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Chapter 49
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A Suspiciously Knowledgeable Inquisitor Giving Advice About Mages.
Right after his defeat, Sweet was hit hard by the Inquisitor’s long-winded advice.
Sweet, who always dealt with tons of unsolicited advice during his streams.
Wait, people dare to advise the undisputed #1 ranked Mage about magic?
You’d think that’s what everyone believed, but the reality was completely different.
Even an esports player hailed as the GOAT or a man who became a basketball legend.
Those frequently in the public eye cannot avoid advice or criticism.
But Sweet had proven himself by consistently staying as the top-ranked player in an RPG focused on growth.
-Prove it.
This was the one-liner from a GOAT featured in the recent Rione Championship teaser that became a hot topic.
Translated into English, “Prove it” serves as a provocation.
In Korea, it could be loosely interpreted as, “You think you can? Try me.”
In Sweet’s highly transient, viewer-heavy streams, “Prove it” was a cost-effective statement.
It shut down trolls, mockers, and doubters all at once.
So, who’s the #1 Mage right now?
It’s me.
So if you want to criticize me, prove it.
Sweet’s attitude had always been this consistent, at least until recently.
―――
[Akashic Records Gallery]
[Title] The Current Situation of Sweet Who Got “Proven”…jpg
(A screenshot of Sweet practicing Chain Lightning for half a day)
This guy’s been practicing Chain Lightning all day long like a lunatic.
That crazy person poisoned Sweet with some deadly advice.
Like: 1026 | Dislike: 5
―――
[861 Comments]
Why is he doing that? Explain, please.
ㄴGot destroyed and got advice, now he’s pissed.
ㄴHe kept saying “Prove it” and then got “proven.”
ㄴ(Picture of someone looking dumbfounded)
―――
Of course, Sweet hadn’t actually been “proven.”
He was still holding onto his position as the top-ranked Mage.
But being defeated twice in a row, brutally, by the same opponent.
That would hit harder than losing the rank itself.
―――
[Title] Akagal’s Urban Legend: There’s a Player With Suspiciously Extensive Game Knowledge
Warning! This legend document does not contain a 7th entry.
If you see a 7th entry, immediately kill yourself in virtual reality.
There are no safe places outside the space where death resides in Akare.
- She knew that Priests can grant daily buffs by praying in the church.
- She knew how to use the Priest’s Heal skill as a damage-dealing skill against undead.
- She knew about the existence of “Unlucky Tempering.”
- She has been hunting cultists ever since her days as a Priest.
- For some unknown reason, she harbours a deep hatred for cultists.
- She knew the job-change requirements for becoming an Inquisitor.
- Assuming she is ㅁㅁㅁ, all urban legends are resolved.
- She possesses a suspicious level of expertise about Mages.
.
.
.
(A screenshot of Aurora refusing to be treated as a goddess)
(A picture of cultists praising and worshiping Aurora)
(A picture of Aurora wearing a Mage uniform)
.
.
.
(A picture of a frog resting its chin on its hand, looking thoughtful)
Like: 3681 | Dislike: 1
―――
[1672 Comments]
Who on earth is ㅁㅁㅁ?
ㄴㅁㅁㅁ is ㅁㅁㅁ.
ㄴDon’t you dare mention ㅁㅁㅁ.
ㄴAm I the only one seeing distorted text?
ㄴI see the 7th entry. What do I do?
ㄴHurry up and die in virtual reality, die-die-die.
ㄴThis group of lunatics, their solidarity is insane, lol.
ㄴIs this that cosmic horror thing or whatever?
ㄴOne single downvote, lol.
―――
Once again, the theory that “Fera and Aurora are the same person” gained massive attention.
It was one of the theories people thought had already been debunked.
But this incident managed to resurrect it.
At this point, it’s practically an annual WWE-level event.
Sigh…
I let out a deep sigh as soon as I saw the most upvoted urban legend-style post.
“Tsk, their unity is annoyingly good for useless things.”
Normally, when posts like this appear, wouldn’t people downvote them out of spite?
If you go outside on a snowy night and return early in the morning,
the whole world would be covered in white.
Can you resist leaving footprints on that pristine canvas?
And this post was seen by tens of thousands of people, yet not one person left a downvote?
Of course, I couldn’t resist and downvoted first.
Argh, that’s not even the point right now.
The comments were filled with mocking phrases like, “The regretful downvote,” “So transparent,” and “What does that one downvote mean?”
“The regretful downvote, probably 99.9% likely from the goddess herself.”
“…”
“Silence is an unspoken affirmation.”
“You sure talk smoothly. Aka-chan.”
If Akagal were personified, wouldn’t it just become Aka-chan?
That’s how annoying Aka-chan felt right now.
“Is the update preparation going well?”
“Affirmative. No issues whatsoever.”
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the new zone Elderheim update.
The roadmap showcase had detailed the updates planned for the second half of the year.
After the Elder Lich Raid, there had been no new content aside from Second Awakenings.
Since the first wave of players was starting to feel bored,
the update was perfectly timed.
―――
[Trending Posts]
What the hell is ㅁㅁㅁ? (Seriously don’t know) [58]
What’s wrong with the gallery? lol [13]
Welcome to the ㅁㅁㅁ Gallery in Korea [43]
Why can’t anyone just admit Fera is Aurora’s alt? [127]
Wait, is it not just speculation but actually true? [25]
―――
“They’re making a huge fuss about it, huh.”
If I just spend time idly like last time after halting Fera’s activities,
this buzz would naturally die down.
There’s no concrete evidence yet.
And there won’t be any in the future.
So, about teaching Sweet a bit about magic?
I have no regrets. After all, with the upcoming update, I won’t be able to log in for a while anyway.
Time to stop browsing Akagal and start preparing for the update.
Just as I was about to leave, a post caught my eye.
―――
[Title] A Statistical Analysis of Fera’s Activity Patterns.txt
I’m not actually a grad student majoring in statistics,
just someone who loves doing amateur statistics while cooped up at home.
While investigating the movements of the Inquisitor Fera, I noticed a pattern.
From both InGameGal and Akagal, whenever Fera is “mentioned” in the gallery,
her activities drop significantly—to the point of disappearing entirely.
Then, as mentions gradually decrease, she reappears as if by magic.
The key here is that her appearances and absences follow a specific pattern.
Whenever a major update is imminent, her activities suddenly stop.
Example: Elder Lich Raid.
On the other hand, when there’s more leeway after an update, she immediately reappears.
Example: After the Second Awakening buzz and the second-half roadmap showcase.
Now, with the upcoming “new area Elderheim update”
and after Sweet’s stream yesterday, the Inquisitor Fera has vanished again.
Is this just a coincidence?
Hmm… lol.
I really have no idea.
Like: 1655 | Dislike: 6
―――
[Title 809] Why Does This Post Have Six Downvotes?
ㄴBecause Aurora went to work.
ㄴProbably left the gallery.
ㄴFera is Aurora’s alt? What are you even saying?
ㄴWhere did you even hear that nonsense? lol
I don’t like conspiracy theories, but I’ll give this an upvote for now.
ㄴAfter rereading it, it’s intriguing, so I upvoted ten more times.
ㄴHow’d you do that?
ㄴWhat’s with these fake upvotes?
ㄴThis is straight-up manipulation…
―――
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to downvote this post.
It already has a few anyway.
I quietly downvoted the post and moved to the workspace.
***
Lee Hyun-woo, 23 years old.
After being discharged early, he returned from the military with acquired hearing loss.
A young man who once dreamed of becoming a singer-songwriter was now disabled.
The nightmare had started with shooting practice.
That day, the earplugs given to Lee Hyun-woo were defective.
He reported the defect, but his concerns were dismissed because there were no spares.
The ensuing shooting practice was hell for him.
The deafening gunshots tore at his eardrums relentlessly.
Even as the ringing in his ears shook his brain, the practice didn’t stop.
Thus, Lee Hyun-woo developed acquired hearing loss.
He had been so close to achieving his dreams.
Should he really give up just like this?
Even though an unspeakable frustration and sorrow overwhelmed him,
there was nothing Lee Hyun-woo could do.
The military compensated him for his hearing loss.
But they only provided “compensation.” They didn’t give him back his lost dreams.
Buzz—
His phone vibrated on the desk.
Although he had already woken up, he didn’t notice the vibration due to his hearing loss,
leaving the phone to vibrate endlessly.
Even so, the phone continued vibrating until it caught his eye, and he got out of bed.
[Mom – Son]
[Mom – (Link to an orphanage vlog)]
[Mom – Try watching this.]
[Mom – This is trending these days.]
[Mom – They call it virtual reality. I don’t fully understand it, but…]
[Mom – They say even visually impaired people can see the world, and people with leg disabilities can walk here.]
[Mom – I bought a capsule or something like that and had it installed in your old workspace.]
[Mom – I made some side dishes, so be sure to eat them.]
[Mom – Hyun-woo…]
[Mom – I hope you don’t give up on your dreams.]
[Mom – I’m always cheering for you.]
[Mom – My beloved son.]
Lee Hyun-woo stared at his phone for a long time.
Then, as if hugging something precious, he wrapped the phone with both hands.
Even though it was just a simple message, it felt as if his mother was speaking directly to him.
…
Even though he couldn’t hear his own sobs, it didn’t matter.
Because he had just received warm encouragement from the most precious person to him.
“Hoo…”
After calming his breath, Lee Hyun-woo moved toward the workspace.
Since enlisting in the military and even after being discharged early due to his hearing loss,
the workspace had been left abandoned.
Yet it was spotless, as if someone had been cleaning it regularly.
“So this is a capsule…”
Muttering to himself, Lee Hyun-woo opened the capsule, following the manual.
The first virtual reality game: Akashic Records.
He had known about its existence, but he never imagined he would actually play it.
After all, Lee Hyun-woo had never been particularly interested in games.
But now, things were different.
If what his mother said was true, that “virtual reality can overcome disabilities,”
then maybe he could finally hear the sounds he had longed for.
Half excited, Lee Hyun-woo entered the capsule and logged into Akashic Records.
Customization? What’s that?
Lee Hyun-woo quickly understood it as a process for setting his appearance in virtual reality.
He set it to resemble his real self and quickly moved on.
Because to Lee Hyun-woo, customization was the least important thing right now.
After completing all the steps, he was finally transported to the Hall of Heroes.
Beyond the statue, a maid appeared and slowly began to speak.
“To the one who has reached the Hall of Heroes. What do you seek by coming here?”
Lee Hyun-woo, overwhelmed by hearing a human voice for the first time in a while, slowly opened his mouth.
“Ah, it’s real… Oh? My voice, I can hear it.”
“···.”
“Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry. I suffer from hearing loss in the real world.”
Bow-
Lee Hyun-woo bowed deeply to apologize and pondered over the question.
What do you seek by coming here?
The answer to this question could only be one thing.
“I want to make music.”
“…Is that all?”
“Uh…”
What else should I say?
After some thought, Lee Hyun-woo smiled brightly and said softly.
“I wanted to make people happy with my music.”
Lee Hyun-woo recalled the reason he had been able to hold on.
The first thing that came to mind was, of course, his parents.
But what had supported him even more were the memories of singing karaoke with his family when he was younger.
Music shared with precious people during happy times. And bright, hopeful melodies.
That was the driving force that had kept Lee Hyun-woo going.
“Now, I want to help people who are struggling and in pain with my music.”
“Is that so.”
At this moment.
“I shall show you the Echo of Records. If this is the path you wish to pursue, summon me.”
The two hidden secret classes of the Hall of Heroes were fully unlocked.
Martial Artist.
And Bard.
As the third support class following Priest and Heretic,
the existence of the Bard was revealed to the world.
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