Episode 90 Player (2)
A period of silence passes.
After briefly gathering my thoughts, I let out a small sigh as was my habit.
Ragna closed his eyes for a long time and opened them as he watched that day.
“You’re calmer than I thought. I thought you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”
What the heck, I sighed as I thought that this might really work.
“Well, it might be better to just ignore it. Dimensional collapse is a disaster that we can’t know in advance, and even if we did know, we can’t stop it.”
That is certainly true.
In games, dimensional collapse always happens suddenly.
Well, there were more times throughout the game when it didn’t explode.
‘It was at the level where it might explode once in 100 rounds.’
Of course, once it exploded, there was no disaster.
I don’t know if it would be different in the latter half where you can deal with it to some extent.
In the early stages, it might actually save you time to just press the ESC key and start over.
“So where does the information come from?”
I just calmly checked what needed to be checked.
Intuitively, I feel like this is the cause of my anxiety, but I still don’t know for sure.
“A Tarutein school wizard named Schonal Fergang. I’ve been studying the phenomenon of dimensional collapse for a long time.”
She told him the name of a wizard and said that she knew nothing more.
“I see. I’ll take care of it from now on. Anyway, thanks for the warning.”
As I turned my back and headed toward the door, I heard a voice behind me.
“Today… are you just going?”
Well, a new quest has appeared, so shouldn’t we go and do that first?
***
A tavern with a bustling noise as usual.
The silver-haired fairy sitting in a corner tapped the table with her index finger.
It was her habit to say this whenever she had something to worry about.
“ha…….”
Erwen, the pretty and kind younger sister.
The child has been different since three months ago.
Not only did he ask me to help him with the training he hated so much, but he also pushed himself to his limits as if he didn’t even want to waste time sleeping.
And, it got a little sharper.
He was better off because he had blood in his veins… … .
The way I speak, the way I look at others, and even my actions when dealing with others are all clearly different from before.
‘Still, it’s not a bad change, so that’s fortunate… ‘
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Excessive desire for improvement and wariness of others?
As an explorer whose destiny is to enter a labyrinth, this is a welcome quality.
Actually, thanks to that, I was able to grow a lot.
The younger brother, who succeeded in making contracts with all four spirits, succeeded in enlightening three of them and developing their own will.
And that’s not all?
Archery, martial arts, and close combat using daggers also improved by leaps and bounds with each passing day.
To be honest, I wonder how such a talent could have never blossomed before.
However, the reason she sighed was because of the change in circumstances.
‘How long can I hide this… … .’
The death of a barbarian whom he called uncle and relied on emotionally.
Actually, it’s funny to even say death.
Because the person involved will be alive and well.
It even gained the reputation of being a little Balkan.
‘Should I tell you now?’
When I first heard the news about him, my feelings were surprise. Then came anxiety.
I figured it was just a matter of time before I got caught.
But what is this?
Erwen, who had been locked in her room every day and devoted herself to training, still had not heard the news.
“Did you guys hear that? It’s said that the Black Sword might become the Sword Master’s disciple!”
“Huh, where did you hear such strange rumors and spread them around? Your Majesty, is it even possible for such a nobleman to take a mere explorer as his disciple?”
Daria, sitting alone in a corner of the tavern, felt relieved as she eavesdropped on the conversations of the explorers around her.
‘It’s true that the rumors are slowly dying down… … .’
Stories that were once heard everywhere in this city have been buried by new stories that have emerged.
Did you banish an evil spirit, or kill a priest of Karui who escaped into the sewers?
It was a little scary when the story of the Barbarian started to circulate in the tavern again… … .
Even that has almost completely subsided now.
“Okay, let’s leave it like this.”
Soon Daria made up her mind.
Actually, it wasn’t even a problem to worry about.
As someone who has chosen to live as an explorer, when will I ever have another moment to grow like this?
“Hey, fairy girl. Did you come alone—”
“Get out. If you don’t want a hole in your forehead.”
Daria left the tavern, pushing away the approaching drunkard.
I used to come here in the evenings just in case the Barbarian did something again and it would become a hot topic… … .
I was determined not to come again.
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dripping.
She returned to her room and knocked on her brother’s door.
No answer came back.
I pushed the key in, thinking that maybe he was asleep on the floor.
Clank-
The door squeaks open, unlocked.
Soon, my younger brother appears between them.
My brother had his eyes closed as if meditating while summoning all four spirits.
however…….
“Hey, you have to… … .”
Her lips move slightly, as if she is mumbling something.
Daria approached him, holding her breath.
Then the muttering became more audible.
“You have to be strong. You have to be strong. You have to be strong. Then you won’t lose anything. You can have everything… … .”
My younger brother keeps repeating similar words as if he’s brainwashing himself.
“Erwen… … ?”
Daria hurriedly woke her sister up.
Surprisingly, my brother’s expression was just calm.
“Oh, your sister is here?”
“Are you… okay?”
“What is it?”
“He… was muttering something to himself—”
“Huh? I was just talking to the spirits?”
No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like a conversation that could be had with spirits… … .
Daria kept her mouth shut.
It’s because a curfew has been issued.
“I’m training right now, so can you come back later?”
“okay…….”
Daria left the room weakly.
And then he returned to his room and thought about what had happened earlier. After all, that appearance was not something that could be classified as ‘passion’ or ‘venom’.
It was almost an obsession.
10 years ago, it wasn’t like this even during that incident…
‘What’s the problem? That barbarian probably wasn’t that important—’
Daria froze.
It was because the biggest change that had occurred recently came to mind.
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‘Oh, is it because I ate that essence?’
Daria took a book off the shelf.
It was something I bought from the guild a long time ago for quite a high price.
[Lower-level integer summation]
A book that contains information on all integers from grade 7 to grade 9.
First, I checked the essence I absorbed this time.
‘Where is Canibaro… …?’
It is a monster that only appears in the Witch’s Forest, but I was lucky enough to obtain its essence while saving an explorer who was being chased by it and running out of the forest.
‘Ah, I found it.’
She turned the pages of the book, summoning the spirit of fire as she read the words.
[Cannibalo] Grade 7.
Agility (medium), darkness resistance (low), stamina (low), accuracy (medium), sixth sense (low), hearing (medium), obsession (high).
*Increased agility and senses when moving.
*Magic Mine (Red)
*Hound (blue)
*Pursuit Arrow (Green)
She was checking the contents carefully, but she froze at one part.
“Obsession… is… top-tier?”
Suddenly, a sense of foreboding came over her and she checked the essence she had absorbed three months ago.
[Steel Hill Chaser] Rank 8.
Strength (low), Physical Resistance (low), Strength (low), Jumping Power (medium), Ground Resistance (low), Cognitive Impairment (low), Agility (medium), Obsession (medium)
*Penetration power increases when a surprise attack is successful.
*Piercing Arrow (Red)
*Terrain eruption (blue)
*Weakness Spotting (Yellow)
‘What the heck is this… … .’
This time, there was an obsession.
It even received a medium rating.
‘Surely not, that too… …?’
While I was at it, I also looked into the essence that my younger brother had absorbed for the first time.
And as expected, it happened.
[Goblin Archer] Rank 9.
Flexibility (low), sense of smell (low), poison resistance (low), perception (low), cognitive dissonance (low), accuracy (low), vision (low), agility (low), obsession (low)
*When using an active weapon, paralyzes with poison.
*Thief’s Step
Even here there was an obsession.
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Now Daria could picture the situation in her mind.
The excessive obsession with power was all due to this ability.
‘Then what should I do?’
It is impossible to erase the essence that you have absorbed by paying money.
But my heart is heavy to leave it like this.
‘When I get a replacement, I’ll erase it.’
After much thought, she came to a conclusion.
But after a quick wash and lying down on the bed, she was faced with a new question.
‘Oh, wait a minute.’
If, before then, I found out that the Barbarian was alive… … .
Where will this ability change direction?
***
Ten days have passed since we heard the news of the dimensional collapse.
But is this just an unfounded rumor, true, or just an illusion of the person who thinks it is true?
Even though I was quite busy looking into it, I didn’t get much out of it.
“Seonal Pergang?”
Even Raven, who always helped me when I went to him with questions, didn’t help me this time.
“No, even if you asked me to meet you, it’s the first time I’ve heard of your name. In the first place, the Tarutein School has no real contact with us.”
“… I see.”
“Anyway, when you come next week, make sure to leave a whole day blank. There’s a winner chosen by raffle.”
“Winner… …?”
“Did you forget? In return for finding out about paper, I promised to help my seniors with their research.”
No, I remember that.
I didn’t know you could draw that.
‘Ugh, I’m getting more anxious for no reason… … .’
There must have been a time in your life when you were lucky enough to win.
Anyway, after that, I tried various things to meet the wizard named Seonnal Fergang, but all of them ended in failure.
Meanwhile, rumors began to spread slowly.
“Bjorn! Did you hear that?! He said there might be a dimensional collapse soon!!”
Misha, who said she was going to meet an old colleague for the first time in a while, came back in a hurry and started making a fuss.
If he knows about it, I guess it’s already spread.
In fact, when I went to the bar in the evening, everyone was talking about dimensional collapse.
But the problem is… … .
‘I don’t even know where it all came from.’
Whose mouth is that?
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And what is the basis?
There is absolutely no such talk, but everyone is growing anxious and spreading rumors.
‘This is… a bit strange… … .’
I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
Usually, for something to become so widely known, there has to be some plausible basis, right?
Although now many rumors have been added as evidence by the rich, there was nothing like that at first.
‘Could it be that someone is deliberately spreading rumors?’
Having watched the situation closely from the beginning, I came to that conclusion.
Of course, this is just a guess… … .
No matter how much I thought about it, the current situation was a little strange.
‘Ha, this really seems like there’s something to it.’
It’s stuffy.
I want to know information that is being passed around quietly in more secret places, rather than just coming and going in a bar.
But the wall of reality was high.
How would a bare-bones barbarian, whose reputation was built solely on combat, access such information?
‘If it weren’t for Ragnar, I wouldn’t have even known the name Seonnal Fergang.’
Finally I made a decision.
In his hand he held a letter from the Ghostbusters and the pills that had been enclosed.
In order to maintain complete anonymity, I originally planned to wait at least 3 months before taking the pills… … .
‘I guess it would be okay to bring it forward by about a month.’
Soon I put the pill down my throat and swallowed it.
“The character has taken GB-027.”
There was no immediate dragging into the spiritual world.
Well, according to the information confirmed in the secret library opened by Raven and Ragna, the gathering was held at midnight on the 15th of every month.
‘I guess I just have to wait three days.’
Time passed quickly.
And then the long-awaited moment arrived.
A feeling as if one’s mind is distant from one’s body.
“The character’s soul resonates and you are drawn to a specific world.”
When I opened my eyes, there was a computer in front of me.
***
A pure white space reminiscent of space.
It would probably have been difficult to even tell which was up and which was down.
If it weren’t for that computer over there.
‘What is this again?’
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It was a completely different start than I had expected, but I slowly walked forward towards the computer.
It was a feeling I had never felt before.
It feels like you’re riding a robot and controlling it to walk.
I staggered to the computer and checked the monitor, which was on.
[Please enter your password.]
A short sentence on a black DOS screen.
I entered my password without much thought.
[Rafdonia’s king, Mother fucker]
This isn’t what I was talking about in the postscript.
