Chapter 6

I arrived at the white space that everyone calls the preparation room on the site.

I took a breath, and my feet felt cold. Come to think of it, in my haste to log in, I hadn’t even considered putting on shoes. I returned to my room, put on shoes, and logged in again.

When I turned around, I saw some weapons. I approached and picked up a sword. It’s heavy. I’m not sure if I can wield it properly.

The magic book is no help against goblins, and the spear, according to site consensus, is hard to use in the forest. To the point that a sword might actually be better. So, I have to carry the sword, but I doubt I’ll be able to use it well.

I opened the door of the Level 1 room and entered. The room was empty; it seems slimes don’t respawn here.

I opened the inner door, and I could see a dense forest.

“Hmm… what do they expect me to do?”

Fact is, I tried to convince Doyugeon not to go because it’s dangerous, but that’s not the only reason.

My physical abilities aren’t good. As a middle school student, I haven’t fully grown yet, I don’t enjoy physical activities, and thus my stamina is lacking. Moreover, my coordination is bad, so I invariably trip at least once every winter.

With this condition, how can I defeat a goblin, a bipedal monster, or navigate through a dense forest? Frankly, I doubt my search for Doyugeon would be of much help to him, if not a hindrance. Still, I’m not turning back.

As I stepped past the door, there was an uncomfortable sensation. I had an intuition that some sort of spatial magic was activated. It seems like the space and the forest aren’t actually in the same place.

Looking back, the door was just standing there in the ground, alone. This confirms my hunch. Somehow, it’s somewhat reassuring. Since my physical abilities aren’t great, I plan to rely on my intuition and senses.

I closed my eyes and focused on my senses. When I used to search for slimes in the city, I relied on some vague feeling, but now, it’s clearer. Objects and animals generally carry a certain density of magic power, so if I can sense the magic, I can detect their presence.

Even if it’s not as easy as detecting a slime with relatively high magic power density, I should be able to find Doyugeon if I can sense his magic power. I’ve never tried this before, but I have a hunch it could work.

My senses continued to expand, and the range increased. I detected goblins, and eventually, Doyugeon too. There were no goblins around him.

He was moving around, but considering it’s a forest, his pace doesn’t seem like he’s badly injured.

If I could sense more precisely, I might even know what posture he’s walking with.

I tried hard, but it seems to be too much for now.

I moved in the direction where he was located. The forest wasn’t overly dense, but it wasn’t easy to walk through either. I had to cut through the bushes with the sword, and roots or branches kept getting in the way.

After cutting through some bushes, I soon got out of breath. Swinging the sword is way too exhausting. It’s heavy even when just holding it, so swinging it is beyond me.

At this rate, I’ll collapse before I even meet him.

I rested for a moment, placed the sword on the ground, and massaged my arms. I need a better plan. Without much thought, magic came to mind.

If I could defeat slimes with magic, I can probably also cut bushes. Why didn’t I think of this before? Magic still feels foreign to me, I guess.

I gathered magic power from the air and fired it at the bushes. The stems bent and a hole appeared, but they were still tangled, not passable.

Repeating this process now would work, but I thought of a better method. Sharpening the magic to sever the stems. I haven’t tried this, but it feels like it could work.

After gathering the magic again, I shaped it into a sharp curve. It didn’t work immediately, but after a few attempts, it became sharp enough. Easy.

I shot the magic at the bush. It wasn’t perfectly clean, but the stems were severed. The fired magic didn’t travel far before dulling again, but it’s a good result.

I moved forward, dragging the sword on the ground after using magic.

Before coming to the forest, I was worried about how to deal with goblins, but now that I’m here, I don’t need to fight them. As long as I know where they are and avoid them, that’s enough.

It might take a longer route, but it doesn’t look like Doyugeon is in any immediate danger, so it should be fine.

Doyugeon was still walking around the forest. I don’t know if it’s because he can’t find the door or if he’s trying to hunt goblins.

If he’s lost, he could just log out. But if he’s trying to hunt goblins, he should really bang his head on the ground and reflect.

We were getting close enough that I thought I could see him. Sensing him, he just encountered a goblin. He immediately charged—it seems his purpose is hunting. Hmm.

Experience points flew by, and his figure appeared between the trees. Despite just fighting a goblin, he seems unharmed. Thank goodness. I almost hoped he got hurt a little, though.

“Hey, Doyugeon.”

He startled and looked at me. I dropped the sword nearby roughly. It’s so heavy. Why did I carry something useless and go through all this trouble?

It seemed like he was about to say something, so I spoke first.

“Check your phone.”

“Phone?”

It’s strange but communication works here. I kept calling and texting while coming here. He, however, ignored it all.

Doyugeon chuckled awkwardly after checking his phone history.

“Um, because I put it on silent…”

“Whatever. Didn’t I warn you yesterday that it was dangerous? Is there something wrong with my memory?”

“I did, but…”

“Do you even think or not? You have no brain.”

He gestured to stop speaking, so I paused and crossed my arms, glaring at him.

“What.”

“I didn’t come here because I wasn’t thinking. I checked the site, and it said you could log out during hunting. So, if it’s safe…”

“Did you seriously believe that?”

“It’s not that I believed it, but…”

“Isn’t that believing it?”

“Uh…”

“You’re doing well. Really.”

He stepped back and said.

“In any case, if it’s dangerous, I can just log out. …Logging out.”

Doyugeon disappeared.

“Huh?”

Uh…

Eh?!

Is this kid running away right now?

*

The next day, school time came, and Chahaneol got on the subway, keeping an eye on the exit.

Doyugeon didn’t answer the phone all night. I sent texts, but he didn’t reply. I’ve been waiting for him to take the subway to school.

We arrived at his stop, but he wasn’t there. I waited after school as well, but it’s the same. He seems to be avoiding usual commuting times.

Is this a challenge? I should visit his house. He’ll be there by now since he can catch an earlier train from school. If he’s not, I’ll just wait.

I got off the station and walked to the apartment complex where Doyugeon lives. I debated calling halfway, but decided against raising unnecessary suspicion.

Chahaneol pressed the doorbell. In a short while, a voice came through.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me.”

“…Who’s ‘me’?”

“Come on. I dropped by, so open the door.”

“Uh, hmm. Is it just a casual visit?”

“Then is there something else?”

“No, not really… Are you mad at me?”

Of course, he knew I’d be mad but still did it, huh?

“What. Were you worried about yesterday? Such a thing can be forgiven with an apology.”

“Isn’t that true? I’m sorry for yesterday. I got so confused that I couldn’t even think about replying. Sorry.”

“Okay. It’s alright. More importantly, open the door. My legs hurt.”

The door still didn’t open. Should I just break in? I don’t know the code, though.

After a brief pause, he spoke.

“Is it really alright?”

“Of course. Since you already apologized, what else is there to do?”

There was a sound, and the bolt was locked as the door opened slightly. What’s he planning?

He peeked through the crack of the door.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“Yeah. I am.”

He had a suspicious expression. I gave him a smile.

After a moment of hesitation, he said.

“Did you check the site today?”

“Slime?”

“Yeah.”

“I haven’t looked it up today yet.”

“You mustn’t have seen the offline gathering results then. We’ve got a lot to talk about. Come in.”

The door finally opened. Finally, I came in.

“The offline meeting was supposed to be busy, so I thought few would attend, but more people showed up than expected. The detector creator participated too.”

He moved towards his room.

“Doyugeon.”

“Hmm?”

I pointed to the living room sofa.

“Sit down.”

He hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly sat on the sofa, muttering.

I headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There’s… tomato juice, and it’ll barely fill one glass. There’s no other juice.

I poured it all in one cup and made some instant coffee for the other. It’s warm. Checking the freezer, there’s no ice either. Nothing to be done about it, I’ll take it as is and headed back to the living room.

I sat next to him. His nervousness was reflected on the black TV screen. What should I talk about now? I came to his house because I was mad, but I hesitate to start speaking.

It’s awkward to scold someone who’s the same age as me, but ignoring it feels like he’ll do something dangerous again. This kid needs to grow up a bit and stop needing these worries.

I blew and sipped the coffee. It’s hot and the weather’s warm. I should’ve brought cold water instead of coffee. It’s unseasonably chilly lately, but today it’s unbearably hot.

Doyugeon got up and brought a fan, turning it on. He sure is attentive. He could’ve done the same yesterday though. Was he just too quick?

He glanced at me then cleared his throat standing.

“For not replying and stuff, the mood doesn’t have to be like this, does it?”

“What? Do you think I’m upset just because of that?”

The reckless action was the issue, and he’s misunderstanding.

His gaze wandered around before he said.

“Well, it was reckless, sure. But still, the result was good, right? He killed three goblins, after all. If he got hurt, that would be one thing, but there was no injury or danger.”

“Reckless action and good result? Will you dive off a cliff next? huh?”

It seems this kid didn’t fully comprehend how dangerous his behavior was. He probably needs some talking to.

So, I took the time to explain the dangers of that judgment, blind trust in random internet information, and excessive game-like thinking.

Now that feels better.

I sipped the coffee. It had cooled by then. Observing him, he seemed either sulking or gloomy. Uh, was I too harsh? What should I do?

Let’s change the topic.

“This is fine now. So, what about the offline meeting you mentioned?”

“Huh?”

“Um, why? Didn’t you say the results of the offline meeting were posted? What’s this story about?”

“Oh, that.”

Doyugeon stood still for a moment, then suddenly shouted.

“Yeah, that’s it!”

What, what? Out of nowhere.

He looked at me.

“Good, I’ll show you. Let’s go to my room.”

He took the juice and headed to his room. I’m quite bewildered.

When I followed him into the room, the computer was on, opened to the slime detector site, specifically the offline meeting review post.

The purpose of the offline meeting was to verify resurrection. The participants logged in as planned to form a party for the test.

A participant experienced with multiple resurrections proved resurrection by dying to goblins and reviving in front of everyone, concluding the verification.

“That’s the important part.”

“I get it, stop moving the mouse already, it’s distracting.”

After the meeting’s purpose was fulfilled, they had a wrap-up party where a consensus formed that more information verification was necessary.

So, they discussed the idea of creating a credible verification group, and with the detector creator’s proposal, they decided to revise the site and establish a group called Exploration Alliance.

The post ends, inviting additional opinions and people interested in joining.

Exploration Alliance… this somehow feels detached from reality. Or maybe I’m the one who’s detached.

“Exploration Alliance, woah, impressive.”

“Exactly!”

Yeah, I knew you’d think that.

“Hmm… This isn’t it. Cough.”

Huh?

He continued.

“The Exploration Alliance verified resurrection, right?”

“Even if they say that, how can we trust it?”

“Still, right?”

“Well, it’s more likely to be true now. So?”

“Then, at least minimal safety is ensured, right?”

“You mean that again? I already said not to blindly…”

He interrupted me.

“Wait, wait. The minimal safety I’m talking about is about probability. Probability. So, ideally it’s good if it happens, but if not, no big deal.”

“Uh… Okay…”

No matter what kind of probability you talk about, it ultimately means you want to believe. Safety being ensured and safety having a possibility of being ensured are entirely different things. Can we really gloss over life and d*ath with vague terms?

I kept it to myself.

He said excitedly,

“So, let’s go hunt goblins.”

“Huh?”

“You were nagging about how dangerous goblins are just a moment ago. But from my experience, they’re not. Now that we’ve got minimal safety, let’s go hunt them together. I’ll show you it’s fine.”

Honestly, whether goblins are extremely dangerous now is questionable. He’s killed three without injury, and I’ve sensed him moving around, so I don’t think it’s too dangerous to handle.

Most people on the site say they encounter goblins frequently and flee, or they fought briefly, got beaten up, and barely survived. But the good news is goblins are slow and cautious, so you can escape if you run.

The weekend meeting was even set for testing how many times you could k*ll goblins with resurrection, leading to arguments about combat skills and self-respect.

Back then, it was clear that goblins were dangerous enough to escape.

But this guy killed three without injury…

“How fast do goblins run? Is it possible to escape?”

“Slow. You should have plenty of time to escape. Anyway, there’s no need to even run; just k*ll them. It’s easy.”

Feels uncertain, but… Hmm.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Let’s experience it. Then we’ll know.

---