Outsider 5

As we walked along the path across from the wall inscribed with magic circles, the circular passage began to narrow.

“Um… I’m not the least bit curious about what’s outside…”

Step, step.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you went exploring with the others? How about we just return for today…”

Step, step.

“T-This is no way to behave! Please let me go!”

It was almost as if he was being dragged against his will. I thought he’d just stay quiet, but his protests grew sharper the longer he was pulled along.

To the barbarian, of course, it only seemed adorable like the chirping of a tiny chick.

“Yurven Havelion.”

I let go of the arm I was holding and looked at him.

“……Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Give me just a few days of your time. In a way, our meeting like this is fate, wouldn’t it be good for us to become friends?”

“If you just want to socialize, I can spare time anytime without needing to do… this.”

As if. The moment I let him go, he’d shut himself up in the Mage Tower again and never come out.

“But something feels off.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you whining so much about going back? You’re a mage, after all. Aren’t you even curious about the outside?”

“…I’m only curious about what I’m capable of dealing with.”

It was quite an impressive principle. If you seek a long and quiet life, shutting your eyes and ears is the quickest and easiest way.

‘…So that’s how he’s managed to survive this long, huh.’

Through that one remark, I felt I understood the GM a little better.

Not that I had any intention of letting him go just because of that, though.

“Still, help me out a bit. Hmm? Do it for Versil’s sake.”

At first, it seemed like I was using my friendship with Versil to beg, but from the GM’s perspective, it must have sounded like a threat.

“Ahem……”

“I’ll even make a promise. If anything dangerous happens, I’ll throw myself into harm’s way to stop it, no matter what. Hmm? And it won’t take more than a few days; I just plan to check things out briefly and come back.”

“If you put it that way……”

After I used the carrot method, the GM nodded his head, pretending to be reluctantly persuaded.

Okay, so that issue is settled now……

“Then let’s continue moving.”

After reaching an agreement, we walked along the passageway again.

Beyond a certain point, the passageway stopped narrowing , and after walking for a while longer, it gradually widened to reveal a sloping path.

And then—

Swoooosh—!

As we climbed up the incline, the wind brushed against us and light began to seep in.

It felt different from the natural air in the city.

「The character has entered a forbidden zone.」

After finally stepping outside, I took a deep breath and slowly looked around.

The sunset, half-hidden behind distant mountain ranges.

A stream glowed red under the setting sun, and birds sang softly from their nests above.

And……

“That must be Raphdonia over there……”

In the far distance, opposite the setting sun, I could see the tall castle walls of Raphdonia. The vastness of their size reminded me of the Great Wall of China.

‘I’ve never seen the outside before.’

In all my time playing [Dungeon & Stone], I had never once left the city wall. Seeing Raphdonia from this angle felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Havelion, what are you doing?”

“Just taking a look at something. There are some unfamiliar characters I’ve never seen before…”

Unfamiliar characters?

I tilted my head and made my way back to the cave’s entrance. There, etched into the wall, was a mark left by some kind of knife.

[I was here.]
[Strong Son of Korea, Lee Baek-ho.]

Hah… Why am I embarrassed seeing this?

I almost laughed out loud but held it back, pretending to be ignorant.

“……It doesn’t look like an ancient language, but it’s strange.”

“Yes, it is strange. It feels vaguely familiar…”

The GM clearly didn’t know much about Korean, but I couldn’t blame him.

If I suddenly saw something like Hebrew, I probably wouldn’t recognize it either.

Sigh

As I looked at the graffiti left by Lee Baek-ho, the GM quietly advised me,

“If you’re thinking of leaving your name, it’s better not to. It becomes evidence that you came outside. The royal family might interpret it as treason.”

“……I wasn’t planning to.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Watching him nod, I turned around and licked my lips.

“…….”

Why does this make me want to carve something myself?

***

According to the Clown, the world outside the wall resembles the seventh floor of the labyrinth, the Dark Continent.

If so, where are we?

I need to find something that can serve as a reference point……

‘If that’s the Dragon Mountain Range… then we might be near the Great Forest?’

If so, then I know our general location.

The Great Forest was located in the southeastern part of the Dark Continent, and since this seemed a little farther east of it…

‘So maybe the eastern edge of the Great Forest?’

Of course, it was only guesswork. The atmosphere here is so different from the labyrinth that I can’t be sure.

Anyway, I’ll figure it out later…’

“So… where do we go now?”

In response to the GM’s question, I answered without moment’s hesitation.

“First, we move towards the city.”

“Towards the city… ?”

“Why that expression?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d want to head straight into the forest.”

Uh… to be honest, I am curious about that forest.

But it’s risky to go too deep with just the two of us. Besides, there was something I wanted to check near the walls first.

So—

“Just keep using detection magic. This is uncharted territory. Assume anything could happen.”

“Understood. I’ll also memorize our coordinates just in case.”

“Oh, smart.”

Leaving behind the forest that seemed far too peaceful to be the ‘Great Forest’ of the Dark Continent, we headed east.

And after some time had passed…

‘Damn, this map is huge.’

By now, the sun had set completely behind the mountains, and stars glittered in the night sky. Yet, we still hadn’t reached the wall.

Maybe halfway there?

“I thought we’d arrive in a few hours…”

It was an optical illusion. From our high ground, the towering wall had seemed deceptively close.

No matter how far we walked, we never felt like we were getting any closer.

“Let’s stop for today. We’ll camp here and continue tomorrow.” I ordered

If we kept moving without being able to see ahead, we might lose the path and waste more time.

“……It’s been a very long time since I last slept in a sleeping bag.”

Lying inside his sleeping bag and staring at the starry night sky, GM spoke first.

Maybe the night had made him sentimental.

Either way, it was the small talk I’d been hoping for.

“You used to be an explorer, right?”

“Yes, it’s been over seven years now.”

“…Why did you stop?”

“Just… several things happened. I also began to realize my own limits…”

Seeing him brush it off with ‘several things,’ it seemed he didn’t want to go into detail. Or perhaps there were circumstances he couldn’t speak of carelessly.

‘So he holed up in the Mage Tower for seven years immediately after quitting exploration…’

I didn’t know the GM’s circumstances, but that didn’t mean I was blind to the traces his life had left behind. I had, after all, done all the background research I needed.

‘There must be a reason he became a reclusive loner……Probably external. Maybe the royal family… or even Lee Baek-ho.’’

“Still, lying here does feel strangely peaceful.”

“Oh? Earlier you looked like I was dragging you to hell.”

“I still dislike it. But at least here… I enjoy one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“No one knows I’m here.”

Then I understood.

He felt relieved because he wasn’t under the royal family’s watchful eyes.

Last time, when he briefly stepped outside, Lee Baek-ho had ambushed him.

It would be more accurate to say that he has more enemies in the city.

‘In that case, I absolutely must not mention that Lee Baek-ho is outside……’

 

I decided to be careful not to make any disadvantageous statements and continued the light conversation.

“Romance…? Of course I’ve met women before. But it never ended well.”

He wasn’t the type to be good at romance.

“That first school I joined, you mean? Actually… I’d rather not talk about that. I’m sorry.”

Unexpectedly, in situations where he might want to lie or gloss over things, he chose a head-on approach. Or perhaps that incident was simply a sore spot for him.

‘I’ll need to look into this in more detail later.’

The school he first joined had collapsed entirely after a certain incident.

Afterward, he founded his current school himself.

But the details of that incident remained highly classified.

All I knew was that it involved forbidden magic.

‘I’ll have to ask Mr. Kyle sometime. He’s well-versed in forbidden spells.’

After that, we exchanged small talk until we fell asleep.

And through those trivial conversations, I realized something.

I, Lee Baek-ho, and this guy—

We were alike in many ways.

Neither of us sided with the players, nor with the royal family, nor with Noark.
***

And so, the next morning dawned.

“Did you sleep well?”

“My whole body is stiff.”

“Here, drink some water. You’ll feel better.”

“……What does that have to do with the stiffness?”

“Don’t mind the small details.”

As soon as we got up, we finished a quick meal and immediately set off towards the wall.

And then……

“We’ve finally arrived.”

“Arrived, my foot. This is just the beginning.”

By the time the sun was setting again, we finally neared the wall’s base.

I had come across a piece of information in a small collection of old texts. “Raphdonia,” at the edge of the continent, was a territory sustained by trade—living off imports and exports.

Which meant.

There should be a sea nearby.

Knock, knock.

I tapped the outer wall, feeling the transparent barrier surrounding it.

Circling along it through the night, we eventually reached the eastern side, around districts 9 and 10, before dawn.

But—

“It’s too dark to see anything. We should wait for morning.”

“You must be tired, why don’t you get some sleep in the meantime.”

The problem was after we woke up from that nap.

“Baron…? Please wake up! Wh-What in the world is that……”

“……Let’s go closer first.”

We were momentarily stunned by the sight when we woke up, but quickly hurried toward it.

And—

“….”

“….”

We both fell silent.

But if I had to summarize the current situation.

‘First.’

The sea did exist.

At the edge of the continent, the sea spread out widely along the cliff line as we looked down.

There was just one problem……

‘Gray’

The sea was gray.

No, not just the sea, but the sky as well.

The shimmering waves.

The clouds etched in the sky.

Everything beyond the gorge had lost its color and stood still, as if captured in a black-and-white photograph.

Staring blankly at the sight, the GM muttered.

“…It seems the world was never restored after all.”

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