Thankfully, the people of District 3 agreed to move a little away from the border.

There was no point in staying near the gates—doing so wouldn't make the guards open them, and instead, it would only put their lives in danger. In truth, they didn't have much of a choice.

The group relocated to the upper floors of a nearby building.

From there, they could observe the movement of the Lizardmen and even catch glimpses of the District 2 boundary. It wasn't an ideal shelter, but for a night's rest, it was sufficient.

They scrounged together makeshift bedding. It was rough, but with many people gathered in one place, it would do for the night. Besides, the Lizardmen hadn't shown signs of climbing high-rise buildings just yet.

Still, Jhin prepared one more safety measure.

"If anything comes near, let me know immediately."

Keeiik...

He turned to stare silently at the nodding head of a Lizardman. It was the soul of a Lizardman soldier extracted from a corpse found in one of District 3's alleys.

[Lizardman Soldier: 277 / 1,020]

The soul's energy had degraded somewhat, likely due to the time since death. While it wasn't strong enough to fight, it was perfectly suited for overnight sentry duty.

"All right, that takes care of this place..."

Next, Jhin sought out Caleb, who was checking the condition of Evan , lying atop a cardboard box.

"…Mr. Jhin."

Caleb looked up at him with a hint of hostility. Jhin swallowed his breath and returned his gaze.

Caleb asked cautiously, "Are you really Jhin?"

"…What do you mean?"

"To my knowledge, you're already inside the zone."

"I am?"

That certainly sounded like a misunderstanding. Jhin furrowed his brows, recalling the conversation Caleb had with the soldiers earlier.

"I'm not sure why you think that, but today is the first time I've set foot here."

"What?"

"It sounds like we have a lot to talk about."

As Caleb stared dumbfounded, Millie slowly stepped over to join them. And at last, Jhin was able to hear the absurd tale Caleb had experienced since arriving at Ark.

Kyle.

The number-one-ranked player in Exodia. The legendary figure who no one could replace.

Ever since reality had transformed into a game, Kyle's name was on everyone's lips. Whenever people were pushed to the brink of despair, someone would always say:

—"All we need is for Kyle to return."

As the feats of Whitevalley grew ever more illustrious, so too did anticipation for Kyle's return. Some had even gone as far as founding a religion around him, forming prayer circles that bordered on idolatry.

That was how Ark saw Kyle.

Caleb looked directly at Jhin and said, "One month ago, Kyle appeared in Ark."

"…A month ago?"

"Yes."

That day was two days after Caleb had arrived in District 3, following the NIS through the dungeon known as the Running Ghost Train.

"Wait. What's today's date? Are you saying you've already been in Ark for over a month?"

"Yes."

Jhin swallowed hard. A possible explanation began forming in his mind.

Time moves differently.

Only about three days had passed for him—from entering BeyWorld to arriving here. But a whole month?

If time flowed differently inside the rollbacking BeyWorld compared to reality, it would all make sense.

"Tell me more."

Prompted by Jhin's urging, Caleb nodded and continued.

"I still remember the way people spoke that day. They said light had finally reached Ark, that the damn lizards were finished… The mood was celebratory."

But the real issue was that the 'Kyle' who arrived was nothing like the messianic figure people had hoped for.

The truth about Kyle spread quickly.

"I thought it was a rumor too. But according to what people said, he was obsessed with leveling up, egotistical, violent, and greedy for loot—someone who hoarded everything for himself."

"Hm…"

"And scary, to boot. He was as powerful as the name Kyle suggested. I heard he even took down the Lizardman Centurion that had been giving Ark so much trouble—in a single strike."

That caught Jhin's attention.

He thought back to the Lizardman Centurion. It was a monster well beyond the strength of even a smaug.

'Very few players could pull that off.'

Even Millie wouldn't be able to bring one down with a single blow.

"…Interesting."

Caleb shared all he knew about this "Kyle." When his memory wavered, other District 3 survivors chimed in to help.

"That rotten bastard Kyle or whatever, he cut our food rations in half overnight."

"Said it was to prepare military rations for some coming war. What a load of crap…!"

"That guy's the devil. Plain and simple."

He'd caused more than enough trouble in just one month.

Listening to their complaints, Jhin let out a dry laugh.

Caleb scratched his head. "But now that I've seen you in person, the misunderstanding is cleared up. You're not the Kyle that entered Ark, right?"

Everyone turned to stare at Jhin, as if awaiting a verdict. The room went so quiet, it was as if you could hear people swallow.

Jhin gave a wry smile.

"…I'm more surprised people believed it so easily."

"I knew it! I knew he was fake!"

"Still, why did everyone trust him so blindly? I heard Ark also has Whitevalley. Doesn't she suspect anything?"

"Oh—Ms. Bellatris?"

Bellatris: ranked #3 in Whitevalley.

She was known as an unmatched mage, unrivaled in magic. The class of magician was nearly obsolete due to its punishing difficulty, and she had achieved mastery in it.

She was often called a genius.

After all, magic wasn't something just anyone could use in Exodia.

Even to cast a simple Fireball, one needed mathematical modeling—sometimes even to the level of programming languages like C.

Some spells had to be literally programmed.

You had to be a hacker or a programmer just to use the class properly.

'But now that I think about it… it's strange. Why hasn't Bellatris questioned this?'

She wasn't just good at programming—she was one of the sharpest minds among mages. A true prodigy.

And yet, she'd believed the fake?

(To be continued.)