◈ Episode 232. Karma (1)

You have entered [Dungeon, ‘CODE-009’].

Raymond Sean’s lair.

At first glance, it was familiar.

You don’t have to be a player to recognize it.

The concept was clear.

“It’s just a lab, right?

Considering that the Rift is half reality and half the continent of Arcana……. There was a lab like this underground in the desert? Wow, with enough money, anything is possible.

‘Let’s see.’

First, there’s CCTV everywhere.

I’m inside a rift with a working smartphone. I’m sure they’re capturing my image, and I’m sure Raymond Sean is hiding somewhere, watching me.

‘Honestly, I was like…….

I wanted to do something about the CCTV right away.

Didn’t I proudly declare that to be the case?

I didn’t come by invitation, I came to dispose of it.

As if that wasn’t enough.

I’d gotten through the rift with counter-threats.

‘It’s so uncomfortable.’

But the pride of Grandfell.

I, Lee Hoyeol, would not tolerate his petty mentality.

I ignored the CCTV.

“It won’t change anything, even if you look at it.”

But can’t you be a little different, Grandfell?

How can I stay in those times and those emotions?

After a moment of pleading, I was greeted by a familiar sight.

‘That’s an elevator.’

A message kindly popped up in front of me.

[B1-Lobby]

[B2-LAB]

[B3-LAB]

[B4-Deep Lab]

[B5-Deep Lab]

[B6-Control Room]…….

A lab in a lab.

This is definitely Raymond Sean’s lair.

It’s like an engineering student.

But at the same time, I have questions.

‘What was he experimenting and researching?’

Luckily, my curiosity didn’t last long.

Actions speak louder than words.

I just had to see for myself.

“Consideration?”

If the elevator was considerate, it was considerate.

I had to admire the attention to detail for visitors.

The problem, as always, was the other person.

He hadn’t said it out loud.

Mr. Raymond Sean, I refuse all your hospitality.

“In that case, I will decline.”

Boom!

Without hesitation, the magic manifested.

The landscape changes in an instant.

A staircase rises beneath my feet, leading to the underground.

The effect of [Pure Knowledge].

All of the mineral knowledge has been utilized to eliminate the search process.

This time, the interference process was familiar enough that it could be manifested quickly.

‘I should have used the stairs.’

I remembered the past anew.

Why, I wasn’t who I seemed.

I needed kills to get as much experience as possible.

The stairs gave me a decent amount of kill credit.

‘Thanks to Harkon, it was great.’

The old saying is true.

Hard work is for the young.

I never realized that my crudeness would come in handy in this way.

A staircase rises from the dungeon’s structure.

‘I’m used to seeing dizzying scenery.’

The view beneath my feet was dizzying.

It didn’t compare to the tower.

I still get nauseous coming down from the top floor of the Magic Tower.

‘Anyway, I didn’t know something like that existed.’

Just like the message that came to mind.

I arrived at [B1-Lobby].

I thought it would be a living landscape because it’s a hideout.

I was surprised.

I saw a staff member guarding the lobby.

“Player Lee Hoyeol, I’ve been waiting for you.”

He didn’t seem surprised to see me coming down the stairs.

No, I guess he deserved it.

Anyway, I went straight to the point.

“I want to meet with Raymond Sean.”

To my surprise, the answer came back quickly.

“No problem, he’s on his way to the lobby.”

I’m being met on my feet.

I didn’t have to go looking for him.

I run a simulation in my head while I wait.

One thing’s for sure: I need to talk to Raymond Sean.

‘They’re all just excuses.’

Maybe I can get something out of them.

Maybe even information that will lead us back to Arcana.

Of course, I don’t expect them to spill the beans.

They say you can tell ten by looking at one.

You can tell by the way they’ve been fooling around at the mouth of the rift, can’t you?

Ding─

Soon, the elevator arrived.

I stare at the slowly opening doors.

Still, let’s stay positive.

Let’s have a constructive conversation, Raymond Sean.

As long as Grandfell’s patience allows, of course.

*

Time flies by.

Sung opens his mouth cautiously.

“……But may I ask you one more thing?”

The two men, Park Minjae and Yoon Soogyeom, nodded.

“I’ve never seen the real thing, but……. Raymond Sean, does it look exactly the same in person as it does in the picture, or should I say, it’s a bit of a surprise considering the image?”

“So you’re saying it doesn’t fit?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Yeah, because it’s way too easy a pace for what he’s doing.”

The worst war criminal in human history.

At the same time, the only person who knows the truth of the cataclysm.

For all that, Raymond Sean was overly impressive.

Park Minjae flashed a rotten smile.

“People who are different on the outside are common in society. Of course, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. A little bit of pretense is necessary to keep people from hurting each other in a harsh society, but…”

Park Minjae stuck out his tongue.

“He’s not at that level.”

Park Minjae was confident that he had seen many different types of people in his life, but even he couldn’t describe Raymond Sean in words.

“It’s not that we don’t talk, it’s more like we don’t understand each other. We’re obviously talking about the same thing, but there’s something uncomfortably strange about it.”

……Wait a minute.

I didn’t realize why at the time.

Now that I think about it, I realize why.

Park Minjae slapped his knee with a thud.

“Yeah, because he didn’t feel like a human being!”

*

Degurr-!

Raymond Sean’s head rolled around on the floor.

……No, that would be misleading to say.

To be kind and elaborate.

Shapeshifting magic.

The head of a mannequin covered in polymorph rolled around on the floor.

It was a possibility I had guessed the moment I saw the lobby.

Why, I recognized it when I saw the employee who greeted me.

I knew it was fake.

Master’s influence was likely to have been great in helping me recognize this deception.

‘There are days when that cat comes in handy,’

Once you’ve witnessed magic, you understand it perfectly.

How could Grandfell’s genius have failed to recognize Tower Master’s shapeshifting magic? Search, interfere, manifest. He understood the structure perfectly, so it shouldn’t be hard to figure it out.

‘Even if it wasn’t exactly that.’

I could tell from the staff’s reactions that it was a bad idea.

It’s one thing to smash through a ceiling, but to leave an intact elevator in place, but to not freak out at the sight of a human manifesting down a staircase with magic?

Why, even now.

The head of the self-proclaimed Raymond Sean rolled on the floor.

There was not the slightest hint of surprise from the employee.

What that means is simple.

That means he’s just as much of a fake as Raymond Sean, covered in polymorphs.

I muttered.

“But that’s no reason not to be proud.”

Grandfell’s theory of pride is much more complicated than it seems.

Heck, even a green tea bag can be a source of pride. He doesn’t just dismiss them as fake and unworthy of pride because they’re dolls.

The harsh words he continues to calmly spit out.

“I guess you just didn’t learn from me.”

To put it simply, it means that Raymond Sean was educated incorrectly at home.

And if you thought you could fool me with more than that, you’re wrong.

I don’t know where you’re hiding and faking it.

I know where you are.

We’re just gonna have to take our time finding it.

Like a real dungeon.

Quadruple.

Isn’t it annoying?

No, rather, the sea I had hoped for.

I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.

The Cataclysm.

Reality and Arcana Continent.

After committing something unforgivable in both worlds.

What on earth were you doing stuck in a place like this?

Because I felt like I had to see it with my own two eyes to be able to solve my problem.

ttogag─

Descending stairs.

My vision shifting.

An emerging message.

[B2-You have entered the laboratory].

At the same time, a loud beeping sound.

Yeah, I wonder why they call it a dungeon rift.

It must be a dungeon rift because monsters appear.

[Prototype Model E-89 : Lv.1,000]…….

The guards of the lair are quite fancy for one level. Even for a normal monster, it’s a 1,000 level, the highest level I’ve ever encountered.

There are hundreds of such mannequins.

‘If it were like the old days, I would have been very scared.’

But experience doesn’t go away, it accumulates.

Now I realize that level isn’t everything.

I could objectively gauge my opponent’s power.

‘I can handle it with magic alone.’

It would be a mistake to think that a hideout is like the living room of one’s own home.

Underground.

Even for me, with my extensive access to minerals.

This kind of ground is no different from home ground.

Prototype.

I’m trying to make it live up to its name, but the mechanical dolls are creaking.

As long as the [Blessing of the First World Tree] exists.

I don’t care about the efficiency of magic.

It’s the magic that comes from the body.

“It’s time for a group welcome.”

Thud!

The mannequins collapsed everywhere.

I wonder if they were made in the real world.

It doesn’t matter whether it was created on the Arcana continent or not.

Minerals are the key, after all.

“But also.”

Ttogak─

I walked up the stairs at a steady pace and manifested my magic.

In the order in which they rush at me.

Prototypes are falling apart.

“I refuse.”

Shuffle!

They fall to their knees, as if worshipping my entrance.

Of course, I don’t think this is the end of it.

Or what level I’m at in the first place.

Don’t you think that the person who has been running Arcana until now knows this well?

At best, like a monster.

You knew you couldn’t stop me.

As if to answer my question, a message pops up in front of me.

[Quest: Choose a Route].

Intruder.

In order to move forward.

Choose one of two paths.

B401-Deep Laboratory (Optional)

B402-Deep Laboratory (Optional)

They don’t call it deep for nothing.

The deeper you go, the more complex the structure.

A quest, by the way.

How fitting.

The sole operator of Arcana for now.

His greatest weapon is the system.

Perhaps Raymond and the player are natural enemies of the highest order. Why, back in the days when Arcana was just a game. Just as the player was helpless against the operator.

But, ironically.

I am one of those players.

I’ve always had a saying.

Levels, stats, everything is just a number.

I don’t know, but Granfell has been a system disbeliever from the beginning. Raymond Sean, even if you try to break the system, the answer is always the same.

“Did you think that if numbers became letters, something would change?”

And of course, the vitriol was always the same.

“How foolish you are.”

And with that, it was clear.

Raymond Sean.

I don’t think we’re going to get along. Whatever the case may be, I’m going to have to punch him in the face and talk to him.

Of course, I don’t pick and choose.

“You make your own path.”

Rather, I looked at their cards.

I also need to show my cards and show my ‘trustworthiness’.

I reached into my inventory.

I reached into my inventory and pulled out a [Torch of Hell].

I do not yet know what intentions Raymond had in causing the cataclysm. I could only dispose of him for a definite crime, for that is the intricate and heavy pride of Grandfell.

I hope you don’t think I’m going to let you off the hook.

“Isn’t that right?”

As if to answer my question.

A torch from hell burning wildly.

I continued.

“From now on, the battlefield is yours.”

──────

Akshan’s Upkeep: Summon Akshan the Demon Hunter from the Hellfires.

──────

Raymond.

You made a spectacle of yourself.

Out with the big guns.

“Shegwin.”

[Sword Saint, Shegwin answers your call].

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