Chapter 18

□ Capital Artea - Popular Diner "Stormy Bull" 【Holy Knight】Ray Sterling

Luke and I had finished catching up on our recent situations.

I thought I had an unusual experience, having been penalized for PK and then venturing into the "Graveyard Labyrinth" to meet Figaro, but Luke's story was quite something too.

I wondered if it was just a coincidence that both Luke and I had such rare experiences, or if encountering unusual events in "Infinite Dendrogram" was just this common.

"By the way, Ray-san,"

"Hm? What is it?"

"There was one thing that caught my attention in your story about the PK."

...Ah, probably the same part I was wondering about.

"Figaro-san said he would take care of the PK in the 'South,' right?"

"Yes, he definitely said he would deal with the hunting grounds in the south that serve as a thoroughfare to Duel City."

"But, isn't PK stopped in all the hunting grounds now?"

That's right. I was wondering about that right up until I met Luke again.

Given that Figaro, a top-ranked player in the kingdom, could stop PK in the hunting grounds, it wouldn't be too surprising.

If he penalized them all at once, the PK would be inactive for at least three days.

However, Figaro only mentioned the "South Sauda Mountain Path."

That's why it was strange that PK had stopped in other hunting grounds as well.

"There are three possible scenarios."

"Go on."

"One, Figaro-san also took care of the other three areas."

But I doubt that.

He would resolve the issue in the south to apologize and repair the transportation network to his base, Duel City.

But he had no reason to solve the problems in other hunting grounds.

"Two, the other three areas withdrew after learning that the PK issue in the south was resolved."

I'm not sure about this either.

I thought that penalizing them all at once would stop PK for three days.

However, this incident was a planned terror attack aimed at preventing the strengthening of players in the Alter Kingdom.

Given their movements to control the kingdom's east, west, south, and north, it was clear they were acting under a single will.

So, they wouldn't just stop because one area was dealt with.

If the south was dealt with, they would likely send reinforcements from other areas to the south.

"..."

No, perhaps the measures Figaro took were not small-scale, but something larger, like negotiating with the PK factions.

If that were the case, it wouldn't be strange for all four areas to be resolved.

But, I wonder...

Figaro is a good person, but does he act in such a way?

From the brief time I spent with him, he seemed different from what I imagined.

He tried to kill me, a stranger, right away.

He seemed more straightforward... or rather, rough.

"Um, Ray-san. What about the third one?"

Oops, I got lost in thought.

I'll state the third... the answer by elimination.

"Three, the other areas were dealt with by someone else at the same time."

If Figaro didn't do it all, and the others didn't withdraw, then someone else must have done the same thing in other hunting grounds.

After all, PK is a nuisance to many people.

Perhaps someone capable of eliminating PK acted at the same time as Figaro.

A meaningful coincidence... what they call synchronicity, I suppose.

"Yes, that's correct."

"!?"

It was sudden.

A woman I didn't recognize was sitting in the seat between Luke and me at the table. The sudden voice came from her.

I didn't notice her until she spoke, even though she was sitting next to me.

She had a very distinctive appearance, which made it even more surprising that I didn't notice her.

She had black hair that reached her neck and was about my age, which was normal.

The problem was her clothing.

She was dressed in a way that was unusual.

To say it like Figaro, but in the opposite direction.

He had a fantasy-like but inconsistent outfit.

She, on the other hand, was dressed uniformly, but in a men's business suit, which didn't fit the fantasy world.

She was also wearing sunglasses.

If this were an office setting rather than a fantasy world, it wouldn't be out of place.

If anything, the sunglasses were the only odd thing.

But suits and sunglasses exist in this world too.

...The sense of dissonance and mystery was overwhelming.

"Um, who are you?"

While I was observing her, Luke spoke to the woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I overheard an interesting conversation and couldn't help but join in. I'm like this."

The woman, who used "Boku" as her first-person pronoun, showed us a card... or rather, a status window with her name and job.

Name: 【Marie Adler】

Job: 【Journalist】 (Affiliated Publisher: <DIN>)

I wasn't surprised to see a job like 【Pimp】 or 【Journalist】. The range of jobs is quite broad.

"<DIN>?"

"<Dendrogram Information Network> for short. In old terms, a news agency. To put it more grandly, a borderless information collective. They gather information in various countries and sell it to others."

"...Is that okay in the current situation?"

The kingdom is currently at war with a neighboring country.

People who leak their country's information to other countries would be the first to be arrested.

"That's where the high-ups in various countries come in. Many of them are 'fans' of <DIN>. I'm a low-ranking member, so I focus on events and information for citizens and <Masters>."

"For example?"

"For citizens, I took and drew pictures of pandas breeding in the Yellow River."

...I saw that on the bulletin board. It seemed like a peaceful story compared to our country.

"And for <Masters>, it's the recent PK terror in the areas surrounding the Alter Kingdom."

By bringing this up, she must know something about how the situation was resolved.

"Earlier, you said I was correct... do you know the truth of the matter?"

"Would you like to hear it? 600 ril per location. A set of four is a bargain at 2000 ril."

I see, her dramatic entrance was to sell information.

I'm interested and curious about what happened, even if it's frustrating.

"...I'll pay."

"Ah! Ray-san, I'll pay half too!"

Luke and I each contributed 1000 ril.

"Thank you. First, let me give you the conclusion: the PK factions occupying the hunting grounds in the east, west, south, and north of the capital Artea have all been destroyed."

A harsh word came out of nowhere.

"Destroyed?"

"The PK in the hunting grounds were almost all penalized. The clans still exist, but after such a terrifying incident, they probably won't come back to work. Some clans might even disband."

The clans? Work?

"Um..."

"Oh, right. I didn't provide enough context. The PK group was actually a coalition of multiple PK clans."

"Coalition...?"

I was told it wasn't a single group, but a coalition of PK clans.

...Wait, are there that many PK clans in this country to form a coalition?

"Right.

The eastern <Easter Plain> was occupied by <K&R>,

The southern <Sauda Mountain Path> by <Fierce Castle>,

The western <Wes Sea Road> by <Goblin Street>.

These three PK clans were the ones causing trouble."

Two of the clan names were blatantly villainous or apocalyptic. Were they chosen on purpose?

...By the way, what about the north?

"The reason they occupied these areas is that someone hired them at a high price and instructed them to engage in PK there."

"Drayfus?"

When Luke asked, Marie raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness and shook her head.

"That's the rumor, but <DIN> hasn't confirmed it yet, so I can't say for sure."

Well, Drayfus, who is benefiting from the war, is a likely suspect.

It does seem a bit too direct, though.

"For the PK clans, this was just a change of location for their usual activities, with extra rewards. But, the world doesn't always offer such easy opportunities. They were destroyed by the work of four <Masters>."

"Four..."

Just four <Masters> destroyed the PK in the east, west, south, and north.

Could that be... no, the south was Figaro.

Then, the other hunting grounds...

"Yes, four <Supreme> players from the Alter Kingdom moved simultaneously... and the PK clans were annihilated."

<Supreme>.

Those who have evolved their <Embryo> to the final seventh form.

Currently, there are fewer than 100 such top-tier players in the entire game.

"The 'Unknown' [Destruction King], 'Infinite Chain' Figaro, 'Moon World' Fuso Tsukiyoru, and 'Wine Pool and Meat Forest' Reirei. They each annihilated one of the PK clans in the hunting grounds. Oh, Fuso Tsukiyoru, the top-ranked player in the clan rankings, was with her clan."

"Wow..."

Figaro, so his title is 'Infinite Chain.'

Is it because he uses chains?

And what's with the 'Unknown' title for [Destruction King]?

His name isn't even mentioned. Is he some strange character?

"Please take a look."

Marie took out a crystal ball and placed it on the table.

"What is that?"

"It's like a video medium. It can play recordings taken by a magic camera."

A magic camera... so it's like a video camera powered by magic. I guess the developers think adding 'magic' to anything is fine.

"<DIN> has recently increased its secret... cough, information gathering equipment in the Alter Kingdom due to the frequent incidents and disturbances."

...So, forbidden hidden cameras.

"The end of the terror incident was captured by this equipment. This is part of the footage."

Marie activated the crystal ball.

"Let's start with the south... the <Supreme Fighter>, 'Infinite Chain' Figaro, as you were discussing earlier."

To be continued

Updated tomorrow at 21:00.