Everyone is Young Except for Me - Chapter 214

Chapter 214
Numerous monsters rushed toward a man. However, he advanced and cut down the monsters like he was dancing. The Scorpion Swords held in his hands moved and the monster corpses piled up like mountains. Sand and poison mixed together to create a bloody festival. Once the dance stopped, there were no living creatures around him. Only Michael stood there.

He looked around and murmured in a small voice, “The welcome is a bit rough.”

Based on the barrier he broke, it seemed someone didn’t want anyone to enter here. Now a message was flashing in front of his eyes.

[Due to an unknown power, you have been disconnected from the outside world.]

“What does this mean?”

At first, Michael didn’t know what this meant. Shortly thereafter, Michael started to find that something was wrong. Antares, who always talked after a fight like this, had yet to appear or say anything.

“Antares.”

He didn’t answer. Perhaps...?

-Michael: Damian.

[Due to an unknown power, you have been disconnected from the outside world.]

“Was it like this?”

His gaze shifted toward the barrier. There was only a huge wall of clouds that had already been restored. It seemed the connection to the outside world was lost once the barrier was restored again.

‘I’m trapped.’

It happened the moment he had this thought...

“......!”

The startled Michael created a wall of sand to withstand it. An enormous wind shook the entire forest and within a short period of time, the power was reduced and the sand wall lifted.

‘Is there someone here?’

No, perhaps it was a monster. It was a hidden place so there would naturally be a boss monster. Michael had this thought and moved to the place where the sound came from. The sight he saw there was more terrible than he expected. Remnants of various monsters were scattered around and a man was sitting in the middle, calmly cutting at a tree branch.

Michael asked from behind the man, “Who are you and why is there a barrier here?”

The man turned around and a message popped up.

[The target can’t be identified properly due to an unknown power.]

Michael couldn’t properly recognize the man in front of him. The man’s face was shrouded in fog. The only thing he could tell was that it was a man. There was no way of knowing if this person was a user or an NPC. The faceless man asked, “Who are you?”

Michael listened to the voice and found this person was a bit older. If so, it was highly likely that he was an NPC. There were few users in Arkstar who were this age and there were many powerful monsters here. Moreover, this was an unexplored place where no one except for himself had entered. If so, there was only one answer.

‘He is an NPC. It is also likely that he is a very strong hidden NPC.’

Michael thought about it and wanted to make a good impression on the man in front of him. This man was powerful enough to make the monsters like this. There must be something to learn from him. For example, a skill or magic. In general, through such opportunities, many people would acquire a hidden class or a hidden skill.

Michael couldn’t help being greedy about this. He declared, “I am an immortal human from outside.”

“An immortal human? What is that?”

It was as expected and he became even more convinced that this person was an NPC. Every player knew the words ‘immortal human.’ It seemed this was truly a hidden NPC.

“I am a human from another world that started to emerge a few years ago. We will come back to life no matter how many times we die.”

“Hmm...”

“Can I ask for your name?”

“What is the use of knowing it?” Park Muyeol finally stood up. He didn’t like this young man who suddenly appeared. This young man’s face might be obscured, but he suddenly appeared, discussed immortality, and asked for Park Muyeol’s name. He was a strange person. For a moment, Park Muyeol wondered if this person was part of a pseudo-religion.

‘Is he a monster?’

Looking at the attire, it didn’t seem to be the case. He felt like a high level person based on the nice appearance of his sword. However, the evil spirit floating around him was ominous.

[An unknown power has distorted the target.]

‘Distorted...’

Obviously, this unknown power was showing them strange things in order to confuse them. It wasn’t just Park Muyeol. Now this guy might be seeing Park Muyeol in a strange way.

‘Seeing that he isn’t attacking, he might be an ally.’

At the same time, Park Muyeol heard the sound of monsters.

“Kuweeoh!”

The crows in the forest fluttered up.

“Dammit. They are already coming.”

“It must be the monsters again.”

Park Muyeol raised the branch in his hand and inserted his strength. Perhaps it was because the stick hadn’t been completed, but he couldn’t use Stick's Protection. Michael pulled out his two swords and Park Muyeol frowned as he watched the evil spirit that emerged from the sword rampage. Before long, monsters appeared.

‘I don’t have a weapon.’

Just then, something caught Park Muyeol’s eyes. “Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

“You aren’t going to use the sword sheath, right?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Then...”

“Lend it to me.”

Michael couldn’t understand it. The man threw away the wooden stick he was holding and asked for Michael’s sheath for an unknown reason. Michael lent him the sword sheath. The man talked to himself for a moment and a brilliant glow appeared around the unknown man. White birds started to spread out. The man was wielding the sword in his hand at high speed.

[An unknown power has distorted the target.]

The white bird passed through at a huge speed and ruthlessly defeated the monsters. Only the bodies of the monsters were left behind.

Michael saw it and had a thought. ‘No way, is he a Sword Sage?!’

* * *

Around this time, I finished talking to Aren and arrived at the entrance of Metheus using the designated return stone. I was holding in my hand a cloak he had given me.

[Resistance’s Cloak]

[Rating: Heroic

A cloak that can be obtained by becoming a member of the Karstein resistance group. The magic engineering of the Parta Principality has combined to give a comprehensive performance.

-Transparency [Active] : Makes the body transparent. Consumes 2 magic power per second.

-Voice Modulation [Active]: You can modulate your voice using a small amount of magic power.

-Cognitive Impairment [Active/Switch]: If another person looks at you, cognitive impairment will be caused to make you look different. Currently Applicable Appearance: [Black Wolf - OFF]]

“I really like it.” The cloak had three excellent functions. I smiled with satisfaction. “Joining the resistance is a bit... well, it’s fine.”

Aren had called me to invite me to join the resistance. Of course, I initially refused. It felt like there would be many annoying things if I joined. Then he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

‘I won’t make you do anything. Elder, just be yourself. In any case, aren’t we on the same ship?’

I didn’t know what Aren was thinking. It was true, but I still felt uncomfortable. I refused again and Aren told me, ‘I won’t be stingy with support for any member of the resistance. I will give you money if you need it. Tell me of anything you want and I’ll get it for you. I promise on my name.’

After this, I couldn’t refuse. In fact, this was a chance for me. Joseph said that Aren was the most prominent figure who was likely to become the next Merchant King. I wouldn’t have to worry about money in the game if he was behind me. Eventually, I accepted his request. The thing I received was this cloak that I was holding.

“I don’t have to eat the Helium Slime’s Core anymore. The troublesome mask game is over.”

I took off my mask and threw it into my inventory. In fact, Transparency and Voice Modulation were originally skills attached to the cloak, but Cognitive Impairment was a new effect that I requested from Aren. It didn’t take long for the butler of Aren’s mansion, Alfred, to make it since he was well-versed in magic engineering.

I immediately started using Voice Modulation to adjust my voice. “Ah, ahh. Ah.”

It was easy to adjust. It was to match the frequency of my voice with magic power. Even so, it didn’t take long because I listened carefully to the details. I adjusted it to a voice I liked and then I used Cognitive Impairment. Sparks appeared around my face and the same black wolf face as the mask appeared. I touched my face while making a satisfied expression.

...It really looked like my face. There was no stuffiness at all. I honestly hadn’t felt that way when wearing the mask, but this felt like my original face. I tried to use Transparency while I was at it.

“Transparency.”

The cloak shimmered with a bright light and my body quickly disappeared. This meant it wouldn’t be easy to be noticed by someone. I would be able to escape from the damn reporters. Good, good.

“Turn off Transparency.”

I returned to my original state and walked through the streets of Metheus with a satisfied expression. Users in the vicinity recognized me and murmured. “Dark Wolf.”

“He showed up.”

“Wow, the force he gives off is scary.”

"Is that a mask?”

I could tell that Cognitive Impairment was working properly based on the reactions of the users. I once again stepped forward with a smile. The place I arrived at was the fountain in the center of Metheus. Originally, this place was a well. I heard it was the first place to be changed after upgrading to a small town. 

Once I got there, I sat down and waited for someone. The users gathered around me, but they couldn’t get closer. There were occasionally punks who rushed to take photos with me, but...

“Hey, can we take a photo together?”

“Get lost.”

No one approached after I spun twice in the air and kicked the user in the chin. How long did I wait? Finally, the person I was waiting for arrived.

“I’m sorry. Have you been waiting a long time?” Mido, who I fought with in the morning, was smiling brightly.