STGB Episode 521

One on One 3

After the goblin’s turn, the rounds progressed quickly.

“The Royal Military Strategy Department reports that the great victory and advancement beyond the Dragon Mountains was possible due to Noark’s provocation. However, Noark’s main force has still not been located.”

Deer Horns, who was second in turn, shot a quick glance at Clown, a member of the orcules, as if urging him to spill the beans.

“The Blood Spirit Queen, who has entered the hidden area with Bjorn Jandel, is still alive.”

The third round, led by Crescent Moon, left all the members scratching their heads.

“Considering what was said earlier, there’s a good chance that she’s still alive… but how can you be so sure?”

“Because the pure blood residing in her body has not yet returned to the clan.”

“Ah…!”

Right there’s that method. A way to confirm her survival.

“That’s why the Fairy race, already certain of her survival, is currently assembling an elite rescue squad.”

“Pssit, that’s odd. The Blood Spirit Queen is a traitor to her own clan. They raised her , even giving her pure blood, and she threw it all away for a single man.”

“…I have no reason to answer you.”

“Pssit, so prickly.”

“I’ll say it again—one day, I will come looking for you, so don’t die until then. One of the reasons I always come here is to confirm that you are still alive.”

Although the Clown and Crescent Moon growled at each other for the first time in a while, but it was just a fleeting commotion in the meeting.

As the round continued, the two were back at ignoring each other.

“Fox, it’s your turn now.”

It was already the fourth turn.

With one hand propping up my chin, I listened to her voice. I was curious about what Verthil would say this time.

After all, last time, I had given her a quest.

[I’ll look into it too. So, can you find out more details for me?]

After hearing the information that Misha is a traitor, I gave her this quest so she would probe the Round Table more aggressively.

Now, how would she go about it?

“Misha Karlstein is not a traitor. At least, not from Bjorn Jandel’s perspective.”

A statement that directly contradicted what the Butterfly Mask had said last time.

As soon as I heard that, I thought, ‘What is this?’

Because saying something like this would clearly turn the table red—.

‘Ah, that’s what she was aiming for.’

Soon, the gem on the Round Table began to glow.

Shaaaaaaaah.

The glow was a bright red, just as I expected.

“Heh… This is getting interesting.”

Butterfly Mask murmured with intrigue as she looked at Fox. Good—the aggro’s firmly on her now.

‘Maybe that’s why she’s sitting right in front of the butterfly mask.’

Of course, I had no way of knowing whether this bait would work.

But from my point of view, it was a solid try.

“Pssit, what’s this?”

As the members stared at Fox, demanding an explanation, she remained calm.

“Looks like I wasn’t confident enough.” She replied calmly” I gathered a fair amount of evidence, but… well, since things turned out this way, I’ll go with another piece of information.”

After that, Versil presented another piece of information and got the green light,
and passed the turn.

Then, it was Butterfly’s turn.

Now, would she take the bait?

The answer came quickly.

“Fox, do you not believe what I said? Or is there a reason you don’t want to believe it? How Funny.”

So, she took the bait.

“Misha Karlstein rejoined Bjorn Jandel’s team under the orders of someone else.”

‘…What?’

I almost let the words slip out loud.

‘Misha was ordered to return?’

Even as my heart pounded, I instinctively checked the Round Table’s jewel.

Swoosh.

The green light that seeped out proved the truth of her words.

“Pssit”

Clown let out a chuckle.

“That stupid barbarian. All that talk about companions, and yet he’s about to be betrayed by one.”

I wanted to smash his face into the ground right then, but I clenched my fists under the table and held back.

I needed to stay rational.

‘…Someone’s orders.’

I wondered who the butterfly mask was referring to.

There’s only one person that came to mind.

‘Lee Baek-ho.’

That bastard is the only one who can pull off such a stunt. Next month, the moment I meet him—

‘Wait… hold on…’

As my vision narrowed with rage towards Baek-ho, I suddenly made eye contact with Butterfly mask.

Of course, she averted her gaze immediately…

‘What’s with her?’

Suddenly, it struck me.

Was it a coincidence that she brought Misha’s story here?

Was there really no intention behind it?

‘If I think about it… the timing was too sudden.’

When I sensed that something was wrong, my heated mind cooled down.

If Butterfly mask spoke this information at the roundtable, it meant she didn’t care if it became widely known.

Or perhaps she wanted it to be known.

‘If it’s the latter.’

She must have expected it to reach Bjorn Jandel’s ears.

I calmed myself and asked internally.

‘If Bjorn Jandel knew Misha Kalstein was a traitor.’

What did Butterfly mask think Bjorn Jandel would do?

The answer was clear.

‘He’ll either abandon her.’

Or….

‘He’ll turn against Lee Baek-ho.’

Was this the outcome Butterfly Mask was hoping for?

I had no way of knowing.

Maybe this was all just a coincidence, and she simply blurted out whatever came to her mind to pass her turn.

But…

‘I need to be cautious.’

Now that I had considered these possibilities, I had my guard up.

‘If someone is trying to piss me off…’

I just need to stay still.

Then the other side will be the one getting impatient.

Tap.

Before you fire a gun, you have to aim properly.

「The character moves to the records archive.」

After the Butterfly’s turn ended.

[On the stone tablet found on the 1st floor, there is an inscription in ancient language. The content is…]

Starting with the Queen, who revealed a key clue leading to the records archive, the turn went from Black to Clown to Wolf, and finally to me.

Maybe because something big had happened this month, everyone was particularly interested in what I would reveal.

But I just shared only game-related information before passing my turn, marking the end of the first round.

As for the second round—

‘There wasn’t much to see in the second round either.’

Since I was trapped in the labryinth and cut off from the world, I paid close attention to what was going on out there, but there was nothing particularly helpful or relevant to me.

‘Butterfly Mask didn’t mention Misha at all during the second round either.’

And so, this assembly concluded.

After returning to Lee Hansoo’s room, I browsed the forum for a while and then logged out early.

Since I wasn’t accessing from the city.

I needed to rest well and conserve energy for tomorrow’s exploration…

[00:00]

Just as the 36th day in the labyrinth began.

Slowly opening my eyes under the blanket, I glanced around while lying down.

Flicker-

The light of the campfire flickered inside the cave.

Or should I say inside the tree?

The surroundings were the same as the campsite I had set up before entering the community.

Even though I’ve only been in there for about four hours, I’m exhausted.

I closed my eyes again.

And after some time had passed.

I heard some rustling nearby. Amelia, who was on guard duty, sent out her clone to check where the sound was coming from.

“Do you need water?”

“…Ah, yes. Thank you.”

So it was vesil.

Judging by the slight difference in the time we woke up, it seemed she had stayed in the community until it closed…

“Mr. Jandel… is he asleep?”

“Yes.”

It felt a bit awkward to wake up and chat here, so I just kept my eyes closed.

And the next morning.

As we all woke up and prepared for the exploration, Versil walked over like a zombie with a tired face.

“Mr. Jandel, can we talk before we head out?”

“Talk? Sure.”

I answered as if nothing was wrong, but it was obvious what Versil wanted to talk about.

“Misha Karlstein. I suspect that she has returned to our team under someone else’s orders.”

Of course, this was something I was curious about.

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“…It’s a sensitive topic, so I wanted to confirm more before telling you.”

Right, that’s how she planned to explain it.

If I hadn’t known anything, I would have found it very suspicious, but since I knew the whole story, I pretended not to know and let it slide.

“Ahem! Anyway, that’s not the important part… There’s one more thing I need to tell you…”

“What is it?”

“It’s possible that time is flowing normally outside right now.”

Huh, I didn’t expect her to report this so quickly.

Did she feel that this was something she needed to report, even if it made me suspicious of her?

If so, that’s quite commendable.

“Evidence?”

“…The village chief. If you think about it, there are many strange things about him. He’s a person from thousands of years ago. But from what I’ve heard, he’s also been here for a very long time, right? We have to assume that time is passing in both places for the story to make sense.”

The evidence Versil presented was quite surprising.

‘…Wow, if I hadn’t known, I would have just accepted it.’

She must have prepared these excuses in advance, overnight.

Well, I also stayed up late thinking, but…

“So, has it been more than a month outside?”

Again, pretending not to know, I asked, and Versil shook her head.

“No. That’s not it… I think the end of the ‘rainy season’ is probably the beginning of the month, the moment the labryinth closed.”

“Evidence?”

“…None.”

None, my foot.

The fact that 15 days have passed outside is the biggest evidence.

Right, she didn’t prepare an excuse for this part, did she?

Anyway, Versil’s opinion about the time ratio between the city and this place matched mine.

On the 21st day, the Rainy Season ended.

And on the 35th day at midnight, the Round Table opened.

In other words, if we assume that time flows one-to-one after the Rainy Season ends, the calculation fits perfectly…

“According to my speculation, there’s a high possibility that the labyrinth will open again on the 50th day.”

“And then?”

“On the 57th day, the 1st floor will close again, and no one will be able to enter. And on the 64th day, the Rainy Season will start again.”

This would also match the cycle of the Rainy Season that the village chief mentioned.

***

After Versil shared her shocking information with me, I held a clan meeting for the first time in a while.

“Time is passing in the city…?”

Everyone was surprised by the hypothesis, but most didn’t doubt the authenticity of the information.

After all, I had told them that the community had opened.

Except for Aynar and Auyen, who don’t know I’m an evil spirit.

“Oh! That’s quite interesting!”

“Th-that’s a big deal, isn’t it? So, what if we’re trapped here forever like the village chief…?”

Regardless of their two contrasting reactions.

Sharing information was just the beginning; the main topic of the meeting was something else.

“The decision we need to make now is how we will act moving forward.”

“Captain, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Simply put, we need to decide. Either we focus solely on our own exploration, regardless of whether other explorers descend here or not… Or—”

“Or?”

“We help them, build our forces, and search for a way to escape this place.”

Since every member was an explorer adept at weighing gains and losses, no lengthy explanations were necessary.

As soon as the vote began, opinions quickly diverged.

“I’m in favor. No matter what short-term benefits we may gain, finding a way to escape this place should be our top priority.”

“I-I’m in favor as well. It’s not just about escaping… If we leave them alone, most of them will probably die…”

Supporting votes came from Amelia and Auyen.

And then…

“I’m against it. We don’t even know if those people will be of any help…”

“I’m against it too! Any explorer who made it this far should be able to fend for themselves, right? Besides, it sounds like a hassle!”

Opposing votes from Erwin and Aynar.

“I… still think it would be better to at least stop our exploration temporarily and meet them. That way, we can verify the truth of the information and also hear news from outside. Whether or not we help them can be decided afterward.”

“I don’t think we need to actively seek them out, but if we run into them later, we can decide then based on what kind of people they are…”

Neutral votes from Versil and Misha.

Why was I always the last one to vote?

I didn’t know, but I simply cast my vote for the choice I believed was correct.

“I think it would be best to return to the Rock Island first.”

The library, the rainy season, and now this massive tree island—

Given that this was a high-difficulty floor of the endgame content, having more people would naturally increase our available choices.

‘More importantly, if we have more people, we might finally be able to take down that giant bastard.’

With that thought in mind, we continued our exploration for about ten more days before heading toward Rock Island at the right time.

By the time we arrived, it was Day 53.

Setting up camp at the starting location, we waited endlessly as time continued to pass.

Day 54, Day 55, Day 56…

And then, when Day 57 arrived, we began to doubt whether anyone was really coming.

Whooosh—!

“B-Bjorn!! A portal! It’s a portal!!”

Dozens of portals opened in the air— and new explorers entered the floor.

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