Chapter 2 – Maker’s Mistake (1)
“Game, start!”
At the compulsion, Ian stiffened and shook his head . He was a man who had never succumbed to oppression . He slowly pressed his hand against his younger sister’s forehead in warning as she tried to forcefully push her upper body over the counter .
“If you don’t have any credits, then you are banned from accessing it . ”
However, his sister Jung Yiyu didn’t back down .
“Just try connecting as a test . Oppa is always doing everything, which is why you don’t have a girlfriend . ”
“Cash or credit?”
“Ah, why do you want to receive money from your little sister!”
“There are other customers waiting behind you, so please hurry . ”
“Wah . Really . ”
Yiyu’s face turned red as she heard the laughter behind her . She extended some bills clutched in her fist .
“You are lacking 500 won…”
“Shut up . I’m going to school!”
Yiyu stuck her tongue out and ran away from the cafe . Ian smiled as he looked at her back .
The customer waiting for their turn came up .
“Ian-ssi’s little sister is always cheerful . ”
“I wish she was calmer . Did you want an Americano?”
As the man who ran a quiet cafe, Jung Ian always had a kind smile . His tall, slender body and gentle atmosphere meant that quite a few female customers stopped by to see him every day . It had been less than one year since he opened Cafe Reason, but the relaxed atmosphere meant that it was always frequented by regulars .
“Ian-ssi, are you playing Elder Lord?”
“I’m not good at games . ”
“It’s a virtual reality game so you should be okay . Ian-ssi should give it a try . Don’t you think that there are more people playing the game than people not playing it?”
“Haha . Is that so? Here is your Iced Americano . ”
“Please let me know if you ever start . I’ll help you, as my level is quite high . ”
Elder Lord was a virtual reality game that started its service a few months ago .
It already dominated the virtual reality game market due to: the perfect reality that couldn’t be compared with existing games, the unique game system, and the fact that the rate of assimilation affected a player’s abilities .
Role-playing users who shot movies of their characters were broadcasted during the golden time, while the revenue of the rankers surpassed that of celebrities and sports stars .
The fact that virtual reality was starting to replace reality had now become a slogan . This was the age of Elder Lord .
Ian bought a connection capsule for Yiyu a while ago, but now she wanted him to join her . He could guess the reason why Yiyu was doing this .
Elder Lord was very difficult, and it was hard to level up and improve one’s abilities . Monsters and NPCs were also very strong, so most of the first-time users suffered . They were strangers who entered the world of the NPCs and started from the bottom, so soon after Yiyu started, she couldn’t help but whine to Ian to help her .
A person’s real abilities could affect their performance in Elder Lord . A player’s physical abilities depended on the character, but players could reproduce techniques that they already knew . It was rumored that rankers were people skilled in martial arts or acrobatics .
Ian had seen a war video of Elder Lord on television, and he didn’t like it very much .
“…Excuse me?”
“Ah, I’m sorry . What did you say just now?”
“Cappuccino…”
Ian’s hands shook as he entered the order . He held his trembling fists and then slowly opened his hand . The shaking stopped, and it felt like his hand was frozen stiff .
At one time, he had been on the battlefield and slept with death around him every day .
He wouldn’t ever play Elder Lord . After meeting the eyes of those dying on the battlefield, how could he cheer as he saw a sword slicing a man’s neck in a game?
***
“Won’t you try it once?”
Ian shook his head .
“What do you mean? I won’t do it . ”
“This guy, why are you still caught up in the past? I saw that you were shaking when you were trying to shoot a gun . ”
“It isn’t like that . ”
Ian turned his gaze away .
The man who was facing him, Baek Hanho, burst out laughing . He wore an improved hanbok, but his hair had pomade in it, and he was wearing an expensive watch . He sipped the coffee that Ian brought and muttered, “Ehh, I can’t drink this . ”
“Coffee was originally this bitter . ”
“Life isn’t like that either . ”
Ian frowned .
Baek Hanho spoke once again before gulping down the coffee . Baek Hanho tilted his head upwards and laughed after drinking all of it .
“You finished it . ”
“Didn’t you say that coffee is originally this bitter?”
Baek Hanho laughed and stroked his chin . Then he continued, “I know that coffee is originally bitter water . That’s why I was afraid . ”
“I hate it when you speak in zen riddles . ”
“You are a coward . ”
Ian’s face wrinkled again .
Then Baek Hanho said, “Take a look at your sister, Yiyu . Isn’t she someone who grew up alone? Now her brother won’t even play a game with her . Tsk tsk . ”
“……”
“I’m only joking, but you should seriously consider my words . ”
Ian held his chin and started thinking .
Suddenly, the door opened and the notification bell was heard .
There were two people, one tugging at the other . They were both girls, the sound of their high heels heard by the entire cafe as they entered . Their words came out in an unstable tone . In all likelihood, they were the last customers of the day .
Ian automatically checked everything about them, his habits from the battlefield obviously still following him . He heard their voices .
“In regards to Elder Lord, I managed to level up due to Oppa helping me . What about you?”
“Wah…I’m envious . He changed yesterday . How irritating . ”
“Changed?”
“That pig suddenly touched my butt…I have truly bad luck . ”
“What did you do? Did you report it? Why would he do that? Really?”
Ian’s eyes shook as he heard the conversation . Hanho placed a cookie in his mouth . Then he said to Ian,
“Hum hum . In fact, I am quite far in Elder Lord…”
Then he paused as he saw Ian’s eyes .
“…What?”
“Teacher-nim . ”
“What is it?”
“Elder Lord, how do I connect to it?”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“I have . ”
Thus, Ian started the game to defend his sister .
“Right . ”
***
Huge trees and lush foliage covered the sky . The sunshine pouring through the gaps disturbed his eyes . He stepped on soft soil . He could smell the forest, hear the cries of the birds and saw insects crawling around .
Ian was flustered .
“This…is a game?”
It couldn’t be . It was a reality . However, the message windows that surfaced before him said that this was a game .
[Welcome to Elder Lord . ]
[Please check your status window . ]
[Your starting point is Orcrox Fortress . Good luck . ]
The message windows disappeared once Ian checked them . Once again, the lush forest that seemed like reality stretched out before him . Ian idly wandered and saw a puddle . A small squirrel that was sipping water fled when it saw Ian .
Ian confirmed his appearance in the water . He was a huge monster with green skin and huge tusks protruding from his rough face .
[Status Window]
Ian, Novice Orc .
Level: 1
Achievement Points: 0
Assimilation: 50%
Abilities:
Orc’s Strength (Common)
Orc’s Recovery (Common)
He was an orc .
The users could select from the following list of species: the humans, elves, dark elves, dwarves, gnomes, and the orcs . Unlike the other species that had an appearance similar to humans, the orcs looked like an in-game monster . Their appearance couldn’t even be customized like humans .
Therefore, Ian chose it . The reason was simple: he wanted to surprise Yiyu .
However, when he opened his hands and checked his green skin and thick fingers, he felt uncomfortable, as if his soul was occupying the body of another being . The weight and center of this body was different from reality . It seemed like time was required to become more familiar with this body .
Sometimes animals would discover Ian and run away . Ian chased after them and dived in pursuit . He managed to grab a rabbit .
This body was heavy, but fast . The density of its muscles was different from humans . This was a strong orc .
Ian looked at the spires of the castle that were rising above the trees in the distance .
‘The cradle of the orc warriors, Orcrox Fortress . ’
It seemed like he needed to go there . Ian walked in the direction of Orcrox Fortress and disappeared into the forest .
After Ian left this place, a new player appeared out of thin air . He also looked around like it was his first connection .
“Ohh, this is Elder Lord? Really? Doesn’t it look like the real thing? This is a virtual reality game . ”
“Let’s see… Put it in the ear… I do this…”
“Uh, I’ve connected . What do I do? Species? Orc . A man should be an orc… What? Do it again?”
“What? Wasn’t it in the introduction of the game? Why is an orc an error? A species that the game manufacturers accidentally opened? A dog-like species? The orcs of Elder Lord are too weak? People don’t choose them as a species? There is no one? None? Really none?”
“They all reset before level 5? No… Yes, you what?”
“Are you trying to be vicious to the NPCs, like a villain who steps on the underpaid contract workers below you? It is okay since this is a game? Users are much better than NPCs? Puhahaha . I understand . ”
“Understood . Then, I will be a human . I’ll say it again, it is a lot of effort . ”