Instinct and Regret

The final destination before the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠end. We landed in front of Nartika Corporation's headquarters. The anti-gravity taxi rose back into the sky. Only two people and the darkness remained at the entrance buried in snow.

"Four years ago, it used to take at least twenty minutes to get here from downtown in an anti-gravity taxi. Now we arrive in under ten."

"That's how much the technology has advanced. The mana consumption of the devices has decreased, and the weight they can handle has increased. The faster we go, the sooner we'll arrive, right?"

Leaving the taxi that vanished while emitting light behind us, we slowly passed through the entrance and strolled through Nartika's interior.

"Looking at it again, this place has changed a lot too."

"Hm?"

Normally I wouldn't have given it much thought, but now that I looked again, it felt like more than just one or two things had changed. Compared to when I first came here about five years ago, the external scale had definitely grown larger.

"At first it just felt like an industrial complex, but now it feels closer to an actual city."

"A city... Honestly, back then the scale was ambiguous even to call it a major corporation."

"It was right after it had risen from a quasi-major corporation."

"Was it? Around the time it finally climbed up after twisting and turning to avoid restrictions."

The days when we struggled through Nartika after the incident in the ruins. The days when Cheon Mari complained that the government kept nagging her to list the company. The days when the hunter field's level was so disastrous that it was mocked 300 days a year. At least now it wasn't 300 days, but the situation had improved enough to be mocked only 200 days. Thanks to the regressor's future knowledge, the company's influence had even grown significantly.

"What's Nartika's current ranking among major corporations..."

"Officially around 15th, but since it's unlisted, unofficially it's much higher than that. If you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠add the investment company we created by rolling our money around, it'll be higher than you can imagine."

Of course, there were no plans to actually merge them. We'd expanded the tax avoidance operations too far to execute it unless home and society were greatly shaken. If we went ahead with it carelessly, Cheon Mari and I would definitely end up in prison as economic criminals. 65% of the investment company's shares belonged to Cheon Mari, and the remaining 35% were mine.

"Is there any chance we'll be rolling out of prison in wheelchairs together? If we merge, I'm definitely getting my stomach cut open."

"Hoo, so you really think there won't be any chance of us sharing a wheelchair."

"Ah, no water ghosts allowed. I'll even return the share ratio readjustment, so if you're going in, go alone."

"Hoooo, is there really anyone among our peers with as much money as you in this world?"

"Cheon Mari, that's you."

"Ah."

But the reality was that even with all that money, we couldn't properly spend it. It wasn't easy to pull funds from places we'd properly invested in, and even if we did, we'd have to run them through the washing machine diligently. The psychological burden was enormous. To the point where I wondered if I even needed to spend this money. So aside from pre-ordering games, buying Pepsi, and purchasing shares in some companies, I didn't really withdraw any money. Honestly, for me, this level was already a satisfying bourgeois life.

"I don't want anything more than what I have now. Just maintaining the status quo like this is enough."

"I want to earn a bit more money though."

"You're an entrepreneur. Of course you should."

"Entrepreneur? It's not necessarily because of that."

"Hm?"

"If I earn more money, I can roll the gacha more, right? Besides, they say a bunch of good new characters are coming out next year."

"......"

Anyway, that's what the server lord says. We walked toward the building we'd been using as a training ground. Passing the room where Cheon Mari and I used to spar, we arrived at the room we usually rested in when we had nothing to do. When we opened the door and entered, two boxes were placed there. One for Cheon Mari, the other for me. However, the product items were similar.

When we tore open the boxes, two Hunter Watches that covered about two-thirds of the wrist came out. One basic model and one spare. We'd bought them because we didn't like the academy's standard Hunter Watches. When I turned my head slightly, Cheon Mari was also taking out a Hunter Watch. However, the model and company were different from mine. It looked much heavier and much more imposing. But its performance couldn't be said to be superior to this one.

What I'd purchased was something called the Dakota Hunter Watch from Maple Arms. It looked somewhat ordinary, but I hadn't bought it without any criteria. Maple Arms was a company that appeared in the game. They mainly manufactured Hunter Watches used by users who valued efficiency. Naturally, Maple Arms' Dakota Hunter Watch was equipment that placed great emphasis on efficiency. More precisely, it had specific functions that made hunter activities more efficient than other Hunter Watches.

I immediately put on the Hunter Watch. After quickly finishing the basic settings, I activated that specific function.

I picked up a fruit knife from the corner and brought it over.

"Analyze."

It was roughly like this. It analyzed tools and presented the results in an easy-to-understand format. Similar to item information in video games. In fact, the function itself was born from an idea taken from there. It was a bit strange to get ideas from game elements in a game-like world. But because of that, the function itself hadn't been around for long. This meant that the analysis functions of Hunter Watches were still in their early stages and generally poor. However, this Maple Arms product, just like in the game, had analysis performance that was excellent even for an older model. You might think you looted just a regular stone, but when you run analysis, it turns out to be a top-grade magic stone hardened with mud. In effect, it could distinguish and appraise most items without appraisal magic. Moreover, not many people knew this fact yet. Even at the game's starting point, it wasn't properly known.

"Kang Sian, I know you bought over half the shares of that small-to-medium enterprise, but do you really need to use something from three years ago?"

"When I looked into it, the performance seemed surprisingly good. Besides, this is also the most recently released product from Maple Arms."

"Performance...? Anyway, unless it's openly old or cheap, they're all the same. Rather than that, something from a proven company like mine—"

The prevailing theory was that there was almost no performance difference between major manufacturers except in some areas. Since Hunter Watches had been around for over 80 years, basic performance improvements had become difficult. So most people chose well-known brands with good durability, after-sales service, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. The same was true in the game, and in the early release period, using durable Hunter Watches was the trend. The problem was that this game called Gray Zone wasn't entirely honest. When users tore apart the game files and checked, it was revealed that there were differences between major manufacturers and devices. Some had good analysis performance, some had slightly higher shield efficiency, some had excellent magic correction functions, and some that were thought to be durable turned out to have defective lineups. In effect, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the developers had completely scammed the gamers. If gamers were in that state, what would the world inside the game be like?

The 'prevailing theory' was something even the regressor Cheon Mari believed as is. In other words, it was a truth that only I knew in this world. Of course, if someone bought dozens of Hunter Watches and conducted systematic measurements in perfectly identical environments, the truth would be revealed. But realistically, proving this was close to impossible in terms of funding, condition, and as an individual. What could be done when even low-performance and cheap products made in developing countries had skyrocketing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prices? What could be done when factors like condition and the user's mana operation also needed to be the same for accurate numbers? It would probably only be revealed in the distant future. Therefore, I decided to ignore Cheon Mari's advice on this matter. I prepared to shut the mouth of the regressor who was excitedly talking because she knew something.

I immediately brought the Hunter Watch to Cheon Mari's face.

"Analyze."

"An accurate... critique."

"What is it?"

The performance from the game hadn't gone anywhere. I immediately turned my wrist to show it to Cheon Mari.

"Huh? A lot of anger?! Has this tin can gone crazy!"

"Machines don't lie."

"Hey!"

Naturally, Cheon Mari tried to grab me. Thus a chase unfolded, and the day gradually darkened. We returned home after passing through a certain place.

* * *

The time when dawn approached. The time when Christmas approached. The wind was sharp and the air was cold. It was weather where you'd freeze to death unless you were wearing quite a few layers. A sharp reality in many ways. A woman in attire insufficient to ward off the cold walked along the snowy path.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo."

It was unclear why she was walking like this. Passersby could only guess that there must be something more important than dying. In fact, her goal was to kill rather than die. It was abnormal, and being in an abnormal state was correct. But when she thought this was the only way to resolve a mind that had been crushed and flipped over, what could she do? She had no choice but to trust her lagging mind, trust her fragmented old instincts, and trust her own judgment. Definitely, now, absolutely. Repeating such thoughts endlessly and slowly, she advanced. How long had she walked? She had approached her destination. Now, it seemed she only needed to go ahead and wait.

"No, rather... hiding for a bit before going..."

But even she who had secretly escaped from the hospital had her bare face. She chose an alternative and entered a nearby alley that was good for avoiding the cold. It was while she was waiting comfortably in the subsiding snow afterward. Deep and thick sounds could be heard from all directions. Whiiiing, hisss! Soon a taxi landed near the destination. Swallowing her saliva along with the thought that the time had come. With a creak, a man got out of the taxi. A man who had no reason to come here because he'd already sold it.

"......!"

Whatever the case, for someone it was a good thing. The woman's hardened expression loosened as soon as she saw the man.

"S-Sian..."

Little by little, little by little, little by little. She walked on the snow. The thought that she could approach came to her. The thought that she could correct it even now came to her. The thought that her pain would disappear came to her. It was the moment when a mere delusion was about to mix with reality. Creak— The door on the opposite side opened and a woman got out. Wondering who it could be, when she looked closely in her doubt, it was an all too familiar face.

"Uh, uwaa...! Aaa...!"

Lim Hana's steps stopped. It was instinct.