I Became a Prisoner in the Game After Defeating the Final Boss Chapter 79
Not long after, Yohan, who came to his senses, protested.
“That's…… a bit much. As I said, I need fragments too. Let's go 5 to 5. That's fair, isn't it.”
“7 to 3.”
“No, no matter what, that's……!”
Yohan said, as if he was genuinely wronged.
“No matter how much I'm the one asking for help, 7 to 3 is too much. Please consider my situation too.”
“Mutants are dangerous beings. Above all, in a situation where we haven't even identified the mutant's species, let alone its type, the risk is bound to increase, so I don't think my demand is unreasonable. Isn't this a matter of life and death?”
“Still, 7 to 3 is too much. I'm also risking my life, you know.”
“7 to 3. Nothing less than that.”
“This is…….”
Yohan said, as if pleading.
“Is it really not possible?”
“It is not.”
“Even when I'm asking like this?”
“I am asking you, too.”
“No, really…….”
I already knew that my proposal was an unreasonable demand, but I intentionally pushed the unreasonable demand further, intending to test Yohan.
If, by any chance, Yohan readily accepted my unreasonable proposal, I would consider him to have other ulterior motives and end my journey with him.
‘But he's genuinely flustered.’
From this, I could roughly tell that Yohan's proposal was not some kind of trap.
Of course, there was a possibility that even that was an act, but if a person like Yohan had changed that much, it couldn't be helped even if I got stabbed in the back.
Yohan spoke with a face that seemed to have made a firm decision.
“Hoo…… 6 to 4. I can't concede any more than that. This is really important to me, too.”
“Alright.”
The negotiation was settled.
To be honest, I was willing to concede up to 5 to 5, but if Yohan was the first to take a step back, I had no intention of refusing.
At this point, that would only seem more suspicious, and more than anything, it was because I didn't want to hand over any more fragments to Yohan.
‘He seems fine now, but there's no guarantee Yohan will be able to handle the demonic energy any more than this.’
Demonic energy is not, in essence, a power that humans can handle.
No matter how strong a Player's body was, a time would come when it would cross that line.
I didn't want Yohan to become like that.
Even if Yohan didn't know, I still thought of Yohan as a close friend, like a younger brother.
“Thank you for agreeing.”
“Let's do well tomorrow.”
“Yes, I'll be counting on you.”
Even though he had a right to be in a bad mood because I pushed the unreasonable demand, Yohan smiled and offered me a handshake.
“You're really not easy. Usually, when I talk this much, they back off a step.”
“Because it's not an easy favor.”
“That's true, too.”
Yohan smiled and shook his head.
“The way you talk really resembles someone I know.”
“Someone you know?”
“No, it's nothing.”
Yohan said that and smiled faintly.
“It's gotten late. Then I'll go to sleep first. Please wake me up when it's time.”
“Yes.”
Yohan, who organized his sleeping bag spot, got right into the sleeping bag.
“I hope the hunt tomorrow ends safely.”
“It will be fine.”
“Right?”
I couldn't tell what expression Yohan was making right now, but it was probably a face mixed with worry and concern.
“Sleep. You don't have much time to sleep.”
“Ah, yes. Good night, then.”
And not long after, Yohan fell fast asleep.
I wondered how on earth he could trust a perfect stranger so easily, but that was probably one of the biggest differences between me and Yohan, so I decided not to force myself to understand.
Perhaps Yohan judged me in his own way and deemed me trustworthy, or perhaps he still didn't trust me but figured it wouldn't matter even if I ambushed him.
Was it trust, or confidence?
Whatever it was, since I had no intention of being hostile to Yohan right now, Yohan's judgment could be seen as correct.
‘Then…….’
Standing at night watch wasn't that difficult.
Not only was there no worry of shivering from the cold due to the Fang of Blazing Fire, but I also didn't feel any presence of demonic beasts approaching the safe zone.
Moreover, if I had to just stare at the ground in such peace, I wouldn't know, but right now, I had the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
It could be called a very good friend that would ward off boredom, the biggest enemy of the night watch.
[Accessing the Anonymous Bulletin Board.]
After entering the Anonymous Bulletin Board, I checked the recommended posts as always.
Just the fact that they were receiving attention from a large number of Users was enough to know the current topics of discussion or main information within the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
Then, I found a title that immediately caught my eye.
-CyberRekka9 : About the bulletin board's traditional ghost story, the Newbie Hunter [★]
CyberRekka9 was a named user who had appeared recently, and he mainly delivered information that could become an issue or topics that could become controversial.
At first glance, it didn't seem much different from a reporter in terms of role, but if there was a major difference, it would be that CyberRekka9's post was not the original source.
CyberRekka9, as the name implied, mainly served to re-highlight posts from the Anonymous Bulletin Board or other bulletin boards that had received relatively little attention, and because of that, some bulletin board users did not look kindly on CyberRekka9.
-Anonymous55 : This bastard is reposting without permission again.
-Anteater : Did you get permission from the person who wrote this?
-Anonymous21 : Would he have? kkk Rekka standards, he picked one hell of a nic kk
Of course, apart from that, most of CyberRekka9's posts made it to the recommended posts.
Regardless of where the source was, the information CyberRekka9 brought was, at least, worthy of becoming a hot topic.
‘Well, that aside…….’
Setting aside what kind of person CyberRekka9 was, the title of the post he uploaded was unusual.
‘Newbie Hunter…….’
Like other recommended posts, this post, in particular, was one I couldn't just pass by.
Because the existence of the Newbie Hunter was like an unsolved mystery to the Anonymous Bulletin Board users.
I immediately clicked on CyberRekka9's post.
──────────────
The Newbie Hunter is the protagonist of a famous ghost story that everyone who uses the Anonymous Bulletin Board knows.
The story goes that if a newbie reveals their identity, the Newbie Hunter will soon visit them.
It is true that, as if to prove such a ghost story, many newbies who rashly revealed their identity on the Anonymous Bulletin Board have disappeared.
Regardless of whether the Newbie Hunter actually exists, it means that carelessly exposing one's identity on the bulletin board is clearly dangerous.
There are many speculations about the identity of the Newbie Hunter.
The first hypothesis is that the existence of the Newbie Hunter itself doesn't exist at all.
Thinking about it cool-headedly, a newbie on the bulletin board is highly likely to be someone who is relatively unfamiliar with this world.
Their objective survival rate is bound to be low.
Therefore, the opinion that the existence of the Newbie Hunter is likely a ghost story born from an error of confirmation bias also holds considerable persuasive power.
There is another opinion.
The hypothesis is that the Newbie Hunter is not a specific individual, but rather an unspecified number of people on the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
One piece of supporting evidence for this is the fact that the Newbie Hunter's sphere of activity is abnormally wide.
The Newbie Hunter appears everywhere.
Whether it's the end of the Empire or the Demonic Realm, if a newbie carelessly exposes their location and identity.
If the Newbie Hunter were acting alone, it would be difficult to have such a vast sphere of activity.
Therefore, it is clear that someone on the Anonymous Bulletin Board is targeting newbies for some purpose, and that such people have gathered to create the existence in the ghost story called the Newbie Hunter.
The last hypothesis is that the existence known as the Newbie Hunter really does exist.
In truth, it is a fact that one must go through quite a few difficulties to prove this.
Considering the victims so far, it was hard to believe that the Newbie Hunter did it alone, no matter how great they were.
Of course, there is the possibility that the Newbie Hunter is not one person but a group, but considering that the success rate of a perfect crime drops drastically as the number of accomplices increases, it is bound to be somewhat puzzling that the identity of the Newbie Hunter has not been revealed yet.
There is another possibility.
The assumption that the Newbie Hunter actually exists and has the ability to roam that wide sphere of activity alone.
Although there are many hypotheses like this, the reason why many people talk about the Newbie Hunter, despite nothing being certain, is simple.
Because the existence of the Newbie Hunter reflects the fear and desire that is implicitly circulating among us.
The fear that someone is targeting me.
The profit one would gain from killing someone.
Those two things acted in combination to gradually turn the existence called the Newbie Hunter into a monster in our hearts.
Therefore…….
Regardless of whether the Newbie Hunter is singular or plural, if the substance of that ghost story actually exists, there is only one thing they are after.
The fragment.
The Newbie Hunter is likely after that, which holds the secrets of this world.
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-Hainbere : Seems like a good summary of the stuff that's been on the anonymous board so far.
-KimSubak : King Rekka.
-ImABabyNewbie : But does the Newbie Hunter really exist? If you really exist, come and get me kk
└Anonymous111 : He probably won't kill you since you're not a newbie.
└PrayingForShutdownDay-n : FR kk
-Knight Commander : Hmm...
-Anonymous31 : Are there still people who believe this stuff?
Newbie Hunter…….
It was a post that gave me a lot to think about in many ways.
As mentioned in the post, some regarded the existence of the Newbie Hunter as just a collection of coincidences, but what was clear was that the disappearance or murder of Players was frequent enough for a rumor like the Newbie Hunter to emerge.
‘Hmm.’
As I was looking at the Anonymous Bulletin Board like that, time passed quite quickly.
As expected of a place named a safe zone, nothing particular happened for two hours.
“Umm…… is it my turn?”
“Yes.”
“You've worked hard. Go to sleep.”
After the night watch rotation, I intentionally pretended to sleep for about an hour.
My sleeping time would decrease, but it was because Yohan might harbor different intentions.
Contrary to my concerns, Yohan, not much different from me, stared blankly into the air and moved his fingers.
He was probably looking at the Anonymous Bulletin Board or another bulletin board.
‘Then…….’
After confirming that Yohan's gaze was fixed in one place, I quietly activated the power of the Orb of Water so that Yohan wouldn't notice.
[The ‘Orb of Water’ protects the wearer.]
[The ‘Orb of Water’ deploys ‘Stagnant Waterway’.]
A shallow curtain created by the Orb of Water lightly covered my surroundings.
It was a means to defend in the first instance if I were to be attacked by something while I was asleep.
That wasn't all.
[‘Nak's Legacy─Jeon’ activates its power according to the wearer's will.]
[‘Nak's Legacy─Jeon’ deploys ‘Guardian Thunder’.]
A faint electric current was overlaid, riding the curtain of the Stagnant Waterway.
With this level of preparation, it would block any attack at least once.
‘I don't want to do this, but…… there's always a ‘what if’.’
Looking at Yohan's behavior so far, it was true that he wasn't much different from the Yohan I knew, but there was no guarantee that it wasn't an act or deception.
It was a minimum safety net.
‘I should rest.’
The preparations were made, and considering that there wouldn't be many opportunities to rest in the Demonic Realm from now on, now was the time to rest.
Was it because it had been a hard day?
The demon of sleep came quickly.
***
“Luke.”
A familiar voice.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Yohan's face.
“Is it time?”
“Yes. It's been exactly two hours.”
Stagnant Waterway and Guardian Thunder were still swirling around me.
It meant that the 'what if' hadn't happened.
“Then we should get moving.”
“Are you sure you don't need to sleep more?”
“This is enough.”
It wasn't just words; my body actually felt very refreshed.
It was thanks to maximizing the effect of sleep due to the blood flow speed increase from Haima's Pendant and the recovery effect of the Orb of Water.
“That's a relief, then. The atmosphere around here seemed unusual.”
“I see.”
Just as he said, the presence felt beyond the safe zone was unusual.
Although it didn't seem like they would barge into the safe zone, the problem was after we went outside the safe zone.
“It's chaotic.”
“It seems like he is loitering around this area.”
“He, you mean the mutant?”
“Yes. The roar I heard earlier sounded similar to the mutant I saw yesterday.”
Should I call this fortunate?
The mutant that Yohan had failed to hunt yesterday seemed to also think that it had failed the hunt.
Was it searching again for the prey it hadn't managed to catch?
‘It seems to be a pretty persistent fellow.’
But in a way, it could be seen as fortunate, as it saved us the trouble of searching for the mutant.
A level 6 named mutant.
In truth, just looking at the given specs, it wasn't an opponent I could dare to take on.
In the World of Justice, the difference of a single level could be seen as the difference between heaven and earth, and a level 6 was a whole 3 levels different from me right now.
No matter how many items I had that could supplement my lacking level and physical abilities, the 3-level gap was not something that could be easily closed.
‘But if the target of the hunt is a mutant, that's a different story.’
If the opponent were a normal level 6 named individual, I wouldn't know, but if it was a mutant, it was sufficiently worth a try for me as well.
“Then, shall we get going?”
I nodded at Yohan's words.
“Ah, before we leave, there's one thing I'd like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Was it because of the CyberRekka9 post I saw on the Anonymous Bulletin Board earlier?
Normally, I wouldn't have asked this kind of question, but for some reason, I felt like I had to ask Yohan now.
“Do you perhaps know anything about the Newbie Hunter?”
“Uh…… the Newbie Hunter?”
Yohan, who had a reluctant expression for a moment, soon nodded his head slightly.
“Yes, I do.”