Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Pioneers and Commoners
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'Pioneers and Commoners.'
I stared silently at the man in front of me.
Those were the first words the shop NPC Algrem had uttered this morning.
They distinguished players who actively leveled up from the ordinary folks they protected.
Or rather, it felt more like discrimination than mere distinction.
He groveled openly before players but sneered at—and even despised—regular people.
'And he used the terms "Pioneer" and "Commoner" outright.'
It was as good as declaring his intent to discriminate between the two groups.
The man tilted his head, pretending he had no idea what my gaze meant.
"Is something else the matter? If you're busy, I can come back tomorrow."
"No, nothing like that. Come on in."
I invited the man inside, who had been stepping back from the door.
It wasn't something to discuss in front of others, and more than that, his words had piqued my interest.
The invited man smiled and stepped inside.
We sat facing each other at the wooden table in the living room.
"I'd offer you some tea if I could, but I'm short on magic stones."
"It's fine. I'm in the same boat. Everyone's in the same situation right now."
In response to my casual remark, the man fired back with a pointed comment.
Saying everyone was the same now implied things would change over time.
It was a subtle nod to the growing wealth gap.
"Oh, right—I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Choi Seung-hyuk, an Elemental Sorcerer."
"Kim Jong-min. Black Mage by trade."
"I saw you in action from afar during the Undead Wave. Impressive stuff."
"It was nothing compared to an Elemental Sorcerer's firepower."
Choi Seung-hyuk tried to butter me up before getting to the point, but I waved it off lightly.
A gesture telling him not to bother with the flattery and just get on with it.
In the end, he gave a wry smile and cut to the chase.
"Mages do pack a punch, but truth be told, every player does these days.
We're basically superhumans now."
"True. And we'll only get stronger from here."
"Exactly. Every level-up boosts our stats and unlocks new skills. Someday, we might take on a hundred regular folks in the real world without breaking a sweat. But..."
Choi Seung-hyuk's eyes narrowed as he continued.
"Those regular people... I mean, the 'Commoners'... they still don't get it."
"Don't get reality?"
"Yeah. More precisely, they look down on 'Pioneers' like us."
Choi Seung-hyuk paused for a moment and let out a deep sigh.
It was a sigh mixed equally with irritation and exhaustion.
"You left early this morning, so you might not know, but while you were gone, there was a bit of trouble in the village."
"Don't tell me it was conflict between Pioneers and Commoners."
"Spot on. Though calling it a conflict is generous. It was just them throwing a tantrum at us."
The sequence of events was simple enough.
When the emergency rations all turned to stones, a few stepped forward as representatives demanding food.
Three meals of steamed potatoes a day was too much, they whined.
-If you brought us here, take responsibility! You dump us in these filthy houses and pretend we don't exist—what are we supposed to do?
-Anyone would think you were dragged here against your will. Weren't you chasing the safe zone too? What responsibility?
-So you're saying we should live off steamed potatoes forever? We wouldn't have followed if we knew—if we'd stayed, at least there were canned goods!
-You wanna eat canned goods while living with skeletons chopping people up? Get real!
They're just spewing whatever now!
Voices rose on both sides until it turned into full-blown shouting.
Eventually, one fed-up Pioneer swung a fist.
-You little shit...!
Thud.
-Gah!
-Hey, cut the human-on-human fights! We said no!
Luckily, the system's nullification kicked in, preventing any bloodshed.
The argument fizzled out from there, apparently.
Both sides' arguments ran parallel, and with violence off the table, there was no resolution.
Talking more would just hurt their throats without solving anything.
"Well, it seems to have resolved itself. The troublemakers backed off scared, so things should stay quiet for a while."
"For a while, maybe. But what do you think those 'Commoners' will do once time passes?"
Choi Seung-hyuk said through gritted teeth.
"They know we can't use violence on them anymore, so they'll get even bolder. Demanding this, demanding that, throwing fits left and right. They figure they lose nothing by complaining."
"Just ignore them. They can't force us either."
"It's not about giving in or not! The problem is their fearlessness!"
Bang.
Not liking my calm response, Choi Seung-hyuk slammed the table and stood up.
I glared at him, eyes narrowing sharply.
Who the hell does this guy think he's yelling at?
Under my icy stare, he finally snapped out of it and sat back down with a flinch.
"S-Sorry. I got carried away."
"Emotions run high sometimes. Just don't let it happen again."
"Ahem, thanks for understanding."
Coughing awkwardly to brush it off, Choi Seung-hyuk fixed me with a serious look again.
"Anyway, what I'm saying is this: Pioneers should band together and deal with those nuisances ourselves."
"Deal with them how? We can't touch each other, remember?"
"We don't know what might happen down the line. Better to unite early for the future. It'll be messier if we wait."
In other words, form a group among Pioneers.
Start as a club and grow it into an organization, I supposed.
Ambitious plans, but unfortunately, I had no interest.
"I'm not one for rash decisions. I'd rather see how things play out first."
My blunt reply made Choi Seung-hyuk's face stiffen.
I'd phrased it politely, but the meaning was a flat refusal.
His composure gone, he ground his teeth and stood.
"Keep acting so leisurely, and you might regret it later. Turning down an offer once and crawling back—talk about humiliation."
"Hahaha. Humiliation, huh."
I let out a dry laugh as I met his eyes.
His gaze brimmed with resentment, as if vowing never to forget this.
Once the facade cracks, the true narrow-mindedness shows.
Can't hide that petty personality behind big-picture talk.
"Hey, Choi Seung-hyuk."
"What?"
"Worry about your own shit before meddling in others'. Looks like you skipped hunting monsters today to hang around the village. Fail that quest reward, and that's humiliation."
"...!"
"Politics requires power first. Neglect your growth like this, and someone else will lead your little group."
Bang.
Face flushed red, Choi Seung-hyuk stormed out.
I sat there silently until he was gone.
Our relationship was ruined, but I wasn't sorry to see it go.
'He's obviously desperate to be the boss. Better to cut ties early with a guy like that.'
Why would top dog me serve under someone else?
Better to build my own group later and lead it.
We're both gunning for the top spot—collision is inevitable, group or rival.
Might as well make enemies now.
At least others won't lump us together.
'Players versus regulars... no, Pioneers versus Commoners.'
I'd anticipated it, but not this soon—less than a day.
Probably no fixing this rift.
One side has power, the other doesn't.
The powerful want hierarchy; the weak want equality.
In a safe zone, it's a stalemate.
The weak can't force the strong, and the strong can't silence the weak.
'But if the system sides with one...'
The system set the safe zone rules.
A pro-one-side tweak flips everything.
And from Algrem's words, we know whose side it's on.
'Wonder how it'll handle this.'
I took a swig of the bland water from the shop with a wry smile.
Whatever happened, it wouldn't end well for the Commoners.
The next morning, my teammates gathered without a single absence.
Even Yoon Ho-chan, who'd worried about family interference, arrived right on time.
"My parents gave the okay. They seemed relieved once I said I'd just mine magic stones without fighting."
"And the extra cash you brought home helped?"
"Yeah, that sealed it. Sandwiches while everyone else ate steamed potatoes."
Yoon Ho-chan shrugged with a grin.
But he still hadn't told them about job-changing at level 3 to fight.
"They'd freak out and flat-out refuse. Had to keep it quiet."
"Smart move. No need to stir things up."
Once levels rose and income stabilized, it'd sort itself out.
Better to hide it than worry them needlessly.
Then Park Sang-gu spoke up as if remembering something.
"Speaking of, that Choi Seung-hyuk guy came to me yesterday pitching some group. He skip everyone else?"
"He hit you up too? Came to my place yesterday."
Min Jae-yoon's eyes widened at Park Sang-gu's words.
He'd planned to pitch every likely candidate, it seemed.
No reason to hide it, so I was straightforward.
"He tried me too. Total nonsense, so I shut it down."
"Same here. Quests first—what group?"
"I didn't like his tone from the start."
The others' impressions of Choi Seung-hyuk matched mine.
With that brief bit of trash-talk done, we were about to head out.
"The next guy who showed up was decent, though. If you're recruiting, at least have that much courtesy."
"Next guy?"
"Seo Chang-woo. Choi was a total sleaze, but Seo seemed fine, right?"
I looked at Park Sang-gu, but he looked clueless too.
Seeing our reactions, Min Jae-yoon seemed flustered.
"Wait, you've both never met him?"
"Nope."
"So he only came to me...?"
My eyes chilled as the picture formed.
He'd singled out Min Jae-yoon, skipping me and Park Sang-gu?
Someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
"Jae-yoon, tell us about this Seo Chang-woo."