Episode 254
“Information on the Black Dragon?”
The Baekseo Daily headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Oh Chang-min, the RP department manager, leaned back in his chair with a pen in his mouth. Standing
before him was Gu Seong-wook, a reporter who had just passed his second year, wearing an excited expression.
“Yes. We received an anonymous tip.”
“Really?”
Information about the Black Dragon, the undisputed most sensational player within the Record Project, was rare.
No, it was beyond rare; it was practically impossible to obtain.
Even the photo taken in front of the Vestige headquarters was practically meaningless, as he was wearing a mask and hat.
“What is the content?”
“Well, you see.”
Gu Seong-wook leaned forward, glancing around.
Then he whispered in a low voice.
“It was about the Black Dragon’s mother. They said the two of them live together without a father or other siblings.”
“Why are you lowering your voice as if it’s a big deal? The days of writing stories just by doing background checks are over, man.”
“Information on the Black Dragon is classified from start to finish, isn’t it? Besides, we can just do the story ourselves.”
“Personally? What do you mean?”
“Let me show you this first.” *
Swoosh*
—Gu Seong-wook held out his tablet.
The department head took it and stared at an email displayed on the screen.
<Tip>
I am providing a tip regarding Heukryong.
His name is Kang Han-bit.
He is the only son of a single-parent family and lives with his mother.
The restaurant at the attached address is quite a good place to eat. I
think it would be a place where we could share stories about a deeply filial son.
Please make sure to write an interesting article.
“Look at this?”
The department head let out a hollow laugh as he read the contents.
It was a map image embedded with only brief information.
He didn't know the specific details, but it essentially meant that Heukryong's mother was at that restaurant.
People who send tips like this are usually the type with malicious intentions.
Simply put, it felt like they were asking him to harass Heukryong and his family through reporting.
“I can’t fact-check this at all until I confront them directly.”
“Of course, it’s hard to judge based on this alone, but… doesn’t it seem like it might be true?”
“Don’t you realize how many times we’ve been wrong? You’re just going to get into trouble if you poke around in the wrong place.”
The manager sighed and scratched his head with a pen.
An anonymous tip with no clear source or origin.
However, given that it was the story of the veiled Black Dragon, it couldn’t be treated lightly. After all
, he was receiving all the public attention, yet even his real name remained unknown.
If they could actually interview the Black Dragon’s mother, the sensation would undoubtedly explode like a volcano.
Buzz—
while he was lost in thought, the manager’s smartphone rang.
Turning his gaze, he checked the incoming message.
“Don’t these bastards ever get tired of this? Why the hell are they trying to get the Black Dragon’s profile from us?”
“Byte News again? You’re still trying to brag about giving us information on the US advance team, are
n’t you?” “We paid for that. My stomach still burns at how much of that worthless stuff we gave them.”
Record projects, which had naturally solidified as a category of journalism as the market grew.
With advance teams spread across every country, there were frequent instances of media outlets exchanging or buying and selling information among themselves.
Among them, Byte News from the United States was undeniably the dominant player.
This was likely because it was a major media company in the country that possessed the largest number of advance teams.
“But aren’t they past their prime now? Interest in the old advance teams has dropped significantly.”
“Of course. With single-digit rankers revealed, who would care about those ranked in the hundreds? Just aiming for the top 100 would be enough to make you lose all your hair.”
“Serves you right. The Seongchepa rankers seemed like the very embodiment of secrecy.”
Gu Seong-wook, who had also experienced this abuse of power, spoke with a look of gratification.
Recalling the contents of the email again, he grinned.
“Doesn’t it seem like something big is going to explode if we investigate this properly? Enough to allow us to actually abuse our power.”
“Well, we can’t just let it slide. The Byte reporters are a filthy bunch, after all.”
The department head was well aware of just how unreasonable the media outlet Byte was.
If information regarding the Black Dragon continued to be cut off, it wouldn't be surprising if he came up with a preposterous plan and invaded Korea.
They had to move as quickly as possible.
"Good."
The department head, having sorted out his thoughts, rose from his seat. He
then gave instructions to the passionate reporter standing before him.
"You observe the restaurant marked on this map for a few days. Make sure you never let anyone find out you're a reporter."
***
Feria, a long island to the west of the continent.
On the eastern coast there stood a fairly large city.
Although it bordered the forbidden zone, it was a considerably safe space.
'I’ve come a long way.'
Hanbit, who had teleported to the forest at the southern tip, gazed at the sea stretching out between the trees.
Considering the distance from here to the city, it was quite a long way.
Thump—
Just then, a heavy vibration echoed from deep within the forest.
Turning his head, Hanbit spotted an animal head protruding from a tree.
[Evil-Creeped Giraffe (Lv. 201)]
The name tag that appeared stood out clearly.
Considering his recent journey, it was a considerably weak monster.
While this was limited to his current state, the theme of this place was clear.
Kaak—!
Crunch—
The animal-type monsters that began to appear here and there were all of similar levels.
If one were to describe this massive island in a word, it would be "wild."
Just as the island was substantial in scale, the variety of species was equally diverse.
'It’ll take a day.'
A secret was hidden in Feria, where the players' eighth episode was taking place.
It was a phenomenon where undergoing a special process would awaken the 'wildness' dormant within the animal-like monsters here, causing them to become incredibly powerful.
As this direction was completely different from the episode, it was a choice that would normally not have been brought up at this time.
'Let's just go.'
Hanbit, checking the time, turned his gaze toward the eastern coast.
Just then. With a
rustling
sound, a translucent curtain descended around them.
It was the power of a magical artifact that blocked external sight and hearing.
"It's been a while."
A hooded man appeared from the space created.
Upon seeing him, Hanbit spoke his name.
"Liwei, finally seeing you."
"Something has been going on. It was quite a turbulent time, you know."
The atmosphere emanating from him as he shrugged his shoulders was different from before.
Should I say his demeanor had changed? The
excitement he showed when taking risks was gone, replaced by a strong aura of an adventurer.
It was as if he reminded him of figures he had seen in the other world.
'Everything here is unfamiliar.'
The weapons and armor Li Wei was wearing were not even in Hanbit's knowledge. It would be understandable
to know one or two, but not knowing a single one was certainly strange.
"What happened?"
Hanbit asked, his voice filled with sincerity.
At that, Li Wei turned his gaze away with a faint smile.
"Before we talk, I have someone to introduce."
"Someone to introduce?"
"It's me."
Whoosh—
the answer to that question came from high up in the tree.
A boy with gray hair lightly jumped down.
Seeing the name tag floating above his head, Hanbit couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
[LLLL]
Ranked 6th Player of the Moderate Faction.
It was the very person who had agreed to join the Alliance on the condition of Hanbit.
"Surprised that I'm a kid? Your expression is more vivid than I thought."
LLLL walked closer and spoke as if amused.
Judging solely by his character's appearance, he looked similar to Noeul, or even younger.
However, this was the world of RP.
In reality, there was a possibility he was a middle-aged man with thick leg hair…
“Oh, just in case you were wondering, I’m actually 15. Please call me Elfo.”
“…….”
The boy dismissed the possibility as if he had read her mind.
Hanbit, who had been meeting his playful gaze, turned his eyes to Liwei.
“I’d like to hear what happened.”
“To put it simply, we’ve come to share the same goal. He’s an amazing friend in many ways.”
Liwei shrugged in response.
Then, sitting down on a nearby rock, he continued.
“You don’t know why I entrusted the message to the Ranger, do you?”
“He told me to hear it directly, but what’s going on?”
“How am I supposed to explain this?”
Liwei pondered for a moment.
Then, suddenly moving his finger in the air, he spoke.
“There’s a bit of a problem. I can’t log out anymore. Because of that, some of the player functions are down.”
“…What?”
Thinking she might have misheard, she repeated the words she had heard.
However, she hadn’t let a single word slip through her mind.
Momo's case immediately comes to mind, but Li Wei's premise was fundamentally different.
This was because he was not an experienced being of another world.
“Since when? Do you have any idea what triggered it?”
“The time was the day of the first update. As for the trigger, I suppose I should say it was everything that happened after I finished my battle with you. To be precise, it must be because I was wandering the Error Zone.”
“The Error Zone?”
A strange word popped up in the added explanation.
I had been hit by waves of errors, but I had never heard of a place called an Error Zone.
“Simply put, it’s a place that shouldn’t exist. It’s a bug map.”
LLLL—or rather, Elfo—who had been walking leisurely nearby, relayed the message.
It wasn’t unusual for a flawed space to appear when an alternate world was implemented as a role-playing game.
The problem was what actually happened there.
“What can you do in the Error Zone?”
“Fast leveling up and farming? Well, you can occasionally learn skills, too.”
“…Did you go in there too?”
“It seems the Holy Kingdom side used an oracle, but there isn’t a single high-ranking player who didn’t go in. Logically speaking, the difference in growth was just too strange, wasn’t it? It’s just the management team that didn’t make an issue of it.”
Elfo shrugged and answered nonchalantly.
Certainly, from a player’s perspective, it was odd not to use high-efficiency hunting grounds and dungeons.
The problem was that the developer, Zero, had neglected this issue.
Whether it was intentional or simply because there was no way to stop it, it was hard to view this as a normal situation.
“Then are you trapped in the game too?”
“No, most of the Rankers probably aren’t having any issues.”
“What makes you that?”
“It’s just a guess, but it’s probably the difference in time. The Rankers have been entering the Error Zone for two years. Brother Liwei investigated that place for far too long in such a short period.”
Elfo added that the place was like a poisonous herb.
Rankers who had consumed it little by little over time, and Liwei, who had suddenly entered it for a long time.
At least, the explanation made perfect sense of the situation.
“How is your body in reality?”
“I’ve left it with an acquaintance. I heard there are medical staff with him, so I shouldn’t die.”
Liwei looked absurdly nonchalant.
Watching him, Hanbit sighed and said,
“Where is the Error Zone located?”
“It mostly appears deep underground. It has been gradually decreasing since the game’s launch, so there are almost none now.”
“Underground?”
That remark weighed on his mind.
This was because the place where the demon appeared was also underground.
It was impossible to dismiss it as having no correlation, leaving all possibilities open.
“Well, let’s put aside what cannot be resolved for now. I will tell you why I came to see you.”
Changing the subject, Elfo took another step closer.
Meeting Hanbit’s gaze, he spoke of their objective.
“We are going to kill Sirius, the number one ranked player. Because he isn’t a player.”
