Chapter 8: The Mysterious Expert
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: The Mysterious Expert
‘Is there really no one there?’
It was impossible to tell.
The tracks leading inside were clear as day, but there were no signs of anyone coming out. Still, Seo-un didn't have the nerve to just barge in. If the enemy was camping inside, he would be at a severe disadvantage.
‘Tsk. I thought throwing a few Wind Balls in there would flush them out in a hurry.’
He had been mistaken. Seo-un began to run through the possibilities.
‘Scenario one: there’s no one. Scenario two: there is.’
He immediately discarded the first possibility.
‘If they’re in there, why aren't they coming out? Either they’re camping to lure me in, or... hmm. Are they injured?’
The only evidence of a struggle was a massive amount of blood. This suggested the enemy likely wasn't a Mage. While he couldn't be certain, if a Mage’s spell had killed the target, there probably wouldn't be that much blood left behind.
That left two likely candidates: a Martial Artist or a Knight in heavy armor.
‘In that case, they don't have a Recovery Scroll.’
Having reached that conclusion, Seo-un waited. Even if it ruined his plans for the day, he didn't want the burden of leaving an enemy who knew of his presence at his back.
‘Anyway, the map is still huge. What are the odds of running into enemies twice in the middle of nowhere? My luck is absolute trash.’
The stalemate continued: the player inside refused to budge, and Seo-un refused to leave. Before long, the sun began to set, and darkness rapidly blanketed the area.
‘Finally.’
This darkness was exactly what Seo-un had been waiting for. For someone wearing a Cloak of Stealth, the night was an ally that exponentially increased his lethality and range of movement.
As the surroundings grew dim, Seo-un’s form began to move. He became a blur, nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. Silently approaching the cabin window, he peeked inside. In the gloom, he caught the faint movement of a shadow.
He couldn't see clearly, but it was definitely a player.
‘The real waiting game starts now.’
From here on, it was a test of patience. The magnetic field was closing in nearby, so the person inside definitely couldn't spend the night there. The same applied to Seo-un, but there was one major difference between them: Seo-un knew for a fact that the enemy was there, while the enemy wasn't sure about Seo-un.
The person inside was clearly still on guard and refusing to come out, but eventually, they would have no choice. Settling into a comfortable position, Seo-un popped some beef jerky into his mouth and waited.
And waited.
How much time had passed? With a sharp creak, the cabin’s rickety plank door slowly swung open. Even then, no shadow emerged for a long while. But eventually, the enemy cautiously stepped out into the open.
‘As I thought—not a Martial Artist.’
He could faintly make out a man cautiously emerging, holding a large shield in front of him. The moment the man’s pale face came into view behind the shield—which reflected the faint moonlight filtering through the trees—Seo-un raised his crossbow and aimed.
‘Wait a little longer. Stay calm. Stay calm, Jin Seo-un!’
He repeated the mantra to himself, trying his best to remain composed. The enemy’s guard was bound to drop soon.
Sure enough, after scanning the surroundings repeatedly, the man slung the large shield onto his back and sheathed his longsword. His thick armor was dented in several places, evidence of whatever battle he had survived. His short hair and face, covered in dried blood, filled Seo-un’s vision.
The man pulled a canteen from his waist and took a long, refreshing drink.
At that moment—thwack!
A bolt hissed through the air. At the sound of the crossbow firing, the man began to turn toward the noise. Seo-un’s bolt tore through the leather canteen and embedded itself in the man’s hand.
“Gah!”
As the man let out a short, guttural cry, droplets of blood glinted in the moonlight. Before they could even hit the ground, a shuriken struck true, right between the man’s eyes.
Thud!
A stray thought crossed Seo-un’s mind: just how heavy was that armor to make such a dull, heavy sound?
Even after the man collapsed, Seo-un didn't move. He kept his eyes fixed on the body, reloading his crossbow and keeping it aimed. Only when the body vanished and was replaced by a wooden supply box did Seo-un finally emerge from the shadows.
He pushed back the hood of his cloak and let out a long sigh.
“Whew. If he’d been wearing a helmet, it wouldn't have been this easy.”
It was a stroke of luck. The man had been injured on his head, which was likely why he wasn't wearing a helmet. Whether he hadn't worn it or it had been destroyed, Seo-un didn't know. The important thing was that it had allowed him to take down the wounded man with ease.
However, Seo-un’s expression soured when he opened the wooden box. Once he removed the heavy armor that filled the box, there weren't many useful items left. A thick longsword that looked difficult to wield with one hand and a bit of beef jerky were all the man had possessed.
“What kind of guy has loot this bad?”
Seo-un then opened the box of the player the man had apparently killed. Inside, he found similar armor and a single mace.
“These brainless knights. Why the hell did they fight to the death when neither of them had anything? Dammit! I wasted so much time because of them.”
Seo-un quickly lit a lantern and searched the cabin, but the dust-filled interior held nothing that could bring him joy.
“Sigh.”
Exhaling deeply, Seo-un looked up at the crescent moon for a moment before moving out again.
‘Because of those bastards, I couldn't even circulate my energy properly today, and I missed out on farming.’
After moving a short distance, Seo-un checked his map. As expected, the magnetic field for the day was shrinking. The final position of the current field and the location for the next day’s field appeared.
‘This is...’
Whether it was divine luck or a curse, the magnetic field’s location aligned perfectly with Seo-un’s planned route. For the first time, the center of the field had shifted significantly. The large cities and towns to the south would be out of bounds by tomorrow. For Seo-un, this wasn't a bad thing.
“The guys who were farming and camping down there will have to move up, and they’ll probably tear each other apart. I might run into people trying to take the center of the field early, but I just need to stick to the outskirts.”
Fortunately, there were several cabins along the route he had planned. He had to give up on four cabins because he skipped today’s farming, but Seo-un decided not to dwell on it. Obsessing over the past wouldn't help him. He simply prayed that better items would appear in the new locations.
‘Please, just give me one good elixir.’
Just as Seo-un finalized his route and prepared to head toward his next destination, he froze in place.
“You seem quite accustomed to this.”
At the sound of a voice suddenly coming from behind him, every hair on Seo-un’s body stood on end. He realized then that when a person is truly shocked, they can't even twitch. He remained frozen.
“Do not be so frightened. I only spoke up because I have a few things I wish to ask.”
“W-who are you?” Seo-un squeezed the words out with desperate effort.
Once he spoke, the paralysis seemed to break, and his stiff body loosened slightly. He turned around as cautiously as possible. Standing there, bathed in the faint moonlight, was a white-haired old man.
“Would you even know me if I told you? We likely come from very different worlds.”
The old man was right. Seo-un hadn't asked because he was particularly curious about the man’s identity; he had simply squeezed out the question because he felt he had to say something.
As Seo-un’s mind raced while he broke into a cold sweat, the old man shifted his gaze from the crescent moon in the sky to Seo-un’s eyes.
“The size of the moon is certainly different from the world I came from. Is it different from your world’s moon as well?”
It was something Seo-un had never bothered to notice. Following the old man’s question, he looked up at the crescent moon. It was indeed much larger than the moon Seo-un knew. Seeing the crescent moon, which appeared to have a circumference much larger than a full moon on Earth, Seo-un nodded.
“Now that I look at it, it is much larger than the moon in my world.”
“I see. So you are not of this world either.”
“Yes.”
“I have been watching you for a while, and your adaptability is quite remarkable. Are you perhaps experienced in this sort of game?”
At the old man’s question, Seo-un stopped his frantic thinking and let out a sigh. This was a completely different breed of opponent from any he had faced so far. Just looking at the man’s serene, relaxed demeanor made Seo-un realize that no matter what he did, he could never defeat him.
“Whew. This is my first time being summoned here as well. However, in my world, there are games similar to this.”
“Similar games?” The old man’s face filled with curiosity.
“Yes. Many people enjoy a game where they control dolls made in the likeness of humans to compete until only one person remains.”
“Ha! Dolls controlled by human hands?”
“Yes. It might be hard to understand, but they aren't physical objects; they exist in a virtual world.”
“A virtual world... Your world sounds like a land of dokkaebis.”
“It might be easier to think of it as a world where civilization is much more advanced than yours.”
“Advanced civilization, eh? Well, let’s leave it at that. So that is why you adapted so quickly to this game. Seeing how you started with nothing and grew this much in such a short time.”
‘Dammit, how long has he been watching me?’
As if reading the thought on Seo-un’s face, the old man answered.
“Since you first dropped in. I happened to land in the same place as you. I intended to just spend a hundred days breathing the fresh air on a high mountain here, but I became curious because you were moving so desperately.”
“I-is that so?”
“Do not be so guarded. I am merely curious about the reason we were dragged into this game and what its ultimate goal is.”
“I don't know that either.”
“Did you not say your world has similar games?”
“Those are literally just games. No one actually dies; they’re just for fun. How could a mere human like me know the identity or goals of the transcendent beings who forcibly bring people from different dimensions to play a game like this?”
“You have a point there.”
Seo-un stared at the old man’s face for a moment before speaking.
“However, one thing is certain: this game will be a great opportunity for some.”
“An opportunity?”
“As you’ve probably heard, dying in this game doesn't mean you actually die.”
“I have heard something to that effect.”
“And they said there would be rewards.”
“I heard that as well.”
“Those rewards will likely be the items obtained in this world.”
“Items like the ones you are wearing?”
“Not just these, but also the martial arts you know so well, or the magic used by the mages from other places.”
“Hmm... Magic was certainly interesting. But how does that become an opportunity?”
“For someone like you, those things might be useless, but for someone whose life is a struggle, it could be a chance to change their entire life, couldn't it?”
At Seo-un’s words, a smile finally touched the old man’s face.
“What makes you think my life is so easy?”
“I can tell just by looking at you that you’re a master of martial arts. Probably a peerless expert who can't even find a worthy opponent. Countless people likely look up to you with respect, and you probably have great masters as your subordinates or disciples. Why would someone like that have a difficult life? It’s the people struggling to make a living day by day whose lives are hard.”
The old man nodded at Seo-un’s words.
“You have quite a sharp eye.”