Chapter 8

Translator: True Detective

Chapter 8: I Earned 100 Billion Won (1)

It was a hot summer.

The darkening sky, and the reality darker than that.

Alcohol, which I had never touched in my life, gulps down.

No matter how much I drink, it's not forgotten.

Lee Yoon-seo, 21 years old.

Remaining lifespan maximum 3 years.

No parents.

No acquaintances.

No saved assets.

Even trying to forget all reality and get drunk, those things gnaw at her mind endlessly.

Is there anyone else as unfortunate as me?

That day too, Yoon-seo held a glass in her mouth, sinking into depression.

A voice disturbing that time of contemplation.

It's the voice of the man next door.

At first, she endured thinking he would do it once.

This bastard. Just how fucked is it that he sings like that?

She couldn't take it anymore.

Yoon-seo expressed her anger by banging on the next door.

"...Eh."

"Eh."

She ended up entering his house inadvertently.

At first, she intended to just leave.

But she became curious.

Just how ruined is this bastard's life that he even wails like that?

If he was making a fuss over nothing, she intended to hit him once.

"Wow..."

However, Seo Do-hyun's life was by no means smooth either.

Yoon-seo, who heard his entire past history, even felt a slight friendliness towards him.

Seo Do-hyun entered the rank 1 of Lee Yoon-seo's life closeness from the first meeting.

Of course, he didn't know that fact.

Anyway.

As she kept drinking, Yoon-seo felt Do-hyun's strange gaze directed at her.

Romantic curiosity, sexual desire, the affection many men had harbored for her.

'...This man is no different from other men.'

Past Yoon-seo, who suffered from distrust of humans, loathed and rejected all those emotions.

However, only after receiving the terminal diagnosis did she become curious.

'...Just how good does it feel that everyone wants me.'

Alcohol, curiosity, and the boundary loosened by the faint sense of camaraderie towards Do-hyun.

If she were a woman who lived normally, she wouldn't give her first experience just because she drank.

Yoon-seo was abnormal. Both in life and psychologically.

It was the next morning.

Unlike Do-hyun who forgot yesterday's events, Yoon-seo remembered vividly.

The feeling back then, the pleasure, the reality she could forget even for a moment.

That day's event became the most intense memory in Yoon-seo's life.

The more she got to know the man named Seo Do-hyun.

The stronger the feelings she harbored for him became.

The memory of that summer day was becoming irreversibly sweet.

Even though this clueless man had completely forgotten that fact for over 2 years.

'...Idiot.'

To be honest, she wanted to do it again.

If she followed her heart, she wanted to fall into pleasure every day and erase reality and everything from her brain.

However, that would be too cruel for Do-hyun.

Because he still had a future left.

Therefore, she left that day's event as a midsummer night's dream.

Even if she wanted to dream it again, if she did, Do-hyun's heart would be broken irreversibly.

The doctor said this morning.

"To receive treatment, you must prepare now. If it gets later than this, you can't be treated even if you go overseas."

There isn't much time left for Yoon-seo to breathe.

The time has come to make a decision.

Whether to save her by ruining my life further, ignoring Yoon-seo's warning.

Or just think of it like a midsummer night's dream.

'It's obviously the former, fuck.'

Sorry to Yoon-seo, but I have to crawl completely into the abyss.

Living like a slave is much better than going to a funeral home.

Leaving the sleeping Yoon-seo behind and exiting the hospital, I headed to the loan shark I had looked up beforehand.

"You want to borrow money?"

"Yes."

"I don't want to?"

And I got rejected.

"The kid seems to be mistaken about something. We don't just lend money recklessly."

"...."

"How can we trust and lend to a guy like you with a record and no guarantor? It's obvious you'll disappear after borrowing some money."

My only acquaintance is Yoon-seo. Even less is there anyone to stand as a debt guarantor.

The next loan shark I visited, and the one after that.

They sent me back expressing a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠polite refusal.

Even one person.

"Your friend is sick with a rare disease and needs to go overseas, but needs hundreds of millions for that?"

"...Yes."

"...Kid, seems like you watched too many dramas. If you're going to lie, lie appropriately. There is nowhere that lends money for that. Can't do. Sit here. Don't you know how scary this society is? Don't you know how troubled we are if a young kid like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you comes here? If you want to make money properly..."

He even gave me this kind of encouragement, for fuck's sake.

'Don't be uselessly righteous for a loan shark.'

Ptoo, I spat on the street.

A way to suddenly raise hundreds of millions.

If even loan sharks don't work, now there is only one left.

In the end, I had no choice but to give up even my pride and contact the two people I hated to be indebted to the most.

First is mother.

Someone I haven't seen once since she left the house.

I heard she's someone who cut ties with us to the point of not even coming to father's funeral.

But wouldn't she listen if her son asks desperately?

-The customer is not answering...

"Tsk."

I didn't even expect it.

She doesn't seem to have that kind of money ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyway, let's not have lingering attachments.

Next is the second person.

'I really hate this person though.'

Unlike mother, a connection I cut off first.

So a person even more uncomfortable.

A high school bully senior who had a lot of money at home.

I suffered for nearly a year and we parted on bad terms at the end.

Still, now is not the time to be picky about cold rice.

-The power is turned off...

"Ah shit."

Why is this woman not there when needed.

I kept calling with intervals until she answered, but there was no answer.

Even though I called for over 3 days.

I could only think she changed her number.

Or blocked me.

"Sigh."

Even though it's almost early summer, there was a tree with cherry blossoms still blooming.

Seeing the falling cherry blossom petals, I suddenly remembered the past.

The day I first went to prison was exactly weather like this too.

What did I mutter back then?

"Life is manipulation, manipulation."

Right, life was probability manipulation.

The damn God only gives me bad breaks.

Probability of meeting terrible parents upon birth.

Probability of sister killing parents.

Probability of police not noticing my perjury.

Probability of not finding a single job after prison.

Probability of the first friend, the woman next door, being pretty.

But probability of that friend being terminally ill.

Probability that the disease can be cured but can't be cured due to lack of money.

If you combine all those probabilities, it would be enough to win the lottery 100 times.

"Would it hurt to throw one good probability?"

No, there is one.

Probability of the first friend, the woman next door, being pretty.

Steps returning to the hospital are heavy.

Then suddenly I remembered what I had forgotten.

"Ah, I intended to wash up and go."

I couldn't change clothes or wash for a few days guarding Yoon-seo's side.

Yoon-seo said I smelled.

"Need to stop by the house."

I turned my steps and headed home.

"...."

The house next door is empty.

Because Yoon-seo, who accepted death, put the house up for sale.

Even now, with the sound of knocking on the wall.

-Do-hyun-ah let's play a game.

It feels like I can hear that sound.

Fantastia.

Every time I play the game, I will think of Yoon-seo.

Because it's a game I started because of her, and I was with her every day.

Even if Yoon-seo dies, I will still do Rice-Eating.

Since I'm almost level 200, I will be able to make a living even alone.

But will the day come when I can play that game happily?

I shook my head side to side.

"...Since I'm here, shall I get the attendance reward and go."

I put the familiar Gear on my head.

My mind wandered into the virtual space within the game in an instant.

I really did play a lot.

I hunted many monsters and cleared many quests.

If she pulled aggro in the front, I cast spells from the back.

When we got loot like that, we jumped up and down in joy.

I looked to the side.

The side profile I thought I could see forever is not visible.

"It's a bit hard."

Game, can I continue to play it.

I opened the mailbox to get the attendance reward which was the original purpose.

"Uh?"

What is this?

I examined the text in the mailbox.

Somehow familiar sentences.

Is this the 2nd Unique Trait Selector I only heard about?

"...It's been 1000 days already?"

1000-day login reward for all players.

Conversely, the 2nd Unique Trait is determined by actions within the game.

The second trait given as a 1000-day login reward is decided by how each player spent their time in Fantastia.

The day the second trait determined by in-game actions manifests.

To think that's today.

I couldn't play for the past few days nursing her, but it turned out well.

"Good thing I logged in."

One more story to tell Yoon-seo increased.

Since Fantastia stories are her favorite topic above all, it would be good if something good pops up if possible.

Well, I didn't expect much as my life is always like that.

-Paaat

"Why are there so many?"

The number is quite diverse.

Acquisition conditions popped up next to each unique trait.

I checked one representatively.

It's a format where if you achieve specific conditions while playing the game like this, that trait is unlocked.

"Two times? I'll get fucking strong."

The penalty is same as nonexistent since it overlaps with the original penalty anyway.

If I equip this trait and hit level 200, I'll make a ton of money.

"...Shall I look at others too."

I silently scrolled down the trait list.

There were many good traits besides Shape of Misfortune.

There was even one Legendary trait.

I heard there are really few people whose 2nd trait grade is Legendary.

"I only did Rice-Eating, but I didn't play the game in vain as I thought."

The explanation I read was monstrous.

If I equip this trait and play for a few years, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠maybe I can't buy a building but I could pull one sports car?

I imagined my future driving around the city in a LambXghini.

Since Yoon-seo isn't next to me, it wasn't a very good feeling.

"Sigh."

Since I scrolled to the end.

I should pick Genius of Magic and turn it off.

"Huh?"

What is this, the scroll goes down further.

I thought Legendary trait was the end, but there was one more below it.

I muttered the name of that trait.

"...Probability Manipulation."

And.

"...Uh?"

I nearly fainted looking at the grade.