Chapter 72

Chapter 72, Invitation

The Gallery had already been burning because I hadn't shown up.

Then I arrived and threw more firewood into it, making it burn even hotter.

I watched the Gallery users' reactions from afar as if enjoying a fire, while petting the Mimic beside me.

It had already been about a week since we moved into the Inner World.

Seven days was more than enough time to recover from fatigue.

In other words, I had rested too much and was starting to get bored.

I had been especially affected by stimulating battles and journeys, so I felt the boredom even more strongly.

It even felt like my senses were starting to rust a little.

I had gotten tired of walking around Arlin's beloved cyberpunk city with her, and of touring the Joseon-style palace Hwa-ryeon loved.

I had already seen every reaction I wanted from throwing flex posts into the Gallery, so I didn't feel like doing that anymore either.

Because of that, most of my recent daily routine consisted of browsing the internet and looking for interesting incidents or stories.

The more information and rumors I found online, the more my curiosity grew.

Apparently, the number of doors in Korea that trapped people inside once entered had already grown from over ten thousand to around thirty thousand.

I wanted to see one of those at least once.

Whenever I heard about famous and well-known Mysteries whose exact information wasn't public, I also felt the urge to use Lucy and uncover their details.

Before reincarnating, I had just been an ordinary office worker who wanted to work less and relax more.

How did I end up like this?

I wondered if all this curiosity and desire would finally settle down if I completely relaxed for about half a year.

While thinking that and petting the Mimic, it suddenly wriggled.

Then it opened its upper lid wide like a mouth and spat something out from inside.

Afterward, it closed its lid again.

By now, I was quite familiar with the sight.

I had watched the Mimic do this every day for the past week.

The ability of the Spitting Mimic had activated, spitting out an object swallowed by the [Swallowing Mimic] once per day.

Curious about what it had spat out this time, I examined the object.

It was mail.

The white envelope had the word Invitation written in large letters on the front.

Honestly, I didn't expect much.

Over the past week, the Mimic had spat out things like someone's discarded lipstick, worn-out stockings, a blank sheet of A4 paper, and a tiny diamond ring.

Its reliability had already fallen as low as it could go.

Even the diamond ring had turned out to be fake after I asked Arlin, who knew about such things.

So I couldn't imagine that this new piece of mail would be anything amazing.

Still, holding onto a faint trace of hope, I opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside.

Just like the envelope, the word Invitation was written in large letters at the top.

[Invitation]

[We eagerly look forward to meeting you.

It has now been three hundred years since the founding of the Mystery Protection Association.

To commemorate this occasion, we will be holding a modest exhibition, and we invite distinguished guests who meet the proper qualifications to attend and grace the event with their presence.

Qualifications:

Possess at least three Mysteries

Or

Possess at least one bound Mystery

Date and Time:

November 30, 22:00, Pacific Standard Time, PSR

Location:

Held within [Scq711, False Utopia].

Method of Entry:

At the designated time, tear this invitation to enter.

If others are in physical contact with the invited guest at that moment, up to two additional people may travel together.

Inviter:

Dorothy, First President of the Mystery Protection Association]

After reading the invitation to the end, I straightened my posture.

This doesn't seem like a joke.

The invitation was written on luxurious paper in golden cursive.

Far too much care had gone into it for it to simply be some prank.

It was elaborate enough that even if it were a joke, I felt it would be polite to fall for it once.

But the more I thought about it, the less it seemed like a joke.

Even ignoring the high-quality texture of the paper, which looked like it could easily cost more than ten thousand won, the contents themselves were unusual.

The name Mystery Protection Association.

The claim that tearing the invitation would transport you somewhere.

And among the qualifications for entry, possessing at least one bound Mystery.

Because I had practically been living on the internet lately, I knew that being able to bind a Mystery was considered advanced information.

At the very least, it wasn't something people casually talked about online.

Yet the invitation openly listed possession of a bound Mystery as one of its qualifications.

That meant whoever had written this invitation probably possessed a significant amount of knowledge about Mysteries.

In other words, there was a high chance it was genuine.

Still, there was one thing I had to consider.

This entire thing could be a trap.

If this invitation was something like an invitation that kills you when torn, or an invitation that transports you into a trap when torn, that would be pretty bad.

“Lucy, come here for a moment.”

Of course, that kind of trick wouldn't work on me because I had Lucy.

The moment I called, Lucy flew straight over and landed on my hand.

I opened her.

As expected, the invitation wasn't just a prank.

It had been registered in Lucy as a new Mystery.

Its number and name were [Scq269, Teleportation Invitation].

Its effect was to teleport the person who tore it to a designated location.

I didn't know where exactly the destination engraved into the invitation was, but it didn't seem like a bad idea to try tearing it.

“Honestly, it's probably not a trap.”

I hadn't received this invitation directly from anyone.

The Swallowing Mimic had swallowed it somewhere, then the Spitting Mimic had spat it out and brought it to me.

How could the person who created the invitation possibly know that someone like me would possess the Spitting Mimic and set a trap specifically for me?

For that reason, I thought there was a high chance the invitation wasn't a trap.

Still, since the possibility wasn't completely zero, I had to be careful.

What should I do with this invitation?

Should I just close my eyes and tear it?

From the time written here, it looked like the event would start sometime tomorrow morning.

Should I accept the invitation as soon as morning came?

I had already been bored lately, and now that an invitation like this had fallen into my hands, all kinds of thoughts filled my head.

After thinking about it for a long time, my feelings leaned toward using it.

Yeah.

Let's use it.

There was still about half a day until the exhibition listed on the invitation began.

Until then, I decided to investigate the Mystery Protection Association, the organization that had sent it.

Once I made up my mind, I didn't hesitate.

I immediately went to the library, found a book, and opened it.

When I opened my eyes again, I had arrived inside a cyberpunk world filled with exhaust fumes and noise.

Brilliant neon lights decorated the surroundings like stars that had descended from the night sky.

Even though it was a familiar sight by now, I still couldn't help being impressed by its beauty.

I could understand a little why Arlin had wanted cyberpunk so badly.

Looking around the city, I headed toward the building in the central district where Arlin was staying.

The building's entrance was automatic.

The elevator inside was automatic too.

Once I stepped in, the doors closed on their own and began carrying me toward the highest floor.

Not long after, the elevator doors opened.

I stepped out and looked ahead.

Through an enormous wall made entirely of glass, the city's night scenery was completely visible.

A noisy city.

Neon signs flashing at regular intervals.

The sight alone looked loud enough to hurt my ears.

Yet not even the slightest sound entered the building.

Everything had been designed according to Arlin's preferences.

After all, this building served as both her villa and laboratory.

“Arlin!”

I stood where I was and called her name.

A line suddenly appeared through the air with a zzzt, opening into a crack.

Arlin stepped out from inside.

She seemed slightly happy to see me.

Her expression barely changed, but I could tell from her atmosphere.

There was a subtle excitement to her.

“Yuhyeon, what brings you here?”

“I have something I want to ask. Do you have time?”

“Of course. But wait a moment. Let's talk outside instead of here.”

“The night view is nice. Why outside?”

“I've realized that cyberpunk is most beautiful when you only look at it. Experiencing it directly means the air is dirty and everything is noisy.”

She added that living in the same room with me back at the apartment had actually been much better.

“So let's talk outside.”

After saying that, Arlin waved her hand.

When I blinked, we were standing inside the library.

It was only possible because Eriel had granted us authority within the Inner World comparable to her own.

She really was someone to be grateful for.

“All right. What did you come to ask me?”

I took out the invitation, showed it to her, and asked about the Mystery Protection Association.

I thought Arlin might know something about it.

When we first encountered the Company and the Order, I had also learned basic information about both groups thanks to her.

As expected, the moment she heard the name Mystery Protection Association, she immediately spoke.

Her voice was full of certainty.

“We should go immediately.”

“What?”

“To think we managed to obtain an invitation from the Mystery Protection Association thanks to the Mimic. It seems bringing the Mimic with us was indeed the correct decision. The exhibition begins in eight hours, so I'll start preparing now. Let's go together.”

Curiosity, anticipation, and scholarly passion were burning behind her eyes.

I calmed her down and asked her to explain what the Mystery Protection Association actually was.