Chapter 41: Permenent Player
"Then...why are you here, madame?"
In response to Dean’s question, Seo-ah smiled and said:
"I was jealous...jealous enough to steal my sister’s husband. This isn’t a grave sin, but it’s still a sin. My sister wasn’t angry with me; well, she was, but she did let go of her anger... yet she never forgave me. If you aren’t forgiven, the gods won’t forgive you either, sir."
When Dean heard this answer, he truly felt awful.
At that moment, he realised that the person standing before him wasn’t a terrible person.
Perhaps this person named Seo-ah had lied, but that wasn’t something Dean needed to question.
Perhaps out of embarrassment, the young man pulled a hundred-thousand-unit banknote from the machine.
Before Seo-ah could even process what was happening, Dean handed the banknote to her and said, "If it helps, I do forgive you, madame."
What he said... didn’t make much sense. You could even call it foolish.
Still, when a person is at their lowest point, when they think even death would be better for them, when their very thoughts are on the brink of oblivion, hearing such words would make them feel better.
Seo-ah had thought the same thing.
This woman, who knew how old she was, hadn’t cried. Her eyes hadn’t betrayed her composure, but one could see the gentleness in her soul.
The woman took the money, albeit hesitantly, and put it in her inventory. Then, looking at Dean, she asked, "May I ask which option you’ll choose?"
Dean was well aware that there was nothing wrong with changing his next dungeon.
Still, the young man could see it.
Even the shipyard map in the booklet in front of him was HUGE.
In such a vast area, there must be tons of things to learn, and he should expect to find plenty of stories waiting to be discovered.
That’s why he’d paused to think for a few seconds.
"Is it okay if I come back here later? To pick an option, I mean?"
In response to Dean’s question, Seo-ah shook her head and said, "All the players asked the same thing, sir. You can wait as long as you like. Other than having to come here to start work, there’s no way for you to leave this dungeon. You’ll either become a permanent player and finish things by going back and forth to the outside world little by little, or you’ll leave here by choosing the only other option available."
Dean smiled at this response and said, "Thank you," before leaving the building.
The moment he stepped outside, everything seemed to have changed.
I mean... that state he’d been in just moments ago, looking at everything with suspicion, on high alert every second, had vanished.
Of course, he was still on guard, and naturally, Percival was constantly scanning the surroundings from within Dean’s mind, just in case.
You could say they’d just managed to relax a little.
The young man had indeed wandered around for a while, trying to access every piece of information he could find.
Despite wandering nonstop for two hours, he’d managed to explore perhaps only 20% of the shipyard.
Still, that... was enough.
Dean had made up his mind, and as the sky began to grow darker, he returned to the Shipyard Management building.
When he walked in, he saw another person there.
It was a man with golden hair and blue eyes.
The moment the man saw Dean, he raised his arm and said, "Welcome, brother!"
It was clear the man was speaking a different language; his mouth movements didn’t match those of someone speaking English. If the game didn’t have an automatic translation feature, Dean would have been left looking like a fool.
"Hello," Dean said, approaching the man and shaking his hand.
"My name is Sabre. Nice to meet you," the man said politely.
Dean smiled and replied, "Decanus. It is a pleasure."
When the man, who had introduced himself as Sabre, heard that name, his eyes widened, and his gaze faltered for a split second.
"Decanus?" the man asked.
Dean shook his head and couldn’t help but ask, "Yes, is there a problem?"
"Ah... no. It’s a great pleasure to meet you. I’ve read and heard so much about what you’ve done. You may not know this, but you’re a true legend," Sabre said.
Dean smiled.
Of course, no one could see that smile.
After all, his face was covered in a white mist.
Still, Sabre seemed to sense his smile.
"HAHAHAHA!!!" Sabre burst out laughing all of a sudden.
Dean was taken aback by what was happening.
"When I tell the others that I met you, no one will believe me," he said, then pointed to the woman named Seo-ah and added, "Please, I’m sorry for interrupting your work."
Dean bowed his head slightly in respect, then stepped toward Seo-ah and said, "I’d like to register as a Permanent Player."
Seo-ah smiled and asked, "Excellent choice. May I ask how many slots you’d like to allocate for this? I’d like to note that you have a minimum of two and a maximum of six selection slots."
Dean replied, "Four will be enough."
Seo-ah quickly registered this person, named Decanus, in the system and assigned him the necessary tasks.
"There are living quarters for workers in the northern part of the Shipyard. However, thanks to the favour you did for me, I can give you some inside information," Seo-ah said suddenly.
When Dean approached the table curiously, Seo-ah stood up from her seat and, paying no heed to the mist covering Dean’s face, stepped closer to him and spoke in a low voice:
"In the eastern section, there are villas overlooking the sea that can be rented. With top-notch security, you’ll be completely safe there. At least at night."
The moment Dean heard this information, he extended his hand.
When Seo-ah shook his hand, she said, "I’ll be honoured to see you soon," and pointed toward the door.
Dean, meanwhile, left the building to head toward his new destination, the villa area in the east, and spotted Sabre.
Of course, Sabre wasn’t alone anymore.
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