Chapter 436
age twenty three.
A freshly discharged soldier with young, straight-haired hair and the features of a young country boy.
That guy called me brother.
[Me? It’s just… 10 years have passed.]
At least 10 years.
No, since it’s been 4 years since he said that, even if he’s a player who has survived in this city for at least 14 years.
At first, I thought he was a weirdo.
But…
[You are already a person here.]
Through the words of Hans A I met in the box of punishment, I finally realized.
The vehemence and tenacity contained in the words he said before.
[older brother! Stop talking like pine nuts! i will go back So, I should use my real age!]
Lee Baek-ho is not an eccentric guy.
Just more desperate than anyone else.
That’s why it’s rather easy to read the inside.
[Quickly release Ben. Otherwise, you’ll really die here.]
His tone is frivolous.
[Hey frame. Who wants to start a fire without my permission.]
Believing in the omnipotent force and acting like an idiot.
[Hey, are you a real player?]
It might seem like you’re only moving according to your own desires.
In the end, he only wants one thing.
[Because I don’t accumulate affection in this world.]
To escape from this damn world and return to the original world.
No one is as easy to deal with as a person with a clear goal. However, I have been wary of revealing my identity to Lee Baek-ho.
But…
‘I don’t think that’s necessary anymore.’
Anyway, this guy doesn’t know that Bjorn Yandel is Lee Han-soo, but he knows that he’s an evil spirit.
And above all.
“Wow, that’s awesome…”
Now that time has passed, it’s more or less like that.
The confidence that I could protect myself in the worst situation even against this monster.
“Yes… You are the real Bjorn Yandel. Lichen Scheuitz is Bjorn Yandel, so the one I met last time in Atlanta was also the older brother?”
After revealing my identity, Lee Baek-ho, who had burst into strange exclamation several times, exhaled as if relieved.
“…It’s really fortunate. I’ll take care of it now.”
That part was a bit annoying.
“Are you happy…?”
“Ah… I’d rather not say that.”
“That sounds like something I’ll have to listen to and judge.”
When I cut it off and said it, Lee Baek-ho’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“But bro.”
“…….”
“Why are you talking to me so aggressively?”
Rather than angry, the voice sounded like he didn’t understand at all. However, without me having to say anything, he alone agreed.
“Ah… Come to think of it, I was a bit like that…”
Apparently, he remembered what happened with Bjorn Yandel.
“I’m sorry hyung. It happened when I didn’t know you were my hyung, so will you understand?”
Before deciding whether or not to accept an apology, Lee Baek-ho sighed again.
“Hyung, too… I’ll just tell you then.
Heh heh…….
This makes people go crazy.
“So you’re saying it’s my responsibility?”
“No. Didn’t I say that? In the end, it’s my fault. Like you said, it’s because of me that Bjorn Yandel became known as an evil spirit.”
At the moment, the calm voice sparked heat again, but I put my emotions to rest and focused on the conversation.
“I’m asking again since we’ve both changed our names, but why is that?”
“Because I need a symbolic presence for my plan. Again, if I had known he was my brother, I would never have used that method.”
Well, that’s what I say, but I don’t have trust.
I know a little bit about this guy now.
“Even if I’m really dead?”
Did this guy really choose not to use me?
***
“…….”
The answer to my question was silence.
Are you the type who hates to lie?
I think so, but it’s too early to be sure.
Maybe he just doesn’t tell obvious lies.
Lee Baek-ho naturally changed the subject.
“But don’t you wonder how I found out that my brother was Bjorn Yandel? I honestly thought I’d ask you that right away.”
The answer is simple.
I saw that there was something else important right now.
No matter how much I look for the reason, the result that passed once will not change.
Even if it means going back in time—
“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t have answered if I asked.”
What are you doing?
“Still, to say one thing, it wasn’t that clear. So I decided to take this opportunity to try it out a little bit.”
I didn’t even have to listen to the way I did it.
Even though he suspected that I was Bjorn Yandel, he just acted normally. Until I mentioned ‘Misha’ or ‘Bjorn Yandel’ first.
‘Maybe that’s why he seemed embarrassed by Hyunbyeol. Only then can I relax my guard a little more—’
“Oh, but Hyunbyeol-noona is really scary. How did you date someone like that? How long has it been since you lost a fight? You just laughed out loud? I’m dumbfounded.”
Um, was that real?
I don’t know, but it wasn’t a topic to ponder right now.
“Anyway, that’s done.”
I ended the topic at this point and asked directly.
“Why did you take Misha?”
“Of course it’s because of the labyrinth attack.”
Yes, that was also the reason.
I guessed it in my heart, but hearing it in my own words gave me an unknown sense of relief.
“Isn’t that why you were raising him? It’s convenient to have a double-wielding swordsman in the second half of the ninth floor.”
Of course, there were questions about that answer.
“If you were like me, there would have been many other candidates, so why was it Mischa?”
“I like Pure Love. I thought that if I promised to save my brother with the Resurrection Stone, I would never betray him.”
“Is that all?”
“There are other things… but they’re all trivial. To be honest, it’s not like I wasn’t whimsical about that decision. It was a little strange. Knowing that it’s a demon and yet not changing your mind.”
It didn’t seem like a lie.
In fact, he didn’t seem to have much interest in Misha.
No, do you think it’s like an object?
“Oh right! If you want it back, I’ll give it to you. I’ve been raising it pretty hard for several years, and I feel like I’m guilty of Hyunbyeol’s older sister, but…”
Now, the only person this guy is interested in is me.
“You’re between me and my brother, right?”
Soon, he smiles and looks at me.
“I can take that much. Cancer?”
An embarrassing favor.
Through this, I was able to recognize clearly.
The reason this guy treats me well isn’t simply because I’m ‘Korean’.
There is something more.
Otherwise, there’s no way this guy whose goal is ‘return’ would give up on Misha so easily.
But…
‘It would be better to pretend not to know for now.’
I didn’t even try to float.
First of all, it was decided that getting Misha safely back was an urgent priority…
“Then, since the kitty problem has been solved, let’s talk about something else!”
“Something else?”
“I’m just curious about your story. I wasn’t as strong as you when I was younger. I even ate a deep-sea giant essence a while ago. Based on roughly confirmed facts, I thought there would be at least four tier 3 essences. ……”
Lee Baek-ho started to throw out various questions about me, and I carefully answered the part that I wanted to answer, filtering out the things I didn’t want to.
Because the world is give and take.
I decided that it would be better for me to show this kind of sincerity as long as I said that I would let Misha go coolly.
But…
“So what about in reality? Where have you been for two and a half years?”
This question gave me a lot of thought.
Wouldn’t it be better to tell him about what happened in the past 20 years ago?
It didn’t take long to make a decision.
‘Anyway, he knows that I am Bjorn Yandel, so there’s no need to hide it. Maybe I’ll hear some useful information from him too.’
Auril Gavis is the public enemy of the players.
So it’s also important to share information and discuss ways to counter them.
Therefore…
“The fragment of the record…? I’ve heard of it, but it’s real.”
The thing that got sucked into the past on Parune Island.
And…
“…you met Aurel Gavis?”
I solved the story mainly about what I had done to the community 20 years ago. After all, he wouldn’t even be curious about the story of saving Amelia.
“Oh, now I see that this community itself was created by him.”
“Oh, I know that. I heard that old Ruin Genes too… Huh? Wait a minute… Then the old man said Aurl Gavis brought a weirdo before the community exploded… Was it?”
“Maybe.”
“Wow… That’s why you look like a main character. Let’s do more. So? How did it go?”
“Auril Gavis was very interested in me being a player from the future.”
I explained the conversation I had with Auril Gavis, except that I had beaten the original mode.
Surprisingly, Lee Baek-ho already knew most of the information.
Well, one of his current colleagues is an Annihilator.
The reason I talked about the past in the first place was because I wanted to get information about it.
“I know that the Earth Witch lives. I don’t know where she is.”
“The old man says everyone’s wishes are headed. Do you have any clues?”
“Huh? Did you really say that? Is it easy? Is there more than the end of the labyrinth?”
“But there was no such thing as a final boss in the game.”
“That’s because it was a tutorial. If you’ve been through this much, wouldn’t you know? This place is definitely different from the game. Maybe the land witch will appear as the final boss. Hmm, then how should I prepare?”
Even if it wasn’t just the land witch, the conversation with Lee Baek-ho was beneficial in its own way.
Rather, I was the one who unlocked the information, but should I say that I got more information?
“If you say Kagureas, you mean the barbarian who collected the three Noble Phantasms?”
Uh, there were two at the time I went…….
No, more than that in the first place.
“Was he a barbarian…?”
“Didn’t you know? I have a deep relationship with my older brother. Little Vulcan… Hyung was called that nickname, right?”
…what?
“No way…….”
“Yes. Kagureas is Vulcan. To be precise, it is presumed that way from the circumstances. I returned to the arms of my lost race.”
It was an amazing story.
I never thought that the legendary senior who was the owner of my tinnitus was an evil spirit.
“Do you know about the portal in the basement of the palace?”
“I’ve been investigating for a long time, but I haven’t found much. Just that the portal there is an exit, not an entrance?”
“Exit?”
“It’s not that you can get anywhere through a portal, it’s the other way around. If you take a portal somewhere, you can move to the place where the portal under the royal family is located.”
Hmm, that’s right…….
It’s a very suspicious story at first glance.
Anyway, after a long time, we were on the same side. [Auril Gavis, do you feel any remorse for the many ‘evil spirits’ who were brought here and died because of your greed?]
Somehow,
the end of the truth game As soon as Lee Baek-ho heard
this question, he
laughed out loud. Foot ahahahaha! really? You asked the old man that question?”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Just like that. If it’s an older brother, then I’d say it was an older question……. But hyung is still on the naive side…….”
What? Am I naive? He
was full of spirits while listening to it, but Lee Baek-ho seemed to really think that way.
” So what? What did the old man say?
I conveyed the answer I heard then without a single error.
[How can I feel comfortable with myself? Of course it’s sad I also feel responsible. He will probably live with this kind of heart for the rest of his life and atone for it.]
He said that while looking straight into my eyes.
[How can this be the answer?]
Even the red light on the jewelry.
“Hmm…….”
Lee Baek-ho, who thought he would curse with him, saying that he was an old psychopath, had a strange expression on his face.
“This is a bit vague.”
“Are you vague?”
“You spoke at length, and that was intentionally exaggerated.”
“huh?”
“It’s a typical pattern when hiding a lie within the truth. Even in a situation where you can only answer yes or no, right?”
Lee Baek-ho was suspicious of Auril Gavis’ intentions.
But the problem is, when I think about it, that doesn’t make any sense at all.
“Um, but why did the old man do that? Just a coincidence? What do you think?”
“Well… how do we know what the old man is thinking?”
“It’s… it is.”
The discussion of Auril Gavis’ answer ended neatly there.
Lee Baek-ho seemed to have more questions than that.
“Hey hyung…….”
“Tell me. Suddenly, it just makes me more anxious.”
“Oh, but I thought it might be a bit rude.”
“Because it’s done.”
“I’ll do it then?”
“uh.”
When permission was given once more, Lee Baek-ho cautiously asked.
“What is your goal, brother?”
It wasn’t a random question.
However, as if I had heard something unexpected, I asked back.
“What’s your goal?”
“Do you want to go back to Earth or not?”
yeah i was curious about that too
“When we met at the Gnome Tree, you obviously said you didn’t know.”
yes it was
By the way, when I answered that question, this guy asked if it was because of the enemy Myo tribe. When I answered silently, he said that he felt like he was looking at his old self, and even gave advice not to ask for too much from the NPC.
‘…The reason I was so cool at that time was probably because I didn’t place too much value on ‘Bjorn Yandel’.’
“You still don’t know?”
“Well…”
“Then think about it seriously now. It’s been a long time since the goal was just to survive.”
Lee Baek-ho’s intentions were obvious, but he pretended to be serious about it. But is it because I’ve been worrying about it a lot lately?
“It’s a goal……”
I was just going to pretend, but really, this and that thought was swirling in my head.
what is my goal
“If it’s difficult, think about it like this. There’s a button here. And if you press that button, you can go back to the original world right away.”
Lee Baek-ho’s advice was more helpful than I thought.
In fact, I may not know what decisions my future self will make.
“Then what are you going to do?”
At least I knew the current situation.
“…….”
If there really was such a button, I would have hesitated in front of it for a long time.
Also, you must have been thinking about it incessantly.
When you return home, what is in the house?
Just what came to mind right away was enough.
“…….”
Hamburger Coke game.
Fun media and the convenience of tons of modern gadgets.
You don’t have to kill anything, you don’t have to bleed every day, and you don’t have to be sick or tired.
Even if you worry about life, you don’t worry about survival.
Yes, the kind of flat life I want is beyond it.
but.
“…….”
Clearly, the world in this game is a fucking place, and that thought still hasn’t changed.
‘Perhaps… the result won’t change.’
After all, I wouldn’t be able to press the button.
no i wouldn’t have clicked on it.
Because what I want now is not such a life.
“How much do you think your worries are over?”
“okay.”
The conclusion came out.
My goal is to survive.
In this place full of all sorts of threats, as if walking on thin ice.
With me and the many people I met here.
That is my sincere desire.
That’s why…
“Can you tell me what to do?”
I met the guy’s eyes and replied.
“I’m going to press that button.”
It was the judgment that it was necessary to adjust to the guy right now without revealing his true intentions.
because it sucked
At least what kind of answer this guy was waiting for.
“…….”
Hearing my answer, Lee Baek-ho stared at me without saying anything.
There was silence for a while.
A silence that feels heavy somewhere.
“Tsk.”
It was Lee Baek-ho’s clicking sound that signaled the end of that short time.
“That makes people feel bad. It’s not like they treat you as an idiot for not being able to use skills here.”
The guy who always laughed lightly and joked around was looking at me.
“You look into my eyes and lie.”
With cold eyes I’ve never seen before.