Where Another User Has Been

Items that come as quest rewards are generally more useless than useful.

No, rather than useless, it would be more accurate to say they were ambiguous.

No matter how powerful a magic power stone or rare metal might be, it’s just a burden taking up space for someone without production-related abilities.

Even mithril swords or full plate armor are no different from mere decorations to those who aren’t swordsmen or knights.

These items are in a better situation since they can at least be sold for money.

The real problem was items that were ambiguous to both use and sell, like the proverbial chicken that’s too precious to eat but not worth raising.

Such items usually end up stuffed away and forgotten in some corner of a warehouse or subspace.

The ‘True Judgment’ scroll obtained as a reward from [The Hero Who Couldn’t Become a Hero] quest was one such item.

“Urgh… Ah, I have a scroll in my subspace that can distinguish truth from lies!”

The dagger piercing his chest stopped just before puncturing his heart.

If the woman applied even a little more force, he would die.

‘I must convince her.’

The monsters at the starting point were so strong they couldn’t be faced without using items.

Even if he died and tried again, if he couldn’t figure out the password, the same situation would just repeat.

Perhaps his desperate wish reached her.

The woman who had been silently staring at Yuseong muttered in a low voice.

“I’ll untie the ropes, so take out that scroll. If you try anything funny, I’ll kill you immediately.”

The dagger dug into his flesh, causing a needle-like pain in his heart.

This wasn’t a metaphor but literally the blade touching his heart.

Yuseong moved his hands as slowly as possible to avoid provoking the woman and took out the bundle of True Judgment scrolls from his subspace.

“These scrolls are enchanted to shock anyone who doesn’t speak the truth.”

“What guarantee is there that you’re telling the truth? What guarantee is there that these scrolls aren’t enchanted to harm us?”

“…No matter how fast the spell activates, it can’t be faster than your dagger piercing my heart.”

“Not your heart, but Marcus’s heart.”

The woman glaring at Yuseong with contemptuous eyes threw a few scrolls to the men behind her.

“Check them.”

‘What exactly happened here? Why are they so wary of users?’

From setting up passwords in preparation for potentially meeting users, to unhesitatingly torturing and trying to kill him, they viewed users as beings not to be associated with.

“It seems to be true. When speaking the truth there’s no problem, but when lying, my aura turns black and I feel a shock like my internal organs are being twisted.”

After confirming, the woman held out one scroll, and Yuseong tore it without hesitation.

A pure white orb appeared above Yuseong’s head.

“What’s your name?”

“Han Yuseong.”

“For what purpose did you take over Marcus’s body?”

“To help you all escape from the demon realm.”

“Do you have any intention to directly or indirectly attack or harm us?”

“None at all. I came here to help you.”

“Do you know about a user named Changwei?”

Changwei.

Someone impossible not to know.

One of the Three Strong, China’s hero, famous for being inactive along with Carlos.

Yuseong, who was caught off guard by Changwei’s name unexpectedly coming up, frantically shouted as he saw the woman’s eyes narrowing.

“I’ve only heard the name!”

“Only heard the name?”

“Yes! Through an acquaintance. I’ve never seen or met him directly!”

“…You’re not here doing a quest on Changwei’s orders?”

“No! I came here by chance, I have no connection to Changwei!”

The killing intent in the woman’s eyes dimmed for a moment.

The woman pulled out the dagger embedded in his chest and sprayed a potion on the wound.

“…I’ll talk with my companions for a moment, so don’t do anything strange and stay still.”

The woman stepped back and began talking with the men.

Left alone, Yuseong let out a sigh of relief and checked his status.

Name: Marcus

Class: High Mage

Level: 491

Title: Addicted to Magic

Strength: 21(-35)

Agility: 33(-41)

Wisdom: 688(-692)

Constitution: 133(-185)

Magic Power: 654(-712)

Skills: Mana Control(A+), Circle Magic(A+), White Tower’s Mana Training Method(A-), Mana Enhancement(A-), Elemental Enhancement(B+), Magic Power Conversion(B)…

All stats had dropped by more than half.

Though he wanted to know why, since Marcus was still refusing to communicate, all Yuseong could do was check the skill list.

Perhaps the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed.

Finally, seeming to have finished their discussion, the woman approached.

Though still wary, she no longer showed killing intent.

“I am Teresa Lyonic, third princess of the Arion Empire. I sincerely apologize for threatening and torturing you without understanding the situation.”

Though he had thought she wasn’t an ordinary woman, he hadn’t expected her to be a princess.

Yuseong bowed slightly and said.

“It’s fine. You mistook me for another user.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence fell after those words.

She felt apologetic about the torture.

But having deep-rooted hatred for users as beings, Teresa didn’t know how to treat Yuseong who was a user.

Yuseong too, though he had survived for now, had to be careful not to upset her as he could die again if she changed her mind.

However, they couldn’t keep facing off like this forever.

‘Looking at her sunken eyes and gaunt cheeks, it seems she hasn’t been eating or resting properly…’

“May I take something out from my subspace?”

“…Take it out slowly where I can see.”

When he reached into empty space and made a pulling motion, something wrapped in plastic came out.

Yuseong naturally tore open the packaging and put the contents in his mouth.

Crunch!

“This is called a chocolate bar. It seems you haven’t been eating properly, would you like to try one?”

“No! Though he may not be related to Changwei, he’s still a user. Who knows what tricks he might have played!”

“It’s black! Just looking at the color shows it’s not edible!”

“It’s perfectly fine food.”

Teresa, who had stepped back when Yuseong took out an unfamiliar object, unknowingly reached out her hand after smelling the chocolate bar’s aroma.

“Princess!”

Though voices called out to stop her from behind, the sweet smell was too deadly for Teresa who had been eating bitter roots and monster meat with strange smells.

Teresa brought the half-eaten chocolate bar to her mouth with trembling hands.

“…Huh?”

The finger-length chocolate bar disappeared in an instant.

Teresa looked at the floor wondering if she had dropped it, then realized she had lost control and devoured the chocolate bar when she tasted the lingering sweetness in her mouth.

“Ahem, this chocolate bar thing. Are there more?”

“Of course. I have even more delicious things, would you like to try some?”

“J-just a little…”

There’s no fighting hunger.

Teresa, who had been receiving food one by one from a distance, at some point came closer to receive it.

Though Walter and Nathan maintained their guard, they too couldn’t resist the various appetizing smells and began eating the food Yuseong handed over.

From things like chocolate bars, jellies, and candies to cup noodles, canned food, and combat rations.

After the three devoured enough food for nine people, they belatedly came to their senses and wore sheepish expressions.

People become happier when their stomachs are full.

Sensing the atmosphere had become more relaxed from the razor-sharp tension earlier, Yuseong carefully threw out a question.

“If it’s not rude to ask, may I know why you’re so hostile toward users?”

The atmosphere that had briefly relaxed grew tense again.

After a moment, Teresa opened her mouth.

“I’ll ask one more time. Are you really not related to Changwei?”

“No. I’ve never even had a conversation with him.”

This was actually a lie.

Once when he entered the community, Changwei had told him he would give him anything he wanted if he got him an item called Prime Code.

However, there was no True Judgment spell active now, and Teresa nodded seeing Yuseong’s serious face.

“You said you came to help us escape from the demon realm. How much do you know about us?”

“Only that all races of the continent formed a suicide squad to attack the demon realm, and that due to certain circumstances the mission failed and you ended up wandering the demon realm.”

“Don’t you know what those circumstances were?”

“…From the conversation earlier, it seems to be related to Changwei, is that right?”

Grind.

The sound of grinding teeth echoed through the cave.

“The world I lived in had been continuously invaded by the demon realm for thousands of years. Every few decades, countless lives were lost and massive property damage occurred. Unable to watch anymore, all races of the continent decided to go on the offensive rather than defend.”

The strongest from each race gathered.

They mass-produced war machines combining ancient and cutting-edge technology.

They poured all the continent’s resources into creating countless airships.

They thought this would be enough to turn the demon realm into scorched earth.

But that was a miscalculation.

“The suicide squad was undoubtedly strong. But the demon realm was no pushover either.”

The war with the demon realm continued for decades across generations.

Even wars between countries or races could take decades, so a war between worlds would naturally take at least that long if not longer.

People began growing tired of the endless war.

Then one day, a strange incident occurred.

The supreme commander of the suicide squad.

A user possessed the second prince of the Arion Empire.

“At first I thought my brother had gone mad from the long war. Or that he was making excuses to retreat to the rear.”

If someone changed overnight, introduced themselves with an unheard-of name, and claimed to be a human from another world, anyone would think that.

But the second prince’s, no, Changwei’s claim was real.

He defeated demons using abilities and weapons the second prince didn’t have, and achieved victories through brilliant command that seemed to see the future even in battles that seemed impossible to win.

People began to revere Changwei who had brought winds of change after decades, and began to hope they might be able to win the war.

However, reality was harsh.

No matter how strong, it’s impossible for a mere individual to change the course of war.

This was even more true for a war between worlds.

“Eventually one day, Changwei left my brother’s body. He returned to his world.”

‘Well of course.’

Changwei made a rational choice.

Though completing it would be a jackpot, there was no knowing how much time and resources would be consumed until then.

Though he might work hard at first tempted by the rewards, once he realized reality he would either use a Quest Abandonment Right or end the quest after just meeting the basic clear conditions.

However, hearing Teresa’s next words, Yuseong realized Changwei was crazier than he had imagined.

“He didn’t go alone. He took something crucial that could have turned the tide of war.”

“What was it?”

“The suicide squad’s final fortress, the mothership of the airships, the mobile fortress Vimana that contained all the continent’s resources and technology.”