NOVPUBThey say time heals all wounds.
That no matter how difficult things are, they will eventually get better with time.
So…
One, two, three…
I counted to three and opened my eyes.
My mind was clear now, but the scenery hadn’t changed.
A single bed.
A computer on the desk.
The living room and kitchen visible through the open door.
It was Lee Hansu’s room, without a doubt.
The place I had been transported to every 15th of the month at midnight, ever since I took that pill.
‘…I’m not dreaming, am I?’
That thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.
I didn’t know the reason, but it had happened.
So instead of denying it, I had to figure out the cause and find a solution.
“Why am I here?”
I muttered to myself, jotting down notes as I organized my thoughts.
Time flowed differently in the labyrinth and the city.
No matter how many days I spent in the labyrinth, only 36 hours would pass in the city.
That’s why I had never been summoned to the community during a labyrinth expedition.
But…
“It happened.”
I put aside the question of whether it was even possible and continued thinking.
No matter how unrealistic it seemed.
Being summoned to the community while exploring the labyrinth… it didn’t make sense. And illogical outcomes usually had illogical causes.
“Time… is flowing outside.”
If that was true, it would explain how I had entered the community from the labyrinth.
“Damn it.”
Now that I had a clearer understanding of the situation, the vague anxiety was replaced by more concrete, practical problems.
Was I trapped here forever?
If the labyrinth had closed normally, they would think I was dead.
How was I going to clean up this mess?
“Haa…”
I couldn’t find the answer just by thinking about it, so I went to my computer.
[Long Live Korean Independence] - 2 users online.
Baekho and Hyunbyul were online.
I had been late, but I decided to check the forums first before joining them.
The forums were filled with posts about me.
Click.
I clicked on the post with the most comments.
[Is the Giant really dead?]
He’s not faking his death again, is he?
[BurtusMaximus: It seems like it’s real this time. There was a witness who saw him open a portal on the 1st floor and enter a hidden area.]
[└OP: Really? How is that possible?]
[BurtusMaximus: The people who were with him also entered the portal, but it closed before everyone could get through.]
[└OP: Thanks for the info. But is it okay to share this here?]
[BurtusMaximus: Everyone knows about it already.]
[└Nyacreeps: Only one of the stragglers survived. He’s incredibly lucky. Not only did he not enter the portal, but he also survived Verzak on the 1st floor.]
Right… I had expected this.
The community was the only way to get information about the outside world, so I continued reading.
The players’ reactions were varied.
[Must Read) Three pieces of evidence that prove Bjorn Yandel is still alive.]
[Futuralis: Where’s the evidence?]
[└NExtlevEL: Are you stupid? There isn’t any.]
[└Futuralis: What do you mean?]
[└NExtlevEL: Your brain.]
Some were making jokes, while others were spreading baseless rumors.
And then…
[Sharing the method to open the portal.]
Everyone knows about the new stone tablet in the Dark Zone of the Crystal Cave, right? Bjorn Yandel opened it and entered, and then something bad happened.
So the question is, what are the conditions to open the portal…?
The answer is probably on the 3rd floor. There were many explorers who saw Bjorn Yandel on the 3rd floor during this cycle.
So they had figured that much out.
[these99: That’s plausible. He went to the 3rd floor and then came back down to the 1st floor to open the portal.]
[ionboii: Look at this attention seeker. He’s just spreading baseless rumors.]
[└EdwardBless77: It doesn’t sound like a rumor. There were many explorers who saw him on the 2nd floor too.]
[└AI_DIDIGO: Correction: Bjorn Yandel went down to the 1st floor on the 7th day and immediately opened the portal.]
They were talking about the 3rd floor, but it seemed like our entire route had been leaked…
[└EdwardBless77: DIDIGO, no second piece of information today?]
[└AI_DIDIGO: Correction: 60 people entered the portal before it closed. The maximum capacity of the hidden area is estimated to be 60.]
They knew everything about our expedition, even though they weren’t even there.
‘I’ve gathered enough information…’
I was about to join Baekho and Hyunbyul in the chat room when…
I saw a post that caught my attention.
[I’m an explorer who entered the hidden area with Bjorn Yandel.]
…Who was this?
______________________
[I’m one of the 60 people you’re talking about.]
[I can’t reveal my real name, but everything I’m about to say is true, so please take it seriously.]
[We’re currently on the 1st Basement Floor: Archives.]
[This floor is very unique…]
Who had written this post?
My first suspect was Bersil.
But she wouldn't have done this. She was the only player I knew for sure.
‘There might be other players among the 60…’
And as I continued reading, the number of suspects decreased. The details the author had included to build credibility revealed their identity.
[After being separated from Bjorn Yandel, we explored on our own…]
It wasn’t the Silver Lion Clan or the smaller teams that had joined them. The only remaining suspects were the explorers we had met on the library island.
[We don’t know where Bjorn Yandel is right now. Our exploration was interrupted by a sudden downpour of monsters, and we were separated.]
So the ‘rainy season’ wasn’t just a local phenomenon. It affected the entire floor.
I wondered how they had survived.
Did the monsters not enter the library?
[We’re currently trapped on an island. The island is swarming with monsters, and our ship is damaged, so we can’t escape. Our only hope was to wait for the labyrinth to close, but…]
[It seems unlikely now that I’ve woken up here today. That’s why I’m writing this post, revealing our findings.]
[To those who are planning to enter this floor, or those who are already here… please come and rescue us. We’ll share our information, and we’ll reward you handsomely.]
[Our island is located at 19 degrees from the starting island…]
The author then provided the coordinates of their island.
I wasn’t a navigator, but the route seemed complicated and time-consuming. It wasn’t the library island.
[And if you happen to meet Baron Yandel, whether he’s already escaped or still trapped here, please tell him…]
[…that we’re waiting for him.]
The post ended with that message.
As I was wondering who the author was, I remembered Wyte Hex’s words.
[So… you haven’t found a way out either?]
He had been strangely anxious.
And now I understood why.
It was a strange feeling.
I started reading the comments.
[Darulus: Is this for real?]
[rafal: Scrolled down to 60. Try again.]
[MarkG: No one’s falling for this, right?]
[Pawel: If he had put this much effort into something else…]
Most of the comments dismissed it as a troll post, but not everyone agreed.
[TheRobson75: The details seem too specific for a made-up story… Is time really flowing normally in the hidden area, even after the labyrinth closes?]
Some were skeptical, while others believed it.
[Bling0_0: I think it’s true. I can’t imagine Bjorn Yandel dying. This makes more sense.]
[└AI_DIDIGO: Information 1: The writing style doesn’t show any of the typical patterns of a liar.]
[└EdwardBless77: So what’s your conclusion?]
[└AI_DIDIGO: Conclusion: There is a 72.8811% chance that this is true.]
[└Pnec: Bullshit. He’s dead. Good riddance.]
[└Bling0_0: Here we go again.]
[└Pnec: Who are you? Do I know you?]
[└Bling0_0: Judging by your 3cm dick and 3kb brain, I don’t think so.]
[└Pnec: Ah, I remember you now. That loser, lol.]
[└Bling0_0: You’ll forget in three seconds anyway.]
Why were they fighting in the comments?
‘There are so many people with nothing better to do…’
I read all the comments, but the author hadn’t replied to any of them.
Maybe they didn’t want to make it seem like a lie?
It had been almost 30 minutes since the community opened, so I closed the forums and went to the chat room.
[Long Live Korean Independence] - 2 users online.
They were both still there.
Click, click.
I didn’t want to keep them waiting, so I quickly entered the chat room.
Hyunbyul and Lee Baekho were standing a few feet apart, facing each other.
They were having a serious conversation…
“Oh, hyung! You’re here!”
“…Huh?”
They both turned to me.
“…O-Oppa?”
“Sorry I’m late. What were you talking about?”
“W-Well…”
Hyunbyul looked flustered.
And Lee Baekho, sensing an opportunity, chimed in.
“She kept asking me if you were really Bjorn Yandel.”
“What?”
“I told her you weren’t, but she didn’t believe me. Why did she even ask if she wasn’t going to believe me anyway?”
“Hyunbyul, is that true?”
“…Do you believe him?”
So it was true.
She would have just denied it if it wasn’t.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
‘She wouldn’t have asked unless she already suspected something…’
It was a sudden crisis, but crises could also be opportunities.
“Why did you think I was Bjorn Yandel?”
Bjorn Yandel was supposedly dead, so Hyunbyul would probably think she had made a mistake and answer honestly.
“…Do you really believe him?”
“I won’t be mad. Just tell me.”
I reassured her, and she finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper.
“I… wasn’t sure.”
“But?”
“…I know when you joined the community.”
“Continue.”
“There aren’t any other explorers who joined around that time and became as famous as Bjorn Yandel. The only other possibility is the Blood Spirit Marquis… but she’s a woman.”
Ah, so that’s why she had suspected me.
“…And you kept talking about the game. About how Shield Barbarians were the best.”
“You remember that…?”
“Of course. You said it.”
She looked at me as if I had asked a stupid question.
I was speechless, and Lee Baekho whistled.
“Wow… Hyunbyul noona is amazing. Hyung, you should reconsider. I wouldn’t let a girl like her go—”
“Shut up. Please.”
I agreed with him.
Did Lee Baekho have some kind of verbal diarrhea? I glared at him, and he shrugged and closed his mouth.
“…….”
“…….”
The atmosphere was awkward again.
Hyunbyul averted her gaze and spoke.
“Anyway, that’s why… I thought you were Bjorn Yandel… and then… you died…”
“…….”
“And… you never came back… so I asked him… he knows your identity…”
Ah…
“So why are you so late today? I was worried!”
She raised her voice, trying to change the subject, and I apologized.
“Sorry.”
“I’m not asking for an apology, I’m asking for an explanation.”
“I was about to come in, but I saw some interesting posts on the forums.”
“Huh? Interesting posts? What posts, hyung?”
Lee Baekho was also curious, so I told them about the posts I had seen. It wasn’t a secret, anyway.
“They said time flows normally in the labyrinth now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Wait! Then Bjorn Yandel might still be alive!”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I replied casually, and Hyunbyul glared at me.
I could almost hear her voice.
‘Don’t be so nonchalant! It means you could still be Bjorn Yandel!’
I chuckled, meeting her gaze head-on, and Lee Baekho exclaimed,
“Wow… that’s how you keep your girlfriend in check? Impressive, hyungnim!”
What? He was the one who was full of secrets.
I was speechless, but then he said something that made me feel a little strange.
“It’s a little disappointing, though.”
“…….”
“I wish I was as smart as you.”
Damn it, he was making the atmosphere heavy again.
