"...Are you going to tell Father?"

Raizen asked.

"...No, I don’t have a reason to do that. I am still not sure about this head of the family thing, and you’re thinking that I have a choice, but I’m not too sure.

"I still don’t know what Father is really thinking. It feels surreal to me that he actually prefers me as the heir."

Fang Raon said.

"It’s not all that surprising, really. You’ve always shown most promise in studies. You always scored at the top of your class and have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills as well.

"If you didn’t have that illness of yours, Father would’ve paid zero attention to the rest of us and would’ve started training you as head of the family a long time ago."

Raizen said.

"Hmm..."

Fang Raon had a lot to think about.

Meanwhile, the bumpy ride continued as the wagon’s wheels rolled down the long desert road that seemed to have no end.

But then... it looked like the wagon was endlessly rolling down the desert, but out of nowhere, the smuggler yanked the reins and brought the wagon to a sudden stop.

’We’ve stopped?’

Fang Raon looked out of the window.

In that moment, his imagination went slightly wild, thinking that the smuggler might’ve betrayed them, and they were about to be attacked by some bandits.

They were, after all, in the middle of nowhere and had no reason to stop since it seemed like they still had a long way to go.

"We’ve arrived."

The smuggler suddenly said.

Fang Raon looked surprised as he wondered what he meant by "We’ve arrived," as they were still in the middle of nowhere.

Raizen didn’t look surprised.

Clack~! Whir~! Grind~!

In that moment, a sound of mechanical gears turning sounded from somewhere, and in the air in front of a smuggler, out of nowhere, a scanning laser appeared.

It scanned the smuggler from head to toe and even scanned the wagon, but it couldn’t scan anyone inside.

The scanning laser disappeared.

And then, a wall in front of them lifted, revealing a dark-grayish tunnel that went straight for who knows how long.

"Hip hip!"

The smuggler whipped the horses, and they started pulling the wagon into the tunnel, and the wall slowly closed behind them.

’What in the world? I didn’t even notice it, but we reached the end of the tower. The tower wall. It looked like the desert actually extended much further, but it was just a wall.

’Not a painted wall, but instead like a holographic illusion, and it looked really good and very real. We’re now inside the tower walls.

’The smuggling route goes through the tower walls... That’s insane.’

Fang Raon thought, and then he remembered the scanning laser, and he peeked his head out of a window.

"That scan couldn’t detect us?"

"What is a scan?"

The smuggler turned to him with a puzzled expression.

"That blue light thingy."

Fang Raon said with a wry smile.

It sure was hard to talk with locals about these things, as they didn’t know much about such terms.

"Ah, that. It’s just a routine security check. That thing checks my identity, so I can pass through, and this wagon is made of special matter.

"It can block off the light."

The smuggler said.

"If the scanning laser detected us, the route wouldn’t open, so it is important to find a high-quality smuggler with a wagon like this one."

Raizen said.

"Ah, I see."

Fang Raon nodded.

Then, he looked out of the window, really curious about what it was like inside the tower’s walls, but it was pretty bland.

Just bland grayish walls—a tunnel that just kept going—as if they were going down a maintenance tunnel in some abandoned building.

"We shouldn’t encounter any guards for a while, but once I give a warning, climb inside the crates and cover yourself with those blankets.

"If we’re lucky, the guards don’t check the crates too closely."

The smuggler said.

Fang Raon nodded, and since there really wasn’t anything to do, he had some questions for his brother.

"What are Dead Redemption members like? I am curious. I did read about them on the web, but I doubt that reality is the same as what is written."

He said.

"...You are that curious about us, huh?"

Raizen asked.

It wasn’t all that new.

Dead Redemption was known even outside Black Online, and it’d be a surprise to find somebody who hadn’t heard of them.

Dead Redemption was basically as popular as Black Online itself.

"Who isn’t?"

Fang Raon asked.

Most players—if not all—would ask the same question from Raizen, but only he had the opportunity to do so.

Raizen rarely was without Dead Redemption’s company, so there weren’t many chances to ask questions from them.

"Who do you want to know first?"

He then asked.

"...Let’s start with Leon."

Fang Raon said.

"Leon... This game is his life."

Raizen said.

Fang Raon tilted his head slightly, intrigued.

"Leon does not like the real world. As he said it in his own words, he thinks it is shit. That’s why he is always online.

"In here, he is the strongest, feared, and respected by all. Out in the real world, he is an average joe."

Raizen said.

’Average joe... But Leon is so famous that everyone knows his name, so in the real world, he could never walk down the street without being recognized.

’I wouldn’t call that being average, but I know what he means. It’s all about strength to these guys.’

Fang Raon thought.

"I know Leon purchased a place in the middle of nowhere with state-of-the-art security systems. He lives there all alone, hundreds of miles away from any civilization.

"He likes being alone like that."

Raizen said.

"He doesn’t have a family?"

Fang Raon asked.

"I never asked. He never talked about them. It’s not really my business, as we’re not really friends either."

Raizen said.

"...You’re not friends?"

Fang Raon asked curiously.

"You have to know one thing about Dead Redemption. This is not some friend group. We’re all competitors at the end of the day.

"We all want to be the strongest. There is no room for friendship."

Raizen said with a cold look in his eyes.

"Mm... What about Lock?"

Fang Raon then steered the conversation away from Leon and decided to ask more about Lock, with whom he had some history.

"A battle maniac. He is still young, so he has a lot of energy, and that’s why he keeps challenging all of us constantly for fights.

"His current record is 0 wins and 56 losses."

Raizen said.

"...He hasn’t won even once?"

Fang Raon asked in a shock.

It was complete shock to him because Lock’s class was Assassin, and that should be perfect for one-versus-one combat.

He was the only Assassin in Dead Redemption as well, and because of his speed, he should be a really difficult opponent.

Somehow, he hadn’t won a single fight!

"Lock’s biggest weakness is damage output. He can outmaneuver basically everyone, but he simply lacks attacking prowess.

"And his defense is almost non-existent. A few good hits on him, and he is basically done for. It sure is difficult to hit him because of his speed, but not impossible."

Raizen said.

"That’s... Whoo..."

Fang Raon let out a long breath, and then he quickly shook his head and then decided to ask about another person.

"Kerr Gehram."

He said.

"Player Hunter... Why do you think he hunts players?"

Raizen asked.

"...I don’t know, maybe because it is more fun than hunting locals or monsters?"

Fang Raon guessed.

"The common misconception is that everyone believes that he is doing it because of the player’s loot.

"The reality might be a lot darker."

Raizen said with a serious look on his face.

Fang Raon shifted slightly on the floor of the wagon and listened curiously as he wondered what his brother meant by that.

"I could very well be wrong, but from what I’ve heard from Kerr’s own mouth, I think he has killed a person in the real world.

"I guess the thrill was second-to-none, and he gets that thrill back by killing players."

Raizen said.

"...You mean that he might’ve been a killer before the days of Black Online, but once this game came to be, he found a new way to satisfy his urges without consequences?"

Fang Raon asked with a shocked look.

"That’d be my guess. I also believe that he was caught for killing someone and served his jail sentence already.

"He has been talking about having to spend over a decade in some place.

"He is always very vague about it. In here, he can kill whoever he wants. He has always taken satisfaction from killing players.

"Without Black Online... I don’t know what would’ve happened to him, to be honest. Maybe he would’ve killed another person. So in a sense, Black Online has actually saved lives."

Raizen said.

’I had no idea that I talked with such a dangerous person. I am having chills. I can’t believe that kind of person didn’t kill me.’

Fang Raon thought with cold sweat running down his back.