Chapter 102

Maya returned to the spot high up in Shahav where she used to watch Seojin from, and she could take in the whole desert with a glance. Whenever she was feeling down, she'd go there and look up at the sky. Even Jin was familiar with her habits.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face first."

"Oh, come on. Why did you have to pick a fight with him while he was just doing his job?"

"I can't believe you're smiling in this situation."

Maya glared at Jin, completely taken aback by the six-hundred-year-old acting like a six-year-old. Sure, he could be wise and mature at times, but most of the time, his behavior was immature and irresponsible, just like right now.

"I'll gladly stop smiling if that helps things."

"It would make me feel better, at least."

Jin immediately wiped the smile off his face and sat down next to Maya, watching Seojin. The adventurer stood still, occasionally moving as if he was responding to some signal.

"Amazing, I didn't expect an adventurer to explore like that."

"Don't admire him."

"I gladly won't admire him if… okay, I won't."

Maya shot him a fierce glare, but the boy soon started talking about something else.

"He reminds me of someone."

"…?"

Maya closed her eyes and let out a long sigh as she remembered the person that Jin was talking about. She recalled the human who always wore a sly smile as he spoke. He poked at Maya's pride until he lured her into a bet, and despite her willingness to crush his ego, she lost.

"He had a strange charisma with his words," Jin recalled the day he first met the man.

"Everything he suggested was hard to refuse, and even a stubborn head like you admitted that you made a mistake after talking with… hey, calm down."

"I am calm. Go on."

"Well, okay…" Jin continued, ignoring the silent threat, "everyone did, Maya. Not only us, but the other residents here. Our friends, too."

"I did. I remember… so?"

"He did the same thing with the monsters."

Maya flinched at the thought.

"Monsters?"

"Yes, they followed him like well-trained dogs. I still remember how the desert moles were lying down with their stomachs up. And look, that human is doing the same thing, isn't he?"

It certainly seemed that way. Maya licked her dry lips and glanced over at Seojin's side. It looked like he was just standing there, but the adventurer was commanding a lot of monsters beneath him.

"…Are you saying he taught that guy?"

"I don't know. They're adventurers, nothing's too wild for them."

"You're reaching too far,"

Maya drew a firm line. It couldn't be true, and even if it was, it wouldn't change anything. And above all…

'It's too late.'

She had already signed the contract, and all she could do was pray that the adventurer would fail.

'Or he could give up…'

The desert was immense, and even a monster-hoarder like Seojin had his limits. Even God wouldn't know how long it would take - days, months, or even years. The best result for Maya would be for Seojin to give up and quit. She watched Seojin with her eyes lowered.

"You want him to give up, don't you?"

"And you? Can you accept him?"

"It's not up to me or you. It's up to the outcome of our bet."

"…"

"And as far as I remember…" Jin started, slowly sitting next to Maya.

"That human also hasn't given up yet, has he?"

Maya remembered it too - a human's tenacity was the reason she had lost the bet decades ago. Anxiety began to creep in, but Maya swiftly pushed it down.

"That can't be."

* * *

They were forgotten elves… even the remaining forest elves forgot about them. Their pointy ears became round like humans as they couldn't hear the sound of nature anymore, and their clear eyes dried up like deserts as they endured the harsh environment with only one mission in mind. And I was the one who tore their mission down.

"Hmm…"

Seojin mused, reading over the preview of the episode that had appeared when he spoke to Maya in Elvish. It seemed that the trigger for the episode was Maya realizing that their precious secret had been leaked. but it wasn't over yet.

I kept my promise by finding the ever-flowing heart of the desert. However, that place was XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX! XXXX! If only X XXXXX XX XXXX, it would be XX XXXX!

End of Preview.

The paragraph that followed was almost completely redacted, leaving only a few words visible.

'What the hell?' Seojin thought to himself, trying to make sense of it.

'I could what? What could I do if I knew… what?'

But with so little information, it was impossible to guess.

It was true that the preview feature had helped Seojin a lot so far, but now, it seemed to be holding him back. He felt like he had missed something or encountered an unexpected result, which meant he wasn't as prepared as he should have been. He realized that the preview was from the perspective of an average warrior player, without any of the resources or information that players had access to. Being able to utilize the system of the game and communities, as well as being a hidden class, were huge advantages that could completely change the outcome of the quest compared to what was described in the preview.

Seojin thought that if he could prevent the disaster beforehand, the preview would change, but if he failed, it would remain the same. The same was true for the information given by Flappy and BunnyRabbit, neither of which had any effect on the episode.

Bookmarks also came up when clues were found in-game, but Seojin realized that his specs and gear quality weren't the key - it was more about how he had to handle the situation, leaving him with only one option.

'I need to take only what I can.'

First things first, there would be something else wherever the source of water turned out to be. Seojin was well aware that he would regret finding the water source if he was underprepared for that something.

Those were the two facts that he had to accept, and everything else was meaningless to him.

-They're moving to the side. There wasn't anything there either.

-Checked it off. Thanks.

Flappy brought him back to reality just in time, and Seojin marked another X on the grid, making a total of thirteen. He had only spent four hours in the desert, but it was vast and wide. Despite that, Seojin was determined to complete the task. He thought to himself,

'The easiest job in the world is one that only requires you to invest time.'

* * *

Friends: Seojin Lv. 73. Silver Tongue

"He's still playing."

Merhen nodded knowingly; his friend had been silent for days, constantly logging on and off. According to Merhen's calculations, Seojin had been playing for around fourteen hours a day.

'I think he sleeps for eight hours and takes care of other things for around two hours,' Merhen thought to himself.

He had gotten to know Seojin well enough to be able to predict his behavior.

'What a guy,' he thought.

Common stereotypes regarding gamers were that they never slept or ate while playing, especially the top players, and it was mostly true in RPGs. Merhen had asked Seojin about it one day, and he had replied,

"Stamina is key in playing games, just like studying. You need a healthy body to play for a long time, even if that means taking time to eat and sleep regularly. It's actually hard for those who enjoy games to play that regularly and consistently."

But that wasn't even the wildest answer Seojin had given him.

"There will constantly be new games. You have to take care of yourself so you can try out all of those new games for yourself," Seojin had said.

Only the biggest game nerds would say something like that. Of course, Seojin had eventually given in to reality, but now, he was finally coming back and showing what he could do when it came to gaming.

Seojin had been unusually quiet for the past two weeks, ever since he cleared the Churai Islands, and it made Merhen wonder what he would cause a stir with this time. He couldn't help but feel a slight excitement, not as his friend, but as a fellow player of Midgard. After all, Seojin was the only one who could stand up to Ironblood and make it look like a somewhat fair fight.

Merhen figured that Seojin had said those things to him in the café to reignite his old passion. Seojin always backed up his words with actions, which was why people were drawn to him. With that in mind, Merhen closed his friend list, deciding it was better to get busy and return to Seojin's side as soon as possible. With all his heart, Merhen shouted,

"Here we go again! This way!"

He was determined to do what he could, just like Seojin.