Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Chakan i's True Face
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A gravelly voice came from Jo Younggi.
“……My nickname was ‘Chakan i.’ Leader of the elf race.”
My head went blank.
My brain just shut down. I couldn’t see him, but Jeongwoo had to be the same.
That adorable Chakan i, who puppeteered the perky-eared, white-haired beauty elf character, was this gangster?
Had I heard wrong? I asked again.
“What was your nickname?”
“Chakan i. Leader of the elves. You don’t know it?”
No way I didn’t.
She’d been our errand girl, me and Jeongwoo’s.
“Ah….”
“Well, it’s tough for a regular user to run into a top ranker.”
“Yeah…. Top ranker….”
I’d thought Chakan i was a girl player.
Her word choices were so cute, her aegyo nonstop.
Calling me and Jeongwoo “Oppa♡” with hearts every time.
Even in the group chat, people speculated which female idol she resembled.
In my mind, she was the innocent, pure Park Bo-young….
What the fuck?
This criminal-looking mug had been saying all that to us?
“Haha….”
The kind of vicious face that’d pull a revolver with an innocent grin at a water park squirt gun fight.
The expression of someone who’d stab a passerby for kicks.
The type cops would cuff on sight, no reason needed.
A face stuffed with all seven deadly sins.
I dropped my gaze to the floor.
“I see….”
I slowly leaned against the wall and slid down. The basement floor was cold concrete.
Which was colder, this slab or my heart?
[Player ‘Ma Jeongwoo’s’ blazing rage transmits to all group members.]
Jeongwoo’s voice rang out.
“Fuck!”
I stared at the wall in silence. I knew what he was thinking.
Jeongwoo’s Chakan i was the nation’s little sister, IU. Her speech was so cute he’d said he wanted to kiss her if they met.
I’d ask him later.
If he still felt that way.
Clang clang clang!
Kim Yeonhui kicked the iron bars with her toe.
“Wow! You’re really Chakan i, mister?”
Jo Younggi rasped.
“Yeah.”
“I’m your biggest fan, mister! That elf helm, Dark Guild’s rank-4 assassin!”
Kim Yeonhui used polite speech.
Her switch was quick—she really was a fan.
Just moments ago, they’d been snarling like rabid dogs. Now they chatted softly.
“……An elf, huh. You were a decent kid after all.”
“You too, mister. Elves are the best race, hands down.”
“Damn right. Elves have higher overall stats than the others.”
“Exactly! And they’re pretty!”
“Totally! Yeah!”
How’d these two end up on the same path as us?
Chakan i made sense—she’d played Land of Ruin: Last Game with us, same route.
But this girl was a rank-4 assassin.
Not quite mid-tier, not high-tier either. Awkward spot.
“What was your nickname?”
"'IcandiedsweetpotatoprincessI'."
“Cute ID.”
“Heehee.”
Just sharing space with them made me feel pathetic.
Whether she’d figured it out herself or followed a guide, matching our story beat for beat was one hell of a coincidence.
‘That thug was Chakan i….’
Still, thanks to Chakan i—no, Jo Younggi—opening up first, we could guess each other’s jobs.
Jo Younggi: mage.
Kim Yeonhui: assassin.
Jo Younggi’s wasn’t confirmed, just inferred.
Good thing Jeongwoo and I hadn’t spilled first.
He’d have hidden his if we had.
Silence fell suddenly.
After intros, Chakan i yelled at me.
“Hey! Kim Cheonjae!”
“Yes.”
“Introduce yourself.”
“…….”
“What was your in-game nickname?”
No clue what to say. Truth would shock Chakan i, or Jo Younggi.
“Goh….”
“Go?”
“Goin… dol. Goindol.”
Phew.
“Familiar nickname. And that guy at the far end, your buddy’s?”
“Uh…. Nick Jin.”
“Nick Jin?!”
Jo Younggi’s tone spiked. I’d slipped Jeongwoo’s nickname without thinking.
Chakan i had been Jeongwoo’s clingy sidekick, hence the big reaction.
“I-ik Jin. TOEIC Jin. He really grinded TOEIC hard.”
“Ah…, Iik Jin. Thought it was someone I knew.”
I played dumb and asked.
“What was the guy you know’s nickname?”
“……Myeong Nikjin. Rank 2, the legendary barbarian warrior called Battlefield Dominator in Land of Ruin: Last Game’s late game.”
“……”
“You know him, right? No way you don’t.”
I do….
“Weird nickname. Sounds drugged up.”
“……Shut up. He was the real deal.”
He’s right next to you.
Jo Younggi paused, reminiscing, then choked up.
“Thinking about it, there was someone even greater than him.”
Greater than Jeongwoo?
“Who?”
“The one and only rank 1 in Land of Ruin: Last Game, by pure merit. The high-level player called a god.”
Yep….
Jo Younggi gushed like a nostalgic uncle.
“He was a true god. Nothing he couldn’t do.”
“Ah….”
“The high-level player soloed boss monsters even in late-game Land of Ruin: Last Game. Amazing, right?”
“Uh…, yeah….”
“He wiped out the whole village alone in the final round of Land of Ruin: Last Game.”
“……Guess so.”
He raved like it was his hero. Too hyped to stop.
His praise soured my mood and sweetened it at once.
* * * * *
A shabby sign reading “Research Lab” hung on a crudely built gray concrete building.
Must’ve been key spot—security was tight from the entrance.
Dozens of barricades, heavily armed troops.
Tanks flanking both sides confirmed it.
Major Kim Juncheol hurried inside.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Doctor Oh. Major Kim Juncheol.”
-Come in.
Past the steel door, an old man in a white coat.
“Oh! Major Kim Juncheol!”
“Doctor Oh. How’ve you been?”
“Same as always.”
“Haha…. Glad to hear it. Mutants have been spiking lately—worried me.”
“What could they do here? Your sturdy boys keep watch!”
The doctor sipped from a coffee mug on the table.
Slurp—
“But you coming here yourself means something. What’s up?”
“Nothing big. New suit got trashed, here to fix it.”
Kim Juncheol set the suit on the desk and flopped onto the sofa, exhausted.
“The new model? Bulletproof one? Who wrecked it?”
“Mid-tier mutant. My bad, let my guard down.”
The doctor spread the suit, tsked at the tear.
“Tsk tsk…. This bad, you must’ve been gravely hurt. Lucky you’re alive.”
“Can’t die yet. Didn’t even take it down….”
“Someone’d do it without you.”
Kim Juncheol grinned, lit a thick cigarette.
Sizzle. Crackle.
Inhale—
Exhale—.
“Someone…. Yeah, one guy comes to mind.”
“Hm? Who?”
“I’ll introduce if we meet. If he’s alive.”
“‘If alive’…. Tough customer.”
The doctor chuckled, sat opposite.
“Not just the suit, right? I know that look.”
“……As expected, Doctor Oh.”
“What’s the real reason?”
Kim Juncheol sighed deeply.
Hoo—
“Research… no results yet?”
“……”
“They’re growing stronger. Learning—attack patterns change every time.”
“Results are there…. But incomplete. Too risky.”
Major Kim Juncheol frowned, displeased.
Inhale—
Exhale—.
“When’ll it be done?”
“No clue. But not distant future.”
“No vague estimates. Can’t you give a firm date?”
Doctor Oh, uncomfortable, averted eyes and sipped coffee.
Slurp—
“Like I said, research doesn’t hit ‘done by X date!’ on command.”
“……”
“We’re working hard. Just wait a bit more.”
Kim Juncheol nodded at the doctor’s face.
“Alright. I’ll head out.”
“Send a subordinate for the suit.”
“Yes, sir. Stay healthy till next time.”
“Got it. And… thanks for trusting me with this.”
Beep.
Radio crackled.
-Romeo transmitting.
“Speak.”
-Brigade leader. Contact from 1st Base sentry.
“What for?”
-Someone claims to know you, outsider causing a ruckus.
“Knows me? Where’d he pick up my name…. Romeo, quarantine outsiders. Shoot if heavy resistance.”
-Roger. Over.
“Out.”
Beep.
Done.
Kim Juncheol scratched his head, grinned sheepishly at the doctor.
“Weirdos everywhere. Knows me, he says.”
“Yeah. Outsiders? Mercs from abroad or lucky stray survivors.”
“…….”
“No one gets in from overseas anymore, right?”
Staring out the window, Kim Juncheol paused mid-holster.
“Wait….”
Something clicked—he snatched the radio.
Beep.
“Bravo Kim transmitting.”
-Romeo receiving.
“Name of the guy looking for me?”
Sudden sandstorm static.
-Crackle Kim crackle Jae crackle.
“What?”
-Kim Cheon crackle Jae crackle. Kim Cheonjae.
“Kim… Cheonjae?”
Kim Juncheol’s pupils dilated. Jaw slack, cigarette fell.
He gulped, keyed the radio.
“Kim Cheonjae?”
-Crackle affirmative.
“Romeo! No shooting. Escort him in politely.”
-Cracklecrackle….
“Romeo? Romeo! ROMEO!!”
-Crackle…. Out. Will escort politely.
“Bravo receiving! Over, I’m heading there myself NOW!”
Kim Juncheol raised his voice; the doctor tilted his head.
Beep.
Radio off, doctor spoke.
“Major Kim Juncheol. Why the sudden excitement?”
“……He’s here.”
“Here? What?”
“The one I mentioned.”
“The outsider who knows you?”
“……Yes.”
“Who is it?”
Kim Juncheol picked up the fallen cigarette, lit it, exhaled long, beaming.
“The Opener. The one who opens the door… he’s finally here.”
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