Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: You Said to Wait for Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cough hack.
I spewed blood from my mouth—no, kimchi stew broth.
Ah, even though I'd asked for feedback myself, the sheer shock of negative criticism was something I just couldn't avoid.
Myth didn't let up, picking apart my map point by point.
"Your architecture skills—no, your map-making ability itself—is seriously lacking."
"Kkh, kkhugh…!"
"The flow here is unnecessarily long-winded, and this part's way over the top. A map doesn't need every single element to be perfect. If every background detail is ultra-high quality, it just tires out the eyes."
"S-save… me…!"
"I'm not really blaming you. This is usually an issue of input. Since you were laid up when 3D maps were all the rage, you probably just lack the fundamentals."
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
I couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the floor.
M-Myth gives incredibly thorough feedback, huh.
Yeah, that's what it takes to have five million subscribers.
My head got it, but the arrows of words kept flying relentlessly, not caring that I was already down.
"The quality of each individual object making up the map is genuinely excellent."
"Th-thank… you…."
Finally, a bit of praise.
Feeling my HP recover just a touch, I tried to get back up—
"If using these great objects to build a map like this counts as skill, then sure, it's skill."
"Gaaahhhhhh!!!!"
Critical hit.
I crumpled pathetically back to the floor.
Over-the-top particle effects, structures with zero realism, excessive or insufficient gimmicks in the flow paths, pointless structures no one knew why they were there.
When Myth made avatars or outfits, I'd never heard such merciless facts fired in rapid succession. I was utterly shredded.
"Still, your textures are good—one by one. The buildings and objects look like masterpieces up close, but when put together, it's lacking."
"Myth… tha-that's… enough…."
Under Myth's endless feedback, hacked to pieces body and soul, I collapsed completely.
Only then did Myth snap out of it, looking down at me and scrambling up to rush over.
"S-sorry. I tend to give feedback pretty harshly."
"…It's fine."
I barely clung to my mangled mind and dragged myself back up.
Her words were brutally direct, but not a single one was wrong.
Looking back at the map I'd made through the lens of her advice, the problems were glaringly obvious now.
"Still, pulling off this level of quality with a program like this is honestly insane. You can be proud of that much, at least, Seol-ah."
"A program like this?"
I tilted my head.
Were there other programs for map-making besides this one?
Id brought this because it was the most popular and widely used.
"DreamLive in Japan uses their own proprietary software for maps. With an open-source program like this, there are limits to what you can do."
"Ah, got it."
I nodded.
No wonder their stuff looked so polished—they had the resources.
What now? Could I get my hands on some corporate-grade software?
I started pondering seriously.
Once I set my mind to something, I saw it through no matter what, so any thoughts of backing out had vanished long ago.
"Seol-ah, do you have any plans for what you're gonna do going forward?"
Myth asked me.
It felt a bit out of left field.
Well, she must have something in mind to ask now.
I answered.
"It's pretty vague for now, but…."
My body was 27, but my mind was still 20.
Honestly, I had no clue what I wanted to do.
"Still, I think I want to go into this field."
"3D modeling?"
"Yeah."
I shared my dream with Myth.
'Though my intentions aren't exactly pure.'
I recalled the community flooded with praise for me, the chat window lit up with compliments.
Straightforward, primal praise had a way of making you happy just by itself.
And another thing.
Seven years ago, that evening after the college entrance exam.
I still couldn't forget the thank-you message someone sent after receiving my first 'creation.'
And above all, there was that primal reason.
"Hey, if you don't wanna work, you don't have to. Ever."
"Why?"
"I've got enough money to feed our kids' kids."
Thud.
The now-familiar sound of my heart dropping.
I flushed beet red and put some distance between us.
It was a ridiculous impulse, born from the fear that she might hear my heartbeat if we stayed close.
"…Hey. I told you to watch it with those lines. My heart dropped again."
This girl—wasn't her affection getting more intense lately?
At this rate, she might confess before achieving her goal.
"Nope. I'm gonna say it a lot more, so get used to it."
Unfortunately, Myth had no intention of considering my situation.
Or more accurately, she had no desire to.
Myth stuck out her tongue with a teasing "bleh~."
Even she seemed embarrassed saying it—her cheeks were flushed to bursting.
I almost grabbed that tongue but held back.
She was so damn willful.
Yet I didn't hate it, so I couldn't push further.
The person I liked liked me back.
Anyone would welcome that.
Myth followed up with another question.
"Anyway, you really wanna work? Even though you don't have to? Being a rich bum is everyone's dream, right?"
Rich bum.
Hm, tempting offer, sure.
But not one that really appealed to me.
"Yeah, I wanna work."
"Why?"
Myth stared straight at me.
Why, why?
I chose my words carefully.
Why was I turning down such a sweet deal to work?
…The answer was set from the start.
From long ago.
Yeah, from ten years back.
My hand moved on its own, touching Myth's cheek.
Flinch.
Myth trembled slightly but didn't pull away.
My hand met her cheek, sharing a bit of warmth.
Whoa, she's burning up.
I thought about teasing her that my hand might melt, but her eyes were too serious, so I scrapped it.
I tried to speak several times, but the words stuck.
It wasn't anything else—just plain embarrassment.
How did this girl say such embarrassing things so casually?
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump.
In the eternal silence, my heartbeat pounded in my ears like it would burst.
Man, since waking up, how many times had my heart nearly exploded?
Love really wasn't great for the heart, I thought with a wry chuckle.
The silly thought eased my tension a bit.
Gathering my courage, fueled by my racing heart, I said it.
"For you."
You've become a star so far out of reach, but I still want to make you shine even brighter.
Gasp.
Myth swallowed hard.
Oh, did I move her a little?
"…You said to wait for you."
"Huh?"
Her voice was so soft I asked again, and this time Myth repeated it clearly, word for word.
"You said to wait for you."
Huh?
Something felt off.
A faint pink glow shimmered in Myth's eyes.
Hallucination? How could eyes glow pink?
But unbelievably, her eyes were shining pink—at least to me.
When was it? Where had I seen eyes like this?
Right, that day.
In the taxi back from the airport, when she straddled my thigh and lunged at me—exactly this looooook—
Bam.
Myth grabbed both my arms and pinned me down.
We were both sitting on the floor, so no injuries,
'What strength—.'
She said she worked out every day—wasn't kidding.
Before I could even panic at her superhuman grip, she mounted me and looked down.
"Ah, I don't care anymore, Seol-ah. This is really, truly, absolutely your fault."
"W-wait, Myth!! Please! Let go first and think!!"
I thrashed desperately, but I couldn't break free from her freakish strength.
Her sweet breath brushed my nose, and her hand started slipping under my clothes.
No way, were both my hands tied in one of hers?
This was getting scary now.
"Myth?! Myth?! Myth?!"
I called desperately, but her mind didn't return.
What came instead was hot and sweet.
"Sorry, Seol-ah. I can't hold back."
This is your fault.
It was an absolute declaration.