STGB Episode 500
Age of Exploration(1)
The first time I heard about the Record Stone was during a conversation with the GM.
[“I have no reason not to believe him. The ‘Record Stone’ supports his claim, anyway.”]
This was the GM’s response when I asked why he believed Auril Gavis’s almost prophetic words that one day a player would open the Door of the Abyss.
After hearing this, I made a judgement.
Lee Baek-ho must also somehow be connected to the Record Stone.
The reason? Lee Baek-ho, like the GM, had an obsession with the nickname ‘Elfnuna’.
But…
[Hmm, really?]
I didn’t mention it that day because I didn’t want to provoke Lee Baek-ho.
Besides, I also wanted to investigate on my own before confronting him.
But the investigation turned up the same.
‘There is no record of it in the library. Even Versil seemed to hear it for the first time.’
I used my spare time to look into it, but there was no trace of any information about the Record Stone.
So, there was only one method left.
To ask someone who could give me an answer directly.
“…….”
Lee Baek-ho remained silent when I asked him what the Record Stone was.
But as he had told Hyun Byeol earlier, silence can sometimes be a strong affirmation.
‘So he knows what the Record Stone is.’
Asking him casually, without any context, proved worthwhile. Maybe he’d decided that the moment to lie his way out of it had already passed.
Lee Baek-ho continued to watch me in silence, as if to gauge my intentions.
And then…
“Hyung.”
He slowly broke the silence.
Unaware that the smile on his lips had already vanished.
“Where did you hear that?”
His voice was cold and heavy.
Despite the chill down my spine, I did not show it.
His words had intentions.
Why would he want to check the ‘source’ first?
‘He’s curious about how much I know.’
Knowing his intention, there was only one answer I could give.
“Well.”
Not rushing, keeping my composure and answering ambiguously.
By doing so, I firmly grasped the control of the conversation.
“Is it really important where I heard it?”
As I shrugged and answered, Lee Baek-ho’s eyes changed and became more meaningful.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
Is he really asking because he doesn’t know what the Record Stone is?
Or does he know something and just wants to cross check with me?
If so, how should I respond?
Should I just dodge and say I can’t answer?
In that fleeting moment, I could feel him carefully choosing his next answer. Judging that giving him more time would be unwise, I continued speaking
I doubled him again, although it felt abrupt.
But precisely because of that.
“Elfnuna.”
I brought up the topic that would most likely shake him.
No matter how tall a tree is. If you shake it hard enough, at least one leaf will fall.
“……!”
When I mentioned the name, which had never been brought up between us before, Lee Baek-ho’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.
Still his reaction wasn’t enough for me, so I made my next move.
“You know it too, don’t you? That I’m that person.”
I revealed another card I had been holding.
Lee Baek-ho’s reaction was immediate.
“…What are you talking about?”
A question that was neither affirmation nor denial.
It was a pattern often seen among those who lie.
By simply asking back, they feel a psychological sense of ease thinking they haven’t actually lied.
I needed to push harder.
“Baek-ho.”
“…?”
“You know what? From the moment we first met until now. We’ve never once talked about ‘Elfnuna.’”
As I said this, I tapped the nickname window floating above my head with my finger.
“Don’t you think that’s weird?”
Checkmate.
Tap. Tap-tap.
In the heavy silence, only the crackle of burning firewood filled the air.
I didn’t push further, giving him time to think. In situations like this, the one lying is always the first to crack under the weight of silence.
“Hyung…”
He finally broke the silence slowly.
“…What exactly do you want to ask me?”
This guy still wants to walk the tightrope, huh? Only giving away as much as he needs to.
But the solution was simple.
“I don’t want to ask anything.”
I restricted all information, handing the choice to him. It didn’t matter where I’d heard this story or how much I knew.
“I just want to listen.”
Tap, tap.
“Whatever answer you’ll give.”
The choice was his.
Baek-ho made his decision faster than I expected.
“Ugh, hyung! You’re seriously intense. I can never win against you!”
His tone abruptly changed back to his usual self.
From my perspective, it felt like I was facing someone with a split personality, but I was used to it by now, so I didn’t mind too much.
“I’ll tell you everything. So, what do you want to know the most?”
Tsk. This bastard is still trying to play games with me.
I almost fell for it.
“…….”
I stayed silent, staring him down until Baek-ho shook his head vigorously.
“…Hyung, were you really just an office worker?”
“…….”
“Seriously, I’m curious. What kind of life did you live to become like this?”
What’s he talking about? He’s just a fresh-out-of-the-military buzz-cut kid.
I didn’t answer this time either, and Lee Baek-ho let out a long sigh.
“Ha… Fine. I’ll talk. Honestly, part of me thinks you’re just fishing… but I’d rather come clean and get this over with.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you believe in fate?”
“……”
“Ah, really, Can’t you say anything?. Then I’ll just explain, and you can take it or leave it, okay?”
“I told you. I’m here to hear your words.”
“Right. Let’s go with that.”
He seemed frustrated by my silence, but I had my reasons. If you ask the wrong questions, you could tip your hand. Sometimes it’s safer to keep quiet.
“You know, right? When the city was built, most of the ancient relics and myths were erased. One of those mythical items erased from the world is the Record Stone.”
“The Record Stone is said to contain all the history of the world. Not just the past, but the future as well.”
Sounds like something straight out of a myth, right?
Actually, what I’m about to tell you has that kind of vibe too.
Muttering to himself, Lee Baek-ho continued.
“Anyway, the Record Stone also has an end. Of course, that end signifies the destruction of this world. The beginning of that destruction was said to be caused by a witch… but I don’t know much about that part. All I know is this.”
“To prevent the destruction, someone destroyed the Record Stone, and because of that, this world didn’t perish.”
“Here’s the important part. The fragments of the Record Stone that weren’t completely destroyed were scattered all over the world.”
I immediately felt it.
“Here’s the important part. The fragments of the Record Stone that weren’t completely destroyed were scattered all over the world.”
I immediately felt it.
‘The Fragment of Records.’
That artefact known as Gavrilius’s legacy—the one that had sent me and Amelia back in time.
“Some of those fragments have actually been found. I’ve seen three of them myself.”
His words pissed me off a little.
What do you mean, you’ve seen them?
[The Fragment of Records…? I’ve heard of it, but it actually existed?]
This guy has been lying since back then.
I wanted to call him out on it, but I kept my mouth shut not wanting to disrupt the flow of the conversation.
The crucial part was just beginning.
“One of the fragments had this written on it.”
Lee Baek-ho paused for a moment before speaking.
“And thus, the evil spirit from another world, ‘————,’ opened the Abyss Gate and finally achieved his wish.”
A line that sounded like it came straight from an ending scene.
“Since the evil spirit’s name wasn’t mentioned, it’s impossible to say for sure who it is. It’s because the Record Stone refers to people’s names not with letters, but with unique symbols. Something about the true name attached to your soul or something.”
“……”
“Anyway, that’s not the important part. I’ve also seen this unique pattern on another fragment. And it said this.”
Ba-dumb-!
“…‘Blank’ the first to pass the Test, finally opened their their to this world.”
This finally explained why Auril Gavis was so fixated on the person who had cleared the Original Difficulty.
It also suddenly made sense why the GM had become an Elfnuna fanatic.
And why Baek-ho had been so afraid of antagonizing me.
“Hyung… You’ve been dead silent. If you really knew nothing about the Record Stone, this should be the part that shocks you.”
Even as I stayed quiet, sorting through my thoughts, Baek-ho pressed on.
“What’s so important about some old record? It’s all broken anyway. Meaningless. That’s what I thought at first. But I was wrong. The last fragment I saw… actually came true.”
“……What did it say?”
When I finally broke my silence. Baek-ho smirked and replied.
“That’s a secret.”
“……What?”
I gave him a sharp look, but he remained unconcerned.
“I’ll keep this one a secret. Believe it or not, this is a personal matter. It has nothing to do with you, hyung.”
Pushing further would’ve been pointless. Something in my gut told me his “personal” excuse wasn’t a lie.
“Ah… So, I guess we’re done talking about the Record Stone… Next up is ‘Elfnuna’, right?”
When I nodded, Lee Baek-ho resumed the story he had stopped.
“I created this chat room right after learning about the Record Stone. I waited. The person most likely to clear the original difficulty would be ‘Elfnuna.’ And that person would be Korean.”
“……”
“After that, it’s as you guessed. From the moment you arrived, I had a feeling you might be that person. That expectation wasn’t wrong.”
Lee Baek-ho looked at me with clear eyes and asked.
“Right?”
All this time we’ve been deceiving each other. And now that he was willing to share this much with me, there was no reason to pretend anymore, so I gave a straightforward confirmation.
“Yeah.”
Even though it was the first time I had admitted it directly, Lee Baek-ho didn’t show any reaction, as if he was already sure.
He just nodded with a slightly relieved voice.
“That’s all I have to say. So, hyung, did you get all your questions answered?”
However, I shook my head.
“No, not yet.”
Most of my questions had been answered, but one crucial thing remained.
The most important thing in understanding a person.
“Why did you hide this story from me until now?”
The motive was missing.
“From what I’ve heard from you so far, there’s no reason to hide it.”
When I pointed this out directly, Lee Baek-ho smiled bitterly and answered.
“Fate is like a monkey’s paw.”
His voice sounded incredibly lonely.
***
I looked at him for an explanation, and he shrugged vigorously, as if he’d heard that before.
“What? You don’t know what a monkey’s paw is?”
“I know, but why bring it up all of a sudden?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. The stories written on the Record Stone are guaranteed to come true. However, it’s impossible for me to know whether what I want will actually happen.
“…Go on.”
“You will definitely open the Abyss Gate someday. But does that mean it’s a happy ending? Even if your wish is granted, does that include my wish?”
“……”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I wanted to handle it somehow before you learned anything. To make sure your wish would become my wish, too.”
I think I understood what he meant.
After all, I’ve done something similar before.
[Amelia’s older sister Laura dies.]
I used every trick in the book to twist that fixed future, and in the end, I succeeded.
Lee Baek-ho had probably been planning something similar.
That’s why he had dropped the act the moment I said I didn’t want to return home.
“Then why team up with the Ruin Scholar?”
I asked the final question lingering in my mind.
“You didn’t befriend him just because you needed a mage.”
At this, Lee Baek-ho froze for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh.
“Ha… Hyung, do you have a lie detector installed in your head or something?”
A lie detector? Right, coming from the guy who practically acts like he’s got one himself.
“Whatever. Just answer me. This is my last question.”
When I pressed again, Lee Baek-ho slowly began to speak.
“Hyung, y’know… I’m not sure how this’ll sound to you…”
“Just spit it out.”
“Don’t… worry too much about the Ruin Scholar. He’s just Plan B.”
“Plan B…?”
“Yeah. The world doesn’t always go the way you want, right?”
As he said this, Lee Baek-ho grinned brightly—
not bothering to hide the deranged madness beneath his words.
“Gotta prepare for when Plan A goes to shit.”
“……”
“I’m getting the hell out of this world. No matter what.”
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