First, I introduced myself briefly, not as Bjorn Yandel, but as Hansu Lee. "I'm Hansu Lee. I'm twenty-nine years old."
"You have the same last name as me. I'm Baekho Lee. I was twenty-three."
"Always?"
"To be honest... I've been here for over ten years."
"Oh, I see..." I had nothing to say. I expected it from the luxurious interior of the chat room, but ten years? Poor guy. "Wait a minute, so you're older than me-"
"Big brother! We don't say things like that! I'm coming back, so we should tell each other our real ages!"
"Uh... if you say so." As a member of a Confucian nation where age was everything, there was no reason to stop him from wanting to be the youngest. Anyway, the introduction was settled.
"Anyway, brother, I'm sorry, but will you forgive me for something?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's... kind of a simple test. I'm sure you are, but... still, I think I should confirm it."
"What exactly are you confirming?"
"When I say a word, tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Don't worry. It's something Koreans can't get wrong."
Hearing that, it sounded like some kind of Korean test. Apparently, he was some kind of big shot in this world. It seemed like there were some guys pretending to be Korean to get him released because of it. If that was the case, then, well.
"So, shall we begin?"
"Clear."
When I nodded, the guy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but seeing him like that made me nervous too. Of course, like he said, the exam itself was easy.
"Kimchi?"
"...Stew?"
"Beef head?"
"Meat soup."
"Arabia?"
"Arabia."
"Military Code of Conduct."
"Our resolution. Incidentally, I was a public service agent."
"Ah... anyway, this is the last one." Baekho paused to catch his breath and looked at me with serious eyes. Just when I thought everything before was a joke, he opened his mouth. "Wanyong Lee?"
"Son of a bitch, asshole."
Just as the curse was about to spill from my mouth involuntarily, my body stiffened at the strange energy I was feeling. Suddenly, Baekho's cold eyes fixed on me as if everything that had happened up to that point had been an act.
"I believe you, you're Korean."
What the hell was this bastard saying? Baekho Lee, a player from Korea who was brought here the day he was discharged from the army and had been living in this world for over 10 years. He seemed like a nice guy, but…
Does he also have a problem with his head?
Without realizing it, my eyes narrowed. However, after hearing the excuses that followed, it wasn't something I couldn't understand.
"Oh, sorry for being rude. It was a line I prepared to say when someone passes the test. Although I didn't think it would take more than three years."
He must have felt alone. Even I, although I thought I was very far from these types of feelings, missed conversations like that. Plus, when this guy arrived, there wouldn't have been a community like Ghostbusters, an environment that would have been perfect for ruining someone's personality.
«What's your name?»
«I told you before».
«Not that, the name you use here. I have to know to help you. Koreans are corpses without loyalty or friendship, am I right?»
«I appreciate it, but it's okay». I smiled and shook my head.
Then Baekho looked at me as if he couldn't understand. «Why don't you tell me? If you tell me your name, you won't have to worry about taxes anymore». The boy's voice was full of confidence. It must have been because he had already reached that level of position here.
However, my answer remained the same. «If I suggested that to you, would you tell me your name?».
«Hey, well, even if it's you, that is...»
«I am the same».
Had he finally realized that I was different from the average newbie? Baekho asked with a much more interested look than before: «How did you beat the game?».
«¿Y pour?»
«It was 10 times». I heard the founder of Ghostbusters did it 15 times. When I looked at him surprised, he scratched the back of his neck. «And 10 times is nothing either. It's still a hoax, anyway. Therefore, even though 10 years have passed, there are many things I don't know. If I had known it was going to be like this, I would have just played the original».
Maybe it was because he had survived in this world for over 10 years, but his mentality was definitely different from the ones I met in the rookie room.
«And what about you?»
I was thoughtful for a while and responded: «I also beat it to 10 blows».
«Oh yeah?» I was a little worried, but Baekho meekly believed my words. «Yes, anything else cannot be considered Korean».
«¿Eh?»
«Koreans are the best when it comes to games, right?».
That seemed like too much Korean pride to me, but I didn't make any comments. After all, I felt bad for him. I should at least hug him sincerely. «Yes, you are absolutely right».
« TRUE? Ha, it's really very sad. If there was only one Korean patch, there would have been at least a few people who would have surpassed the original version...» Apparently, spending time only with foreigners had worsened Baekho's Korean pride. «Ah... so you want some GP instead?»
«That would be nice, but I won't charge it. There are many ways to earn it».
«Oh. Your GP will probably stack up like mine».
Except for our personalities, Baekho and I were similar in many ways. He did not reveal his identity hastily, and unlike his frivolous personality, his actions seemed prudent. That's probably how he survived so long.
«Um... so there's nothing I can do for you?»
«Okay, I didn't come expecting anything in the first place. Let's just see each other and chat from time to time».
«Brother...!» I guess my words made him feel like he was meeting a real compatriot. Baekho wiped away some non-existent tears, but that didn't last long. «If you have any questions, just ask them. I should at least do that to save face».
Boy, his emotional ups and downs were severe. It was difficult to follow his energy. But since it was offered, I asked him: «Do you know who the game master is here?».
«Ah, I don't know that. In fact, I found the pill after robbing the Ministry of Security headquarters in the early days».
«So they won't know who you are either?».
«They probably have an idea. I also suspect a guy...».
«Whose?»
«There are three. Shall I tell you all?» Baekho said the names of his suspects one by one. They were all magicians, and except one, they were so famous that even I had heard of them. «I'm sure you would do well without me telling you, but never expose your identity here. As far as I know, there are also some known bastards of the royal family».
Baekho seemed to like me quite a bit, as he gave me advice without me asking him. Unlike my rookie friends, who said this place was 100% safe, I really liked their pessimistic view. In that sense, I had one more question. «Is there a way for the operator to find out my identity?».
«No. That will be difficult, probably. First of all, this space was not made with his own efforts, but rather was a remodel.»
«Remodeling?»
«There were evil spirits in this city even more than a hundred years ago. On Earth, that was more than twenty years ago. So who were those people?»
Honestly, I hadn't thought that far. Twenty years ago, Dungeon and Stone, not to mention LCD monitors, were not even distributed properly. «I don't know, so tell me».
«The answer is those from another dimension!»
«Another dimension...?»
«Yeah. I've never actually met them, but as far as I know, they say they transferred reading books written about this world».
By the way, at that time there were only a handful of evil spirits, and all of them were said to have unique powers. It was assumed that one of them created this space and that the current operator inherited it by chance.
I think I just heard some groundbreaking information.
At this point I was also curious about Baekho's identity. What kind of person was he who knew all this?
However, it worked for me.
I changed my way of thinking about it and continued asking Baekho this and that to clear up my doubts, but this guy wasn't omniscient either.
«Oh... to be honest, I'm currently in hiding so I'm a little weak on recent information».
«Are you hiding?»
«Yeah. I can't tell you the details, but if you want recent information I can introduce you to a chat room. His name is 'Round Table Watcher'. It's kind of a club for people with eighth grade syndrome». The chat room Baekho told me about was a kind of community for experts, run in secret and accessible only by invitation code. «Your nickname and face will be anonymous there, so you don't have to worry. I've heard that if you don't have information to share they can beat you up and kick you out, but... Since you've beaten the game 10 times I don't think you have to worry about that».
As if sending a child on a field trip, he explained everything from one to ten. It was quite long, but everything was useful, so I listened to it without interruption.
«Then see you later».
«¿Ya te vas?»
«Oh, I hadn't told you. The pill I took was a prototype, so I can only stay an hour».
Was it a generation gap? Even if he suddenly complained about things from his time, I would probably shut up and listen. It was clear that he had lived a harder life than mine.
«Dude, you have to come next time, okay?»
«Okay, until next time».
«If there is someone who treats you badly in the city, don't forget to let me know».
«Okay...»
«Oh, and also...»
«Okay, go. You can tell me next time».
«Oh sure... next time... Okay! Until next time!»
Soon, the boy who was looking at me with an anxious expression left with a simple smile. I also left the chat room. As he told me, I entered the code in the chat room search bar and entered [Round Table Watcher].
[This is not a time allowed to enter. OPEN 03:00-03:10]
Baekho didn't tell me this. I had no choice but to spend my time browsing the exchanges and other bulletin boards. When the clock at the bottom right of the monitor pointed to all three, I tried to enter again.
[New member status has been verified. Congratulations on becoming a member of the Round Table Watchers. This meeting is strictly anonymous...]
Messages appeared with the content I heard from Baekho, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the personalization room.
¡Flash!
The room was filled with all kinds of costumes and accessories. I wondered why I had to go so far to hide Hansu Lee's identity, but since those were the rules, it was probably best to follow them. After flipping through it, I chose some fairly acceptable things, like it was a cosplay. I put on a fitted navy blue suit.
The mask is mandatory, so I have to wear one.
The masks were varied enough to fill an entire wall, but there were too many empty spaces to prevent them from overlapping.
Creaakkk.
As soon as I put on one of the masks, shaped like a lion's head, the door opened by itself. A long red carpet led the way. As I walked slowly, exploring the surroundings, a large round table appeared. There were dozens of seats, but only four people were sitting there.
Tap.
They spoke as if they knew each other, but when I arrived, they all stared at me with their mouths closed. A heavy silence followed.
He wasn't kidding when he said this is a community for professionals. Those eyes are fierce. Don't they know that newbies need to be loved and looked after?
"Oh? I've never seen that mask before," someone wearing a yellow clown mask began.
A woman wearing a fox mask asked in a high-pitched voice, "You. How did you get here? We haven't had any new members for over a year."
Oh, I didn't know there was that kind of context.
"Tell us. Who are you and who recommended you?"
However, this was a prepared question, so there was no problem.
"You must answer only the truth. That's how this place works."
As this woman said, a special mask was applied in this space. If you lied, the mask would break and you'd be immediately kicked out of the chat room. However, there was one exception. Before the meeting really got going, it was okay to lie as much as you wanted.
But since everyone's keeping quiet, they must all be in this together. Or maybe they're just curious what kind of person I am.
I saw why Baekho said to be tough in the first meeting. It must have been advice from experience. I didn't feel like it, but this time I decided to follow the guidelines and direction Baekho recommended.
"Oh, yo-yo?"
"Yes, you..."
After a bit of noobish acting, I landed the counterpunch when they least expected it. "Your mom sent me here."
That's right, I've already heard everything about Sergeant Lee.