Chapter 31 – Unexpected Connection (2)

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]

Chapter 31: Unexpected Connections (2)

At times like these, one shouldn’t panic.

It’s hardly worth panicking over something like this.

I’ve spent a long time living in Neon City.

I thought calmly.

It was clear that the other person didn’t know my true identity.

They probably assumed I was just a newbie mercenary ’A’, asking questions about the bulletin board.

To them, I was just a newbie who had been recommended to Warrior class.

If it was claimed that recommending the Warrior class was a mistake, I could definitely prove otherwise.

A Warrior (Berserker).

It’s a great occupation.

Actually, it’s the same in any RPG game.

When people ask what the preferred and important occupations are, they’re usually divided into healers, tanks, and damage dealers.

I had no ulterior motive.

I simply recommended the ‘Warrior class’ to him – a noble gift.

Of course.

There were some minor issues, like the fact that the game didn’t have as many players as it should for party play, and there were no hardcore party contents like raids.

But that was about it.

At most.

When dealers like Mages or Archers used wide-range skills to take down multiple monsters, the Warrior had to use close-range skills meticulously, to kill monsters one by one.

“…”

Hmm.

Come to think of it, maybe I did something a little bad.

Anyway, I waited for the other person’s reaction.

I had my hand ready on the shortcut key to force quit the game if things went wrong.

His character approached mine.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Thanks to you, I did well in transitioning to a warrior! It’s not bad enjoying the game with this old-fashioned device.]

The response was better than I expected.

He still hadn’t caught on to the truth.

[ImARealMage (Warrior): Haha, I’d be glad if I could help.]

Portraying a normal newbie mercenary ‘A’, I acted as if I knew nothing.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like I needed to run away.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Indeed. Like you said, being a warrior is great.]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ?]

I quickly typed a question mark.

What nonsense is this?

That profession couldn’t be good.

It was a chat that made me wonder if he had excessively consumed mental care medication like a person from the other world.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Compared to when I was jobless, the hunting speed is no joke.]

Ah.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Now I can hunt one-on-one with monsters of the same level!]

I see.

Slightly.

A sense of guilt pained my heart.

[ImARealMgae (Warrior): Yes, it’s strong. There’s a reason why I recommended it.]

But there was nothing I could do.

From the moment he transitioned to a warrior, I had no more advice to give him.

Surrender to fate….

By the way, I heard that other dealer professions can start hunting immediately after transitioning.

It was information from Julia.

…But.

There was no need to reveal that truth.

Sometimes it’s better not to know.

Since it’s not a normal game to begin with,

I didn’t encounter many other professions.

I didn’t feel compelled to push him into a moral dilemma.

There’s no need to open Pandora’s box.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): It’s fun to equip gear and everything. It’s really fun.]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): That’s good to know.]

I let out a short sigh.

However,

[P2034871140 (Warrior): So, I told a few guys around me how to play this game. They all find it more fun than they thought.]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ?]

I entered another question mark.

‘Other… people?’

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Oh, they’re coming. Hey guys! Here’s the friend I told you about who taught us how to play the game last time.]

Several characters with similar appearances came running from off-screen.

Above their heads,

They all had identical names on them.

[IiiIiiIilIlill1l (Warrior) ]

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior) ]

[P77648 (Warrior) ]

‘…I.’

What on earth have I done?

A sense of guilt creeps up from below my stomach.

I couldn’t properly gaze at the monitor.

But there’s no point in avoiding it.

It’s already come to this.

I tried to gather my thoughts.

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): Is this the person you mentioned back then???]

[IiiIiiIilIlill1l (Warrior): Oh, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s quite addictive. Thanks.]

[P77648 (Warrior): Perfect for passing the time!]

Amidst this, the last warrior continues the chat.

[P77648 (Warrior): Wait a minute, now that I think about it, we’re all together here, and there are 5 of us, right?]

Why five?

I suddenly felt a sinister premonition.

[P77648 (Warrior): With 5 people, we can form a guild within the game, you know? We can really make a guild!]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ???]

I never considered it.

‘A guild…?’

Did this game even have such a thing?

No, it’s not even a game to begin with.

‘Do we really need to make a guild?’

I did type that in the chat.

But I calmly erased the message without hitting enter.

I don’t know anymore.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): That’s a really good idea!]

[P77648 (Warrior): Since it’s in the game, the guild name should be something like Warrior Craftsman Union.]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): And the highest level should be the guild master, this buddy here can take care of that, right?]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ?????]

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]

The person I first met here.

The 2nd Loyal Warrior starts jumping around my character.

By the way, I was the 1st Loyal Warrior.

…Is this fate?

In the end, when people commit a sin,

they pay the price for it.

I didn’t input any chat other than question marks. But there was no one to acknowledge my pitiful defiance.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Over here!]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ]

I wanted to say something mean.

But now there’s no way.

《Would you like to create a guild?》

I became the blind king of fools.

…I never imagined while playing this game,

that I would end up creating a guild.

As someone said earlier.

The guild name was decided as ‘Warrior Craftsman Union.’

Abbreviated as ‘WarCraft.’

“……”

For some reason,

a name that reminds me of Korea came to mind.

Unintentionally, I’ve created a guild too.

I typed in the chat to ask them once why I logged into this game.

Of course, it was about ‘Smile John.’

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Smile John, huh.]

The 2nd Loyal Warrior responds.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): He’s become quite famous lately.]

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): That guy, there’s nowhere he doesn’t meddle. From terrorist activities to support arms smuggling and theft. He’s a troublemaker in every sense.]

[IiiIiiIilIlill1l (Warrior): Hm, is that so.]

All fine, but.

As the warriors’ chat keeps flowing endlessly,

I felt a bit dizzy.

I clicked on chat while overcoming dizziness

[ImARealWizard (Warrior): Do you have any information on his identity or anything else?]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Well, there are a lot of people looking for him.]

A lot of people are looking for him, huh?

[ImARealWizard (Warrior): Seems like he’s done plenty to earn some grudges. Considering there are a lot of people looking for him.]

Well, considering Smile John’s mannerisms and actions,

He seemed like someone who could easily earn plenty of grudges here and there.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Well, I’m not sure about that much. But if you check the bulletin board here, you’ll see plenty of bounty posts about him.]

The 2nd Loyal Warrior continues chatting.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): If you’re curious, just check it out.]

[ImARealWizard (Warrior): Wasn’t this bulletin board only for illegal bounties?]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Haha, no. The moderators there also post threads about legal bounty routes.]

They say so.

Since the topic came up,

I moved my character to where the bulletin board was.

Four warriors started following my character in a line.

I tried to ignore their movements and clicked on the bulletin board with community features.

[Emoji Kid Haha, Bounty Bonanza]-[4]

[As expected from that rascal]-[2]

[“Smile John” Analysis Post]-[7]

As soon as I entered, the post titles about Smile John caught my eye.

Just as the 2nd Loyal Warrior mentioned, it seemed like the talk about Smile John was buzzing.

I ignored the other posts for now and clicked on the bounty category.

The three posts with the highest views and bounty amounts appeared on the screen.

【Bounty】[Smile John]

Client: ‘Gold Rush’

【Bounty】[Smile John]

Client: ‘NCPD’

【Bounty】[Smile John]

Client: ‘White Rabbit’

The content was all similar.

Dead or alive, hefty bounty.

Credits awarded to the informant.

“……”

Hmm.

Gold Rush was the name of a private bounty company.

Operating on the border between legal and illegal, they were famous for announcing bounties taken on by someone.

Just from glancing at the post, I figured.

Gold Rush probably announced a bounty on Andrea and Drake.

And the bounty from NCPD, maybe it’s Natasha.

Being the boss of the No Answer had enough connections.

And the last one, White Rabbit, goes without saying.

White Rabbit, Julia.

After confirming that, I closed the bulletin board.

Four warriors were jumping around my character, standing still, as if they were mesmerized.

It was unnerving.

As I moved, the warriors started chatting.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Are we done here?]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): Yeah, well… I was trying to gather some info, but it seems unnecessary now. It’s okay if I don’t find out…]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Is that so? These days, there are so many people looking for Smile John and it’s risky to get too involved.]

There were many hardworking people besides me.

I didn’t explain the situation in detail.

I just gave brief explanations when messages came.

I didn’t expect the people around me to move so quickly.

At this point, there was nothing I really needed to do.

And then.

One of the Loyal Warriors, I don’t know which, typed a message.

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): Hehe actually, I have some information about that terrorist too.]

The 2nd Loyal Warrior responds to that.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Well, you’ve always been part of an information organization, haven’t you?]

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): That’s right. But this is information I haven’t even shared within the organization, only I possess it.]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): What’s that about?]

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): Ah, even if we’re close, I can’t just spill it out here.]

The two continue chatting.

In my experience,

Those who speak first about such matters rarely possess vital information.

So I tried to ignore his chat.

If only Eve hadn’t spoken.

[I request that you tell ‘InfoSeller7’ to enter the address of the desired account or coin wallet.]

“Huh?”

Well, if she’s going as far as making a request.

It wasn’t a difficult task.

I relayed Eve’s message to the Loyal Warrior.

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): Will you provide credits? The address is (wallet link). Even if you’re the guild master, it should match the market rate.]

Suddenly, his chat stopped.

A brief silence followed.

Then Loyal Warrior typed at a rapid pace.

[InfoSeller7 (Warrior): Love you, dear customer! It’s truly an honor to meet you in such a humble place!]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ?]

I was taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor.

‘Eve… How much did she offer to get this kind of reaction?’

[Judging by the importance and priority, I deem it not a significant amount.]

He’s chatting with the confidence of an information organization employee living in the underworld, even going as far as to be gracious.

I had no idea how much it would take to elicit such a response.

I hadn’t anticipated this at all.

Maybe She’s receiving sponsorships through broadcasts.

If that’s the case,

I wish they’d lift my stock ban.

I waited for the information on Loyal Warrior chat.

“…”

But

“What if he just takes the credits and runs? How can we be sure it’s not just a simple transfer?”

[I deny, and it’s traceable, despite being an untraceable account.]

Hmm…

The logic seems a bit off, doesn’t it?

There seems to be nothing impossible for high-performance artificial intelligence.

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]