“I-It’s rigged!”

It could simply be bad luck. Coincidentally, it was kind of suspicious how the chances were bad when I spun the same wheel Kim Hyun-Sung had spun, but probability-wise, it wasn’t impossible. It could be that I was just unlucky, but I had to do something to stop the mythic-ranked monster from appearing.

‘No way.’

As it made a rattling sound, the Fragment of the Ancient God was trying to appear before us. I wasn’t sure if it was taking its time to break the seal or if Max was delaying it because of my complaint, but once that monster appeared, our party would get annihilated within ten minutes.

“The rates are rigged!” I shouted again.

I didn’t even know what I was saying, and the unknown fear I had never felt before made me tremble. However, Max seemed interested in what I had to say because if he really looked up to the Rift Guardians, then he would be bothered by anyone insulting this museum.

- I understand what you’re trying to say. The rates are not rigged. Everyone has a 1 to 500 chance.

“There’s no way for us to know if that’s actually true or not. Don’t you agree?” Ahn Ki-Mo asked.

‘Nice, Ahn Ki-Mo.’

I thought he could be useful in situations like this, but I had never imagined that we would be in sync this quickly.

‘Good one.’

While Ahn Ki-Mo was arguing with Max, my job was pretty simple.

‘Think of a way to escape.’

Fighting a mythic-ranked monster wasn’t even an option. The difference between classes was so big that fighting the monster was impossible, and if I had to give an example, it was like fighting a tank with a slingshot. Even if Kim Hyun-Sung had some skills up his sleeve, there was no way we could defeat it.

‘I need to play along for now.’

After Ahn Ki-Mo finished his line, he glanced at me, so I had no choice but to speak up.

“Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo is correct. You said that the rates aren’t rigged, but you don’t have any proof to back that up.”

- Is there a reason for me to prove it?

“Of course. You call this place a museum instead of a dungeon, and you called us explorers, not capturers. If this museum was a dungeon, then there’s no reason for you to explain it to us, but if this museum really was created by the Rift Guardians, then it’s your duty to explain it to us. It’s not a choice,” I explained.

- A duty and not a choice… That’s an interesting point.

“As the manager, it may be fun for you, but to the explorers, it’s an important matter. We’re not here to capture the dungeon. We came to experience and explore the museum. Don’t you all agree?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s right.”

Ahn Ki-Mo was the only one who answered, but I could feel the rest of the members slowly getting ready to move. I was sure everyone had the same thought as me. It wasn’t because I was smarter than the others that I spoke up first. I just doubted it before anyone else did, and I was sure that doubt was now growing inside everybody.

- I understand your point of view. To me, it seems like you’re just doing this to prevent the exploration from progressing further… However, it has been a while since I had guests, so I guess I should provide an explanation, even though I’m not sure how I should explain it. Would it be convincing if I quantified the results of the explorers who had visited the museum so far?

Max was more quick-witted than I thought, and he seemed kind of annoyed, but his expression wasn’t strange. The Rift Museum he loved so much was about to turn into a dirty gambling house where games were rigged, so I was sure he would want to address that first.

People would interpret things differently when expressing the same information in different ways. We may think of this place as a dungeon, but Max didn’t think the same. To him, the museum was a gift and duty the Rift Guardians had created for the humans on this continent, and it was a place where countless historical records were stored.

“I’m curious about whether you have proof that you haven’t rigged the quantified data. Where’s your body in the first place? It’s a dummy that’s guiding us, not you. If you really are the manager instead of the owner of this museum…”

‘Not like this.’

Despite saying it, I thought about how maybe I shouldn’t have said it.

‘All I’m doing is delaying the battle.’

It had already been confirmed that the boy wasn’t the dungeon master. The strategy told by the Rift Museum’s system was to explore the museum instead of killing The Museum Manager Max. Even if the boy died, it didn’t mean we had captured the dungeon, and resisting the system’s power with the power of ordinary humans was impossible. If resisting were an option, then players would have already destroyed the dungeon from the outside first before starting the dungeon capture. Even the Cursed Shrine, the place where I met Juliena, could be stabilized after attacking the dungeon from the outside with magic. This method was much safer than entering the dungeon. Basically, there was only one way to capture this dungeon.

‘Follow the rules.’

If resisting the system was impossible, then that was the only way.

‘Shit.’

Obviously, I didn’t want to die in a place like this.

Max was showing proof by showing the results that hadn't been quantified, but it had been a while since I stopped listening to him. I didn’t even have the luxury to answer him. Actually, Park Deok-Gu seemed more worked up than I, as he was huffing while shouting, and Ahn Ki-Mo was supporting him by playing along.

“As hyung-nim mentioned earlier, there’s no proof that this is real! It was kind of strange from the start! As soon as you saw them, you said some strange things about displaying our hyung-nim and the bro. Your intentions seem a bit strange.”

“He’s right!” Ahn Ki-Mo shouted.

“It would be different if you didn’t say that in the beginning! I don’t know much about distorted causality or being blessed by mana, but how can we trust the dungeon manager when he says things like displaying people in the museum?!” Park Deok-Gu continued.

‘You’re doing great, you pig.’

I thought about it before, but Park Deok-Gu had the qualities of an agitator, and the tone of his voice made me nod for some reason.

- That’s the rule. As the manager, I can’t say that I’m not greedy for rare objects, but the rates aren’t rigged.

“It’s over the moment you said you were greedy. If you really had the qualities of a manager, you shouldn’t have said those things in the first place! I don’t know what the Rift Guardians are, but the manager they created wants to display the people of this continent, and that itself sounds really weird!” he added.

- That’s a very human way of thinking. It’s not you who makes the continent. Actually, humans are more like cancer on this continent.

I understood what he was saying because I had heard someone say that back on Earth. I guess humans weren’t the only ones the Rift Guardians were protecting. I was sure the continent itself was what they were worried about, and the continent was what they were protecting.

“Is that the Rift Guardians’ way of thinking? In that case, why are they testing humans and giving weapons that humans use as rewards? Maybe it’s you who thinks that humans are cancer, not the Rift Guardians!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

- That’s the words of the guardians…

“For whom was this museum created in this first place? The way I see it, you must have gotten demoted from being the manager. I’m sure the Rift Guardians regretted giving you the manager position since you don’t even know what kind of fruits are growing on your own farm! Is there a reason why you wouldn’t rig the rates?” he asked.

‘Nice one.’

The example he gave was pretty old-fashioned, but it was very suitable for the current situation. I knew Park Deok-Gu had the tendency to become logical in the strangest parts whenever he got worked up, but he was doing a lot better than I thought. The others must have agreed with him because their voices were starting to get louder, but the ones who spoke up were mostly the women from Park Deok-Gu’s harem.

“He’s right! No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange. There are only 10 rare items, but one of them got picked, and what about the mythic-ranked monster? Now that I think about it, it’s also strange how the legendary-ranked monster was selected the first time.”

“You’re right. Good point, Mr. Deok-Gu!”

Ahn Ki-Mo also raised his voice.

“What we’re having a hard time believing isn’t the Rift Museum, but you—the manager!”

“That’s right! I agree! Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo! That’s what I’d expect for an educated man! This Max guy looks like a fraud… He’s not a good manager! If our hyung-nim was the manager, I’m sure he’ll do a much better job! Make hyung-nim the manager of the museum!” Park Deok-Gu suggested.

The suggestion was kind of weird, but he was buying a lot of time. It was definitely beneficial since it gave me time to think this through with Kim Hyun-Sung and Park Yeon-Joo.

‘What should we do, Mr. Ki-Young?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Fighting is not an option. We have to avoid it no matter what. We’ll have to think of another way. As of right now, making a trade with the museum manager will be the most effective way to deal with this, but I don’t think the authority that Max has is enough to stop this system,” I replied.

“Ah, so you brought that up to buy time.” Park Yeon-Joo spoke while nodding as if she understood.

“Fighting the monster—” Kim Hyun-Sung started.

“It’s impossible. It’ll be completely different from fighting legendary-ranked monsters. Of course, we’ll have to consider fighting it if we have no other choice, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m sure you—” Kim Hyun-Sung paused.

“Yes, I already know that we won’t have a chance, but I can’t think of any other way…” Park Yeon-Joo responded.

We all thought the same, and we knew that all we could do was figure out another way to go about this.

‘Making a trade with the manager would be the most ideal…’

- No matter what you say or what your intentions are, it’s true that I’m the manager of this museum. It’s my duty to maintain and manage this place. Rigging the rates is beyond my authority, and unfortunately, there isn’t a way to stop the selection that has already been made. You’ve managed to delay the mythic-ranked monster from appearing, but that monster will still show up here.

‘I knew it.’

- The monster will be unsealed for one hour. If the fragment is unsealed for more than that, the guardians’ seal may break as well, so for this test, it’s more about enduring it than fighting it.

“You, you cheater! Shit!” Park Deok-Gu cursed.

- I’ve told you before that I’m not a fraud. I thought you were all good people, but you’re just rude guests. I finally understand why your luck is bad and why a mythic-ranked monster was selected. The Rift Guardians don’t want people like you to obtain the relics of this place!

“Bullshit!” Park Deok-Gu cursed again.

Max had to have been offended because I saw how he was trembling. When nearly 30 people got up and started criticizing him, that was probably when he started to get offended.

‘Trading…’

It was impossible from the start. As expected, it was impossible for him to do anything aside from using the basic functionality of the system.

‘It’s not rigged as well.’

We were just extremely unlucky. My nails naturally went up to my mouth as I bit into them. We had no other choice, but when I saw the figure slowly appearing before us, I found myself running out of breath.

‘Shit.’

There were chains binding this being, whose appearance I couldn’t describe. The Fragment of the Ancient God seemed to be glaring at us. I would always have this indescribable feeling whenever I saw a being on an entirely different level. Jung Ha-Yan was also biting her lips and Kim Hyun-Sung was holding on to his sword. Dialugia looked nervous as well.

‘One hour? We can’t survive for that long.’

I was sure everyone felt the same, but they still held their swords and shields up to show some resistance. A ridiculous thought popped into my head. After all, no matter what we did, we were going to die anyway.

[Part of the seal that bounds the Fragment of the Ancient God has been removed.]

The moment I heard that message, I spoke in a low voice, but I was sure everyone could hear me.

“Prepare for battle.”

- Good luck.

“We’re going to break the seal completely. Attack the blue chains binding the entire fragment,” I ordered.

- Huh?