LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 1
Ha… What on earth am I doing here?
As I open my eyes, a dreary scenery fills my field of view.
The weather is always slightly cloudy, with the wind blowing from the northwest, and the sun shyly peeking over the horizon.
From dawn, merchants have set up shop, all trying to attract their precious customers.
A rusty dagger sits next to a shiny sword, gleaming in the warm sunlight.
Travelers buy weapons that fit their bodies and potions of various scents as they head into the battlefield.
The merchants, who have struck it rich after a long time, are grinning from ear to ear.
On the other hand, there’s a unique merchant meditating in the corner without trying to attract anyone.
I could only approach the cute merchant with fox ears after everyone else had left.
“Give me that one.”
“Whaaaat? Don’t get me wrong, Jim is definitely not asleep! Hmm? Is this item for sure?”
The fox girl hastily wiped the drool flowing down her chin and handed me the shoes I pointed to.
She quickly dusted off the mud from the boots with her fluffy hands.
I placed 5 silver coins in her hand.
“Fill the rest with potions.”
Though the only potions she dealt with were low-grade health potions, she promptly added 4 purple flasks into the bag without hesitation.
Of course, she wouldn’t miscount the quantity, but it was a habit of mine to check how many potions were in the bag.
As I put on the smelly boots, the fox girl stared at the silver coins in her hands, flipping them this way and that, going whoa with a weird sound effect.
Now the fox girl is probably going to ask if the transaction is done.
“Traveler! Is there anything else you need, about this@#!& ##!%&%&?”
But unexpectedly, an unpleasant noise assaulted my eardrums instead.
Turning around, I found the source right in front of me.
[■■■■■■■■: ■(You)]
[■■■■■■■■: ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■■■■ ■ ■ ■■■(NoName started the game, can you check if enemies are coming in here?)]
What the heck?
Get lost.
I thought you left earlier, why are you back again?
When I ignored him long enough, this little spiky turtle began to get pissed off.
[■■■■■■■■: ■■ ■ ■■■■■ ■ ■■ ■■?(Wait, what’s going on? I just started the game!)]
The spiky turtle before me was also a player who would be in the game for the next 30 minutes.
However, every sound and conversation he made was censored and didn’t reach me.
So, no matter how angry you get, I can’t understand a single word you’re saying.
It seemed he kept talking afterward, but I ignored him and proceeded with the secret quest for the title.
[General – Collect 10 Mysterious Murals (0/10)]
[Legend – Collect 30 Mysterious Murals (0/30)]
[Myth – Collect 50 Mysterious Murals (0/50)]
Today is lucky. All three quests are non-combat mural collection missions.
Moreover, the mission to collect 50 murals is significantly easier than the other three-star quests.
In short, it’s an easygoing game.
I can’t understand why they introduced such secret quests in a game where everyone fights 5v5, but…
The bright side is that these secret quests can only be checked after the game is over.
If everyone could see the quests like me from the start, it would’ve been a world full of abusers and trolls.
Those friends like that angry donkey turtle would probably not be able to stand it and would just leave the game.
[■■■■■■■■: ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■(Damn trolls all f##k off)]
Seriously persistent, aren’t they?
They’re going to follow me for life at this rate.
However, once the game time passed 1 minute, the turtle huffed and left for the forest.
Looking at the overall team composition, even if I had joined normally, it wouldn’t have been that great.
To make matters worse, I was practically absent, so the game was headed for a speedy end.
I had a feeling there might be some strict time attack on this mission. I wasted time bickering with that turtle.
In a hurry, I took the opposite path away from the turtle.
The 50 murals existing on the battlefield are said to spawn randomly, but in truth, they were generated from 256 designated points based on a few rules.
So, by checking just 10 pre-identified points, I could figure out where all the murals were located throughout the battlefield.
The most crucial spot was definitely the third central fortress. If there were no murals here, they’d likely be in the opponent’s territory.
If our team gets pushed around, it means the three-star mission is out the window.
Click.
Thankfully, there was one.
This way, by just drawing a path almost straight from the western forest to the southern forest, I could easily collect 40. I’m lucky today.
[■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■■(The first fortress has been destroyed.)]
As soon as I had that hopeful thought, the system warning message echoed across the battlefield.
I’m not sure of the details, but it roughly meant that our team was overwhelmingly losing.
As I wandered around the forest, I kept running into that turtle much more frequently but I ignored him, waving my hand without greeting.
[■■■■■■■■: ■■■(Get lost)]
I still couldn’t understand it, but he glared at me with a very nasty look.
I didn’t think a turtle could make that expression.
Click.
[General – Collect 10 Mysterious Murals (10/10) => Complete]
[Legend – Collect 30 Mysterious Murals (30/30) => Complete]
[Myth – Collect 50 Mysterious Murals (50/50) => Complete]
The game time is heading towards the 25-minute mark.
Surprisingly, the turtle was performing admirably, with his kill score looking like 12/3/5.
In contrast, mine was 0/0/4.
Nowadays, the trolling penalty standards are strict, so even if you had skirmished early and didn’t contribute significantly in late-game team fights, AI could slap you with the troll label.
They probably introduced that to prevent people getting emotionally upset and just farming monsters or pushing the enemy fortress endlessly.
But doesn’t that mean as long as you participate in a team fight, they’ll overlook it?
Of course, the penalty standards for trolling weren’t only based on fights, but the relative focus on that aspect worked out well for me.
As long as I participate when it looks like a fight is about to happen, I’m good.
If the game drags on too long, I would be willing to help, but despite my turtle friend’s hard work, the game remained one-sided.
Respawning together in the starting village, our team glared at me for a moment before huffing and heading back out to defend the last fortress.
Of course, there was no miracle.
[■■(Defeat)]
The fortress was breached, and armed paladins were lined up. I even saw the fox girl who had handed me the boots being dragged off helplessly.
“Did you really try your best…?”
The most she could do was feel tears welling in her eyes.
Though it’s just a game, I couldn’t hide my sorrow.
But still, a game is a game. Now it’s time for reality.
Automatically, I was warped to the waiting room, which displayed all the statistics of what transpired in the battle.
When you enter the waiting room, the majority of people seem to share a common trait: they all become angrier.
As soon as I warped here, four people, presumably my teammates, dashed toward me.
[■■■■■■■: ■■ ■■■ ■■■? ■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■?]
[■■■■■: ■ ■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■]
It’s all virtual reality and they can’t physically interact with me, so they resort to verbal means, but I’m impervious in that way.
It’s a pity I can’t let them know that.
The stats from the game were basically useless, and after confirming that my title was awarded correctly, I exited the waiting room.
[Private Room]
Just as the name suggests, it was my very own private room.
A tiny 3-pyeong space with just a bed, a table, and a chair.
Despite the room being that small, it seemed relatively pleasant due to the lack of random junk. Especially the pure white walls with no patterns.
“I think I might really go insane.”
I might have already gone insane.
But I don’t have the time for that.
I need to hurry and sell the title I just earned and jump into the next game.
Riot Games doesn’t support any auction content for users to buy and sell in this game, notoriously known as ‘rice painting’.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way.
The only connection I have to the outside world is through this Chinese-made virtual reality capsule that supports an illegal title trading market.
A mysterious genius hacker opened a server for the trading of title data, which doesn’t have much of an impact on gameplay but is tricky enough to catch, so it seems the company just lets it be.
[Legend: Do you wish to sell the Indiana Jones title?]
{Accept/Reject}
The market price is roughly 3,000 won, and I’ve even sold it for up to 5,000 won before, so it’s not too shabby.
Today, I’ve already earned enough for the electricity bill, just need to rake in the money for food now.
The daily electricity bill is about 4,000 won, and my mana fee is roughly 30,000 won, with food costs fixed at 30,000 won per day.
Assuming I can earn about 3,000 won on average per game, the math shows I’ll need to play at least 20 games, or 23 if I’m unlucky.
Just the thought of playing another game makes my head spin.
Why am I feeling this way, having only played one game?
I finally collapsed onto the not-so-comfortable bed.
If someone asked how I manage to spend 30,000 won, with no money, I would confidently say it’s because of the mana potions.
After crossing over to this world, I learned the fact that humans can survive just fine on refined and processed mana without having any significant issues.
It’s fascinating for someone who lived in a world devoid of mana or a world where there was zero scientific knowledge despite having mana.
So, for those living in virtual reality all day long, capsules provide mana potions as a paid service. Of course, they’re horrifically overpriced.
How long has it been since I last had food?
“I want chicken.”
As my body grew sluggish, all sorts of random thoughts crossed my mind.
For instance, what could be the similarities between my daily quest and the grind?
It’s been so long since I worked a labor job that my memories are hazy, but I still remember the feelings from that time.
I had that gut-wrenching feeling that if I didn’t work today, I’d starve to death tomorrow.
Ironically, that’s exactly how today’s daily quest feels.
But I wonder if my situation is better?
“What do you think, mom?”
I tightly held the hand of the woman sleeping beside me.
If someone saw us crammed into that small bed, they’d definitely think it’s ridiculous.
But more than anything, the warmth and softness transmitted through our hands makes it all the more ridiculous that this sensation is fake.
“Did I really wish for this?”
There was no answer.
No answer, nor any sound at all.
Not even the smallest breath seemed like a luxury in this desolate room.
Even avatars in virtual reality reflect the physical bodies’ breathing.
Yet her diaphragm seems to have forgotten how to rise.
“I really think I’m going insane.”
My mom probably passed away 5 years ago, or maybe 6, sometime in between.
And here I am, bizarrely cohabitating with her corpse, having been trapped in this capsule for the past 7 years since birth.