Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 61

Jinseong kept his feet moving even as he pondered deeply.

As if reading his thoughts, a voice echoed in his head.

[Are you troubled by the expression of the woman who just left?]

Jinseong flinched momentarily at Diregie’s voice.

Currently, he wasn’t even wearing the set.

This meant that, despite being inside his [Inventory], it could still grasp external activities.

“It’s none of your business.”

Jinseong dismissed Diregie’s words, but the laughter instead spread low and drawn out.

[Kekekeke… To think you can still nurture feelings of affection while hearing my voice. Humans are truly amusing.]

“W-What are you talking about? And anyway, she may look like a woman to you, but it’s just a character—actually, never mind. No point in discussing this.”

Whether it was Diregie’s joke or misunderstanding, Jinseong couldn’t quite tell.

When Diregie started referring to Sunsu as a woman, Jinseong had to give up on responding altogether.

‘It can grasp external activities, but it’s still limited to recognizing things as it sees them. If it were Lotus, maybe things would be different, but Diregie likely doesn’t have that level of mental perception. Considering that the original entity trapped in the dimensional rift didn’t even know much about me—how could this one, with such a limited ability and even a different personality, ever understand that Sunsu is a man?’

However, the reason for Jinseong’s resignation was also a misunderstanding on his part.

From Jinseong’s perspective, who started with a male spearman character, then met male ghost knight characters and even female mage characters, ‘Sunsu’ was inevitably perceived as male.

Excluding female mage characters, which are commonly played by male users as secondary characters, it was only natural for Jinseong to assume that the first character he met matched the player’s gender.

Moreover, considering not just the character’s appearance but also the style of conversation, there was no way he could think of Sunsu as female.

‘Still, Diregie is right. The expression Sunsu had just before leaving… Should I call it a suspicious look? It wasn’t concern or curiosity. It wasn’t the usual gleaming gaze showing interest in me.’

Of course, what mattered to Jinseong wasn’t Sunsu’s gender.

It was the shift in expression as soon as Jinseong mentioned the second item he needed to get and suggested buying dozens of them.

More precisely, the change in the eyes.

It wasn’t the usual expression where Sunsu seemed eager to tease Jinseong.

Did Sunsu perhaps have thoughts about Jinseong’s true identity?

However, Jinseong couldn’t easily find the answer.

‘The worse part is… the expression on the changed. If it were a bare face, I might have been able to guess something, but of all things, it was covered with such an avatar!’

The exaggerated expressions on the that mimicked each character’s job class as if they were SD characters made it impossible to discern anything clearly.

The most Jinseong could conclude was that ‘the eyes changed, and the tone became normal, but it didn’t seem friendly.’

*Whistle…!*

How far had he traveled north after parting ways with Sunsu and passing through Elvenguard?

With the set option of , which increased ‘Town Movement Speed +60%’, Jinseong’s already fast pace now reached an indescribable speed.

‘This should be near Storm Pass.’

Jinseong recognized the familiar terrain but found himself at a loss.

North of Elvenguard was the dungeon area: Storm Pass.

Normally, familiar NPCs would be visible here, and while Jinseong’s feet began to touch snow-covered ground like thin ice, all that met his eyes was barren land.

‘It’s one thing that the NPCs aren’t visible—but even the tribal totems of the various clans that form the Bantu Alliance aren’t here. This means… no one has come down this far yet.’

Jinseong had to pause for a moment.

Given what he saw, it was clear that some kind of ‘contamination’ had occurred.

He knew too well that going further north wouldn’t help.

‘They won’t let me in anyway, and they’re not the kind of opponents I can negotiate with or sway with words. The problem is, to solve this contamination, I need to go further north.’

Jinseong stopped and looked around.

The Bantu tribes wouldn’t allow him access.

This wasn’t something that could be influenced by being part of the Magician Guild or a prominent figure of the Duchy.

Even if he were an envoy sent by Queen Skadi of the Duchy of Bell Meyer, the tribes’ closed-off nature, as established in their background settings, wouldn’t change.

Since it was an unknown location, using a teleport potion wasn’t an option either. You needed to know ‘where to go’ to use one effectively.

“And I can’t just fly over…”

Even Jinseong, with his limited knowledge, understood that flying over the northern skies, where weather conditions were unstable, was extremely risky, especially since being spotted by the Bantu would likely lead to a relentless pursuit.

[Kekeke… Is that what you call snow?]

“Hm? Ah, you wouldn’t know snow, would you? Since you’ve always been in the Demon Realm… Haha, isn’t it fascinating? It’s cold, right?”

Jinseong pulled out a piece of the set from his [Inventory].

He scooped up a handful of snow from the ground and rubbed it onto the item.

[K-Kh, fascinating is not the word. It is cold—but…]

Somehow, the voice from the set felt different than usual.

“Ehehe, so you can feel the cold? If I keep rubbing it, maybe it’ll start to feel pain—.”

[Stop! Kekeke, do not test my patience.]

Even as Jinseong tried to tease, the voice, though still deep, felt somewhat altered.

Whether it was joy or bewilderment over experiencing something new, Jinseong stopped his teasing and spoke.

“Okay, anyway, if you stick with me, you’ll see many more fascinating and fun places… So, why don’t you cooperate? Think of a way for us to go unnoticed.”

Jinseong doubted whether Diregie’s other fragment or persona would cooperate just because of such words, but that thought quickly faded.

[…Then how about using a dimensional rift? A place where no one can see, where no sight can reach.]

The voice of the spoke more thoughtfully than ever.

However, Jinseong could only sigh at the suggestion.

“I can’t. If I knew how to do that, I would’ve already—… Ah.”

As Jinseong spoke about his inability, something came to mind.

[You’ve thought of something, haven’t you? Kekeke, then open—.]

“No, that’s not it. But yeah… I have an idea. I heard about it a long time ago.”

[-What are you talking about—.]

“Shh.”

One could only imagine what the original Diregie, torn apart in the dimensional rift, would have thought if he saw this.

The Diregie, embedded in the and coexisting with Jinseong, had to endure the humiliation of being ignored repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Jinseong was already drinking a teleport potion.

His figure, which had reached Storm Pass, vanished and reappeared in a location within the Duchy.

The sight of an old swing door brought a bittersweet feeling to Jinseong.

Creak… Jinseong stepped into the Moonlight Tavern in the back alley of Hendon Myre.

* * *

Shusia instantly recognized Jinseong and greeted him.

“What would you like? Milk again today?”

“Haha, hello. Yes, I’ll have milk… for now, please.”

Jinseong replied sheepishly as he approached the counter where Shusia stood.

He had a reason for not sitting down.

From the counter, he could best observe everyone inside the Moonlight Tavern.

Jinseong quickly scanned the patrons.

A middle-aged man in a white coat sitting at the table near Shusia’s counter, and another middle-aged man wearing a hood and seated at the most secluded round table of the tavern.

‘Schmidt and Aganzo.’

Schmidt, an NPC related to the male gunner character.

And Aganzo, the greatsword NPC that Jinseong had met back when he visited Sky Castle.

Hadn’t Aganzo shown quite a bit of interest when Jinseong, officially recognized as G.S.D’s apprentice, met him?

‘But now… it’s not the time to talk to Aganzo. He’s not even looking this way anyway—.’

Besides them, the Moonlight Tavern had several others.

Unlike the times when Jinseong visited the tavern as a Dungeon & Fighter player, these seemed like residents genuinely living in Hendon Myre.

From people just there to have a meal to those who, despite it being broad daylight, were already quite tipsy and looked somewhat delinquent.

All of them were intriguing enough to catch Jinseong’s attention, but his focus from the start had been on one person.

Someone leisurely twirling the stem of a wine glass.

What seemed even more relaxed was the posture, with his feet propped up on the table.

It was a position that was practically inviting trouble, yet even the drunk and rough patrons of the tavern steered clear of him.

Gulp, gulp, Jinseong, knowing the reason, finished his milk and got up to approach

him.

“You’re Karakas, aren’t you?”

The person Jinseong approached was Karakas.

Nicknamed ‘Karakas of Sighs,’ he was the head of the Adventurer Guild.

“…What do you want?”

The deep voice of a 50-year-old man rang out.

Jinseong smiled brightly at the wary Karakas.

“I’ve only heard rumors about your adventures, Karakas. I never thought I’d get to meet you in person… Would you mind if I joined you?”

“Join—.”

“Think of this as a token, if not a gift… Here.”

Before Karakas could furrow his brows, Jinseong pulled something from his [Inventory].

It was a dust-covered bottle, the same one Jinseong had once gifted to the NPC Shinda.

“This is Underfoot’s special Dark Tequila. I heard you like alcohol. So, about that seat…?”

“Have a seat. You’ve got quite the spirit, giving such a fine thing as a gift. I’ll accept it gratefully.”

In Dungeon & Fighter, Karakas was known as one of the most notorious drinkers.

With Jinseong already aware of Karakas’s weakness for alcohol, getting a seat at his table was an easy task.

However, Shusia was glaring at Jinseong, so he had to pretend not to notice her gaze.

“So, what story do you want to hear?”

“I’d love to hear about your adventures, Karakas. Specifically, where you usually operate and what precautions are necessary…”

Even with such a broad question, Karakas didn’t waver.

Popping the cork of the Dark Tequila from the Dark Elves, he poured himself a glass and spoke.

“On adventures, strange things often happen that can get horribly tangled. That’s when improvisation is more valuable than any powerful weapon.”

“Mm, improvisation, got it.”

“If you drop a weapon, you can pick it up again. But if you miss a chance because of poor judgment… Well, it’s my head on the line.”

Karakas said, taking a sip of Dark Tequila.

Jinseong nodded vigorously, scooting his chair a bit closer to Karakas.

“Exactly. So, I have a favor to ask.”

Karakas’s brows twitched at the word ‘favor.’

He swirled his drink and spoke.

“Well, let’s hear it first.”

Although he had accepted Jinseong’s gift, granting a favor was another matter entirely.

Especially since Karakas knew nothing about Jinseong, it wouldn’t be easy for him to agree.

Nevertheless, Jinseong confidently made his request.

“Could you help me travel to the northern region… to the area with the Perpetual Snow Mountains?”

Karakas had exactly what Jinseong needed at this point.

However, Karakas still didn’t fully understand Jinseong’s request.

“Can’t you just go? Are you asking me to be a link to the Bantu?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I want to go without the Bantu knowing… as secretly as possible.”

“That won’t be easy. Breaking through their territory and their watchful eyes isn’t a trivial matter. Even though I have friends among the northern tribes, their temperament is no joke.”

“Right, right. That’s why, after thinking long and hard… I remembered a story I once heard. If it’s true, I thought I could seek your help.”

Karakas was indirectly turning down the request, but Jinseong persisted.

Especially since Karakas was particularly sensitive to rumors claiming his adventures were lies or mere bluster, valuing the ‘truth’ more than anyone.

“What… story?”

Karakas asked.

Jinseong grinned at him.

He needed to reach the Bantu’s territory. He couldn’t be seen by the Bantu.

By land was out, and so was the air.

A dimensional rift? Of course, that was impossible.

So, what options remained?

[Kekeke… So, you got a hint from me.]

Jinseong had indeed found a clue through Diregie embedded in the .

The way to move unseen by anyone—there was only one option left.

Underground.

“You’ve ridden on the back of a mole and burrowed through the ground, haven’t you?”

This was a line that would randomly pop up when talking to the NPC Karakas in Dungeon & Fighter.

And it was a brief mention in an old [Story Book] that Jinseong remembered.