Lee Hansu's room.
'It's been a while...'
I looked around and then imdiately turned on the computer.
Whirrr!
My goal for today's community session was simple.
Gather information.
But unlike usual, there were two years and six months' worth of information to catch up on.
'Let's start with the forums.'
The main event, the Round Table, wouldn't open for another three hours, so I browsed the forums.
It was a tedious task.
I had to scroll through countless pages to get a sense of the atmosphere over ti.
[Has anyone been to Bjorn Yandel's house?]
-I went with so people who were helped by him on the 1st floor. It felt strange seeing all the flowers piled up in front of his door.
-It finally hit that he's really gone.
-His companions were completely devastated.
Okay, it seems like I should start reading from here.
[tetyys: What's the big deal about one NPC dying?]
[ㄴSogeking33: Well, no one would care if a nobody like you died, right?]
[ㄴSoDamnToxic: He was a candidate for barbarian chieftain, the first explorer to receive a noble title in 10 years, and even the royal family sent knights to his funeral procession... It's natural for people to feel jealous.]
[Ki11Humans77: It's a sha. I was curious to see how his new clan would turn out.]
I skimd through the comnts and then clicked the back button. And I continued browsing the forums, page by page.
One month, two months, three months...
Each month, the forums were filled with posts about the hottest topics of the ti. My death was one of them.
After just one month, the number of posts about had drastically decreased.
But then it started increasing again the next month.
Soone had added fuel to the fire.
[Is the rumor that Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit true?]
-It's all anyone's talking about these days. There must be so truth to it.
[Three reasons why Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit]
-Like and subscribe!
[Is he really an evil spirit?]
-If you disagree, you're a newbie who's never even seen him.
-If you agree, you have a beastwoman girlfriend.
[arolf5205: This guy is right. Only newbies would think he's an evil spirit.]
[1spring: Bjorn Yandel is not an evil spirit. So, can I be his beastwoman girlfriend now?]
[Bling0_0: Hmm, I still think he's an evil spirit...]
Two months after my death.
The forums were filled with debates about whether I was an evil spirit or not.
Most people still considered it a rumor.
Well, there was one comnt that caught my eye.
[teckmonkey: It might not be just a rumor. I heard the rumor started with one of his closest companions.]
I ignored it because it didn't ntion any nas. It was common for attention seekers to post vague comnts like that when a hot topic erged.
Click, click.
Three months later, the topic had lost its montum, and my na was rarely ntioned.
But...
Six months later.
My na, which had almost been forgotten, started appearing everywhere again.
The royal family had made an official announcent.
That Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit.
[Is the royal announcent real?]
[Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?]
[He was a candidate for chieftain, a noble, and everything... how can he be an evil spirit? Sothing's wrong, right?]
At first, everyone was confused, but then people started posting evidence, and the atmosphere shifted towards accepting it as truth.
There were many suspicious things about , if you assud I was an evil spirit.
[It was strange from the beginning.]
-How could he have gotten so strong in such a short ti? It was too suspicious.
[ㄴtunaboot: Fact 1: It's still impossible, even if he was an evil spirit.]
[ㄴBrutalizerX: Fact 2: Bjorn Yandel was living with three won.]
[ㄴWingPizza: Fact 3: Bjorn Yandel was known to be over 2 ters tall. In height, of course.]
But the topic died down quickly.
It was shocking, but there wasn't enough fuel to keep it going.
Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit?
That's surprising.
But so what? Why are we still talking about soone who's dead?
That was the general sentint.
So people speculated that there was a hidden reason behind the rumor and the royal family's announcent, but...
That was all.
Those kinds of secrets wouldn't be revealed on a public forum.
Click, click.
I continued browsing, but there weren't any other major events for a few months.
It was just a typical forum, filled with random posts.
But...
One year after my death.
Sothing happened that set the community on fire.
[Did you guys hear about the Nartel Clan?]
The Nartel Clan.
The clan led by lter Pend, the explorer I had t during the Noark War.
90% of their clan mbers had died in the labyrinth.
And the reason was already known.
[godFLEXyou: They were ambushed by Noark, and only a few survived, right?]
Noark, who were supposed to be outside the walls, had been spotted in the labyrinth.
This led to countless speculations.
That there was a portal outside the walls.
That they had sohow created a new portal.
Or that they were actually Noark mbers who had stayed in the city and were hiding their identities.
And...
One year and one month later.
A mid-sized clan was wiped out in the labyrinth.
They were exploring the Dark Continent, the sa place where the Nartel Clan had been ambushed.
There were no survivors, so the cause of their deaths was unknown.
One year and three months later.
The number of clans disappearing without a trace on the 7th floor increased, and there were several reports of Noark sightings.
Most of the sightings were on the 7th floor.
One year and four months later.
The royal family, realizing the severity of the situation, started distributing new ID cards.
They even sent knights to patrol the lower floors.
But it didn't help.
They checked the explorers entering the labyrinth on the 1st floor, but there were no Noark mbers.
One year and six months later.
The royal family, noticing that Noark was only appearing on the 7th floor, ford an expedition team with a few large clans.
And they returned with heavy casualties.
But they had learned sothing.
[Breaking News: Latest Update on Noark]
-This is confird information obtained from a captured prisoner.
-Noark opened a portal outside the walls that leads directly to the 7th floor.
-No one knows how they did it, not even the prisoner or the royal family.
New information had been revealed.
One year and eight months later.
The royal family banned ordinary explorers from entering the Dark Continent and ford a second expedition team. They suffered heavy losses, but they managed to win a costly victory.
And...
[The real war has begun.]
A full-scale war began on the 7th floor.
The royal family had decided that Noark would beco a major threat if they were allowed to stay on the 7th floor and grow stronger.
Countless explorers joined the war, lured by the huge rewards offered by the royal family, and new heroes erged every day.
The Seven Strengths were one of them.
Seven young heroes who had gained fa during the war.
[Looking back, Bjorn Yandel's party had an insane talent pool. How did two of the Seven Strengths co from one team?]
I finished reading the latest post and took my hand off the mouse.
It had taken over two hours to catch up on two years and six months' worth of information, even though I was skimming.
'Let's take a break and organize my thoughts...'
I got up from my chair and lay down on the bed.
I hadn't learned much from the community.
I had already heard about the major events from Erwen while I was stuck at ho for over ten days.
'But it was nice to get a sense of the atmosphere...'
There were also a few details that Erwen hadn't ntioned.
For example, that the explorers who had been in a coma after the fire pillar incident had all recovered.
'Anyway, let's check the exchange forums next.'
I sat back down and continued browsing.
And then...
[03:09]
It was ti to enter the Round Table.
___________________
Creak.
The Goblin mask entered the room and waved cheerfully.
"Oh, Fox! It's been a while!"
"Hello."
"It seems like we're the first two again today."
The woman wearing the Fox mask, Bersil Gowland, smiled awkwardly at Goblin's question.
She knew he wasn't just making small talk.
She didn't want to have a personal conversation with him.
"...Haha, it seems like you have sothing on your mind again today. I'll be quiet."
"Thank you."
A few minutes later, Stag Antlers and Crescent Moon arrived almost simultaneously.
It was 3:05.
Five minutes until the eting began.
"It seems like the other two aren't coming again."
"...They'll be here soon."
Bersil smiled bitterly at Stag Antlers' question.
The two missing mbers were Clown and Queen.
They would probably show up.
But they would just check the mbers and leave before the eting began.
Just like they had been doing for the past year.
"Well, at least we have four people, so we can actually have a eting today."
"...Last ti, Stag Antlers wasn't here, so we couldn't even start. Why didn't you co?"
"Goblin, do I have to explain myself to you?"
"Well... no. I was just curious."
They chatted idly as they waited, and then the door opened again.
This ti, it was a woman.
"Oh, it's been a while, everyone."
Queen.
She wasn't as influential as Lion, but she had proven her worth in this gathering by outsmarting Clown.
"Are you going to leave again today?"
Crescent Moon asked politely, and Queen smiled awkwardly.
Her intentions were clear.
'She doesn't see the point in participating without Lion.'
Queen had continued to share information even after Lion disappeared.
But at so point, she started leaving before the eting began, just like Clown.
"Pfft, is everyone here again?"
"Clown..."
Two minutes until the eting began.
Everyone looked at Clown as he arrived.
Most of their gazes were hostile.
They had been clashing with Noark a lot recently.
Even though he wasn't as deeply involved as Crescent Moon, they couldn't be friendly with a mber of Noark.
"What? Are you going to kill with your eyes?"
Clown ignored their gazes and sat down. He stared at the clock on the wall, waiting for soone.
It was a familiar scene.
"Sigh... it seems like he's not coming again today."
"...I heard there have been sightings of Noark explorers trying to enter the 6th floor. What's going on?"
"Huh? The eting hasn't even started. Why would I tell you?"
"Well, you're not participating..."
"Stag Antlers, really... You should have brought sothing interesting then. I keep leaving because it's so boring."
"...Do you think you're Lion?"
"Pfft, I didn't an it like that."
Clown chuckled and stood up, and Queen followed suit.
"Well, it seems like he's not coming again, so I'll be going."
" too..."
Bersil sighed as they left.
She felt the need for Lion's presence.
'Where did he disappear to...?'
At first, Clown and Queen had speculated about Lion's disappearance.
That he had lost interest.
That he had been banned by the GM.
There were many theories, but the most morable one was Goblin's.
That Lion and Bjorn Yandel were the sa person.
The timing of their disappearances was too coincidental.
But...
[Pfft, Goblin, you should be a writer, not a paladin.]
Goblin was ridiculed for his theory.
The other mbers didn't take it seriously either.
Lion had first appeared when Bjorn Yandel was a rookie explorer.
It would be impossible for a low-level explorer to act like that.
But...
'Maybe... he was right...'
Bersil thought it was a possibility.
There were many contradictions, but if it was true, it would explain why Lion hadn't appeared for two years and six months—
Creak.
The door opened, and everyone flinched.
It was a simple reason.
Clown was about to leave, but the door opened before he could even reach it.
"...?"
There were no more visitors.
Or rather, there shouldn't be.
Except for one.
Thud.
A man stepped through the open door.
And...
"...!"
"...!"
The man, whose presence alone froze everyone in place, spoke.
As if he had just stopped by on a whim.
"It's been a while."
Lion had returned.
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