Fortunately, the people of District 3 agreed to move away from the border, at least for now.

Approaching the barrier wasn't going to open it, and doing so would only put their lives in danger. In truth, they didn't have much of a choice.

They relocated to the upper floors of a nearby building.

It was a good position for keeping an eye on the Lizardmen's movements and getting a partial view of District 2's boundary—ideal for setting up a temporary base.

The bedding was crudely arranged, makeshift at best, but it was enough for a large group to get through one night.

Besides, the Lizardmen hadn't yet shown any tendency to climb higher floors of buildings.

Still, Jhin put an extra safety measure in place.

"Let me know the moment anything gets close."

Kiiieek...

He looked down at a Lizardman silently bobbing its head.

It was a soul he had extracted from the body of a Lizardman that had fallen in one of District 3's alleyways.

[Lizardman Soldier: 277 / 1,020]

The soul's energy was somewhat degraded, likely due to the time since death. It wouldn't be much use in combat, but it was still more than capable of standing night watch.

'Alright, this area's taken care of…'

Next, Jhin went looking for Caleb .

He found him sitting beside a cardboard box, watching over the unconscious Evan with a concerned expression.

"…Mr. Jhin."

Caleb looked up at him, suspicion in his eyes. Jhin swallowed hard.

Caleb asked bluntly,

"Are you really Jhin?"

"…What do you mean?"

"From what I understand, you're already inside the zone."

"Me?"

There had clearly been some major misunderstanding. Jhin frowned as he recalled the exchange between Caleb and the guards at the border.

"I don't know why you think that, but today's the first time I've ever come here."

"…What?"

"Sounds like we have a lot to talk about."

As Caleb stared blankly at him, Millie quietly stepped over and joined them.

And so, Jhin began to hear the absurd tale of everything Caleb had experienced since settling in Arc.

Kyle.

The number one-ranked player in Exodia.

A legend with no equal, revered as someone utterly irreplaceable.

After the world turned into a game, Kyle's name spread even more rapidly through people's lips.

Whenever someone found themselves in a hopeless situation, they'd often say:

—"We'll be fine. As long as Kyle comes back."

Heaven-splitting feats were credited to him more and more. As his reputation soared to the apex, people's expectations climbed in equal measure.

There were even religions founded around Kyle.

Practically worship cults that prayed for his safe return.

That was the perception of Kyle in Arc.

Caleb looked at Jhin and said,

"One month ago, Kyle appeared in Arc."

"…One month ago?"

"Yes."

It had been two days since Caleb arrived at District 3 by way of the mobile dungeon, the 'Ghost Train,' under the escort of the NIS.

"Hold on, what day is it today? Are you saying it's already been over a month since you arrived in Arc?"

"Yeah."

Jhin's throat tightened. He could feel the answer forming in the back of his mind.

'Time moves differently.'

Only about three days had passed since he entered BeyWorld and made it here.

But a month?

It made sense—if rollbacked BeyWorld and the real world operated on different timelines.

"Please, tell me more."

Urged by Jhin, Caleb nodded and continued.

"I still remember what people were saying. That light had finally come to Arc. That the cursed Lizardmen were finished… Everyone was celebrating."

The real problem was that the version of 'Kyle' who showed up in Arc didn't match the messianic figure people had expected.

Rumors about his true nature spread fast.

"I thought they were just wild stories at first. But what I heard was that Kyle was obsessed with leveling up, dictatorial, violent, and hoarded every item he could get his hands on."

"Hm…"

"People say he's terrifying. And it's true that he's absurdly strong—strong enough to make you understand why people say 'It's Kyle.' Apparently, he killed one of the Lizardmen centurions in a single blow."

Jhin's eyes narrowed.

Lizardman centurions were powerful. Far stronger than even the ghost-ogre (Smaug) he'd faced.

'Players like that are extremely rare.'

Even Millie wouldn't be able to take down a centurion in one hit.

'…Hmm.'

Caleb continued, relaying everything he'd heard about 'Kyle.'

And when his memory grew fuzzy, survivors from District 3 filled in the gaps.

"That accursed Kyle—or , whatever he is—he cut our food rations in half overnight!"

"Rumor is he needed to mass-produce combat rations for some operation or another. What a load of crap…"

"That bastard's a demon, plain and simple!"

The number of things he'd done in just a month was absurd.

As Jhin listened to the 3rd District survivors hurl their curses, he couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle.

Caleb scratched his head.

"But now that I've met you face-to-face, the misunderstanding's cleared up.

That Kyle in Arc must be an imposter, right?"

All eyes in the room turned to Jhin.

It went so quiet he could hear people swallowing.

Jhin let out a dry laugh.

"…What surprises me more is that everyone just believed it without question."

"I knew it! I figured he was a fake all along."

"But how did no one doubt him? Doesn't Arc have people from Whitevalley too? What about them? Don't they know?"

"You mean Miss Bellatris?"

Bellatris.

Ranked third even within Whilevalley.

She was a famous player, unrivaled when it came to magic.

She had mastered the nearly extinct, notoriously difficult 'Mage' class.

The word most often used to describe her?

"Genius."

'Magic isn't something just anyone can use.'

In Exodia, mage had all but died out for a reason. Even casting a basic Fireball required complex mathematical logic.

Some spells even needed to be programmed.

They said you had to use C-language, or even write out full lines of code.

A class so absurd, it demanded real-life programming knowledge just to play.

Only hackers and veteran developers had any hope of wielding it.

'But now that I think about it… Isn't it strange? Didn't Bellatris find anything suspicious?'

She wasn't just some genius programmer—

She was a genuine intellect, known for her unmatched brilliance even among mages.