Chapter 84: The Rumors of a Madman (1)

Ethan stood frozen in place, shock washing over him.

The name Luna had just spoken struck him like lightning, sending a sharp chill down his spine.

For a moment, he couldn’t control his facial expressions with the usual mastery he prided himself on.

His mask slipped for several seconds—something he had never expected to happen.

Luna saw all of it clearly, yet she said nothing.

It was fair to say that his reaction stirred something within her.

Curiosity… and confusion at the disturbance she had just witnessed.

But Ethan quickly regained control, restoring his mask.

He walked slowly to his bed and sat down calmly, staring at her with complete seriousness.

“Just to clarify… that name. Did you hear it from me?” he asked.

Luna shook her head.

“No. I heard it from rumors about you.”

What she said only deepened Ethan’s frown as he realized rumors about him were already circulating.

“What kind of rumors?” he sighed heavily as he asked.

“That reaction of yours is strange. Do rumors bother you that much?” Luna replied with a question of her own, clearly surprised by how strongly Ethan seemed affected.

But Ethan wasn’t in the mood to indulge her curiosity.

“Just answer.”

His tone pressed her, and after a brief hesitation she complied.

“The rumors started spreading during the days you spent digging near the outskirts of the city before your duel. People say you’re a madman who constantly talks to himself.”

She continued,

“They say you mutter strange names when you’re alone… like that Ishizaki name.”

“And sometimes you say other words.”

“Like Ordeal, for example. What exactly does that mean?”

She asked the question—but Ethan suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha… seriously?”

He covered his face with one hand as the laughter continued longer than it should have.

A strange headache began creeping into his skull.

His mind was in complete chaos.

’What the hell is going on?’ he wondered.

’How could they possibly know about Ishizaki… or even Ordeal?!’

He wanted to stand up and punch the wall out of sheer frustration.

’Did I really say something like that out loud?’

Ethan considered that possibility.

Unfortunately… he realized it wasn’t impossible.

After spending so many years alone—doing nothing but streaming games for other people—he had grown accustomed to talking to the screen and voicing his thoughts aloud.

It had become a habit.

A reflex that made him speak whatever was on his mind.

Trying to remember, he realized he had indeed spoken out loud several times… saying things he absolutely shouldn’t have.

Realizing it too late, a miserable feeling washed over him.

A mixture of shame and anger.

Still, he forced himself to remain composed.

Luna was still standing right in front of him.

Regaining his calm, Ethan began thinking about the situation more deeply.

At that moment, his eyes slowly widened.

’No… that can’t be the reason.’

He realized something important.

’I might say my thoughts out loud from time to time… but that alone isn’t enough for rumors like this to spread.’

To confirm his suspicions, Ethan turned back to Luna and asked another question.

“Tell me quickly—how widespread are these rumors? Who knows about them exactly?”

His voice carried urgency.

His insistence was intense.

“You’re acting strangely right now,” Luna said calmly. “But I can’t blame you. I’d be annoyed too if something like this happened to me.”

She paused for a few seconds, thinking.

“I don’t know exactly how far the rumors have spread. But considering they reached me—and I rarely even leave the Witch’s Forest… that should give you a rough idea.”

Ethan took a deep breath after hearing that.

“That means most of the hunters have probably heard them by now…”

His suspicion only grew stronger.

’Rumors like this don’t spread on their own,’ he thought, a serious expression settling across his face.

’Someone is behind this.’

Someone.

Or in the worst case… a group.

The situation was dangerous.

Ethan didn’t know whether they had merely spread the nonsense he had muttered to himself…

or if they actually understood terms like Ishizaki and Ordeal.

If it was the latter—

everything would change.

’That would mean… there are other players here besides me. Players who came from another world.’

Ethan cursed inwardly as the possibility crossed his mind.

’Ishizaki, you filthy bastard… didn’t you say I was the last hero?!’

He nearly exploded.

And if Luna hadn’t been standing there…

he probably would have.

She watched him quietly for a moment.

“Why are you so worried about such ridiculous rumors?” she asked.

Ethan snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about who might be spreading something like this.”

“It doesn’t matter who did it,” Luna said dismissively. “Rumors are just rumors. As long as they don’t cause you direct harm, they’re meaningless.”

She continued, offering her perspective.

“Take me as an example. Plenty of people saw me enter this place this late at night. They know I came to your room.”

“That will probably start rumors about me too, since they don’t know this is just a clone.”

She shrugged.

“But do I care?”

“Of course not.”

Luna spoke firmly, clearly trying to pull Ethan out of his current anxiety.

“Pull yourself together. So what if they call you crazy?”

“Ishizaki, Miyazaki, whatever.”

“Let them say whatever they want.”

“Words are easy.”

“Actions are what matter.”

Luna was straightforward, saying whatever was on her mind without hesitation.

That very nature of hers made Ethan chuckle softly in response, smiling as he pushed past the tension that had gripped him moments ago.

“You know… you’re absolutely right,” he said, smiling at her.

The situation was far more dangerous than Luna believed, of course—she had no idea what those names truly meant when she uttered them so casually.

Still, what she said wasn’t wrong.

And Ethan realized that.

’There’s no point worrying about whoever is spreading the rumors right now… I won’t be able to uncover them even if I try,’ he thought more rationally, weighing his options.

Even if he were labeled insane, and names like Ishizaki spread everywhere… no one would understand their meaning.

Their reactions would be just like Luna’s.

So Ethan decided for now to wait and observe.

’If someone truly stands behind these rumors… they’ll make their next move sooner or later.’

’And when they do, I’ll expose them—if I play my cards right.’

Now that his course of action had become clear, Ethan regained his composure.

He also resolved to deal seriously with that habit of speaking his thoughts aloud.

But for now, he turned his attention to the person standing before him.

“Thank you. What you said helped me get past it.”

“As long as you understand, that’s fine,” she replied, a hint of awkwardness in her voice.

Her reaction revealed just how weak she was when it came to praise or gratitude.

“Let me check the curse barrier on you. It’s already late,” she said, rising from her seat and deliberately changing the subject.

Ethan nodded.

“Go ahead.”

He exposed the back of his neck to her, allowing her to do her work.

Inspecting the barrier wasn’t complicated, though it took a bit of time.

Luna spread her mana around the seal.

Gradually, a faint frown appeared on her face.

“There are traces of dark mana around the curse,” she said seriously.

“What exactly happened?”

Luna immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Ethan knew exactly whose mana it was.

“Now that I think about it… we haven’t seen each other since I discovered the Legacy Dungeon,” he said, offering an explanation.

“That mana belongs to the dungeon’s boss that I killed. I must’ve been affected after staying close to it for too long.”

He gave her only the bare minimum of information, carefully hiding the truth about activating the curse and how Mathius had shown him his memories.

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