The God of Liar

He was at the beginning of The Three Crossroads.

Morgan took Seojin to his tent.

”I can’t treat such a talent like you to a dirt floor. Come here. Sit down!”

It was surely unconventional. The tent itself and the table inside were both shabby, but it was a great luxury considering that this place was a camping field.

”Thank you.”

”You don’t have to worry about those rookies outside.”

”I’m a rookie, too.”

”That’s true, but you are a different kind of beast. Here, look at this first.”

Morgan spread three old maps across the table.

Just like its name, The Three Crossroads, routes to each of the three settlements were drawn on the map.

”This is Ilynea, this is Altagon, and this is the road to Berne.”

”There are lots of symbols in Berne, what does that mean?”

”Danger. It’s complicated, but it doesn’t matter. You should know only one thing, that there are ten times more monsters in Berne than anywhere else.”

Morgan’s eyes were deadly serious.

While Seojin was an admirable rookie, the danger ahead of him was a harsh reality.

Seojin nodded regardless.

”I’ll be careful. Is there anything else I should beware of? Like traps?”

”You don’t have to worry unless you head straight into their den. Fortunately, there is no great danger along the road. Our soldiers are in control.”

”What about the monsters?”

”Goblins.”

Morgan put all the maps, except Berne’s, aside and spread out a new sheet of paper.

”Sly, vicious bastards those are. Goblins are not deadly, but things are different when they form a group. Commit this figure to memory.”

A cunning-looking monster was drawn on the paper.

Below that was a messily scribbled name and explanation.

”Hobgoblin, is this their leader?”

”They’re the ones who lead the pack. Kill that one first if you deal with them, then their combat effectiveness will be halved.”

”I see.”

Seojin gave it a good look. It contained a way to discern hobgoblins from the rest of the pack. There were no special points to distinguish based on their appearance, but the one barking orders from a safe place is the one, or so it said.

It sounded simple, but it was a useful thing to know.

”I’ll remember that.”

”I’ve told you everything I can. The rest is up to you. Remain unshaken.”

”Yes, I will be careful…”

”I’m not talking about safety.”

Seojin shut his mouth. Morgan kept staring at him.

”Don’t lose yourself in the mood.”

”Sorry…? I don’t understand.”

”You’ll know once you get there. Don’t forget what I just said when things hit you. Will you go right away?”

”…Yes, I’ll leave now.”

From the way Morgan spoke, Seojin assumed he’d only understand once he got there.

Morgan patted Seojin’s back as he handed him a piece of paper.

Acquired: Pass of Morgan Feriah.

Pass of Morgan Feriah.

* You may return to The Three Crossroads.

’I can come back here?’

Seojin squinted as he read the pop-up. Morgan spoke as if he read his mind.

”It’s only for those who travel to Berne. Please return if you change your mind. I’ll send you somewhere else.”

”Ah…”

He got it. Originally, once players had chosen their destination at The Three Crossroads, they couldn’t progress unless they cleared their new settlement. It seemed as if many players who chose Berne deleted their accounts and created new ones soon after.

Seojin’s expression changed completely. ”I’ll come and visit you after finishing all the quests in Berne. I’ll never change my mind halfway through.”

”Haha! That’s the spirit.”

”That’s all a rookie has. Guts.”

”That’s right. You’ll only see the backs of others if you don’t keep that kind of mindset. What an admirable kid you are.”

Morgan brushed his chin and nodded.

”A sense of purpose would truly kickstart your motivation. I have a suggestion for you.”

”I’d be glad to hear it.”

This was a sign of a new quest, and Morgan delivered exactly what Seojin had anticipated.

”If you solve all of the problems in Berne, I’ll reward you with something handy. I won’t set a deadline, but I’ll assume that you’ve given up once you leave Berne.”

Bonus Quest!

*Regional Restriction: Berne

* Time Limit: Unlimited

* Morgan Feriah, keeper of The Three Crosswords, offered to make a bet with you. Deal with Berne’s troubles and you’ll receive a reward. Grit! Effort! Motivation! It’ll be a hard journey, so Morgan will recognize your efforts if you succeed!

* Objective: Eliminate Berne’s ???

* Default Reward: ???

The objective was hidden, and so was the reward.

Since it was a Bonus Quest, it didn’t seem to be part of the main quest chain.

With a big smile, Seojin emphasized his words.

”You won’t be disappointed.”

* * *

Ilynea, Altagon, Berne. These three towns belonged to Baron Bolton and the Kingdom of Valaran.

While one couldn’t visit other settlements while in the middle of the main quest chain, once finished, they would be able to travel around like a tourist of sorts. Of course, it was impossible to do quests or interact with players who were in the middle of a quest while visiting.

’There must be other users so there’s nothing to worry about… no, I should be wary of screenshots. Maybe I should wear a mask.’

Seojin closed the community screen and stared out of the window.

He was sitting in a carriage, on his way to Berne.

Seojin sighed a little as he blankly admired the scenery.

’I didn’t expect such a strong reaction…’

He had checked what other players thought of Berne.

Only a handful chose Berne at the Three Crossroads, but all of them had visited Berne as a tourist.

Their responses were largely similar.

I’m glad I didn’t go there.

Terrible choice…

Thank you, my lord and savior, Robert.

Similar posts followed one after another, and so did replies agreeing with them.

’No wonder nobody wanted to come here… it’s definitely excessive.’

Any experienced gamer would check the guidelines and walkthroughs first.

Even those who didn’t usually read them did the same after VRMMO became a thing.

The game felt more real than reality, so perhaps the sense of deprivation was doubled if they were falling behind.

’You’ll only get more stressed though if you compare yourself to others…’

It was understandable, but Seojin shook his head. He thought games were there for fun, and for relieving stress. Even though he was working as a professional gamer, he didn’t want to follow the money blindly.

His goal was to enjoy the ride while making money on the side.

’…Am I almost there?’

The carriage started slowing down. Seojin glanced out of the window and saw the main gate.

Soon, the carriage stopped and he dismounted, stretching his arms and legs.

”Man, I’m tired.”

He had traveled ten kilometers. That was just by carriage, it probably would have taken around two hours if he had walked.

Fortunately, he had enough money to borrow a horse or hire a carriage.

’Long live capitalism! It’s great that money can solve problems.’

Seojin finished stretching and looked at the entrance to the town.

It didn’t look too bad from the outside. Of course, it was quite different from Movelon.

A wooden fence made of carved logs surrounded the entire town, and there were guards stationed at the entrance.

Clearly, that meant Berne was not a very peaceful place.

’Then the problem must be outside of the town, right?’

Morgan said there were ten times more monsters in this town than anywhere else. Seojin thought that must be the main problem of this town.

Seojin approached the entrance, glancing here and there.

However, the guards were unresponsive.

The guard only raised his head after Seojin stood right in front of him, staring at him with confused eyes.

”…Are you an adventurer?”

”I am.”

”Well, go on in…”

With a deep sigh, the guard pointed inside, then lowered his head silently.

Seojin kept the guards’ strange mannerisms in mind as he entered the town.

Arrived at: Berne!

You are now bound to this settlement. You cannot leave Berne until you have completed the main quest chain.

You can receive your first quest from Gelimer, the head of the town.

He expected the messages that he received so far.

However, the pop-ups that came next surprised him.

The Town is Dying!

Life Remaining: 8%

’…What?’ Seojin frowned.

Seojin already knew about dying towns, and the decrease of the life of the towns through checking the community. However, a player who ”selected” Berne around two months ago said there was around seventy-three percent left.

’It’s gone down to 8% in two months?’

It didn’t make sense. It had already been around nine months since users started to avoid Berne, but its life had decreased rapidly over the last two months.

’Does the decrease accelerate? The decrease rate is slow when the points are high but it speeds up as it decreases… oh, hell no.’

Seojin frowned even harder. The town only had eight percent of its life remaining.

If his hypothesis was true…

Life Remaining: 7%

’Down by one percent? This fast?’

Seojin had no time to lose.

The numerous bonus quests and achievements waiting to be discovered would all disappear as soon as the percentage reached zero.

’I have to do the main quest first!’

Seojin ran faster than he’d ever run before.

His destination was the village elder’s house in the center of the town.

Life Remaining: 6%

’It dropped again!’

Seojin clenched his jaw as he began to hurry up. He slammed the door wide open and almost jumped through the door as he reached his destination.

”Mister!”

There was a weak old man sitting in the corner of the room.

After confirming that the correct name was floating above his head, Seojin sat right in front of him.

”Ask me anything! Anything! I’m an adventurer!”

”Ask…?”

”Whatever! Whatever you need!”

”Well…”

Anxious fingers tapped on the table.

The absent-minded elder tilted his head and finally opened his mouth again.

”Well… I guess… you could help others… or whatever.”

Main Quest

* Regional Restriction: Berne.

* Gelimer, the village elder of Berne, wants you to help the other residents.

* Objective: Help the townspeople of Berne.

* Default Reward: None.

The content of the quest was as lethargic as the man sitting in front of him.

There wasn’t even a Default Reward.

But right now, Seojin didn’t care.

Life Remaining: 7%

”It went up!”

The rapidly diminishing number finally increased by one percent.