The player nicknamed Elfnunalove, who used to publicly use the name Ghost Master and whose identity was only circulating through rumors, slowly opened his eyes and checked the time. It was just over midnight. He was in a private laboratory located on the upper level of the magic tower. As always, he sat in his chair to organize his thoughts.
How will he act now?
Today, as soon as he entered the community, he permanently sent off a player. The target: Sergeant Lee, a Korean user who used a unique nickname.
I'm sure he's on the loose now looking to kill me.
He didn't want to antagonize Sergeant Lee. Not only was he the person closest to the key, but a player who possessed the greatest authority, at least among those on Earth.
He is the one who does not listen to the words.
The man was a little worried that he had pulled a hair out of a sleeping tiger's nose, but he had to do it. The one who rejected the last appeasement before slapping him with banishment was Sergeant Lee. Of course, the man understood Sergeant Lee's situation, and that was why he had left him alone until now, but he couldn't be so considerate forever. Now, he would have to make a decision too.
Still, it's a shame for him.
Continuing their thoughts, they naturally landed on a certain man, a Korean user who used the nickname Elfnunna.
It seems like he's a fan of his too.
Having encountered many Korean users so far, he knew how small their number was. The number of Koreans among the players was less than 1%. Not in vain, Sergeant Lee, who had desperately searched for someone from his homeland, begged him to say a few words before leaving.
He's a funny man, come to think of it. If you miss your homeland so much, you should be looking for a team to break the game and get back together.
The man smiled and got up from his seat. His crystal ball vibrated, announcing an incoming call. «I never thought you'd call me before at this hour. I guess something has happened on your side, Queen of the Soul».
«Yeah. I was about to leave work, but I found a strange history of connections».
«Strange connection history?» The man straightened his posture. This woman's understanding of this place was as deep as hers, so it would not be a trivial phenomenon.
«There is a story of a connection, but it doesn't say who they are. And most importantly... the connection time is recorded as 3:00 AM».
«So they entered the community in the middle.»
«Yeah. I also thought it was very strange.»
«Can you give me some time to think?»
The man cast a spell on himself while keeping the call. Meditation was his own magical combination created by adding various spells to Thought Acceleration. A person immediately came to mind.
«The Watcher of the Round Table».
«Oh! That suspicious man who was banished a year ago!»
It was a year ago that they learned of its existence. They nicknamed him 0720. None of the guides who helped the newcomers enter the community remembered ever helping him. When the administrators entered inside, they saw him dressed in clothes of this world, so they considered him a suspect and banished him. That was because most people there wore modern clothes. They judged him to be a palace spy who had secretly infiltrated by obtaining a pill from somewhere else. If it wasn't that, it was possibly a player from somewhere other than Earth.
Above all, he looked like an old man.
Most of the players were young. It was to be expected. After all, they were people who enjoyed this perverted game. It was difficult to imagine an old man in his seventies clearing it.
«Maybe the Round Table Watchers is a gathering around themselves to avoid our eyes. »
«But didn't you consider the remaining members normal then?»
«Yeah. I did it then. But just in case, Queen of Souls, would you go check it out for me?»
«I think it's a private chat room».
«Don't worry about the invitation code. It will take a few months, but it doesn't hurt».
«Well, in that case...»
Queen of the soul accepted and with that, the man moved to end the call. More detailed instructions could only be given after confirming things next month. There was nothing that could be done right now. Then he paused. For some reason, the man remembered that nickname and unconsciously asked: » Queen of the soul, do you remember the player Elfnunna?».
«Oh, him? He joined a few months ago, but I remember him clearly because he was unique. Not only his nickname, but there was something else that impressed me».
«What was it?»
«I couldn't see its interior space at all. I have never seen someone with such a thick spiritual wall in my entire career.»
«...I see.»
The man felt that something was out of place. A thick spiritual wall could be understood as varied depending on the person, and Queen of the Soul had not served as a guide for a long time. However, he felt that something was missing. Intuition statistics increased during the Meditation state, so he did not attribute this sensation only to his mood.
«Please excuse me for a moment».
The man excused himself to review the notes he had recorded in his head. To be precise, he checked the details of the people to whom letters were sent at the time of Elfnuna's entry, as Queen of the Soul said.
They are all newbies.
Thinking it was possible for them to take a pill later, he increased the range to three months, but the results were the same. None of the players went beyond the fifth floor, either. How could his spiritual wall be so high?
«...Bjorn Yandel?» Expanding the rank even further, a name stood out in his eyes, a barbarian who peculiarly chose a shield. That's why he had sent this player a letter in the hope that it could be that person, but suspiciously they did not enter the community.
«Queen of Souls». The man gave new instructions. «Investigate the user named Elfnunna, what posts he left, how much GP he has and what information he bought. Even if you have to restore everything that was deleted».
There were reasons to investigate it.
***
The morning after the community opened, Amelia woke me up.
«...What's going on? It's only in the morning».
«Tomorrow? It's already noon».
Gosh, can't a barbarian wake up late?
I poured a glass of water down my dry throat and asked, «So why are you here?». Amelia used to come in the afternoon. It was also yesterday when we agreed to meet. So why had he come to see me now?
The answer that came out of Amelia's mouth was quite simple. «I thought I should tell you before I leave».
«So you're leaving».
«Yes, so you can stop searching now».
Judging by his words, it didn't seem like he was leaving because he had found Auril Gavis. I tried probing casually. «Looks like you have something to do».
Amelia didn't respond, but even that was enough for me. This woman always moved busily around the city.
«Just before Noark went into lockdown, they sent some people to the surface. The objective is to kill a specific explorer. Shocking, huh?»
Maybe the assassination operation Clown mentioned was starting today. He had no intention of intervening, not that he could stop her anyway. Instead, I made him a well-intentioned offer. «Are you coming to look for him again? I can leave you a word here if you need it».
That was because he was sensitive to favors and resentments. I judged that paying off my debt would help me in the future.
«It is not necessary. It's going to be hard to find it like this, anyway».
«I see.» I didn't bother to offer it to him again after that refusal. The conversation ended cleanly there. «Then see you next time». I sent him a few brief parting words.
Amelia watched me silently and then asked, «Until next time, what do you mean?».
Oh, that's what you were curious about.
Well, I was the one making a fuss about never seeing each other again. He was sure it must sound a little meaningful to him. I answered him honestly: «Somehow, I think I'll see you again». How many times had we seen each other by chance? He didn't even know how long it would be until he could return home. I was sure I would see her at least once again.
«...Weirdo.»
After that, Amelia disappeared from my sight as usual. Now, then, it was my turn to start my day too.
Ding!
First, I hit the bell I had made next to the bed.
«Have you called, boss?» My right hand, Jingjing, appeared in less than a minute.
To start, I gave orders to stop the search, and then ate something light before going out with him. This was my daily walk after eating. In Bifron, there wasn't much else to do.
«Let's go to the distribution center».
«The distribution center...?»
«Is there a problem?»
«No, boss. I will guide you to the nearest place.»
Today's destination was one of Bifron's twelve distribution centers. When we arrived, there was a long line, the line to receive the food rations provided by the city each morning. It was a difficult sight to see even a few days ago. At first, the distribution centers were occupied and monopolized by each faction.
«As ordered, minors are free to unconditionally take whatever they want.»
«Okay, keep it up».
I looked at the line of children with a satisfied smile before turning around. Then I looked around the city, moving where my feet took me. As I did so, I saw a boy I knew, the boy who guided me on my first day in Bifron and took me to this inn.
«Come here».
«Yes sir!» The boy backed away as soon as we saw each other, but immediately stood at attention in front of me.
«Where are you going?»
«I come from the distribution center...»
«You've gained a little weight since then».
«Yes...»
Was it because he was now number one on Bifron? Including that day, I never did anything to hurt him and yet the boy was still shaking. I was happy to see him again. Was this the loneliness experienced by an absolute?
«How are you doing these days?»
«I read books in my free time. I-in the library you made...»
I didn't make the library; rather I revitalized a library that was gathering dust. Many of the books had been used as firewood, so there were still more empty shelves than full ones, but since my instructions were to gather as many books as possible to fill the shelves, it would get better over time.
«I... I never did something like that again! If I need money, I sign up for a job camp and earn it myself!». The boy began to make excuses for things I didn't even ask him, eager for me to continue staring at him.
«Come to think of it, your dream is to be an intern».
«Yes!»
I smiled satisfied and gave him some advice. «Keep living like this. You will have a problem in your head and one day you will disappear if you stab other people in the back for money».
«...Sorry?»
«If you don't have a head, you can't be a scholar».
«Excuse me? Oh yeah...» Although it seemed like he didn't understand any of my words, I didn't bother to give a long explanation. I refused to be a barbarian.
«Let's go.»
After that, I continued my walk with Jingjing through distribution centers, libraries, residential facilities, labor camps, etc. With nothing to do but look for Auril Gavis, I had tweaked some illogical parts here and there, leaving the city much livelier than when I arrived. The dissolution of each faction was the most important factor.
However, it will be back to normal once I'm gone.
In that sense, I took Jingjing to the sewers. He trembled as he asked in a strange voice: «Hey, boss, why are we...?».
Wow, anyone would think I came to kill you and bury you here.
«I'm going to the city for a while, do you need anything?»
«...Sorry?» Jingjing, who rarely repeated the same words twice, asked with a puzzled face. «Go to town...?»
«Oh, hadn't I told you? There is a passage that leads to the city».
«Ee-that... isn't it possible?»
«Why do you stutter? Is something wrong with your head?»
«No... boss.» Jingjing's head must have been filled with the thought of his freedom in a few days and now he was falling miserably, but I figured he belatedly thought it might be a bluff.
«Anyway, since you don't need anything...»
«No! Yes I need it!»
«Really? Tell me».
Jingjing ordered one thing from the city, a skewer from a store in District 9.
«It will be cold by the time I bring it».
«Okay!»
I smiled and nodded. It was clear what this guy thought. I was going to check if I really had a way to get to the city. «Then go home».
«Yes, boss».
Afterwards, I released Jingjing and entered the sewer. Then I headed towards the secret passage that Amelia had told me about.
Buzzzz.
That's when the message stone he was wearing on his clothes, outside the subspace just in case, started ringing. It was the item he had received from the Dragon Lord. Previously, he had promised to contact me if a decision was made on whether or not to give me the Dragon Blessing.
He said it would take a month or two and it took exactly two.
I wondered what the results would be. When I pressed the button sticking out from the bottom, a voice came from beyond. «Then tear up the paper I gave you».
«I want to know your decision sooner».
«The elders will decide when they see you».
«I see.» I tore up the paper I had thrown into subspace following the instructions.
Decide when they see me, huh?
It wasn't what I expected, but it didn't worry me too much. Do it, even if it didn't work; that was the spirit of a k-barbarian