Vol 3 Chapter 38

"That's right. I'm sure of it. There was even a video showing the people from the Zagreb guild battle video appearing in Bala Monyak. Could the person in the hood next to you possibly be FM-nim?"

"FM?"

"You mean that FM?"

"FM has shown up here?"

As the surroundings suddenly became noisy like a floodgate opening at the mention of FM, while Kapros was still puzzled, Kran bit his lower lip hard and whipped his head towards Un-o. Un-o, still frowning, quietly moved closer to Kapros.

"Watch the situation, and when I give the signal, go straight into the alley next to that crimson tent over there, no matter what."

"What?"

"Just do it for now, please."

As Kapros looked around, feeling utterly bewildered by this situation where he seemed to be the only one who didn't understand, he saw Kran clenching his fist and opening his mouth.

"Hah... really, I don't know why you keep doing this. Are there only one or two people walking around with black cloaks here? We're all low-level beginners, just hanging out with friends. Do I look like some famous person to you?"

Despite Kran's cynical tone, which was unthinkable for his usual self, the other party persisted.

"One of the three people in the video seems a bit different, but I clearly remember your face. I remember it. That blonde hair and face... If you insist, you could just show us whether the person in that cloak is the black-haired mage or not."

"What mage... He's a swordsman. If you knew why this guy wears a cloak, you wouldn't ask to see so easily. He wears it because he's embarrassed by his orc-like face when walking with someone as handsome as me. Do you really want to embarrass the kid that much? People have privacy, you know."

'...Orc?'

Kapros even turned around, wondering if Kran was really referring to him, but there was no one else besides him where Kran was pointing. He looked at Kran incredulously, but Kran was busy dealing with the users without sparing even a glance in Kapros's direction.

"That's too much. You could just admit it... We don't have bad intentions, we just became fans after seeing the video and thought it would be nice if it was you, so we approached."

"Why don't you go say that to the real people? We're just offended. Stop staring at us. We're not those people. And as proof that this guy is a swordsman."

Kran, who had walked up and stood next to Kapros, suddenly reached his hand towards the cloak and brought his face close to Kapros's ear, whispering softly.

"Sorry. I'll take five times the punishment for this later, so please bear with it for now."

Sensing something serious in Kran's tone that sounded almost desperate, Kapros didn't stop him. Kran then pulled back Kapros's cloak, revealing the sword hanging at his side for everyone to see.

"Here it is. A sword. Can you see it clearly? Stop bothering innocent people and go on your way, please."

"Even if that person isn't, you seem to be the one..."

"I told you, we're not. Go look for the people you're searching for somewhere else. We'll be on our way now."

Kran sharply retorted to the skeptical user's words, then quickly grabbed Kapros and walked away with Un-o, passing through the crowd of people. Soon after, noisy sounds erupted from behind as people began to disperse.

"Aw, what? It wasn't them? I came here thinking we might uncover the identity of one of the mysterious trio..."

"But that blonde guy really looked similar... That's why I thought it might be them. We got totally baited by that video saying they appeared in Bala. Who uploaded that? I'm gonna hook that bastard's mouth with a fishing hook."

"What's so great about FM that everyone's making such a fuss?"

"Honestly, he is pretty amazing... He's the first 5th circle master, isn't he?"

"If it's not them, it's not. Why did they have to talk like that? It's ridiculous, really."

"Who's the guy with the bow? He stood out too."

"That guy in the cloak... I wonder if he really wears it because his face looks like an orc?"

"Who knows..."

After walking slowly for a while, they entered an inconspicuous alley and ran like lightning until they reached a place where no one could see them. Only then did they have time to catch their breath and talk.

"Now... explain."

As Kapros spoke slowly, staring intently at Kran and Un-o in turn, he saw both of them flinch for a moment.

"Why am I the only one who doesn't know?"

"Well... it's a long story, um... Kap. Haven't you ever looked at any MIST-related communities?"

"Communities?"

As Kapros blinked at Kran's unexpected words, Un-o also nodded and added.

"It's better if you at least frequently visit one or two. I didn't think you wouldn't know anything until now."

Feeling like he had heard this somewhere before, Kapros racked his brain and recalled a conversation he had with Kran when they first came to Bala Monyak, passing by the street vendors. At that time, Kran had said he looked at communities for information, and Kapros had only thought about looking but never did.

"What on earth is going on?"

"You know how MIST users upload all sorts of things to those places, right? Back when we were traveling with that guy, around the time we first met this lackey..."

To summarize Kran's story:

When they first met Un-o in MIST, Yu-wan and Kran had beaten up some guys who were picking on Un-o in the middle of town. Someone had recorded that scene and uploaded it as a video, which unexpectedly gained quite a bit of popularity. As a result, Yu-wan and Kran's faces became quite well-known, and as a bonus, Kapros's figure was also vaguely captured in the video.

Up to this point, Kapros had heard about it in passing from Sio, whom he had met before, so he didn't think much of it. But the problem started after that.

During the guild battle in Zagreb, several more videos of them were captured and uploaded. This included footage of Kapros using 5th circle magic while fleeing from Caesar. Although they hadn't shown themselves in Zagreb after that, as these videos spread far and wide and began to attract attention, users even gave nicknames to Kapros, Yu-wan, and Kran, whose names they didn't know.