Season 2: Chapter 171: Erased Memory (1)
On LIL Pro, a lot of talk about Almond's decision regarding Luna went around. More precisely, they discussed him rejecting Luna.
[LOL he didn't choose Luna]
[Turns out not telling Almond leads to disaster]
[Nut Squad clenching their teeth and not telling, crazy LOL]
[Seriously, dying and restarting because you chose wrong... that's brutal -_-]
Everyone thought that since Almond doubted Luna and refused to join her, he would surely die. That was to be expected. The concept of the abyss was such that making the wrong choice alone could lead to death. To illustrate this, the creators made it easy and ridiculous for players to die.
As shown by everyone’s reactions, plenty of players died in such a manner.
[But isn't that too cruel of the creators? Like they just made it so you'd die at least once…]
[How could you trust Luna on the first try SMH]
[This is just how it is, no exaggeration]
[??? You're already dead. You just haven't realized it yet]
Many victims expressed their grievances. Their only consolation was that many other victims like them also existed.
Everyone thought Almond would die because he chose the wrong option, but Almond became the exception.
[Almond resurrected like a boss LOL]
[He survived???]
[What happens to the story now? LOL]
[This is just chaos]
[Breaking news: Almond didn’t choose Luna and survives]
Almond survived despite making the wrong choice.
[Feels like this is a first LOL I've never seen this before]
— Feels like it might be the first, LOL
— Someone must have done it though
— But not choosing Luna and surviving is definitely a first
— Is there a hidden route now??
└ Where would that even be LOL? Who's actually completed this?
└ Well, that's true LOL
└ Even if a hidden route doesn't appear, it's more impressive because the creators didn’t prepare this LOL
Someone said this could be a first. They had no way to verify such data on the spot, but it seemed rare enough.
With this turn of events, public opinion quickly shifted.
[Those who died because they didn't choose Luna, show yourselves!]
[From today on, I too am Almond's dog, woof! ^^7]
[Can I join the Mad Dogs squad?]
Most of LIL's story mode gave players little agency. There was a set story and LIL featured a vast world. It was hard for anything major to change within the grand scheme.
A shift seemed to be happening now in a popular streamer's broadcast, which had 30,000 live viewers watching.
People couldn't help but get excited.
***
The chat was in an uproar that Swift apparently died.
— What do we do if he's really dead LOL
— NPC world suffers a loss due to Almond.
— How do we proceed now?
— Do we have to start over LOL
— A supporting character kills the protagonist LOL LOL
"Is he really dead…?"
If someone was kicked in the jaw and didn't move at all on the ground, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that they had died.
Wouldn't it be more correct to say they were knocked out? It wasn’t like they had been stabbed. It was a kick.
"Swift won't die just like that. Would all his health really be gone from that?"
— Story mode might not care about health?
— Who knows how it applies here
— You break someone's jaw and ask if that's enough to kill them LOL LOL
"He’s the protagonist. He won't die. So, what do we do now?"
Almond approached the fallen Swift to check his complexion.
"…"
It was eerily quiet as if he really died.
"Even if his health is depleted, isn't this usually considered a knockout? He’s the protagonist..." Almond continued to speak and sounded unsure.
— Mumbling LOL
— Seems you're anxious too, huh? LOL
— Why keep repeating the same thing? LOL
The chat kept suggesting Swift had died, which led Almond to entertain the notion as well.
"Dead?"
It was unlikely that a character who shouldn't die would be killed off so early. Surely, this scene wasn't created with the character's death in mind. Wasn't it the player who was supposed to die?
That was when it happened.
[Time passes.]
The screen went black.
***
"Hey, Almond. How can you sleep till now? Wake up."
Ben's voice could be heard in the dark. Gradually, his vision returned and he could see a dim lamp inside the tent.
"What... what's this?"
"What do you mean what? Did you think you could just sleep in the abyss? It's time to start again. We need to find rune boxes. Swift is freaking out. He says if we don't find them soon, we're dead."
— ???
— Is this a restart?
— Did we go back to yesterday?
— What's this?
The chat was rife with speculation. The often-seen “&#*@&$” spoiler filters had completely disappeared. This meant nobody knew what was coming next.
"Ben. The talk at the campfire yesterday—"
"Shh!"
Ben looked alarmed and put a finger to his lips.
"Why bring that up suddenly? Are you still half asleep?"
"Ah."
Almond nodded as if he had confirmed something. Then, he communicated with the viewers.
"It doesn't seem like we've gone back in time."
Ben's reaction made it clear that it wasn't a return to yesterday. After all, it was explicitly stated.
"Time passes."
The notion of time reversing was absurd. Surely they wouldn't cheaply say, "We didn't say which direction time flows in? Lol," and actually meant the past.
"Anyway, be wary of Luna. Grab your weapon and come out."
Ben handed Almond his spear.
"Ah, thank..."
Before Almond could finish thanking him, his eyes caught the inscription on the spear shaft.
[When you hear the owl hoot three times, come to the campfire]
Had Ben seen it? It was blatantly inscribed on the spear.
Almond tentatively probed him, "… Ben."
"Huh?"
He motioned toward the inscription on the spear shaft.
"You said you didn't know about any letter Luna sent, right?"
"Uh… right. But let's not talk about that, okay!?" Ben whispered loudly. His voice was tinged with urgency.
"…"
A moment of silence followed.
'He doesn’t know of any letter even when it's right in front of him?'
What could that mean? As Almond pondered, Luna's words flashed through his mind.
“You can read that writing, can't you?”
It dawned on him.
'They can't read it.'
Almond finally understood why sending messages this way posed no risk at all. Only he could read these characters. The principle behind this remained a mystery.
"What, what's this? Let go. We need to get ready."
Ben shook Almond and attempted to leave the tent. However—
"Wait a minute."
He suddenly grabbed Almond's spear again.
"This..."
He was looking precisely at where the message was inscribed.
— His expression changed drastically.
— Could it be?!
— What?
Ben's expression suddenly brightened. Could it be that he read the message?
"Wow!"
His next words were quite unexpected.
"Isn't this the script used by the Avatars? The kind you find in myths."
The Avatars' script? Almond was puzzled.
"Avatars?"
"Yes. It's known to be used by the most powerful clan among the Avatars. They're known for being impulsive and foul, but they're the strongest."
The most powerful Avatars... impulsive and foul, but the strongest.
'What is this?'
If this was applied directly to LIL, it sounded like it was talking about Koreans. Of course, players didn’t play as Avatars in ranked games, but as contractors. In this story mode, they were perceived as Avatars.
"It's so unique that I remember it, but I don't know how to read it. I know that this ? sounds like B..."
He accurately pointed out the Korean letter ?. At this point, Almond was one hundred percent sure. It wasn’t just him who saw it as Korean in the game. It was recognized as Korean by these NPCs too.
— Such a weird concept, LOL
— An Easter egg?
— The most powerful clan in the game is Koreans, that's true LOL
— Characterized as the foulest
— Indeed, Koreans are the strongest in LIL!
— Sejong the Great, are you seeing this!?
Ben murmured to himself, "Ah... I see. Is that why this spear is so good? Because they used it?"
Then, he left the tent again.
Almond asked the viewers after a moment of silence, "So does Luna know how to write in Korean?"
— LOL, that's hilarious.
— Probably slightly adjusted to fit the locale LOL
— Yeah, seems like it.
— If it was in North America, it would be in English.
“Ah, that makes sense…” Almond murmured and left the tent. Then, he bumped into Swift.
"!"
For Almond, Swift had just tried to kill him. Now, Swift was nonchalantly speaking to him as if nothing happened.
"Doesn't the rookie know it's bad manners to be the last one out?"
"Have you forgotten what happened yesterday?"
"Yesterday?" Swift tilted his head in confusion. "What happened?"
That was absurd. He didn’t remember?
— LOL, he doesn't remember?
— Are you from a political party or something?
— Is it an act?
— A kick like that would make anyone forget LOL
Swift rubbed his chin while pondering.
"There was a fire and I woke up to put it out... Then I found myself sleeping in a different tent later on. Other than that, nothing was unusual."
It could have been an act, but it was also possible that Swift genuinely lost his memory due to the game's unintended turn of events.
"Why? Do you know how I ended up sleeping in another tent?" Swift asked.
"No."
"Hmm, it seems like you know something..."
Swift grew suspicious and scrutinized Almond's expression.
"I really don't know."
"Alright then. Get ready and come out," Swift said before vanishing.
'What was that all about?'
Almond felt utterly baffled.
"Did he really lose his memory from that kick?"
[Ossi has donated 10,000 Won]
[It was an amnesia kick LOL]
— Mapo district's eraser kick Yu Sang-Hyeon
— LOL, amnesia kick
— So that's what it was LOL
It made sense to move past it like this. After all, Swift dying wasn't part of the intended storyline. Another game company would have forced players to restart from the beginning. Passing it off like this made it relatively smooth.
'It's strange in a way.'
Almond found it odd how naturally things were being handled. Was this really an unforeseen event by the game developers?
'Who knows?'
Shrugging it off, Almond followed Swift.
"Anyway, it worked out. I wasn't sure what would happen if we left this party."
Regardless of the unresolved issues, it seemed he could remain in the party without any conflict. Despite his dissatisfaction with Swift, that guy was the protagonist of this story. They had to stick together, right? Plus, he had a mountain of things left to discover.
***
Their journey in the Abyss proceeded straightforwardly. It was all about hunting. Finding the next entrance was the priority, but—
"Once you enter the Abyss, the entrance only appears after the rule is activated. So, until then, we need to get stronger!"
They needed to be ready for the brutal competition that would ensue when the entrance did appear.
"To find rune boxes, we must hunt monsters above level five."
The fastest way to grow stronger was to find rune boxes. The party was on the move now.
"Ken, you lead the way. Luna seems to have lost her touch," Swift declared and no longer entrusted Luna with navigation.
"Okay," Ken reluctantly agreed.
Luna seemed displeased by the change. Almond thought she and Swift shared a close bond, but perhaps that wasn't the case. He had assumed Swift came to kill him on Luna's behalf.
"What are you looking at?"
Zap.
Luna glared at Almond as she passed by, clearly remembering the previous day's events.
"I’m not sure what's going on, but let's just go."
Almond decided to clear his mind of the confusion.
— With such talent, no one here can beat you. Why worry?
— Swift, the nominal boss, and Almond, the real power behind the throne.
As they walked for a while, they encountered…
"Koogooong...!"
[Magma Bear]
[Level 6]
Swift was thrilled by the appearance of a monster above level five. This monster was known in LIL’s siege battles as a jungle monster.
The bear, made entirely of bubbling lava, charged at them and radiated heat from its skin. Although it was a terrifying monster, Swift was excited.
"Great! Killing it will immediately bring out a rune box!"
Meanwhile, Almond pondered how to secure the rune box for himself. If Swift took it, recovering his memory would take much longer.
***
[Beginner Tip: The origins of the sanctuaries buried deep underground are unknown, but one thing is sure. The areas around sanctuaries always turn into abysses.]