Chapter 5 : Anonymous Bulletin Board

-LooksLikeIGotFired : Now I really have to go to work, fucking hell... Am I fired?

-EasyLife : lol you morons, just live here. It’s great.

-Anonymous55 : fr lol

The anonymous bulletin board was filled with confusion, screams, despair, and chaos.

I was the same.

“What in the world……”

Ironically, the first emotion I felt at the same time was a sense of relief that I wasn't the only one who had fallen into this damned world.

I wasn't the only one who fell into the World of Justice.

Here, it wasn't just me; a considerable number of users were already living in this world.

-Anonymous651 : Anyone know the location of Hamullam's Nest?

-PleaseGiveMeMoney : Is there anyone who can lend me just 1 gold? I've been seriously starving for 2 weeks...

-Newdeulbak77 : Is the newbie who posted earlier here? I’ll help you ㅇㅇ leave a secret comment.

-Anteater : Kids living in the southwest of the Empire, be careful. Something’s not right this time.

The format of the anonymous bulletin board was the same as the one that had existed within the World of Justice game.

The content being posted was also not much different from what used to be on the World of Justice bulletin board, just with a slightly higher concentration of certain topics.

Things like question posts and meaningless spam posts that I always saw when I played World of Justice.

“Ah.”

My daze lasted only for a moment.

I knew what I needed to get from this anonymous bulletin board right away.

Information.

What I needed now was information about this damned world.

‘Maybe there's a clue about this situation.’

Why I came to this world, and how I can go back.

Having made up my mind, I quickly flipped through the pages.

Most of it was spam or nonsense with no substance, but there was also information that wasn't.

Among them, the place where quality information was gathered was, as expected, the recommended posts section.

[Recommended Posts]

Recommended Posts was a section where posts could only be registered if they received a certain number of recommendations and views on the board.

A kind of 'best of' section, so to speak.

Naturally, a post that made it here was highly likely to contain significant information.

‘In that case…….’

As soon as I entered the recommended posts, there was one post that immediately caught my eye.

It was at the top with the most recommendations, and its title was eye-catching from the start.

-Newdeulbak77 : [Tip] Required Reading for Newbies.txt [★]

The star mark next to the title told me just how many recommendations and views this post had received to secure its spot at the very top of the recommended posts.

As if possessed by something, I clicked on that post.

──────────────

Nice to meet you. It's your friend Newdeulbak77.

You must be super bewildered having come to a strange world for the first time, and it's a hassle to reply to every single question post, so I'll just ramble on about what I know and a few facts known around here ㅇㅇ

1. As you all know, this is the same world as World of Justice Online. The system window, excluding logout, actually works, so it’s safe to say we're pretty much inside the game.

2.The body you're possessing now is probably the last character you played. I've seen some guys complaining that it's unfair because they logged in with their alt character last and ended up as their alt. If anyone's different, please let me know.

3. I don't know why, but the time of arrival in this world is different for everyone. But it seems the time of departure was similar? I don't know the reason.

4. Unless you're extremely confident, don't carelessly reveal your identity on the bulletin board. You could get killed without anyone knowing.

5. Nobody knows what happens when you die, but at least, none of the dead guys have come back. There are a lot of people here who believe that dying is just logging out, so if you think that, go ahead and kill yourself ㅇㅇ I won't stop you.

6. Of course, there's no resurrection either. I'm writing this, but I know newbies will keep asking lazy questions. If you've read this, refrain from it.

7. Sometimes there are users with fixed nicknames who reveal their identity and hang out here, but try not to mess with them. They are genuinely scary people ㅇㅇ

8. Try not to make contracts with demons. As you know, it only takes a few misuses of magic to become a wreck. Keep that in mind. This is no longer a game.

9. Now, many named monsters and bosses have the Demonic attribute. Be careful, you might die if you just charge in thinking it's like the old days.

10. Nobody knows where the Destruction Dragon went, so stop asking.

That's all. If you don't know something, leave a comment ㄱㄱ I'll answer what I know.

──────────────

-mage114 : That last warning is scary af ㄷㄷ

-Anonymous21 : What are your thoughts on the newbie hunter rumors?

└Newdeulbak77 : [This is a secret comment.]

└Anonymous111 : What's with the secret comment.

└Anonymous55 : Can't you tell just by looking? Newdeulbak is the newbie hunter lol

-Newbie15 : Newdeulbak-nim, it's me... I barely survived thanks to your help a while ago. Really thx thx, the tips are great too.

└Anonymous675 : If you are being held captive in a basement, please draw a bunny emoticon.

└Anonymous54 : fr lol

-PrayingForShutdownDay341 : A tip from Newdeulbak is a must-read.

-KnightCommander : Hmm.

-Anonymous64 : Is the warning about not revealing your identity because of the newbie hunters?

└Newdeulbak77 : [This is a secret comment.]

└Anonymous111 : Stop with the secret comments~~ I'm dying of curiosity ffs

“…….”

After reading the 'Required Reading for Newbies,' I was at a loss for words for a moment.

It was only now that I was truly feeling, firsthand, what kind of world I had come to.

‘Newdeulbak77.’

I didn't know who this person was, but I was grateful for the part where they wrote a post like this.

If it weren't for Newdeulbak77, it might have taken me much longer to find this information, and I might have died if I had been too late.

‘And the Destruction Dragon…….’

There was a high possibility that the Destruction Dragon and the Ascension Stone Fragment were related to why I came to this world.

To find out about this unknown phenomenon, it seemed best to look into the Destruction Dragon and the Ascension Stone Fragment.

‘Let's look for a few more for now.’

Seeing as this friend named Newdeulbak77 writes information posts so kindly, it seemed efficient to focus on this friend's posts.

[Search by Author : Newdeulbak77]

I immediately searched for posts written by Newdeulbak77.

-Newdeulbak77 : Has anyone seen where Newbie44 went?

-Newdeulbak77 : Ah... I haven't seen the last newbie, don't tell me he died.

-Newdeulbak77 : [Tip] How to survive at a low level.

Most of them were useless posts, but one post caught my eye.

-Newdeulbak77 : (Long post warning) Regarding the ■■■ Fragment...

The moment I, as if possessed by something, was about to click on that post.

“We'll be leaving soon, so get ready.”

A voice that brought me back to reality made me look ahead.

It was the escort captain.

“……Ah, yes.”

I must have been so engrossed in the bulletin board that the escort unit had already finished cleaning up and was preparing to leave immediately.

“How will you be traveling? Will you ride in the carriage you were in before?”

The carriage I was in before would, of course, mean the prisoner transport carriage.

“Can I just walk?”

“Do as you please. We have many injuries and it would be reassuring to have a mage of your caliber step up.”

I had said it because it felt unsettling to return to the prisoner transport carriage, but fortunately, the escort unit captain granted me that much convenience.

There were probably various reasons mixed in, such as the shortage of troops and an uncontrollable, dangerous mage, but I put such detailed thoughts aside for a moment.

Right now, I have something far more important.

‘■■■ Fragment?’

I didn't know what it was, but for some reason, I felt like I knew the word that would go into that censored part.

‘Is it related to the Ascension Stone Fragment?’

As far as I knew, the Ascension Stone had led me to this world, and a fragment of that Ascension Stone had activated the bulletin board function for me.

If so, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the identity of the ■■■ Fragment that Newdeulbak77 was talking about was also the Ascension Stone Fragment?

‘But why call it that instead of Ascension Stone Fragment?’

This was as far as I could guess.

It seemed I would have to check the rest of the posts written by Newdeulbak77 to find out about the rest.

“We're moving out!”

With the escort captain's shout, the prisoner escort unit, now reduced to less than half its size, announced its departure once again.

“What on earth is the captain thinking? Leaving such a dangerous mage unchained without a Magic Sealing Stone……”

“Shh! Quiet, the mage might hear you.”

The soldiers of the escort unit stealthily avoided me and whispered from behind.

It seemed I was unintentionally drawing attention.

Of course, I didn't have the luxury to care about that.

“……Tsk.”

Ascension Stone Fragment, anonymous bulletin board, newbie hunter.

All the words I saw on the bulletin board swirled in my head.

I was glad to find out that I wasn't the only user in this world, but at the same time, the strange atmosphere I saw on the anonymous bulletin board made me feel somber.

Despite being strangers who had fallen into an unfamiliar world, the users on the anonymous bulletin board were implicitly wary of each other.

The biggest proof of that was the anonymity they themselves put forward.

‘Newdeulbak77 definitely said not to carelessly reveal your identity.’

And behind that, there was probably the ghost story called the newbie hunter.

Newbie hunter.

Doesn't it sound like there's someone out there hunting other users who have arrived in this world?

‘But why?’

While I was lost in such thoughts, the journey continued.

Just as it's dangerous to look at a smartphone while walking, looking at the bulletin board while playing in the World of Justice was one of the most dangerous actions, so I couldn't look even if I wanted to.

I tried to check the board whenever I had a spare moment, but the terrain on the way to Winter Castle was so rough that it wasn't easy to find such an opportunity.

“Everyone, hang in there! Once we cross this hill, it's Winter Castle!”

“Yes!”

The journey continued.

In an extreme environment where we couldn't even sleep properly, we crossed a snow-covered mountain and a frozen river.

And…….

“That's Winter Castle over there!”

Winter Castle Kreutz.

Finally, we had arrived at the northern front.