Chapter 500: The Age of Exploration (1) |
I first heard about the Record Stone during my conversation with the GM.
[I have no reason not to believe him. At least, the story about the Record Stone was true.]
That was the GM’s answer when I asked him why he believed Auril Gabis’s prophecy about a player opening the Gate of the Abyss.
I had concluded that Lee Baekho was also somehow connected to the Record Stone.
The basis for my theory was their shared obsession with the nickname ‘Elfnunna’.
But…
[Hmm, is that so?]
I hadn’t mentioned it that day. I didn’t want to provoke him.
I also wanted to investigate it myself before bringing it up.
‘There were no records of it in the library. And Bersil had never heard of it either.’
I had used my spare time to look into it, but I couldn’t find any information about the Record Stone.
Therefore, I only had one option left.
To ask someone who might know the answer.
“…….”
Lee Baekho remained silent when I asked him about the Record Stone.
But as he had said to Hyunbyul, silence was sometimes a form of agreement.
‘So he knows about it.’
It seemed like my subtle probing had been effective. But he must have realized that the time for playing dumb was over.
He stared at me, as if trying to read my mind.
And…
“Hyung.”
He finally spoke.
His usual smile was gone.
“Where did you hear about that?”
His voice was cold and sharp, sending a chill down my spine. But I didn’t react.
There was always an intention behind every word.
And his intention was clear.
‘He wants to know how much I know.’
I knew his intention, so my response was simple.
“Well.”
I remained calm and ambiguous.
That way, I could control the conversation.
“Does it matter?”
I shrugged, and his eyes narrowed.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
Did he really not know about the Record Stone?
Or was he just pretending?
How should I answer?
Should I just tell him I couldn’t reveal my source?
As he was contemplating his next move, I decided to interrupt him.
It was a sudden change of topic, but…
That’s why it was so effective.
“Elf Noona.”
I mentioned the nickname that would shake him the most.
Even the largest trees could be felled with enough force.
“……!”
His eyes flickered for a moment as the nickname, which had never been mentioned between us, was brought up.
It wasn’t enough.
So…
“You know I’m that person.”
I revealed another card.
His reaction was immediate.
“…What are you talking about?”
He didn’t deny or confirm it. He just asked a question.
It was a common tactic used by liars.
They felt safer just by asking a question, even though it was a lie.
I had to push him further.
“Baekho.”
“……?”
“Do you know… you’ve never mentioned ‘Elf Noona’ before? Not even once.”
I tapped my nickname, which was displayed above my head.
“Don’t you find that strange?”
It was a checkmate.
Ttadat, ttadadat.
The sound of the crackling fireplace echoed through the silent room.
I didn’t press him further and gave him time to think.
Usually, the liar was the one who felt uncomfortable in this kind of situation.
“Hyung…”
He finally spoke, breaking the long silence.
“What are you trying to ask me?”
He was still trying to play games.
He wanted to test the waters before revealing anything.
The solution was simple.
“I’m not trying to ask you anything.”
I gave him the power to choose.
It didn’t matter where I had heard about the Record Stone, or how much I knew.
“I just want to hear…”
Thump, thump.
“…your answer.”
The choice was his.
______________________
Lee Baekho made his decision surprisingly quickly.
“Ugh, hyung! You’re too much!”
His voice was back to its usual cheerful tone.
It was a jarring change, almost like he had multiple personalities… but I was used to it by now.
“I’ll tell you everything. What are you most curious about?”
He was still playing games.
I almost fell for it.
“…….”
I just stared at him, and he shook his head.
“…Were you really an office worker?”
“…….”
“I’m just curious… what kind of life did you live to become like this?”
What? He was the one who had just been discharged from the military.
I didn’t answer, and he sighed.
“Ha… alright. I’ll tell you. Honestly, I think you’re just testing me… but this is making me nervous. I think I’ll just confess and be done with it.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you believe in fate?”
“…….”
“Seriously… this is difficult. Should I just explain it, whether you understand or not?”
“I told you, I’m just curious about your answer.”
“Fine.”
He seemed annoyed by my attitude, but it couldn’t be helped. I had to avoid any questions that might reveal my ignorance.
“You know how most of the ancient artifacts and myths were erased when this city was built? The Record Stone is one of those forgotten mythical objects.”
“It’s said to contain the entire history of the world. Not just the past, but also the future.”
It sounded like something straight out of a myth.
“Anyway, the Record Stone also has an end. And that end signifies the end of this world. And the beginning of that end… was the Witch… I don’t know the details. All I know is this.”
“Someone destroyed the Record Stone to prevent the apocalypse. That’s why this world still exists.”
“And the important part is this. Fragments of the Record Stone are scattered throughout the world.”
I immediately understood.
‘The Fragment of Records.’
Gavrilius’s legacy, the artifact that had sent Amelia and me back in time.
“Some of the fragments have been found. I’ve even seen three of them myself.”
I was a little annoyed.
He had seen them himself?
[The Fragment of Records…? I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know it actually existed.]
He had been lying to me from the beginning.
I wanted to call him out on it, but I decided to focus on the conversation.
He was about to reveal something important.
“One of the fragments said this.”
He paused for a moment and then spoke.
“And so, the evil spirit ‘————’ from another world opened the Gate of the Abyss and achieved his wish.”
It sounded like an ending scene.
“The blanks are because there’s no way to translate it. The Record Stone uses unique patterns to represent names, not letters. It’s something about souls and names…”
“…….”
“Anyway, that’s not the important part. I saw the same pattern on another fragment. And it said this.”
Thump!
“…’————’, the first to pass the trial of the circle, has awakened in this world.”
I finally understood.
Why Auril Gabis had been so interested in the player who had cleared the original mode.
Why the GM had become a fanatic of ‘Elfnunna’.
And why Lee Baekho had been so wary of me.
“Hyung… you’ve been quiet. If you didn’t know about the Record Stone, this is the question you would be asking.”
Lee Baekho continued, even though I was still processing the information.
“What’s so important about some old record? It’s all meaningless now that it’s broken.”
“…….”
“I thought so too, at first. But then one of the prophecies came true.”
“…What prophecy?”
I finally spoke, and he chuckled.
“It’s a secret.”
“…What?”
I glared at him, but he didn’t back down.
“I’m not telling you. It’s a personal matter. It has nothing to do with you.”
I couldn’t press him any further.
I had a feeling he was telling the truth about it being a ‘personal’ matter.
“Ah… so that’s it for the Record Stone… next is ‘Elfnunna’, right?”
I nodded, and he continued.
“I created this chat room right after I learned about the Record Stone. I was waiting. ‘Elfnunna’ was the most likely candidate to clear the original mode. And he had to be Korean.”
“…….”
“And the rest, you can probably guess. I suspected you from the moment we met. And I was right.”
He looked at me intently and asked,
“Right?”
It was a moment of truth.
We had been deceiving each other for so long. There was no point in lying anymore.
“Yes.”
He didn’t seem surprised.
He had already been certain.
He just nodded, his voice filled with a strange sense of relief.
“That’s all I have to say. So… are you satisfied now?”
But I shook my head.
“No, not yet.”
Most of my questions had been answered, but the most important one remained.
The key to understanding a person.
“Why did you hide this from me?”
The motive was missing.
“There’s no reason for you to hide it.”
He chuckled bitterly.
“Fate… is like the Monkey’s Paw.”
His voice was filled with a strange sadness.
______________________
“…Monkey’s Paw?”
I gave him a look, and he shrugged, his cheerful demeanor returning.
“Huh? You don’t know about the Monkey’s Paw?”
“I know what it is. I’m just wondering why you brought it up.”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. The prophecies in the Record Stone always come true. But the outcome… isn’t always what we expect.”
“…Continue.”
“You’ll open the Gate of the Abyss someday. But will it be a happy ending? Will it fulfill your wish? And what about my wish?”
“…….”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I wanted to control you. To make your wish… my wish.”
I understood what he meant.
I had done something similar before.
[Amelia’s sister, Laura, will die.]
I had used every trick in the book to change that fixed future. And I had succeeded.
Lee Baekho was probably planning to do the same.
That’s why he had revealed his true colors as soon as I said I didn’t want to go back to Earth.
“Then why did you team up with the Ruin Scholar?”
I asked my final question.
“You didn’t befriend him just because you needed a mage.”
Lee Baekho froze for a moment and then chuckled.
“Ha… do you have a lie detector in your head or something?”
A lie detector?
He was the one who had been using one all this time.
“Just answer the question. It’s my last one.”
He finally spoke.
“Hyung… I don’t know how you’ll react to this, but…”
“It’s fine. Just tell me.”
“The Ruin Scholar… don’t worry about him. He’s just Plan B.”
“Plan B…?”
“Yes. The world doesn’t always go my way.”
He smiled brightly.
His twisted smile didn’t hide the madness within.
“I need a backup plan.”
“…….”
“I’m getting out of this shithole. No matter what.”