Reunited with the Suras

For several days now, I practically commuted to the Coliseum.

【A new duel will begin in 30 seconds. (Challenger: ‘WhenIsHunterBuff’)】

With the Skollcat holed up in his room and the Coliseum’s participant registration and rank distribution finished, my workload had noticeably decreased, making this possible.

“Hello.”

• Gasp! Ugh, you startled me.

I sat around the Coliseum and started talking to passing players.

• Oh what, it’s a bugged NPC? I thought it was a user.

Was it a thrill akin to picking at a scab?
Had I been so shocked that I wanted to reopen the wound? Or was I trying to adapt in my own way?
Despite being shocked by their reactions every time, I was repeatedly confirming my existence.

“It’s good to equip gear with self-healing options.”
“You can’t use recovery potions inside, but option effects aren’t restricted.”

Furthermore, I truly began ‘acting like an NPC’.

When I approached players coming and going from the Coliseum with trivial words, their reactions were one of two things.

“Is the Illusionist still tier 1 these days?”

• …Hey, don’t you keep hearing some static noise from somewhere?

• What are you talking about, stop messing around. It’s scary.

About half of them didn’t perceive me at all.

It was exactly as if I had become a ghost.
They couldn’t hear my voice, couldn’t see me, and if I tried to touch them, I bounced off as if blocked by a barrier.
It felt like being trapped in an interrogation room with a one-way mirror, talking unilaterally.

“Life steal options are better than defense increases here. You can’t use potions in the Coliseum.”

• Oh, what’s this. Is the NPC that gives tooltips bugged?

• Tell me more. What about life steal?

The other half perceived me as a bugged NPC with a user’s nickname.
Exactly how I felt when I first saw Karvan.

Therefore, when I saw users who perceived me or understood my words, I offered them help.

• Hmm. ‘Grasp the championship trophy’? Is the ranking determined by personal records?
  “Yes. It’s a personal record. The shorter your clear time, the more advantageous it is.”

• Ah, you startled me.

When I stealthily approached and spoke, the Awakener who had been reading the notice hologram on the wall flinched and looked back at me. However, he soon lowered his guard and asked me various things.

• …Ah, a tutorial NPC. Then what do you get if you win?
  “A ‘Special Elixir Set’, and if you’re lucky, a resurrection artifact, ‘Phoenix’s Heart’. It’s not extremely expensive, but it’s very good for new users.”

• Wow. Thank you! So… Shinbi? NPC Shinbi-nim!
  “Good luck. Be sure to win.”

• Yes! Thank you!

I waved until the Awakener, who bowed and disappeared into the Coliseum, was no longer visible.

“Shinbi-nim?”

‘Maybe I actually have an aptitude for being an NPC.’
As I thought despondently and turned around, Loktis was standing there.
It was hard to believe he had been rolling around in a bloody pulp inside the Coliseum just a few minutes ago; he looked perfectly fine after receiving a blood transfusion.

“You said you weren’t participating in the Coliseum, what brings you here?”

“Yeah, I came to watch you lose, Loktis.”

“My, my, I put up a good fight for this level. You know, don’t you? That you can’t usually beat an Awakener.”

He grumbled as he accepted a new coat from a s*ave standing nearby.

By their nature, all PVE content is designed for users to win most of the time. How demoralizing and demotivating would it be to lose to an artificial intelligence that isn’t even a real player?
So they are matched according to similar levels or equipment standards. Seeing as he was matched with Loktis, a high-ranking monster-level combatant, his opponent must have been a veteran player.

“Especially that Awakener, he’s terrifyingly strong. He comes occasionally, but he has never lost. Even though he always fights bare-handed without weapons, no one can beat him.”

【Winner: ‘BerserkerCriesAriver’ (Race: Awakener)】

…Strange. Why is that familiar.
I tilted my head, looking at the flashing letters on the electronic board.

Even I, who remembers strategies but rarely remembers user nicknames, had seen that name somewhere.
I pondered where I had seen it, but of course, I couldn’t remember.

“By the way, about that Varg you interrogated.”

Varg? Ah, he must be talking about Radugan.
I hadn’t seen him once since that day.

After talking with Radugan, Karvan showed up right away, making things chaotic, and I didn’t have time to ask about him separately, afraid of provoking the quick-witted man.

“Ah, yes. Is he doing well?”

“It’s been quite a while since he died.”

“…What? How?”

“They said he volunteered for the Coliseum. He didn’t even seem to have the will to fight, so it was basically suicide.”

…Ah, then he must have died to escape prison.
With his constitution, he’ll respawn somewhere else.

Or perhaps he too realized Karvan had arrived and fled.
Since he said he had already died by his hands several times, he probably wouldn’t want to run into him.

“But don’t worry. There’s good news too.”

Loktis, perhaps thinking my silence meant I was sad, patted my back and said.

“Since that guy died, Vargs have been pouring in. It’s a Varg fest. Would you like to go see?”

“…Varg? There are more Vargs?”

“You probably don’t know since you haven’t been at the checkpoint lately. Would you like to go take a look?”

Doubting my ears, I quickly followed behind Loktis, who gestured nonchalantly.

The place Loktis took me to was an ore mine in the underground tunnels on the outskirts of Midvalen.

“You were right, Shinbi-nim. Those Varg guys are quite useful. As long as you can stand the terrible dog smell, they endure very well even down there in the cold underground….”

Passing through the long cave, a wide-open space appeared.
Crystals were stuck here and there from ceiling to floor, and various races were busy mining them.
From beast-kin with various animal ears to crustacean monsters clicking their split mouths, everyone was mining.

Clink, clink.
Listening to the sound of pickaxes hitting rock, I frantically searched for familiar faces.
I was just looking around, earnestly hoping they weren’t there.

‘You punk, drink moderately. I need to drink too, don’t I!’
‘Ah man, Chief, you drank earlier too!’

Among a group of large beast-kin sitting huddled together wiping their sweat, I spotted a familiar face.
A large build, the distinctive perked-up ears of a canine, and a bushy tail he was sitting on. He was mottled and messy from ash dust, but there was no way I wouldn’t recognize him.

‘Tegen!’

When I called out and approached, he turned with a puzzled face and then froze.
He seemed so flustered that he dropped the towel he was using to wipe his sweat.

‘…Sh-Shinbi-nim?’

Tegen’s expression upon seeing me was peculiar.
He looked flustered, but also like he had been caught doing something bad.

At the unexpected reaction, I also paused, stopping my run.

‘Since when have you been here?’

‘…Ah, well, it hasn’t been many days. That….’

Tegen scratched his head vigorously with a complicated face, then glanced back somewhere.
There, I saw Vargs coming holding water bottles in both hands and baskets full of dried jerky.
They were the elite Suras who always followed Karvan.

‘Va, Valtael?’

They all had the same expression.
Seeing me, they looked bewildered before looking glad. It was obvious they were surprised and flustered as to why I was here.

‘It’s been a long time, aren’t they glad to see me?’
At their reaction, I unwittingly asked sullenly.

‘Where’s Mashak?’

‘Aigoo, don’t worry about him. As if the doctor couldn’t take care of his own body.’

‘Then, why are you all here? Did you become refugees?’

‘Pardon? Ah, yes. Well, to put it plainly, it was veeery…. No, more importantly, why are you so gaunt? Don’t tell me those vampire bastards aren’t feeding you well?!’

‘I’ll show these guys!’ Seeing Tegen making a fuss and pretending to roll up his sleeves, my heart finally eased a little.

‘I had nightmares every night. I was so scared thinking something had gone wrong with everyone….’

So I revealed the true feelings I had kept tightly hidden in front of that man.

‘I’m glad you’re safe. Really.’

When I added that quietly, everyone fell silent.
Some Suras gaped as if trying to say something, then nudged each other and soon closed their mouths.

‘…My, Shinbi-nim, truly. Even the Grim Reapers wouldn’t take guys like us.’

Tegen also lowered his head deeply, seeming to wipe sweat from his eyes, then changed the subject with a slightly hoarse voice.

‘We are the ones who… Ahem, anyway! Why did you come to this shabby place?’

‘I came because I heard there were Vargs.’

I thought maybe, and it was a good thing I came. To think they were in the mine, notorious for being the hardest.
I should ask Loktis to reassign them immediately.
As I was frowning, Tegen stealthily gauged my reaction and said.

‘I heard Shinbi-nim holds a very high position and ordered them to treat Vargs well? Thanks to that, we’re living well, eating three full meals a day!’

It seems selling out the Skollcat paid off.
Thanks to that, my expression brightened momentarily, but seeing the Suras awkwardly exchanging glances again, my mind became troubled once more.

‘…Are you sure you’re really doing okay?’

‘Of course! Ah, right, have you heard the news about that guy Radugan? That bastard has been going around spouting nonsense that Shinbi-nim forgave him!’

‘Ah, yes. I don’t know about others, but for now, I forgave him.’

‘What?!’

At the sound of a sharp intake of breath like a misblown recorder, I rolled my eyes in bewilderment.

‘He said he won’t do it again. And I’m alive anyway….’

‘My goodness, truly, our Valtael is driving me crazy!’

Tegen smacked his forehead with a smack! and began to groan.

‘Being so terribly kind-hearted, how will you survive in this harsh world!’

‘…D-did I forgive him for nothing?’
But killing Radugan again there wouldn’t have produced anything.
I flinched and stepped back, startled by Tegen pounding his chest like a gorilla, and the Suras supported me and sat me in a chair.
No matter how you looked at it, it looked like a guard’s chair, but I didn’t know where they got it from.

‘I thought that guy was spouting nonsense! So I was going to beat his face in when I had the chance, but he quickly threw himself into the Coliseum or whatever and….’

‘He died.’

‘Yes. What’s more, that guy, whatever his scheme was, came to us and told us the entrance to Dowongyeong. Thanks to that, we were able to enter easily without getting lost, but he’s still an untrustworthy bastard.’

‘He’ll definitely resurrect somewhere again and hit on Shinbi-nim… Ugh! Why did you hit me, you bastard!’

‘Hey, what do you mean hit on? How dare you use such dirty language towards the Valtael?’

‘I’m sorry. This guy has been digging rocks every day, so his head has turned to stone too….’

At Monodu’s slip of the tongue, who usually had a rough way of speaking, the Suras rushed at him and started squabbling.
The sight looked exactly like when we hung out together in Bahalgras in the past, and my feelings of disappointment melted away like snow.

‘By the way, Karvan is here too. He arrived a few days ago.’

‘…Ah, oh! Is that so!’

So I brought it up thinking it was good news, but this time too, the reaction was very strange.
I expected them to be happy, but they started glancing at each other again.

‘The, Valta is…. also here.’

Anyone could see they were hiding something, but they had troubled eyes as if they couldn’t possibly speak.