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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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‘I can see the choices…’
It was strange. For some reason, Kang Seol could see the choices, as if the game were hinting at the solution.
Kang Seol, who had memorized even the most useless parts of the rulebook like a student preparing for an exam, had, of course, memorized nearly all the choices in the tutorial to get his weak characters through.
But what he remembered was from the beta, and it might not match the current full version. However, seeing the choices before him, his worries dissipated.
‘I don’t know why, but this is a relief. I was worried the choices might have changed…’
The choices were the same as in the beta.
Click.
Clack—
The left lever was pulled.
Click.
Clack—
The right lever was pulled.
Rumble—
The Forgotten Moon Ruin, an adventure notorious for its deadly traps, revealed itself.
– How did he know? He disarmed the arrow trap first.
– A newbie! He said he was a newbie!
‘Does everyone see this?’
Whether true or not, it would be a huge help. Kang Seol was best at choosing the right option from a multitude of choices.
But the hints weren’t absolute. With too many choices, it was hard to be certain of his memory.
– I smell it… the smell of a newbie…
– The other humans are getting their asses kicked here, lol.
‘The first gate… was to step on the panels in order, right?’
The first gate of the Forgotten Moon Ruin. It was about stepping on the panels with symbols in the correct order to advance. Stepping on the wrong panel would trigger a trap. A very simple structure.
‘Normally, you’d have to learn this by taking a few hits at the beginning.’
The difference between a game piece losing HP and his own body spurting blood was quite significant.
‘This is why casters are at a disadvantage.’
Characters who hadn’t invested in Agility often had to tank the traps when they made a mistake. If arrows flew, they’d be hit; if poison was released, they’d inhale it.
‘One mistake could be fatal.’
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. And Kang Seol had no intention of experiencing that worst-case scenario.
He had played through most of the innate talents in the Eternal World over the past 17 years. In the process, he had discovered a plethora of hidden mechanics.
‘Where… the hidden choice was that, right?’
Two cheat-like choices, 10 and 11. Of course, both required talents. Since Trap Disarm actually required the talent to disarm traps, he couldn’t use option 11. That left him with option 10.
‘The code written in front of the gate…’
As the choice suggested, there was a code written in front of the first panel. But he couldn’t read it.
‘It’s probably because I don’t have Archaeology and Theology.’
Of course, just because he couldn’t read it didn’t mean he didn’t know what it said. He recalled the content of the text.
The lion is ferocious and unyielding; the sheep is meek and takes the last place. The benevolent moon embraces them, and the jealous wolf follows the lion.
A riddle. The sentence structure and some particles might be wrong, but the core meaning should be correct.
‘I remember now.’
The unyielding lion was first. The jealous wolf was second. The benevolent moon was third. The meek sheep was fourth. And then it repeated.
‘If I follow the order, I won’t get hurt.’
He started to trace the path with his eyes, estimating the position of the lion panel. His eyes scanned all the way to the other side.
“Alright, here I go.”
He boldly stepped on the lion panel.
Tap.
“…”
No reaction. His interpretation of the code was correct. He started walking without hesitation.
Tap.
Tap.
Thud.
‘This is not it’ donated 100 madness!
“I smelled it… I definitely smelled it… sniff sniff…”
– Oh… are you crazy!
– His footsteps become majestic…
– He’s free-passing the first gate; let me see… the setting book says that choice requires Archaeology and Theology?
– Then is he an Archaeology and Theology main? That’s so niche, lol
– This isn’t what I wanted… he needs to suffer more…
Kang Seol’s memory was exceptional, even in reality. He wouldn’t forget the important mechanics of an adventure he’d played through with several characters.
Tap.
He stepped off the last panel.
“Easy.”
– Easy, easy, lol
– It’s a tutorial, lol. While he was saying that, about 50 million people on Earth have died.
– Really? lol;;
Now, he was out of one dangerous situation. If he chose the reward here, he could proceed to the next adventure. He didn’t have to risk the traps.
‘But if I stop here, the reward will be smaller…’
Snowman had never shrunk back from a great adventure.
“I have to keep going.”
– Oppa! That’s it!
– Let’s gooo!!!
– I’ll be with you! (just cheering)
– You can do it! (enthusiastic cheering)
Progressing through the Moon Ruin was like the dilemma of buying a new car.
The mentality of ‘if I’m spending this much, I might as well add a little more and get that.’
He kept going because it was a shame to stop now. Many players in the Moonlit Dance chose to keep going.
‘But that’s also dangerous if you reach the limit.’
The Moon Ruin taught players to know their limits. If they continued to greedily pursue higher rewards without knowing their limits, they could meet a futile death.
‘I know this adventure inside and out. There can be no mistakes.’
Swoosh.
After passing the first gate, a ceiling appeared. He had been worried about the visibility without moonlight, but torches lit up on both sides of the passage.
Flicker.
Flicker.
He could see the second gate.
‘So this is what the game board looks like in person.’
The walls of the passage were lined with gruesome spikes, and the ceiling was riddled with narrow holes. The floor panels were red, blue, and black.
‘I really hate this…’
The second gate was a section that had to be passed without any tricks, the very essence of the Forgotten Moon Ruin. It was a deathtrap.
‘Was it this long?’
The passage seemed endless. It would be a physically and mentally draining time. Others would want to turn back at this horrific sight. But the fire in Kang Seol’s heart only grew stronger.
His reflection was visible on the sparkling stone walls. He looked shabby, wearing a tattered rag and holding a broken staff. But something else made him look even more pathetic.
The black line around his neck. It was so neat that it could be mistaken for a choker. He knew why it was there.
‘That lightning noose…’
The power of lightning that had bound him in his dream. It had left an indelible mark on him. Like someone who had miraculously survived the gallows.
The black mark constantly reminded him of the pain and the nightmare. Perhaps he had actually survived the gallows.
His current situation was quite similar. He touched his neck with a cold gaze and vowed, ‘I will… see you again.’
His vow, from the outside, looked like he was afraid of the upcoming trial.
– W-Wanna call it a draw?
– This place is a real bitch lol, you really have to think carefully;
Having made up his mind, he stepped on a red panel without hesitation.
Clank.
“…”
A scary sound, but nothing else happened.
“Phew…”
Tap.
He moved his next step to a black panel.
Rumble—
The walls on both sides suddenly moved a little closer. If he kept stepping on the wrong panels, the walls would close in and crush him like a dried squid.
The choices for the second gate mostly proceeded in this manner. The same choices had been appearing before his eyes.
There were additional choices depending on the talents he possessed, but it was difficult to use shortcuts like in the first gate.
‘It would have been easier if I had Mechanical Engineering or Trap Disarm…’
He recalled the progression of the second gate.
‘I have to remember the order of the colors.’
A gate that required stepping on colors in a set order to reach the end. Every mistake triggered a trap, threatening the player.
‘Where… red was correct.’
Tap.
Clank.
He stepped on a red panel again, and nothing happened.
‘…Then red again.’
Clank.
Correct. The second step was also a red panel.
‘This time…’
He stepped on a blue panel. But this time, he didn’t get through unscathed.
Thud!
Crack!
“Aaaaagh!”
A ball smaller than a fist shot out from the left wall and hit his arm.
“Ugh…”
– Oops; he was wrong?
– This is it lol, where do you think you’re going!
– If you don’t know, you have to get hit!
– It’s not the blue panel~ It’s the black one, the black one~
It hurt like hell. Fortunately, he had reflexively twisted his body to lessen the impact. Otherwise, his bone could have been broken.
“Haha… this is quite fun.”
– Shocking! At 3:12, he declared, ‘It’s fun’!
– That statement lol
– He’s a total chuunibyou lol
– This player! He got hit by an iron ball, and he’s smiling!
Kang Seol groaned, but his innate gamer instinct didn’t forget what he had to do.
“Red… red… what’s next…”
Tap.
Clank.
Tap.
Clank.
He stepped on two red panels in a row, then on a black panel.
Thud!
Crack!
“Aaaaaagh! Shiiit!”
Another ball flew out, this time hitting his right thigh.
“Three reds… that’s too much.”
– lololololol, are you going to retract your statement?
– Hey~, would they really do a 3-bunker rush in the finals? lol
– Nope~ go back~
The pain was excruciating. He thought he might faint if he took another big hit.
“Where, who will win?”
Tap.
Clank.
Tap.
Clank.
Tap.
Clank.
After three steps, he had to choose the next panel again.
‘…Could it be?’
He stepped on a red panel again, just in case.
Tap.
Clank.
‘…Vicious bastards.’
– Oh lol
– You didn’t fall for it this time? lolololol
– Four red panels in a row. At this point, it seemed like he could just keep stepping on red panels and advance.
‘No, what I remember is correct.’
He definitely had to step on the panels in order. He ruled out the red panel and considered whether to step on the blue or black panel.
“Blue!”
Tap.
Rumble—
The walls on both sides moved a little closer. They were so close that it felt claustrophobic.
– Wrong lol
– Just kidding! It wasn’t blue!
– Now the real fun begins lol
He looked back. The starting point was far away. He was probably at the halfway point of the passage. The feeling of being a piece on the board instead of a player rolling dice was miserable.
‘If I don’t know the order, I can’t even go back.’
If the walls closed in while he was going back, it would be the end. A timid person would probably stop in their tracks, afraid of the pain and death.
– Ah… now he’s screwed…
– Can’t go back, can’t go forward? You’re screwed, right?
But Kang Seol grinned. A declaration of victory. He walked without hesitation.
Tap.
Clank.
Tap.
Clank.
…
After stepping on four red panels in a row, he stepped on the next panel without hesitation. His foot landed on a black panel.
Tap.
Clank.
– ?
– lol, what are you going to do next?
He stepped on another panel. Red. Red. Red again, and red again.
Tap, clank.
And black.
– This isn’t it……
– Excuse me? Yes? Huh?
– It’s repeating? What!
– Who made this trap so carelessly!
‘The sequence repeats after 5.’
Since a sequence of five reds would be meaningless, he had ruled out red as the last panel from the beginning. Since it wasn’t blue, he had stepped on the black panel.
This was a method only a veteran could use. A trap with its rules revealed loses its meaning. He started running.
Tap tap tap.
– Shit! He found out!
– You bastard! How did you know ㅠㅠ
– Won’t you play with us a little longer?
And so, he reached the end of the passage.
“Haa… haa…”
He was now in front of the last gate. His body trembled from the impact of the heavy ball. He felt a little feverish.
‘I can’t stop.’
He approached the gold chest and thought, ‘From now on, whenever a moment like this comes, he will make the same choice.’ He passed the gold chest.
– Crazy bastard lol
– You’re going further from here? I think you have a bruise where you got hit?
– He’s a complete psycho lol
– Excuse me, sir, but are you a masochist?
– There is… an interesting newbie here.
A solid stone door was waiting for him. Don’t be arrogant, know your place, be humble. Those words were written on the stone door. He looked at the choices that appeared.
Prove yourself by ignoring the warning and entering.
Know your place and retreat.
There were no hidden mechanics here, only those two choices. What choice would Snowman have made?
‘I’ve never chosen 2.’
As he touched the door, it began to open.
Rumble—
The space inside had no ceiling, and moonlight streamed in. It was a spacious area, a welcome relief from the claustrophobic passage. And…
“You are arrogant. How dare you set foot in this place.”
A knight in armor, bathed in moonlight, stood in the center. Kang Seol grinned, baring his teeth, as if he had met an old friend.
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