Act 8: Legend Quest
ACT 8 Legend Quest
“What’s wrong?”
Ho Myung-hwan asked as he quickly approached him. Hyun-woo who was sitting in a chair and drinking coffee got up.
“I found out new information and I wanted to give it to you.”
“Information?”
“Yes……”
Hyun-woo nodded and lowered his voice.
“Before you came here, I actually met with one of the users involved in this event.”
“One of the Avenger members assisting the demons? You met them in New World?”
“No, we met in real life.”
Ho Myung-hwan’s eyes widened at Hyun-woo’s words. Global Exos had been trying to secure the Avenger members involved in this incident. Of course, all their investigations focused on Alan and the Red Man but they were also interested in the Avenger members. In Hong Kong it was possible to backtrack the New World connection circuits but that was impossible in Korea where there were millions of circuits. Therefore this was the first time Global Exos got any information on the Avenger members. Ho Myung-hwan looked around restlessly after hearing Hyun-woo’s words. And he took Hyun-woo to a meeting room.
“Who was the person that Ark-nim met?”
“The user with the ID Timosi.”
“Timosi? Her real name?”
“She didn’t tell me her real name. I didn’t learn that much about her, but in New World it is clear that she has a close relationship with Alan.”
“Alan…..?”
Ho Myung-hwan trembled after hearing the name Alan. Then he considered something and asked in an anxious voice.
“Timosi was the one who contacted Ark-nim first?”
“She visited me in New World and set a place to meet.”
“Why did she want to meet Ark-nim?”
“That……”
Hyun-woo recalled what had happened in New World a few hours ago.
“Ark!”
Hyun-woo heard the sharp cry in his ear. Then he saw Timosi and 5 bloodied Avenger members coming from an alley in Selebrid. Hyun-woo reflexively pulled out his sword when he saw them. But before he could do anything, the guards flocked towards the chaotic Timosi and Avenger members. Timosi just pulled out a scroll and continued to shout.
“Ark, I have something to say!” Today at 4 p.m. in Yeouido……”
Timosi said before warping somewhere with the Avenger members. Timosi and the Avengers who had suddenly appeared then disappeared. Thanks to that, Hyun-woo was completely confused. Why on earth did Timosi suddenly want to meet him in reality?
‘Are they planning to PK me in real life?’
He had those doubts at first. But it was strange that they would deliberately risk discovery. Furthermore, the meeting point was in the middle of Yeouido square…….
If there was an ulterior motive then they wouldn’t want to meet in a place like that. After thinking about it, Hyun-woo ended up going to the arranged meeting place.
“Ark? I can recognize you with one look.”
He heard the voice of a woman after reaching the meeting place. He turned around and saw a high school student.
“I am Timosi.”
He felt annoyed that he had been so anxious about meeting Timosi.
The Timosi in New World and in reality seemed completely different. Her looks were the same but her personality was completely different. While the Timosi in New World was always noisy, the one he met in reality was surprisingly quiet.
“Why did you want to see me?”
“That is…..a request. Please listen to what I have to say.”
“I don’t know what is going on but why should I accept your request?”
“Decide after listening to me.”
Timosi murmured in a testy tone. And Hyun-woo never imagined the words he was about to hear.
The Red Man and Maseutyu had betrayed and killed Alan. Fortunately, Alan who was on the verge of death sent one of his eyeballs in a desperate move. The information stored in the memory crystal allowed Timosi and the Avenger members to escape. However, Timosi and the Avengers were soon pushed into a corner. They had barely escaped the temple but now they had nowhere to go. Timosi and the Avenger members had slaughtered millions of users and NPCs with the demons. Therefore their chaotic value was astronomical and it was difficult for them to even approach a village or city. Now with the Red Man and Maseutyu’s betrayal, they were also the enemy of the demons.
“It isn’t possible……”
Timosi and the Avenger members realized the reality of their situation. They had risked standing on the side of the demons because of the compensation. If everything had progressed as planned then New World would become the world of the demons. If it was the demons’ world then it would be easy for the Avenger members to gain territories. Alan had also promised a significant amount of compensation in real life. The Avenger members didn’t doubt that and joined. However, that was all ruined with the Red Man’s betrayal.
“…….We’re finished now!”
“Dammit, there is no place for us to go in New World.”
“But that’s not all. We participated in the plan to conquer New World so we will certainly receive some punishment from the game publishers. The whole of New World was rattled so…….”
The Avengers sighed and murmured with each other. Their biggest worry was the action of Global Exos. If they won the war as planned then Global Exos wouldn’t even dare to touch them. If they conquered New World with the demons then the legal sanctions wouldn’t matter. Now that they were kicked out by the demons, they were just mere users causing problems. Global Exos would have no problems prosecuting them even if the demons conquered New World. They wouldn’t be able to play the game properly. Now they could only choose one way.
“Should we delete the character information before that happens?”
“But the characters we raised for 2 years…….”
‘Ugh, there is no other way.”
The Avengers’ opinions were that they would rather commit suicide.
“No, there’s still a way.”
Timosi broken the silence and continued.
“Originally we were going against the publisher. If the plan succeeded then we were confident that we could handle the game company. Even though we’ve been betrayed, the Red Man and Maseutyu are still continuing with the plan. From the publisher’s perspective, it will be more important to stop the plan then to catch some minor fish like us. And we possess information that the game publisher doesn’t know. It allows us room to negotiate.”
That’s right. Although they looked shabby now, Timosi and the Avengers played a central role in the Demonic War.
In other words, they knew quite a lot of information about the side of the demons. Global Exos would definitely want to know the information. If Timosi used that information, she could guarantee safety (character isn’t deleted and no charges) from Global Exos. It was similar to an immunity deal!
“However, we would have to visit the game company directly.”
“If we go then there is no guarantee that they would negotiate with us.”
“If we use a powerful candidate as an intermediary…….”
Hyun-woo instantly appeared in Timosi’s head. Whether he intended it or not, Hyun-woo was one of the core people in this event. Hyun-woo knew better than general users and NPCs how big this incident was. How many times did they fail because of Hyun-woo? Furthermore, Hyun-woo’s fame rose like a storm after his victory in the Nagaran battle. Global Exos wouldn’t be able to ignore Hyun-woo’s opinion. But that wasn’t the only reason why Timosi thought of Hyun-woo.
“That Red Man……!”
Timosi had joined the Avenger guild because of Alan. Yet the Red Man had betrayed Alan. Normally the death of a character wasn’t worth getting that angry about. However, this time was different. The Avenger members who were killed while wearing the Token of Darkness had their characters deleted. And Alan was also wearing the Token of Darkness when he died. That’s right. In New World, Alan was now ‘dead.’
“For Alan, I will never forgive them!”
Timosi had no intention of hiding in fear. Even if her character ended up deleted, she would smash the Red Man who betrayed Alan. And Timosi knew that Hyun-woo was the closest person to that goal among all the users. She would contact Hyun-woo who was in the centre of a storm in order to get the chance to smash the Red Man! That’s why she risked danger to enter Selebrid and contact Hyun-woo. The problem was whether Hyun-woo would accept Timosi’s offer. But that problem was settled surprisingly easily.
‘……I can’t waste a chance like this.’
Hyun-woo was inwardly delighted after hearing Timosi’s words. Anyway, Hyun-woo would benefit from conveying that information to Global Exos. Furthermore, if he took the intermediary role between the Avengers and Global Exos then he would obtain a lot of information he wouldn’t know. Hyun-woo could use that information to play a more active role in the Demonic War. And he might be able to get his hands on a black code item. The prize for the 1st ranking in achievements was 500 million won! Recovering the black code item was 1 billion won! He could obtain a cash prize of 1.5 billion won. That’s right. Hyun-woo could easily forget a trivial grudge for the chance to earn 1.5 billion won. So he immediately visited Global Exos.
“……So that’s what happened.”
Hyun-woo explained it to Ho Myung-hwan who nodded. His reaction was more lukewarm than expected. Hyun-woo looked at Ho Myung-hwan strangely before continuing.
“I realized it after hearing Timosi’s words. The true person behind this event if the Red Man. The Red Man used Alan and the Avengers. It seems like he knows all the secrets in New World……”
“I know.”
Ho Myung-hwan interrupted Hyun-woo’s words while rubbing his cigarette into an ashtray. And he sighed before speaking.
“I also know what the Red Man wants.”
“Huh?”
“To resurrect the Dark Lord. Isn’t that right?”
“How do you know that?”
Hyun-woo asked with a dumbfounded look. That’s right. Hyun-woo heard from Timosi that the Red Man’s goal was to resurrect the Dark Lord. Of course, A