<<It seems like Arkham is in for some major trouble……>>

Ranen simply couldn’t understand how things had turned out like this.

He had just been happily slacking off in the treatment room as usual, chatting with players, making some money, and then checking the forum to see what kind of silly antics the players had come up with this time.

And then he saw this new thread that left him utterly baffled.

“The Plot Has Arrived! The Plot Has Finally Arrived! What’s the Conspiracy Against Ranen? Which Side Is Good, and Which Side Is Evil? What’s the Purpose Behind the Sinister Hand Reaching Out to the Players?”

S-So long…

As soon as he saw his name in the title, Ranen was immediately filled with a sense of foreboding.

And sure enough, his premonition was spot on.

Someone is investigating him?

Why would anyone kidnap players to ask about his true identity?

What true identity could he possibly have? Isn’t he just an ordinary person?

Ranen was utterly bewildered, full of questions, but he couldn’t stop the players from letting their imaginations run wild.

1st Commenter: Five players were kidnapped and interrogated… and they were probing for information about Ranen… Umm, could it be that an enemy faction is targeting Ranen?

2nd Commenter: It’s possible. I think this might be the start of the main storyline. The player released the evil god sealed in the hospital. The evil god is hiding in a clinic in the streets and alleys, which has caught the attention of an official organization. They might have been monitoring the area all along, and when they noticed the players’ activities, they took action and captured people for interrogation.

3rd Commenter: Hiss… Could it really be that much of a coincidence? The plot just started, and the official organization has already discovered it? Are the investigators in this world really that strong? I don’t quite believe it, and their methods don’t seem like those of a righteous organization.

4th Commenter: I think it might be an internal conflict. Think about it, we players have been hovering around Ranen for the past few days. Did we anger his true followers? If Ranen is an evil god, he would definitely have followers. Maybe they know their master has been unsealed, but they’re being cautious because of the investigators’ surveillance, so they’ve been lurking nearby. And our actions might have disturbed them.

5th Commenter: Uh, that doesn’t make sense. Why would they be asking players about Ranen’s identity?

6th Commenter: Maybe they were trying to trick us, to see if we knew about Ranen’s identity, and where we got that information.

7th Commenter: That’s possible. It’s impossible to guess the logic of fanatics.

8th Commenter: What about the person who came to rescue them afterward? He was obviously one of Ranen’s followers, right?

9th Commenter: Is it possible that there’s internal conflict among them too? Even followers can get jealous and compete with each other!

Ranen: ?

‘When I use a question mark, it’s not because I’m confused, but because you’re the one with the problem…’

10th Commenter: To be honest, I don’t think this theory is very reliable.

Ranen was touched, thinking, ‘Exactly, there are still some sane people in this forum.’

10th Commenter: Rather than internal conflicts among followers, I’m more inclined to think it’s the evil cult that originally sealed Ranen, or a secret society that knows Ranen is trapped in the hospital or something like that. Anyway, it’s probably not the official organization. If it were, the investigators wouldn’t be using such methods.

11th Commenter: Hiss… Another mysterious force? Is Arkham really that deep…

12th Commenter: Well, this is Arkham after all, hahaha.

Ranen’s expression darkened. He was about to close the thread when he suddenly noticed the players had a new update.

Matcha Green Milk: Major news! I’ve been successfully rescued!

13th Commenter: ?? Saved by your in-game friends?

Matcha Green Milk: No, other players haven’t arrived yet. You won’t believe this, but I was rescued by an NPC—one of Ranen’s forces, a follower of Ranen!

14th Commenter: ???

15th Commenter: ???

Ranen: ???

16th Commenter: What’s going on? Wasn’t Ranen supposed to be an NPC guide? How did followers suddenly appear?

Matcha Green Milk: I have no idea, but this follower guy is pretty good-looking, definitely seems like he’ll have a lot of screen time. And he was super fanatical, praising Ranen the whole way.

17th Commenter: Oh yeah! Victory for Ranen’s evil god faction!

18th Commenter: I got released too, and it seems like Ranen sent someone to rescue me. He really cares about me, wahhh.

19th Commenter: Damn, so only A-Long was unlucky enough to get eliminated early (laughing to death).

Don’t Call Me A-Long: … Damn it.

20th Commenter: A-Long, are you still playing this game? If not, transfer your account to me. I want to get in and see my waifu.

Don’t Call Me A-Long: Get lost! I’ve already re-rolled my character!

21st Commenter: Don’t you think it’s strange? The players were kidnapped not too long ago, and Ranen’s followers showed up to rescue them so quickly. Isn’t that a bit suspicious?

22nd Commenter: Is it possible that the unknown force hostile to Ranen is also being monitored by his followers? Or maybe they aren’t even sure if Ranen is the target they’re looking for? (wild imagination)

23rd Commenter: So you’re saying this was just a test?

24th Commenter: Could be. It depends on how the story develops from here.

Ranen couldn’t believe how far the players’ imaginations had gone. Wait a minute, have they completely stopped discussing whether he’s actually an evil god? No! Don’t give up on reasoning!

Isn’t there a possibility that he’s really not an evil god?!

Ranen really couldn’t figure out how there could be these nonexistent followers. He tinkered with the panel he had access to and discovered that, aside from opening the player forum, there was also a section for issuing quests to players. However, it required the player’s location or needed to be done face-to-face. Fortunately, Matcha Green Milk had previously posted her location on the forum. Ranen hurriedly sent her a quest to bring the follower over.

He has to see for himself who is stabbing him in the back!

—-

Karens stepped into Ranen’s Psychotherapy Room for the first time. The room’s arrangement and atmosphere weren’t too different from what he had seen before. It wasn’t particularly eerie, but maybe due to psychological reasons, everything in this room appeared especially terrifying to him.

Ranen looked even better in person than in the photos, possessing a sort of enchanting beauty. But Karens didn’t dare to look directly at him, let alone speak—he couldn’t even bring himself to raise his head.

‘Calm down, calm down… Maybe he hasn’t noticed…’

“Why did you do it?”

‘Huh? Do we know each other? Why did you backstab me?’ 

Karens’s hand trembled as he held the teacup, feeling like he was holding deadly poison instead of tea. He couldn’t decide whether to drink it or not.

Of course, since this is a being that could be called a ‘god,’ how could his petty tricks possibly escape its notice?

He is too arrogant.

Karens couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He set down the teacup and, under Ranen’s horrified gaze, stood up from his seat and knelt on one knee. “Everything was my personal judgment. Please do not punish Black Poker. I am willing to bear your wrath alone.”

Ranen: ???

Uh, there’s really no need to kneel and apologize…

Wait, what did he just say?

“Black Poker…” Ranen suddenly remembered—the prisoner he helped interrogate at the police station earlier was a member of Black Poker, wasn’t he?!

Under Ranen’s gaze, Karens bitterly recounted everything he had done, including the mess they made when Sean suddenly confessed information about Black Poker at the police station. They had planned to cause trouble for Ranen and even kidnapped Ranen’s supposed followers.

As Ranen listened, he was both speechless and filled with dread.

Now he finally understood the entire sequence of events. It turned out this guy had misunderstood the players as his followers and thought they were involved in some kind of cult, which is why his attitude had changed so drastically.

He could say that if it weren’t for the players’ intervention, the one who would have been kidnapped might have been him…

The Black Poker gang truly lived up to what Albert had told him—they acted with complete disregard for the law, even daring to commit kidnappings in broad daylight without a care for the consequences.

This left Ranen, who had lived in a law-abiding society in his previous life, feeling deeply conflicted.

Karens, noticing the change in Ranen’s emotions, gritted his teeth, unbuckled the gun from his waist, and placed it on the table. “As long as it helps you vent your anger, I’m willing to accept any punishment.”

Ranen snapped back to reality, his gaze at Karens filled with complex emotions. He completely gave up on explaining and said indifferently, “Forget it. It’ll just dirty my floor. Besides, I wasn’t the one you kidnapped.”

Karens quickly responded, “Then I’ll go apologize to your followers right away.”

“No need.” Ranen hastily stopped him. “They won’t hold a grudge over something like this. As long as you provide them with some useful information in exchange, that should be enough.”

“Information…?” Karens was momentarily stunned. “May I ask what kind of information?”

“Anything related to strange events, non-human entities, traces that humans can’t leave behind…” Ranen explained. “As long as it’s that kind of clue, give it to them to investigate. They’ll be quite pleased.”

“I understand.”

For Karens, this request wasn’t difficult. In Arkham, bizarre incidents were anything but rare.

‘But why would He ask for this? They are clearly the most ‘bizarre’ of all, and He should know much more about the underworld than Black Poker ever could.’

At that moment, Karens recalled a report from his subordinates: this group had only appeared in Arkham today.

‘Could it be that they are targeting other mysterious forces in Arkham?’

The thought sent a chill through Karens, and his vigilance toward Ranen heightened even further.

It seems like Arkham is in for some major trouble…