Evening.
One of the dormitory rooms near the Academy.
The room was filled with merchandise related to ‘Dark Knight,’ such as bromides and figures.
It was Isiah’s place.
Despite qualifying for free dormitory accommodation due to her ‘Gold’ grade upon enrollment, Isiah had declined it.
This was because she had been teased for being shy as a child, which left her with a mild case of social withdrawal.
For that reason, she immersed herself more deeply in the cyber world than in reality.
In the cyber world, Isiah was the manager of a café with 300,000 members.
The café was named ‘✝Knights✝,’ the unofficial fan café of ‘Dark Knight.’
Isiah sat in front of her computer, searching through surveillance footage spread across Seoul.
This was her daily routine.
Finding and uploading videos of ‘Dark Knight’ faster than anyone else.
That’s how her café gained popularity, propelling the initially minor fan café ‘✝Knights✝’ to the number one spot among fan communities.
Of course, Isiah didn’t have access to all of Seoul’s closed-circuit cameras. Internal network devices could not be tampered with unless vulnerabilities were exploited. Normally, she would physically visit the location to hack in.
“Meow. Meow.”
“Lately, it seems we haven’t been seeing Dark Knight much, right? Is he taking a break from activities?”
Isiah felt a sense of gloom at the recent halt in ‘Dark Knight’s activities. She recalled the time when ‘Darkness Jumper’ had impersonated ‘Dark Knight,’ sparking fierce debates across internet forums. While some defended him, the majority of posts were negative.
“There’s no doubt he’s upset because of those trash comments! He’s someone who quietly takes on the role of cleaning up the shadows yet still bears these slanders!”
Isiah pulled up a post she had previously captured from ‘Hero Korea’s best board. Each one of these was designed to hurt the hearts of ‘Dark Knight’ fans. Back then, with the thought of potential future use, she painstakingly saved all of them.
She then posted a message on the café’s board.
——————————–
<Reason for Late Dark Knight Video Uploads>
Hello.
This is the café manager.
The reason why I, who used to bring you Dark Knight information faster than anyone else, have not brought you anything lately is because Dark Knight himself hasn’t been active.
It seems that the indiscriminate criticism during the impersonation incident might have caused him some sense of self-rejection. To criticize his years of work without proper evidence—it makes me, as one of the knights, feel very disheartened.
The following are posts from the best boards of the nation’s largest hero community back then.
【Enlightenment facts about Dark Knight exposing his mouth lol】
【Dark Knight fans are pitiful^^】
【Dark Knight likely killing people out of inferiority complex lol】
【Summarizing Dark Knight’s misdeeds.txt】
【Dark Hero? X, Serial Killer? O】
I thought it might be good for us to at least have an encouragement event among ourselves, right?
——————————–
The comments quickly came in.
When the café’s manager wrote a post, reactions were typically fast.
<Is this true ㅠㅠ Hero Korea is such a nasty bunch,,>
<I hope he comes back soon.. Watching Dark Knight take down the villains was so satisfying>
<Why are people so quick to hate each other like this..>
Relieved to find others who thought the same way as her, Isiah calmed down a little.
“Haa.”
She sighed and resumed her CCTV exploration, but suddenly, an unusual video caught her attention.
It was after ‘Darkness Jumper’ had been defeated. In an alley far from Seongsan Bridge, ‘Dark Knight’ had entered. A man and a child then exited the alley shortly after.
“Meow?!”
Isiah’s figurative tail perked up.
She continued to watch the recording.
Thanks to the CCTV’s fortunate position, it seemed ‘Dark Knight’ hadn’t noticed it.
However, his appearance in the footage was not very clear.
‘Could it be… Have I finally discovered Dark Knight?’
Until now, ‘Dark Knight’ always avoided places with CCTV to keep his disguise a secret.
‘Even people make mistakes at some point, I knew he’d slip up eventually!’
Height around 180cm, male. The quality was too poor to identify his face or clothes fully.
Still, this much information would make the police or association drool.
Thinking that this information should only be hers, Isiah copied the file and erased all the related CCTV data.
This information would stay with her alone.
‘I’m not posting this on the café. Dark Knight is my prince.’
“Grumble.”
Without realizing it, she made a low growling noise.
Isiah thought of her junior club member, Shinnoda, whom she had scheduled to meet the next day. He had a somewhat rebellious, yet star-like appearance. Although she was a ‘Dark Knight’ fanatic, she couldn’t deny that he was quite appealing.
‘If only Dark Knight looked like this! With justice in his beliefs and a handsome face… Kyaa!’
That night, the landlord complained several times about hearing someone keeping a cat nearby.
*
Evening.
We were sitting on the sofa watching TV. Laura looked up at me while watching a smartphone advertisement.
“Buy me a smartphone.”
“Why would you need one when you don’t have anyone to contact?”
“I’ll be bored when you two go to school!”
Park Hayeon joined in the conversation.
“Actually, it might be a good idea that Laura, who’s 12 years old, owns a phone.”
“Yeah, do I look like I’m out of money?”
“Then why doesn’t Laura go to school?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I was momentarily flustered. This was something I hadn’t thought much about.
“What should I say?”
After a brief thought, I spat out a plausible-sounding answer.
“Ah, Laura’s parents originally live abroad, but they’re temporarily staying in Korea. They plan to take her back in a few months, so sending her to school here for a short time seemed unnecessary.”
“Oh, I see?”
“Right? Laura.”
“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”
Since Laura and I were in agreement, Park Hayeon didn’t inquire further. It seemed she had asked out of idle curiosity.
The news began on the TV.
“[This morning, an emaciated mummy-like corpse was discovered on a mountain in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Police suspect a capable criminal and have launched an investigation.]”
Familiar words.
It was a buildup event from the main quest that I had seen countless times in the game.
A month from now, the gate collapse would occur there.
Due to its remote location, the news would spread late, but the situation would worsen significantly.
An endless stream of monsters. Shortage of heroes. Nearby villagers would be massacred without assistance, resulting in a death toll of at least a few thousand.
Eventually, high-level awakened ones gathered to suppress the situation, but the dead wouldn’t return.
Afterward, Academy students would be mobilized to deal with the leftover monsters, where the protagonist usually showed great potential in the storyline.
‘Should I wait until it happens, or is it right to leave people to die?’
The main monster of the gate was the E-rank ‘Hell Ant.’ While not difficult for awakened ones to handle, they were a terrifying sight for ordinary people.
Moreover, I knew all about the gate from the spin-off, down to its level being D. The monsters were individually weak but overwhelming in numbers. However, with the dungeon’s mechanisms, the numbers could be easily managed.
That aside, I was already at a level surpassing A-rank and reaching S-rank. Nothing would phase me.
“Alright, I’ll save them.”
The concern now was whether to take the kids along. This was a rare opportunity to gain battle experience in relative safety. I was already worried that Park Hayeon’s experience lacked because I had consumed the main story content.
After considering it, I decided.
Yes, I would take the kids.
Isiah’s character needed development, and her skills would help with the dungeon’s mechanisms.
‘Perhaps we should go for a weekend camping trip.’
Children’s Day was approaching, with a fortunate overlap allowing for three days off.
I had an appointment with Isiah after school tomorrow, so then I could mention the trip.
My only worry was if she’d refuse, considering our relationship was still shallow.
‘Perhaps I should invite the entire club? There aren’t that many people anyway.’
I thought of the club members whom I had admitted to the Academy, implying they had some utility in battle. Most were at the D-rank level, but they weren’t entirely negligible.
‘In terms of allowing Park Hayeon to experience group play, it might even be beneficial.’
I immediately sent a text to the club president, Lee Sang-hyun, proposing a camping trip with the club, with expenses covered by me.
Even with Laura and Park Hayoen involved, as I was footing the bill, they wouldn’t object. They might even welcome it, come to think of it.
A response soon came.
Surprisingly abrupt, but the reaction was positive. We agreed to go over the details at the clubroom tomorrow.
