"I-is there a problem?"
"Erhm! No nothing. Sorry about that yelp just now. That name is just very surprising and not commonly used. Who would think that a PK'er is someone with IGN like that? Haha. Perhaps that person is just trying to impersonate the legendary criminal," Ranz said, trying to sound calm.
A bead of sweat secretly dripped down at the back of his head.
Although he quickly calmed himself down, he truly was flabbergasted by that news deep inside.
'Oh my god! How did it happen?' He wondered how he ended up becoming the suspect in someone's death.
He heard the Noble Traveler say, "Hmm, you're right. Fufu. Someone must be a die-hard fan of a legendary criminal…"
'No, I'm not!' He exclaimed in mind, denying it outright.
The Noble Traveler continued saying, "Well, I get what you mean, so don't worry about it."
He secretly sighed in relief.
"By the way, are you sure about it? Maybe it's just someone with a name close to that."
He needed to make sure before diving into his own speculations.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure about it. It actually appeared in the world announcements a couple of times a while ago."
'World announcement, huh. Unfortunately, I didn't notice it as I was more focused on leveling up.'
"That may be so. Ah, by the way, I forgot I have some important matters I needed to do. I've got to hurry back to the village."
Ranz bid farewell and ambled towards the town. But before Ranz could leave, the Noble Traveler asked him something.
"Is that so? Uh, right. How about we add each other to our friend list? I feel like you're someone I would like to converse with in my free time. It's rare to find someone as open with casual conversation as you."
Well, given the current situation of the world, not so many people were willing to converse about trivial matters. No. Actually. The dude just wanted a gossiping partner.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry. Maybe later!" Ranz waved his hand.
Before the Noble Traveler could respond, Ranz was already a few steps away from him, moving towards the village.
"Oyy! My name is Vince! At least give me your name!" He used his hands as a megaphone while shouting as hard as he could for Ranz to hear.
Ranz heard it. Although he didn't stop walking, he felt like he needed to respond or else he would be suspicious if he did nothing.
"Alright! Call me Racky!" He shouted as well, mimicking Vince.
Ranz used an alias. It was a name that came to his mind in the spur of a moment.
He could not tell his IGN and so his real name. Therefore, using an alias was his only choice.
He felt bad for lying, but he could do nothing about it as he could not reveal his identity after knowing his situation.
Ranz didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this news.
Judging Vince's words, there's no way he would learn about that name if it didn't appear in world announcement. So probably, he might be telling the truth.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
'Wait, Vince also said that announcements had appeared in the world announcement indicating to all players that player Jack No Ripper has completed a special mission.'
'There's no doubt I'm the one that message is referring to.'
'However, if he also read the message from the Red Phantom Guild that said Jack No Reaper, or any name close to my IGN, killed one of their companions, there's a high chance Vince thought it was the same Jack No Ripper referred to in those messages.'
'There was a tendency that what he saw in the world announcement was not actually Jack No Ripper but something close to that.'
"Right. Maybe that's what happened."
Ranz believed that was what happened because it was hard to be him. How could he kill someone if he was still a newbie with a Peace status?
Ranz sighed.
"I already asked Vince about it and he told me that he was sure of what he said."
Regardless, he couldn't go back there just to ask Vince again about this thing because he'd look more suspicious if he'd done that.
As he was walking towards the village he was asking himself. "Can a player with Peace status kill a player? The answer is… impossible. Yes, that's impossible. Even in my previous games, nothing like that happened."
He raised his hands at both sides as he was answering his own question.
Then another question came into his mind.
'Is it also impossible for that to happen in this game?'
"….."
Ranz's eyes slowly widened at that moment when he realized something.
Shocked, Ranz whispered to himself. "D-Didn't I almost die earlier?"
Perhaps he has not yet fully understood this game.
*Fwoosh! Slap!*
He shook his head and lightly slapped his face.
'Regardless, being extra cautious wouldn't hurt me, no? For now, I need to investigate what those people in the Red Phantom Guild are doing in the village.'
'Could it be they are here to find the perpetrator who killed their comrade or they came here for another reason? After all, What Vince said a while ago, about their reasons for coming to the village, was just his hunch.'
After a few minutes of walking, he finally arrived at the village.
[Entered Lightwood Village]
The total size of Lightwood Village is an estimated 2.5 kilometers. Based on the map, it just has a simple layout. A square village where its main pathways are cross-shaped.
The city has two entrances. The first is on the east side and the second is on the north. The river can be seen to the south and the plateau to the west.
As he was walking, sneakily glancing around from time to time, he arrived at the village center. He noticed the gathering of people not far from where he was standing. At his estimation, there were a total of 25-30 plus players gathering.
Aside from those players, he also saw some members of the Red Phantom Guild. They were standing in front of the crowd.
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