Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 42 – Kim Jinah

—–CROW—– 

I replied that I was free right now, but it seemed Kim Jinah wasn’t.

Kim Jinah suggested a new meeting time, asking, “How about around this time?” and I, having nothing special to do, agreed.

The meeting place was a cafeteria a little distance from the central plaza of the festival.

She said it wasn’t for anything specific, but she wanted to talk face-to-face for a bit.

But if it’s just talking, we can do that through the friend chat. Why does she want to talk face-to-face?

Moreover, I don’t understand why she wants to meet separately. What is there to talk about privately?

Is this perhaps a green light? Is this how the reason for Kim Minhyung’s condescending attitude towards me is revealed?

Nah, that can’t be.

Common sense dictates that something like that wouldn’t happen after just meeting each other briefly. Unless I’m as handsome as a celebrity.

I took out a dirty piece of mirror from my inventory and looked at my face.

Every man looks in the bathroom mirror and thinks, “I’m not bad, am I?”  I’m no different.

But the reflection in the mirror I took out without much thought wasn’t just “not bad,” it was incredibly unfamiliar.

“What is this?”

Since when have I had these eyes?

**

There were still a few tournament preliminary matches left, but my mind suddenly became complicated, so I returned to the inn.

And looking at the mirror in the inn’s bathroom, I touched my hair and changed my expression.

But no matter how many times I tried, the reflection in the mirror remained unfamiliar.

Is this really my face? Since when have I looked like this?

It’s not particularly haggard or unhealthy. It just feels awkward.

It’s not like I haven’t looked in the mirror since entering the Trial Tower world, but I feel strangely unfamiliar with myself today.

“Am I just excited?”

Maybe I’m starting to care about my appearance because I have a date with a woman, despite pretending not to.

It might sound absurd to not know what you’re thinking, but it’s not entirely impossible.

It took me a long time to acknowledge my pathetic appearance and call myself a loser.

Since an avoidant personality and defense mechanisms sometimes deceive even oneself, I have a duty to constantly examine and confront my true self.

Am I just concerned about my appearance because I’m excited about meeting a woman?

Or is there some other reason?

“I don’t know.”

They say wise people can tell what someone is thinking just by looking at their eyes.

No matter how much I stared at my eyes in the mirror, I couldn’t figure anything out.

– *Splash.*

While I was in the bathroom, I turned on the water, thinking I should wash off the lingering smell of blood.

**

I ended up being a little late for the meeting, about 5 minutes, because I was wasting time alone.

Kim Jinah sent a message saying it was okay to come late, but I felt uneasy, so I hurried a bit.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, I saw Kim Jinah sitting alone at an empty table, sipping tea.

“Jinhyuk.”

Kim Jinah, dressed in ordinary casual clothes instead of mage gear, waved her hand and called me.

Her voice and face were the same as before, but perhaps because of her different attire, she felt like a completely different person.

“Why are you in such a hurry? I said it was okay to come late.”

“But if I actually came late, wouldn’t I normally get scolded?”

“Come on, after how much I’ve benefited from you, would I scold you for something like that?”

I smiled slightly and sat down at the seat Kim Jinah offered. There was a cup of black tea in front of me.

“I ordered a drink on my own. I’m paying, so you can’t complain even if it’s not to your liking.”

Kim Jinah offered me the tea with a playful smile. I replied that I’m not picky and picked up the teacup.

– *Sip.*

I took a casual sip, and a subtle sweetness and smooth aroma filled my mouth.  It was an unfamiliar taste.

Although unfamiliar, it wasn’t a bad taste, so I took another sip and put down the cup.

“How is it?”

“It’s good.”

Kim Jinah smiled, relieved, with a slightly awkward expression.  Honestly, I would have drank whatever she gave me and said the same thing.

When I said I’m not picky, I wasn’t lying.  Just a few days ago, I was living off a blood cannon.

If I were alone, I would have probably stirred this tea with a poison arrow before drinking it.

“Ah, the cookies are also delicious. Here, try some.”

Kim Jinah offered me a cookie with jam on it. I casually took a bite.

This isn’t very good.

I’ve even made and eaten mud cookies to increase my intimacy with the earth spirit, so I’ll usually eat anything.

But this is way too sweet.  Offering sweet cookies to someone who lives off White Troll meat.

I frowned involuntarily, then quickly drank some tea to wash it down, noticing Kim Jinah’s expression souring.

“This is also good.”

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“It’s just too sweet, but it’s good.”

Kim Jinah quickly recovered from her momentarily displeased expression and chuckled.

**

After that, we chatted for a while.  I say “chatted,” but I didn’t actually say anything.

I just listened to Kim Jinah talk one-sidedly and occasionally responded in agreement.

Since I’ve been living as a shut-in for a long time, I didn’t have anything to talk about, so it was only natural.

“Sorry, I talked too much, didn’t I?”

Kim Jinah, who had been chatting excitedly, noticed my empty teacup and bowed her head.

“This isn’t why I called you… It’s a little late, but can we get to the main topic?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“It’s about what happened this afternoon. You know that the person you beat up is a Ranker, right?”

I nodded.  Spear Knight Choi Gilhyun, a low-level Ranker with pathetic spear skills that didn’t match his class name.

I became curious while watching the tournament matches and searched his name on the open community, but there wasn’t much information.

“You probably don’t know this. Actually, that person, he’s not just an ordinary Ranker.”

“He was quite weak for a Ranker.”

“That’s not what I mean. He’s not an ordinary Ranker… he’s a notorious troublemaker on server 1554.”

Kim Jinah began to share various rumors about Choi Gilhyun circulating on server 1554.

She said he assaults other challengers for absurd reasons, and harasses and molests female challengers daily.

She also said that challengers who oppose him are often found crippled in back alleys.

And she said there are rumors that he has killed someone at least once inside the Trial Tower, regardless of the reason.

Although they were all unconfirmed stories, Kim Jinah spoke as if they were facts.

“That’s a piece of shit.  I should have beaten him more.”

Naturally, I scoffed and brushed it off.  But Kim Jinah shook her head with a serious expression.

“Actually, everyone knows.  There’s no proof, but almost all the rumors are true.”

That was a bit strange.

The reason I scoffed and dismissed the stories was because I was certain that most of them were nonsense.

After all, the Trial Tower isn’t a lawless wasteland where the strong prey on the weak.

Although it can’t be said to operate under civilized laws, public order is maintained by large guilds on most servers.

If you commit a crime, you’ll be sanctioned by the guild, or you can be exposed and brought to public attention through the open community.

A mere low-level Hunter wouldn’t be able to live openly after committing such acts.

“His father is on the board of the Hunter Association.”

However, Kim Jinah easily refuted my opinion.

“So there was a huge uproar.  He’s considered a true-born Hunter. Since the goal of even high-level Rankers is to leave the tower and become high-ranking Hunters…”

“They can’t ignore him?”

“Yes, everyone turns a blind eye to minor things like harassment, and even serious crimes are buried if there’s no evidence.”

There’s nothing more ridiculous than evidence in the Trial Tower.  In a world where all sorts of magic and skills exist, what can even be considered evidence?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize his younger brother… I should have stopped you.”

Kim Jinah said so and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, truly, I’m sorry.”

I thought she was going to say something serious, but it was just this?

Since I’m alone in the Trial Tower 2661 anyway, it’s not a big deal that I messed with that guy.

To apologize so tearfully for not stopping me sooner, is Kim Jinah kind or naive?

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I should have stopped you then, I should have…”

I have serious communication problems. So, it took me quite a while to choose the right words to comfort Kim Jinah.

But before I could utter the words I carefully chose, Kim Jinah added,

“I’m also… from server 1554…!”

– *Crash!*

The cafeteria door shattered, and two men with stocky silhouettes walked in.

A man in heavy armor with an axe, and a man in light armor with a spear.

The Choi Gilhyun brothers, whom I had beaten up, appeared with confident strides.

Ah, it wasn’t Kim Jinah who was naive, it was me.

“What did you put in here?”

I pointed at the empty teacup and asked.

“W-well…”

Kim Jinah placed an empty potion bottle on the table with trembling hands.

“It’s a strong, slow-acting paralysis poison.  The effects should be showing up around now…”

Ah, I see.

You put paralysis poison in it.

Well, that’s…

How should I put this?

“I told you I wouldn’t let you off.  You motherfucking broke-ass, let’s go again, fucker.”

What bad luck.

—–CROW—–