16th floor – the gate of the kingdom
The consolidation of exiles always occurs out of necessity. So was my relationship with the hunter.
However, for those who are not exiles or for the first time, parting is more special.
You wouldn’t get used to a breakup like this.
The hunter had been organizing his equipment from a while ago.
Our party’s equipment is unbelievably good at the tutorial level.
However, if it was a labyrinth-like, fantasy-like ‘item’, it wasn’t like that.
The armor and weapons of hunters who have passed through the space age are not swords and magical objects.
His very modern or slightly near-future belongings looked more like mementos.
Firearms are the two that lack the means of self-defense the most for the little boy and the little wizard.
Magical guns stolen from the dwarf’s vault can be expensive if sold in the realm, even if you don’t use them.
Count the bullets carefully.
The hunter was the sub-leader, who was in charge of the entire party when I wasn’t there.
Therefore, they also share the first aid kits and tourniquets they had. They are all self-made things.
Healing potions are universal, but they are consumables. Preparing for the aftermath is also a skill of a wise exile.
Of course, the floor we sent in wasn’t smooth enough to be resolved with that, but at least the hunter seemed to think so.
maybe you don’t know
The items pouring out of the pockets of this discreet and serene man were plentiful in case something really went wrong.
Hee-woo is surprised when a bunch of dessert chocolate balls, which are bundled with federal combat food, pour out of one pocket.
“This was emergency food.”
“Did you bring it?”
“Stop habitually…”
“Somehow, something keeps coming out of the abyss…”
“Because I always carry it with me secretly.”
If that was just for himself, he wouldn’t have kept getting food from somewhere in the abyss.
I always said I picked it up, but I know it all came out of my pocket.
Knowing that there was no more battle, he seemed to have been prepared while recovering from the transport on the 15th floor.
What you can bring is to take as much as possible considering the volume.
It is habitual skill.
The hunter smiled and handed it to Hee-woo.
The only person who likes sweets here is Hee-woo.
Hee-woo shook his head.
“I heard that there are babies. Wouldn’t they like sweets?”
“I’m not that young… But, well, I guess so. It must have been too long. I didn’t even think of that.”
It’s funny to see them picking up chocolate balls again. The hunter was now completely exhausted as an exile.
Rather, he is just a father who is about to meet again.
Hunters have always had a habit of keeping their eyes squinted and looking around. It was an attitude to prepare for a disaster that could happen at any time.
Now even the strength in those eyes is released.
An ordinary man from California, USA, spent 100 years in a labyrinth and became an exile.
And now he was returning to being a normal person again.
* * *
Tidying up stuff is over.
The reaction of the party members was markedly different.
Hee-woo keeps wiping away his tears.
The youngest continues to have a shadowy expression on his face, and even the youngest and the youngest can’t hide his disappointment.
On the other hand, the experienced little wizard and I were relatively quiet. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s completely disappointing.
In a way, it wasn’t a very long time.
However, he has come out of a situation where he does not know when and how he will die.
The past few months are so far away that it feels like decades.
My regrets with the little wizard have faded under restraint through experience.
Hunters know that too.
And even the reaction seemed ridiculous.
“Leaders know how to make that kind of expression.”
“You can count me as the most capable sub-leader of my life. Thanks to you, I was able to feel at ease even when I was away.”
“I haven’t done much, though.”
“If you leave it alone, there are too many guys who can’t do it right, maybe that’s why.”
“It’s such an honor to have a senior like a leader say that.”
“Don’t sound like an old man. Anyway, good job. And thank you.”
“Thank you, thank you. What kind of party would pay such a severance pay?”
I fiddle with my pointed ears and smile again.
It may have been because of the burden or sense of duty he had so far because of the desolate impression.
It looks round now.
The youngest suddenly started praying. The hunter seemed to have a very strange feeling.
“Don’t do that, I’ll send you something nice.”
“If you say that, you really don’t feel like you’re going to die. Brother.”
“Isn’t that the way exiles are? They don’t really die. They’re living in a different way somewhere.”
The youngest knew that fact in his head, but it seemed difficult to accept it with his heart.
“I think it might be more painful not to see him again even though he knows he is alive.”
It seemed that the whole family of the giant had gone to a good place, but it seemed that he was not used to this kind of parting.
Unless you die and leave, there is no parting.
It is a place where we can only live together.
Surprisingly, compared to his career and appearance, the fact that a pure Hispanic was really hard to bear.
“It’s not going to heaven, but I can’t see you again. It’s difficult. Brother.”
“What will be difficult? I will live well. And you too. I will never forget your shield for the rest of my life.”
Mostly the two of them were a pair. A tank with a shield in front and a gunner behind it.
They must have listened as much as they put each other’s lives closest to each other.
Still, Hee-woo, who lived in modern Korean society, wiped away his tears and said blessings.
“I will always be happy. Even if no one is watching, I will only believe in the fact that I will be happy there.”
“okay.”
The hunters hugged each other. It was a little awkward with the little wizard.
The two weren’t very friendly. Our time together was also relatively short.
In particular, the young man hugged him very warmly there.
“I will always honor you. A warrior worthy of that.”
“Didn’t you burn me with lightning on the second floor?”
“I didn’t know it was going to be like this at the time.”
And I heard a whisper whisper.
“I heard from the Goddess that 100 years have already passed? Still, you can throw yourself in front of the emperor’s chainsaw. Sacrifice and devotion for your fellows are the qualities of a true warrior.”
“Did the goddess say that?”
“There should be at least a few people who remember your devotion. Goddess is also a warrior, so it must have been unbearable.”
You don’t have to go into Hee-woo’s ears. Then I might be ashamed of myself again.
“The orcs call such a person a hero. Let me recognize you as an honorary orc in the name of a former arch shaman.”
“Am I a fairy?”
“Then I know that.”
It’s half a joke, but the hunter didn’t seem offended.
“It’s rare for a person to think of sacrifice even with a lifelong goal in front of them. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
After saying that, the old man patted his shoulder.
Finally, the hunter seemed to be having a conversation with the goddess.
I was just watching.
* * *
The last one is always very simple and simple.
It’s like that when someone leaves.
The hunter who gave up all his burdens, brought simple casual clothes and a small bow, offered a prayer in the Temple of Time.
And disappeared.
The god of nature kept his promise. Before the hunter left, he also left a feeling that he was impressed and returned me to the goddess.
Now the Goddess is fully upon me.
“The connection has been completely lost.”
‘Isn’t it the same when a believer dies?’
“Yes, it is an eternal loss that cannot be recovered.”
‘What did you say last time?’
“That’s the word of blessing on your lips. What more can I say?”
After he really disappears, he comforts Hee-woo, who cries out loudly. The little boy is sniffling next to him.
The hunter was really nice to both of them. Did you say that your sister’s sister was like this?
Maybe that’s why he threw himself at the end.
‘But when you think about it, it’s a bit strange.’
“what?”
‘How is it known that the God of Time can bring us back to the past?’
“By the way, I only heard it as a rumor. Do you know the truth of the rumors? To be honest, I thought it was true because you didn’t say anything.”
‘It is true. Unless you’re a gamer, you probably wouldn’t know.’
Storytelling in rogue-like games is usually done through fragmented messages.
Item description, NPC description, or random encounter situation.
If you put together a little bit of information written on these things, a story is created.
It is a form that allows users to guess and guess.
There is one quite famous episode among them.
The story of an exile who longs for the past and asks the god of time to return him to the past.
But the ending of the story was not very good.
The past that the god of time returned was not really the past it was then.
A world of models where only the shape is plausible.
A small, closed world where no exiles came, no kingdom was connected, and even the scope of its formation was limited.
But the exile didn’t end well because his wishes were different from those of a hunter.
He met fellow exiles from the past and wanted to continue his adventure again.
In a closed world, that was just impossible.
So he was desperate. The record falls into the abyss after many years and falls into the hands of the player.
But it doesn’t matter that the hunter just wants to live there with his family.
Unless he is particularly willing to venture out, there is no need for doubt.
No, maybe he’ll just be happy, doubting it or not.
The goddess who heard all the stories seemed to think so too.
“Actually, what does that have to do with it? You and I both said it might be a piece of data anyway. There is no way to check.”
‘That’s it. The hunter may now rather wish he was also a piece of data. Only then will you become truly the same as your family.’
“The important thing is the mind.”
‘you’re right. I hope he’s happy. No, you will be happy. clearly.’
* * *
No matter what happens, people have to eat.
Everyone started feeling hungry.
A simple meal begins.
It would be fine after entering the kingdom, but I decided to take a break in advance because I could get busy unexpectedly.
“Once we reach the kingdom, there will be a huge number of guys who want to approach us now.”
“Why?”
“This server has very few survivors.”
“Ah, did you say that in order to enter this server in the kingdom, you have to hire someone from this place as the party leader?”
“That’s right, so in order to mine the new server’s resources, you need an exile who survived the new server and arrived in the kingdom.”
“It’s almost non-existent, right?”
“Perhaps this server looks like a bonanza.”
I contacted the angel in advance. Come meet us.
That way you can run away.
No rankers or high rankers will start right away and stop trying to arrest us, but many exiles may come to detain us.
Then it can be very tiring.
At first, you need to hide yourself.
It’s not very good for an exile who has just entered the realm to become very famous.
“Would you like to eat, too?”
“If you drink the blood of an angel, you will die.”
“Hey, I can’t even feed you now. I’m going to beat the angel.”
“Don’t say anything scary.”
Hee-woo stretches out his hand slightly, but doesn’t reach it. It clicks and then stops.
“You can’t even touch it.”
“I’m not going to be a vampire forever, so be patient.”
“I can’t even hold your hand! I lost money by confessing!”
“Don’t frown. A pretty face makes you ugly.”
Surprisingly, Hee-woo was not happy with such a statement.
Instead, he suddenly stares at me.
“mister.”
“why?”
“Are you going to spend more leisurely time in the kingdom? The journey up to here was force majeure, but now you can choose.”
It is. In the kingdom, I can choose where I want to go instead of going to a given floor.
“You look very tired.”
“Yeah? Actually, I’m always tired.”
“Not like that.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not the kind of kid who talks like this.
“You’re always so busy. Always thinking about the next job, what to do, and what to prepare. And even taking care of the party members.”
“Yeah, I’m the leader.”
“That’s right, because it’s a responsible position. But it’s too much. How many years have you been living like that?”
At that point, I had to stop.
how many years?
“Yeah. Did you live like that for 97 years?”
“I’ve never seen him take a break. Especially since he became a vampire.”
“Because that’s why I become an undead.”
“Even if you’re taking a break, I can see you’re always taking notes, calculating, and worrying about something. Have you really taken a break?”
His expression was too serious to look around.
“…it doesn’t seem like it.”
Even after returning to the second floor of the Temple of Time, he even mobilized his tricks to squeeze even one more handful.
It was really messy back then. It’s not about fitness, it’s about something else.
“There’s no hunter uncle anymore. Then…”
Heewoo knows. Neither the little wizard nor the youngest are friends enough to stay together as party members.
Not to mention the inspiration. They didn’t follow us to battle, and they weren’t even exiles.
From the kingdom, Hee-woo and little boy. And temporarily angels.
That’s how much the party will be reorganized.
“Until now, I may not have been of much help. But your uncle said that you can’t clear the labyrinth by yourself anyway? I think that’s different from carrying all the burdens by yourself.”
“It is not.”
The ideal minority party I envision should be perfect in every way.
Even if there is a problem of compatibility, the will and wisdom to overcome it as well.
“I wish I had been like that for 97 years. Now, share your luggage. Not just words, but the truth. If I’m not good enough, I’ll study. Just teach me. I hate memorization, but I’ll try anyway.
Then, it was He had never been taught anything other than combat skills.
Because it was something the hunter could do on his own.
But now there are no hunters. Hee-woo seemed to be thinking about the empty space.
* * *
Heewoo thought.
Uncle is always behind the scenes. It’s not just about efficiency.
It seemed like some sort of obsession. Someday I have to do something.
I don’t know, but it was never normal for me to constantly mumble and calculate and predict something even when I was alone.
I don’t know why I’m getting so much pressure from it.
In her opinion, it didn’t matter even if 100 years passed after failing to clear the labyrinth.
Wouldn’t it be okay if we could just be happy together?
The hunter’s family are NPCs. But if you ask him if he doesn’t look happy, and if he doesn’t seem to love his family, no one can say yes.
And while we were together, I seemed to understand one of Uncle’s obsessions.
are NPCs
Although there are no traces of it again after it exploded on the third floor.
It is clear that he constantly has doubts about someone.
And then it was definitely an explosion.
An explosion of accumulated self-doubt and anxiety.
Such an explosion that can tell how anxious you are mentally.
It is also reflected in our usual attitude.
After using the word NPC a few times to describe it in the first place, he never comes out of his mouth again.
Others just speak naturally. Even the mastermind who knew he was an NPC did not dare to reject the word.
He said he had already encountered this world through games. I heard it through God.
So, it all looks like a game.
It really might be. But she was not moved by that fact.
It was the same when I first thought of that question.
If it’s alive and breathing and loving here, isn’t it human?
What about data fragments?
That was what Hee-woo was afraid of.
I wonder if the eyes that the man sees himself are the eyes that see the virtual character.
Eyes that put a sense of distance somewhere that can’t be sincere like a hunter.
When I saw the hunter who went out in search of happiness, I felt that way even more.
So who’s thinking like that? Where is your uncle’s happiness?
Attacking the labyrinth doesn’t look happy, even with empty words.
On the contrary, I was worried about it after I cleared it.
Will there be any happiness in the end?
What is revealed at the end, isn’t it that only ashes remain at the end of complete combustion?
A goal like a mad obsession might end up like that.
such a thing… … On the contrary, I don’t think I can stand it.
It’s a fear I’ve had since some day.
“Do you love me?”
“then.”
Don’t answer so easily. You seem to be answering for me.
I wish not only that, but I really hope that you will be happier by loving me.
“Really?”
“Of course. Otherwise, you said you won’t accept it, so you hit an iron wall and eventually fell?”
So I want you to be filled with me. I don’t want you to become empty whether you achieve your goals or not.
A person who is still building a nice warm smile.
However, a smile that makes you feel insecure somewhere, and that anxiety becomes visible from some day.
The subtle emotions behind the scenes that I can understand by adoring and watching over and over again.
This person is weaker than you think. It’s just that it’s so amazing and great abilities are covering it up.
So the Goddess was also worried.
So I don’t want to end up with a colleague following this person.
I really want to be your life partner.
I can’t even remember the first time I fell in love.
It seems to have been said that such a thing as being together and supporting each other is called a couple.
You may still be stuck with something like family play. But someday really… … .
So I want to make Uncle’s ending happy.
* * *
I thought as I looked at Hee-woo’s strangely worried and somewhat anxious expression.
Now I have to tell you about it.
The story of the Jung family.
Hee-woo is sad, but the probability of being an NPC is very high.
If you go to the kingdom, there will be many senior citizens who will recognize you.
A Korean born into a superhuman family with the surname Jeong.
I don’t know if this kid will be hurt by it or not.
But if it wobbles, it needs to be supported.
No, I don’t think it will actually shake.
Is it just that it matters? You might even smile at me.
Yes, I suddenly realized.
Even when I try to reject a relationship like that, I just fall for it.
The infinitely positive and bright energy of thinking melts the ominous emotions that have accumulated inside me.
Looking at it, I even feel that all my worries are trivial.
A child full of this positivity will always be.
He is like the sun who will light up the darkness that has been built up for 97 years.
It may be because it is the first time, but I think that this child will remain the same even after decades of piling up in the labyrinth.
I want to make it my belief now.
More than my pride as a gamer, hope for clearing, or the trivial things that I believe to be human.
I wanted to have this child as my belief.
Sun religion was common. I know why.
He is truly a dazzling child to me.
Yeah, it seems I’ve been lonely up until now.
* * *
Taken from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Just as the two fools’ thoughts about whether they were innocent or fresh were mixed, the hunter arrived in a forest smelling of grass.Now the memories that I thought had been blurred come back to life.
This is the land where he lived and wanted to be buried.
Enter the forest through a familiar path.
I saw a small fairy village.
All the fairies were gathered in the square in the center of the town.
A calm and gloomy atmosphere lingers there.
Why?
I thought about it and realized it.
An old man is lying in the center of the fairies.
He smiled comfortably and closed his eyes.
But what was behind it was despair.
A hole that was created because 100 years had not yet been filled.
This was his funeral.
What if you don’t know? there were no worries
As the hunter got closer, the fairies noticed the stranger’s visit one by one.
No, it wasn’t unfamiliar.
In their memory, this unknown fairy’s face overlapped with someone.
The old man, whose eyes are now closed, still has the face of his younger days.
But what I recognized sooner than anyone else was the woman who was crying in the middle of the ceremony.
And her two daughters.
The three fairies’ eyes widened.
The hunter approached with his arms wide open.
In the silence of everyone, the fairy woman asked with a trembling voice.
“You… how?”
The hunter felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks now.
And the first cause that made this relationship, another cause that broke up, and another cause that connected us here again.
In the end he said the same word.
“I’m an exile.”
It all started with that.
Thanks for coming back here.
The warmth of the family that runs and hugs you is so warm.
Finally everything was over.
Labyrinths do not always create tragedy.
Sometimes they bring the dead back to life.
like that.
An exile’s journey is here now.
reached the end.