Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Pay-to-Win Knight
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The atmosphere at the resort was great.
Since they'd rented out an entire island, there were no annoying crowds, the food was delicious, and the beds were comfortable. There was a fancy bar and pub, too, so you could drink as much as you wanted if you felt like it.
And that was just the beginning.
True to a resort island, it had all sorts of facilities—you could ride a submarine around the ocean or try out a leisure-grade Gigas. If you signed up, you could stay at the [Glass Hotel] deep underwater, or shake your body to beats mixed by a famous DJ. There was even a relatively wholesome casino, and at night, they set off fireworks.
A paradise on the sea.
In that paradise, hundreds of staff and actors enjoyed themselves. Some pairs made eye contact and became lovers, while those already coupled spent passionate nights together. They created unforgettable memories and forged close bonds.
"Ha. It's a madhouse."
But not me. I didn't have the luxury.
I had to make money.
[Then see you next week.]
"Yes, take care."
I end the call by pressing Cheda's nose. The person on the other end was from a CP (Contents Provider) company run by Five Dragons, the web novel platform—someone connected to Green Dragon.
Up until now, I'd been earning through a sort of free serialization, but I'd hit my limit.
The number of works serialized on Five Dragons was beyond imagination, so my pieces—which had lost buzz and even fewer readers—were completely buried. And now I couldn't churn them out like before, so I needed a new path.
"This one's done... Let's see."
I opened the stock app.
Nemesis – 2,109,500 KRW (-57,000 KRW)↓
"It's dropping again...."
I'd planned to sell if it spiked big and buy back later, but that was blocked.
"No, but why is it dropping? Things couldn't get worse."
I couldn't understand, so I searched the internet.
It was chaos.
[What a trash game. Why should I spend my money to get stressed playing?]
[The cash shop is insane...... I've heard the rumors, but it's beyond imagination.]
[I came in because it's perfect VR, and yeah, I'll give it that. The depth of immersion is insane ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ But why do they kill you every time you try anything? These 18+ freaks.]
[Argh, I just wanted to hunt monsters...... Why do they keep screwing around......]
New Revenge players were venting everywhere. And they weren't the only ones complaining.
[Why ignore the territory lord's orders? Don't you know rules?]
[Why come to our guild's controlled hunting ground......]
[We said don't touch the event monster, but you kill it and die, then your fan site gets flooded with hate lololol shitstorm real ㅋㅋㅋ]
I skimmed the forums and stood up.
"Hey, Han Jaeyeon!"
A sudden call makes me turn. A woman in a bikini stands there.
"What is it?"
"If you're not busy, want to grab a drink with me?"
I look at her for a moment. Don't know who she is, but a familiar face. Probably one of the mages who'd summoned monsters for us.
A beauty with a slender figure and snow-white skin, but I could only give an awkward smile.
"Sorry. I have an appointment."
"Ah, oh...... Yeah. Can't be helped!"
I bow slightly to her flushed face and head back to the hotel. Then I go to the connection room on the third floor.
Yeah, I do have an appointment.
I'd promised Nemesis to log into Revenge now.
[Connecting to Revenge.......]
[Connection complete.]
The hotel's connector was leagues beyond my studio apartment one—luxury that let me log in effortlessly.
And the process was different now, too.
[No avatar character set yet.]
[Moving to avatar setup room.]
Once the Second Life project kicked off and Revenge got full VR tech, Nemesis split player characters into avatars—where the player directly inhabits for the VR experience—and servants, which auto-hunt and play like before.
Players could log in as avatars and take servants along, or send servants to hunt solo while adventuring the virtual world themselves.
'Well, yeah. In a virtual world indistinguishable from reality, auto-combat like before wouldn't fly...... Stuff like perfect accuracy or crits would break everything.'
To avoid infinite crits and hits like I pulled in Ardenia, they'd have to run on new rules.
"Avatar setup complete."
[If unchanged, avatar defaults to your real appearance. Changing later requires an Appearance Change Ticket. Proceed?]
"Yeah."
I breeze through and enter Revenge.
"Kyaaaaah!"
A sudden scream makes me look up. A massive dragon soars through the sky—not a western dragon, but an eastern one serpent-like in form.
Dozens ride its back.
Vroooom!
A racing car speeds down the road. Luckily, it's on a racing-only lane about five meters up, so no traffic issues.
"Wow, seeing it like this feels totally different."
I'd logged in at the mythic castle: Ilseong Land. I'd seen this view on displays plenty, but feeling it through a connector hit different.
Sight, touch, hearing, smell. Even taste—another world fully recreated.
I'd done virtual worlds before, but reaching reality-blurring levels changed the immersion completely.
[First avatar login! You get a cheap flip phone (Common)!]
As I stand blankly by the road, something appears in my hand.
I check it out—some unfamiliar design.
"What...... is this? A phone?"
I fiddle with the weird thing, confused.
It says phone, but no screen.
"Uh, display! Open screen! Not that? Cheap flip phone! Screen!"
I talk to it, but no response. A passing woman sees and giggles.
"Haha! That's an old flip phone! It's folded in half, so unfold it."
I look closer—there's a seam in the plastic middle. I pull, and it flips open.
"Ah! Thanks."
"No prob! Have fun!"
She runs off dodo-do. A handsome guy chases after, with [Universe's Hottest Flower Boy (Servant)] over his head.
"Ah, so that's how it works."
I check the open flip phone. Shockingly, it's just numbers and letters on the screen.
[You selected Servant Call!]
[Summons after combat ends! Combat ended!]
[Summons in progress.......]
Flash!
With a bit of light, a man appears before me.
[Killians]
"Ooh, feels fresh."
A sturdy-looking guy faces me. Long greatsword on his back, basic gear.
Passing players murmur curiously.
"Huh? That servant's ID isn't rainbow-shiny?"
"Yeah, first time seeing one like that."
"ID color's shifting, cool."
"Oh! Wait! Isn't that—isn't that a mythic class!?"
Someone yells, and eyes turn. I panic and hit next.
[Killians stored in character select screen.]
"It's gone!"
"Logged out?"
From the murmurs, servant owners stay anonymous.
"Wow, mythic chars must be OP."
"One swing kills hundreds of us small fries, they say."
"No way, even against other players?"
I slip away.
'Ugh. Feels awkward.'
On mobile, I ignored chatter, but hearing it now? Hard to pin the feeling.
"But the vibe here's not bad? Seems fine, so why's the stock dropping?"
Unlike the riot on the site, the castle buzzed pleasantly. Players having fun, barely any fights.
I walk across the castle, then reach into my inventory—it's so huge, walking's a hassle.
Rip!
Tear a random teleport scroll, and I'm at a nearby hunting ground.
"Hold up there!"
Someone calls as I arrive.
"Me?"
"Yeah. Dollar Coin Guild's raiding here, so stay back."
"Ah, got it."
Standard stuff, so I nod and back off. Looks like a guild targeting a field boss for a raid.
Boom!
Bang!
Rat-a-tat!
From afar, about fifty players hunt a monster.
And that monster looks awfully familiar.
"Haaap!"
Splash!
A wave crashes over bare ground.
[Ice Queen of the Hot Summer (Hero)]
"No, she's not icy anymore......"
Summer vacation event. Sure, who in Revenge has summer break, but that's the excuse.
Ridiculously, the bikini-clad Ice Queen sprays water streams instead of ice, battling players.
"Feels weird...... Like I just fought her recently."
Confirms this Ice Queen's pure monster here, unlike Ardenia's version.
Then—
"Hyap!"
A sudden archer unloads arrows on the Ice Queen. ID shows avatar, not servant.
"Hey! Hey! Hold on!"
"Hyap hyap! Huh? What?"
"Dollar Coin Guild's raiding, don't touch."
"Huh? C'mon, just a few hits. Got a raid quest."
"Do it in a quest dungeon then."
The intruder's face sours at the pushy tone.
"I'll hit if I want, why boss me? Just a few."
Guildie's face sours too.
"Don't get it? This is Dollar Coin Guild's controlled raid."
"Controlled? Did you pay Nemesis for this boss?"
"No, so—we're, ugh. Whatever."
"Yeah! See? No need to......"
"Just die then."
Crunch!
Guildie's sword chunks the player's HP.
"Agh!? Why attack!"
Crunch!
Player screams in shock, but follow-up kills him. Guildie gave up talking.
"Ah, there it is."
Now I get the site chaos.
"What a mess."
Revenge's wars aren't like sports where the game sets the arena and players duke it out. It's not just strong raid monsters—it's other players eyeing them too. That's Revenge.
Most fights erupt when players clash over something valuable in-game.
Winners and losers emerge, birthing player-made rules unrelated to the devs.
Veterans are fine—they knew and love this game.
But newbies? No.
"Why kill me! Ridiculous!"
"So your char's strong means jack?"
"Don't touch event mobs."
"Who are you to say??"
Conflicts spark everywhere I look.
'Basically...... clash of civilizations.'
Newbies vs. vets—inevitable.
And the outcome's obvious.
Revenge resolves via combat/war. How do newbies beat vets? They get steamrolled.
'Only two answers.'
Quit.
Or grind cash to crush rivals.
Nemesis wants the latter, sure—but will most players stress in a fresh game?
'That's why the stock's tanking.'
Felt justified. Players taste bitterness, quit, badmouth it.
Worst rep? Even potentials bail. Perfect VR? Alternatives pop quick.
"......"
But then it hits me.
'Would Nemesis Soft really miss this?'
Pshh!
Log out, exit connector. I'm not here to play—I don't need VR.
Nyaaong!
Cheda meows like waiting. Eye contact, and it speaks.
"Message from Director Allen: Good work. Rest deposited."
I check my account.
Free Savings Deposit (G-Bank 1173-5511)
250,043,908 KRW.
From scraping 43k to 250 million+.
"......"
I'd planned to convert it all to diamonds, pump into mythic castle defenses. List ready.
But another thought.
'Did Nemesis Soft not foresee this bad press? Really?'
Revenge isn't some scam dev sucking cash and bailing. In 34th Earth, under glaring Justice and Truth Gods, it's the top-grossing game.
No lies doesn't make the trash cash model lovable...... but they're no fools.
"......Alright."
Pet Cheda's belly, open stock app. Then.
Dump all funds into full Nemesis stock buy.