Fired Characters from an Idle Game

12. Smurfing is a Basic of Pay-to-Win Games – (3)

“Write down everything you saw there, everything you know.”

The Bureau sat nestled in the very heart of Seoul, yet even here I was ushered into a separate chamber.

It was less an interrogation room and more akin to a drawing room.

“All I know, I already told that man earlier. That’s all there is.”

“Then write down even that.”

The Bureau agent stated blandly, pressing a button on the remote.

A news flash flickered across the television screen.

It spoke of successfully averting the second eruption. The tales of Tempestura, the Four-Star Calamity Storm Dragon, found no place in the news. Clearly, the government was clamping down on information leaks.

I spared the TV a glance before composing the report. Though termed a “circumstances report,” it was closer to a mere memorandum.

[Devastating damage continues to plague small provincial cities. Estimated casualties are projected to approach several thousand…]

[The central government, in response, is…]

As soon as the provinces were mentioned, the Bureau agent switched off the television.

I shrugged and presented the report. The agent then exited the room and summoned the man from before, Jo Geon-wook.

“Finished writing?”

“Yes.”

Jo Geon-wook took the report and began to scrutinize it.

I subtly shifted my gaze towards the window behind Jo Geon-wook, overlooking the Bureau.

On the rooftop of the building opposite, Selene stood, her hood pulled low. She mouthed the words.

‘Summon me if there’s trouble.’

Selene’s stealth skills were formidable, but even they had cooldowns, like a constraint within the game. Ultimately, she could not follow all the way to the Bureau, and was forced to wait in the building across.

Of course, the possibility of them doing me any harm was practically nil.

“Hmm.”

Jo Geon-wook opened his mouth, seemingly having finished reading the report.

“So, that Awakened one, Han Tae-geun, tried to kill Joo-yeon?”

“Yes.”

“No evidence, of course. Can’t hear his side of the story, seeing as he’s dead.”

“That’s right.”

“And in that situation, Tempestura the Storm Dragon popped out, bit Han Tae-geun to death, and flew away?”

“Yes.”

Jo Geon-wook sighed deeply.

His expression was troubled.

He was probably wrestling with whether to believe this utter nonsense.

But I hadn’t uttered a single lie. I was confident, because it was all, without exception, the truth. Seeing my expression, Jo Geon-wook added, as if resigned.

“So, Miss Nam Joo-yeon, what about that severed arm at the scene?”

Somewhere along the way, Jo Geon-wook had started using honorifics with me.

I shrugged. “That dragon must have cut it off.”

“…”

After a prolonged staring contest, Jo Geon-wook was the first to break eye contact. He roughly shoved my report into the file and tossed it onto the table across from him with a thud.

Finally, slumping back in his chair, Jo Geon-wook spoke.

“Fine. Well, either way, there’s no way to verify Miss Nam Joo-yeon’s testimony, and it’s undeniable that a Four-Star Dragon appeared, so I suppose we have no choice but to believe you.”

Jo Geon-wook shrugged, then shifted the topic.

“The Cheonan Nest, do you recall it?”

An unexpected subject.

But one that made me feel somewhat implicated.

“That… you mean the nest that supposedly disappeared recently?”

“Yes. We’re theorizing it was natural extinction, but even I have to admit, it doesn’t make sense. Every other nest is still intact, but the largest nest in Cheonan just vanished.”

“Ahaha…”

With the one who extinguished the nest right in front of him, Jo Geon-wook leaned forward and asked,

“So, the day the nest disappeared, why were you there?”

“…”

Perhaps that incident at the checkpoint was a blunder after all.

I frowned.

“I just went to see if there was anything to salvage.”

“Did you salvage anything?”

“Well, a One-Star Calamity or two. It was a Rock Scavenger; I synthesized it and got this golem. I got lucky.”

After my concise explanation, Jo Geon-wook didn’t press me further.

Instead, he nodded and said,

“Alright. Miss Nam Joo-yeon, I’d like to make you an offer.”

“An offer?”

“Would you consider joining the Bureau?”

“The Bureau?”

“If you possess a Stage Two Calamity, you more than meet the qualifications. I myself have a Stage Two Calamity, which got me a rather high position within the Bureau. We’re planning on implementing a grading system soon, and Awakened affiliated with the Bureau will start at a base grade of B. Mister Ju-yeon could even be higher. The support is substantial too. The Bureau even provides secure strongholds.”

It seemed Jo Geon-wook was intent on enticing me, keeping me tethered to the Bureau.

As the news on the television the employee had turned off a moment ago showed, Seoul was successfully defending against outbreaks, unlike the provinces.

They seemed to be acquiring every Awakened they could get their hands on, regardless.

But the label of belonging to the Bureau didn’t hold much allure for me.

That’s because I already had a stronghold of the highest defensive level: the Abyss. More importantly, becoming affiliated with them would mean being unable to be with Selene. There were more cons than pros.

“No thanks. That kind of thing just isn’t for me.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yes. Can I head out now?”

“Hey, show him the way.”

Jo Geon-wook ordered an employee to escort me out.

Even as I left the room, his gaze remained fixed on me.

*

“Something’s off, I tell you.”

“What’s off?”

At the employee’s words, Jo Geon-wook frowned, skimming the report.

It wasn’t exactly insightful.

Circumstantially, it was hard to disbelieve.

But Jo Geon-wook’s gut was telling him otherwise.

“For now, assign someone to Mister Nam Ju-yeon, that Awakened.”

“Surveilling a civilian without permission is illegal.”

“Is he a civilian? He’s an Awakened now. Property of the state.”

“…Sigh.”

The employee shook his head, but Jo Geon-wook had a certain conviction.

Jo Geon-wook toyed with his police identification, now a worthless scrap, still tucked in his pocket.

*

[Ruler ‘Actor,’ welcome back to the stronghold.]

[Here’s what happened at the stronghold in your absence.]

*Ding*

[4★ The Hellhound of Inferno has completed Calamity Synthesis.]

[Reward: 30 Exp / 1★ Forest Goblin]

[…]

I manipulated the status window and ordered the Hellhound of Inferno to begin a new Calamity Synthesis.

To acquire 2-star Calamities, I needed to pour in 1-star Calamities, and this synthesis operation had a higher success rate the higher the star rating of the one issuing the order.

Though so far, it had only yielded duds.

“…You’ve worked hard.”

Selene was waiting for me at the heart of the Abyss, on her throne. I felt awkward as I sat in my chair.

“Were there no issues? Did they not attempt to harm you separately, Master?”

“Of course not. If they had, there’s no way you would have remained still.”

She probably would have drawn her blade immediately and stormed in, turning the building into rubble.

“…Thank you. I will strive even harder in the future.”

Selene seemed to think this was an expression of trust, a compliment, and her shoulders twitched slightly.

“Selene.”

However, I didn’t correct her misunderstanding and opened my mouth.

“Mirien seems to bear me no ill will. What are your thoughts?”

A conversation we hadn’t managed to have due to Jo Geon-wook’s appearance.

The 5-star Calamity, Mirien of the Northern Sea’s Tempest, seemed to want to protect me, much like Selene. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to send the 4-star Storm Dragon Tempest around me.

Selene met my gaze, and reluctantly nodded.

“Yes. Mirien… owes her life to you, Master, so it is only natural.”

“Owes her life…? What life?”

“You may not recall it as it was an insignificant matter, but just as you bestowed the Elixir upon me, you also granted Mirien herself a new life.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did I have a suspicion about it.

The 5-star characters that appeared in Disaster Order all had flaws in their initial state.

Just as Selene’s entire body was ruined by burns, Mirien also had a debuff: an empty heart.

This was a unique quest, requiring a 5-star item, and also a strengthening quest.

Just thinking about how many 4-star Calamities I had lost on expeditions trying to obtain it made my blood boil.

The name of that item…

“…The Throbbing Heart of the Moon.”

“Aye. My Lord gifted the woman with a precious treasure. In the end, that magic-wielder owes her life to My Lord, so she is merely returning the favor.”

“…Then shouldn’t we let her in?”

I tilted my head, puzzled.

Either way, Mirien had been saved from death by me.

Even after being dismissed from my stronghold, she still thought of me as her master, and sought to protect me.

Wouldn’t it be better to bring her into the Abyss and reinforce our forces?

“My Lord, might I dare offer some counsel?”

But Selene seemed to think differently.

“Mirien, under no circumstances should you let that woman in. Only ruin lies ahead for her.”

“…Ruin?”

At my question, Selene turned her gaze away. She gave a bitter smile as she looked at her reflection in the Abyss’s puddle.

“What happens when ignorant omnipotence gains human emotions?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mirien is such a being. Born that way, she knows nothing of human feelings. Yet, meeting Master, she came to understand one mere fragment of new emotion.”

I frowned, still not understanding, but Selene continued regardless.

“A storm is like that. It only stops after destroying and swallowing everything.”

“What does that mean?”

“The storm of the Northern Sea, Mirien. She is a mage to her very bones. An individual who would kill to obtain what she cannot have.”

“…”

“Even if that is My Lord.”

Selene’s expression couldn’t have been more serious.