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Season 2: Chapter 178: Record and Memory (2)

The runes glowed brightly and a recollection began.

“I first participated in this abyss as an archaeologist.”

A voice could be heard.

'This voice...'

It wasn't a normal voice. It sounded like a damaged audio file being played back. Crackling noises were mixed in, but the meaning was properly conveyed.

“This place was filled with elements that piqued my interest as someone who studied character interpretation within archaeology. From the runes used by divine beings to those of ancient magicians…”

The dim vision gradually cleared up and something started to appear. The very top level of the abyss. It was before entering the abyss, where the gatekeeper golem was.

A few people were moving ahead and a familiar back could be seen.

'Swift.'

“Most of the participants were warriors rather than scholars. The abyss was full of dangers.”

The owner of this body was a visionary participant who was an archaeologist and Swift seemed to be a warrior.

“The abyss was worse than I thought. Eating, sleeping, and breathing here is painful. Being alive is a sin.”

The owner of Almond's body apparently didn’t have an easy time operating as a scholar here and sounded desperate.

“Yet, what kept me alive were these fascinating ancient runes and their power. Although they are only remnants of Logos' power, they attracted me like magic.”

A scene showed the archaeologist using the runes to defeat monsters. These runes were what kept the archaeologist alive.

“Eventually, I mastered the runes myself and could imitate them to some extent. It was nothing compared to ancient magic, but I could preserve my memories a bit more as a scholar.”

Crackling.

A scene of the runes being inscribed onto his body was shown. The method of inscription was not a common tattoo, but something that used some magical power. Was this the archaeologist’s unique power?

“This is a recording technique passed down through my family. I can inscribe characters anywhere, but I found strange traces.”

The owner of the body hesitated while inscribing the runes. He was about to inscribe a character almost identical to one already on his body.

“When did I inscribe this? I didn't remember inscribing this. I only learned this character after entering this place, yet it was already inscribed on my body.”

He felt strange, but continued exploring until he found the sanctuary.

“Seeing the brilliant radiance of the sanctuary, I realized that the already recorded content on my body was true. It was not someone's prank or my delusion. Then…”

In front of the vast light, Swift and the party members shielded their eyes. The backlight made everything indiscernible, yet it was evident that they were happy. Only the archaeologist had an unhappy expression.

As the others rushed to the sanctuary…

Crackle.

“I had to record this phenomenon. Even if my memories disappeared, my records would remain.”

He inscribed something on his skin in the most visible place. The sentence, “Memories Keep Fading” that Almond just decoded was inscribed.

The next scene was the beginning again. Outside the abyss, investigators led by Swift set out once again.

“I first participated in this abyss as an archaeologist.”

Snap.

The magic of the recollection ended there.

— OMG

— Wow, lucky he recorded it

— Shivers

The chat was in an uproar. Obviously, Luna had realized something crucial.

"It wasn't a regression to the past."

Luna claimed she had been regressing into the past and that she was the only one aware of it. The reality was slightly different.

"Only Luna's memories were preserved."

It wasn't that time had reversed. Otherwise, how could these records have been inscribed on this body?

Time continued to flow and only memories disappeared. That was why the Swift in the recollection and the current Swift looked slightly different.

The Swift in the present appeared a bit older. It was a very subtle difference, but significant changes could be noticed in youths after just one or two years.

"…?"

"!?"

Almond was startled upon suddenly encountering Swift bursting out of the bushes.

"You…"

Swift furrowed his brows in surprise and hadn't known Almond was here.

Almond just emerged from the recollection and hadn't drawn his bow. Swift hadn't assumed a stance to attack either.

"…"

Swift stood there awkwardly.

— What's with this atmosphere?

— What an awkward relationship LOL

— LOL

— So they've been stabbing and shooting each other, but they can't attack when they meet alone? LOL

— ??? Let's… form an alliance!

Swift lashed out after staring at him for a while, "What are you doing crouching there?"

"It's none of your business."

Swift chuckled. Even then, he didn't attack Almond or move.

"Why did you even take me to the next level?"

"We were short on people."

Actually, it was because Swift was the protagonist. He had no choice but to take him along.

"Ah, is that so? More than thirty people were rushing toward me from your direction."

"So, you have a complaint?"

Swift shook his head vigorously.

"Of course not."

— Quick turn

— He's got a concept LOL

— Is his name Swift because he changes his stance quickly?

Swift added this too, "I owe you one for now, so I'm sparing your life."

Almond's expression hardened. Who was sparing who exactly?

"Just kidding. Why are you looking at me so fiercely?"

Swift avoided Almond's gaze again.

— LOL

— Instant drift, no way he's sparing him LOL

— Immediate blink! LOL

[Woolduru has donated 1,000 KRW.]

[Wasn't Swift's original name Drift? LOL]

— True LOL

— The master of quick turns

— LOL

— Drifty LOL

The viewers teased him as Drift due to his frequent shifts in stance. Almond, unable to kill Swift, stepped aside and let him pass. Unaware that his name was being changed in another universe, Swift scratched his head and asked.

"Do you… have any interest in forming an alliance with me for this level?"

— Surprise?

— LOL

— "Flashy Blade - Drift"

— So shameful LOL

— This guy is the protagonist?!

— No backbone LOL

Swift changed his stance again. Almond found it somewhat absurd, but listened to what he had to say anyway. Wasn't he the game's protagonist, after all?

"We've been together from the top anyway. It's only natural, and my party members don't really hold any grudges against you."

They had no grudges despite trying to stab him to death several times. Almond couldn't comprehend their value system, but saw this as an opportunity to uncover the whole story.

"But why did you try to kill me?"

"What?"

"When I was sleeping, didn’t you come to kill me? Why did you do that? If it wasn't for that, I would still be part of your party."

“Gulp,” Swift gulped. "It was because of Luna."

As expected, he remembered that incident. This cunning guy had pretended to lose his memory and even blamed Luna.

"You kill people just because Luna says so?"

"No. Luna didn’t tell me to kill you."

"?"

"It was my choice to try and kill you."

— ?

— This guy wants to die, boss.

— ???

— Chickacha 1 second ago

"Your choice?"

Swift eventually told the truth.

"Because you were meeting with Luna."

"!?"

"I knew Luna was trying to sabotage our party."

Then why did he keep her around? Almond was baffled.

Swift promptly replied, "I thought Luna wasn’t acting alone. She must have had accomplices. My plan was to find and kill those people."

— Intense

— Planning to link them like sausages

— So that's why Ben's friend died too

— Huh

That made sense. Using Luna as bait, he intended to weed out any spies planted in his party.

"So you don't need to deal with me now?"

Swift shrugged nonchalantly.

"I realized later. It was Luna who had been strange all along. After hearing out several of my party members, I understood."

He made a valid point. Luna was acting strange all by herself.

"It's strange. What exactly does Luna want by hindering me like that…?"

Still puzzled by Luna's actions, Swift scratched his chin.

"What can she do by herself with almost no combat ability? Anyway, are you willing to cooperate with me for a while?"

Almond pondered for a moment and didn’t know when he would find Luna.

Ding.

[Almond has donated 10,000 won.]

[Convenient amnesia, “if not, then” spell, policy Drift… Isn't this guy a politician rather than a fighter?]

"Ah. Thank you for your donation, Almond."

— LOL true

— LOL

— That's LIL for you ^^

— Definitely LIL here LOL

Although the viewers weren’t particularly fond of Swift, they suggested that it would benefit Almond to accompany him for the time being.

"Sticking together will have its benefits."

Even if Swift turned out to be an enemy, it would be an opportunity to gather more information.

Swift was a formidable fighter. If Almond continued with Luna, he would have to handle hunting alone, which was quite risky.

"It's not like I completely distrust him."

Moreover, Swift's current explanation snugly fitted with Luna's.

"However, he hasn't mentioned anything about this being a repeating cycle or anything like that."

Swift still seemed to be hiding a lot. Well, how much would he tell someone he had just been trying to kill recently?

Almond would learn more in time.

"Fine. An alliance until the next level."

"Alright. Until the next level."

Clack.

They shook hands.

***

Saying this would slight Luna, but the party with Swift was significantly stronger.

"Let's go!"

With Swift causing a disturbance upfront as a pseudo-tank and Almond providing ranged damage from behind, they quickly dispatched most monsters.

"Krraaah…!"

The monsters fell like dominoes and the group easily accumulated rune boxes.

The other participants they encountered along the way avoided them. If a fight did break out, Almond and Swift always won.

Swoosh!

Red blood splattered as Swift dispatched the other participants. He certainly shared similarities with the divine champion Swift that Almond knew.

"Haah… Haah…"

Swift wiped off the blood and muttered, "Such a trivial guy. He didn't give anything."

Apparently, the recently slain participant didn't possess any special skills.

"With this pace, we'll definitely be able to move to the next level when the new rule comes out."

"Shall we take a break?"

"Sounds good."

Having acquired a significant amount of runes, Almond could almost decipher all the characters on his body now.

"I'll secretly do the decoding while Swift takes a short nap," Almond announced to his viewers and volunteered to stand on watch first.

"I'll take the first watch."

"Alright."

Without any suspicions, Swift nodded and went into the tent to sleep. At least he pretended to sleep. In any case, he couldn't see what Almond was doing.

The shirtless Almond was examining his own tattoos. The tattoos were all oriented to be properly visible when he looked down at them. Almond took out the copy rune Lika that he had acquired.

"Hmm. Oh. There's a similar character here."

?I?? SWIFT

He spotted characters from the Lika rune.

"Not just one, but all of them?" Almond muttered and his eyes widened in realization.

"Could it be…?"

He matched the spelling with a sense of urgency.

Swift was a surname and what came before was likely his first name.

"K… L…"

Almond had thought along those lines.

KILL SWIFT

He didn’t expect the completed sentence at all.

‘Kill Swift.’