Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
53. Second attempt (10)
If I was to point out the reasons why PMH was a gamewreck, I could go on without end.
And as one of the few remaining users, who played that gamewreck, I could point out as many strengths to counter the weaknesses.
It was the so-called bloody shield made by the fandom, but there was a part that even I couldn’t put a shield on against.
It was the character balance.
From the standpoint of someone who cherished all characters, I couldn’t help but feel regretful that some of them were so strong to the point of a cheat, and some were so weak they felt like a waste.
Though I had fun operating weak characters and clearing out difficult missions and quests, it didn’t feel good that my Playable Character was treated like a trashara by other people.
The representative example of those trasharas was PMH’s ‘Lee Lena’.
Her attack power was at the rock bottom, the Whip Martial Art skill was pretty difficult to use and Gwangrim was of the standard where it didn’t matter if it existed or not.
Because her Gwangrim ‘Illusion Banquet’ at best could show shabby illusions for a moment to barely deceive low rarity Enemies.
‘If they saw her now, no one would call her trashara.’
After Kwon Lena fiddled with her fingers, plucking the violin’s strings, a cheerful and clear sound rang out in the hall.
Following the sound, light filled the stage.
It seemed that the Gwangrim’s effect became amplified by the superpower violin’s music evoked by Kwon Lena and her superpower wave resonating.
The moment I blinked after the stage was fully filled with sound and light, I was standing in the banquet venue.
The wide multi-floor banquet venue’s dress code was Vegas Gold.
Carpet, chandelier, velvet curtains, party attendees’ dresses and accessories, handkerchief, etc, had Vegas Gold in them.
‘To evoke Fantasy Auction Venue to this extent…!’
The face of Sawol Seeum, who saw the illusion Kwon Lena evoked, turned pure white.
It seemed that he noticed that what rose before his eyes was the convention center, where the Fantasy Auction was held.
“This is… here… and the one standing there…”
Sawol Seeum looked forward in confusion.
At the end of Sawol Seeum’s gaze stood Kwon Lena wearing a Vegas Gold ribbon and cocktail dress.
Kwon Lena was wearing bright clothes, but her face looked gloomy.
She closed her eyes for a moment, and adjusted her depressed face.
And then, looking at Yeom Junyeol, or to be precise, me using the Player’s Trajectory, carefully approached and spoke up.
“… Lena and Red Wall Thief-nim?”
I was engrossed in the illusion showed by my Playable Character, but ‘that word’ with a ‘nim’ attachment snapped me back to my senses.
Just then, the violin’s music, which was ringing in my ears, changed.
The violin piece, personally composed by Kwon Jane, ‘Homecoming’, was a cheerful music about reuniting with family in a hometown.
The introduction started with a pizzicato, which evoked the light and cheerful footsteps running towards the hometown.
Then, when the hometown was reached, was a special lengthy music playing with the bow, with the arco method, to express the feeling of meeting the person one was longing for.
After the arco part started, the scenery quickly changed.
‘It’s possible to manipulate the content of the illusion by changing the performance…!?’
In a golden bird cage on the stage.
Was a boy wearing a winged robe with golden thread, Sawol Seeum, locked up.
Kwon Lena, who saw Sawol Seeum, had a hazy expression.
Ashamed, she couldn’t look at him properly and bowed her head.
Tok.
A silver coin fell from her hand to the ground she was looking at.
There was no way it made a loud sound, as the floor was covered with carpet, but it felt as if the sound echoed when the heavy coin touched the ground.
At the end, the illusion turned into superpower wave particles and disappeared, as if burning down in flames.
The performance stopped at some point.
Perhaps because she consumed great amounts of superpower wave and strength, Kwon Lena looked weak, and the violin and bow she held in her hands, fell down.
“… I’m sorry.”
“Yes…?”
Kwon Lena apologized, but it seemed that Sawol Seeum still couldn’t understand the situation.
No, rather than being unable to understand it, it seem he couldn’t believe it.
It probably was impossible for Sawol Seeum to think that his class friend Kwon Lena was among the people of the Fantasy Auction’s gang.
Sawol Seeum looked at me, sending a request for help with his gaze, but I looked at Kwon Lena instead of helping him.
Right now it would be better to observe the two, rather than cutting in and explaining.
Finally, Sawol Seeum also decided to wait for Kwon Lena to continue to speak, instead of looking at me.
“… I was at the Fantasy Auction that day. I saw Seeum there, but didn’t do anything.”
Tears welled up in Kwon Lena’s eyes.
Her voice trembled a bit, but Kwon Lena did her best to convey facts to Sawol Seeum.
“After starting to go to school I realized that Seeum was the Player, who was taken out at that auction at that time, but I couldn’t speak until now. I’m sorry that I didn’t do anything, and didn’t say anything…”
Kwon Lena finished her words and firmly closed her mouth.
As if trying to force herself to fight back the tears, I saw her lightly open her round eyes and put strength into them.
Sawol Seeum with a mouth hanging lightly open, looked at me and then at Kwon Lena.
As Kwon Lena showed the illusion where I was in Yeom Junyeol’s appearance at the Fantasy Auction, it seemed he realized why I was here.
And that all Kwon Lena’s words were facts.
“Why…”
After a long silence, Sawol Seeum brought out his voice.
Sawol Seeum’s face twisted.
“Why is Lena apologizing!?”
When Sawol Seeum shouted loudly, Kwon Lena flinched in surprise.
Sawol Seeum walked up to Kwon Lena and grasped her trembling hands.
Sawol Seeum’s hands were also shaking slightly, but as they grasped each other’s hands, I saw the trembling of the two people’s hands subside little by little.
“There is no way that Lena liked going to that place. The only people who didn’t smile when they saw me that day were my family, Red Wall Thief-nim and Lena!”
“But… Unlike Seeum’s family and Red Wall Thief, I didn’t…”
“My uncle and aunt were seriously injured when they tried to save me that day. Lena saw that too! If something happened to Lena, because You tried to save me, I…”
My head went dizzy because of ‘that word’, but to not interrupt my Playable Characters I had to shut my mouth.
But did Oh Hyejeong already solidify her position as ‘aunt’ in Sawol Seeum’s heart?
“…Did You perhaps keep tormenting yourself after we saw Hongryong together at the day of practice?”
“I’m sorry… Seeum-ah….”
“There is nothing to apologize for, so why are You apologizing so many times…!?”
After Sawol Seeum asked Kwon Lena with a kind tone, she finally showed tears.
Even though he asked not to apologize, Kwon Lena kept apologizing.
Seeing Kwon Lena cry, while apologizing, Sawol Seeum also started crying in the end.
“I hate that Lena had a hard time because of something she didn’t do anything wrong….”
It took a long time for the two people to calm down.
But after the tears ended, though the two looked exhausted, they didn’t seem to mentally suffer.
While coming up with the menu, which would be easy to digest for the two people, who skipped dinner, I waited for the two to speak up to me.
* * *
After Sawol Seeum entered the Hoyeon Building concert hall.
Mok Uram ran into Jared Lee, who was waiting nearby Hoyeon Building.
“Hello?”
“Uram-gun, sorry for calling you so suddenly.”
“No. I just happened to come here for the side-job.”
“… Side-job?”
Mok Uram replied that he received a commission from the Korean expert[1] named Tak Geosan to watch his disciple.
He said that opportunely today the ‘that expert’s disciple’ person fled to the central zone, so he came here.
‘Eungwang School’s class 0’s students have particular side jobs, eh?’
Jared Lee recalled the rumors about the class 0, to which Kwon Lena belongs to, and understood.
At that moment, Mok Uram suddenly looked towards the Hoyeon Building and mumbled.
“… Did You hear some sound just a moment ago?”
“What kind of sound?”
“I think I heard the sound of violin.”
Jared Lee knew that today Kwon Lena planned to perform in front of her friends.
As Kwon Lena would start the performance around now, Mok Uram probably heard it right.
But as the Hoyeon Building was soundproofed for the shows, he had doubts.
‘Considering Hoyeon Building’s soundproofing facilities, there was no way he would have heard it.’
When Jared Lee shook his head, Mok Uram perked up his ears, as if searching for the origin of the sound.
To distract his attention, Jared Lee decided get to the point and changed the topic.
“I have something to ask, Uram-gun. Can we talk while eating dinner together?”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Can Uram-gun tell me about the trip in the search for the muse? I want you to tell me about the details of the events that happened at that time.”
“Speaking about my long journey to find my muse? If so, I can speak as long as You wish!”
Soon Mok Uram’s tearful journey tell of the penniless hogu started.
The long story involved cases related to a questionable group and attacks.
Jared Lee recalled the team he used to belong to, ‘Pledge of Three Knights’, as he leaned his ear to Mok Uram’s travel account.
* * *
The three of us, Kwon Lena, Sawol Seeum and I ate dinner.
Since it was awkward for the two to move, as their eyes were swollen, they ordered the food to the waiting room in the Hoyeon Building.
The menu was all western food with blueberries.
Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum weren’t able to eat a lot, but the two had a pleasant meal, while honestly talking with each other.
‘Wouldn’t it be better if I left?’
I thought so, but the two kind people thanked me for staying with them and worrying.
On the other hand, Kwon Jane and Jared Lee kept away until the moment came to part.
But perhaps Kwon Lena didn’t want to stay alone at the dormitory tonight, they appeared when the place was about to close and inevitably took her to the Eternal Lake team’s building.
“We plan to study together when Lena comes back to the dormitory tomorrow. Uisin, please come too, if You have time.”
Sawol Seeum spoke with a bright voice.
During the meal, Sawol Seeum said he would help Kwon Lena to prepare for the re-test, and Kwon Lena hesitated and then replied she would accept the help.
Hearing those words, I felt relived anew.
I felt like the two returned to being friends, who were spending comfortable school days together again.
“Okay. I’ll buy snacks.”
“I planned to buy snacks too. I’ll sent a message before buying so we don’t overlap!”
I and Sawol Seeum kept talking about snacks until each of us went to our dormitory rooms.
‘I should start with making a reservation.’
The moment I returned to my room, I tried to select the snacks to eat with our class children, but as I turned on my device, I saw unread messages piling up.
It was not that one or two people sent messages, but just one person who sent a lot of messages.
[Tao Sihu] What’s sup? ㅎㅎ
[Tao Sihu] Are you very busy this weekend?
[Tao Sihu] Uisin-ah?
[Tao Sihu] Sang-hun also isn’t checking messages…
[Tao Sihu] ㅠㅠ….
Ah, thinking about it, a message from Tao Sihu came yesterday.
Because it didn’t look like a particularly important message, I put it aside, and then it seems I forgot about it.
But I guess Tao Sihu also threw messages at Yu Sang-hun.
And it seems that Yu Sang-hun also wasn’t checking them.
‘If it’s urgent, he would make a call, right?’
At that thought, I worried whether I should just check it the next time or not, but decided to send a reply.
[Me] ?
[Tao Sihu] !!!
[Tao Sihu] What y doing? ㅎㅎ
I suddenly wanted to ignore him again, but decided to reply.
[Me] Checking messages.
[Tao Sihu] Right, huh!
The conversation was cut off again.
Did this bastard keep throwing messages just to ask about such things?
When I was about to close the message window, Tao Sihu sent a message.
[Tao Sihu] How is Sang-hui noona doing?
*~*~*
[1] expert — 고수 (gosu). I’m not sure if Mok Uram means it as someone highly specialized or a really old person.
Translator’s note: YESS! A great chapter! A chapter where people are freaking talking! You have to love those.
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