The Old Man Is So Good at Acting Like a Loser chapter 69

(69)

＜ 12. Into the crack (10) ＞ When

I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Trisha’s face looking down at me .

It didn’t take long to realize I was cutting Tricia’s knee. Andrea tried to get up, but the pain pierced her ribcage and she fell back down .

“ Ugh . . .”

“ Keep quiet. We didn’t have enough medicine to treat it properly. Priest Emilia is still using healing magic, so bear with it a little longer .”

Since the wand was broken, Emilia’s magic was extremely inefficient. Even if he could freely use the card when not in battle, his energy would run out if he used it excessively .

In the end, Emilia gave up magic after hearing Andrea’s persuasion .

The space they were in was an old house that was half torn down. Andrea said with difficulty in a cracked voice .

“ Still, you and the priest are safe. I’m glad …”

“… If it wasn’t for Priest Emilia, we might have died too. I was hiding in a secret room .”

“ Then Hersheba… what about the villagers ?”

“… they are all dead. No, sh*t, to be precise, he’s not dead. The head will be alive and in that crate of that crazy muscle pervert .”

Andrea let out a sigh. Trisha and Emilia’s faces also showed a gloomy expression. But it was unavoidable. Because Bagratu’s power was literally close to disaster .

It was realized in the worst possible way, but many questions were cleared. ‘That Bagratu’ was a character that Jeong-hyeon had developed himself before coming into the game. And he remembered all the moments of numerous deletions, including the one where Jeong-hyeon deleted himself because he didn’t have enough character slots .

Perhaps Bagratu’s mind was broken at that point. Because Bagratu was clearly aware that this world was actually a game and that he was a game character .

A vague sense of emptiness and helplessness that comes from the truth that the world he knew was all fake. After the twist of that emotion, it could have grown into hatred towards Jeong-hyeon. As the root of the unwritten law of the Atala tribe, do not forget grace and enemies .

‘… but when you think about it, it’s f*cking ridiculous .”

But that was Bagratu’s point of view, and from Jung-hyeon’s point of view, it was absurd. Who the hell thinks game characters really come alive in this game ?

As an analogy, isn’t it like you’re playing chess, and suddenly someone comes in and grabs you by the collar, saying you’re responsible for the death of your Majesty and all the soldiers because you couldn’t play chess ?

The ultimate responsibility for everything was on the developer who maliciously designed the world and let the game play. If he had known that playable characters actually had emotions and felt pain, Jung-hyeon would never have played the game .

Bagratu wouldn’t have known that either. It’s just that Andrea became a target of hatred …

‘… To put it simply, it must be easy .’

Because the person who designed this world must be a transcendent existence that cannot be reached by one’s own power .

Judging from Bagratu’s reaction, if you reach the 100th floor, you should be able to face that being, or those beings .

‘… then I’ll have to get out of the rift first .’

What made Andrea conflicted was not whether she could get out of the crack or not. Bagratu thought that if he killed the NPC, he wouldn’t be able to get more Rift Stones, but that was a big misunderstanding .

‘ If my play experience was that guy’s past, he’d have to think that he could collect more than 100 rift stones only after receiving a quest from an NPC .’

‘… It’s because after becoming a deceased person, I haven’t been doing well with Bagratu. Bagratu is easy to control and strong in the beginning, but the growth limit is lower than other characters. ···That’s why I deleted it first when I ran out of character slots .’

Bagratu’s knowledge of rifts had only been around since Jung-hyeon had just played the game. However, Jeong-hyeon learned other ways to secure the rift stone by going back and forth between rifts countless times with other characters. Even if you can’t do the quest, you can collect about 100 per person without difficulty .

Getting out of the rift was no problem. Then the problem that arose was this. Will I be able to leave Bagratu alone and get out of the rift ?

The conclusion drawn was ‘no’. Even if he got past it now, if Bagratu was waiting in the waiting room, he would have no choice but to face it someday. A choice that is nothing more than postponing death a little later .

Originally, the fight in the waiting room was stopped by Arpan, but judging from the farming status, Bagratu could fight on par with Arpan if he got out of the rift and regained his original abilities .

‘··· If Arpan is blown up and we are killed, then there is really no answer .’

If you were going to fight, you had to fight now. Now, here, in the cracks .

‘ Because it’s a place where I can at least narrow the gap in ability .’

Even so, Bagratu would have completed his deck by climbing to the 160th floor, finished farming his equipment, and even completed his second job advancement. By all accounts, Andrea could not defeat Bagrati .

However, only one. As far as ‘knowledge’, he was ahead of Bagratu .

Forge that knowledge into a sharp blade and pierce it into Bagratu’s heart .

. . .

I had to give rest to a barbarian who was stained with false hatred .

Andrea finally got up. I had to move quickly before Bagratu noticed. The first step is to look at the items Emilia got from the Red Valley Cave .

“ Priest Emilia, could you show me the items you got from the secret room in the cave ?”

Emilia nodded her head coolly and took out an item from her subspace pocket. A handful of riftstones and a reddish orb .

Andrea picked up the marble first .

“ This bead is called the ‘bead of strength’. The effect is to permanently increase strength by 1 when used. Of course, there are similar ‘magic marbles’ and ‘resistance marbles’. It can’t only be obtained as a hidden reward, but can also be purchased as a rift stone, and Bagratu probably used it in large quantities before meeting us .”

“ Well, then what shall we do ?”

“… In fact, we also have a way to raise our stats that much, no, even more than that .”

Beads that permanently raise stats could be exchanged for ‘beads that raise higher stats’. Although it is not permanent and can only be raised under limited conditions, .

Besides, there were other ways to collect rift stones to buy other items needed to fight Bagratu. Hearing that, Trisha turned her head away .

“ What? Is there a way to get a rift stone other than a quest ?”

Andrea nodded and picked up the rift stone Emilia had taken out .

“ The proof is right here. Even if you can’t collect all the hidden rewards, you can easily get 300 of them .”

” Ha… I’m really glad. I was nervous, thinking I would have to fight the lunatic …”

“ I’m sorry, but I can’t go without confronting Bagratu .”

“ What ?”

Andrea explained why she had to confront Tricia, who opened her eyes wide. Even if you get out of the rift , you will encounter Bagratu again anyway .

Tricia’s complexion darkened, and then it changed to a face that looked like it was on top of her stomach .

“ Sir, how are you going to beat that monster ticket? Would n’t it be better to plan for the future ?”

“ I am alone enough to fight. It’s my job, so there’s no need to involve other people .”

“ What do you mean? You, if I or Priest Emilia were being chased by a lunatic like that, wouldn’t you say it wasn’t your business and not help ?”

“… I don’t think so .”

“ Yeah, me too. f*ck, I’ll help you until the end, so don’t say that again .”

Although she said it crudely, it was a word that could feel Trisha’s own loyalty. Andrea gave a small smile, but thought she hadn’t saved her colleagues badly .

“ Thank you very much. Still, I’ll have to face Bagratu alone. There is one method that can only be used by fighting alone .”

“ What is it ?”

“ It’s a difficult way to describe in words. Can you help me in some other way other than fighting instead ?

Tricia put her hand on her forehead, frowned, then sighed. The complex look did not leave his face .

“ Andrea, before that, aren’t you hiding something from us? Including why Bagratu hates you so much .”

“…”

It would have been weirder not to notice. Bagratu’s words were suspicious to those who did not know them. He even brought up terms like ‘outside world’ and ‘NPC’ .

Andrea hesitated, unable to open her mouth. It was like that when I covered the past with lies, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that this world was a world in a game. After seeing the look of bagratu who found out the truth, it’s even more .

In the end, Trisha, who couldn’t see it, said in an open voice .

“ There seems to be something difficult to say right now, so I won’t ask further. I just want you to promise me one thing. One day when your heart is ready, you will be the first to let us know. Can you tidy that up ?”

“… Okay, I promise .”

“ Yeah, that’s enough .”

Trisha nodded and stood up .

“ Well then, what should we do now ?”

Andrea also stood up. As I stretched out to relieve my sluggish body, a sharp pain pierced my chest. Andrea slightly frowned and looked at the party and said .

“I have to start with a treasure hunt .”

*

The first thing I did was go to the ‘crack shop’ .

The ‘ Crack Shop’ is a shop that appears only in cracks, where you can exchange crack stones for various potions and items. Like the shops outside, it was a non-combat zone, so Bagratu didn’t seem to be able to touch it until this point .

Andrea bought a map of the rift by combining the rift stone Emilia obtained from there and the rift stone she had left .

“It is 20 stones .”

He had to use up most of the remaining rift stones, but it was an unavoidable expense .

Of course, I didn’t buy it for Andrea to see. Although the size varied greatly, he still had a rough map of the rift in his head. This map was purchased to explain to Emilia and Trisha .

“ Here, if you dig under the third rib in the Valley of Giant Bones, you will find a treasure chest. And here, five paces to the right from the biggest thorn tree in the thorn colony, there is a tombstone, and if you dig it . . . ”

Andrea marked each one on the map and gave detailed explanations. Even if you can’t be together, so that you can find it well enough .

‘ The important thing is time. We need to finish our preparations before Bagratu discovers that we are looking for hidden rewards. The party is scattered and I have no choice but to find it .’

Fortunately, the rift widened, so the chance of encountering Bagratu was not very high. Among the locations where the treasure chests are hidden, obvious locations that Bagratu would have known were excluded. It should have been the last stop there .

If you collect the rift stones in the treasure chest, you can purchase the items you need to fight Bagratu. Andrea worked through the list step by step .

With the remaining rift stones, I bought a normal grade staff. Because I couldn’t make Emilia carry a broken staff forever .

‘[ Normal] Old Oak Staff (Equipment Card): It was made by cutting a hard oak tree, but it is now too worn out. (mana + 3)’

It was a staff with good performance even for a normal person. I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you a better wand, but Emilia was so moved that she almost burst into tears .

“ Thank you, Andrea. I will write really well .”

‘… Since you handed over 20 crack stones to me, it’s practically no different than buying them with your own money …’

Andrea was hesitant about how to react after seeing the innocent priest’s reaction .

After sending Trisha and Emilia separately to find the treasure chests, Andrea went to the valley east of Hersheba. As I walked between the precarious cliffs, a round sign appeared .

‘ As expected, Bagratu couldn’t touch this place .’

There was only one very small sign in the wide valley, so it was extremely difficult to find if you didn’t know in advance. Andrea took out the earth crusher’s hammer and hit the wall without hesitation .

bang !

The stone wall collapsed, revealing a hidden space. Threads that shoot arrows when touched, and traps that collapse the entire space if stepped on, were scattered everywhere, but Andrea skillfully avoided them and reached the end of the space like her own bedroom .

Unlike a typical treasure chest, it is the size of a small jewelry box. However, the value of the artifacts contained within could not be compared to any reward within the rift. Even though there was no need to go to the rift, there were even players who saw this artifact and entered the rift .

Andrea calmed her trembling heart and opened the jewelry box. Brilliant light filled his vision. A brilliance that only Epic-grade artifacts can emit .

I carefully took out the bracelet inside. ‘Dungeon of Infinity’ Strongest ore, a bracelet made by weaving fragments of adamantium and applying powerful magic .

This artifact was the one that would play the most key role in dealing with Bagratu .

＜ 12. Into the Cracks (10) ＞ End