Chapter 177 – What Happened on the Beach (2)
This man… Who was he? A chill ran down Ian’s neck. However, while looking at the man’s carefree face, Ian decided to drink beer instead of pursuing it.
Ian said, “He was a great commander.”
The man nodded.
“Yes, he is a decent friend. He would’ve been the best if it wasn’t for you.”
“I’m not sure. He and I are different. To say who is better…”
“You’re the best.”
The man laughed. There was a cheering sound from the next table. Tanned men and women gathered while enjoying the music.
“Isn’t the atmosphere good?”
“That’s right.”
The man picked up some fries and put them in his mouth. “Anyway, you are the best.”
Ian looked around. It didn’t feel like a suspicious situation. He drank the beer and pretended to be unconcerned.
“That reminds me, how much is a surfboard? If it is fun, I should buy one.” Ian threw out some meaningless words while thinking of a few possibilities in his mind.
First of all, the man might be related to the Heaven and Earth. He might’ve appeared for Keynes’ revenge. However, that didn’t fit. No one knew Ian would come here. Additionally, this guy seemed to have already been here for a long time.
Maybe he was an acquaintance of Ji Hayeon? The game publisher might’ve finally figured out Crockta’s identity through the Elder Lord system and informed him.
The man stared at Ian.
“How clever. But I don’t like this. Just ask, who am I?”
“……”
“Not doing what the opponent expects. Did you learn that in the Middle East?”
Ian knocked at the table with his fingertips. The feeling of being caught was always unpleasant. Ian detected danger, so he tried to break the rhythm of the opponent. To do so, he always ignored what the enemy expected.
If they expected an attack, stay in place. If they expected a defense, strike forward. He didn’t want to give a reaction that the opponent expected.
“How did you know?” However, this time, there wasn’t enough information. So, Ian just asked him. “Who are you?”
“Look, this is how easy it is.”
The man smiled and drank his beer. The two people had a light toast and looked at each other while drinking their beer.
“Eat the snack as well. Otherwise, I am the only one eating.” He ordered more beer and ate the fries again. “Your presence was truly unexpected. I never expected it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about Elder Lord. I didn’t expect a person like you.”
At that moment, Ian realized who this person was. Ian’s quiet eyes stared at the man, who looked different from the photo. The man was tanned, and his hair and eyebrows were strangely white. He had muscles, unlike his skinny appearance back then. The changes were so diverse that he never imagined it would be the face from that photo.
“Yoo Jaehan?”
“Correct.”
The man closed his eyes and smiled. It was the man who made Elder Lord, the man who developed the core system, Albino.
Ian’s face stiffened. Ian had wanted to meet this man, but he couldn’t figure out what to say now. Did Yoo Jaehan know about the gray god or that Elder Lord was another world? It felt like his soul was rising from his body, and he was losing his sense of reality. Maybe everything he went through was just a dream, and Elder Lord was actually just a game.
“You already know. Have you been searching for me all over the place?” Yoo Jaehan asked.
“Maybe I should’ve checked here.”
“Yes, I suppose.” Then Yoo Jaehan suddenly said, “That woman likes you a lot.”
Multiple faces entered Ian’s eyes, then they were erased. However, Yoo Jaehan noticed his expression and laughed.
“Who are you thinking of? Are there many people like that around you?”
“No.”
“There was also that girl earlier. How sinful.”
The new beer was a little different. Yoo Jaehan nodded as he drank.
“For Crockta.”
The two clinked their cups together. As Ian placed his cup to his mouth and sipped, Yoo Jaehan suddenly asked, “I heard you met Albino?”
Ian’s throat spasmed when he heard that, but he managed to calm down.
“Drink slowly. Don’t choke.”
“Cough, cough. Albino…”
“The white woman, the gray god…”
Yoo Jaehan already knew about the gray god. Ian put the beer down and calmed himself. This was the man who made Elder Lord. It was obvious that he was related to the matter.
Yoo Jaehan was a physicist. Did he link the two worlds by joining forces with the gray god and using an unknown theory? If so, why did he make Elder Lord? What was the real purpose of the gray god?
Ian said, “I met her. I also heard that Elder Lord is another world.”
Yoo Jaehan nodded. “I guess so.”
“What is Elder Lord? Why did you make it, and what is the gray god’s purpose?”
“If I tell you one thing,…”
“You should tell me.”
“I see…”
Yoo Jaehan looked upwards. He seemed to be thinking of something.
“Your name is Jung Ian?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever looked up at the night sky?” He reached out. “It is dark in Korea, but there are numerous stars in the sky. Have you ever looked up at the sky from the desert?”
“I have.”
“How was it?”
“Beautiful.”
“It wasn’t scary?” He smiled faintly at Ian. “Isn’t it scary to imagine the vast universe that stretches between the stars and us?”
“I haven’t thought of that so far.”
“All of them will cool down in the end.” Yoo Jaehan seemed to be touching on the idea of the abyss, which had been conveyed by the gray god and the demon belt. “Entropy can’t be reversed. Forever.”
This also went along with Gordon’s story.
“The sun, the stars, and the many galaxies in the universe will eventually cool down.”
“What does that have to do with Elder Lord?”
“Albino was thinking about this before me. So, she found me and told me there was a way out. Then I helped her make Elder Lord.”
“Maybe it was a good choice,” he added on, muttering.
Ian looked at Yoo Jaehan and realized this genius was different from ordinary people. “Did you create it in order to prevent the destruction of the universe?”
“Something like that.”
Yoo Jaehan was afraid of a future that wouldn’t happen in this life but in later generations. The idea overflowed in his head, and he couldn’t think of anything else.
“How can she prevent the destruction?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just believed her and created Elder Lord?”
“She is a god. I could only believe it after meeting her. She used incomprehensible powers. But it is bigger than I thought.”
“People think it is just a game and are killing others. Don’t you feel guilty?”
Yoo Jaehan looked at Ian with calm eyes. They seemed emotionless.
“They are people who will die anyway.”
“That doesn’t mean they need to be killed.”
“Everyone dies. They will live for less than 100 years. So, why does it matter?”
“……”
“It is up to here. I’ve told you enough.”
“Can you stop Elder Lord…?”
“No.”
“What was Albino’s purpose?”
“Didn’t I tell you? It is up to here. The rest you can figure out yourself.”
Yoo Jaehan’s expression was firm. Ian struggled with two options: leave now; or try to make him say more. Maybe Ian could even use some force.
“I understand.” The latter was the more interesting choice, but he was no longer Raven. There were many questions he wanted to ask, but he decided to just nod. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I am thinking about doing it in moderation now.”
“Are you thinking about stopping Elder Lord?”
“I think I will soon.”
Ian recalled when he had been Crockta and received a 100% assimilation rate.
In that moment, he really had been Crockta, and his mindset had been that of an orc warrior. He had no fear. For him, even dying was an honor. He’d been willing to stand alone on the battlefield despite the risk of death. At the time, he didn’t worry about his surroundings. The most important thing was the battlefield.
However, that wasn’t the case. Yiyu was still young, and he was her guardian. Cafe Reason was also his responsibility. He couldn’t consider only himself when it came to his death.
When he disconnected and returned to being Ian, he regretted the thoughts and actions he had made when being Crockta. If he continued with Elder Lord, that would keep happening in the future. He needed to refrain from that, for Yiyu’s sake. In the end, the empire had been blocked. There was no need to get entangled with dangerous beings or the gray god.
“I hope it can be like that.”
“By the way, you’re here. But Elder Saga Corporation has been looking for you.”
“They are bad at their jobs. Albino has also been helping.”
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“Yes. I just came to empty my head, but it was fun. The sea and the people.”
Ji Hayeon, the heir of the Myeongsong Group, was sure that Yoo Jaehan wasn’t in Korea. However, he was at a beach resort in Gangwon-do, and his body looked better than before.
Ian started laughing. “How did you know I would be here?”
“It’s a coincidence. I was also surprised.”
“Do scientists believe in coincidence?”
“You never know. The more I dig, the more amazing the world is. I believe in coincidences.”
It was difficult to believe. However, Yoo Jaehan seemed to have stayed here for a while. The people from the surf store knew him well. It was a purely impromptu idea that Ian had decided to go here, so it was a coincidence they met. Ian decided to be convinced.
Yoo Jaehan rose from his seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to…”
“This is a vacation. Go out and enjoy it.”
They left the store. It was summer, so the days were long. There was still a dim light coming from the sky.
“Call that girl.”
“Girl?”
“The girl who hit you during the day.”
“I don’t want to. I don’t even remember her number.”
“I do.” Yoo Jaehan grabbed his phone. Ian stopped smiling as Yoo Jaehan entered the number and hit the call button.
“What are you doing?”
“A follow-up.”
“It is okay. By the way, do you really remember it?”
At the time, the woman had only said her number once. On the contrary, Ian had repeated his number several times.
“I have a high IQ. I remember everything.”
“Good for you.”
“It is. A man shouldn’t be shy. Otherwise, how will you be popular?”
“That isn’t the problem…”
Suddenly, Ian’s phone rang. It was a familiar number.
Yoo Jaehan laughed. “Women are more active in this world.”
***
Yoo Jaehan lay on the hammock and stared at the sea as he waited for Ian to return to his accommodations. The lights from ships shone on the horizon as the sea breeze blew.
Yoo Jaehan shook his body on the hammock and felt the rhythm. He closed his eyes and whispered,
“Did you send him?”
There was no answer. Yoo Jaehan asked again, “Albino, did you send him?”
“It’s a coincidence.”
He opened his eyes. There was a fuzzy shape by his side.
“He decided to come by himself.”
“You helped him make that decision. Using your power, you can project any image into his imagination. No?”
“……”
“I haven’t seen you in a while.”
The white, fuzzy shape revolved around him and said, “It will be soon.”
“So soon?”
“It will be soon thanks to Ian.”
“He doesn’t know anything, but he is helping you.”
“It is an inevitable flow.”
Yoo Jaehan got up from the hammock and stared up at the sky. There weren’t many stars at the beach. Still, he could imagine the vast landscape beyond it.
“Keep your promise.” He demanded.
“I think you are insane.”
“I am a genius.”
Ian appeared in the distance. Yoo Jaehan waved towards the distant Ian, and the blurry cloud hid behind Yoo Jaehan. Her image disappeared within a short time.
He could feel her disappearing and muttered, “Geniuses are never sane.”
Then Yoo Jaehan’s eyes narrowed. Ian neared him, but Ian wasn’t coming alone. A woman was with him.
“Is this youth?”