Once Goblin's turn was over, the round continued quickly.
«Despite Noark's provocation, the palace is seeing strategic success in being able to traverse the Dragon Mountains. However, Noark's main forces still do not appear».
Deer, who was second in line, looked at our resident Orcules member, Clown, as he said his thing, apparently trying to prompt him to loosen his tongue.
«Blood Spirit, who followed Bjorn Yandel to the new hidden area, is still alive».
Crescent was third, and what he said made everyone scratch their heads.
«Given what has been said before, there is a good chance that she is alive... but how could you confirm it?».
«The pure blood energy in the Blood Spirit body has not yet returned to the clan».
«¡Ah-!»
Right, so there was a way to confirm if she was alive.
«So the elves have been aware of their survival from the beginning and are currently forming an elite rescue team.»
«Pshehe, but that's strange. If we talk about the Spirit of Blood, isn't she a traitor to her race? They gave her the pureblood position, but as soon as she fell in love with a man, she left everything for him.»
«...I have nothing to tell you.»
«Hiding, gente dura.»
«I'll say it again, but I'm going to hunt you down one of these days, so you better not die before I get to you. The only reason I come here every month is to confirm that you are still alive».
Crescent and Clown yelled at each other for the first time in a long time, but it was only a brief hint to break the monotony. As the round continued, the two ignored each other again.
«Fox, now it's your turn».
It was already the fourth person's turn.
I rested my chin on my hand as I tuned back in. I was curious what Versyl would say behind his fox mask. I mean, I gave him that search a while ago.
«I'll do what I can to investigate it, but can you also try to find out something else?
It was the search I gave him after learning of Missha's apparent betrayal, to make him strive to gather information for me at the Round Table.
So what was Versyl going to do?
«Missha Karlstein no es una traidora a Bjorn Yandel».
The information he chose directly contradicted what Butterfly said last time.
As soon as I heard the words come out of his mouth, I thought, What is he doing? He could say whatever he wanted, but it was obvious that the gem would turn red.
Ah, that's what he intends.
With that, the Round Table gem began to glow.
Shaaaaaa.
As expected, it glowed a deep red.
«Heh... this is interesting», Butterfly murmured, an interested gleam in her eyes as she looked at Fox.
Okay, looks like it's managed to attract attention.
That's probably also why he sat right in front of Butterfly.
Of course, she still didn't know if the bait would hook someone or not, but from where she was sitting, the attempt was good in itself.
«Pshehe, what is this?»
As all the other members looked at her for an explanation, Versyl reacted calmly. «Looks like I might be less sure than I thought. I also gathered a lot of evidence... Anyway, since things have turned out that way, I will share something else».
After that, he gave other information and received the green light, and the round passed to the next person: one of the three new members of the Round Table, Butterfly.
Well, was he going to take the bait or not?
I soon got my answer.
«You don't seem to believe what I said at the last meeting, Miss. Fox. Or maybe there's a reason you don't want to believe me? You are a very funny lady».
Well, she took it.
«The reason Missha Karlstein joined Bjorn Yandel's party was because someone ordered her to.»
¿What?
I swallowed an involuntary sound.
Did Missha come back because someone ordered her to?
As my heart pounded in my chest, I looked at the gem.
Shaaaaaa.
A green light flashed, confirming that the statement was true.
Seeing him, Clown laughed excitedly. «Pshehe, I pity that barbaric idiot. He was always talking about comrades or whatever, but it seems like he's going to be betrayed by one soon».
I felt like slamming his ugly face against the floor at that very moment, but I clenched both fists under the table and stood firm.
It was not the time to let yourself be carried away by emotions. I had to use my brain.
...someone's orders.
Who was that «someone» Butterfly was talking about?
There was no need to think about it too much as one person immediately came to mind.
They are Lee.
That bastard was the only person who would do something like that. As soon as I saw him next month, I was going to...
No wait...
As my eyes began to squint in rage at Baekho Lee, they ended up making contact with Butterfly's. Of course, as soon as our eyes met, his gaze receded.
...Who is this lady?
That thought suddenly arose in my mind.
Was it a coincidence that he mentioned Missha Karlstein? Did he really have no ulterior motives?
Come to think of it... the coincidence is really strange.
My hot head registered the strange discrepancy and quickly calmed down.
The fact that Butterfly shared that information at the Round Table meant that she didn't care if it spread everywhere.
Or it meant he wanted the information to spread.
If it is the latter...
She probably hoped that it would eventually reach Bjorn Yandel's ears.
I calmed down as much as I could and then asked myself: «When Bjorn Yandel realizes that Missha Karlstein is a traitor... what action would Butterfly expect her to take?».
The answer immediately came to my mind.
O echa a Missha...
Or, yes no es exo…
Or he breaks off his relationship with Baekho Lee.
Was that what Butterfly wanted? I had no way of knowing for sure at this point.
Well, I might as well be thinking too much. There was a chance that Butterfly would simply want to spend his turn with some effortless information and say the first thing that came to mind. But...
I finally have a clear head.
Now that I was aware that there might be some kind of ruse at play, my guard was higher than ever.
If someone is really trying to make me angry...
All I had to do was do nothing. Then they would be the ones who would lose their cool.
Grifo.
Before firing a gun, you had to make sure you aimed correctly.
***
[You have entered the Basement One Plant Archives.]
***
When Butterfly's turn ended...
«Under the tombstone discovered on the first floor, there is a passage written in the ancient language that says...»
Queen revealed the main information you needed to get down to Basement One, and then Black, Clown, and Wolf took their turns. Very soon, it was my turn.
Maybe it was because something huge had happened this month, but all the members seemed even more interested than usual in the information he was going to share. However, I betrayed their expectations and spent my turn sharing information about the game, bringing the first round to an end.
In the second round nothing important was shared either.
Since I was trapped in the maze and isolated from the outside world, I made sure to pay close attention to the information about what was happening out there, but no one said anything that would be useful to me in my current situation.
Butterfly also didn't mention anything about Missha during the second round.
And so, the meeting came to an end.
After returning to Hansu Lee's room, I browsed the forums for a while longer before logging out early since I hadn't logged in from the city. I needed to take a long break and conserve strength for the adventures I would have to do tomorrow...
[00:00]
As we began our thirty-sixth day in the maze, I opened my eyes under the blanket and scanned the surroundings without moving a muscle.
Crepit.
A lit bonfire illuminated the interior of the cave. Well, actually, I should say the inside of the tree. I was in the same camp we set up before entering the Ghostbusters.
...Although I left about four hours early, I'm still quite tired.
I closed my eyes again and after a while I heard crackling sounds near me. Amelia, who was on duty, sent her double to check where the sound was coming from.
«Do you want water?»
«...Oh, yes. Thanks.»
Oh, so it was you, Versyl.
Considering there was a few seconds difference between us, it probably stayed in the community until it closed...
«Mr. Yandel... is he asleep?»
«Is.»
It would be weird for me to get up and join their conversation at that moment, so I decided to keep my eyes closed.
When dawn broke the next morning, everyone woke up and prepared to continue our adventure, while Versyl approached me like a zombie, visibly exhausted.
«Mr. Yandel, could we talk alone before we leave?».
«Talk? Sure», I replied, pretending I had no idea what I wanted to talk about. However, it was obvious what Versyl was going to say, and things went as expected.
«This is Missha Karlstein. I suspect he returned to our team under someone else's orders».
I, of course, had to ask the obvious question. «Why are you telling me this only now?»
«...As this is a sensitive topic, I wanted to be more sure before mentioning anything to you».
Well, that's how you planned to cover your tracks.
If I hadn't known anything, I would have been very suspicious right now, but since I knew exactly why I was being so lazy, I let it go.
«Ahem! Anyway, that's not the important thing... There's one more thing I wanted to mention...»
«What is it about?»
«There's a chance time is passing in the outside world right now».
Huh, I didn't expect him to inform me of that immediately. Did you conclude that this was something I needed to convey immediately even if it made me suspicious of her? If that was the case, I found his honesty admirable.
«What makes you think that?»
«...He's the boss. There are a lot of weird things about him if you think about it. He was alive thousands of years ago, and from the looks of it, hasn't he been here a long time too? But that only makes sense if time flows equally in and out of the maze».
Honestly, I was surprised by the test Versyl presented.
Wow... If I didn't already know everything, I think I would have accepted it as true right off the bat.
I noticed that last night I was tossing and turning in bed a lot. So you had been taking advantage of the time to prepare your cover?
Well, I too had stayed up a little later than usual trying to organize my thoughts.
«So it's been a month away already?». I asked with a clueless air.
Versyl shook her head. «No, it's not that. In fact, I think that's not the case at all... I think the end of the 'rainy season' is probably the beginning of the month: the moment when the maze closes.»
«Any proof of that?»
«...I don't have any.»
How come you don't have any?
The fact that they had spent fifteen days in the outside world was probably the greatest proof he had.
So, he hadn't been able to make up an excuse for how he knew, was that it?
In any case, Versyl's estimates of the time dilation between this place and the city coincided with mine.
On the twenty-first day the rainy season had ended. And on the thirty-fifth day, the fifteenth of the month in the outside world, the Round Table had opened at midnight. This meant that if we measured the days by matching the end of the rainy season with the amount of time I had spent outside, they would line up one by one...
«According to my calculations, there is a high probability that the maze will open again on the fiftieth day».
«¿Y?»
«And on the fifty-seventh day, the first floor will be closed again and no one will be able to enter it. Then, on the sixty-fourth, there will be another rainy season».
That coincided with the cycle that the village chief had mentioned seemed to follow the rainy season.
After Versyl shared her surprising revelation with me, we held a clan meeting for the first time in a long time.
«Does time pass in the city...?».
Everyone was surprised by this theory, but most did not doubt its authenticity. He had already told everyone besides Versyl that he had ended up in the Ghostbusters this month.
Well, everyone except Ainar and Auyen, who also didn't know that I was an evil spirit.
«Oh! That's very interesting!»
«That's it... Isn't it that big of a deal? It is, right? If we're stuck in this place forever as the boss...»
I ignored their very different reactions.
In any case, this information dump only occupied the beginning of the meeting. The main topic on the agenda was another.
«We have to decide what we are going to do from now on».
«What do you mean by that, Captain?»
«Simply put, we have to make a decision. Either we focus on our own quest ignoring any other adventurers who may come here, or...»
«¿O?»
«We joined forces with them and found a way out of here».
Since we were all adventurers who quickly weighed profits and losses, I didn't need to say much more.
However, when we started voting, it quickly became clear that we were divided on the issue.
«I am in favor. No matter what we earn in the short term, finding a way out of this place has a higher priority.»
«I agree. Escaping is not the only problem... If we do not help them, most will die...»
Amelia and Auyen were in favor of teaming up with the newcomers.
«I object. We don't even know if they will be useful to us...»
«I vote no too! Shouldn't the adventurers who manage to come here be able to take care of themselves? More than anything, it's going to be annoying dealing with them!»
Erwen and Ainar were against it.
«I... still think that it would be best if we met with them, even if we have to pause our expedition to do so. We could check if our information is correct, and we would also hear news from the outside world. Then we can decide if we help them or not».
«I... don't really see the need to actively search for them right now. But if we end up meeting them later, then we can decide per person...»
Versyl and Missha each voted somewhere in between.
Why was I always the deciding vote?
Whatever the reason, I opted for the option I thought was right.
«I think we should at least take a look at that stone island again».
Between the library, the rainy season, and even this huge tree island, this plant was packed with final content, and the final content was famously difficult. Which meant we would have more options and routes available if we had a larger group.
And more importantly, with enough people, we should be able to kill that giant bastard.
Having clarified this, we continued exploring the island we were on for about ten more days before leaving for Stone Island to arrive on time.
When we arrived, it was the fifty-third day. We set up camp at our starting point and waited, and from there time flew by.
Day fifty-four, day fifty-five, day fifty-six...
On the fifty-seventh day, just as we were beginning to wonder if anyone was really going to show up...
¡Vwoong!
«¡B-Bjorn! ¡A portal! ¡Es un portal!»
Dozens of portals opened into the air as rookies entered the plant.