At first, I briefly introduced myself, not as Bjorn Yandel, but as Lee Han Su.

"I'm Li Han Su." I am 29 years old.

"You have the same last name as me. I'm Lee Baek Ho. I was 23.

"Was?"

"To tell you the truth... I've been here for more than 10 years.

"Oh, I see...

I had nothing to say. I was expecting this, given the luxurious interior of the chat, but 10 years? Poor guy.

"Wait a minute, then you're older than me..."

"Big brother!" We don't say such things! I'm going to be back, so we have to count our real ages!

"Well... if you want to.

As a member of a Confucian nation where age is of great importance, there was no reason to discourage his desire to be younger. In any case, the performance was over.

"Well, brother, I'm sorry, but will you forgive me for something?"

"What should I forgive you for?"

"This... Something like a simple test. I'm sure you're who you say you are, but... Still, I think I should confirm it.

"What exactly do you want to confirm?"

"When I say a word, just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind." Oh, don't worry. Koreans can't go wrong.

It sounded like a kind of test for a Korean.

Apparently, he was a big shot in this world. It seems that some guys pretended to be Koreans to take advantage of him.

Okay, never mind...

"Then, let's start?"

— Of course.

When I nodded, the guy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I didn't think it was anything special, but seeing him in this state made me nervous too. Of course, as he said, the quiz itself was easy.

"Kimchi?"

— ... Stew?

"A beef head?"

– Beef soup.

— Saudi?

— Arabia.

- The credo of a serviceman.

— ... Our determination. By the way, I was a civil servant.

"Oh... In general, this is the latter.

Baek Ho stopped to catch his breath and looked at me with serious eyes. Just when I thought it was all a joke, he spoke.

"Lee Wang Yong?"

"Son of a bitch and a jerk.

The moment the curse involuntarily left my mouth, my body tensed with the strange energy I felt. At one point, Baek Ho's cold eyes rested on me, as if everything was still a fake.

"I believe you, you are Korean.

What kind of idiot is he?

***

Lee Baek-ho, a player from Korea who was thrown here on the day of his demobilization from the army, lived in this world for more than 10 years. He seemed like a good guy, but...

Does he also have problems with his head?

Unconsciously, my eyes narrowed.

However, after listening to the subsequent excuses, I could not say that it was unfounded.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being rude. That was the phrase I had prepared to say when someone would take the test. But I didn't think it would take more than 3 years.

Even I, although I consider myself far from such feelings, missed such conversations. Also, when this guy first came, there wasn't a community like Ghostbusters yet.

It was an environment that would be perfect for destroying someone's identity.

"So, what's your name, brother?"

"I've already told you.

"Not that, but the name you use here. I have to know this to help you. Koreans are corpses without loyalty and friendship, am I right?

"I'm grateful, but it's okay.

I smiled and shook my head.

Then Baek Ho looked at me as if he couldn't understand.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" If you just tell me your name, you won't have to worry about taxes anymore.

The boy's voice was full of confidence. Perhaps it was because he had already reached such a position here.

However, my answer remained the same.

"If we switched places and offered you the same thing, would you tell me your name?"

"Well, even if it's you, that would be too much...

— I think so too.

Did he finally understand that I was different from ordinary beginners? Baek Ho asked with a much more interested look than before.

[Q]: What mode did you play the game in?

Best Game Consoles

 

"And you?"

— 10 times.

I heard that the creator of Ghostbusters did it 15 times. When I looked at him in surprise, he scratched the back of his head.

"And 10x is also nothing special. It's still a deception. Therefore, despite the fact that 10 years have passed, I do not know much. If I had known it was going to be like this, I would have just played the original.

Maybe it's because he's lived in this world for over 10 years, but his mindset was definitely different from the ones I met in the [Rookie Room].

"So what about you?"

I thought for a while and answered:

"I also passed it in 10-fold mode.

"Really?"

I was a little worried, but Baek Ho meekly believed my words.

— Yes, it's really Korean.

"Huh?"

Koreans are the best when it comes to games, right?

It seemed to me that there was too much Korean pride in these words, but I did not comment. After all, I felt sorry for him. I must at least sincerely support him.

"Yes, you're quite right.

"Really?" Ha, this is really very sad. If only there was a Korean patch, there would be at least a few people who would have played the original version...

Obviously, the time spent with foreigners added to Baek Ho's Korean pride.

"Oh... then don't you want GP instead?

"That would be nice, but I'm not going to cash them out. There are many ways to earn them.

"Well, your GPs will probably accumulate like mine.

Except for our personalities, Baek Ho and I were similar in many ways. He was in no hurry to reveal his identity, and in contrast to his frivolous personality, his actions seemed reasonable. Perhaps that is why it lasted so long.

"Hmm... So I can't help you in any way?

"It's okay, I didn't expect anything at all. Let's just meet and talk sometimes.

"Brother...!"

Perhaps my words made him feel that he had met a real compatriot. Baek Ho wiped away the non-existent tears, but it didn't last long.

"If you have any questions, just ask." I have to do at least that to save face.

God, how strong were his emotional ups and downs.

It was difficult to keep track of the tension. But since he had suggested, I asked:

"Do you know who the administrator is here?"

"Oh, I don't know. In fact, I found the pill after robbing the headquarters of the Ministry of Security.

"Then they don't know who you are either?"

"Perhaps they have assumptions. I also have a few people that I suspect...

"Who?"

"There are three of them. Should I name them all?

Baek Ho took turns naming his suspects. They were all magicians, and except for one, they were so famous that even I had heard of them.

"I'm sure you'll be fine without my words, but never reveal your identity here. As far as I know, there are a few bastards associated with the royal family here.

It seems that Baek Ho really liked me since he gave me advice without me asking. Unlike my first-time friends who said the place was 100% safe, I really liked his pessimistic look. In this sense, I had one more question.

— Can the administrator somehow find out my identity?

— No, I don't. It will be difficult. Firstly, this space was not made by his forces, but rather redesigned.

"Redone?"

"There were evil spirits in this city more than a hundred years ago. On Earth, this was more than 20 years ago. Then who were these people?

To be honest, I didn't think that far. 20 years ago, even LCD monitors weren't properly distributed, let alone Dungeon & Stone.

"I don't know, so just tell me."

"The answer is those from another dimension!"

"Another dimension...?"

— Yes. I've never met them, but as far as I know, they say they've been transported by reading books written about this world. By the way, at that time, there were only a handful of evil spirits, and it was said that they all had unique abilities. It was assumed that one of them created this space, and the current administrator inherited it by accident.

I think I've just heard revolutionary information.

At this moment, I became curious who Baek Ho was.

What kind of person was he who knew all this?

However, this was good for me.

I changed my mind about it and continued to ask Baek Ho about this and that to clarify my questions, but this guy wasn't omniscient either.

"Oh... To be honest, I'm in hiding now, so I don't have much up-to-date information.

"Are you hiding?"

— Yes. I can't tell you the details, but if you need the latest information, I can introduce you to the chat. It is called "Round Table Observers". This is a kind of club for people with eighth-grader syndrome.

The chat room that Baek Ho told me about was a kind of community for experts that was kept secret and only accessible by invitation code.

"The nickname and face will be anonymous there, so you don't have to worry. I've heard that if you don't have information to share, you can be beaten up and kicked out, but... Since you've completed the game in 10x mode, I don't think you should worry about it.

As if sending a child on a field trip, he explained everything from one to ten. It was quite a long time, but it was all useful, so I listened to him without interruption.

"Then I'll see you next time."

"Are you leaving already?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you. The pill I took was a prototype, so I can only stay here for an hour.

Was it a generation gap? Even if he suddenly complained about what happened in his time, I would probably just be silent and listen. It was clear that he had lived a harsher life than I did.

"Brother, you have to come next time, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you next time."

"If there's anyone in town who treats you badly, don't forget to let me know.

"Okay...

"Oh, and one more thing...

"It's all right, go already." You can just tell me next time.

"Oh, exactly... next time... Ok! See you next time!

He looked at me with an anxious expression on his face, then gave me an innocent smile and left.

I also left the chat. As he told me, I typed [Roundtable Watchers] into the chat search bar and entered the code.

[Unauthorized Login Time. OPEN 03:00-03:10].

Baek Ho didn't tell me about it. I had no choice but to waste time looking at exchanges and other posts. When the clock in the lower right corner of the monitor showed 3:00, I tried to enter again.

[The status of the new member was confirmed].

[Congratulations on joining the ranks of the Roundtable Observers].

[This meeting is strictly anonymous...]

Messages surfaced with the content I heard from Baek Ho.

*Flash!*

When I opened my eyes, I was in the personalization room.

***

The room was full of all kinds of costumes and accessories.

I wondered why I would go so far to hide Lee Han Su's identity, but since these were the rules, it was better to follow them. After scrolling through everything, I chose a few moderately acceptable things for cosplay.

I put on a tight-fitting dark blue suit.

A mask is mandatory, so I had to wear it.

The masks were varied enough to fill an entire wall, but there were many empty spaces, as if to avoid repetition.

*Creak*

As soon as I put on one of the lion's head masks, the door opened by itself. A long red carpet showed the way. As I walked slowly, studying my surroundings, a large round table appeared. There were dozens of seats, but only 4 people were sitting.

*Top*

They talked as if they knew each other, but when I approached, everyone stared at me with their mouths shut.

—…

A heavy silence followed.

He didn't joke that this is a community for veterans. Oh, what fierce eyes. Don't you know that newbies need to be nurtured and cared for?

"Oh?" I've never seen this mask before," someone in a yellow clown mask began.

The fox-masked woman asked in a high-pitched voice:

"You!" How did you get here? It's been more than a year since we welcomed new members.

Oh, I didn't know about it.

— Tell us. Who are you and who recommended you?

However, this was an expected question, so there were no problems.

"You must answer only the truth. This is how this place works.

As this woman said, a special skin was applied to this place. If you have lied, your mask will burst and you will be immediately expelled from the chat. However, there was one exception. Before the meeting began in earnest, you could lie as much as you wanted.

But since everyone is silent, it means that they are all together involved in this. Or they just wonder what kind of person I am.

I understood why Baek Ho said that you need to be tough at the first meeting. Probably, this was advice from experience. I didn't want to do it, but this time I decided to just follow the advice and directions that Baek Ho recommended.

"Oh, you mean me?"

"Yes, about you...

After you act like a noob for a while, strike back when they least expect it.

"Your mother sent me here.

As Sergeant Lee said, I have to stir them up.