Chapter 10

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: Vulture is Cute (1)

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I thought about casually unleashing my great 'authority' to blanket Bucheon City's afternoon with bright sunshine, but in the end, I decided against it.

Not even three days of resolve—honestly, even five minutes was pushing it.

Splash!

So I dashed to the convenience store just three minutes from home, bought a cheap umbrella, and now I was heading to the neighborhood PC bang.

Well, wasn't it fine to spend a different kind of day like this once in a while?

During my gold farming days, it hadn't been cost-effective enough to bother, but now with my living expenses covered thanks to the contract with Full-time Farmer, there was no reason not to.

Tap tap.

Click.

I sat down, made an account, and used the kiosk to prepay for 100 hours in one go.

Was this what they called flexing? I didn't think I'd use all 100 hours anyway, but since I'd never wasted money in my life, the thrill was pretty exhilarating in its own way.

'Hmm...'

I pretended to mull over what to play, but honestly, there was only one real option.

Action & Fighter.

The game that had been with me every single day since I dove into PC gold farming—like a partner to my soul.

I wasn't uninterested in other popular games, but anything that didn't allow gold farming held zero value for me back then.

Naturally, that made me a total Acpa veteran.

Anyway, this was exactly why you shouldn't hang out with bourgeois types who've always had full bellies and warm backs.

Witnessing the fabled PC bang bonus actually exist—how could I not be thrilled?

'Mint Soboro Bread, guilty.'

A subordinate incapable of empathizing with their master's mood didn't deserve such graces.

I resolved to properly re-educate Mint Soboro Bread's mindset soon, then—as always—entered the dungeon and began farming items with familiar motions.

Flash!

Boom—!

Flash!

Boom—!

Whether it was my lucky day or some PC bang first-visit premium bonus, my drop rate today was skyrocketing beyond comparison to usual.

I couldn't hold back the grin creeping up, snapped photos, and decided to exact revenge for that +15 weapon from before on Mint Soboro Bread.

Mint Soboro Bread freaked out at my absurd luck, then headed off to vent in the Acpa Gallery.

Grinning slyly as I followed to spectate, I soon spotted a familiar name on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a conceptual post and tilted my head in confusion.

A photo capturing just a bit of my hair poking out by the chair and part of my small canvas shoes.

Since this space was flooded with similar template aggro posts, this bait had become a huge topic in the gallery.

Even Acpa Gallery users who didn't know me well much checked my account and started spamming derivative posts about me.

I'd covered my face completely, so I figured no one would notice, but apparently people's eyes were sharper than I thought.

'Hmm...'

Somewhere in the lane next to me, someone was watching me.

If so, I couldn't let that slide.

I immediately jumped into Sky Arena challenge mode, sweeping enemies with flashy controls to show off veteran prowess.

No, not that—look at my flashy controls!

Annoyed by the observer totally missing the point, I grumbled internally a few times, but that feedback wasn't going anywhere.

'Must be some newbie who doesn't get it yet.'

Any more dedicated player would've recognized the value of my play, but oh well, nothing to be done.

"...".

Incredibly enough, just one trip to a PC bang had somehow made me the lord of a major game gallery out of nowhere.

Mint Soboro Bread, probably watching the gallery too, soon messaged me the same news.

Mint Soboro Bread must've read something into my reaction, fell silent for a bit, then started messaging again.

What did this kid think I was?

I tilted my head at the ridiculous response, but explaining would just make me look weird, so I dropped it.

Click.

Click click.

Anyway, it'd drawn plenty of aggro, so better not linger in the same spot.

I shut down the computer, got up, and without much thought, headed to the bathroom before leaving.

And then.

【Male】

【Female】

"...".

Suddenly faced with a fork in the road I'd never even considered before.

Standing there dumbfounded, unable to think straight, another customer following behind asked politely.

"Um... could you move aside for a sec?"

Thus robbed even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of my agonizing time, I was pushed toward the women's bathroom entrance, hesitantly pointing my foot inside anyway.

'It's just going to the bathroom once.'

I was overreacting; it wasn't something to agonize over to begin with.

I moved on autopilot, blankly passed through the hall, and returned to the counter like nothing happened.

"...".

What to say... an indescribably complex, subtle feeling.

Cooling my flushed head from inexplicable shame with hand fans on my face, the sky outside finally came into view.

A clear, sunny sky without a hint of rain.

Chirp.

Cheep cheep chirp.

'Hmm...'

Was this my doing too?

Probably not. The rain just happened to stop.

Shaking my head with rationalization, another work completion message arrived from Tesco.

Along with an unexpected Archive message from someone.

What was this? A fight?

I tilted my head at the out-of-left-field message, furrowed my brow, and hammered the keys in response.