SSEI | Chapter 2.13

The two of them decided to move to the cafeteria to continue their conversation. Even if they went to the library now, there wouldn’t be enough time to find the information they needed. Plus, they had to stay quiet in the library, which meant they wouldn’t be able to talk. Yuan put off his library visit for later and chose to focus on talking with this guy first.

After getting their trays of food and filling their stomachs, Yuan stared at the team assignment sheet lying on the table.

Next to the now-familiar mark representing him, there was a blue swirl-like dot.

‘That must be his mark… But it really doesn’t suit his appearance. What does the blue swirl even mean?’ Yuan tilted his head in curiosity.

Meanwhile, Blue Dot also seemed to have something on his mind. With a slightly puzzled expression, he finally spoke up.

“By the way, have we met before? You knew my name right away, and now that I think about it, your voice sounds kinda familiar…”

“Uh, actually… yeah, we’ve met before.”

“We have? Where?”

‘Should I really tell him?’

What if he suddenly turned hostile because Yuan had interfered with him in the last round? Yuan hesitated, but since the guy already mentioned recognizing his voice, it wasn’t something he could hide forever.

Taking a deep breath—though his voice still came out barely louder than a mosquito’s—he carefully answered.

“Um… the, uh… paper bag.”

“…What?”

“I mean, last match. At the… windmill…? Do you not remember?”

Would it have been better to bring up the giant clam first? Yuan was just starting to second-guess himself when Blue Dot suddenly furrowed his brows.

“…Wait, don’t tell me you were the head those guys were carrying around? The one with Eren Noeul—that was you?!”

“Yeah, that was me. Originally, I wasn’t on their team, but then… well, my head got cut off, and they fished me out of the lake, and… it’s kinda hard to explain, but yeah, that.”

Yuan had been about to explain in more detail how he ended up in that situation, but then he realized there was something more important to address first. Since they were on the same team this time, they’d be spending a lot of time together. That meant…

“I—I’m really sorry about last match! I don’t know what you were trying to do, but I ended up getting in your way, didn’t I?”

It seemed like a good idea to smooth things over. He didn’t think stopping Blue Dot last match was necessarily the wrong choice, but the fact remained that he had interfered with whatever the guy had been planning.

If they were going to work together this time, it was best to clear things up quickly.

Luckily, his effort didn’t go to waste.

“Huh? Oh… Ohh, that? That’s not a big deal.”

“…Wait, really?”

“Well, obviously, it wasn’t good for me, but you were the one getting ambushed. Of course you had to warn your teammates. Staying silent in that situation would’ve been weirder, don’t you think? So yeah, it’s fine.”

Blue Dot shrugged casually, like it truly didn’t bother him. His gaze as he looked down at Yuan was neutral, without any hostility.

‘People here sure are weirdly indifferent about these things,’ Yuan thought to himself, oddly impressed.

Still, even though he didn’t seem to hold a grudge, there was something else weighing on his mind. There was a trace of bitterness in his expression.

“Honestly, I get why Eren Noeul reacted the way she did. It makes sense.”

“…It does?”

“This whole thing is really just between me and Esanok. It doesn’t concern anyone else. Even if we do find a lead, no one else is going to benefit from it. And from the start, those two didn’t even believe the lead existed.”

“…?”

“Oh, right. That was probably too complicated for you. My bad.”

Blue Dot gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair as if trying to comfort him.

Yuan didn’t exactly like being treated like a kid, but considering he had absolutely no idea what was going on, he couldn’t really argue against it. In terms of knowledge, he was basically a clueless child.

After some hesitation, he finally spoke up. Now that the topic had come up, he felt like he should at least ask.

“Um… Can I ask you something? Why were you trying to activate the windmill device?”

“That’s… I don’t think you’d understand even if I told you.”

“I might not understand everything, but I don’t think I’d be completely clueless. The Red Man told me something recently—that we all have a purpose for being here. Is it related to that?”

“You’ve already heard that much? Well, you were on the same team as him last match.”

At first, Blue Dot had treated Yuan like a complete rookie, but as soon as he heard that, his attitude changed. His expression grew serious, and he gave a thoughtful nod.

“Then it’ll be easier for you to understand. I wanted to know why my past self came here in the first place. I was trying to activate the windmill to find a lead.”

“Oh… I see. But, uh… how is turning on the windmill related to finding a lead?”

“If you activate the windmill in Maze Village, it triggers a massive typhoon, and a swarm of monsters called Calamities appear. Have you heard of Calamities?”

Yuan nodded. He had just been at the shop, where he’d heard about them, and now they were coming up again. It was kind of eerie how often this topic kept appearing.

“Normally, people either get overwhelmed and devoured by the Calamities, or even if they somehow manage to fight them off, the typhoon traps them in the area, making escape impossible. Basically, it’s a suicide mission… but that man told me that if I could defeat the Calamities, I’d be able to find a lead.”

“I see… Wait, then… Blue Dot, were you planning to die as soon as you found the lead?”

“You catch on quick. Yeah, as soon as I got the lead, I was going to forfeit the match and die. That’s why I didn’t spend any points for this match and tailored all my weapons specifically for fighting Calamities… But then Eren Noeul ambushed me instead.”

‘So in the end, he got killed before he even got the chance to face the Calamities,’ Yuan thought. He nodded in understanding—life never really goes the way you plan. Monsters are scary, but at the end of the day, people are the scariest enemies of all.

But more than anything, Yuan felt his worries piling up. He understood why Blue Dot had done something so reckless, but the real problem was—

“Um… so, are you… planning to do it again this time?”

Yuan carefully asked, watching his reaction.

Was this guy really going to try turning on the windmill again? If activating that thing summoned monsters and triggered a storm, it honestly sounded terrifying.

If things went south, they might get ripped apart by monsters in the most agonizing way possible. Sure, Yuan had already been through plenty of absurd situations—walking around with tentacles for an arm, getting his head eaten by a giant clam, and so on—but he had a feeling that these Calamities were on a whole different level. They’d be creatures specifically meant to kill people.

Even if, by some miracle, they managed to defeat the monsters, they’d still be trapped by the storm and left to die.

He really didn’t want to get dragged into something like that.

But at the same time…

‘Would I be able to get a lead too? Maybe I could find out why I’m here… What exactly Crimson Disease is, and why it’s supposedly incurable…’

If things went well, he might be able to uncover a lot of useful information. That kind of blind hope started growing inside him, making him hesitate.

But Blue Dot must have completely misread the reason for Yuan’s hesitation.

With a wry smile, he gave Yuan a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“You think I’d drag you into it? Relax, I’m not gonna do it this time.”

“Huh? You’re not doing it this time?”

Yuan’s eyes widened at those words.

Blue Dot must have mistaken his reaction for relief because he immediately continued explaining.

“Of course not. You’re just a rookie who doesn’t even know how to navigate the sanctuary, let alone fight Calamities. You haven’t even seen one before, have you?”

“Well… no, I haven’t.”

“Then I can’t take you. I don’t want to drag someone who doesn’t know how to fight into a life-threatening situation. Esanok at least had some experience and was on the same page as me, so we tried it together… But you? You look like you’re already overwhelmed just thinking about it.”

It wasn’t exactly wrong, so Yuan quietly nodded.

He was tempted by the idea of finding a lead, but at the same time, he was scared out of his mind.

Besides, it made sense that Blue Dot would prefer taking someone useful along. He had already failed once even with a capable teammate, so dragging along a total newbie like Yuan would only make things harder.

Yuan figured that was probably what was going through the guy’s mind.

“I’m not the type to force someone to come if they don’t want to. Besides, there’s no guarantee we’d even reach the windmill in the next match. Last round taught me an important lesson—no matter how focused you are on fighting Calamities, you still have to be prepared for PvP.”

“……”

“Anyway, since things turned out this way, let’s just focus on collecting points in the next match. That’s something even a beginner can do. We’ll go around looting supply boxes, and if we run into people, we’ll loot them too. No complaints, right?”

“Ah, yes!”

Yuan responded energetically, even though the idea of looting people sounded kind of terrifying.

Still, he had to admit—jumping straight into something as extreme as hunting Calamities was probably too much for him right now.

It was more important to focus on surviving, earn points, and learn the ropes of this bizarre survival game. Just like he had learned from Sael and Eren Noeul in the last match.

As Yuan steeled his resolve, a metallic buzzing sound came from the announcement speakers installed around the cafeteria. A calm, automated voice followed.

[Attention, Wanderers currently on break. There is one hour remaining until the next match begins. Please complete any medical treatment, meals, or other preparations promptly…]

“Oh, it’s already that time,” Yuan muttered.

“Are you going to use a shortcut to get to the Descent Hatch quickly?”

“Nah, no need for that. The ones who rush in using shortcuts are all hardcore fighters who’ve been through this a hundred times. They’re the types who gear up with weapons bought with points and go on a rampage. No point running into those guys right away. If you just want to earn points, it’s better to take your time.”

While idly chatting with Blue Dot, Yuan suddenly felt a stare from somewhere.

Turning his head, he saw Red Man standing by the cafeteria entrance, arms crossed, staring directly at him.

‘……!’

The moment their eyes met, Red Man abruptly turned and left without a word.

Yuan gulped.

‘Yeah… taking it slow sounds like a great idea. If using a shortcut means running into him, I’m definitely better off going at a relaxed pace.’

Clutching his chest as if to calm his racing heart, Yuan sighed in relief.