Chapter 1459 – 1459. Dark Moon
The city was bustling from the daybreak.
Citizens were all running around as if they had urgent business, and horses and carriages sped along the roads. Heavily armed police patrolled the streets, exuding an intimidating atmosphere.
It was lively, but different from the usual orderly Neo London.
Of course, I knew why. It was something that happened every 100 days. No one in this world could be unaware of it.
And for those who had no concept of dates, a recorded voice of a famous male entertainer echoed throughout the city.
-My beloved gentlemen and ladies of Neo London! The day has come again. Yes. It is the day the Dark Moon rises. Don’t you feel a chill in the morning air?
A chill.
That expression wasn’t wrong. The mornings in Neo London were always foggy, which might have made it feel that way even more.
I unnecessarily tightened my coat and walked down the street. My steps weren’t headed home, to a store, or to a factory. I was leaving the city.
-Neo London is safe. The Dark Moon has risen since the distant past. Neo London has overcome the Dark Moon until now. However, more than 100 people go missing every time the Dark Moon rises.
The citizens moved on with their busy steps, whether he was talking about the Dark Moon or not. I was probably the only one paying attention to his words. It wasn’t because I was a huge fan of his, but just because I was bored. I naturally ended up listening to what he was saying.
-All areas of Neo London will be sealed off from 6 PM. Citizens, please go home and close your doors. I recommend going to bed early. Can’t sleep? Go to the nearest pharmacy. Pharmacies sell sleeping pills at very low prices on the day the Dark Moon rises. Of course, they only sell one day’s dose of sleeping pills per person. Hot couples, please hold back tonight, no matter how hot you are. A friend of mine had sex on the day the Dark Moon rose and ended up…
Sex.
The entertainer’s words were unrestrained. But no one pointed out the entertainer’s words. In this city. No, in this world, explicit, direct, and dirty jokes were commonplace.
‘He’s probably talking about the anecdote of a woman who had sex with her husband on the day the Dark Moon rose and gave birth to a monster.’
The genes mutated under the influence of the Dark Moon.
Born from the womb of a human who received human seed, but not human, monsters. If you know how to use the internet a little, you can easily get detailed information.
‘If you’re lucky, you might get a human with an ability or a psychic.’
Thanks to that, there are many who deliberately have sex and get pregnant during the Dark Moon, hoping for a reversal of fortune. There are also quite a few scientists who deliberately pay money to conduct experiments.
-Be sure to lock your doors. Cover your windows with plywood, and preferably don’t turn on the lights in your house. Uninvited guests might find you by the light. If someone knocks on your door and you see a deceased family member, contact the London Guard immediately. Even if an acquaintance asks you to open the door, don’t open it. If your child is extremely temperamental, give them sleeping pills and put them to sleep. Be quiet, act like you’re dead, and don’t let anyone know. I’ll tell you again. Today is the day the Dark Moon rises. At 6 PM…
It reminded me of when I played the game. At first, I thought the NPCs in the game were overreacting to the Dark Moon. But after coming to this world, I realized that they had no choice. For ordinary people, the Dark Moon was an unmanageable natural disaster. To avoid being swept away by a natural disaster, you had to be well-prepared.
‘How was the last Dark Moon?’
100 days ago. I experienced my first Dark Moon in Neo London. Nothing happened. I woke up and the black moon had gone down, and the usual sun was up.
‘At that time, I was too busy adjusting to Neo London, so I just stayed quietly at home.’
Unlike ordinary people who were simply afraid of the Dark Moon, for those who had the power to protect themselves, the Dark Moon was also a night of opportunity.
‘There are quite a few things you can only get on the day the Dark Moon rises.’
That was why I was leaving Neo London today.
‘What I need right now is to restore my mana road. My mana road is a mess, so it’s not easy to increase it.’
Since coming to Neo London, I had been consistently practicing magic. But my mana road hadn’t increased by even one.
The 16 destroyed mana roads were hindering my growth.
‘I need those to go find that healer.’
Tonight, I was planning to get the things I needed.
I took a train that was heading out of the city. The inside of the train was deserted. But there were a few passengers. Most of them were passengers who smelled of blood. I was sure they were mercenaries. Of course, I didn’t approach them and talk to them just because they were also mercenaries. If I did, I would most likely get cursed at.
I quietly sat in my seat and watched the changing scenery of the train.
•••
The outskirts of Neo London.
This area, located further than Zone Z, was larger than all the zones of Neo London combined.
The outskirts referred to all the territory owned by Neo London, except for Neo London itself. Unlike the dazzling city, the outskirts were wild.
‘The council has completely given up on managing the outskirts.’
It was too dangerous and vast. And there weren’t many resources to be gained, so it wasn’t worth investing in. For that reason, Neo London let go of the outskirts. They did clean it up occasionally, but it was really rare.
‘It’s a familiar place for Dark Moon players.’
Leveling, hidden exploration, hidden quests, and so on. It was also an exciting place for players of the original game.
‘I can’t get everything hidden here.’
There were many things that were difficult for me to get even with my current skills. And I didn’t have the items I needed to prepare in advance to meet the conditions. What I could do here now was limited.
‘Hmm…’
I was troubled as I looked at the outskirts.
The overall appearance of the outskirts that I knew from the game was similar, but the details were very different.
‘The original was a PC game, so it can’t be helped… It’s impossible to fully implement this vast environment on a PC…’
It seemed like I was going to have a hard time today.
I looked around and walked down the street. This was a village formed around the train station.
‘If you walk a little from the station, you’ll see a tavern… Yeah. This is the same as the game.’
I walked down the village street, following my memories.
It was morning, so the tavern door was closed. I found an old man sprawled out in the alley next to the tavern and approached him.
NPC Nakario.
This world wasn’t a game, so it wasn’t right to call him an NPC.
Nakario, who had been closing his eyes, opened only one eye as I approached and said as if he was extremely annoyed.
“Spare a coin…”
I took out the coins I had exchanged in advance from my pocket. Unlike Neo London, where you could easily pay with a watch, cash was mainly used in the outskirts.
Clink!
I flicked a 100 credit coin at him with my finger. The coin drew a parabola and fell in front of him.
“Thank you. You’ll be blessed.”
Clink!
“Oh… You’re a good person.”
Clink!
“You’re giving me 300 credits? Thank you.”
Clink!
Clink!
Clink!
“…Is there something you want from me? Judging by the looks of it, you’re a mercenary who came from Neo London to make a killing.”
Clink!
I ignored his words and continued to flick coins.
A total of 20 times. I gave him 2,000 credits.
In the game, if you gave him 20 consecutive donations, Nakario would thank you and give you a bracelet. It wasn’t a big deal. You could get a small profit by disassembling the bracelet?
But Nakario’s reaction was completely different from the game.
“You son of a bitch! Are you looking down on me because I’m a beggar?! You shitty bastard. Do you think you won’t end up like me? You damn mercenary. Go die!”
He cursed and ran away into the alley. I was stunned by Nakario’s reaction, which was different from the game.
Even if I acted exactly like in the game, the reaction was completely different.
‘I knew it, but after seeing it for myself… it seems like it’s going to be a hassle. In the game, I could easily get a quest just by talking to someone… but that’s not the case in reality.’
As I was about to pass by the alley, I found a rough bracelet lying on the ground. It had the same design as the bracelet that Nakario gave in the game. I picked up the bracelet and took it. If I took it to the city and disassembled it, I could earn 20,000 credits.
I walked around as if I was checking out the village.
I threw coins into the fountain in the center of the village. One, two, three. Coins kept going into the fountain.
“Do you believe the nonsense that throwing coins into the fountain brings good luck? That’s just a lie made up by the villagers to rip off money from outsiders.”
I rolled my eyes and looked to the side as I threw the fourth coin.
There was a tall woman. She was wearing a black cap. Her amber eyes under the cap shone like machines. Her eyes were sharp, and her black hair was a short bob that showed off her neck line.
She was wearing a gray long coat. Through the open coat, she was wearing black skinny pants and a crop top that exposed her abdomen. Her exposed abdomen was not just without any fat, but had clear muscles. Above that, her voluptuous hills asserted their presence.
She had a belt around her waist. She had a gun holster on her thigh, and part of a knife was visible inside her coat.
I was surprised when I saw her. I was so surprised that my mind went blank for a moment. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful. She was…
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost? I pride myself on being a beauty… I’m getting a little upset that you’re reacting like that.”
She was one of the characters I had created while playing the game. I created her using a mod that users made to do concept play. I designed everything about her, including her appearance, stats, skills, and even the secret parts of her body.
“…Are you Jjapaguri?”
“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden? Are you a psycho?”
Jjapaguri.
That was the name of the character.
I was obsessed with Jjapaguri at the time, so I unknowingly set that name. I thought it was a cute name, so I just played with that name. I could change the name at any time if I wanted to.
She scanned my body up and down. I noticed her eyes moving. They were mechanical eyes.
“Hmm.”
“Did you scan me with those mechanical eyes?”
“Oh, you noticed? You’re not ordinary. Sorry, it’s kind of a habit. I search for information on the internet. Well, something like that? It’s not really harmful, so please forgive me.”
“I will. But I’d like you to tell me who you are.”
“Bell Terrier. Just a mercenary.”
