Chapter 72: Mourner (2)
Chungcheongnam-do, Cheonan.
It was never a large city to begin with, but now it had become a city of the dead.
Minah was in an area quite remote from Cheonan.
It was a place that was nearly a village, so I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
‘Why the hell is Minah here, of all places?’
In the sky, Idra’s Observer guided me.
It seemed to be in a particularly good mood recently, choosing to personally guide me.
As I mentioned earlier, it was a village away from the urban center.
There were many mountains, and therefore teeming with monsters. Probably most of them didn’t survive the early days of the game’s start.
No signs of people could be seen except for human bones littered along the shattered road.
This place surely hadn’t been inhabited by humans in a long time.
‘It would have been better if there were taller buildings.’
Not many apartments were in sight.
Most of the buildings were low-rise commercial buildings, naturally collapsing from monster attacks.
They certainly had been neglected for the past few years.
“Is that the place?”
The Observer hovered in the air, signaling towards a certain direction.
There, a building stood out, significantly larger than the others.
“A high school, huh…”
Could Minah be there?
There were quite a few large cities within Cheonan.
There were residential areas too, which would have been better places to stay.
‘There must be a reason for this.’
Minah, although willful, was not foolish.
Knowing her, she was on the clever side.
If such a person stayed silently in such a place, there must surely be another reason.
Step, step.
“This looks like a perfect setting for a horror movie.”
What place could fit the word ‘abandoned school’ better?
Entering inside, I encountered a scene too terrible for words.
The outer walls of the building were smeared with bright red blood, and bodies neglected for years lay scattered on the ground.
They must have been students during the influx of monsters.
Among the skeletal remains, some were wearing uniforms, identifiable despite being old and frayed.
“Wait a second.”
As I looked at the uniforms, I realized something odd.
Because they looked familiar.
“Could these be the uniforms Minah used to wear?”
Minah always wore a uniform.
Even when she needed to wear armor, she would layer it underneath her uniform, and recently she had been upgrading it through Siwoo. Something about weaving Mithril threads while keeping the appearance of a uniform.
I’d wondered if that was an unnecessary endeavor…
‘It wasn’t just about comfort then.’
That’s what I thought.
The clothes that some of the bodies in the hallway wore were unmistakably similar to Minah’s uniform.
No, they were the same.
They only differed because they were old and neglected.
“…!”
A chill ran down my spine.
I reflexively reached into the air, gripping the hilt of my shortsword.
Clang!
Spinning my body, I swung the sword. A sharp noise reverberated down the hallway.
My opponent, apparently not expecting me to block, leaped back and landed with agility.
“You didn’t expect me to block that.”
“Nor did I expect a sudden assault.”
“In these treacherous times, it’s common sense to strike before being attacked, isn’t it?”
The one speaking was a woman with a short bob cut.
Her hair looked roughly chopped with a knife.
With calm, settled eyes and a bitter smile, she left an impression.
“It’s too harsh, considering we haven’t seen each other in so long.”
“Been a while? Wait… Hmm~! Yes.”
Minah touched her forehead and scrutinized my face closely.
“I feel like I saw someone with your unpleasant expression about two years ago.”
Indeed, I had met Minah about two years before.
It was a chance encounter during a quest, but she was such a memorable player that she stuck with me.
The next time I met Minah was after a significant time had elapsed.
Of course, we didn’t meet during this quest, and only after Seoul had faced total ruin.
Considering she survived until nearly the last quests, Minah was indeed a formidable person.
Perhaps due to her abilities, that seems obvious.
“So, what’s your business? Surely you didn’t come just to find me?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“How did you know I was here?”
Responding to Minah’s question, I pointed upwards.
Above us, my Observer was gleefully monitoring everything.
“Amazing. A player still able to communicate with gods exists.”
“And here I thought you were quite favored by the gods too.”
“Hmm, that was true. But it’s been completely cut off since a year ago.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she vanished her weapon into the inventory. It was clear there were no more Observers around her.
The Court Jester had completely lost interest in her.
‘Now that I think about it, I don’t recall seeing an Observer even the last time we met.’
But back then, the gods had deserted almost all the players on Earth, except mine.
Only my god stayed with me till the very end.
Though it had departed just before the final quest concluded.
‘In the end, it’s just a game.’
What happens when a game is no longer fun?
The answer is simple. Players quit.
They stop logging in and lose interest.
The same goes for this world.
When the gods lose interest, Avatars no longer receive divine support.
No matter how much they invested points into the Avatar, if the gods lose interest, they won’t return.
Why bother with a game that’s no longer fun?
Only two gods didn’t treat this world as a game.
My god, Idra, and the goddess of justice, Astraea.
Demons, though not treating the world as a game, don’t respect it either.
For them, it’s simply a breeding ground, nothing more.
“So, what do you need from me? You must have something to say if you came all this way.”
“…”
It was difficult to reply when asked so directly.
Telling Minah, who was mourning her friends, to help with the upcoming battle felt inappropriate.
Yet, I knew I had to at least bring it up.
“…Originally, I wanted to ask for help with the upcoming quest. But given your circumstances, that might be difficult. So, I’d like to ask for your help in making an Elixir instead.”
“The upcoming quest? Ah, that’s the ‘Choice of Two Evils.’”
That was the name of the quest.
Recalling it, Minah scratched her head.
“I was going to choose 10,000 regular people but messed up and ended up choosing 1,000 players.”
A simple mistake in the selection process.
She’s a lucky one if luck is on her side.
Those who chose differently ended up dead.
“Elixir, huh… Certainly,I suppose there aren’t many people who can make that now. If someone of your caliber is looking for an Elixir, your opponent must be mighty strong?”
“Very strong, indeed.”
Right now, though, I was stronger.
Because I had memories up to a more distant future, I knew how to win this fight.
After all, I had already fought it once before.
“Alright, I was getting bored anyway. How many bottles do you need?”
“One will suffice, and there’s another thing I’d like you to make…”
“Hmm. What is it? Just so you know, I can’t make anything harder than an Elixir.”
“I’m aware. It’s easier than that.”
I took out something that looked like a round bead from my inventory.
“I’d like you to make this effective against even the highest-tier players.”
Chapter 72: Mourner (2)
Chungcheongnam-do, Cheonan.
It was never a large city to begin with, but now it had become a city of the dead.
Minah was in an area quite remote from Cheonan.
It was a place that was nearly a village, so I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
‘Why the hell is Minah here, of all places?’
In the sky, Idra’s Observer guided me.
It seemed to be in a particularly good mood recently, choosing to personally guide me.
As I mentioned earlier, it was a village away from the urban center.
There were many mountains, and therefore teeming with monsters. Probably most of them didn’t survive the early days of the game’s start.
No signs of people could be seen except for human bones littered along the shattered road.
This place surely hadn’t been inhabited by humans in a long time.
‘It would have been better if there were taller buildings.’
Not many apartments were in sight.
Most of the buildings were low-rise commercial buildings, naturally collapsing from monster attacks.
They certainly had been neglected for the past few years.
“Is that the place?”
The Observer hovered in the air, signaling towards a certain direction.
There, a building stood out, significantly larger than the others.
“A high school, huh…”
Could Minah be there?
There were quite a few large cities within Cheonan.
There were residential areas too, which would have been better places to stay.
‘There must be a reason for this.’
Minah, although willful, was not foolish.
Knowing her, she was on the clever side.
If such a person stayed silently in such a place, there must surely be another reason.
Step, step.
“This looks like a perfect setting for a horror movie.”
What place could fit the word ‘abandoned school’ better?
Entering inside, I encountered a scene too terrible for words.
The outer walls of the building were smeared with bright red blood, and bodies neglected for years lay scattered on the ground.
They must have been students during the influx of monsters.
Among the skeletal remains, some were wearing uniforms, identifiable despite being old and frayed.
“Wait a second.”
As I looked at the uniforms, I realized something odd.
Because they looked familiar.
“Could these be the uniforms Minah used to wear?”
Minah always wore a uniform.
Even when she needed to wear armor, she would layer it underneath her uniform, and recently she had been upgrading it through Siwoo. Something about weaving Mithril threads while keeping the appearance of a uniform.
I’d wondered if that was an unnecessary endeavor…
‘It wasn’t just about comfort then.’
That’s what I thought.
The clothes that some of the bodies in the hallway wore were unmistakably similar to Minah’s uniform.
No, they were the same.
They only differed because they were old and neglected.
“…!”
A chill ran down my spine.
I reflexively reached into the air, gripping the hilt of my shortsword.
Clang!
Spinning my body, I swung the sword. A sharp noise reverberated down the hallway.
My opponent, apparently not expecting me to block, leaped back and landed with agility.
“You didn’t expect me to block that.”
“Nor did I expect a sudden assault.”
“In these treacherous times, it’s common sense to strike before being attacked, isn’t it?”
The one speaking was a woman with a short bob cut.
Her hair looked roughly chopped with a knife.
With calm, settled eyes and a bitter smile, she left an impression.
“It’s too harsh, considering we haven’t seen each other in so long.”
“Been a while? Wait… Hmm~! Yes.”
Minah touched her forehead and scrutinized my face closely.
“I feel like I saw someone with your unpleasant expression about two years ago.”
Indeed, I had met Minah about two years before.
It was a chance encounter during a quest, but she was such a memorable player that she stuck with me.
The next time I met Minah was after a significant time had elapsed.
Of course, we didn’t meet during this quest, and only after Seoul had faced total ruin.
Considering she survived until nearly the last quests, Minah was indeed a formidable person.
Perhaps due to her abilities, that seems obvious.
“So, what’s your business? Surely you didn’t come just to find me?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“How did you know I was here?”
Responding to Minah’s question, I pointed upwards.
Above us, my Observer was gleefully monitoring everything.
“Amazing. A player still able to communicate with gods exists.”
“And here I thought you were quite favored by the gods too.”
“Hmm, that was true. But it’s been completely cut off since a year ago.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she vanished her weapon into the inventory. It was clear there were no more Observers around her.
The Court Jester had completely lost interest in her.
‘Now that I think about it, I don’t recall seeing an Observer even the last time we met.’
But back then, the gods had deserted almost all the players on Earth, except mine.
Only my god stayed with me till the very end.
Though it had departed just before the final quest concluded.
‘In the end, it’s just a game.’
What happens when a game is no longer fun?
The answer is simple. Players quit.
They stop logging in and lose interest.
The same goes for this world.
When the gods lose interest, Avatars no longer receive divine support.
No matter how much they invested points into the Avatar, if the gods lose interest, they won’t return.
Why bother with a game that’s no longer fun?
Only two gods didn’t treat this world as a game.
My god, Idra, and the goddess of justice, Astraea.
Demons, though not treating the world as a game, don’t respect it either.
For them, it’s simply a breeding ground, nothing more.
“So, what do you need from me? You must have something to say if you came all this way.”
“…”
It was difficult to reply when asked so directly.
Telling Minah, who was mourning her friends, to help with the upcoming battle felt inappropriate.
Yet, I knew I had to at least bring it up.
“…Originally, I wanted to ask for help with the upcoming quest. But given your circumstances, that might be difficult. So, I’d like to ask for your help in making an Elixir instead.”
“The upcoming quest? Ah, that’s the ‘Choice of Two Evils.’”
That was the name of the quest.
Recalling it, Minah scratched her head.
“I was going to choose 10,000 regular people but messed up and ended up choosing 1,000 players.”
A simple mistake in the selection process.
She’s a lucky one if luck is on her side.
Those who chose differently ended up dead.
“Elixir, huh… Certainly,I suppose there aren’t many people who can make that now. If someone of your caliber is looking for an Elixir, your opponent must be mighty strong?”
“Very strong, indeed.”
Right now, though, I was stronger.
Because I had memories up to a more distant future, I knew how to win this fight.
After all, I had already fought it once before.
“Alright, I was getting bored anyway. How many bottles do you need?”
“One will suffice, and there’s another thing I’d like you to make…”
“Hmm. What is it? Just so you know, I can’t make anything harder than an Elixir.”
“I’m aware. It’s easier than that.”
I took out something that looked like a round bead from my inventory.
“I’d like you to make this effective against even the highest-tier players.”
