So, Tell Me About That New Game, Yuran!
"So, tell me more about that new game, Yuran!"
"Hehe, sure. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I saw it myself. The scale is one thing, but it's even better than I imagined. We've all been pretty busy with our own affairs. So I looked into it properly and joined the project, and it blew me away. First of all, the name is Endless Universe. Well... it's not the official title, but..."
Everyone except Yu-ran listened attentively to her words. Su-a, Cindy, and Hwa-ryun hated it when Kang-hyun became so absorbed in games that he neglected them, but that didn't mean they disliked games themselves. After playing Changcheon Murim alongside him, they had gained their own experiences—learning how to draw pleasure from the game, relieve stress, and live as new versions of themselves. In truth, they rather enjoyed it. They simply weren't as hardcore about it as Kang-hyun.
Endless Universe. A super-massive MORPG based on space exploration with a sci-fi worldview. For now, it supported individual play or small groups sharing a server like Changcheon Murim, but plans existed to establish enormous MMORPG servers in the future. That was still far off, however. The current plan was a closed beta test with an extremely limited number of participants—and those testers were Kang-hyun and his women. The group was so small that calling it a "beta" felt like a stretch, but Yu-ran had decided to label it that way for the time being.
The setting included Earth, which contained Changcheon Murim, along with dozens of other planets. Roughly twenty of them were massive like Earth, while the rest were moon-sized or even smaller. Even so, the overall scale was several times larger than Changcheon Murim.
The representative major powers were the Empire and the Federation. The Empire's official name was the Omega Empire—the strongest and largest single faction in the universe. Opposing it was the Federation D.C.U (Defend Cosmos Union), commonly called the Cosmic Defense Union. There were also neutral independent planets such as the Forbidden Kingdom and Pantera, among others. Including minor faction worlds, the universe contained dozens of planets as described.
Players could raise their characters, build their own forces, join an existing power and fight on its behalf, or simply adventure alone. The gameplay style was very similar to Changcheon Murim. The only real differences were the scale and the setting. But what truly captured Kang-hyun's interest was... the existence of giant mechs.
"There are dozens of factions, but the major powers all have mechanical weapons—mechs. Husband, it's exactly the system you've been craving so badly!"
"Whoa! Lady Yu-ran! Thank you! I love you! Thank you for saving this foolish husband of yours!"
"Ahaha! Praise me more! Louder!"
"...Tsk."
"...Hmph."
"...Che."
Watching Kang-hyun's shameless flattery and worship, the other women wore expressions of secondhand embarrassment and voiced their displeasure. But their reactions didn't reach the pair. Kang-hyun and Yu-ran had already slipped into their own little world—a connection that came naturally between a gamer and a creator.
"The variety is huge too. It started with only humanoid boarding units, but the National One development team added all sorts of things, and the basic framework I designed has been heavily modified. They've fleshed it out with so many new bones and muscles. On top of that, they incorporated the Changcheon Murim data, so development dragged on for over ten years without being completed. They poured an insane amount of time and money into the access capsules as well. After Changcheon Murim's success, it turns out Jung Dae-woon threw massive additional support behind it. Thanks to that, they've created a masterpiece that's hard to even compare to Changcheon Murim."
When he heard that, Kang-hyun felt genuine gratitude toward Jung Dae-woon for the first time since meeting the man. Gratitude toward the person who had made life hell for him, Su-a, and his sister-in-law, and had even targeted his own woman, Cindy.
Thank you, father-in-law!
Of course, he kept those words to himself.
By this point, even Su-a and the others had grown curious despite the prospect of losing time with Kang-hyun. After all, they were genuine fans who had enjoyed Changcheon Murim purely as a game.
"But Yuran, I'm the president of Korea Vision. Why didn't I hear a single word about this? No matter that National One developed it directly... knowing Father's personality, he definitely would have told me. Even if it was just to use me."
"I don't know about that part either. Kang-hyun and I are one thing, but honestly, who could ever read what's really going on inside that man Jung Dae-woon's head?"
"...Yeah, that's true."
"Then, Yuran, will it be officially released?"
"The official launch is still quite far away. Cindy, you might not be familiar with this industry, but... creating a game isn't the end of the story. There will be multiple rounds of testing, and we'll have to identify problems from there."
"Oh my, then shouldn't we avoid playing it too?"
"Normally, yes. But! Who am I? I'm Na Yu-ran. Five completed capsules will be delivered to our house soon. Of course, with Endless Universe already installed. As both developer and creator, I struck a deal with National One that hands-on testing would make things much smoother. It's genuinely necessary work, too."
"Wow! Thank you, Yuran! Ah, but what did you mean earlier about being able to meet Kang-hyun more often? With his overseas business trips and classes, carrying a capsule around would be difficult, right?"
At those words, Kang-hyun's face fell in obvious disappointment. Cindy immediately broke into a sweat trying to console him.
"Actually, another access device is being developed alongside the capsules. This time it's a helmet-type connector like in Changcheon Murim, but integrated with a neural link system as a prototype. The quality won't match the capsule, but it'll be far better than current options. It's a product made specifically for busy people like you, Kang-hyun. ...Though honestly, it's also made to make money."
"Doesn't matter! As long as I can connect from overseas, that's enough! Sleep mode like in Changcheon Murim should make it perfectly doable!"
"Well... do as you like with that part. Actually, I was going to insist that you, Su-a, absolutely had to try it even if no one else did, but it looks like that won't be necessary now."
"Huh? Why me all of a sudden?"
"The distribution for this game is going to be handled by Korea Vision."
"What?! This is the first I'm hearing about it! I didn't even know the game was being made, and now suddenly this?!"
"That's right. National One could handle distribution themselves, but the development team felt Korea Vision—who created and launched Changcheon Murim—would be better suited. In reality, National One itself isn't deeply involved in the game industry. Though the story changes if you include subsidiaries. Anyway, while the development is outstanding, promotion and distribution are entirely different problems. The board decided it would be best to entrust those matters to you, the veteran. Jung Dae-woon agreed, of course. They'll probably reach out to you officially soon. I don't know exactly when."
"...I'm speechless. It almost feels like the heavens themselves are helping us and our man enjoy games."
"But it's not a bad thing, is it, sis? Both brother-in-law and the rest of us get to enjoy games like we used to."
"That's right, Su-a! It reminds me of when I was in America and first met Kang-hyun through Changcheon Murim!"
"...Ha. Ha. Ha. I didn't know Cindy back then... right, honey?"
"....Cough!"
At Cindy's mischievous jab, Kang-hyun broke into an involuntary cold sweat. After their first meeting, he had indeed taken his eyes off Su-a and fooled around with her. He had since received permission and begged for forgiveness, but the memory still stung.
"Anyway, the capsules should arrive within three days. The prototypes are finished and testing is mostly complete. For reference, these capsules were developed to run not only Endless Universe but also other virtual reality games from National One subsidiaries, including Changcheon Murim. So you can still enjoy Changcheon Murim if you want. We'll be focusing on Endless Universe, though. I'll teach you all the settings."
"That's great news too! Thank you, Yuran!"
"Hehehe. Now do you understand the greatness of this body, husband?"
"I've always known! This just made me realize it even more!"
"...Tsk."
"...Hmph."
"...Che."
"Anyway, Kang-hyun, you're heading out again in about a week, right? Spend these three days playing with us, then use the next three days playing the game to your heart's content before you go back to work."
"Thank you! My beloved wife!"
With that, Kang-hyun bowed deeply to Yu-ran. Although Su-a and the others were displeased by the prospect of him diving into games, the three days belonged to them, so they let it pass. During those three days, Kang-hyun freely indulged in the beautiful bodies of Su-a, Cindy, Hwa-ryun, and Yu-ran, releasing all the desires he had pent up. And just as Yu-ran had promised, after those three days the access capsules were delivered.