Chapter 108

Chapter 108
Upon realizing I was recognized as Hayden’s son right away, it made sense that he figured someone raised in a completely different zone wouldn’t know the Dentist.

“I think there has been a misunderstanding here.”

“A misunderstanding, you say?”

“I clearly stated I didn’t remember. But since you kept addressing me as senior, I simply went along with it, thinking you must have been an academy junior.”

“…Very well. We can clear that up once we speak with the Saint.”

Argon looked me over, trying to determine if I was telling the truth, and then spoke in a slightly less aggressive tone.

“So what brings the heir of another zone all the way out here?”

I gave him the honest truth.

“I came to see the Saint.”

“How do you even know about the Saint?”

“How could I not? I have been traveling from zone to zone searching for people of that kind.”

“People of that kind?”

“Individuals who crossed over from another realm.”

Based on Argon’s expression, he was already aware that the Dentist came from another world.

“…And what was your intention once you found them?”

“To send them back to their home world.”

Argon’s reaction to that statement was peculiar—not outright shock or simple disbelief, but something akin to an unreadable dread.

“Are you claiming you possess the ability to send them back?”

“No, I do not.”

He appeared almost relieved when I denied it, and I maintained my composure as I continued.

“I do not. However, until I find people like that, I will never figure out a method to send them home.”

“Why would a privileged kid on the verge of becoming a commander waste time on something like that?”

Since he genuinely failed to grasp my reasoning, I answered directly.

“Because of my mother.”

“I am somewhat familiar with the woman who was your mother.”

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t she the forgotten hero of the Cola Area?”

So that was how NPCs from other zones remembered her.

“Then why does that hero matter here? What does returning otherworlders home have to do with her?”

“Because my mother was an otherworlder as well.”

Argon’s eyes widened in surprise; that was a detail he had not known. I pushed forward without hesitation.

“I cannot share the specifics… but ultimately, my mother never reached her homeland. She was laid to rest in this unfamiliar dirt, reduced to white bones. I refuse to let anyone else share that fate.”

Argon fell silent in deep contemplation for a moment before speaking in a measured tone.

“The Saint… that child used to mention wanting to go home as well.”

“Then if you would simply allow me a brief conversation with the Saint—”

“If that is the case, it makes me want you to leave even more.”

When I looked at him in confusion, Argon delivered his response with cold finality.

“I am not saying your logic is flawed. But the residents of our zone rely heavily upon that child.”

“Meaning…?”

“Call it sacrificing the few for the many if you choose—I will not debate it. But as the person accountable for this zone, if I can keep it functioning by sacrificing one child, I will do it without a second thought. You are old enough to realize your father is no different from me.”

Well, at least he was not putting up a false front. I understood his position; I did not carry the burden of looking after every single soul in this area, but dragging an innocent child into it crossed a line.

“My father may be a dictator, but he is not the type to dump everything onto a single child. I would appreciate it if you did not speak of him so casually.”

“Is that so? From my perspective, it certainly does not appear that way.”

Why was he looking at me like that while saying those words? Did he genuinely believe a teenager like me had traveled this far on Commander Hayden’s direct orders?

I was only here because I had run away… or rather, because I had been kidnapped.

“Regardless, the Saint is a resource belonging to our zone. So drop whatever foolish plans you have and clear out of my territory.”

I stared at Argon steadily for a long beat. He initially met my gaze before looking away, as if the intensity of my look was too much to handle.

It was not guilt over exploiting the Saint so much as…

“You are afraid of me.”

Argon’s shoulders twitched.

“Who is afraid of a kid like you?”

“If you are not, I fail to see why you are going to such lengths to chase away the heir of another zone when I cannot even send the Saint back right this second. Why are you so desperate to get rid of me?”

He must have understood that I would not budge until I got a straight answer. After a prolonged silence, Argon spoke.

“…You mentioned you did not know which zone your father originated from.”

“That is correct. Is my father’s background an issue?”

“Of course it is.”

Of course it was?

“Your father’s hometown is none other than the Knife Zone.”

For a moment, I was left speechless.

The Knife Zone?

That nest of natural-born psychopaths?

A dictator’s mindset like that certainly would not originate from the Cola Area, that much was true.

“Do you understand now?”

Argon no longer bothered to mask his caution.

“I cannot place my trust in that bloodline. All we possess are bows and arrows, whereas your people are equipped with firearms. If you linger any longer, I will view it as a hostile threat.”

“For now… I understand.”

What my father’s origins had to do with me was a separate matter entirely, but I could hardly force the issue against a man trembling with anxiety over a seventeen-year-old. I had already anticipated that a low-difficulty zone like this would despise outside visitors. If I were not a newbie, I would never have visited such a stagnant, rotting zone that actively rejected progress and evolution.

“That being said, we cannot depart immediately, so we will set up camp just outside your borders for a little while. We will not approach the Saint or enter your territory without permission, so you can rest easy. That is acceptable, is it not?”

“That much… I will permit.”

It was time to return to the airship and revise the strategy—figuring out how to dismantle this pathetic zone and extract the Dentist with us.

After Hayden Goodman departed, someone approached Argon, who stood by himself with a troubled expression.

“You are here, Troll.”

Argon glanced at him as though he had been expecting him.

“He turned out to be dangerous, exactly as you predicted.”

“I knew it.”

The man who had sought out Argon was one of the NPCs who had previously fought the unicorn jaguar.

When he first woke up in the Candy Zone with a child’s body status window, possessing no translation skills, only a safe-zone NPC status—This Zone’s 1—he had cursed his luck.

I really should have studied English more diligently!

Regret was pointless now. He was already trapped in an alternate world lacking even a basic Korean patch. While he struggled to bridge the communication gap with the NPCs, a different player had already snapped up the Miracle Child starting role.

He had assumed he was the only one transposed into the world and had grown careless, resulting in him losing out.

Two people transported simultaneously…

Having failed to access the system, This Zone’s Troll still had no clue they were dealing with a mass transposition event.

Stripped of any chance at the spotlight, he decided his immediate priority was simply staying alive and vowed to stay on the Miracle Child player’s good side. Only after cobbling together enough English to converse did he discover the other player’s true identity.

That idiot… is a complete newbie?

How a beginner managed to remain safely in a secure zone was beyond him. The newbie did not even seem to understand the basic objectives of this game, making zero effort to conceal the fact that he was a player from another dimension.

Damn it. If I had secured the Miracle Child start, I would be living comfortably, treating these garbage-tier zone NPCs like mere servants…

Ha… Even so, he is a beginner, so I suppose I ought to lend a hand…

This Zone’s Troll had been a veteran of Safety Zone in his own right, which made his soft spot for the “newbie” surface. Initially, his intention was to help.

Then he watched the newbie get crushed into the dirt under Argon’s thumb and earn the title of “Saint,” causing him to abandon any thoughts of assistance. Because that was when he discovered that Argon—whom players used to regard as the kindest guy around—was actually a maniac willing to exploit a child without hesitation if it benefited the territory.

If Argon finds out I am a player, he will work me to the bone just the same…

That clueless beginner had stuck his neck out and fallen victim to a mere NPC. Why should an actual player risk their life for data fragments who viewed themselves as superior to players?

Had this been his main account, he would have taught those NPC fools a real lesson about looking down on players.

The catch was that he had been dropped into the Safety Zone game with zero privileges whatsoever. This Zone’s Troll had no desire to be chewed up like the newbie, so he kept his player status under wraps, maintained a low profile, and coasted along in the shadow of the Saint player.

Powerless and empty-handed, he desired only one outcome.

That was all. To someone in his position, the arrival of players from another zone spelled nothing but trouble.

That was why he had identified the outsiders, approached Argon, and tipped him off.

So the two of us were not the only ones brought here.

And with three years remaining before the Second Apocalypse, how had they managed to breach the barrier and cross into someone else’s territory?

Everything was spiraling into chaos. This Zone’s Troll could only pray these sudden players would not shatter his fragile peace.

“They mentioned staying outside the zone for the time being, which means we need to reinforce the perimeter.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. Their combat abilities were no joke. They might even attempt a hostile takeover of the zone…”

“No. That might actually be less dangerous than a hostile takeover.”

He had been relieved that they posed a genuine threat and that Argon had chosen to expel them—until unexpected words crossed Argon’s lips.

“We nearly lost the Saint.”

“What is the meaning of that?”

“They stated they came here to return otherworlders to their original world.”

“…What?!”

This Zone’s Troll let out a shriek and sprang to his feet.

“R-return otherworlders to their original world? Th-that is actually possible?”

“He claimed he lacks that specific power, but would they have plowed through an entire horde of monsters all the way out here if they had no clue how? For all we know, they are simply using that excuse to lure the Saint away.”

This Zone’s Troll felt his mind spinning out of control.

The players he had driven off with his petty sabotage had actually come here to send them back home?

Judging by how far they had traveled and how easily they handled lightning, they were far from ordinary players…

Should he pursue them right now, disclose his player status, and ask for assistance?

While he hesitated, a single sentence struck his ears like a driven nail.

“Hayden is as ruthless as ever. Sending his own son to pilfer another zone’s assets.”

It was the Hayden of Safety Zone they were talking about—the dictator of the Cola Area.

And if it was his son…

The player running the bastard-son route!

He had thought it peculiar that the kid was a black-haired, black-eyed East Asian character—so that explained it. He was the player pursuing the illegitimate-son path!

That realization sent the thoughts racing through This Zone’s Troll’s head.

If someone was still successfully running the bastard-son route at seventeen, that player stood a strong chance of becoming the subsequent commander. Which meant their arrival presented a final window to escape this primitive zone still reliant on bows and arrows and relocate to a more advanced region.

Even if they lacked a way back to the original world, life there would undoubtedly surpass this place.

However, if he wanted their cooperation…

I need to offer them something they desire…

Entertained by that notion, This Zone’s Troll cast a dark, calculating look toward the Candy Zone.

To hand over the Saint and slip away into another zone without anyone figuring out he was a player…

This zone has to vanish first, doesn’t it?

“Hey! Wake up!”

I had returned to the airship empty-handed alongside Han Yeo-bom and drifted off to sleep while brainstorming ways to extract the Saint—only to be violently shaken awake by rough hands. I groggily lifted my head.

“What is it now…?”

“Get outside!”

Han Yeo-bom left it at that and scrambled up onto the deck. Suspecting something had malfunctioned with the airship, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and followed him. The moment I laid eyes on the horizon glowing a deep, menacing red, all traces of drowsiness vanished instantly.

“It has been like that for a short while now.”

“That is the Candy Zone over there, isn’t it?”

“Our newbie’s territory is going up in flames right now!”

What the hell.