Chapter 67 : Aggro

On the way back.

The incident in the Free City of Bernhard had come to a close, but with Edric suddenly departing from the party, problems still remained.

‘In a way, this might be the bigger problem.’

It was none other than the fact that the aggro post I had written to protect Bernhard had caused a much bigger reaction than I expected.

It was not particularly strange.

No matter that I had mentioned Cain, even The Lightning Emperor, who does not show himself for just any matter, had seen the post I wrote and personally led his Thundercloud to appear in Bernhard.

There was no need to even think about the others’ reactions.

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-Dragon Slayer : I think I saw someone who looks like Cain near Bernhard… Is it real? [★]

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The star mark next to the title proved the fact that the aggro post I wrote had immediately climbed to the popular posts.

To think that the first popular post I’d had since coming to this world was an aggro post…… I felt a bit of self-loathing, but that was not what was important right now.

-Newdeulbak77 : Huh… Is it really true?

-Knight Commander : A big shot has come

-Hesen : What, is it real? I was in Bernhard too, why didn’t I see him?

-ImABabyNewbie : Eh? I’ve been staying in Bernhard for quite a while, but I haven’t seen anyone who looks like Cain. Aren’t you mistaken?

-Anonymous6784 : Hmm… But if there was a user of Cain’s level, wouldn’t everyone already know?

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-Anonymous55 : The almighty Cain-nim has come. Ooh, welcome him.

└Anonymous12 : ? What’s with this guy?

└LooksLikeIGotFired : You always went around cursing Cain. If Cain finds out, this guy will be the first to die, right?

└Anonymous12 : Ahh lol

└Anonymous55 : Scold! How dare you slander me! Do you not fear Cain-nim!

└LooksLikeIGotFired : I think you’ll die before I do?

└Anonymous55 : …

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-Anteater : But even if he is the real Cain, seeing him hiding around, he might not be the Cain of the past?

-Dr. Kim : Possible. That, there was a rumor before that Cain was solo raiding the Destruction Dragon. He might have spammed magic out of stubbornness and offered all his stats as a price. Maybe he even suffered a level down. Since there was talk of the service ending anyway.

-Anteater : That could be possible

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-Magician114 : Real-time) The Lightning Emperor descends on Bernhard!!!

Not to mention the major named users on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, even new people I had not seen before reacted to my post.

And if there was one nickname that stood out among them, it would be the nickname that is never missing from topics related to Cain.

-Luna : Bernhard. Thank you.

It was a reaction quite different from her usual ones, but rather because of that, it was an even more chilling reaction.

Because…… to me, those words looked like she was saying she would rush to Bernhard right away, without considering the consequences.

‘Of course, even if she goes, the chances of her running into me are low, but…….’

Our party was already quite far from Bernhard.

I did not know from where Luna was heading to Bernhard, but it meant the probability of encountering her was extremely low.

Nevertheless, it was an undeniable fact that there was something unsettling about it.

This was even more so because I had not released any information related to my location until now, but had ended up leaking it, albeit indirectly, this time.

Furthermore, the aftermath of the post did not just end with the comments on the post I wrote.

No, rather, it could be said that the real beginning started from that point on.

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-Magician114 : Fuck lol The Lightning Emperor showed up in Bernhard

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-Anonymous64 : Zappy-bro has descended ㄷㄷ

-Anonymous111 : What, seeing that even The Lightning Emperor came, it seems Cain is really there?

-Magician114 : The Lightning Emperor is fucking crazy. He’s just wiping out an army by himself?

-ImABabyNewbie : By the way, was The Lightning Emperor still chasing Cain’s tail? Didn’t he get totally wrecked once before and give up.

└Anonymous64 : Zappy-bro is originally famous for being persistent.

└ImABabyNewbie : Ah

└ImABabyNewbie : But why do you call The Lightning Emperor Zappy-bro?

└Anonymous64 : The Lightning Emperor’s nic is ImZappy.

└ImABabyNewbie : Ah lol

The post about seeing Cain, which would have just been a volatile aggro post, instantly emerged as a hot topic on the Anonymous Bulletin Board with the appearance of The Lightning Emperor.

As a result, it was fortunate that Bernhard was saved thanks to it, but at the same time, the focus on me within the Anonymous Bulletin Board was bound to increase just as much.

-Jiha : But who is the Dragon Slayer to recognize Cain? Cain is famous, but isn’t it rare for people to actually know him.

-MyFaceIsAllBurnt : Come to think of it, I think I heard Dragon Slayer is pretty high-leveled.

-DoDo : Dragon Slayer-nim is high-leveled. I received help from him before, too.

-Anonymous7454 : Then maybe it’s Cain himself?

└Anonymous99 : That’s a bit…

└Anonymous651 : If that were the case, there’d be no reason to say he saw Cain. He’d just reveal himself confidently.

-Kkyareureu : An acquaintance of Cain?

-Hainbere : But what was Dragon Slayer’s nickname? At this point, he’d be pretty famous, is he a named user?

A sudden flood of attention.

As someone who had maintained the status of a lurker on the Anonymous Bulletin Board as much as possible until now, it was bound to be quite a burdensome situation.

There was no way my identity would be exposed by that alone, but having given a hint about the region of Bernhard, it was possible someone could pick up the trail.

At that moment.

“Vell.”

At the sound of someone calling me, I returned to the reality beyond the Anonymous Bulletin Board.

“Are you okay?”

It was Alicia.

“What is it?”

“Your expression looked a little strange…….”

It seemed my expression while looking at the Anonymous Bulletin Board had shown on the outside.

“It’s nothing.”

“Again…… are you not going to tell me?”

“I said it’s nothing.”

“You know that’s not true.”

It was Alicia, who would have normally backed down at this point, but for some reason today, she was being a little persistent.

And the moment I faced Alicia.

“……”

I saw Alicia, who for some reason had sad-looking eyes.

Why on earth was she looking at me like that?

I did not know the reason for it, but I felt I knew that I should not just avoid that gaze any longer.

‘Come to think of it…… it was about time I had a talk with Alicia.’

What was the reason for the unknown favor Alicia held for me.

I had postponed and postponed it, giving various reasons until now, but now I had to hear the answer to it.

“I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I know that your attitude toward me changed a while ago. Why is that?”

To be precise, since after the subjugation of the Mage of Blazing Fire.

As if the question itself was unexpected, Alicia’s eyes widened before soon returning to normal.

“That is……”

“If you don’t intend to tell me, you don’t have to.”

If Alicia did not answer this question, I would continue to be wary of her favor.

It was not that baseless favors did not exist in the world, but it was certain that, at the very least, there were not many.

But if Alicia were to bring out the story she had hidden and hidden until now…….

Then, I would finally gain a person I could trust in this world.

“……No. I will tell you.”

Not long after, Alicia moved her lips with an expression that seemed she had made a firm resolve.

“I had a family. Although we weren’t related by blood, they were a family that was everything to me.”

It was obvious who the family Alicia was talking about was.

“Are you talking about the sisters of the Punishment Order?”

Along with that, Alicia’s expression was colored with astonishment.

“How did you……?”

“If one has eyes, it wouldn’t be that difficult to find out you are from the Punishment Order.”

Well, I was not sure about Edric, but it seemed cases like Albino or Conlan still did not know.

“……You knew everything. But why haven’t you said anything until now?”

“Because you wished not to speak of it. But now is the time to speak. Is it not?”

“That is……”

Alicia’s head slowly nodded.

“……That’s right. There is no need to deny it. The sisters were my friends, my sisters, my family, and my everything.”

Alicia’s head slowly lowered.

“Before the Mage of Blazing Fire, that cursed one, burned everything.”

It seemed as if the blazing fire was reflected in Alicia’s eyes.

“Family, friends, colleagues…… the Mage of Blazing Fire took away all the sisters who were my everything, without leaving a single one.”

Alicia continued to speak, her eyes as if gazing at the flames surging in her memory.

“At that time, I resolved. That I would kill the Mage of Blazing Fire, no matter what it took.”

It was not a story that was much different from what I had roughly guessed.

As expected, the Mage of Blazing Fire was deeply connected to Alicia, and she must have felt a great sense of gratitude toward me, who had played a large part in killing that Mage of Blazing Fire.

Because it was as if I had avenged her sworn enemy.

“Is that so. Understood.”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m saying that is enough.”

Alicia blinked her eyes and looked at me.

A face that needed an answer.

I supposed I also needed to say something appropriate here.

“There is no need to say more, as I am sure it is not a memory you want to recall.”

“That is……”

I already had a rough idea of what kind of story Alicia had anyway.

It was just that hearing that fact directly from Alicia’s mouth was quite important.

Because it was about whether or not I could have trust in Alicia’s favor from now on.

‘I guess this means I can trust Alicia to some extent.’

At least, as long as I did not betray her first, Alicia would not betray me.

The judgment that the Postponer of Ruin’s mind had bestowed upon me dared to judge so.

Just as I was making my own judgment, Alicia also moved her lips as if she had finished some thought.

“……Thank you.”

“If anything, I am grateful to you for telling me, as it must have been a difficult story.”

“No, it’s not that. It was something I had to tell you, Vell, someday anyway. And……”

Alicia, who was continuing her words, soon shook her head.

“……No, it’s nothing. I will talk about this later.”

“Really? Well, alright.”

I did not know what Alicia was trying to say, but I had heard everything I needed to hear anyway.

So, I could probably listen to the rest of the story slowly later.

‘Right now, other problems are much bigger than that.’

The repercussions of the aggro post I had spread on the Anonymous Bulletin Board to overcome the recent incident in Bernhard had grown larger than I expected.

Originally, I had intended to write the aggro post and let it pass moderately, but since the post’s repercussions had grown this large, I also had no choice but to take some action.

‘There would be nothing good from the continued attention on Dragon Slayer within the Anonymous Bulletin Board.’

Of course, fame could also become a very powerful weapon depending on how it was used, but for me right now, it seems to have more losses than gains.

Because at my current level, it was obvious that far from using fame to do anything, I would just be swept away by it.

‘If so…….’

What I had to do was decided.

[Connecting to the Anonymous Bulletin Board.]

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