Virtual Reality (7)

It had already been several days since the people playing the Trial of the Tower found themselves unable to log out.

The communities were still burning white-hot.

Why wasn't Miracle Company doing anything? They clearly knew about this, didn't they? Public outrage had long since pierced the sky.

Family. Friends. Acquaintances.

Offices stood empty. Classrooms were missing their classmates. Homes were missing their families. Simultaneous concurrent users in Korea alone numbered a full million. That everyday life would collapse was, in a way, only natural.

"...This is an absolute disaster."

Kim Ye-eun clicked her tongue.

From the Trial of the Tower gallery on out, every community even remotely related — and plenty that weren't — was drowning in stories of people who wouldn't wake up. And still, Miracle Company remained silent. Just who was backing them that they could afford to be this brazen?

"Unni, you've gotten so thin."

"Can't eat, so what can you do."

Even putting it generously, Seo Eunha's condition was not good. Her body, already slender to begin with, had wasted further from the lack of proper meals — thin enough now that her bones showed.

"When is she even coming out... tch."

"She's still messaging us, though. We can take that as a good sign."

Unlike the restless Ye-eun, Eunseo remained remarkably calm. No matter how small and cute her unni looked, she had once been her father's colleague. Perhaps it was fair to say she trusted her as much as she adored her. Of course, if anyone asked whether she was free of worry, that would have been a lie.

"Unni can do it."

"I honestly don't know what about her you're putting your faith in."

Ye-eun pouted. If Eunseo believed in her, then she could try to believe too. But that didn't erase all the pathetic impressions she'd formed so far.

Ding—

"..."

"Hm?"

An alarm went off. Not an ordinary message chime — the distinctive tone of the hunter-exclusive messenger.

"What?"

An A-Rank Gate. The Trial of the Tower?

Ye-eun's mind went blank at the sudden information. The situation was far more serious than she had thought.

So it's not that they can't get out of a game... it was a Gate all along?

The moment that thought landed, worry for Eunha came flooding in. Seo Eunha was, after all, a civilian. Ye-eun had seen firsthand what happened to ordinary people caught inside Gates, and the anxiety was impossible to shake.

"Shouldn't we go in and rescue her right now?"

"They said no. Connecting could leave you unconscious too."

"Who cares if we go unconscious? There are a million people in there!"

Had a Gate that swallowed this many people ever existed in history? Even the colossal Gate that opened in China had only involved around six hundred thousand. A million? That was nearly double.

"It'll be fine. Let's trust Eunha Unni and wait."

"Haaah... seriously..."

Ye-eun raked her fingers roughly through her hair. Had she ever felt this powerless? If it had been an ordinary Gate, she could have just stormed in and started spewing flames. But this was different. The peculiar nature of virtual reality — or more accurately, a soul-interference type Gate.

Ding—

"Ah, a text."

"The Association again?"

"Nope. It's Eunha Unni this time."

Eunseo smiled and held out her phone. Ye-eun's brows twitched slightly at the words "Eunha Unni" glowing on the screen. I wanted Eunseo to call me Unni too...

"..."

What was this. Looking at the content alone it was clearly good news, so why was she getting so mad?

It feels like Seo Eunha is stealing Eunseo from me...

Ugh. A sigh to cool her overheating head. What good was getting jealous right now, Kim Ye-eun. She scolded herself and forced the corners of her mouth upward.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, but... looks like she's doing well."

"Right? Eunha Unni is amazing. You need to understand that too, Ye-eun."

"...I'll try to think positively."

Their first meeting had been a disaster, so the trust just wouldn't come easily. Still... fine. There had to be reasons the Association wasn't stepping in, and reasons Eunseo believed in that girl.

"Maybe I should practice making porridge before Unni wakes up..."

Eunseo had already half-decided that Eunha would clear the Trial of the Tower. Her attention had already shifted to what came after Eunha woke up.

She hasn't eaten anything while she's been lying there, so her stomach will have shrunk a lot. When she wakes up, I'll need to feed her something easy to digest.

Fortunately, Eunseo's cooking skills took after her mother rather than her father. A little practice would surely yield good results.

"I'll do it with you."

"Great. Let's do it together."

Eunseo beamed at Ye-eun's offer. Cooking with a friend — another item checked off her bucket list.

"We've finally reached the last floor, Miss Eunha."

"So we have."

Whoever built the Trial of the Tower clearly had a grudge against me. Floor 66 spawned one giant. Floor 67, two giants. Floor 68, three giants. And on Floor 69, even Surtr — the chieftain of the giants — showed up.

Dodging Laevateinn was an absolute nightmare, ugh...

The silver lining was that Surtr's royal guard hadn't come with him. I somehow managed to drag him to the lakeshore, dump him in the water, and after a desperate struggle, finally cut through his spine.

"Do your best again today, Miss Eunha!"

"Ah, about that..."

"Miss Eunha?"

"I was thinking of resting a bit today. Yesterday was... a lot."

I gave Soph a sheepish little laugh. A full twenty-six hours of combat. In my original body, I wouldn't have lasted twenty-six seconds, let alone twenty-six hours.

Surtr... seeing him in person was something else, yeah.

All I'd ever seen of him before were satellite photos. The way they'd captured his one-on-one duel with Uncle Haseong had been so vivid. The image of Haseong overpowering Surtr through sheer force, slamming him into the lake, and finishing him off was still burned into my mind. How do you even bring down something that size with raw strength?

"Ah, I thought you might say that, so I looked up some good restaurants nearby."

Soph pulled out her notebook with a bright smile. The lifeless face from our first meeting was long gone — the Soph standing before me now was full of energy.

"Apparently there's a famous barbecue place around here. They roast a whole Road Hog for you."

"Hmm..."

Grrrgl—

Just hearing it made my stomach growl and my mouth water. Even in virtual reality, reality was still reality. The mere description was enough to make a person hungry.

I took Soph's hand and headed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the restaurant. And a short while later—

"S-someone collapsed! Help!"

"Miss Eunha!"

"Yeah, go."

We ran toward the scream and found a crowd of what looked like players gathered around a fallen person.

Twist the signal, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠check the data streaming from the headgear... ugh...

Peeking at the connection signal that allowed access to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠virtual reality sent a sharp headache lancing through my skull. Name: Lee Yeon-woo. Age: twenty-five. Currently connected via IP proxy from the United States.

America...?

My heart dropped. The government and the Hunter Association could only cover domestic users. Of course they could. The Trial of the Tower was a game that had only launched in Korea. Foreign connections hadn't even been factored in from the start.

O-okay, first let's find a home address...

Washington DC. Who did I know in Washington DC?

Ah. There was one person. Someone I still kept in touch with, more or less.

Brrrring—

"Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up..."

I chewed my lip anxiously as the ringing stretched on. What time was it in Washington DC right now?

"Uegh..."

For normal people that would be waking hours, but for people like me and the person I was calling — the Zero Group types — it was sleeping time. People who woke at night and slept during the day. Nocturnal humans, essentially.

Brrrring—

"Pleeease..."

I never call at this hour. So just pick up the phone, please! Come on?!

I prayed and begged inwardly, and at last—

Click.

A voice thick with sleep. Completely mangled pronunciation. Only after hearing it could I finally breathe easy.