Chapter 255 - Open World (4)

Explorers age much faster than ordinary people. After all, the higher they climb, the longer they spend in the Labyrinth. A single expedition can last over two months.

'So why does he look so young?'

For a moment, I wondered as I looked at the man with his platinum-blond hair slicked back with pomade. Then I swallowed hard. There was information I needed to sort out before wondering about the secret to his youthful looks.

["I heard you were at the royal palace. When in the world did you get here?"]

Lee Baekho had been at the royal palace when the city was burning.

["Who said you could set fires? Without my permission, at that."]

The Scholar of Destruction was indeed the one who had started the fire...

"Wanna fucking die?"

And Lee Baekho was furious about it. But why, exactly? Even the Scholar of Destruction, the target of that fury, frowned as though he had no idea.

"I simply cannot understand. Why are you hostile toward me? Surely my actions made things easier for you as well."

"Easier, my ass. Burning this place down won't make that bastard king come outside."

"Oh? So the king really was your objective?"

Apparently, he had been fishing for information even now. The Scholar of Destruction's eyes gleamed at Lee Baekho's answer. But...

"What? The king was my objective?"

Lee Baekho sneered at him as though he were pathetic.

"You really don't know a damn thing, geezer. Whatever. I can't be bothered to explain."

He waved a hand dismissively, as though shooing away a gnat.

"... You are even more uncultured than I had heard."

Perhaps no one had ever treated him this way before, because the Scholar of Destruction made no effort to hide his displeasure. Of course, Lee Baekho didn't so much as blink.

"Yeah, the uncultured one is you, talking back every chance you get and stinking up the place. Seriously, buy some new dentures. I can smell the rot from here."

"Wh-what...?"

The Scholar of Destruction had tossed out a single remark only to take a verbal punch to the gut.

"You insolent..."

With his beard trembling as he offered that glowing praise, the winner was as good as decided. To be fair, I couldn't imagine that old man beating Lee Baekho, heir to the Korean gamer spirit, in a war of words.

"All right, let's get down to business."

Lee Baekho moved on as though he couldn't care less how pissed off the Scholar of Destruction was.

"So how are you going to make this right? My soup-and-rice place burned down because of you."

That was the real reason he had come charging over in a rage.

"S-soup and rice...?"

The Scholar of Destruction didn't even seem to understand what he meant, but Lee Baekho vented his anger regardless.

"He was an NPC, sure, but he made the closest thing to the real deal just from my description. Damn it, he even said he'd make me cubed radish kimchi later..."

"... Did you perhaps have an alchemy workshop in Carnon?"

"Alchemy, my fucking ass."

Lee Baekho spat on the ground like a thug.

"This is why you can't talk to these NPC fuckers. Hansoo bro would've been pissed off right along with me."

I flinched at the sudden mention of me, but I probably would have been angry too. There had actually been a place in this city that could make soup and rice?

'... You should've told me about it! I never even got to try it!'

Anger welled up in me toward both of them. Of course, there was nothing I could do except watch, pretending to be a barbarian who knew nothing.

"So what is it you want? I have no wish to make an enemy of you. If this incident damaged your workshop, I shall compensate you."

The Scholar of Destruction finally attempted to negotiate. It was a somewhat surprising sight. The lunatic who had set all of southern Carnon ablaze was trying to talk things out like a moderate? Just how formidable was Lee Baekho for this geezer to act like this?

I didn't know the details yet, but one thing was certain.

"Pull out your dentures."

"...?"

"You said you'd compensate me, didn't you? If you're really sorry, pull those rotten, stinking dentures out yourself. Then I'll let you off."

Lee Baekho was the most troublesome enemy imaginable, but there was no one more reassuring to have on your side.

"... I do not know what gave you that impression, but these are not dentu—"

"Like fuck they aren't."

As though signaling the breakdown of negotiations, Lee Baekho took a step forward. Then he said,

"Then what's this?"

No one present could understand those words. But a brief moment was all it took.

TAP!

I heard him lightly kick off the ground.

WHOOSH!

At that very instant, Lee Baekho vanished. I had no idea what his Agility was, but my eyes could only catch fragmented snapshots of his movement.

Lee Baekho with his fist clenched. The Scholar of Destruction's startled face. And...

SHHHH!

A curtain of mana blocking the space between them. It was that combination of linked spells essential to a mage's survival in a roguelike world: Danger Detection Support and Shield.

Judging by its purple color, its mana density was nearly the highest possible. Something like that could withstand at least one punch from an Ogre. But...

CRAAACK!

It couldn't withstand Lee Baekho's fist.

"...!"

The curtain of mana shattered like glass. In exchange, the blue energy surrounding Lee Baekho's fist also faded, as though the two had canceled each other out. That wasn't a meaningful achievement for the Scholar of Destruction. A bare fist was enough to prove the point.

THWACK!

The split-second exchange ended with Lee Baekho's fist slamming into the Scholar of Destruction's jaw. Something white flew out along with blood.

"See? You were lying after all."

Lee Baekho snatched it out of the air and clicked his tongue.

"If they're not dentures, why do they come out?"

Even I could tell this fucker was insane.

* * *

"Are you truly determined to see this through to the end?"

Surprisingly, the Scholar of Destruction quickly got back to his feet after taking that punch. He looked at Lee Baekho with emotionless eyes.

"If you wish to continue, I will not back down."

"Wow, that's a first. A fucking mage saying that in melee range?"

Lee Baekho laughed as though the idea were absurd, but he didn't seem to be taking his opponent lightly. After all, he was injured too.

'Why is he hurt?'

I still didn't understand. After his Danger Detection Shield shattered, the Scholar of Destruction had cast another shield, and Lee Baekho had broken through that with his bare fist too, knocking his teeth out. That was the entire exchange I had seen.

"Ptooey."

Lee Baekho spat blood-tinged saliva onto the ground and asked,

"What was that thing you did at the end?"

"A simple curse spell."

"There's no way a curse could work on me."

"Someone of your caliber should know the method. We made brief physical contact, did we not? I connected our circuits then and completed the spell using your flesh as the medium."

"Oh, so that's why my Mana Resistance didn't work."

Lee Baekho nodded in understanding. Apparently, most veteran mages in this world knew how to use that trick. Damn it, the game hadn't had any bullshit applications like that.

"But that still doesn't make sense. You did all that in that split second? The others needed at least a few seconds just to connect."

"I developed this application of the spell formula. Surely I should be capable of that much."

"Wow, you're the one who invented that fucking technique?"

Lee Baekho stared hard at the Scholar of Destruction, as though acknowledging a worthy opponent. The sentiment seemed mutual.

"I am aware of your circumstances. I also have some idea why you left the royal family's service."

"So?"

"Since we have met, allow me to make you an attractive offer."

"What is it? Let's hear it."

Lee Baekho asked, seemingly curious now. Apparently, this interested him more than avenging the soup-and-rice shop's NPC.

Something about the atmosphere felt off, so I quietly began backing away. That was when it happened.

"How about we finish off that fellow first, then talk?"

The Scholar of Destruction turned his gaze toward me as he spoke. Damn, I hadn't predicted this turn of events either.

'Fuck.'

My heart pounded. The Scholar of Destruction alone had my life hanging by a thread. If Lee Baekho joined in, I would have no way out. Except to reveal that I was Lee Hansoo and appeal to his feelings.

"No can do."

I had braced myself for the worst, but fortunately, Lee Baekho rejected the Scholar of Destruction's suggestion. It wasn't for some emotional reason, like knowing I was a Player and being unable to stand by and watch me die.

"Then it'd look like I was doing what you wanted."

He was simply asserting control.

Perhaps frustrated by that attitude, the Scholar of Destruction spoke as though trying to reason with a difficult child.

"That man is now a noble."

"And?"

"Now that you are at odds with the royal family, he is a potential enemy, ultimately."

Even to me, that sounded fairly reasonable. Fortunately, however, Lee Baekho once again paid him no heed.

"So what? I'm confident I can keep him under control myself. Stay out of it."

The source of that confidence was obvious. He knew I was a Player. No matter how close I became to the royal family, he was confident he could fuck me over in an instant.

'Does that mean getting exposed actually worked in my favor this time...?'

"In that case... we should move elsewhere."

In the end, the Scholar of Destruction couldn't overcome Lee Baekho's stubbornness and abandoned his desire to kill me. Well, from his perspective, Lee Baekho was bound to matter far more than I did.

"Oh, just so we're clear, I'm not taking a TP."

"A TP...?"

"Teleportation. You lead the way instead. I'll follow. You're welcome to try something funny, but you'd better be ready to fucking die if you do."

"... Then I shall go ahead."

The Scholar of Destruction rose into the air with the attendant-like man behind him. It was a levitation spell.

"What are you looking at? I'll follow on my own. Go ahead."

The Scholar of Destruction stared at Lee Baekho for a few seconds, then disappeared beyond the flames. That was one crisis averted. Still, it was too soon to relax. One of Lee Baekho's defining traits was that there was no predicting what he would do next.

"Hey."

"... What?"

I made no particular effort to hide how scared I was. Lee Baekho smirked, then...

"That's one you owe me for saving your life, got it?"

With those parting words, he left. For some reason, my mind went blank.

'Was telling him not to kill me more than just a power play?'

Well, I still wasn't sure which it was. But if that were true...

'I might be a little touched.'

I wiped the ash from the bridge of my nose with my hand.

"Sniff."

That bastard. And he'd said he didn't get attached.

* * *

Not long after Lee Baekho and the Scholar of Destruction left, Raven arrived.

"Mr. Jandel!"

Perhaps thanks to the Scholar of Destruction's notoriety, she had an entire battalion of knights behind her, with a substantial number of military mages among them.

"We're here to rescue... Huh? Why isn't anyone...?"

Raven looked bewildered when she found the Scholar of Destruction nowhere in sight. The royal forces following her wore similar expressions. I quickly explained the situation before it could cause a misunderstanding.

"Are you saying that 'individual' who appeared during the assassination incident came here and began fighting the Scholar of Destruction?"

"Yes. They suddenly started fighting, then disappeared in an instant."

"Do you happen to know why he was hostile toward the Scholar of Destruction?"

"Who knows! I have no idea either!"

There was one reason I had simplified the incident as much as possible. I figured someone might conclude from the circumstances alone that Lee Baekho had helped me.

"You were truly fortunate."

With such major figures involved, the knights didn't question the truth of my statement.

"Then we'll head out first."

The royal forces stayed behind to investigate the area. Raven and I watched for a little while, then made our way out.

The first to welcome us were the survivors who had already escaped. The fifteen or so lives Raven and I had worked so hard to save. With faces blackened by ash, they bowed to me over and over.

Of course, that didn't last long. After all, no one was going to die just because I didn't stick around for a thank-you.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Raven questioned me as I turned away. Honestly, what had just happened had left me utterly drained, and I wanted nothing more than to rest, but...

"I made a promise."

"... A promise?"

In return for the fire-related equipment and consumables, I had told the mage named Leben Arpheon that if I had the strength left, I would do everything I could.

Raven looked dumbfounded for a moment, but she didn't stop me or scold me for doing something pointless.

"Go ahead. I'll stay here and help people."

Well, was this about each of us doing our best where we could? I gave Raven an approving glance down, then headed back into the flames.

Over the next twelve hours or so, until the fire was put out by rain pouring down hard enough to cause a flood...

SHHHHHHH!

I saved seventeen more lives in total.

It was such a paltry number that it would hardly merit a main storyline in a movie or comic, but...

「Your character's Fame has increased by +1.」

「Your character's Fame has increased by +1.」

「Your character's Fame has increased by +1...」

「...」

「...」

That was the best I could do.