Chapter 90: Chapter 90 Player (2)

Player (2)

A moment of silence passes.

I organize my thoughts briefly and let out a small sigh as usual.

Ragna looks at me and closes and opens her eyes slowly.

"You're surprisingly calm. As expected, I knew you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

What is she talking about? I sighed because I thought it might be true.

"Well, maybe it's better to just ignore it. Dimensional collapse is a disaster that you can't predict, and even if you know about it, you can't stop it."

She's definitely right about that.

Even in the game, dimensional collapse always happened suddenly.

Well, it was more common for it not to happen at all, though.

'It was about a one in a hundred chance.'

Of course, if it did happen, it was a disaster.

If it were in the mid-to-late game where you could handle it to some extent, it might be different...

...but in the early stages, it was more efficient to just press the ESC key and start over.

"So where did you get this information?"

I calmly confirm what needs to be confirmed.

Although I have a hunch that this is the cause of my anxiety, there might be other things I don't know about.

"It's from a mage named Chernal Pergan of the Tarutein school. I heard he has been researching the dimensional collapse phenomenon for a long time."

She tells me the name of the mage and then says that's all she knows.

"I see. I'll look into it myself. Anyway, thanks for the warning."

Just as I turn around and head towards the door, I hear a voice from behind.

"Are you... just leaving today?"

Well, since a new quest has appeared, I have to go take care of that first, right?

_____________________________

In a tavern, as noisy as always…

A silver-haired fairy sitting in a corner taps the table with her index finger.

It's a habit she has when she's troubled.

"Ha..."

Her beautiful and kind younger sister, Erwen.

That child has changed since three months ago.

She started asking for help with training, which she used to hate, and she pushes herself to the limit as if even sleeping is a waste of time.

And she's become a bit sharper.

Although I'm her blood-related sister, so it's not as bad for me...

...her tone, gaze, and actions when dealing with others are clearly different from before.

'Still, it's a relief that it's not a bad change...'

Excessive ambition and wariness towards others?

They're qualities that are welcome for an explorer whose destiny is to enter the labyrinth.

In fact, thanks to that, she was able to grow a lot.

Her sister, who successfully made contracts with all four spirits, has even managed to awaken three of them and build their own independent wills.

And that's not all.

Her archery, physical skills, and close combat skills using daggers are also improving day by day.

Honestly, it's to the point where I wonder how such talent remained dormant for so long.

However, the cause of her sighs lies in the trigger for this change.

'How long can I keep hiding it...'

The death of a barbarian whom she used to call 'mister' and rely on emotionally.

Actually, even calling it death is funny.

The person in question is alive and well.

And he even gained the title of Little Balkan.

'Should I tell her now?'

When she first heard about him, she was surprised. And then she felt anxious.

She thought it was only a matter of time before Erwen found out.

But what do you know?

Erwen, who has been solely focused on training in her room, still doesn't know about it.

"Hey, did you guys hear? The Black Sword might become Sword Saint's disciple!"

"Huh, where did you hear such nonsense? Sword Saint, that noble man, taking a mere explorer as his disciple? That's ridiculous!"

Daria, sitting alone in a corner of the tavern, feels relieved as she eavesdrops on the chatter of the surrounding explorers.

‘Indeed, the rumors have finally died down…’

The story that was once heard everywhere in this city has been buried under new stories.

Stories about him defeating evil spirits, or slaying the priest of Karui who fled to the sewers.

It was a bit nerve-wracking when the barbarian’s story started circulating in the tavern again, but…

Even that has mostly subsided now.

‘Right, let’s just leave it at that.’

Daria finally makes up her mind.

Actually, it’s not even something to contemplate.

As someone who has chosen to live as an explorer, when will such an opportunity to grow like this come again?

“Hey, fairy lady, did you come alone—”

“Get lost. If you don’t want a hole in your forehead.”

Daria pushes away the drunkard who approaches her and leaves the tavern.

She used to come here every evening, worried that the barbarian might cause another incident and become the talk of the town again…

But she won’t be coming anymore.

Knock, knock.

She returns to the inn and knocks on her sister’s door.

There’s no response.

She inserts the key, thinking she might be asleep on the floor.

Click-

The lock opens, and the door creaks open.

She sees her sister inside.

Erwen has summoned all four spirits and is meditating with her eyes closed.

But…

“Have to…”

Her lips are moving slightly as if she’s muttering something.

Daria approaches quietly, holding her breath.

Then she can hear what she’s muttering more clearly.

“Have to get stronger. Have to get stronger. Have to get stronger. That’s the only way not to lose anything. The only way to have everything…”

Her sister is repeating similar words as if brainwashing herself.

“Erwen…?”

Daria hurriedly wakes her sister up.

Surprisingly, her sister’s expression is simply peaceful.

“Ah, sister, you’re here?”

“Are you… okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“That… you were muttering something to yourself—”

“Yes? I was just talking to the spirits.”

Although it doesn’t seem like the kind of conversation you would have with spirits…

Daria keeps her mouth shut.

It’s because she’s been dismissed.

“I’m in the middle of training, so can you come back later?”

“Alright…”

Daria leaves the room dejectedly.

And she returns to her own room and ponders what just happened. Because that wasn’t the kind of look that could be attributed to ‘enthusiasm’ or ‘determination’.

It was almost like an obsession.

It wasn’t like this even during that incident 10 years ago…

‘What’s the problem? That barbarian couldn’t have been that important to her—’

Daria freezes.

The biggest change that happened recently comes to mind.

‘Ah, could it be because she absorbed that essence?’

Daria takes out a book from the bookshelf.

It’s something she bought at the guild for a hefty price a while ago.

[Lower Grade Essence Compendium]

It’s a book that contains information on all essences between 7th and 9th grade.

First, she checks the essence she absorbed this time.

‘Where’s Cannibalo…’

Although it’s a monster that only appears in the Witch’s Forest, she luckily obtained its essence while rescuing an explorer who was being chased out of the forest by it.

‘Ah, found it.’

She flips through the pages of the book and reads the text while summoning the fire spirit.

[Cannibalo] 7th grade.

Agility (Medium), Darkness Resistance (Low), Endurance (Low), Accuracy (Medium), Sixth Sense (Low), Hearing (Medium), Obsession (High).

*Increases agility and senses when moving.

*Mana Mine (Red)

*Hound (Blue)

*Tracking Arrow (Green)

As she carefully examines the content, she freezes at one part.

“Obsession is… high-grade?”

Feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu, she also checks the essence she absorbed three months ago.

[Steel Hill Stalker] 8th grade.

Strength (Low), Physical Resistance (Low), Grappling (Low), Jumping Power (Medium), Earth Resistance (Low), Perception Interference (Low), Agility (Medium), Obsession (Medium)

*Increases penetration when surprise attack is successful.

*Piercing Arrow (Red)

*Terrain Eruption (Blue)

*Weakness Detection (Yellow)

‘What the hell is this…’

There was Obsession again.

And it was even medium-grade.

‘Don’t tell me, that too…?’

She also checks the essence her sister first absorbed.

And as expected…

[Goblin Archer] 9th grade.

Flexibility (Low), Smell (Low), Poison Resistance (Low), Perception (Low), Perception Interference (Low), Accuracy (Low), Vision (Low), Agility (Low), Obsession (Low)

*Inflicts paralysis poison when using bow-type weapons.

*Sneak

There was Obsession here too.

Now Daria understands the situation.

Her excessive obsession with strength was all because of this stat.

‘Then what should I do?’

It’s not like she can just remove the essence she absorbed after spending money on it.

But it’s also heavy on her heart to just leave it be.

‘Let’s have her remove it when she absorbs an essence that can replace it.’

She reaches a conclusion after much deliberation.

However, as she washes up and lies down on her bed, she faces a new question.

‘Uh, wait a minute.’

If Erwen finds out that the barbarian is alive before then…

…which direction will this stat take?

________________________________

Ten days have passed since I heard about the dimensional collapse.

However, whether it was a baseless rumor or true, or just someone’s misconception…

…I couldn’t find any concrete information despite my efforts.

“Chernal Pergan?”

Even Raven, who always helped me when I came to her with questions, couldn’t do anything this time.

“No, I mean, even if you ask me to meet him, I’ve never heard that name before. In the first place, the Tarutein school doesn’t really interact with us.”

“…I see.”

“Anyway, please clear your schedule for a whole day next week. The lottery winner has been chosen.”

“Lottery winner…?”

“Did you forget? You promised to help my seniors with their research in exchange for me looking into the paper, right?”

No, I remember that.

But I didn’t expect it to be chosen by lottery.

‘Tsk, this makes me even more anxious…’

I’ve never been lucky with lotteries in my life.

Anyway, I tried various methods to meet the mage named Chernal Pergan, but they all failed.

And in the meantime, rumors started circulating.

“Bjorn! Did you hear?! There might be a dimensional collapse soon!!”

Misha came back in a hurry, making a fuss after saying she was going to meet an old friend.

If she knows about it, it must have already spread everywhere.

In fact, when I went to the bar in the evening, everyone was talking about the dimensional collapse.

But the problem is…

‘No one even knows the source.’

Who started the rumor?

And what’s the basis for it?

There’s no such information, and everyone is just fueling the rumors with their anxiety.

‘This is… a bit strange…’

I feel an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

Normally, there should be at least some plausible evidence for it to spread this widely, right?

Although various unfounded rumors have been added as evidence now thanks to gossipmongers, there was nothing like that in the beginning.

‘Could it be that someone is intentionally spreading the rumors?’

I come to that conclusion after observing the situation from the beginning.

Of course, it’s just speculation…

…but no matter how I think about it, the current situation is a bit strange.

‘Ha, I think there’s really something going on.’

It’s frustrating.

I want to know the information that’s circulating silently in more secretive places, not just the rumors being exchanged in the bar.

But the walls of reality are high.

How could a ground-dwelling barbarian who only gained fame through combat access such information?

‘If it weren’t for Ragna, I wouldn’t even know the name Chernal Pergan.’

Finally, I make a decision.

I’m holding the letter and the pill that Ghostbusters sent me.

It’s a pill I was originally planning to take at least 3 months later because of the anonymity guarantee, but…

‘I guess it’s okay to take it a month earlier.’

I put the pill in my mouth and swallow it.

「Character has consumed GB-027.」

I’m not immediately dragged into the spiritual world.

According to the information I found in the secret library that Raven and Ragna opened for me, the gathering takes place at midnight on the 15th of every month.

‘I just need to wait three days.’

Time flies by.

And the moment I’ve been waiting for arrives.

It feels like my mind is separating from my body.

「The character’s soul resonates and is drawn to a specific world.」

When I open my eyes, there’s a computer in front of me.

_______________________________

It’s a pure white space reminiscent of the universe.

It would probably be difficult to even tell which way is up or down.

If it weren’t for that computer over there.

‘What the, again?’

Although it’s a completely different start from what I expected, I slowly walk towards the computer.

It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced before.

It feels like I’m piloting a robot and controlling it to walk.

I finally reach the computer, swaying back and forth, and check the monitor that’s turned on.

[Please enter the password.]

A short sentence on the black DOS screen.

I enter the password without hesitation.

[Rafdonia’s king, Mother fucker]

Ah, so that wasn’t referring to the P.S. in the postscript.