The Gateway to the Deep Net
Death in Intra-Maetan was tolerable.
After all, even death was just another form of entertainment here.
However, because the brain registered the entirety of the sensory input in a single instant, the cognitive load was no joke.
Body temperature has reached 40°C (104°F).
Logging out and resting is highly recommended.
Replaying deaths that pushed my computation capacity to its absolute limit had brought my brain's temperature to the brink.
For an ordinary person, dying ten times might be nothing, but for someone like me with a mere E-Grade computation grade, it was an overwhelming sensory overload.
Once the brain exceeds 42°C, it literally begins to cook, causing irreversible damage. Just as the warning said, I needed to disconnect immediately and cool down.
But I couldn't exactly disconnect on my own whim while being lectured by the Section Chief.
I ran back toward the cave.
"You're getting slower and slower, aren't you?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir."
"Ah, is that it? Hit forty degrees? Already at your computation limit? Good grief... I can't even chew you out properly because I'm terrified you'll file for worker's comp. Why did an E-Grade have to end up on our team of all places..."
The Goblin King pointed the tip of his sword at me, speaking in a threatening tone.
"Hey, does it make any sense for an E-Grade to work in Intra-Maetan? You're already this pathetic after dying just a few times. You agree, don't you? Just say the word. I'll transfer you out of Intra-Maetan and into real-world duties. Building maintenance or trash collection are perfectly respectable jobs. What do you say?"
"No, thank you, sir. I will work harder."
"Oh, so you think this is a polite suggestion? I guess you haven't been pushed hard enough yet."
The Goblin King raised his sword once more.
"Aigoo, Section Chief, please stop!"
"We'll train him well..."
My seniors, the Handaxe Goblin and the Longsword Goblin, stepped in front of the Goblin King.
The Goblin King glared at the two goblins in silence, then slowly lowered his sword.
"Do your jobs right. Don't go killing him for real."
With a flash of blue light, the Goblin King vanished.
He had logged out.
My goblin seniors rushed over to me.
"Whew, you okay, kid?"
"Drink this. It'll help."
The Handaxe Goblin senior brought over some stagnant water scooped from a puddle by the wall.
As I drank, a cool, refreshing sensation washed over me, clearing my head slightly.
"They say this doesn't actually lower your temperature, but it tricks your brain into thinking it did, which makes things a bit easier."
"Geez... Section Chief Kim is ready to lick Department Head Han's boots in the real world, but here? Just because he plays the Goblin King, does he think he's actual royalty or something?"
In truth, my body temperature was slowly dropping, thanks to my complete lack of movement.
"But then again, the Section Chief isn't entirely wrong."
"Hey, man! What do you mean he's not wrong?!"
The Handaxe Goblin senior scolded the Longsword Goblin senior for his comment. But the Longsword Goblin senior continued hesitantly.
"Think about it. Working in Intra-Maetan with an E-Grade computation grade is just too brutal. Kid, real-world labor is physically exhausting, but it's manageable. You should just use Intra-Maetan for leisure, and maybe look into logistics work on the outside..."
"No, I'm fine. Really."
"What, is there a reason you absolutely have to work in Intra-Maetan? Is it... you know? Do you have some kind of disability?"
Since my left arm is a prosthetic, does that count as a disability? It doesn't do much besides smashing walls, anyway...
"Ah, drop it! He'll figure it out! Let's get back to work. Kid, take a break before you come back. Don't push yourself."
The two goblin seniors disappeared into the shadows of the cave.
I sat quietly on the ground, waiting for my temperature to drop.
TEMP:39.2°C
TEMP:39.1°C...
My temperature was slowly, sluggishly dropping.
"Sigh..."
If only my computation grade were higher.
In Maetan, a person's worth was determined almost entirely by their computation grade.
Because the city of Maetan existed, for all intents and purposes, solely to support the virtual world of Intra-Maetan.
Movies, games, music, food, fine clothes, healthy bodies, beautiful nature.
Now that humanity was on the brink of extinction, Intra-Maetan was the only way to experience the abundance of the pre-war era, even if it was just a simulation.
The catch was that everything you did in Intra-Maetan required computation power.
Even trivial actions like eating food or walking required the user's brain to calculate taste, sensation, and movement in real-time.
The higher your computation grade, the more you could enjoy, and the higher your social value naturally rose.
If you were an A-Grade, climbing to a high-ranking position was a breeze.
On the other hand, an E-class like me...
Well, there was no need to state the obvious.
I had finally returned to a near-normal body temperature.
I stood up and headed out of the cave.
Playing a goblin NPC was one of the few jobs an E-Grade like me could actually handle.
If I messed up here, I really would be reassigned to real-world labor.
Take the hits without dodging.
Hit back just enough to not kill them.
It was a simple task, but I couldn't stop my body from reacting on instinct.
I had spent my entire life struggling to survive; those reflexes weren't going to vanish overnight.
Even with my eyes closed, I would dodge automatically.
"I'll do my best to die properly today."
Steeling my resolve, I stepped out of the cave. At that exact moment—
"It's a goblin!"
"That's definitely the one!"
Dozens of armed players were camped out at the entrance of the cave.
Before I even had a chance to resist, a blade pierced my throat, killing me instantly.
When I opened my eyes in the bedroom that served as our respawn point, my goblin seniors spoke with heavy expressions.
"Word got out about the goblin that hunts players. People flocked here to see it..."
"Usually, we get two or three players at most... but we're going to be busy as hell today..."
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, sensing the impending doom.
By the time my shift ended, I had been murdered thirty-eight times.
After work, I left my house, chewing on a rice ball I had bought with the money I extorted from Hee-cheol.
My destination was the corporate district in the eastern part of Maetan.
When commuting to Intra-Maetan, all I had to do was plug a USB cable into my Neck-Hub at home. However, out-of-office workers diving into the broader internet had to report to a designated connection facility for an orientation.
Passing through the squalid civilian sector and crossing the Woncheonricheon stream that divided Maetan's east and west, a relatively tidy landscape unfolded. Unlike the grimy residents of the civilian zone, the people walking here wore suits—or at least decent approximations of them.
After a long walk, I arrived at the three-story building housing the connection facility.
As expected of the corporate district, there were no makeshift wooden planks or concrete extensions, and not a single glass door was cracked. It was a world apart from the civilian sector, which was a chaotic mess of endless, stacked expansions.
Following the receptionist's directions, I headed down to the basement, where a large room was filled with people who looked like fellow out-of-office workers.
Five... ten... twenty-two in total, it seemed.
"Attention, please!"
A man stepped up to the podium and shouted.
He was a scrawny man wearing cracked glasses and a rumpled shirt.
"Uh... nice to meet you. I am, cough, Section Chief Lee Gitae from the Immigration Office, and I will be... guiding you today."
His pronunciation was shaky and his voice hesitant, as if he wasn't used to public speaking.
He scratched the area where his Neck-Hub connected to his neck and spoke.
"Uh... so... the security team will be handing out maps now. You must memorize them."
A security guard was distributing sheets of paper to the crowd.
When I received mine, I saw that instead of a map, it was a list of instructions.
[ROUTE INSTRUCTIONS]
Seoul Station → Board Subway Line 4 (bound for Danggogae) at Car 3 → Transfer to Car 7 at Myeongdong Station → Move to Car 4, left door at Hyehwa Station → Get off at Mia Intersection Station → Exit 1 (Ignore anyone who tries to talk to you) → L Department Store Main Entrance → B1 Employee Restroom → Janitor's Closet → Knock 3, 3, and 5 times → Open door (If it fails, repeat knocking sequence)
"Uh... this is a route that our staff and players have collaborated to verify as... safe. If you travel and act exactly as written, you should... make it back safely. When returning, simply follow the instructions in reverse..."
"Wait a minute. My instructions are different."
The person behind me peeked at my paper and raised his voice.
"I start with a bus, but this guy starts with the subway."
The workers began comparing their papers. While some routes overlapped briefly in the middle, not a single person had the exact same path.
Section Chief Lee Gitae adjusted his glasses and replied.
"Everyone has a different route... Uh... because if you all go to one place... we can't risk everyone getting wiped out at once."
At Lee Gitae's words, tension rippled through the crowd of out-of-office workers.
In other words, there was a very high probability that this job...
"You don't need to worry too much. Once you're on the Internet, an A-class Player will be... leading you. If anything happens, they will take care of... uh, excuse my phrasing... resolve the issue."
"A Player is leading us?"
"Whew, thank goodness. If they're an A-class, we should be fine."
The workers let out sighs of relief.
"Players" referred to those who specialized in exploring the Internet.
They dove into the AI's neural networks to search for information and scavenge data.
Furthermore, an A-class was an elite asset, with fewer than forty of them in all of Maetan.
"Now, we will move to the connection room."
We followed the guards to a place called the "connection room."
Endless rows of doorless, individual booths lined both sides of a long corridor.
In the center of each booth sat a single chair equipped with leather straps to secure the user's arms.
The layout was reminiscent of a torture chamber.
The dark red bloodstains splattered across the chairs and walls only reinforced that grim impression.
People were already sitting in some of the booths.
Their limp bodies slumped against the chairs, indicating they were currently connected to the Internet.
"Take a seat."
I sat down as instructed, and the guard began strapping me to the chair with the leather bands.
Sensing my gaze, the guard answered before I could even ask.
"It's standard protocol. Sometimes people get infected by the AI and go wild."
Right then—
"Aaaaaaaaargh!!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed down the corridor.
The frantic shouts of the guards immediately followed.
"The Neck-Hub is contaminated!"
"Pull the cable!"
"Too late!"
"Damn it, extract it!"
"Aaaaaaaagh!!!!"
The scream dissolved into pure agony.
"Ggah! Cough! Wheeze!"
"Fuck! Hold his head! The blade won't go in!"
"Gurgle... gasp... choke..."
The screams finally subsided. A moment later, a man bleeding profusely from the back of his neck was wheeled past my booth on a stretcher.
And behind him, a guard followed, holding what looked like the Neck-Hub he had just ripped out of the man.
Dripping from the Neck-Hub were blood and torn nerve fibers that had been dragged out of his brain along with the device.
"Be careful not to get caught by the AI. Best case scenario, you end up a vegetable. Worst case, you're dead."
The Internet.
Once, it had stretched across the globe and into space, connecting all of humanity. But not anymore.
Today, the Internet was essentially the AI's neural network.
Meaning, the Internet itself was one massive, singular AI.
"If you get infected by the AI, the only option is to extract the Neck-Hub. We have to rip it out before brain damage sets in, so the surgery can be a bit... violent. But you understand, right? It's better than becoming the AI's puppet."
Uh, from what I just saw, it looked like he was going to die anyway...
Before I could say anything, the guard plugged the USB cable into my Neck-Hub.
The connection room vanished, and my entire field of vision plunged into darkness.
> OK
> CONNECTING...
> Initiating employee authentication...
> Employee ID: DR03415
> Verifying data integrity...
> Welcome to Intra-Maetan, everything you could ever want!
My vision brightened, and a song began to play.
"United as one, harboring the grand dream of forging humanity's future..."
Along with Maetan's corporate anthem, a vast forest unfolded before my eyes.
The atmosphere was somewhat similar to the Goblin's Forest.
I looked down at my arms.
Green, scrawny, rough forearms, and short, grotesque fingers.
They were goblin hands.
I tried moving my fingers one by one.
They moved quite freely.
But at the same time, a faint strain registered in my brain, and my body temperature began to creep up.
During working hours, the Intra-Maetan server handled the computation for the goblin avatar.
This meant that while wearing the avatar on the job, I could move without any cognitive burden.
However, the available actions were highly restricted. Sitting, rolling, slashing, stabbing—that was about it.
But once off the clock, it was a different story.
Even as a goblin, I could move as freely as any normal avatar,
but from that moment on, the burden of computation shifted from the server to me.
In other words, I had to calculate every single movement of the avatar myself.
Even so, by Intra-Maetan standards, a goblin avatar demanded the absolute lowest computation load.
Low enough that even an E-Grade like me could use it for extended periods without too much trouble.
Around me, the out-of-office workers I had seen in the connection room were gathering.
Compared to their real-world selves, everyone looked clean and well-groomed.
"Uh... everyone, we will now move to the gate server. Please follow me."
Section Chief Lee Gitae spoke.
Unlike in reality, his glasses were perfectly intact, and he wore a neatly pressed suit.
We followed him down the forest path.
After a short walk, a black pillar revealed itself beyond the trees.
It was about the height of a two-story building and wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side.
Its surface was as smooth and polished as a mirror.
"This is... uh, the Monolith Gate... that connects to the Internet. If you would... enter one by one..."
"Enter? But there's no door," one of the workers asked.
"This pillar itself is the door. Just... go ahead."
The workers hesitated, none of them willing to take the first step.
What's the point of hesitating now?
I stepped forward and stood before the black pillar.
"Oh."
"A goblin...?"
A few workers muttered as they watched me.
I reached out with my right hand and touched the pillar.
In that instant, my entire body was sucked into the monolith.