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Chapter 2: The Creator’s Mistake (1)
“Start the game!”
Hearing his sister’s command, Yi-An’s expression darkened as he shook his head; he was not a man who succumbed to pressure. When his sister bent her torso forward against the cash register, Yi-An sternly pushed back by pressing against her forehead.
Yi-An said, “If you don’t complete enough course credits, you won’t be allowed to log in anymore.”
However, his sister Jung Yi-Yoo did not falter. “I'm just trying out the game. Everyone is trying it except you. That’s why you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Payment by card or cash?”
“Ah, why are you making your sister pay?”
“There are customers waiting behind you. Please hurry.”
“Wow, really.”
Hearing laughter behind her, Yi-Yoo blushed and grudgingly laid out her bills.
“You are missing five hundred won...”
“Shut up. I’m going to school!” Yi-Yoo stuck out her tongue before running out.
Yi-An smiled while watching Yi-Yoo leave.
A customer who had been waiting for her turn approached Yi-An. “Your sister is always so lively.”
“I wish she could be a bit calmer. Would you like an americano?”
Jung Yi-An, a quiet man who ran a café, always wore a gentle smile on his face. There were quite a number of female customers who visited Yi-An’s café daily to see him because of his friendly demeanor and tall, slender frame.
Café Reason hadn’t even been open for a year, but it had regulars who always sought it out because of its comfortable atmosphere.
“Yi-An-ssi, do you play Elder Lord?”
“I’m not very good at games.”
“It’s virtual reality, so you don’t have to be good at games. You should try it sometime. There are more people who play the game than those who don’t these days.”
“Haha, should I? Here’s your iced americano.”
“If you ever start, you should give me your ID. I will help you. I’m a high-level player.”
Elder Lord was a virtual reality game that started its service a few months ago. It had a unique system where each player’s assimilation rate affected their abilities, so the level of realism in Elder Lord was incomparable to that of its predecessors. Thus, Elder Lord was already monopolizing the world’s virtual reality game market.
Furthermore, players could roleplay as their in-game characters by using the video recording function, and their videos were broadcasted during prime time. Rankers were already earning incomes that exceeded that of celebrities and sports stars. It was already an obsolete slogan that virtual reality had begun to replace reality.
This was the era of Elder Lord.
Yi-Yoo had been begging Yi-An to buy her a capsule to play the game, but lately, she had also been pestering him to join her. He had an idea as to why. It was because Elder Lord was extremely difficult.
Leveling up and improving one’s abilities were hard to do; new players typically struggled because monsters and NPCs were extremely strong. Moreover, as new players were foreigners intruding into the world of NPCs, they had to start from the very bottom.
It hadn’t been that long since Yi-Yoo started, so she was begging Yi-An for help.
In Elder Lord, a player’s real-life abilities could impact the game. Although physical abilities were determined by the character they chose, players could integrate their real-life skills into the game, and there were rumors that high-rankers were competent in martial arts.
Yi-An had also previously seen Elder Lord’s battle videos on television, but they didn’t appeal to him.
“...Hello?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Cappuccino...”
Yi-An’s fingers shook as he entered the order. He clenched his fist to calm the quivers, but when he slowly stretched out his hand, he felt a stiffness akin to that of a corpse. His knuckles were frozen stiff.
Yi-An recalled the time when the battlefield had been his home and how he had shared the same bed with the dead every day.
Yi-An would never play Elder Lord. If a person had ever met the eyes of the dying on the battlefield, how could they cheer while watching a sword being driven into another’s neck? Even if it was just a game...
***
“Can’t you just try once?”
Yi-An shook his head. “What do you mean? I won’t do it.”
“Why are you still caught up in the past? You still shake when you try to shoot a gun.”
“It’s not like that.” Yi-An turned his gaze away.
Baek Han-Ho, the man who was sitting across from him, burst out laughing. He had neatly parted greased hair and had on a modernized hanbok and an expensive wristwatch. All in all, he had a free-spirited appearance.
Baek Han-Ho mumbled to himself as he took a sip of the coffee Yi-An made. “Ugh, it’s so bitter. I can’t drink this.”
“Coffee is supposed to be bitter.”
“Like life.”
Yi-An frowned.
Baek Han-Ho once again complained the coffee was bitter before gulping it down heartily. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he leaned his head backward. Once he was done, he clanked his glass cup against the table with a grin.
“You drank it all even though you said it was bitter,” said Yi-An.
“You said coffee is bitter by nature.” Baek Han-Ho rubbed his chin. “Now that I know coffee is just bitter water, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
“Stop talking in riddles.”
“You are a coward.”
Yi-An’s expression turned into a frown again.
Baek Han-Ho continued, “Look at your sister Yi-Yoo. She grew up so well on her own, but you can’t even play a game with her even though you are her older brother. Tsk, tsk.”
“...”
“Don’t take it so seriously, and just have fun with her.”
Yi-An cupped his chin and became lost in thought.
The door chime rang as the door opened, followed by the part-timer greeting them.
Yi-An could feel the presence of two people. One had sharp, loud steps, while the other trotted lightly. Both were women. He could hear the gait of their high heels as they walked with their toes pointed outwards. Yi-An inferred from those details and the quivering tone of the women’s voices that it was probably that time of the month for them. He felt frustrated at himself for naturally noticing these things. His habits from the battlefield still followed him everywhere.
Their voices rang out.
“Yesterday, my oppa played Elder Lord on my account and leveled up like crazy. You’re still on the same level, right?”
“Ooh... I’m so jealous. I’m so annoyed ‘cause I got harassed by a player yesterday.”
“Harassed?”
“Yeah, this pervert suddenly touched my butt while passing by... I’m so unlucky.”
“What? Did you report him? What the heck.”
Yi-An’s eyes wavered as he listened to the conversation.
Baek Han-Ho grabbed a cookie and mumbled, “Hmm... Actually, I’m quite good at Elder Lord.”
He paused when he saw the fire in Yi-An’s eyes.
“...What’s going on?”
“Teacher.”
“What?”
“How do I log onto Elder Lord?”
“You’ve finally changed your mind?”
“I’m gonna do it.”
Thus, Yi-An started playing the game to protect his sister.
He stated, “I’m going to start immediately.”
***
Towering trees and overgrown foliage covered the sky. The sunlight seeping through the leaves blurred his vision. He felt the soft dirt beneath his feet, and the thick scent of the forest and the cries of birds and insects surrounded him.
Yi-An was dumbfounded.
“This... is a game?”
It couldn’t be. This was just like reality. However, the messages that popped up confirmed this was indeed a game.
[Welcome to Elder Lord.]
[Please check your status window.]
[Your starting point is Orcrox Fortress. We wish you the best of luck.]
The messages disappeared once Yi-An read all of them. Then the lifelike, lush forest spread out in front of him once more.
Yi-An walked in a daze until he found a puddle where a small squirrel was sipping water. However, the squirrel ran away as Yi-An approached it.
Yi-An observed his reflection in the puddle. He saw skin that had a greenish hue and tusks jutting out of a menacing face. It was a monster with a sharp gaze.
[Status Window
Yi-An, Beginner Orc
Level: 1
Achievement points: 0 freewebnov el.com
Assimilation: 50%
Skills:
Orc’s Strength (Common)
Orc’s Recovery (Common)]
Yi-An was an orc.
The species that players could select from were: human, elf, dark elf, dwarf, gnome, and orc. Each had its own characteristics, but unlike the other species that appeared similar to humans, orcs had the appearance of a monster. They couldn’t look human even with customization.
Thus, he decided on an orc simply to shock his sister Yi-Yoo.
However, once he raised his hand and saw his green skin and thick fingers, he felt an uncomfortable sensation as if his soul had possessed another creature’s body. His weight and balance were totally different from that of his actual body.
It might take some time for him to get used to this.
Animals of the forest noticed Yi-An and scurried away. His body quickly surged forward as he chased them playfully. He even managed to snatch a rabbit.
Yi-An was heavy but agile; his muscle density as an orc was different from a human’s. This was a strong orc.
Yi-An then observed the spire of a castle soaring above the trees of the forest.
‘Orcrox Fortress, the cradle of orc warriors.’
He felt as if he had to head there. So, Yi-An began walking in the direction of Orcrox Fortress, eventually disappearing inside it.
Right after Yi-An left, a new player appeared out of thin air. He puzzledly looked around his surroundings as if it was his first time accessing the server.
He exclaimed, “Oh, is this Elder Lord? Nice! It looks real. Now, this is virtual reality. Let’s see... They said to insert this into the ear... like this... I’m in! What should I pick? Species? Orc. A man should choose orc... What? Have I not read the game introduction? Why is orc an error? It was released by mistake? It’s super hardcore? Elder Lord is already tough, but orc is crazy difficult? No one chooses the orc? Really, no one? They all reset before Level 5? Damn... Hey, what are you? You work part-time under an evil NPC for shit pay? What kind of game is this? An NPC is way stronger than a player? LOL. Got it. Fine, I will choose to be human. Thanks for your hard work.”