Season 2: Chapter 170: Luna (3)
The owl hooted three times. It stopped after exactly three times. This meant it was artificially created.
"The message written by the owner regarding the owl hooting three times is now clear."
— It’s too blatantly an owl, isn't it? lol
— I'm an owl
— Recast! Urgent lol
The audience shared similar opinions. Indeed, the owl hooting three times was a definite sign. What about the next part of the message?
"You should come to the bonfire."
Almond looked at the bonfire. Ben sat there lamenting.
"So… ah… it’s not that I like Luna…"
He kept mumbling utterly unnecessary things. It seemed he didn’t know about the owl hooting three times. He said he hadn't seen this message directly before.
However, the problem didn't disappear just because Ben was unaware.
"So what’s the plan of the person who wrote this message? To get rid of Ben?"
The most fundamental problem was that Almond and Ben were both sitting at the bonfire.
This made no sense if someone secretly called them there. Surely the person who prepared the secret meeting wouldn't want to come anymore. Then—
Whoosh!
A flame burst up from the other side of the tent.
"Uh…?"
Ben hadn't noticed yet as he was still looking at the bonfire before him.
"Is that also considered a bonfire too?"
Almond thought the person who prepared the meeting, most likely Luna, had created a separate bonfire.
He planned to move there when…
Thud.
Ben suddenly stood up.
"Uh!? Fi... fire…!"
He rushed toward the fire staggering and shouting desperately.
"Fire!!"
The fire was significantly larger than expected. Ben cursed as he ran toward the fire.
"Uh?"
Thanks to him, only Almond remained by the bonfire.
"Now, who will come?"
Waiting here could possibly reveal the identity of the one who requested the meeting. Of course, they wouldn’t come if they didn’t intend to meet Almond. If the message was indeed meant for Almond...
— Here it comes
— Someone's approaching?
— Uh?
— Something big is coming
— A life-or-death choice lol
Against the backdrop of the raging fire, a single dark figure approached. While everyone else was putting out the fire, one person came in the opposite direction.
"Indeed…"
The bright blonde hair was dyed red by the flames. It was Luna.
"You. You can read that writing?"
— OMG
— So it's not something anyone can read?
— !!!!
"What writing?"
"… You’re asking while knowing."
Luna laughed as if it was ridiculous. Almond felt a bit tense at this moment.
"I need to ask as many questions as possible."
Based on Almond's experience in clearing story modes up until now, this segment required the most intellectual effort. Almond began asking questions.
"Who was this writing originally meant for?"
"Isn’t it obvious?"
"Obvious?"
"The person who currently has it."
"What? You didn't want to give up this spear. Wasn’t it Swift who suddenly told you to hand it over?"
“Ah, that?”
Luna laughed.
"I pretended to dislike the idea. Wouldn't it raise suspicion if I just gave away such a good spear for free?"
She looked at him as if he was foolish. He didn’t know her for long, but this wasn’t the Luna he knew.
"You expected Swift to suddenly tell you to give it to me? And even anticipated me joining all of you so suddenly?"
"I can see the future. I knew you were coming. Didn’t you see Swift entrusting me with guiding the way?"
‘Really?’
Almond thought of a simple way to test the truth.
Thump!
"Kyaa!"
Luna flinched back, touching her cheek.
"What are you doing!?"
"Looks like you didn’t see that I would hit you."
— lol
— Lie detector (physical)
— So true
— Ahaha, that's brutal
— This is how a rogue hero acts lol
"I only know the major future events! Only the major ones!"
"So you kept choosing the wrong paths on purpose?"
"What?"
"You kept guiding us the wrong way."
"How would you know that…?"
Luna seemed genuinely flustered. Almond felt convinced that she was indeed disrupting the party.
"Why are you disrupting this party?"
"Disrupting... whether I'm disrupting or helping depends on your perspective."
“What are you talking about?”
"I just wanted to tell you this. Swift can't be trusted."
‘That goes for you too Luna.’ Almond didn’t say this out loud and swallowed the words.
"Join me. It’ll be for your own good."
"So suddenly?"
"Yes. We don’t have time. This forest is humid. The fire will die out soon."
Ding.
[Will you join Luna?]
[Yes / No]
[Warning: Once chosen, you may not be able to go back.]
This message appeared.
— What's with the warning? lol
— Is this what it's made for? lol
— LOL
Once he decided, he couldn’t turn back. Which choice should he make at this time?
"With so little information?"
He knew too little to make a choice. Almond continued pondering.
Honestly, wasn’t Luna more suspicious than Swift? Luna claimed that Swift couldn't be trusted, yet he recognized her as a guide. What about what Ben said? She allegedly killed someone. Even then, Swift had affirmed Luna’s innocence.
Moreover, Swift was Swift in the end. He was the protagonist of this story.
"There's still much more I need to know."
Almond eventually declined and Luna hesitated, seemingly puzzled.
"I’ve never had this happen before. Did we get a particularly finicky one this time?"
"What?"
"Nothing. Just, you're saying no, right? I'm leaving. You better leave this place quickly too."
She ran back toward the camp and disappeared.
"What was that about earlier?"
As Luna's back disappeared into the distance, Almond paused to gather his thoughts.
"Has she made such an offer before?"
Had Luna made this proposal to Almond's original body? Moreover, she commented about a picky newcomer entering this time.
"Does she know more than she’s letting on?"
Then, a thought struck him.
"Was Ben’s friend killed because he refused her offer?"
Considering the humid forest, the fire Luna had started quickly died down and the party members returned to sleep. Almond, intending to actually use the sleep function this time, lay down inside the tent.
He kept pondering, "What if I'm assassinated while I’m asleep?"
— Lol, really
— Could happen
— Nah, surely not
— Too late now, Almond
Almond feared an assassination attempt by Luna, but found it difficult to outright kill her without any concrete evidence. After all, she could turn out to be an ally. He pretended to sleep and planned to just pass the time.
— Truly committed to the story mode, lol
— Why so serious? lol
— Might as well die once. I’m still annoyed with you choosing the rune lol
Thanks to Almond's effort, a user named Napoleon sent him a mission.
— Not ShyNapoleon but just Napoleon, lol
— Fooled, lol
— Crazy, it's Napoleon
— Mother would be devastated
"Is it really ShyNapoleon?" Almond inquired just in case.
The quick response clarified it.
[Don’t die and achieve a 3-star clear]
[200,000 won]
"Ah, I guess not."
— ??? Too little money to be the ShyNapoleon
— He was recognized by the money, lol
— Immediate identification, lol
"Thank you for the mission. It's a big help," Almond expressed his gratitude and continued pretending to sleep.
— This is just evil, lol. It's already over
— Betting on a safe asset, don't be fooled, Almond
— Do this if you want to be Napoleon lol
The chat slightly irritated him. 'A safe asset?' Had he already sealed his fate by rejecting Luna's offer?
Just as Almond began to speak optimistically, a crackling noise came from behind.
"!?"
A dark figure quickly swung down a knife at him. Almond quickly rolled to the side.
— Wow
— What’s with that reaction?
— Shocking
Ziing!
The tent fabric where Almond had been lying was sliced apart. Almond's clothing was also torn. The attack was so fast that he barely dodged by reacting to the sound alone.
'It's too fast.'
Even with his control over the high speed rune, Almond felt the assailant was remarkably fast.
"Could Luna be this fast?"
Without any confirmation, Almond grabbed a nearby weapon and lunged at the attacker.
Whoosh!
The assailant dodged the weapon by slightly turning their upper body and grabbed the spear shaft to close the distance as they swung their dagger again.
Swoosh!
Almond released the spear shaft and dodged back.
He voiced his suspicion, "Isn't this Swift?"
Despite the face being covered by a mask, it was clear the attacker wasn't Luna. The body proportions, the hair length, and the color of their eyes suggested it was Swift.
Almond continued to dodge the attacks. Swift's eyes narrowed at him and the attacks grew more aggressive. He possessed considerable speed.
Chick!
The blade grazed Almond’s collarbone. The masked figure kicked away the spear instead of grabbing it again. He continued his assault with the dagger.
Swoosh! Whoosh!
The silent battle of dodging and slashing continued. Neither made much noise, not out of choice but because there wasn't even a moment to spare for sounds.
"Is there even room to...?"
There was no room to even shout.
Not making a sound meant precisely this.
Swift began to predict Almond's evasive patterns and tightened his attacks.
Tap.
As Almond stepped back, Swift precisely moved forward.
Tap.
Then, another slash came.
Swoosh!
The cuts began to come closer, growing deeper and more numerous as the distance between the blade and Almond’s vital spots decreased.
Had Almond ever been so aggressively cornered? That was when it dawned on him.
"Is that what it is?"
This scene was crafted for the player to die.
"Choosing no means choosing death?"
It was an unjust death that didn’t result from making a mistake in combat, but from saying the wrong thing.
"It’s not even like real life."
Amid this, Almond's gaze drifted to one side.
[Don’t die and achieve a 3-star clear]
[200,000 won]
The mission had been set for 200,000 won. In Almond's world, it wasn't a significant amount. However, this wasn't about the money.
"So you set the mission."
It was a matter of pride. Almond thought the person who set the mission had a detestable intention and decided to take their money for being so obnoxious. At that moment—
With a flash, Almond's eyes widened as he accelerated his thoughts. The world seemed to slow down. The masked assassin threw his dagger. This time, Almond preemptively saw the trajectory of the attack.
He grabbed the assassin's arm. The attempt nearly twisted Almond's arm due to their tremendous difference in strength. That was okay. Almond only intended to change the trajectory.
With a flick, he pulled more on the assassin's arm toward where it was already moving and smashed his chin. The assassin, hit by his own incredible force, choked as the mask covering his mouth came off. His knife also fell.
As expected, the fallen knife revealed Swift's face.
He spoke as if he had been waiting, "Luna was right. Such combat skills."
Swift smirked and disappeared.
[Blink]
"Blink?!"
Swift suddenly activated a skill. He had already mastered blink, but hadn't used it until now.
Swift’s shadow loomed over Almond's back. It was a perfect ambush.
"So you're going to—"
It would’ve worked if Almond wasn’t familiar with Flashy Blade.
"— Do that!"
Awaiting Swift at the location of his blink was a military boot’s hard sole. Almond's back kick landed squarely on Swift's face.
"... Kugh!"
The impact was bound to be extremely painful. Swift's body flew, tumbling to the end of the tent and crashing into a pile of gear. Swift didn't get up again.
— ???
— LOL
— What the??
— What happened?
— He died from that?
— What’s gonna happen now?!
The chat exploded with cheers and question marks. The confusion was palpable, seemingly indicating that Almond wasn't supposed to survive this scene.
Donations flooded in next.
[NoMan has donated 10,000 won]
[What the heck? Wasn't rejecting Luna's offer supposed to lead to death?]
[Yes? has donated 50,000 won]
[Now Almond’s story mode begins~ Swift is gone, folks~]
[ShyNapoleon has donated 200,000 won]
[Fake Napoleon was utterly destroyed]