丰满多水的寡妇

Objective: Identify the Demon’s Base (5/7)

Failure Condition: Fail to identify the Demon’s Base within 100 days (Time remaining: 42 days)

[The Light and Shadow of Radical Growth-2]

Objective: Acquire the ‘World Tree’s Fruit’ material item within 150 days and deliver it to Bahamut (Time remaining: 87 days)

“Wow… Time flies, doesn’t it?”

Although Leeha had logged in relatively quickly, time in Middle Earth didn’t wait for anyone. The quest for the World Tree’s Fruit, which he hadn’t even begun to touch, was already halfway through its duration.

‘But what about the common quest? I cleared up to 5 in no time and thought the rest would be quick too.’ Are there still two left?

Leeha had anticipated at least one of them.

The incident that led to the annihilation of the RUSH guild, one of the Demon’s Bases, was where the ‘Matan’s Shooter’ resided.

‘But aside from that… is there another one yet to be found?’

Most people on his friends list were logged in. The locations of Alexander, Lee Jiwon, and others were also in the New Continent. So, there shouldn’t be any issues, right?

Kijung: Hyung! Hyung! You’re here?!

Leeha: Hey, Kijung. Hehe, hey, do you know what happened yesterday? I-

Kijung: That’s not important right now. Come to the New Continent quickly, to ‘Juma.’ Hurry!

Leeha: Huh, what? All of a sudden?

Leeha wanted to recount his recent adventures, including being kidnapped with Ram Hwajung and meeting the Chairman of the Ram Long Group, but Kijung didn’t give him the chance.

‘What’s going on…? Why the urgency?’

Leeha wanted to ask more, but Kijung sounded too rushed to continue whispering.

Leeha eventually activated the teleportation crystal. JMA, Juma, as the users called it, was officially named ‘Erika Continent’s Jointly Managed City under the Treaty of the Four Nations of the Lope Continent.’

But no one ever called it by its full name.

It seemed like an internet parody of Korea’s ‘Joint Security Area JSA’ had become the common nickname, Juma JMA.

‘It makes sense. A tiny city – no, a village with four heads.’

Fibiel, Minis, Kraven, and Shazrasian, the ‘Governors’ in name, NPCs, made the place dysfunctional.

However, it was the only place in the New Continent where users could fully regroup and repair their gear, apart from the Old Continent.

Since they avoided traveling to the Old Continent, this was the only spot in the New Continent, so it was bound to be the scene of daily incidents and accidents.

Guilds and players entangled in various national and personal grudges, all met in this village. It would be strange if it wasn’t chaotic.

“Kijung!”

“Hey, hyung! Come here and talk to me, if it’s not too much-“

“Cough, Ha Leeha-nim. It’s been a while.”

Leeha greeted the members of Byulcho gathered in a corner of Juma’s square. However, Byulcho was with some other people.

Among them, one who greeted Leeha was someone he knew.

“Ah, Ron sir.”

Ron, the guild master of RUSH.

He had initiated a quest in Leeha’s special forces during the national war and was recently at the center of an annihilation incident, making him one of the most talked-about users.

His expression was grim.

When Ron spoke to Leeha first, Kijung looked uncomfortable.

“I saw that incident on video. It was unfortunate.”

“Of course, it was unfortunate. But for some, it might have been good news.”

Another user from the RUSH guild retorted sarcastically.

Ron turned around, looking annoyed. Leeha sensed that the atmosphere was oddly tense.

“What’s going on?”

“Umm… how should I put this? I’m quite hesitant to tell you about this rumor, Ha Leeha-nim.”

Ron spoke with as much politeness and respect as he could muster. However, the expressions of the RUSH guild members behind him told a different story. With arms crossed and sinister looks, they were glaring at Leeha as if he were an enemy.

“It’s okay. Please speak.”

Leeha’s expression also became somewhat stern. He had expected a casual conversation with Ron, given their rare meeting, but his expectations were completely off.

“You said you’ve seen the video, so you might already know. That day… may I ask where you were?”

“What?”

Leeha struggled to understand the implication behind his question and turned to Kijung when he couldn’t grasp it. Then, Kijung’s whisper echoed in Leeha’s mind.

-They think you did it.

-Did what?

-You know, the thing where heads explode out of nowhere. They think you ‘sniped’ it.

Leeha’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Ron and the RUSH guild members behind him. He was too stunned to even feel confused.

Something inside Leeha began to boil.

“You mean, you think I… I did that?”

“Of course, I don’t believe that. But-“

“But? The way you all came here and what you’re saying sounds exactly like that’s what you mean. Is there another meaning?”

“-That’s not it, Ha Leeha-nim. We just wanted to verify the truth, so we asked the Byulcho members…

“What could I possibly-… Ah; no. I got a bit heated. This isn’t like me. That day, I was briefly overseas. In a hospital. I have so many urgent quests to clear right now that I couldn’t even pay attention to Middle Earth, let alone log in!”

Leeha managed to regain his composure and explained to Ron.

He knew too well that it was ridiculous to get angry about such a thing.

“That’s what I thought, but-“

“How can you expect me to believe that? The internet is full of rumors that Halihali betrayed everyone.”

“Right, like during the guild war between Byulcho and Hwahong! You sniped Igor!”

“Even during the national war. A member of my guild, who’s in Minis, said they were sniped by you from an impossible distance!”

“Shh, be quiet. Let me talk. So, Ha Leeha-nim, you’re saying you really didn’t side with the Demon Army?”

Ron spoke softly, his expression showing discomfort, but the RUSH guild members didn’t share his demeanor.

“Of course! Ron sir, you know! Why would I side with the Demon Army?”

Leeha reiterated his situation.

However, it was just Leeha’s word against theirs. Whether it was the Demon Army or not, that wasn’t the issue now.

“Byulcho’s reputation would rise! Maybe you’re trying to hinder them from clearing the Demon Army’s base?”

“That’s why Master Kay can’t give a straightforward answer! When asked about clearing intentions, he just freezes up. It’s obvious. If there’s no sniping this time, it means Halihali did it, but if there is, it causes unnecessary sacrifice. Caught red-handed.”

“They’re just dividing it among themselves-” The murmuring complaints didn’t stop. The more Ron tried to calm them down, the more discontent the RUSH guild members grew.

The discontent of one person might be mere annoyance, but from dozens, no, over a hundred people, it was terrifying.

Leeha, hearing the barrage of accusations from behind Ron, whispered to Kijung.

-What’s going on, Kijung?

-Ah, I don’t know! It’s been chaos for days! I heard this talk and checked the communities, you were offline, so I even posted screenshots on your friend’s list to prove it, but no one believes it! All the communities around the world are in an uproar! There are all sorts of reasons, and ridiculous rumors are spreading like wildfire!

Kijung also looked frustrated, scratching his head. He was equally helpless in resolving the situation.

Leeha picked up on an odd point in Kijung’s statement.

The RUSH guild members said they saw it on the community. But RUSH is predominantly an American guild.

And what Kijung just said…

-…Worldwide communities are in an uproar?

-Yeah. In short, right now you are…

When Leeha heard Kijung’s last whisper, he felt as if his recent leg surgery might have been a mistake.

-The public enemy of Middle Earth.

The thought made his legs go weak with dread.

‘Ah, I’m already swamped with quests to clear, and now this…

He had just logged into Middle Earth after a long time, but he couldn’t stay for long.

Although Ron believed in him, allowing the RUSH guild to leave, the expressions of the guild members indicated they still suspected Leeha.

After a lengthy argument with RUSH and hearing stories from Byulcho, messages from Leeha’s acquaintances like Shin Nara flooded in.

Ultimately, Leeha had no choice but to log out. He needed to find out what had happened to lead to this situation.

“Crazy…

[Title: But could he really do it? You can’t even see where he’s shooting from…]

[Title: 1. Siding with the Demon Army / 2. Promoting Byulcho. What else?]

[Title: Lre: Just for personal reputation?]

[Title: Lre: Lre: Wouldn’t that be a total loss? Not fame, but infamy]

[Title: Lre: Lre: Lre: In Middle Earth, they’re the same]

[Title: Reason why it’s not Ha Leeha.txt]

The atmosphere on the community forums was anything but friendly.

Every post Leeha clicked on made him frown. About half of the ten posts he read were related to him.

There were no posts defending Leeha. The plausible titles were all clickbait.

‘Damn.’

The busiest Korean community forum changes topics every hour, not just daily.

And this same topic has been going on for several days?

As far as Leeha remembered, such prolonged discussions were rare, except during national wars or voyages to the New Continent. Even the Rising-Sun or Hwahong vs. Byulcho issues cooled down after 2-3 days.

Leeha stared intensely at his phone’s small screen and clicked the ‘Write Post’ button.

‘Do people think I have no personal life and only play Middle Earth?’

As he furiously typed, expressing his recent experiences, Leeha’s hands stopped.

Would writing here quell the baseless rumors?

Would writing emotionally, even if he proved he was Halihali, make any difference?

After pondering, Leeha pressed the ‘Cancel’ button.

‘That’s not the way to go. Without evidence, anything I say will just add fuel to the fire. The writer needs to be Halihali, but more importantly, solid evidence is needed. But to do that, the existence of the NPC ‘Matan’s Shooter’ in that place needs to be revealed…

Leeha shook his head.

Anything related to the Matan’s Shooter was top-secret information.

In Middle Earth, where the value of information was higher than any game, would he disclose top-secret information just to clear up a misunderstanding?

“Argh!”

That would be absurd. If Leeha wrote such a post, players like Luger and Kidd in Middle Earth would go out of their way to blow his head off.