Dodge Legend Exposed and Capsule Upgrade
With a hiss, the capsule lid popped open, and I collapsed onto the bed without even a moment to cast Clean.
"Pushed myself too hard..."
The instant my head hit the pillow, my eyes drifted shut, and I plunged straight into sleep.
...
The next day.
"...? Why's it so dark?"
I checked the clock—it was a little past the time I'd logged out of the capsule.
"...No way."
Sure enough, I'd been lying in bed for over 24 hours! Clutching my head, I stared at the pile of alarms on my phone.
"Agh... When am I gonna check all these..."
I decided to start with the backed-up texts. From minor worry-filled messages to work-related ones from the Nel crew.
"...Why is everyone so worried?"
Anything after a certain point was a blur—I vaguely remembered my chat with Marian, but taking down Gluttony before that? Tough to recall.
It hit me anew just how insanely tough this body's mental fortitude was.
"...Did I really go that ham in the fight?"
Who knows. I remembered sliding down to the mountain's base in an avalanche and Magic Missile-ing myself to death, but after that, it was pure instinct.
I fired off "I'm fine" replies to everyone who'd texted in concern, then spotted a link Sunwoo had dropped in the raid party group chat.
Sunwoo's link led straight to a gallery post of my yesterday-self pulling off insane moves against Gluttony's berserk pattern.
(Clip 1) (Clip 2) (Noel selfie)
"...I did all that?"
In the clip, I was dodging every one of Gluttony's arms by a hair's breadth, my eyes completely unfocused.
"Wait... a bug?"
I dove into the gallery for more info, and sure enough, the top post had exactly what I wanted.
The original Arkteera main quest [Snowy Mountains] is designed for a 4-man party. Obviously, they made solo play possible for loners like us losers here, but solo mode lowers the difficulty accordingly.
Turns out, when Noel was doing it, the difficulty adjustment code didn't kick in. That's why the holy knight kept sucking despite Noel carrying, and why there were way too many mobs—it was running at full 4-man party difficulty.
TL;DR: Noel solo'd a 4-man quest. She's just batshit insane (in a good way lol)
Anyway, Lost World devs are giving Noel extra rewards. No idea what yet.
"Ha, for real."
I hadn't said it out loud, but out of those 21 hours, 10 were spent clearing the Snowy Mountains quest. Learning it was all because of a code glitch? I was pissed for a second.
"Haa... Calm down. They said they'd compensate..."
Part of me wanted to storm Lost World HQ and Magic Missile the dev team, but I'd decide after seeing the rewards.
The official Lost World email outlined them like this.
"...Not bad?"
I was pleasantly surprised by the generosity. If it'd been stingy, I'd have gone live and raged—but this shut me up quick.
"Hm. Swap the Legendary avatar for something else. Already got one in storage."
The Unique-grade Priscilla series looked stunning even without an avatar equipped, so no need for another.
I meant to check my quest rewards, but...
"...One more day of rest?"
It was late, and I had edited videos to review, so no capsule today. Even invincible TS flesh needs maintenance.
While I slept, Bambi always curled up beside me. I plopped her on my thigh, stroked her furiously, and finished the reviews.
"That wraps up... just one more Nonheaven episode."
The editors were pros—views steady, subs exploding. Once Nonheaven finished on NewTube, maybe a team dinner?
...Nah, suggesting it suddenly might awkward them out. I'd ask casually later.
With messages cleared, a text from an unknown number popped up.
It was long, but TL;DR: He loved my OST performance and wanted to give me a song.
"Famous guy?"
I knew singers, not composers. Googled "Sanghyeon"—
"...Oh? Whoa?"
Top results showed he was way bigger than I thought. Composed for newbie idol group Blossom, plus tons of A-listers.
"...But why me?"
My OST was killer, sure, but I'm a total noob with one raw take. Still...
"...Tempting."
A top composer offering me a track? No way I'd pass. Plus, I'd been having fun singing lately. I wasn't dumb enough to kick away a golden opportunity just to stay low-key.
"...Yeah. Meet at least."
I replied positively.
Emails done, I managed my NewTube channel with music on.
The fragrance of you, carried on the wind~
Like a little flower blooming in my heart
"Their songs slap."
Not huge on idols, but Blossom's debut banger—composed by Sanghyeon, apparently—had me hooked. Made the meeting more exciting.
"Come to think of it..."
Checking members, a familiar face jumped out.
"...Ayoung?"
There she was, from Serin's birthday party.
"Made it big. Good for her."
Blossom's track was charting high—smooth sailing ahead.
"Hmm... Kinda familiar... Nah, probably not."
One other member looked vaguely known, but I shrugged it off.
"...Bedtime?"
As I sat on the bed, Bambi hopped up, ready to crash. I stared, then lifted her.
"????"
"...What can you even do?"
"Meowww..."
Her purple eyes flashed; a small square shimmered in the air.
"...What's this?"
"Nyaaang!"
"Stores stuff?"
"...Ain't it tiny?"
"Meowww..."
Testing, I shoved a thick book from the shelf in. Thought it'd be too big, but the square reshaped to fit, swallowed it, and snapped back square.
"Whoa... Subspace? Inventory-like?"
No inventory since becoming a game char had bugged me—this was gold.
Reached in, pulled the book out easy.
"Handy."
Can't use outdoors, but home with Bambi around? Perfect.
She could do basic magic and buffs too.
"More tricks than I thought?"
"Meowww..."
"Haha, got it. Sorry."
Stroked her pout away. Fell asleep at 3 AM petting her.
....
"Ditch this capsule?"
OST deal, donations, NewTube cash—I was loaded now. Ramen days were over.
"Delivery~"
"Yeah, leave it up front."
Thought maxed cooking skill meant home-cooked meals? Nope—lazy, so delivery it was.
Munching tteokbokki, I shopped capsules. Higher specs = smoother in-game moves, better senses, safer. Worth it.
Current one's decent budget model, but for more streaming? Upgrade time.
"...Oof, pricey."
High-end ones hit 10 mil won. Found a solid price/performance pick, teared up calling it future investment, and bought it.
Old one? Keep as backup or sell used.
Maybe the big spend made it taste better, but that tteokbokki felt precious.