The World of Masks

The void in front of the gate had been a mess since dawn. It was only at a time when the light of the sun appeared faintly in the glorious sky, but the merchants' greed to leave their journey early and make even more money was not enough for the reason of raising their bodies early in the morning. The sound of merchants' conversations, mercenaries' blasphemies, and the thundering of the cart-drawing beasts awoke this calm dawn. The wheels were piled up with broken sheep, and the dewdrops formed overnight over the cloth were piled together. In the summer, I was maintaining a moderately cool temperature even at dawn, so it was unbelievably good to get out of the way. That was before the sun came up.

With her.

The paper mounted on the wall begins to spread its clear tone. The actions of the crowd that heard the bell began to accelerate. The servants grip the horns of unwilling beasts, gnawing their eyes at each other, and the merchants scramble for supplies, screaming whales. And the mercenaries, who were snickering and tending their weapons, raised their heads. Jack was also part of the pack. Finally, a group of ordinary people surrounded their burdens to ensure their safety while stalking the merchants.

Bait.

The wall that was dominating the crowd began to open slowly. It was literally spectacular that a huge barrier slowly opened that blocked the entrance of the city gate overnight and had barred outsiders from entering. The weight of four soldiers on each side of the door was not as much a joke as it looked.

Through the half-opened gates, you can see the human statues beyond the noisy gates. Perhaps they waited for the gates to open after they arrived last night. Their appearance was also quite different from this one. If anything else, if this side is now fresh enough to get out of the way, it's just that fatigue flows from its face.

Soldiers began to verify the identities of the people, except for two of the remaining soldiers who stood guard at the gates, using their best efforts to open the gates. A shiny helmet, well-polished armor, a longsword strapped to the waist, and a long spear in your hand. The soldiers' appearance was enough to overwhelm the humans around them. There was no such thing as a man who rebelled against the oppressive soldiers whether he was overwhelmed or oppressed. When they were among themselves, even mercenaries with profanity and clenching their fists acted as if they were dead in front of soldiers.

Puck.

"Hey, what are you staring at? Move quickly!"

Another mercenary nearby punches Jack in the back. Jack frowns deeply. Jack was already feeling his fist flying from his sixth sense skills, but he clenched his fist to avoid it. If he'd avoided a fist, he would've done a hell of a lot more. Luck or misfortune, Jack's impression did not appear to be masked. Jack rubs his back head and points at the mercenary who pinches himself in front of him and giggles with his colleagues. Ever since I took on this quest as a Class E mercenary higher than myself, I've been picking on myself. At first, I was embarrassed. It occurred to me that the first person in my life to unilaterally feel bad for themselves, and that the families of the dead hunters might have found out they were the culprits. However, it was not a result of quietly looking into it.

'Just a guy who picks on someone who bullies them for no reason.'

He was just a grumpy bastard. Apparently, he was the one who attacked the school, Ver. It looked like they were getting hit by a mercenary in real time. A newbie in a creepy mask from a different world than they are. From his point of view, it was pretty good prey.

'That bastard, by the way. I think he looks like that filthy 20-year-old sergeant.'

When I was in the army, I thought I resembled a mad dog who was unrivaled in harassing Ji Ji Ji's successor.

'I still have a split tooth.'

It's been almost two years since I left, but I have a vivid memory of that time. If you ask the men who are usually like the military where the toughest troops are, they will answer, "They are all tentacles." However, the hardships they suffered were a living hell.

By the way, why don't you look up his address? '

If he could kill in real life, he'd be the first one to find and kill.

Jack, who had changed it with his old thoughts, soon calmed his mind. Right now, it's about fixing what's right in front of us.

'Damn, that's a good twist from day one.'

It took about 8 days to get up. Jack, who judged he had little experience getting out of the city by himself, first took the road north and applied for a trip to the north city. Fortunately, it was much shorter than the two-week hike I had seen in the mercenary guild before. Moreover, as Jack, it was a very valuable opportunity to assess the difficulty of the game. However, it seemed to be very troubling to me when I got involved with a worthless one.

"Here we go!!"

The mercenary who commands the ascent screams. Must have been a Class C mercenary. The journey with five carts of luggage followed slowly behind him, stumbling in front of him. Jack also took a quick walk to avoid being left behind.

After arriving at the gate and doing a little background check, the ascent continued to be boring. Move a large elliptical circle around the cart. Merchants inside the circle drawn by mercenaries had already taken out their handkerchiefs since physically running and had been busy wiping away the reddish sweat. To be honest, it seemed curious to be able to follow the procession as she walked often with her fat body. By comparison, the mercenaries have not yet fallen short of breath. Jack also raised the stakes considerably with the massacre, so he didn't shut down the march this far.

Jack looks at the deep waters, feeling the breeze rising. You hear small voices in your ears as you look around, mesmerized by the grandeur of nature.

"You said this is where the Demon King's remains were found?"

"Don't tell me. He said he was completely drained of life, like a mummy."

The nearby mercenaries groan. Jack looks around. As it turns out, the waters that are crossing now were the first place Jack set foot in this masked world's games. It was also a place where he met robbers who had done him a great service. On hearing the words of the nearby mercenaries, it seems that the surrounding forest is dominated by the horror of the Demon King and the actions of Jack.

'Well, good for me.'

I heard my fellow mercenaries tell me how many times the quest fee has been run. Unlike the tense crowds in which the Demon King appeared, Jack was able to pass through the forest relatively peacefully.

Finally coming out of the vast plains past the vast waters, Jack is stuck in a bizarre environment that caught his eye. The exit of the forest is covered in green grass. The tall shrubs growing everywhere and the fragrant flower fields that were colonizing seemed to heal people's hearts in a heartbeat.

However, such a refreshing landscape did not continue to the end. Straight. It was straight. It's like God [This is the only green meadow.] in a golden plains, at the end of any boundary, a fresh meadow turned into a desolate wasteland. It was only artificial that the landscape was evenly divided between the boundaries of the wasteland and the lawn as if it were a measuring line. With Jack's common sense, I never imagined such a scene would come naturally.

"The realm of the Holy Neutral City is over! Pull yourself together!"

The mercenaries begin repairing their equipment once again in the voice of the commander shouting in front of them. Jack didn't know his gaze would leave the border between the wasteland and the grasslands, while also keeping his equipment organized along with such mercenaries.

"The realm of the Holy Neutral City?" '

According to the Mercenary Commander, the end of that meadow will be the influence of the Holy Neutral City. And the wasteland unfolds as soon as that realm is finished.

What happened to the setting? '

It was possible to guess whether there was a vibrant meadow in the realm of the city because of God's blessing as much as writing the name "Holy," but nothing was certain yet.

'I'll have to ask him when the hike is over.'

As he assesses which mercenary to ask and which one to answer, Jack follows the departing merchant to the Wasteland.