195 – Epilogue (2)
At the words of the Mysterious Merchant, Kim Hyun-woo recalled Roria, who had not woken up since her heart was pierced yesterday and black smoke escaped from her mouth.
The Mysterious Merchant said that Roria was one of the heroes of Lartania.
However, unfortunately, despite hearing the story from the Mysterious Merchant, Roria’s memory did not come to Kim Hyun-woo’s mind.
“Actually, I wanted to ask you this before… is it true that Roria is one of the heroes I raised?”
Kim Hyun-woo asked, and the Mysterious Merchant nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“That’s right. But the reason you don’t remember is because of the contract.”
“What kind of contract is that…”
The Mysterious Merchant began to continue the story she had been telling a little while ago with that story.
“I told you, right? Originally, this world was destined to collapse when the game was ruined because it had become so weak that it would never be able to withstand the heavens and the demon world that were coming. However, at that time, one of your heroes, ‘Roria’, made a contract with the other world. No-“
The Mysterious Merchant made a slightly bitter expression.
“-Would it be better to call it a ‘bug’ to make it easier for you to understand?”
“…A bug?”
“Yes, you know, the bugs that sometimes appear when you play a game?”
Kim Hyun-woo nodded, and the Mysterious Merchant continued.
“Of course, this world is not a game like that, but there is no more appropriate expression to express the existence of the other world. That’s because the other world we express is a space that contains things I haven’t had time to create.”
“…What does that mean?”
“In other words, it’s a kind of dummy data in the game.”
The Mysterious Merchant continued to explain.
“As you know, Arteiel was released as a game. Even if a game that is released has a lot of users at first, the number of users decreases over time. Why is that? You probably know well.”
“…The BM problem of the developer?”
At Kim Hyun-woo’s words, the Mysterious Merchant continued with an uncomfortable expression.
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“I’m aware of that too, so stop hitting me… It hurts if you keep hitting me… Anyway, users end up consuming the game as content, and when the content is over, they get bored. That’s why you have to keep providing content.”
“…And that other world is where the content you made for the users is sleeping.”
“That’s right. I made it by hitting the ether as much as I could. It may feel like a game on that side, but this is a real world, so it takes a lot of ether to create.”
Kim Hyun-woo kept his mouth shut as if to tell her to continue the story, and she continued.
“Anyway, originally, the bugs I made shouldn’t have had any power. That’s because I put them in a bottomless pit where there was nothing in the first place. But- that guy showed up.”
“…That guy?”
“The guy who made a contract with Roria. I call it a ‘bug’. It was a guy who shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”
“…”
“Funny enough, when I had no power at all, that guy had a lot of power. That’s because he absorbed all the ether from the bottomless pit that I had used for the content for the users. He became stronger than me, funny enough. And with that stronger power, he made a contract with Roria.”
“What exactly is that contract…?”
“To bring you in exchange for giving me Roria’s body.”
Kim Hyun-woo, who had been thinking about the words of the Mysterious Merchant, soon said.
“…Honestly, I don’t understand why he made such a contract.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know what Roria was thinking when she made this contract, but I knew the purpose of the bug.”
She continued with a bitter expression.
“…Maybe he wanted to be whole.”
“…Whole?”
“Yes. Whole.”
“That ether is an omnipotent power that gives you anything, right?”
“That’s true, but it’s not enough. If the black and white Arthur you faced had as much ether as that guy, it would have been possible, but he was literally a being created by the gathering of impurities created out of nothing.”
“That means-“
“It means that he wasn’t a being I created in the first place. In other words, he’s a being that doesn’t have a proper name, literally a bug. He definitely had a lot of ether, but it wasn’t enough to make him whole. So-“
The Mysterious Merchant told Kim Hyun-woo with a slight nod.
“I was going to kill you. I was going to take your ether.”
“…My ether? I don’t have any power.””That’s just superficial. Look at the benefits the heroes you’re currently in a relationship with are receiving. Can you really say you have no power?”
“…Compensation?”
“That’s right. It’s not a game or anything. It’s literally a privilege you can exercise in this dimension as a higher-dimensional being. Well…it can only be manifested in a limited way.”
Anyway-
“That guy thought he could just summon you and somehow extract your ether. And with the body of a 5.5-star hero, he thought it would be even easier to become whole. Well, as you can see, he failed and was even destroyed…”
“…He was destroyed, right?”
“Well, strictly speaking, he wasn’t destroyed. But at least he won’t be able to exercise his power while you’re alive. He may never be able to exercise it. There’s not a single ether left in the Abyss, and even the Arthur I created was taken and used by him.”
“…So that’s why Arthur was in that state because he was still being made.”
As Kim Hyun-woo recalled Arthur, who was wearing a half-finished sword and various pieces of armor, the mysterious merchant nodded and said,
“That’s right. I think I’ve told you everything with this.”
“Wait a minute.”
“What is it?”
“I just suddenly thought of something that made me wonder…if he needed the ether of someone like me, wouldn’t it have been better to just bring someone else?”
The mysterious merchant understood Kim Hyun-woo’s question and said,
“Why did you choose to make a contract with Roria?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s simple. Ether is the power to make your wishes come true. But those wishes must be clear.”
“…What does that mean?”
“The bug was created in the first place, so a guy who has no connection with the Lord can’t borrow someone else’s wish and bring a higher-dimensional being here.”
Kim Hyun-woo nodded as he listened to the mysterious merchant’s words.
“So, are all your questions answered now?”
“…More or less. So what happens to me now?”
“Hmm, are you asking if you can go home or not?”
“That’s what I’m asking.”
The mysterious merchant said to Kim Hyun-woo’s nod.
“You can go home. Whenever and wherever you want.”
“Oh.”
“And you can come back again.”
“…Oh, really?”
“Why?”
“Well, usually in this situation, you can go back, but you can’t come back…that’s often the case.”
The mysterious merchant waved his hand lightly at Kim Hyun-woo’s words and said,
“Hey~ Where is that? In fact, it’s quite difficult for you to come and go, but it shouldn’t be difficult for you to come and go tens of thousands of times? How much ether do you think you have right now?”
“…A lot?”
“It’s not just a lot. Who saved this world in the first place? You don’t know, but the ether around you is so full that it’s almost overflowing and you can see a glow around you? With that amount, you won’t be able to use it all up even if you come and go until you die. Let me put it in a more understandable way…”
Hmm, the mysterious merchant said.
“It’s like having 10 billion and having to spend it all on a 1,300 won bus.”
“…When you put it that way, I understand.”
“I’m a good explainer. Anyway, don’t worry about going back to reality. I’ll prepare it for you soon. I’ll give you a present too.”
“A present?”
“You haven’t found your memories of Roria yet, have you?”
Kim Hyun-woo nodded at the mysterious merchant’s words, and she began to gather a brilliant light on her hand with a faint smile.
“It’s natural that you don’t remember Roria. The ether doesn’t disappear even after the contract is over. But the ether related to this kind of bondage-“
Sizzle.
“I can release it right away if I just use a little bit of your ether.”
“…Weren’t you going to release it with your own power?”
“I would like to release it with my own power, but I’m still broke. I have to work hard from now on and save up little by little.”
“You’re quite carefree for a transcendent.”
“Because I’m carefree, buy me something. The more red stones you use, the more ether you’ll get.”
The mysterious merchant clenched the light he had gathered into a fist and burst it open with those words.
Boom-!
Soon, a burst of light burst out and spread in all directions.
“Now, you’ll start to remember naturally in about a day, so don’t try to remember it in a hurry. I’ll be going now.”“…? Already?”
“Yeah. I have things to do. And most of all… I think you’re going to suffer now.”
“?”
Kim Hyun-woo made a questioning expression at the mysterious merchant’s words, but she disappeared, leaving behind the meaningless words, ‘Do well~’.
By the time Kim Hyun-woo had two question marks floating above his head.
“…I’m here to report… My Lord…”
Elena came in.
“Today, report… sob… start…”
“Uh, Elena…?”
Elena was crying.
Seeing that, Kim Hyun-woo finally realized what the mysterious merchant had meant…