Chapter 333 - To the Future (3)

What am I doing right now, and what am I trying to achieve?

A good gamer must always be aware of their goals and the means of achieving them. Simply keeping that in mind cuts down on unnecessary wasted time.

It is the starting point of an efficient gaming life.

Therefore...

I flicked out my tongue and licked my lips, organizing my thoughts all the while.

What was my objective for this visit to the community?

It took no lengthy consideration. One sentence summed it up.

My goal was to discover GM's identity.

And my means...

'Hmm, yes, this should work best.'

Male Lion Style.

Fourth Form: Possession.

A technique that went beyond method acting, allowing me to converse so naturally it was as though the person in question had possessed me.

Oh, I just made it up.

"Ho ho, surprised?"

As I laughed like an old man, the white man's eyes went round.

"I-is it really you, sir?"

His voice was full of delight.

But had he belatedly sensed something was off?

The wariness that had seemed to fade from his eyes now appeared stronger than ever.

"No, but you're a different height... And your skin..."

Ho ho, quite the suspicious newbie. You'll go far.

I smiled fondly, as though his suspicions actually pleased me.

"Isn't the same true of you?"

My tone was that of a grandfather patiently teaching his young grandson.

As though something had dawned on him, he looked around, then checked his reflection in a window on the wall.

"Oh, then is that your true appearance, sir?"

"Indeed."

"But why the mask...?"

"Because I do not wish others to see my true appearance."

"Oh..."

What do you mean, "Oh"?

It was rather funny watching him nod understandingly, evidently assuming I had my reasons, but I kept my composure.

After all, I wasn't Lee Hansoo right now.

"Heh heh, so, what do you think of this place?"

I decided to begin with a light question and gather information one step at a time.

"Oh, yes... I'm not sure yet. I'm still not sure how to do what you taught me..."

What I'd taught him?

Having no idea what he meant, I brought out the Second Form: Stay Still.

"..."

True to its reputation as a secret technique that always delivered at least a decent result, it soon got a bite.

"That... materialization you mentioned? Even that isn't easy..."

Oh, that.

Fortunately, this was something I knew well. It was an essential control technique for participating in the Ghost Busters community.

'Normally, it only works in chat rooms or your inner world. He must be able to use it here because he inherited the position of master.'

Having pieced together the situation, I continued the conversation naturally.

"Heh heh, of course it's difficult at first. Allow me to help a little. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"... Yes."

"Close your eyes and picture it in detail. Then imagine you're holding it in your hand. Yes, well done. You're a quick learner."

"Pardon...?"

"Would you open your eyes?"

"Yes... H-huh?"

Opening his eyes, he stared wide-eyed at the hamburger in his hand.

Then he took a big bite.

"... I can't taste it."

Oh, that?

Sorry, that feature disappeared when the Round Table was made, before you arrived...

'No need to tell him the cruel truth.'

"There's nothing to be done about that, so don't be too disheartened."

"Yes..."

He agreed, but apparently couldn't hide his disappointment, hanging his head.

I could sympathize. When I first entered Ghost Busters, I'd been bitterly disappointed after trying the canned cola filling the refrigerator.

"Oh, um..."

"Go ahead."

"But what happened to you, sir? You said back then that we wouldn't meet again..."

Judging by his tone, he wasn't asking out of suspicion, merely curiosity.

It wasn't a particularly difficult question, so I answered easily.

"I was worried about you. I thought I ought to meet you here at least once and offer some help before leaving."

"Oh, I see...!"

Like the innocent newbie he was, he accepted it without question.

The moment I saw that, I knew this was my chance.

Now that I'd earned some trust... it was time to start digging into his personal details, wasn't it?

"Don't worry too much."

Patting his shoulder, I casually added, as though I had no ulterior motive,

"With your aptitude for magic, you'll soon improve at things like materialization."

GM was a mage.

I knew that for certain, having met him personally, but there was a simple reason I'd deliberately used the word "aptitude."

It paid to be careful about everything.

He was still in his first year here. Perhaps he hadn't become a mage yet.

"Oh, magic... So that's why you chose me."

From his tone, it sounded as though he'd already taken the mage route.

"But there's still something I don't understand. There must have been others more capable than a half-baked mage like me. Why choose me...?"

"Don't belittle yourself. How many of those summoned to this world have established themselves as quickly as you? You'll become someone even more remarkable."

As I began blindly heaping praise on him, he looked away in embarrassment.

At that point, I made another attempt to dig up his personal information.

"By the way, what rank were you again?"

"Rank six."

What?

I was genuinely surprised.

Wait, it hadn't even been a year since he'd been summoned.

And he was rank six...? Was that even possible in so little time?

As those questions swirled through my head...

"I was just lucky to get a high rank. I still can't even use magic properly, so I spend every day on edge..."

He muttered self-deprecatingly.

That cleared up my confusion.

Putting his earlier description of himself as a "half-baked mage" together with his admission that he couldn't use magic...

'The character he possessed was already a mage!'

Statistics showed that the bodies we possessed were invariably twenty years old.

But unlike explorers, who could only enter the Labyrinth as adults, mages could take up their class in childhood.

'Hah, and I had to start from scratch as a barbarian.'

As I felt a pang of envy for the first time in a while, I firmly committed the important information to memory.

So there were evil spirits with circumstances like his, too.

"Um... Is something wrong?"

"Heh heh, nothing at all. I'm simply proud of you."

"... Please don't say such things. It's embarrassing..."

"Embarrassing? What's embarrassing about recognizing your shortcomings and working tirelessly to overcome them?"

My words were so warm they practically made my mouth hurt, and he gazed at me with deeply moved eyes.

"Sir...!"

Okay, in game terms, he was practically staggered now.

I slipped in a casual question.

"By the way... what's your name?"

It was about time I heard it.

* * *

GM's identity was the subject of endless rumors.

I knew he was a mage, but I knew neither his name nor his face.

That was why I wanted to use this opportunity to uncover his personal details, whatever it took.

However...

"Pardon? My name? Why would you ask...?"

He tilted his head at my question.

As his gaze slid toward me, I could see signs of suspicion resurfacing in his eyes—the suspicion I'd barely managed to dispel by building his trust.

'Tsk, maybe this approach won't work.'

Making a quick decision, I brought out Plan B.

I'd only thrown out Plan A to test the waters anyway.

"Ho ho, I meant your real name."

"M-my real name?"

My teasing tone flustered him, but he soon let out a relieved breath.

"Oh... I was wondering why you'd suddenly ask my name. There wouldn't be any reason to ask that."

"Heh heh, it was only curiosity. You needn't tell me if you'd rather not."

"No, what would be the point of hiding my real name? It's Oliver Wiseman."

"A pleasant-sounding name. Ho ho..."

Laughing like an old man, I more or less let the name "Oliver Wiseman" go in one ear and out the other.

As he'd just said, what did it matter?

A real name was useless here.

"By the way, sir."

"Hmm?"

"May I ask you for some advice?"

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Didn't you tell me to run this place well and turn it into somewhere evil spirits... no, Players could interact?"

Oh, did I?

"Indeed?"

"I think I'll be able to make the pills you mentioned myself with a bit more study, but I'm not quite sure about the rest. Could you offer some advice on that?"

"Hmm..."

"I have no idea how to set this place up."

Well, if that was all.

After a moment's consideration, I offered GM some extremely helpful advice.

Once I'd made up my mind, there was nothing difficult about it.

He wasn't sure how to run this community?

All I had to do was describe what I'd seen in the future.

"Since this world labels you evil spirits, people will be reluctant to come here without caution. I believe you'll need a system that strictly preserves anonymity."

"Oh! I have an idea about that! I could make it just like an online community..."

"An online community?"

"I'm sorry. That term must be unfamiliar to you."

GM explained online communities in simple terms, as though introducing an old man to modern technology.

Having spent my entire life with the internet, I found the explanation completely useless.

Still, it did teach me one more thing.

'Right, Auriel Gabis didn't properly introduce himself.'

Judging by what GM was saying, he seemed to have introduced himself only as an evil spirit from another world.

Anyway, that wasn't important right now.

"Oh, that sounds like quite a fine idea. But why not use those objects you mentioned earlier, those 'computers'? They would suit this community format, and surely something familiar would help people adjust faster?"

"Oh... You're absolutely right!"

"It would also be good to create something like a Trade market so people can benefit one another. If they could exchange things from the outside world without revealing their identities, this place would become very appealing to them."

"Wow..."

"And when you send the pills, you might include a letter in the language you use back home, explaining what sort of place this is."

"You're incredible...! Understanding computers and communities so quickly was impressive enough, but how did you immediately come up with all this...!"

For quite some time, I described the final form of Ghost Busters to GM in the guise of advice, and he exclaimed in admiration at each new suggestion.

But had this thought only belatedly occurred to him?

"It sounds like it'll be an amazing place. But how do I make something like that?"

GM tilted his head as he asked.

I had nothing to tell him about that.

How would it be possible?

'That's for the engineer to figure out.'

Why would I know how to do it?

I spoke firmly.

"You can do it."

"Pardon...?"

"You're still inexperienced, materialization included, but won't you gradually get used to it? I believe in you."

"Oh, yes..."

GM replied halfheartedly, apparently lacking confidence, but that wasn't my concern.

It would all happen that way in the future anyway.

Putting an end to the debate over feasibility, I resumed the design work.

"Oh, and one more thing. When you write the letter, how about putting an entry password at the end?"

"A password?"

"Yes. If you used an insult against the royal family as the password, wouldn't that help weed out some spies?"

The PS did, in fact, serve as the password later.

Of course, it didn't mean much.

Whether you got the password right or not, SoulQueen had to come verify you and approve your membership anyway.

Being exceptionally perceptive, I'd seen through the trick hidden in the letter and entered the password before she even arrived, but...

'Huh, come to think of it, the abbreviation for password is PW, not PS, isn't it?'

Then why had that worked?

Had I just stumbled into the right answer by sheer dumb luck?

It suddenly occurred to me that there might have been another way to solve the password, but this wasn't the time to think about it.

"Sir, are you feeling unwell...?"

"Ahem, no. Where was I?"

"You were explaining how to identify spies."

"Ah, yes."

After that, I explained everything from the contents of the letter to individual private spaces and measures for identifying and expelling spies.

'That should be enough guidance.'

Explaining it all verbally meant I was bound to miss some details, but I wasn't particularly worried.

How many times had something like this happened since we'd traveled into the past?

Whether I mentioned those details or not, this mansion would gradually turn into the community I knew.

'Hmm, maybe this was the role I still had to play in this era...?'

The sudden thought made me worry that I might return to my original time the instant I left the community.

But...

'Nah, surely not. That wouldn't happen, would it?'

I did my best to put the worry aside.

Just then...

"By the way, sir..."

GM addressed me cautiously.

"I'm not certain, but I think I might know who that person you mentioned at the end of our last meeting is."

"..."

"Um... When you heard I'd cleared it at fifteen times difficulty, didn't you say that a user who'd cleared the original difficulty would come here someday? The person you said would fulfill every Player's dearest wish."

Oh, so he'd told him that.

As I grasped the context, my body gave a twitch.

'He didn't just hand this place over to some random person after hearing about the future.'

Now I saw that he'd assigned GM the role of a lookout.

Not that GM himself probably realized it.

'But what's this about their dearest wish? Does he mean the Gate of Abyss?'

Hmm, perhaps the old man had simply said whatever came to mind to motivate GM. Something like, they wouldn't be able to return until I appeared.

Anyway, I'd think about that later.

"I did, yes. What of it?"

At my prompting, GM continued.

"I've given it some thought since then, and there's someone I suspect. He was extremely famous in a community called Stone Iven... and someone I greatly admired. His posts helped me a lot when I was clearing fifteen-times mode, too."

He didn't need to tell me who it was.

But since I was currently posing as Auriel Gabis, I asked with feigned anticipation,

"Who might that be?"

"Someone who went by the username Elfnuna."

"Hmm?"

"I'm not certain, but in my opinion, he's the only person who could clear the original difficulty. And didn't you say last time that the user would be a 'barbarian'? As it happens, he apparently mainly played shield barbs, too."

"I see... Very well. But since we aren't certain, I think it's best to keep an open mind. That person might not be a 'barbarian,' after all."

I slipped in the suggestion as naturally as possible to throw the search off track.

But had that been a mistake?

"What? What do you mean, he might not be?"

Uh, why the sudden freak-out?

Though flustered, I gave a relaxed laugh.

"Ho ho, I only meant that it's a possibility."

"I see..."

GM sounded convinced, but his eyes told another story.

"Sir."

"Go ahead."

"Forgive my impertinence, but may I ask one more question?"

Then GM stared straight into my eyes, the only part of my face the mask left exposed, and asked,

"What's my name?"

Sigh. This had gotten annoying.

* * *

Thinking about it, perhaps I'd underestimated him too much.

Newbie or not, wasn't he the veteran who would run the community for over twenty years while keeping his identity thoroughly concealed?

His snap judgment might not be as sharp as in his prime, but he certainly wasn't unintelligent.

My appearance differed from how I looked outside.

Yet I was still wearing a mask.

And I'd asked his name.

I'd given plausible reasons for all of it and convinced him, but the sense that something was off must have kept building.

However well I played the old man, I couldn't do it perfectly. Throughout our conversation, he must have kept feeling that something was missing.

And what I'd just said must have been the decisive mistake.

"... Why aren't you saying anything?"

At his question, I gave a bitter, silent laugh.

This wasn't the time to dwell on how things had come to this.

"Could it be that you don't know my—"

I quickly spoke, cutting GM off.

"Zerkif Elmen Mackinder."

I hadn't simply blurted out some random name in my haste.

["There are three. Want me to tell you all of them?"]

It was the name of one of the three mages Lee Baekho had once told me he suspected of being GM.

In short...

'A 33.3 percent chance.'

Good enough odds to try before giving up in despair.

So, how had it turned out?

"..."

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then...

"You... Who the hell are you?"

Hostility began to creep into GM's voice.