~Chapter 149~
I wasn’t surprised at all.
From the beginning, I already knew Antonio—no, ‘Collin’s’ real identity.
[Game Category][Post][Guide]
[Crazy Guys List for Newbies 2]
◆ Collin Gunner / 31 years old
◆ Direct subordinate: Secretary under Cardinal of the Central Office, Secret Document Storage Department
◆ Features:
If Ushar is No.2 of the fanatics, then this guy is No.2 of the spies.
Uses a fake name, which is ‘Antonio.’
Will appear as Emmet’s guardian.
Strongly recommended not to get close.
Hidden ability: ‘Movement Brand.’
Sadly, you newbies will unavoidably experience kidnapping at least once…
And it’s all because of this guy!!!!
Let me explain quickly.
The royal family people use something called “sorcery.”
They cannot use holy power, nor ally with the evil god, so they make use of something inherited faintly in their nation.
Among those, Collin’s hidden ability was unique.
“Specialized in kidnapping.”
His ability, “Movement Brand,” leaves an invisible mark where his hand touches.
Using that as a medium, teleportation occurs.
It only works once, and only once per person, but—
“If he touches you even once, it’s unstoppable.”
In other words, as long as this guy exists, there’s no avoiding the kidnapping event.
Back then in the game, I tried hard to find a way not to make contact with Collin.
Yeah, no way.
“No matter what, he will touch you at least once.”
That’s why I didn’t reject him from the beginning when he first appeared as Antonio.
At least once, it was something I had to go through.
Whether you get kidnapped two or three times depends on the player’s ability.
I clicked my tongue in my mind with eyes closed.
‘Damn Collin bastard… finally showed your true face. You held out for a long time.’
“Hmm, it would’ve been so nice if our candidate was here too.”
Collin’s real voice was deeper and heavier than Antonio’s. A rare, pleasant low tone.
“Hahaha, but later I can pop out as a surprise friend, right…?”
Even if the voice was nice, his frivolous way of speaking ruined half the charm.
Believing fully that we were fainted, Collin laughed quietly.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes!”
The tent cover was pulled back down. I lay still with eyes closed until the footsteps went away.
‘I know this. They already set a trap.’
The first mini game was to cut ropes by frantic mouse clicking.
Then, like “Red Light, Green Light,” you had to move while the tagger’s eyes were closed.
And that time already passed.
If I opened my eyes and moved now?
“…I’d meet those glaring eyes staring through the torn tent.”
This showed the developer’s cruel intention not to miss a single jump-scare, even in mini games.
‘Tsk, if only I had untied the ropes a little faster…!’
Too bad, but nothing to do.
The first attempt was a failure.
After some time, the spies finished preparing in the forest and started moving again.
Feeling the carriage moving, I opened my eyes.
“…Flora.”
Flora’s eyes sparkled as if waiting.
“Good job pretending to faint.”
“No! This much is fine… It even reminded me of the old days. Not exactly good memories, though!”
She had painful memories from once being captured by the fanatic village. I didn’t ask further and turned my head.
“Is it okay to talk now?”
“Yeah. When the carriage is moving, it’s fine to talk a bit.”
The carriage left the forest.
I carefully watched the passing scenery.
In the distance, a huge, pitch-black cave appeared.
‘If it were just me, I would have failed the second attempt too.’
Alone, I would have had to bet everything on the first or third attempt.
Because to try escaping in the second chance, you needed a certain ‘skill.’
‘A skill I haven’t learned yet.’
My current skill tree is a mess.
Unlike normal players who carefully learn one by one, I rushed here quickly with just one overpowered skill—‘Purification.’
Basically a speedrun.
Think of it like this:
A tin-can car missing many parts, yet somehow it runs.
And the engine is a top-class F1 engine, so the speed is crazy good.
But when you need air conditioning, coolant, or a heater—you can’t use them.
‘One of the basic skills I should’ve learned early was ‘Holy Illusion.’’
Simply put, creating illusions with holy power.
I absolutely couldn’t use it now.
But who was here? Flora.
“Ah, you mean Holy Illusion with holy power? I can make it!”
Perfect.
“Then let’s aim for the next chance.”
The carriage entered the next zone.
After the forest, next was the cave.
Here, the mini game was called ‘Arrow Dodge.’
Basically, a shooting game.
Everyone has at least once played as a little airplane, dodging enemy bullets and shooting back.
That’s a shooting game.
Here, arrows would fly at you, and you had to dodge while attacking enemies.
In the game, the protagonist Kan would grab a weapon from the cart and fight back.
But me?
‘No attack skills, no weapons.’
So I was doomed?
Not quite. I just had to focus only on dodging until escaping the cave.
‘Man… when it was just pixel graphics, it was kind of fun. But in reality, the tension is insane.’
By the middle of the cave, the carriage slowed, then stopped.
“…Flora, ready?”
“Yes!”
I nodded at her small whisper. Gave the signal.
Three, two, one…
‘Now!’
From Flora’s hand, holy light turned black and slipped out of the tent.
Then—
“Ah…! W-what?!”
“They’re escaping, the hostages are escaping!”
“Catch them, now!”
I pulled Flora’s hand. The black shadow leaving the tent would look like us to their eyes.
“No time to waste!”
While Flora’s illusion still moved out, we escaped too.
[Mini Game! ‘Arrow Dodge’ begins!]
[Tada! If you get a high score, you might get an unexpected bonus…?!]
[Let’s earn points with love!]
‘What the hell, why is there a signboard now?’
This never appeared in the first attempt. But I had no time to care.
A familiar BGM rang in my ears. Then came a sharp sound.
Shooong!
If this really was the mini game I knew, there should be a way to dodge soon.
Then it happened.
→ ← →
(Right foot! Left foot! Right foot!)
‘…What the hell is this?’
In front of me, hologram footprints appeared. Above them, cuter smaller footprints were falling.
I froze.
‘…XX, what the hell is this!’
A rhythm game?
‘This was supposed to be a shooting game. Arrow Dodge, right?! Why is it suddenly a rhythm game?!’
But my body moved on its own. Once a veteran gamer, I wouldn’t be shaken by something like this!
PERFECT!
Good!
Miss!
[Careful! Miss three times and you automatically fail! 1/3]
‘Damn, they made this dirty hard!’
Anyway, I kept stepping as the footprints fell.
My body moved naturally, and I pulled Flora into hiding behind a huge rock.
Ting! Tak! Tadadadak!
Arrows clattered against and around the rock we hid behind.
No rest time.
New footprints were already falling again.
‘Stop messing with me already!’
