Two pieces of paper went up in bright red flames, burning briskly. Belsus’s pupils trembled violently, like a bear backed against a cliff.
"Listen closely. The performance is a trap. If we go to see that show, they’re the ones who reap massive benefits."
The unique ability that the Bard inherited from Persephone is 'Recognition.'
But first, you have to understand that the combat class known as 'Bard' involves playing instruments and singing to influence enemies and apply debuffs. When you combine this with her status as a famous singer and the unique ability ‘Recognition,’ the synergy is massive.
With every single performance, Persephone leeches a staggering amount of EXP from the audience.
‘Gain EXP based on Recognition.’
The more people hear and remember her songs, and the more they hum those catchy tunes, the more EXP rolls in. It’s basically an insane auto-hunting ability.
The raw amount of EXP gained is balanced so it isn't huge, but it's still undeniably overpowered. That's why the best winning strategy when facing the Bard and Persephone is to walk around with your ears tightly plugged.
So, inviting us to the show was basically saying, 'Please come be our prey so we can feast on your EXP.'
"Got it? The Bard probably didn't even expect us to actually show up. That’s why he joked about us scalping the tickets."
Belsus stared endlessly into my eyes before slowly nodding.
He looked relieved. It was as if... he had been waiting for me to say those exact words to reassure him.
'What a pushover.'
He isn't stupid, so he already knew everything I just said. He just felt too guilty thinking poorly of the Bard himself, so he wanted someone else to say it for him. At this point, he might as well outsource his entire ego to me.
Since Persephone’s theater troupe is famous, selling these VIP tickets would have fetched a decent sum, but even a money-grubber like me had no intention of doing so. The Bard might track the tickets to do something detrimental to us, and honestly, I just hated the idea of dancing to his tune.
---
A few days later, for the first time since possessing this body, I left the vicinity of the village where the Archer was staying and headed to the city.
[-I want to go too.]
[-Crazy bastard.]
The Archer was trying to ditch his village guard duties to follow me, which was creepy, to say the least.
[-Alright. I won't cling to you, so just come back. Yeah? Please?]
[-Ugh, why should I!]
[-If you don't come back... ugh, I'm going to expose in the chat that you're Belsus's partner! I'll tell them you're hiding without typing, plotting to destroy us all like some mastermind!]
[-You really are doing the most...]
Before the Archer could ruin my eyes by crying, I blurted out an agreement in a fit of annoyance.
'How did I end up with a leech like this attached to me?'
I decided I would temporarily move the spatial door's coordinates next to the Nature Troupe, then return to where the Archer was later.
And so, on the night the 'Nature Troupe' successfully wrapped up their opening performance, had a light celebratory toast, and fell fast asleep, I quietly slipped away while Belsus was sleeping.
'Actually, there's no way Belsus didn't notice, but I'm slipping out anyway.'
He would definitely sulk, but this was the one thing I couldn't coddle him over. I have my own business to take care of, after all. Besides, if I had to console him over this too, I felt like I'd lose my patience with him and snap. So, I feigned ignorance and just left.
My destination was a tavern close to the building where the Nature Troupe had set up their temporary base.
I arrived at the unfamiliar tavern and casually strolled in. After a quick glance around, I walked straight to a table and sat down.
"Would you like to order?"
"Just a glass of water."
I answered the moment I sat. The waiter took the brief order and backed away.
Sitting across from me was a gray-haired middle-aged man with a deep wrinkle by his eyes, having clearly kept the seat warm for a long time. When our eyes met, he smiled softly. A dimple formed beside the long corner of his mouth.
"I didn't expect you to come."
"You wrote it down so blatantly. What would you have done if I stood you up? You'd be heartbroken."
He had written a message on the back of the ticket specifically for me to see, telling me to meet him at this tavern on the night of the performance. And he wrote it in English, not Korean, ensuring Belsus couldn't read it.
"I almost missed it and burned it, you know."
Since he was older than me and had initiated with formal speech, I naturally responded formally as well. However, I didn't want to be overly polite, so I intentionally acted a bit arrogant as I waited for the Bard's reply.
The Bard chuckled, as if finding a much younger guy like me endearing (it gave me the creeps), and slightly raised his beer glass toward me. I had a glass of water I could have clinked it with, but I didn't indulge him. The Bard, unfazed, took a sip of his beer alone and set it down.
"As for how I found out about your existence,"
"Why don't I tell you? About how you managed to figure me out?" I struck first, seizing the floor.
"Well, simply because I have an interest in a young friend like you."
He kept spouting old-man nonsense, probably trying to mess with my head, but I ignored it.
How exactly did the Bard realize I existed? It went back to the dungeon a few days ago. To the children's song, 'Mountain Bunny,' that the Bard played while we were fighting the boss.
'The Archer said that old guy was really funny.'
When I heard it, I didn't find it funny in the slightest. Because I realized the hidden meaning behind 'Mountain Bunny.'
The class shared by the Bard and Persephone is 'Bard,' and their unique ability involves gaining EXP by having others listen to their songs. Just as a Farmer like me gets better results the more effort I put into my food, a Bard’s song gains stronger influence the more of their own power is imbued into it.
'If it's an original song they wrote and composed themselves, the effect is stronger. Singing someone else's song weakens it.'
However, there's another metric applied to a Bard's song: their fame as a singer.
The Persephone from the game wasn't a famous singer from the start. Whatever she was doing before, she learned to sing and debuted late. The songs she composed and sang back then were her own, but yielded very little EXP.
'If you're an unknown singer, you're better off singing someone else's famous song and making people listen to it to gain more EXP.'
The Bard was a person who had just 'spawned' into this world a few weeks ago. No one knows him. That's why he used 'Mountain Bunny.'
"Everyone who was fighting the boss together must have heard the music, right? The Paladin, the Rogue, the Puppeteer, the Fighter, the Archer... and Belsus too."
The five people from the real world would recognize 'Mountain Bunny' the moment they heard it. However.
"Belsus wouldn't know the nursery rhyme 'Mountain Bunny.' It’s not a song that exists in this game. It must have been his first time hearing it in his life."
By now, the Bard had surely played 'Mountain Bunny' for other game NPCs he met after possessing the body, calculating exactly how much EXP they provided. Therefore, Belsus should have yielded the same minuscule amount of EXP...
"Did Belsus give you a bit more EXP? More than an average game NPC?" I guessed with confidence.
The Bard maintained his vague smile, listening intently to my words.
Belsus was definitely hearing the song for the first time, yet the EXP received from him was roughly 2% higher. The Bard's gears must have been turning fast.
"The conclusion is this: 'Someone who knows the song Mountain Bunny' had been sticking by Belsus's side for a very long time."
That was the decisive piece of evidence that led the Bard to realize there was a 'Player' behind Belsus.
'I didn't even sing 'Mountain Bunny' in front of Belsus. It's surprising that just by me being next to him, his EXP yield increased slightly.'
It seemed the 'Recognition' ability was far more detailed and sensitive to minor factors than I thought. Since there was a scene in the game where Persephone exploited this, I couldn't really complain that it was unfair.
After only dealing with the idiotic Archer, facing off against a brilliant player made me feel like my meager intellect was running dry. I maintained my composed expression and stared at the Bard.
Of course, this alone wouldn't immediately make him conclude that there was an 'error player missing from the chat window'... but it wasn't an impossible leap of logic. The only players who could possibly be by Belsus's side were the Puppeteer and the Archer, who were currently in this country. But the Puppeteer was locked in the palace, and the Archer...
[-No, I really don't know him, I swear!]
That damn bastard really is of no help to me. When the Bard probed him in the dungeon, the Archer must have insisted with a face of pure innocence that he had absolutely no connection to Belsus.
'You practically snitched on my identity, you punk.'
The Archer didn't know the implications, so it couldn't be helped. It just meant the Bard was highly competent.
The tavern, moderately noisy due to the sparse crowd, made the silence between the Bard and me conspicuously obvious. I took a sip of water and set the glass down. I didn't even touch the food.
The Bard hadn't touched the bar snacks either. He drank his beer as smoothly as water, set his glass down, and maintained that greasy smile.
"By any chance, have we met somewhere before?"
_________
(t/n : Unlock more chapters on my Ko-fi💙)
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