The Update Announcement (1)
The chaotic day of April 7th passed just like that.
Right before it ended, there had been a minor spat with Han Sora over who would sleep where, but it resolved without much trouble.
You take the bed.
W-what? Th-that's... even so... sleeping somewhere that reeks of... unwashed laundry and some kind of lonely... bachelor... oppa smell is a bit... I-I'm the guest here, aren't I?
There's no sofa in this house. Like you said, Haengbok Villa is barely a step above a dump — aside from the bed, there's nowhere soft to lie down.
I-I'll just spread a blanket on the floor. Even so... I'd feel uncomfortable.
...If that's what makes you comfortable, then fine.
It was a minor spat.
In that moment I ground my molars hard enough to crack them, but it was still just a minor spat. It was! Really!
That face! Those breasts! Lawful Good!
Ah, and what about the 2. Items & Gold window, you ask?
Once the update finished, I tapped it and this is what came up.
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
[ ——- ]
I'd already expected it to be empty, so I tried stuffing one of the things I was holding into the item window — and this notification popped up.
Items other than shop goods and drop items cannot be placed in the inventory!
What? I can't put ordinary objects into the inventory? This is a complete bait-and-switch!
I was about to start seething when Han Sora pointed out the silver lining (she'd tried the exact same thing I had).
"Huh, this says... 'other than shop goods and drop items.' M-maybe... they'll open up a shop or something later?"
It was a pretty solid hypothesis. Leave it to a hardcore gamer to catch what others miss.
We decided to table any further speculation about this new Items & Gold window for the time being.
And today, Han Sora's hypothesis became reality.
The morning of April 8th dawned.
After a quick wash, exchanging greetings, and sitting down to breakfast, I laid out my level-up project for Han Sora's survival.
"You need to level up."
"H-huh? Who, me?"
Well, who else is here besides you and me?
I calmly explained the plan again to Han Sora, who was nibbling on a chocolate bar and sipping bottled water.
"At your current level, you're far too fragile for me to protect properly. Based on what you told me yesterday... every class needs to hit at least level 10 before it can function as a proper game character. Isn't that right?"
"Ah, yes... I did say that..."
"The problem is... in the original Brave Saga Online, you could blast through to level 10 in no time via the early tutorial quests. But in this reality, there's none of that — everyone starts at level 1 from absolute scratch. That's why other survivors are getting slaughtered helplessly by monsters and zombies. Am I wrong?"
According to the rambling explanation Han Sora had dumped on me yesterday, that was exactly the case.
I'd also heard that Brave Saga Online let you cruise all the way to level 50 with ease. In extreme cases, people hit level 100 in a single week — all thanks to auto-hunting and spamming powerful AoE skills, or so the story went.
"Ah, yeah. In principle, that's true, but..."
She looked like she had something to say but couldn't quite bring herself to spit it out. I'd hear her out after finishing my own pitch.
"So let's use the party system. I'll hunt up front while you support from the rear, and we'll level you up that way. Since experience gets shared, it should go smoother than you'd think. Once you hit level 10, I'll be able to breathe easier."
"Ah, yes... that is... true, but."
"Is something bothering you?"
Han Sora took a small sip of water, then answered in a shrinking, almost muttering tone.
"W-well... since my class is Archer... a-and I don't even have a weapon... there's basically nothing I can do except pick up loot... More than anything, Archers... ah, I mean Archers are useless early on no matter how much you level... unless you hit level 100 they're just dead weight, like nobody would take me on a raid... and also... honestly... I-I don't really want to go outside either... Ah, th-that's not me saying I want to freeload! It's just, um, um..."
...An outcast's speech patterns coming out of a face like that.
I was watching it happen in real time right in front of me, and I still couldn't process it.
How had a mythical creature like this been surviving near my house? Reality really was stranger than fantasy. Though we'd already blown past the fantasy threshold a while ago...
Still, I hadn't completely failed to follow her. One of the points Han Sora had hammered home endlessly while explaining Brave Saga Online — BSO for short — was the balance between classes.
BSO had six classes, each with their own subclasses.
Warrior.
Mage.
Cleric.
Archer.
Blacksmith.
Lord.
A simple summary of the balance between them went something like this:
Warrior, Mage, Cleric — mandatory! Lord — mandatory for founding a guild! Blacksmith — when you want to make money! Archer — trash! (by Han Sora)
Archer was the weakest class in BSO.
Mediocre HP, mediocre attack power, mediocre skills. Even the subclasses (similar enough to Dragon Gate RPG's subclasses that I had no trouble understanding) were apparently the worst of the worst. Granted, Lord and Blacksmith were the ones that were genuinely hard to hunt with — but both had such distinct niches that they could never be discarded.
"I-I... back when I was trying to raise every class, I made an Archer too. I admired Snipers... so I picked the Sniper subclass. But... leveling it was such, such pure agony that I prayed if I ever got stuck with a class, please anything but this one... and of course that's exactly what I got..."
That experience, she said, had played a major role in her resolve to never set foot outside.
Honestly, when I'd first heard she was an Archer, I'd thought it was a pretty useful class. In a situation like this, ranged attacks were always the right call.
But the reality was that it was BSO's weakest class — and it came with a fatal flaw.
"Archers... literally can't use any weapon except a bow. Nothing... Well, maybe a sling? I think they could throw those. But the funny part is Warriors can use everything. Bows, axes, swords, spears, clubs, maces, throwing daggers, you name it... The leading theory is that the balance guy added the other classes first, then went 'wait, what am I forgetting?' and slapped Archer in as an afterthought. And I got stuck with it."
"Hmm. Right. And the biggest problem is still sitting there."
"Yes..."
An Archer is an archer. They use a bow.
And there was no bow.
I wasn't joking. We'd torn through our villa, the nearby convenience store, the supermarket — every place we could reach — and there wasn't a single archery bow to be found. A toy bow, maybe.
Are you kidding me... wasn't this country the absolute powerhouse of archery? Every Olympics and Asian Games they harvested gold medals like they were picking wild greens from a field... and somehow finding one actual bow was this hard? Unbelievable. Sure, if we started ransacking residential buildings in earnest we might dig one up... but that was far too uncertain.
"Even so... sitting still like this won't make things any better. So I want you to come outside with me and support the zombie and monster cleanup from the rear. More importantly — if you picked Sniper, your vision should be excellent. Isn't that right?"
She hadn't explained the subclass traits in detail, but I could roughly guess, so I put the question to her with a note of encouragement. The answer that came back was positive.
"Y-yes, that's right... Snipers have really wide vision. There's a passive called Sniper's Sight from the very start. So among the Archer subclasses, they can see the farthest. If you're up on a high tower or somewhere elevated, you get even bigger vision bonuses. That's why one of the Sniper nicknames is 'God-Vision Archer Trash' — half mockery, half praise..."
I could guess exactly which community had coined that one. Probably the same place I'd wandered into on March 31st. Ugh, the quality of discourse spoke for itself...
Still, there was hope. Wide vision was a massive advantage. It meant she could spot approaching zombies or monsters from a distance and give us advance warning.
In an age like this, getting information fast was the difference between living and dying. If you spotted dozens of zombies closing in from afar, you'd have enough time to decide whether to run or stand and fight, wouldn't you?
"Good. In that case... once we finish eating, we'll use your Sniper vision to scout the routes, then decide how to mo—"
"Hello, hello! Survivors across the nation! Are we all having a fun day of surviving?"
"Kyaah! Th-that scared me!"
"For crying out loud..."
I'd been in a decent mood after reaching a smooth agreement, and it was instantly ruined.
That Administrator bastard had jammed his irritatingly loud voice into our ears once again.
A full nine days since March 31st.
"How long has it even been? A week? Ah, March 31st was the last time I spoke with all of you, wasn't it? So that makes nine days. My goodness! Did you miss me, everyone? I'm so, so sorry. Hing~!"
Tsk... I want to unload every curse word I know. I really want to rain down every obscenity in the book, but... there's someone listening with me today, so I'll hold off (not that Lawful Good would let me anyway).
"W-what is that... I-I'm not the only one hearing this, right? Right, Jeong Hoon... oppa."
Khhh...!
That "oppa" — the first time I'd heard it from a college underclassman in three years — sent a full-body shiver through me!
I genuinely hadn't expected Han Sora to settle on a title as polite as "oppa," so I was in a pretty good mood.
"Yeah, I hear it too. I'm dying to know what kind of nonsense he's about to—"
"So! To make sure none of you feel left out, I've come bearing incredible news and updates! Didn't I do great? Hehe!"
Oh, for fuck's sake!
I'd been about to answer Han Sora kindly, but my brow furrowed on its own.
Han Sora, too — startled by the sudden volume — clamped both hands over her ears and grimaced.
"Firstfirstfirst... the first update!"
I'd figured hearing it once would make me used to it... but not even close.
This voice was irritating, loud... and painful! Just listening to him talk was agony! It felt exactly like someone forcibly prying open my ears to dump their monologue inside!
No — actually, that would be better. If a guy like that were standing in front of me... I could beat him to death!
Right, Lawful Good? You agree with me on this one?
"System window Items & Gold menu — activated! Done! We finished every update yesterday. From now on, you'll be able to use this menu freely! Ah, oh dear oh dear... I can already anticipate the questions. 'Administrator, Administrator? I pressed the Items & Gold window but I don't have any items or gold. How am I supposed to use this?'"
Asking himself questions and answering them. This lunatic!
"Yesyesyes, entirely predictable. Your curiosity! Your thirst for knowledge! Of course, I've prepared answers. Through. An. Update! Allow me to introduce the second update!"
Was this the thing Han Sora had predicted? Was it?
"And that is... the Shop function! Starting tomorrow, the newly activated 3. Shop menu will let you purchase the consumable items and equipment you need. Ah, and that 3. FAQ section you all enjoyed reading so much will automatically shift to 4. FAQ. The FAQ was a great reference, wasn't it? I knew it would be!"
Like hell it was, you son of a bitch!
The shop function actually being added was welcome news, but every word after that was about as welcome as a kick in the teeth. Why the hell did they even shove in that completely useless FAQ?!
"Insane, what the fuck... you call this management? Ah, sorry. Oppa..."
Beside me, Sora had basically the same reaction I did.
Unlike me, who'd kept it bottled up inside (not that I'd had a choice), she'd let it rip out loud. I didn't say anything — I could relate. Besides, I was more interested in what this bastard was announcing next.
"Alright alright alright, but but...! To buy items from the shop, what do you need to pay with? Money? Correct. The only difference is the currency unit is Gold! You'll be using Gold — our very own currency that isn't accepted anywhere in the world and can't be exchanged! But how do you obtain this Gold? Curious, aren't you?"
"I wish he'd just cut to the damn point."
That hadn't come from Han Sora. Irritation had flooded my skull so completely that I'd muttered it without thinking. A flash of awkwardness made me glance at her. Han Sora nodded vigorously, as if to say she felt the exact same way.
Ah, now I feel even more embarrassed. Great...
"The most common way to earn Gold is... of course, by killing monsters and zombies. Super easy, right? Huh? What's that? Why didn't you get any Gold from the ones you've already killed? Well, that's because we just introduced it, obviously! From now on, when you take down a monster or zombie, you'll earn Gold proportional to how strong it was! There are other methods too, but those come a little later!"
Once I'd heard the Gold acquisition method, my will to keep listening evaporated.
I'd absorbed every piece of information I needed. What I really wanted now was to check the shop menu.
"And now, the long-awaited... third update! An update for unity and exchange among you human survivors! The party creation function has been introduced! Well, technically the party system has been available since yesterday. Hahaha!"
I already knew that. I'd tried it myself yesterday. But these bastards push updates and only announce them afterward? And they call this management?
"For those of you waiting on the guild system — it'll activate automatically once a specific class reaches a specific level, so look forward to it! Though nobody can do it just yet!"
Ugh, shut up. When does this end? I don't want to listen anymore.
But guilds? I was pretty sure Dragon Gate RPG's Warrior and Thief classes could form something guild-like too—
"But that's not all! Everyone, what do you think is another way to obtain other survivors' Gold?"
Shit, that startled me!
"First of all, party members — and future guild members — can freely trade Gold with each other whenever they want. Buying and selling items between yourselves is also completely free. For those who aren't in a party together, a Trade system has been introduced that lets you freely exchange Gold or shop-sold items up to twice a day. And now... the final one!"
"Everyone... do you know another way to earn Gold? Would you believe me if I said there's a system that lets you obtain Gold without killing monsters or zombies?"
"Th-this... d-don't tell me..."
Han Sora's face went pale in an instant.
A chill ran down my own spine. The tone and atmosphere were far too unsettling. The bad feeling was even worse than on March 31st, when they'd announced the end of the world.
"Yes... that's right. If you attack and kill a survivor, you can obtain 50% of the Gold they were carrying! Meaning if you assault a survivor who owns a thousand Gold, you'll acquire five hundred Gold. Super easy, right!?"
That... that insane...
So now they were laying out a board for survivors to kill each other. You piece of garbage trash!!
"However! A point of caution when attacking! If you freely commit PK — that is, Player Killing — please be aware that a penalty will be applied! If you kill someone at will, a message will appear to every other survivor within a two-kilometer radius on the planetary grid!"
Notification: 'A has killed B at C in the manner of D!'
"Just like that! Those of you who want to attack people, please be careful! Also, even if you kill hundreds or thousands of survivors, you gain absolutely no experience. Don't forget that either!"
You call that a penalty? You think people who are dead set on murdering others are going to care about a penalty like that?
"Wasn't that a truly packed update announcement? I'll continue delivering news through fantastic updates going forward. Until we meet again... bye-bye~!"
...
The grating voice came as it pleased and left as it pleased.
Han Sora and I could only stare blankly into empty air, the shocking contents having stabbed into our ears like knives.
"...Th-the level-up plan..."
Then, suddenly, Han Sora spoke first.
"W-when... were you planning to start?"
There wasn't a shred of hesitation in my answer.
"Right now."