episode_0037

“Cha Ha-neul sent me.”

Do Yoo-geon left the cafe and lied to the security guards who stopped him. When the bodyguards hesitated and saw an opportunity, they ran without hesitation and escaped the encirclement.

I left the cafe and entered an alley. Because the cafe was located inside an alley, you had to walk a little further to get out of the alley.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me, I stopped and looked back. In the slowly darkening alley, there was a beverage can lying around that no one knew who had thrown it away.

At this point, I thought Cha Ha-neul would come after me with an angry look on her face, but I guess not. I went back on my way.

It was an uncomfortable place to sit. It was a time full of confusion, with screams heard between cafe songs and Cha Ha-neul in my arms urging me to take a bite of the cream bread.

I left the alley. The streets at sunset were scarlet. There was no one. I saw a severed arm lying in front of the bench.

It feels oddly unrealistic. The hand that was not holding the knife was clenched and wrung. The sensation of my skin felt distant, but it didn’t seem like it was. I don’t know what is what.

I heard footsteps and took a step to the side. The sword grazed the original spot. When I looked, there was a goblin. The goblin swung his sword again. I avoided it by taking another step to the side.

Cha Ha-neul said it was dangerous outside, but he didn’t seem to care much about how dangerous it actually was. I ended up listening to the security guard explain it to me. Maybe he was using his magic to monitor the situation outside, but I don’t think he did that due to Cha Ha-neul’s personality.

Looking at the words of the security guard, reactions on social media and the internet, and news articles, it is said that the mobs that have appeared now are goblins. Goblins with swords and bows.

After dodging the continuous sword strike with a few steps, the goblin stopped attacking and instead took a step back and became wary. It’s a slightly different reaction from the goblins I caught after logging in. The goblins that had been caught before reacted in various ways, such as backing away and being wary, as they did now, but their expressions did not change. It was a machine-like reaction.

However, the goblin in front of me had a scared expression and seemed to be sweating coldly. It is a living reaction. If you kill it with a swing of the sword, it doesn’t seem like it will spit out golden experience powder like it did before, whether it bleeds goblin-like green blood or just red blood.

As we stood in a standoff, I felt a small presence behind me. I swung the sword back once. Sword and sword clashed, and the goblin’s sword flew into the sky and flew far away. This is a natural result since the difference in power is large.

I gathered my composure for a moment and swung my sword. The goblin’s throat was cut, and the goblin’s experience points were turned into powder and absorbed into him. It is as per the Exploration League’s hunting post. The goblin that was standing in the standoff took advantage of this opportunity to ambush him, but he easily counterattacked and killed him.

“after…….”

A small feeling of exhilaration came with a feeling of uneasiness. I’ve killed a lot of goblins so far, but I can’t get used to it.

“Good.”

Looking around the streets, there were no people, only corpses and goblins. People probably ran away or hid inside the building. Screams were heard intermittently from the building. In a situation like this, being yourself is not enough. If you save one person, two people will die. If you protect three people, four people will be in danger.

What should I do? Which is best?

It would be right to catch the goblins you see step by step. A goblin a little distance away made eye contact with us and got scared and ran away. I saw a blood-stained gold necklace that looked like it had been taken from a person. It is a butterfly decoration. When he ran and swung his sword, he died.

Cha Ha-neul has a lot of complaints. It’s dangerous, so sit down? Who doesn’t know it’s dangerous? Goblins are weak. It’s also very weak. I’ve never been killed by a goblin in the first place, and I’ve never had any injuries other than minor wounds. However, whether it is a sword or an arrow, it is natural that if you hit it wrong, you will die.

A goblin hiding behind a car stabbed me with a sword. He threw away his sword and cut off his head. Taking advantage of that gap, an arrow flew from inside the macaron shop. I caught the arrow with my empty hand. As I tightened my grip, the arrow broke sharply. He went into the store and killed the goblin with an arrow.

Who doesn’t know it’s dangerous? Who could not know? Cha Ha-neul sometimes thinks that only she knows things that are obvious.

There was someone hiding in the store, so I helped them calm down with a few words.

“I’m really sorry, but could you please lower the shutters from the outside?”

“Shutter?”

I took the lock and left the store. But if I lock this from the outside, can I get out from the inside? I wasn’t sure, but when he asked me to do it, I lowered the shutter and adjusted the lock.

In the meantime, an arrow flew by and he ducked to the side. The arrow hit the shutter and bounced off.

“What did you just say?”

“It’s no big deal.”

We said goodbye and went to catch the goblin.

I kept killing goblins. killed and killed Killed again and killed again. But goblins still roamed the streets. It’s not enough. There are too many goblins.

Is it possible to solve the current situation in this way in the first place? I’m sure I killed a lot of goblins on this street, but there are still a lot of goblins.

As I was standing for a moment to catch my breath, Cha Haneul came down from the sky. The wizard’s robes fluttered.

I think it’s been a while since we parted ways at the cafe. I wanted to ask him where he was and what he was doing, but I didn’t.

When we made eye contact, Cha Ha-neul trembled and avoided eye contact.

“I’m late because I had to figure out the situation for a moment.”

I thought you’d be angry, but I’m glad you did.

Cha Ha-neul asked the bodyguards who had already arrived to help with rescue work, and then turned around to look around.

“Don’t worry. You’re not hurt.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Cha Ha-neul took off the wizard robe he was wearing and handed it to him.

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Put this on for now.”

[Class C/Marfinya of the Melopin Royal Workshop]

It’s Marpiña. What you see is just a wizard’s robe with a bad design, but it is rated C. It is known that it costs at least 10 billion won to select a C grade, and since there are no properties for sale in the first place, you cannot buy it even if you have money. Did this robe even block bullets when the Exploration League was offline last time?

“No, you’re wearing it.”

He refused, but Cha Ha-neul ignored him and made him wear a robe. It smelled sweet. I tried to pull away, but failed because of the harsh glare.

The hood of the robe was even covered.

“If you do this, your field of vision becomes narrow.”

“It doesn’t really matter.”

Cha Ha-neul took a step back and glanced this way. And he tilted his head with an expression that said he didn’t like it.

“Hmm… it’s a bit small-”

Before I could finish speaking, Marpiña changed to just the right size. I’ve never heard of an item adjusting its size to the user.

“When was it patched?”

“I know.”

This could be because the system has many submarine patches. It would be good in many ways if the system were a little more friendly, but it’s disappointing every time it happens.

As I moved my body to check the fit of Marfina, I suddenly noticed the white fur on the robe. Cha Ha-neul’s magic dictionary skills have disappeared, so that’s not possible, but it’s something like Schrödinger’s hair. I took it off and threw it away.

At that time, an arrow flew and hit the magic barrier and fell. Cha Ha-neul frowned and threw his magic somewhere. Experience points flew by.

Easy to catch. Since there are bodyguards, you will be able to catch the goblin faster than now.

But is this enough?

You can’t see it from here, but if you go up to a tall skyscraper and look down at the ground, you will see it. A crack where goblins keep coming out.

Cha Ha-neul secretly treats him like a child thrown into the water, but he himself is not a suicidal person. So, even though the existence of the crack was spreading on social media and I had a natural assumption that it was the root cause, I did not approach it because it was dangerous. To put it in Cha Ha-neul’s way, a dragon could pop out out of nowhere.

I don’t want to watch people die, but I don’t want to go and die for people I don’t know.

But that’s it.

Wouldn’t it be worth a visit?

Just because goblins come out of a rift doesn’t mean there will be only goblins. What if a dragon appears out of nowhere?

You can’t guess anything and you can’t prepare for it, so if you’re unlucky you’ll die, if you’re lucky you’ll live.

Then wouldn’t it be worth a visit? If you had an unlucky life in the first place, you wouldn’t have met Cha Ha-neul.

I have no intention of dying for strangers, but if it’s not too dangerous, it’s worth a go.

I took a step.

Then Cha Ha-neul followed.

“Rest some more.”

“I’m not that tired.”

“still.”

As soon as I started running, Cha Ha-neul flew and followed me.

“Why are you following me?”

“Are you dissatisfied?”

There are a lot of complaints. If you start to approach the crack, it is obvious that it will stop you again.

“……no.”

“But where are you going?

“somewhere?”

“Why is it a question?”

As we went along, catching goblins along the way, we soon saw a crack in the distance. Although it was called a crack, when I saw it with my own eyes, it looked like a shimmering haze. Except for the goblins rushing out of it. Lights like fireflies flew from the crack into the sky, then fell into the rainwater and turned into goblins. It seems like there are more than 1,000 goblins that can be seen right now. There are so many and they keep coming out that I can’t even think of catching them.

Cha Ha-neul suddenly overtook this side and blocked it with his back to the crack.

“Where are you going now?”

The voice is cold.

“Wait, watch your back!”

More than a hundred arrows flew. And all of that fell as it was blocked by an invisible magical barrier.

uh.

Cha Ha-neul didn’t even see the falling arrow.

“Don’t talk back.”

There was no such intention at all.

“I didn’t mean to change your mind.”

“I know that.”

I was speechless at the confident answer.

Cha Ha-neul must have felt relieved in that moment, and looked at me with a calm expression for a moment before saying something.

“Let’s move on for now. It’s dangerous out here.”

I grabbed Cha Ha-neul, who was about to go back, and went into a nearby alley. I need to move, but I have no intention of going back leisurely.

Cha Ha-neul had a sullen expression.

“So where were you going?”

“I went to the rift and tried to resolve the situation.”

“Why are you going there?”

“Because it’s worth going.”

There are a lot of goblins, but I don’t think they’ll die.

“What’s worth going? Do you know what will happen if you go into a crack and you can’t breathe because it’s an empty space and there’s no gravity so you can’t come back?”

I thought in Cha Ha-neul’s way and imagined a dragon popping out, but this was very embarrassing.

“Do you think there is space in the crack?”

“That could happen.”

“So you’re saying it’s not true?”

“It’s not at all. It may or may not be the universe.”

“Then it’s not true.”

“You can’t assume that. I haven’t even been there.”

He pointed to the grimoire floating near the sky.

“You said before that if you touch the magic circle in the grimoire, there could be a problem, such as a large explosion or an incurable epidemic. Something like that, cosmic horror. But nothing happened.”

“That was lucky.”

“When I caught the slime for the first time and gained experience, what did the experience point powder say, pathogen? Anyway, I said that, but nothing happened.”

“There really is a lot to say about that. Slime is clearly an alien life form, and I shouldn’t have thought of catching it like that. Don’t you know that the natives died of an epidemic when the New World was discovered?”

“But we caught the slime and nothing happened.”

“I was really lucky.”

“Even if you’re lucky, whether it’s a grimoire or a slime, the system ultimately manages it. Why would an untreatable epidemic suddenly occur in a place where there are both grimoires and slimes?”

“Because it’s fantasy, anything can happen.”

“It’s a fantasy, so you have to use common sense.”

“How can fantasy be common sense?”

Cha Ha-neul looked at him with a pouting expression and continued speaking.

“Okay. I guess you’re losing your sense of reality by talking about space and all that, so let me change the example. Do you think you can fit into that crack right now?”

“what?”

“It looks like a crack is meant to be entered. No matter how you look at it, it’s just a haze, but it’s not meant for people to enter. Who gave it the name “crack” in the first place? Don’t you know that giving it a strange name will make people think of it as separate from its essence?”

“Goblins are coming out.”

“Goblin is an alien life form. It could be a gas or something, and it may have a unique constitution. And what if the goblin does not come out of the crack, but the haze phenomenon splits and the goblin is born? Now that I say it, it seems very fantasy. It could happen.”

Cha Ha-neul nodded in response.

As I was looking at it, a question suddenly occurred to me.

“But didn’t you say I was going into the crack? I had no intention of going in in the first place. I thought there would be a magic circle if I got nearby, so I was trying to break it?”

“uh?”

Cha Ha-neul was confused and stunned for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and spoke as if embarrassed.

“Really? I guess I was a bit overthinking that you might be trying something dangerous again.”

When Cha Ha-neul usually lies, it’s all obvious, but when she tells a lie with intent, it’s obvious. However, if you spend a long time as childhood friends, you may feel a strange sense of discomfort. Like now. Cha Ha-neul may be embarrassed and clear his throat, but it just felt like smoke. That’s right, if it were the situation just now, I would put on a red face, pretend to be calm, or try not to show any shame in something like clearing my throat.

As I decided that it was a lie and thought about it, something suddenly occurred to me.

“You said earlier that you were late because you were trying to figure out the situation, right?”

While he was leaving the cafe and catching the goblin, Cha Ha-neul, who seemed to be following him at any moment, came late.

“Huh? Yes, you did, right?”

“Then you would have investigated the crack as well?”

“……You did it, right?”

“So you also found out that you can enter the crack?”

“It’s not.”

Cha Ha-neul shook her head, but it was obvious that she was lying. As I hit the nail on the head, my acting skills cooled off.

“So what’s in the rift? A goblin?”

“I don’t know.”

As I was looking at him, Cha Ha-neul slightly avoided my gaze and continued speaking with a sullen expression.

“I’ve caught a goblin and a magic-using orc so far. Probably.”

I’ve never met an orc that uses magic, so I can’t imagine how strong they are.

Still, having this information means that it is possible to identify the haunting mobs and escape the crack. It’s not like I’m going to die out of nowhere. If it looks dangerous, just run away.

“But what is Amado?”

“Because I heard it from a reliable source who I believe is trustworthy, but who I do not trust.”

This is somewhat of a merciless evaluation. But you’re saying it because it’s trustworthy, right?

“Good! Let’s go catch it.”

“why not?”

“If there’s just one orc, it’s clearly a boss mob. If it’s there for you to catch, you have to catch it.”

“You can’t avoid it if you use lightning magic.”

“It’s lightning magic? I have to be careful.”

“Don’t be careful, just don’t catch it.”

“If there’s danger, I’ll run away, so don’t worry.”

“That’s obvious, wait what?”

Cha Ha-neul’s expression frowned and her voice became fearful.

“They said they would run away if it was dangerous.”

“That’s not what you just said.”

“If it’s dangerous, will you run away?”

“You’re going alone?”

“You hate this kind of thing.”

Cha Ha-neul looked somewhat shocked. I don’t understand.