ALL NOVEL Chapter 215: Wonderland – 18
The reason why the Demons are worshiped is because they fulfil the requirements of a religion. One of the representative aspects is the promise of the afterlife.
The Demons provided their believers with the ‘world after death’.
The Demons residing in the Abyss each built their own unique Domains within it.
The size and characteristics of these places varied for each Demon.
Wonderland was the Domain governed by Kirku.
The souls of magicians, acrobats, and clowns automatically gathered here after death.
This place was especially significant to him, a fan of TTT.
Players could meet allies and enemies from TT1 and TT2 here.
Regardless of how they met their end, they all cooperated with the player to defeat Wonderstein.
The final stage boasted the quality and vast volume befitting the conclusion of a trilogy.
In fan communities, some would say that with just this final stage, TT3 deserves to be called a masterpiece.
Wonderstein himself thought so too.
This place was the destination of TTT, containing its essence.
He found himself staring at the scene in front of him, forgetting about searching for his companions.
A huge circus tent, thousands of meters high, made up of thousands of buildings piled up.
Streets pulsating with all sorts of colors.
And cheerful music and laughter coming from all directions.
It was the first time he had seen such a peaceful scene in Wonderland.
This was because, at the main storyline point, smoke was rising and murders were taking place everywhere due to Wonderstein’s invasion.
Was he overwhelmed by the scenery?
He stood up hastily.
In the process, he confirmed that his legs were also like wooden sticks.
He looked around at the building he was in.
His reflection was visible in the glass window.
“What is this…?”
A worn straw hat, ragged clothes.
A face made of patched rags.
And arms and legs made of wooden sticks.
There was the scarecrow standing there.
***
When TT2 was first released, there were several videos on the community that became quite a sensation. They were uploaded by an anonymous user.
The videos featured incredibly skillful gameplay, almost to the point where it seemed like the player was using macros, and they were designed in such a creative way that even people unfamiliar with the game could enjoy them.
People started calling this anonymous user “Torch Dancer.”
The reason he was called that was simple. After pulling off unbelievable superplays, he would always make the character hold a torch and perform a “dance” move.
An employee of an internet broadcasting company visited his house to recruit him as an exclusive creator for the company.
“Surprised?”
“A little.”
As soon as the employee laid eyes on him, she recalled the profanities she often used.
She had encountered many socially awkward individuals in her line of work. Strangely, when he personally asked her to visit his house, she blurted out the profanity, recalling several unpleasant experiences she had had.
However, in this case, it turned out that what she said wasn’t just a profanity but rather a neutral description of the person. Upon seeing him, she felt embarrassed about using it as a profanity.
Their conversation started awkwardly.
However, she was a professional salesperson. She quickly brought up topics that the other person would like to talk about and smoothly led the conversation.
They mainly talked about games.
Which games were good this year, which ones were disappointing, what genre they particularly liked.
The excited Torch Dancer showed her how he could manipulate the computer. Every time his eyes moved, the screen switched quickly. She constantly exclaimed in admiration at his reaction speed, which was comparable to a professional gamer’s.
Torch Dancer also seemed to be in a good mood, showing her various things he could do on the computer.
But when it came to talking about broadcasting in earnest, he quickly became discouraged.
“Can I really do a broadcast?”
She couldn’t belittle his low self-esteem. He was in a position to feel that way.
But comforting him here would be a minus as a salesperson. She had to encourage him.
She persuaded him for hours.
She was not just passionate because of his skills. His handicap was controversial. Just by starting a broadcast, he would attract global attention.
She was honest about that too. He was physically disabled, but he was not a fool. He knew what kind of attention he would get when he went out into the world.
“Thank you. For not hiding or avoiding mentioning it. I thought the same way.”
Fortunately, Torch Dancer highly appreciated her honesty.
In the end, he decided to contract with her company. However, he did not agree with everything the company proposed.
“I want to hide my face.”
He revealed his past to her.
She understood his situation. It was a case she had seen in the news before.
“Okay. Let’s expose your body condition, but hide your appearance. We can overlay a virtual image. Do you have any character in mind?”
Torch Dancer answered without hesitation.
“Scarecrow.”
***
Wonderstein looked at himself reflected in the glass window.
This was clearly the avatar he used when broadcasting.
When the disciples of Kirku came to Wonderland, their souls changed into a special form.
Their forms were determined by reflecting the performances they had done on stage, the makeup they had worn, and their specialties.
A mask for acting on stage.
Persona.
That was definitely the name.
Scarecrow, huh.
He remembered a hypothesis he had made before.
If he called his activities as a streamer a kind of performance, the status window could be said to be an Inspira given to him as such.
As an extension of that hypothesis, this scarecrow could be considered his persona.
He looked back.
For some reason, it was clear that this place was Wonderland.
What he needed to know now was the whereabouts of the rest of the group.
He brought up the status window.
The system also recognized him as a different character from Wonderstein.
Name: Torch Dancer
Age: 27
Occupation: Streamer
Specialty: [Persona: Scarecrow］
He tried to make a call to the Sound Room, but he couldn’t connect with anyone. Neither Ella, Reyna, nor Maya, nor any other members in the villa responded.
There was no response to the party quest either.
He noticed that the glass window reflecting himself was becoming fainter and fainter.
It wasn’t just the window. The whole building seemed to melt away like an illusion.
He looked around the area where the building had been, just in case, but he didn’t see anyone else.
Where could everyone have gone?
Then, he heard the sound of people crowding behind him.
As soon as they spotted him, they shouted.
“We found him!”
“Intruder!”
They seemed to be enjoying a Halloween festival. People wearing masks and loud costumes surrounded him, pointing weapons at him.
The Scarecrow tried to tense up when he saw them, but it wasn’t easy. Their weapons looked too ridiculous.
They aimed rubber balls, yo-yos, ribbon sticks, trumpets, and the like at him.
It seemed like a fight was about to break out, but their guard quickly broke down.
“Wait, wait, stop!”
“What’s up, it’s a persona, isn’t it?”
“Persona? What, for real?”
They confirmed the Scarecrow’s appearance and put down their weapons(?). They approached him with a friendly attitude as he stood there awkwardly.
“Hey, you looked surprised. Why are you wandering around here like this?”
“Yeah. We thought some mountain dwellers had invaded again.”
The Scarecrow tried not to be too surprised by their words and asked.
“Mountain dwellers invaded?”
“Yeah? Don’t you know? It’s been crazy around here for the past few days.”
They suddenly looked suspiciously at him.
Some even picked up their weapons again.
“Could we know your registration number?”
One of them asked, and the Scarecrow thought of an excuse, recalling as much game knowledge as possible.
“Well… I didn’t receive any Inspira.”
“Ah, then you must be a resident living in the lower north.”
“No. The lower north is off-limits. I live in the lower east.”
With his smooth answer, the guards completely relaxed their guard.
“Sorry for suspecting you.”
“Things have been tough lately.”
“How did you end up here on the outskirts?”
The Scarecrow came up with another plausible answer.
“I came to save my family. That’s why I haven’t heard from the streets for a while.”
The guards made sympathetic sounds at his words.
“Well, it can’t be easy. Calling your family to Wonderland without Inspira is like trying to catch a star in the sky.”
“We can’t blame you for trying. But still, try not to go near places where light descends next time.”
They escorted the Scarecrow to the entrance of the circus castle.
It was because if he wandered around here and met some impatient patrolmen, he might be attacked without warning.
“By the way, what does it mean that mountain dwellers invaded?”
In response to his question, they told him about an incident that happened a few days ago.
Light flashed from the sky, and a group of mountain people appeared.
Some were arrested, but some escaped.
They claimed to be acrobats, but who knows.
“Their tactics are getting more and more cunning.”
“Oh, by the way, what’s your name over there?”
At the sudden question, the Scarecrow was at a loss for words. For a moment, the name “Frank Wonderstein” almost slipped out.
But he couldn’t casually mention that name here.
Instead, he replied, taking the name from a play he had appeared in when he was young.
“My name is Oz.”
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Chapter 214: Wonderland -17