LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2
[IlllIllIl: Anyway, the broadcast is today. Since it was a majority vote from the start, no complaints if our clan goes down in flames, okay?]
[plzplzlqzlq: What do you mean majority? Only you and Shia voted for it out of 4 people. Just wait till our clan bursts, you’re in for it!]
[혜지면밤이된다: It should be fine since Min-jun Oppa sacrificed himself for the face reveal, right? If the clan bursts, we can just create it again.]
[IlllIllIl: NoName is a mute concept but calling this a majority? Hahaha.]
[혜지면밤이된다: Mir Oppa was surprised when he heard the amount for the appearance fee, though.]
[혜지면밤이된다: They said they’ll deposit it right after the broadcast ends.]
[plzplzlqzlq: What about NoName? Are you really not going to share the money?]
[IlllIllIl: Did I already rob you or something?]
[IlllIllIl: He won’t give me his bank account number, what do you want me to do?]
[IlllIllIl: If he wants to keep the mute concept, it’s fine to tell me in a whisper, but he still hasn’t said a word.]
[plzplzlqzlq: Anyway, Min-jun, you’re responsible for delivering it well till the end.]
“This guy is only mad at me!”
The clan leader of ‘PleasePlease’, Imir, had just stepped out of the clan home when Min-jun slammed the floor in frustration. The middle finger was just a bonus.
He opened the friends list and scrolled down to find the protagonist of the issue.
[NoName – In-Game 13:47:08]
“Isn’t he tired of this…?”
It was 8 PM, just when everyone else was finishing work, having dinner, and beginning to enjoy their leisure time, yet NoName had already been logged into Legacy of Legends for 14 hours.
Released in 2009, Riore had taken the world by storm, and no computer game could match that wilderness even after its release.
However, starting in the late 30s, capsules became popular, and Virtual Reality Games began to spring up like mushrooms after the rain.
Riot Games jumped on the trend, releasing a sequel for capsules called ‘Legacy of Legends,’ and despite being a latecomer, it quickly ascended to the number one market share.
Recently, it had been somewhat overshadowed by ‘Resonance’ and ‘World of Arseria,’ but the player base was still strong.
Pyo Min-jun himself couldn’t find a suitable substitute and was stuck grinding this damn game for 3000 rounds every season.
Yet, with over 8150 rounds last year and more than 50000 rounds poured in over the past six years, he appeared infinitely small.
No matter how talentless someone might be, if they had done something else with that time, they could have succeeded at anything.
But NoName, as if to contradict that claim, had a clear disparity in tiers compared to Min-jun.
“Bronze 3… Yeah, isn’t this person truly a life success? He knows how to enjoy the game like a game! Unlike me, who gets angry every match and shortens my lifespan.”
In contrast was Min-jun’s Grandmaster emblem, but he did not look very pleased.
Despite calling all day, one friend list remained unresponsive, while on the other side, the famous streamer ‘Delete’s ‘Documentary for Four Days’ was being broadcast.
A recent hit on Twish and V-tube.
It featured the lives of pro-gamers, streamers, and internet celebrities, which was intriguing.
However, it would still take some time for the video that covered their clan to come out.
“Is this really that fun?”
Honestly, he agreed to participate because they were offering money, but Min-jun couldn’t understand why this content was trending.
*
[NoName – Searching Game 14:39:40]
[NoName – Waiting Room 14:39:43]
[NoName – Entering Clan 14:39:48]
When he opened his eyes, he found himself summoned to the clan lobby. The person he was looking for was nearby.
500,000 won per person. It’s the money you could barely earn by working 18 hours a day for a week.
In my world, where economic bankruptcy meant saying goodbye to life, the clan member Min-jun’s suggestion to appear in a streamer-run documentary was tempting.
Initially, Mir was negative about this.
However, as money was tight, Min-jun and Shia agreed, and it was decided that they would appear in Delete’s documentary for four days.
Even though I was in a virtual reality body, it was only fair to share since my avatar had been showcased during the filming of the waiting room.
He approached Min-jun, standing frozen in front of him.
“Hey kid, what do you want me to do just standing there?”
Min-jun snapped back.
What’s got him so mad?
“What should I do, then?”
He needed to try to initiate a conversation, but it was impossible.
Besides, I didn’t have an account in my name.
The number of issues to resolve was not small, and his head was already starting to hurt.
Whether it was an issue with the Chinese-made capsule or the actions of the group that kidnapped him, he didn’t know, but since the language processor module wasn’t connected to the server, he couldn’t communicate either in-game or out.
Oddly enough, he could understand what was said within the clan, so he was somewhat grateful for that.
Then I could just use sign language, right? It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried.
Since virtual reality is, after all, a space equivalent to reality, there are systems designed to prevent stalking and sexual harassment by making interactions impossible.
In other words, if he attempted to communicate or express himself, brainwaves would be blocked, suppressing the action itself, and all accounts not registered would face this sanction.
What he could do was blink.
blink
blink blink
“Ah, this is so frustrating!”
While Min-jun continued to be exasperated, he came up with a way to somewhat resolve the bank account issue.
There was a temporary account that receives cash when trading titles on a Chinese site, and since it was valid for just over a week, he thought he might as well ask for the money to be sent there.
452-5213-8019-108903
He entered a stats and statistics search site, took four screenshots, and brought them up in mid-air.
Then he focused intently on one particular spot in front of Min-jun.
“What do you want me to do? Do you want me to look at it?”
By blatantly displaying the windows, Min-jun couldn’t ignore it either.
“Is this guy a troll like you? He only dealt 452 damage before the game ended.”
Great.
“Is this your record? Human? 5213 damage?”
Since he remembered dealing exactly 5213 damage in the last match, that method had come to mind.
Praising his own intelligence more than expected, he noted the other two numbers.
“What do you want to say?”
As Min-jun still expressed doubts, he suddenly realized.
What good are brains if the other guy is a complete idiot?
Moreover, perhaps because it was a Chinese account, the number of digits was different from a typical Korean account, making it difficult to infer.
As he was about to lose interest and leave, he hurriedly blocked his path and kept blinking.
How could he appeal in this desperate situation?
He turned his gaze towards the statue engraved with their clan’s name.
[제발부탁]
Please, I’m begging you.
If you don’t give me this money, on the day this game undergoes extended maintenance, I’m doomed.
Can you understand the feeling of being trapped in a capsule, sealed away even if you wake up, after your mom risked her life to protect yours?
I’ve done this much, can you please understand a bit?
“What? It’s been a while since our little Namei came? What are you guys doing?”
“Shia? No, I feel like this kid has been saying something since earlier, but I can’t understand anything.”
“452, 5213, 8019, 108903? Is this some sort of code? I’m weak with stuff like this.”
“Me too!”
“You called for Namei, didn’t you? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d be here.”
“You told me to let you know your bank account if you want money. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just take it all.”
“…?”
“Huh?”
“Is this a bank account number?”
Min-jun and Shia’s heads turned in sync.
Turns out two heads are better than one.
blink blink blink blink
“You relentless concept freak…”
“Hey! No bad words in front of the kid!”
“Who knows if there’s a 50-year-old uncle or a 70-year-old grandmother in there while talking like that?”
“Namei is just a kid. We need to protect him.”
While Min-jun and Shia patted each other and played, he calmly enjoyed the documentary for four days that Min-jun had been replaying.
Tomorrow, 500,000 won would come in… A bit of luxury like this should be fine.
Though there were only four clan members, he wondered what was so popular.
After the coverage of pro-gamers’ and full-time streamers’ real lives was over, and two commercials had passed, the familiar main gate of their clan appeared.
With a chirping background melody, it began in a peaceful scene, but reality always exceeded his expectations.
[What the hell is purification teleport Carmil? You had momentum regeneration when you sniped me last match!]
Min-jun’s character, showcasing overwhelming prowess against streamers in the final promotion match, racked up a total of 25 kills while sweeping across the battlefield.
The streamer’s expression, who was falling further from the dream of promotion with his dismal 0-7-9 record, was even more pitiful.
[Are three of them waiting here for a reverse gank? Wait, isn’t this guy playing props?]
In response to a streamer preparing a 3-man dive, Mir gloriously retorted with a 4-man counter-gank, with the game erupting.
[If you hit this, I get money. You should hit it too, Oppa.]
Thinking she was just a female newbie playing her first game, Shia, the support, was a scene-stealer, devouring every resource available.
In the end, that round ended with the streaming account’s disgraceful 0/7/9, while Shia dominated the game with 18/1/2, despite being just a support.
When their main account nicknames appeared, that was the true highlight. The real-time comment section began to shake.
[IlllIllIl: GrandMaster / Ladder Rank 512 / Top 0.00669%]
[plzplzlqzlq: GrandMaster / Ladder Rank 780 / Top 0.01019%]
[혜지면밤이된다 Challenger / Ladder Rank 294 / Top 0.00384%]
People really love their numbers.
Look at the comment section. When they were getting roasted, the sentiment suddenly shifted!
Messages like [Whoa] and [PyaaPyaaPyaa] rained down from above.
The viewers didn’t give them a break, and soon edited clips of their highlight moments surfaced.
In sections where real monsters lurked, shining like the true protagonists were Min-jun, Mir, and Shia.
The chief planner, Delete, also got pumped up to add various commentaries due to the satisfying responses.
And only then did he realize why he was not appearing alongside them.
Followed by clips of his own gameplay.
In those clips, he was seen simply standing still in the Starting Village for ages, ignoring dying teammates, or sometimes taking pictures as if to humiliate those moments.
The public opinion, of course, was at rock bottom.
Again, countless verbal combinations clouded his view.
Some swears that he couldn’t dare to utter became “Deleted Comment.”
Yet sadly, before censorship occurred, those contents were vividly imprinted in his mind.
Perhaps their anger was warranted.
If a troll like him joins the game they’re trying to unwind with, it’s understandable that they’d get upset.
But uniquely, one comment persisted, continually descending.
Down and down.
Touching the crown of his head.
[Your mom seems doomed to die of cancer, hahaha!]
The final section of the video closes up on the garden of the ‘PleasePlease’ clan, with him standing expressionless apart from the other three.
All he could do was blink regularly, praying that at least one person would understand his distress signal through the video.
blink blink blink
Truly a hellish world.