Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Chapter 7: The Murderer (1)
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It was true that I was flustered, but I couldn't afford to let time slip away indefinitely.
The bounty mission had a strict 24-hour time limit.
While I was lost in thought, the tension must have eased because Nam-gyu, who had been dozing off with his head nodding, woke up as the sky began to lighten to a pale blue.
I asked for his address and headed to his place first.
I tried using Mana Detection, but nothing stood out.
Judging by the cold studio apartment, the guy who claimed to be his father hadn't come home last night either.
Thanks to that, I could wash the blood off Nam-gyu, change his clothes, and bring him out again without any interruptions.
Our final destination was a motel quite a distance from Gwanak-gu.
I pressed a few 50,000-won bills into his hand and gave him strict instructions.
"Order some delivery food with this and stay put quietly. I'll contact you as early as tomorrow, or at the latest the day after. And don't talk to anyone about the game."
As I spoke while invisible, Nam-gyu nodded obediently despite his puffy eyes.
"Yes......"
I hesitated for a moment but ended up adding his code name to my friends list.
He didn't have his phone on him, so there was no choice.
Even if he did, leaving my number would be messier than this.
Since he'd failed the third tutorial and everything had been chaotic, his code name was his real name.
"Go on in now."
Nam-gyu opened his mouth as if he had something to say but turned around with a gloomy expression.
I watched until he entered the motel, then started walking.
The blood on his hands had gotten on my clothes, so public transport was out of the question.
I walked while staying invisible for now.
It was time to check the parts I hadn't gotten to yet.
Titles and Fame.
[Titles]
• Description: Titles can be acquired based on a player's achievements, and each title provides different system assistance.
[Bounty Hunter (Provisional - Activated)]
• Description: A title given to players who complete bounty hunt missions. It activates automatically when undertaking a bounty hunt mission.
• Effect: Randomly absorbs one skill from the target.
'Absorb a skill?'
I was honestly shocked when I saw the title's effect.
It meant guaranteeing one of the target's skills, no matter what.
Even with the random element, it was an effect worth being surprised over.
'This......'
Imagine if a player on my level became the target of a bounty mission.
I already had four skills myself.
A title that let you snag one for sure?
Depending on the target's skills, you could gain ones worth thousands or tens of thousands of mana.
On top of that, you'd absorb the target's mana as a base.
It wasn't explicitly stated, but players classified as targets were living beings too.
I scanned the Bounty Hunter description with complicated eyes before clicking on the Fame tab.
[Fame]
• Description: Acquired by establishing feats recognized by the system. Benefits such as shop discounts and increased rewards scale with accumulated fame.
(View Feats List)
(View Fame Rankings)
There were two buttons blinking invitingly at the end of the description, but they didn't register.
Ever since the new window popped up, my gaze had been fixed on one word.
'Discount?'
It surprised me even more than the title description.
This game forced you to scrape together mana just to buy skills and gear.
How much had I cursed because of it?
Just a few days ago, buying Invisibility had my hands shaking from how precious the mana felt.
But discounts? I read the Fame description over and over.
The discount rate apparently varied with the amount of Fame.
At my current level, it was 1%.
Opening the shop showed every price in red text, reduced by 1% mana.
That was the moment I had a reason to grind for Fame like crazy.
'The more Fame I accumulate, the more mana I can conserve.'
I felt a shiver run down my spine and took a deep breath.
Having another way to use the shop besides mana was good.
But I couldn't just be happy about it.
Separate from the tempting rewards on the bounty mission, I had no desire to jump into it recklessly.
'Killing my own kind......'
The mission's content was too blatant.
'It wants me to kill someone.'
An instinctive aversion to murder welled up.
But the situation made it hard to just abandon the mission outright.
'Unlike hunt missions, failing this one comes with a penalty.'
If I let the time limit pass without doing it.
The message said the target's Bounty Hunter location would be revealed.
Would a player who learned of my existence hesitate like me?
According to the mission, they'd already killed someone.
My head throbbed as reliably as ever today.
Just as I was pondering where to even start tackling this issue.
My phone vibrated. Incoming call: Jin-woo.
'Oh shit.'
Only then did I realize I'd pulled an all-nighter outside.
I'd messaged the night before that I'd be late, then ended up staying out entirely.
I sighed deeply and moved to a spot without cameras.
I dropped Invisibility and answered.
"You're up already?"
『Where are you?』
I'd checked the time before picking up: 5:03 AM.
Normally, the siblings would be asleep, and I'd be getting ready for work.
I'd have to play it off as leaving early.
"I left early. Had some stuff to handle."
『......Haa.』
A sigh came through the phone from Jin-woo.
"What's with the sigh?"
『You're lying.』
Then he started grilling me in a sharp tone?
"What?"
『We know you didn't come home last night. Yeon-woo and I took turns waiting up.』
Getting caught in the lie made my shoulders twitch.
But I couldn't just spill everything from last night.
"Why were you waiting? Don't do that next time—just go to sleep."
『How could we not? Can't we worry about Oppa on our own?』
"That's not what I......"
『Oppa, you've been acting really weird lately. Something's up, right? What is it?』
"......What do you mean 'something'?"
I couldn't give details, so brushing it off vaguely was best.
"Don't worry. It's nothing."
『How can we not worry? What's so serious you're staying out without a word?』
"I messaged that I'd be late yesterday......"
『Being late is the same as staying out?!』
Jin-woo yelled so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear.
'He rarely raises his voice like this.'
I racked my brain anxiously.
I had zero intention of telling my siblings about the game.
For now, act like it was no big deal.
"Don't yell. You gonna nag me over one night out?"
『What're you saying, Oppa? Explain it!』
Yeon-woo's chirpy voice came from the side.
『Hey, shut it for a sec. What happened? What were you doing last night?』
Judging by Jin-woo's momentum, I'd be in for it when I got home.
I steadied my breathing and spoke firmly.
"I'm too old to get nagged over staying out, and I have a private life too. So don't pry—just let it go. It wasn't anything worth you worrying over."
I was drawing a line to stop questions later.
『Private life?』
I never imagined it'd lead to such a weird misunderstanding.
『Oppa...... did you get a girlfriend?』
"Cough, hack!"
The out-of-left-field comment made me choke mid-swallow.
I hacked away for a good while.
Meanwhile, Yeon-woo's fussing exploded over the phone.
『Oppa got a girlfriend? Who's she? Is she pretty? How long? When do we get to meet her?』
I stopped myself from snapping that it wasn't like that—words failed me.
'What if I say no?'
It'd circle back to the stay-out and the prying.
"Y-Yeah, you caught on, so just let it slide from now on."
In the end, I let my lips tremble as I spun a lie.
"Don't pry more and go back to sleep."
『I'm just gonna wash up quick. I can sleep early tonight.』
"Do whatever."
『But when do we meet sis-in-law......』
"We're not at that stage yet, so please drop it!"
If talk of introducing a nonexistent girlfriend dragged on, I was done for.
『That's not fair! So mean! I wanna meet my new sis too! Kang Hyun-woo, you better introduce her!』
Yeon-woo's protest had already started beside him.
Sensing crisis, I jumped in.
"You handle Yeon-woo. I'm hanging up!"
I cut him off and mashed the end call button at light speed.
Felt like a storm had passed.
They say one lie begets bigger lies—couldn't agree more.
I bashed my head against the wall and let out endless sighs.
Even as I did, the bounty mission timer kept ticking down.
'First, let's check the background.'
That "killing kin" phrase in the mission—I needed to know why it popped up.
For that, I'd need a way to reach out......
I opened the portal site app on my phone for searching.
'Not sure if this still exists.'
I'd seen it a lot as a kid and used it a few times, but who knows now.
Searching half-doubtingly brought up results in a rush.
* * *
9 AM.
The phone in the emptied office started ringing amid the ongoing meeting from dawn.
"Domestic Security Team 2, Detection Support Officer Kam Ji-won speaking."
Kam Ji-won, still fresh-faced, snatched up the receiver briskly.
『They said you had info on the game, so they connected me here.』
A somewhat heavy, calm male voice came through right after.
Kam Ji-won's body jolted.
『I'd like to speak with the person in charge.』
A few days ago, she'd have dismissed it as a prank call.
But things had changed a lot.
Instructions had already gone out to those handling public tips.
Details were classified, but calls mentioning words like "game" or "player" all routed to Domestic Security.
Recalling the incident from two—no, three days ago, Kam Ji-won took a subtle deep breath and said,
"Could you help with identity verification first?"
『No intention of giving my name, but I'm a player. Put the person in charge on.』
"For more accurate reporting, we need......"
『I said no. I'm on a payphone, so don't waste time—connect me, or I'll hang up.』
Kam Ji-won, who'd been about to trace the number, squeezed her eyes shut and replied.
"......Please hold a moment."
She switched the line to hold and bolted from her seat into the meeting room.
Unlike the empty office, it was packed with the team leader and agents.
The door bursting open drew all their serious gazes to her.
Under her seniors' stares, she tensely stated her business.
"Director, call from someone claiming to be a player. Specifically mentioned 'game.' What do we do?"
"......Location?"
"Was tracing when he threatened to hang up if not transferred...... He says it's a payphone."
"......Once location's confirmed, dispatch personnel immediately. Route the call to the conference room."
As Kam Ji-won headed back, the man in his forties called "Director" issued calm orders.
"Record it and flag any personal details. Team Leader Han Seok-jun listens in."
"Yes, sir."
The agents in the meeting moved with crisp efficiency.
Soon, the phone on the table rang.
The man locked eyes with Han Seok-jun and nodded.
One, two, three.
He picked up simultaneously and greeted the voice on the other end.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yang Jo-cheol, Director of the National Intelligence Service Domestic Security Division."
『I'm a player.』
The voice was utterly devoid of tremor—eerily still.
From that alone, several inferences could be drawn.
Damn System