The Novel’s Villain

38. Alley Guesthouse (2)

There was a celebration. The news that twins were born immediately became a topic of discussion all over the world. They were the children of the Frontline Group Lee Min-woo. It would be strange if the world didn’t make a fuss about it. Major media outlets also posted very long congratulatory remarks while delivering the news and featured it on TV.

It was good news to barely catch a breath after Jin-woo turned the country upside down during his meetup. This was because the snowball of the arson case rolled tremendously, and everything related to the company was blown away. There was also an uproar in Elonti. The elves cherished children, and these were the first children born after almost a few decades. Besides, they were the prince and princess who inherited Ella’s blood. Usually, in fantasy novels, children born from humans and elves were discriminated against as half-elves.

But this wasn’t the case in Elonti. Rather, there could be no discrimination because the mixed-race was stronger. Moreover, it was a combination with the people of Earth, who were born with infinite possibilities. Since the Great Emperor of Gold gave them blessings, it was like they were born with a golden planet in their hands, not a golden spoon.

The Constellations had already been making a fuss to bring them to the Sanctuary. They were determined to grant them all their powers. Lee Min-woo and Grandfather laughed as if their mouths were going to tear apart, but Jin-woo couldn’t. This was because another unprecedented event occurred in such a situation.

Jin-woo headed to JW Gate as soon as he heard the news. Yoo-na was there first, gathering information from the high-ranking judges and maids. Before he knew it, a police line had been installed, and no one other than the person in charge could enter.

‘There seemed to have been a battle.’

The castle tower was also half-slanted, and there was a large hole in the castle. Besides that, the forest was also destroyed. With this extent of the carnage, it was clear that it was at the level of an Emperor.

‘No way… did an Emperor come over?’

There were currently five Emperors left. Of course, there were so many of them that not all had appeared. As the story went to the climax, many parts were subtly skipped over. Jin-woo couldn’t predict what was going to happen in the second half of the story. In Arorong and Haruring, he had no choice but to say that he was lucky. If it weren’t for the Maze’s constipation, the Middle World would probably have disappeared.

Jin-woo looked at the destroyed forest and approached Yoo-na.

“You’re here?”

“How is the situation?”

Even the high-ranking judges and the maids weren’t fully aware of the situation. However, it wasn’t caused by an invasion from outside, and it seemed that there was a problem in educating Arcana. Jin-woo was relieved that it wasn’t another Emperor’s doing.

‘Umm…’

He went to the site to check, but there were only traces of destruction. It was as if a huge tornado had torn it apart. Jin-woo even checked it with the Magic Eye of Information, but he couldn’t find any clues.

“It seems that Team Leader Kim Se-yeon has found a clue.”

“Let’s go there.”

Jin-woo opened a portal to the central control room. Se-yeon immediately showed the screen to him.

“There were some articles on Maze Net saying that they saw a new concept, and it was a broadcast on Bread Jam TV. The replay video was corrupted, but I tried to restore it.”

Eyewitness accounts were saying that it was a new concept of the Maze: New World. The video was corrupted while it was being saved, so it couldn’t be watched as it was. However, Se-yeon restored it.

Bread Jam was broadcasting with his distinctive tone of voice. The place where he was looked like a long passage to somewhere. As he passed through, a light could be seen, and what appeared was an oriental-style building. The responses in the chat window were also restored.

Cookie Chips: Oh! Oriental fantasy?

Sword Zone: Oriental fantasy! Oh! Can we finally see an Eastern style?

Magic Swordsman Min-jun: This isn’t a dungeon. It’s just a new open field, right?

Ohayo: Wow! Look at the blood… I can feel it! Are those the bad guys?

JamStone: There was no official announcement… is it like a hidden piece?

The building was half-collapsed, and a maid was standing before it.

‘Arcana?’

It was certainly Arcana. The General Manager’s figure was also seen as an afterimage, but at that moment, the screen flickered and then turned off. The reason was unknown, but the General Manager and Arcana were there. In a different dimension.

‘If it is oriental fantasy…’

That was also from the original story. It was a part full of the intention to increase the length of the novel. It was a pretty long story, but Jin-woo persistently read it all. It was like running a marathon. There were quite a few side stories in the original novel, even though the number of readers had bottomed out.

‘Perhaps, it’s after Luna died…’

After several episodes, Luna died. After that, the protagonist gave up everything and went to the East World. It was farther away than the Middle World, and he never returned to Earth.

‘My tears flowed and became the sea. Sending Luna away, I’m drowning.’

Leaving behind such an astonishing line. It was a line that even a middle school student wouldn’t say. It was so shocking that Jin-woo remembered it.

“How can I get there?”

“Bread Jam avatar is over there, so we can track its location. I’ll do it right away!”

Se-yeon activated several artifacts installed in the central control room. The entire image of the Maze appeared, and the image of the Sanctuary overlapped on top of it. The dimension connected to the Sanctuary portal was visible, and soon, the location of Bread Jam’s avatar was marked. It was very far away.

“It seems to have an independent flow. I think that’s why it could get far away without being affected by other dimensions.”

“I see. Can we open the portal there?”

“I think I can do it if I use Haruring and Arorong’s energy and the power of the Maze.”

However, it was said that it would take time to open a stable portal. Instead, a small artifact could be sent first to determine the situation when the portal opened to a certain extent.

‘Anyway, that’s a relief.’

If it weren’t for Bread Jam, Jin-woo wouldn’t have been able to figure out where the General Manager and Arcana were. They might have become dimensional lost children and never be able to return to the Sanctuary. Jin-woo decided to coolly forgive Bread Jam.

“Then, please.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Se-yeon immediately began her research. Jin-woo breathed a sigh of relief.

‘There is no need to worry about the General Manager and Arcana.’

Even the East World that was overflowing with strong warriors was no match for them. The General Manager was unlikely to die even if he was thrown into outer space. Arcana was the same. Rather, it was that dimension that should be worried.

Jin-woo could finally relax.

* * *

It had already been about a month since the two fell into another dimension. The oriental fantasy Easter Egg that Bread Jam spread was still being talked about on the Maze Net for a while after. Se-yeon contacted him so that she could send an observation artifact to the General Manager. Jin-woo immediately headed to the central control room.

Se-yeon finished the preparations before Jin-woo came. As she operated the devices, a screen popped up, displaying a small portal in the center of the Sanctuary. It was an unstable portal connected to the East World.

“Then I’ll send it!”

When Jin-woo nodded, Se-yeon sent the observation artifact into the portal. Arorong connected to it with her mind and controlled it. Jin-woo looked at the screen with Yoo-na. Luna, who visited the central control room, stood next to them, staring at the screen. The observation artifact was able to reach the other side after winding through a long passage. It was placed where Bread Jam’s avatar was.

The avatar wasn’t returned to Heaven but remained in that dimension. There was even a tombstone, perhaps because it was buried well in a sunny place. A panoramic view of the village could be seen. It was a village of moderate size. Houses that could only be seen in old Asian movies were clustered together.

‘Gosh…’

Not only the Demon Realm, the Middle-World, and Heaven, but also the East World had come out. The original novel mixed everything up. Of course, it wasn’t fun, but curiosity about what else would come out this time made him read to the end. Readers of the original novel probably couldn’t even imagine what Jin-woo saw.

“There they are.”

“As expected, they look okay.”

Yoo-na answered Jin-woo’s words like that. The General Manager was quickly found. The villagers were dressed in the style of an oriental movie, but the General Manager was still the same. Arcana also appeared, and she was still dressed as a maid. The General Manager entered an alley where the buildings were clustered.

Arorong controlled the artifact to follow.

It was a street with guest houses and restaurants, but the guests were nowhere to be seen. Although the village was quite large, the alley commercial district, where the General Manager was, wasn’t energetic. On the other side of the alley, there was a large guest house packed with people.

Since he sent an artifact, Jin-woo decided to look more closely. The General Manager looked at the guesthouses and restaurants and entered a shabby-looking guesthouse.

[W-welcome. Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds!]

[Oh, my! Y-you’re here!]

A middle-aged couple who seemed to be the owners welcomed him and called him by an odd name. The General Manager glanced at the couple. Then, he went inside and sat down at a table. The couple exchanged glances with each other.

[What’s the best thing at this place?]

[It is plain noodles and stir-fried vegetables with beef that is cooked in the Northeastern style. And some dumplings…]

[Serve all of them.]

The couple worked hard to prepare the dishes and brought them to the General Manager. The General Manager looked at the dishes, then sniffed at them. His eyebrows frowned as if he didn’t like something. The couple was very nervous.

The General Manager picked up the chopsticks. He first tried the vegetable stir-fry, tilted his head, then looked at the plain noodles. Jin-woo, Yoo-na, Se-yeon, and Luna began to be immersed in the General Manager’s appearance. They were very curious as to why he tilted his head and what it meant.

“Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds? What does that mean?”

“It’s interesting. Let’s watch it for now.”

Jin-woo and Se-yeon looked at the screen and said so. They decided to watch some more. The General Manager tasted the plain noodles from the soup first, tilting his head again.

[Hmm… it’s weird.]

He crossed his arms and stared at the dishes like that for a while. The couple watching him looked anxious. The General Manager turned his head and looked at Arcana sitting far away.

[Arcana.]

[…Yes.]

[Come here.]

Arcana hesitated for a moment before sitting in front of him.

[Try it.]

[You’re calling me only at times like this? That’s too much.]

Arcana seemed to have had a lot of experiences like this. Her eyes were full of resentment, but she sighed and picked up her chopsticks. She frowned when she ate the stir-fried vegetables. When she was about to wash her mouth out by eating the plain noodles, the General Manager shook his head and pulled the bowl closer in front of him.

[…General Manager?]

[The evaluation is not over yet.]

General Manager enjoyed the plain noodles. Arcana’s face trembled when she saw it. However, she couldn’t say anything because she felt guilty. He tilted his head once more and smiled again.

[Huh, really….]

[…Why?]

[This place is good at making plain noodles. It’s the best plain noodles in town.]

He looked at the couple with a smile.

[The soup is fine. I think there is something unusual put in it… ]

[Yes! I used the mineral water from the mountain!]

[Hmm… I see.]

General Manager nodded and began to enjoy the remaining noodles. Arcana looked at General Manager with desperate eyes.

[Ah, I also…]

[How is it? The stir-fried vegetables…]

[S-something tastes fishy and mushy…]

[Hmm, it’s still not enough. Eat some more.]

The General Manager, who ate the bowl of plain noodles, looked at the couple, ignoring Arcana’s gaze.

[I think it would be better to go with plain noodles only from now on. Just put down all other dishes.]

[Bu-but… plain noodles are too cheap… there’s nothing special about it… t-there are a lot of drunk customers, so it would be hard to handle…]

[Don’t you just have to make something special about it?]

At General Manager’s words, the couple’s eyes widened at the same time. They already knew what happened to the Golden Stamp Guesthouse, which was until recently only full of flies. There were originally many kinds of dishes, but now there were only three. Nevertheless, people still flocked in.

Not only the master of Martial Arts Sect but also the outstanding junior of the Representative Political Factions witnessed it.

[No way… are you saying that you will give us one of your hundred secret methods? That precious secret!]

The General Manager smiled and nodded at the husband’s words. Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds! It was the nickname the villagers called him. It was rumored that the strange heavenly man in front of the couple had a hundred kinds of secrets that would surprise the world. Some even said he held the secret recipes given by the Jade Emperor himself.

General Manager put his hand in his pocket. He was searching through the subspace.

‘What is he trying to get?’

Jin-woo was very curious about what the General Manager would bring out. Perhaps the same went for the others as they looked at the screen with sparkling eyes, even Maze, who had just joined.

The General Manager pulled out something shining silver. To the couple, what the General Manager brought out seemed too precious. It was like looking at a piece of paper made of silver. No, it glistened more than silver. It was a precious and supreme treasure. When the General Manager asked them to bring something to put it in, they hurriedly brought out a wooden bowl.

The General Manager tore the silvery paper.

[T-that precious thing…]

When the silver paper was ripped open, red powder fell out.

[Add this while cooking the noodles and stir well.]

The couple looked at the wooden bowl with the red powder as if they were looking at a treasure. The couple tasted it with their fingers, and they looked shocked. Jin-woo was speechless for a moment.

“That…”

“It’s ramen powder.”

Yoo-na spoke in a low voice. It was something that didn’t fit into the East World at all.

“General Manager’s subspace must have a lot of ramen in stock. I’ve heard that he’s kept it as a gift for those who are loyal to him as a Constellation.”

“…I see.”

It was said that the ramen eaten in the dungeon was really good. Many players praised the General Manager for its flavor. The hundred secret recipes weren’t a hundred secret recipes; there was only one. A magical powder that could be added no matter what the dish was. It could be called a cheat key.

The couple added ramen powder to the plain noodles and tried it.

[T-this taste!]

[I can’t believe it tastes so deep just by adding the powder! It’s a miracle!]

The couple was in awe. It went well with alcohol and was perfect for a meal.

[T-the universal plain noodles!]

The name was given on the spot. The General Manager looked at the couple with a happy expression and nodded. Only Arcana had a cold expression on her face while munching on the stir-fried vegetables. The artifact’s mana ran out, and the screen cut off.

“Wow, I think it’s more fun than What a twist!”

“So fun! I want to eat ramen.”

“I’ll cook it for you.”

Luna, Maze, and Se-yeon chattered while Jin-woo shook his head.

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with the two over there.’

Anyway, he had to go in person to pick them up, so he thought his curiosity would be solved if he went and asked him directly.

“Young Master, would you like some ramen?”

Jin-woo nodded at Yoo-na. He was craving ramen, too.