pretend to know what Patrick already knew.
If that’s the case, I shouldn’t pull out the Molotov cocktails either. What other Earth items do I have…
While talking with Patrick, Jinwoo mentally checked all the items he’d brought from Earth to make sure none slipped out unintentionally.
“Then I’ll issue the Empire’s tax-free pass under the name Jinu the Mage. No one will object if we say you earned great merit in the fight against the orcs.”
Patrick emphasized that he was granting the pass—a privilege normally never issued—solely because Jinwoo was a user.
“So when are you coming to the States? A few of us are already living together in the condo. Ah, of course, you were the first to arrive here in Hayden.”
“Haha. I can only go once the house sells. At the earliest, it’ll be next week. Let’s meet in person then.”
“In that case, we’ll have a cold beer together. The condo has a buffet restaurant and free drinks.”
Patrick described life in the condo, but it sounded less like freedom and more like a luxurious prison with invisible bars.
“The attendant mentioned another appointment, so let’s end things here for today. See you in the States.”
“Sounds good. See you later.”
As Jinwoo left the embassy, he realized the list containing user information had likely already been shared with the users gathered in America. Patrick had also spoken as if he knew this world wasn’t a game but reality. Jinwoo suspected the users already in the U.S. all knew the truth, so he needed to get there quickly to avoid missing any information.
He stopped by the Mercenary Guild and entrusted letters to the beastkin Uba and the catkin Osoro, who were sitting in a corner, unable to blend in with the humans.
“This letter goes to Baron Cotner of Count Shulman’s domain, and this one to the inn in front of the Green Dungeon in the same domain?”
“Yeah. Just deliver them. If there’s a reply, tell them to leave it there.”
“Then I’ll take the job.”
***
After arriving in LA, Jinwoo took another Changing Company plane to Sacramento and was guided to a five-story condo surrounded by an iron fence. Most of the surrounding houses also had fences, and the neatly maintained tennis courts and lawns suggested it was an affluent neighborhood. If not for the accompanying staff, he would have bought a gun in LA and come alone, but they never left him unsupervised—two bodyguards always followed.
“There are a lot of soldiers here. Are the guards military?”
Inside the condo’s fence, people wearing the distinctive blue-green U.S. military running shirts and sporting military-style haircuts were exercising. They looked unmistakably like soldiers.
“Hahaha. No, they’re not. They’re testers just like you.”
“What? Soldiers are testers?”
“Yes. I’d love to explain more, but my job ends here. For anything about life in the condo, ask Ail over there. Well then.”
The man named Ail was in his thirties or forties with a distinct bluish stubble, possibly of Latin American or Spanish descent.
“You’re wearing the translation earpiece, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. First, let me show you your quarters. Ah, your capsule is already being moved in. The default is to log in together in the shared space. Do you need it installed in your room?”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Glad to hear it. The friend from Japan insisted on having his in his room, so I had to check.”
The room Ail showed him was on the fourth floor—a clean 34-pyeong apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. Cleaning was available daily if desired, and meals could be ordered anytime from the chef on the first floor.
“This is basically a hotel.”
“Changing provides maximum support.”
“By the way, you mentioned the soldiers are testers. Were they testers from the start? I never heard about that.”
“Hmm. I can’t answer that. The only answers I can give are limited to life here in the condo. The mart is… walks are…”
Ail explained the facilities, mentioning that a chauffeured car was provided for trips outside the condo. As Jinwoo had suspected, it was indeed a high-end prison without bars.
He met Patrick from the game. In reality, Patrick looked like a tall, handsome college student in his twenties. He explained that he had joined Changing as a developer before becoming a tester, and from their conversation Jinwoo gathered that his transition had been sudden.
“But were there always this many soldiers among the testers? They don’t look like gamers at all.”
Patrick only smiled at the question and told Jinwoo to ask Elon Busker or Yasuke Yamashiki later, avoiding a direct answer. Jinwoo suspected that after users began dying in-game and suffering real-world fatalities, the military had hastily replaced them with soldiers.
***
“Since all the users except Aoyama from Japan have gathered, we’ll hold a meeting.”
A soldier who looked like Guile from Street Fighter stepped forward. His name was Polman. Jinwoo found his words strange. There were supposed to be twelve testers, yet only eight people were present. Even excluding the Japanese user Aoyama, there should have been eleven—three were missing. He wanted to ask why the numbers didn’t match, but held back for now.
“First, I should tell you that you all probably thought Cliché World was a single-player package game. That’s what Elon Busker told you. But it’s not.”
Jinwoo scanned the users’ faces at Polman’s words. Only one person looked surprised. The rest had already known there were other users besides themselves.
“Changing Company had no intention of deceiving anyone. They planned to run it like a single-player game at first, then switch to group play once players reached a certain level.”
“So it was a device to surprise the users.”
“Yes. Therefore, including Aoyama from Japan, nine of us will do party play together. The first party play objective is already set. We’ll proceed once we log in.”
The users entered the capsule equipment prepared across the entire second floor of the condo. Yasuke Yamashiki, who had customized Jinwoo’s personal equipment, was finishing work on his capsule.
“The missing tester, Aoyama, has also arrived in Hayden, so we’ll all be able to meet inside the game. Let’s gather at the inn near the Black Duck’s Nest by the north gate.”
***
Jinwoo had met Patrick in the game before, but today’s Patrick wore a cloak that covered half his face, making him hard to recognize. However, Polman’s Guile-like appearance made it easy to find everyone.
“The martial artist coming over there is Aoyama.”
He was a muscular martial artist nearly two meters tall. His greeting consisted of nothing more than stating his name: “Aoyama.”
“He’s not very sociable, so please understand. He’ll be able to come to the States next week. And there’s one more person who needs to join us… Ah, there he is.”
The person Polman had been waiting for was a bald man wearing a mage’s robe and carrying a staff that looked like it was made of stainless steel.
“He’ll be joining our party as our priest.”
“I am the priest Antarian. May the peace of repose settle upon your souls.”
Jinwoo wondered if Priest Antarian was one of the three missing testers, but from his speech and behavior, he didn’t seem like a user. His pale skin was almost Irish-white. Jinwoo was curious why a native of this world had been added to the users’ party. Of course, since most of the users’ classes were physical fighters or mages, a priest was necessary.
But which god does he serve?
Just as Jinwoo was about to ask Antarian, Polman locked the inn door and stood in front of everyone.
“Our party of ten has received its first quest. Ah, of course, Patrick, who serves as an official, won’t be joining us. Including Priest Antarian, nine of us will go.”
He hung up a map and pointed to a location—the Rotiple Kingdom, far to the southwest of the Splain Empire.
“The quest is to eliminate someone wielding a demon sword in the Rotiple Kingdom.”
“A demon sword? Does that mean the Demon King’s descent? The orcs are finished, so now it’s the Demon King.”
“First, while traveling there, we’ll need time to coordinate as users. So we’ll move while hunting monsters. Let’s form our formation first.”
Excluding Patrick, who wasn’t coming, everyone began taking positions according to their classes.
“So where should I stand?”
“Hmm. Since you’re a Buff Master… let’s see. Stand between me and Lieutenant Hobbs, the Summoner. Priest Antarian will be there too. By the way, you said you have healing skills?”
“Yes. Don’t expect as much as the priest’s abilities.”
“I’m aware.”
Polman’s gaze as he looked Jinwoo up and down was exactly like that of a leader in a light novel comic titled something like “How to Expel an Incompetent Buff Master.”