Chapter 92 - Player (4)

The clearing stirred as soon as I revealed my username. I closed my eyes for a moment to assess the situation.

First, this Elfnuna they were talking about was indeed my old username. I hadn't put much thought into it; my character at the time was an elf, so that was what I'd chosen. And...

'I did write a stat guide, too...'

Was that around my third year? It seemed a waste to keep all that hard work to myself, so I'd posted it on the forum, partly as a backup. As befitted the forum for a dead game, I remembered it failing to reach even a hundred views after a whole year.

But...

'Why are they all looking at me like they've spotted a rare celebrity?'

Come to think of it, that woman earlier had also said something about me being a fan of that person. Why? It must have been about five years since I'd last visited that community.

'I became famous without even knowing it?'

Whatever the reason, I reached a conclusion. I was famous. I could work out how that had happened later. I already had enough clues to handle the immediate situation.

"Oh, there's been a misunderstanding."

Roughly three seconds. That was all it took to assess the situation, and now I smiled brightly and waved my hands in denial.

"I'm a fan of his. You'll see if you read my username carefully. It's not Elfnuna, but Elfnunna. Two n's."

Thank goodness I'd changed the spelling because the username was taken. I hated attracting unnecessary attention.

"Oh, now that you mention it..."

"The username is different."

The men looked at my username again.

"It's Elfnunna! Not Elfnuna!"

"What, so he's an impersonator..."

"I knew it couldn't be him. Got my hopes up a little when he said he was Korean..."

They let out deflated sighs. Some even gave me slightly hostile looks, perhaps feeling they'd been duped.

"Haha, nothing wrong with that if he's a fan!"

Darkman, the room's host, laughed to smooth things over, then explained a few rules. Things like always addressing one another respectfully. Other than the warning that anyone trolling to stir up trouble would be kicked out, there wasn't much worth remembering.

"I'll be going now, so feel free to chat. You can leave whenever you like, too."

The welcoming fuss over the newcomer didn't last long. Everyone returned to their places and resumed chatting in little groups. As I wondered where to go, a white man approached me. He was a Player with the username Pink Guy.

"What year are you in, Elfnunna?"

"Oh, I'm in my first year."

It was actually my fifth month, but I figured they might find it strange if I said I'd gotten here too early. His answer, however, was unexpected.

"Really? You got your letter pretty late, then."

"Sorry?"

"Only a tiny minority get their letters after making a name for themselves. I hear most people get them early on, when it's obvious what they are."

"I see..."

"If you only just got your letter, you must have done a good job acting all this time. I started as a human, and mine arrived while I was still hauling baggage."

"Oh, right..."

"Anyway, if you're in your first year, it's only been about seventy days over there... You must be up to date on things. How's it going over there?"

I wasn't sure I had any news worth sharing. Instead, I asked as though I'd misheard him.

"What do you mean... seventy days?"

I'd clearly just said I was in my first year. How did that translate to seventy days ago? Pink Guy continued with a look of realization.

"Oh, if this is your first time, you wouldn't know that either. Time flows differently in that world and this one."

"Differently?"

"Yes. One month on Earth is about five months here."

In short, a time ratio of one to five. Hearing that left me with a strange feeling.

'It's only been a month...'

I was glad less time had passed, but I wondered whether anyone had reported me missing. It wasn't as if anyone besides work ever came looking for me.

As I continued talking with Pink Guy, I learned all sorts of things.

"A way back? Hard to say. There are plenty of theories... but I hear nothing's certain yet."

Even Players who'd arrived much earlier still hadn't found a way home. And the founder of Ghost Busters was a veteran who'd been here for twenty whole years.

"Isn't it incredible that he beat that game five years ago?"

"It certainly is."

The more I learned, the more defeated I felt. It was like my pride as a veteran gamer was crumbling. Whatever else might be true, didn't this mean everyone here was an expert who'd reached the Gate of Abyss before me?

'They might look like idiots, but they're all actually incredible peo—'

"So what multiplier did you beat it on, Elfnunna?"

Huh? Multiplier?

When I gave him a blank look, he elaborated.

"You wouldn't have beaten the original. You must have beaten the remake too, right? What multiplier did you use?"

No, that didn't clear anything up... What remake?

"Would you know it if I called it the pirated version? You know, the game files posted on the Stone Iven forum five years ago. The ones where you can adjust EXP and drop rates."

Uh... That existed?

Then Pink Guy spoke with unmistakable pride.

"Not to brag, but I beat it on fifty times."

How could so many people have beaten this game? At last, that long-standing mystery was solved.

* * *

[Dungeon and Stone].

The game I'd poured ten whole years of my life into just to reach the final boss's room. Countless times while playing, I'd wondered what kind of game could possibly be this difficult.

But...

'You can set EXP and drop rates as high as a hundred times normal?'

Holy shit. What kind of broken-ass settings were those?

Until now, I hadn't even known the level cap was thirty. Even killing every single monster in the Labyrinth only got you to level eleven.

'Wait. If the cap is thirty, does that mean you can feed thirty Essences to a single character?'

Honestly, I could barely imagine it. You wouldn't even need to choose what to keep and what to sacrifice. You could just cram everything in. It made me feel like an idiot for agonizing over the best combinations and the synergy between each Essence.

From what I'd heard, you could even open ruptures—the key to character growth—whenever you wanted...

'With drop rates multiplied by a hundred, Numbered items must have practically rained down.'

Thirty Essences. An absurdly overpowered character armed with all kinds of treasures. And a party made up of five of those characters? The primordial dragon, the Lord of Destruction, Leviathan—all those things I'd taken hundreds of attempts to kill must have keeled over dead at a single tap.

"So what multiplier did you beat it on, Elfnunna?"

"... Fifty times for me, too."

"Oh, I see. Did you find it difficult?"

Difficult, my ass. With conditions like that, I was confident I could clear it on my first attempt, no matter what kind of fucked-up event came along, Dimension collapse or otherwise.

But...

'Saying that would only hurt me.'

Just as an evil spirit hunter had come looking for me as soon as I gained a reputation, too much attention was poison. Taking risks just to show off to someone was foolish. I would keep my head down and find out what I needed to know.

"What multiplier did the founder use?"

"Oh, Him? Get ready to be surprised. He cleared it at just fifteen times. I suppose he could manage it because he'd played the original."

"Fifteen times... I see."

That seemed to be the part where I was supposed to be amazed, so I played along. According to Pink Guy, the average among Players was sixty to eighty times...

Only after hearing that did the conversations of the people laughing and chatting in the distance really start jumping out at me.

"Haha, isn't this world just ridiculous? I haven't even entered a rupture yet. In the game, all you had to do was click."

"Whew, tell me about it. If just getting into a rupture is this hard, how are we supposed to reach the final floor...?"

"Apparently the game had loads of Easter eggs. I wish I'd looked into that stuff more."

The Players lamented reality as they compared it to the remake they'd played. Understandably so. This was the real-life version, harder even than the original.

"Whew..."

A profound sense of deflation washed over me. I'd been thinking of them as my seniors, people who'd beaten this game before me. I'd been telling myself to look for things to learn from them instead of trying to tear them down...

Well, didn't I look ridiculous now?

"Elfnunna?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking..."

I kept talking with Pink Guy for a while longer. In the process, I learned things any ordinary Player would take for granted and gained a much clearer understanding of how this community worked. Another mystery was solved, too.

'The remake... or rather, the pirated version started circulating, making the game popular again. And my username became famous along with it...'

My conversation with Pink Guy was useful in all sorts of ways. It was pretty fun, too.

"Man, I'd be happy if I could just eat one proper pizza... Is there any food you're craving, Elfnunna?"

"Cola and gukbap."

"Gukbap? What's that?"

"The most efficient food I've ever eaten."

How long had it been since I'd had a conversation like this?

* * *

After exchanging a few words with the others as well, I left the Newcomers' Room. Before I left, Pink Guy asked if he could add me as a friend, and I politely declined. He was clearly a nice person, but I didn't want to get close to him. He'd been nice to me. A little too nice. Like I was someone he was attracted to.

'Anyway, I think I've learned everything I need to know now...'

Even after returning to the room with the computer, I continued cramming information into my head, reading forum posts and announcements indiscriminately.

Now it was time to accomplish what I'd come here for.

'Time to look into Dimension collapses.'

As I typed, I checked the timer in the bottom-right corner. The twelve hours I'd started with had already dwindled to seven. I'd heard this space would close when time ran out even if I didn't log out, so I had to hurry.

[Trade market]

I used the mouse to open the Trade market page. It offered a service where you could buy information, goods, and other things with Ghost Points, or GP. In short, you could use GP to obtain currency or purchase rare items.

However...

'Better not touch that, as I thought.'

I decided to avoid using that feature if possible. Physical goods would have to pass through the real world.

However elaborate the brokerage system might be, however safe it might look, actual items would ultimately change hands in reality. That would inevitably create a link to my barbarian self.

[GP Balance: 0]

So buying GP with real-world money was out, too.

Of course, I needed GP to buy information about Dimension collapses... but that wasn't much of a problem. I could earn my own right here.

CLICK, CLICK-CLACK.

I used the mouse to filter the Trade market listings by [Information], then switched the category to [Buy Requests]. Countless questions appeared.

[20GP] Is there an easy way to get to the second floor?

[100–500GP] I'm building a melee DPS character. Looking for a build that's strong from the early game.

The easier the question, the less GP it offered. But...

[7,000GP] Looking for information on the special events for each staircase in the fourth-floor Sky Tower.

[2,800GP] I want to know exactly how the Passive Skill 'Dragon Master' determines what qualifies.

The more advanced questions offered substantial rewards. So I sorted by highest price. That was the most efficient approach, after all.

[70,000GP] Buying a guide to beating the first-floor Floor lord. No jokes.

[69,000 GP] Please message me only if you have detailed knowledge of Skull Island on the sixth floor.

The first-floor Floor lord?

[You have requested a private chat with TacitRonin.]

[Transaction complete.]

[GP Balance: 70,000]

Skull Island, the sixth floor's hidden piece?

[You have requested a private chat with Bro_78.]

[Transaction complete.]

[GP Balance: 139,000]

There is nothing I don't know about this game.