Just a Game
They stared at each other from arm's reach. In that instant, the man at the front of the unfamiliar group of users suddenly widened his eyes and charged forward recklessly. Yura, startled, drew her sword and swung it—
"Yura! You're Yura, right?!"
The burly man twisted his body awkwardly, grinning ear to ear. At that moment, the eyes of the men behind him changed. Pushing forward in disbelief, they began scrutinizing Yura's face.
"I-it's really Yura!"
"O-oh! It's Yura! Lady Yura has graced us!"
"I-I'm a huge fan!"
The moment they confirmed it, they all lost their composure, each massive frame betraying their bashful hearts.
Yura blinked in stunned silence and took a step back.
"……."
But it wasn't over yet.
More men from farther back remained, and they too erupted in cheers upon spotting Yura.
"Woooaaah!"
The commotion dragged on for quite a while.
"Ah, th-thank you."
Yura recovered and offered a gentle smile.
There were more men than expected.
Exactly thirty-two in total.
Albuja Guild: 32 members
"Is this Illusion's World by any chance?"
"Yes, it is."
"N-no way! Am I on it too?"
"Well……."
She'd felt uneasy at first, but as they talked, Yura realized these rough-looking men were surprisingly innocent.
In the end, she let her guard down and chatted about this and that.
"Be careful up ahead, by the way. The monsters there are no joke."
"Thanks."
"N-no problem. Heh heh."
The man blushed and chuckled.
"Oh, right. We've been talking so much, but I haven't introduced myself. We're the Albuja Guild! I'm Cool Guy, the guild master leading Albuja Guild!"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, that's my character name. Haha."
"Heh, I see. That's a fun name."
"Haha, yeah. They call me the soft guy deep down, Cool Guy."
"Huh?"
Albuja. It was a play on words: "albuja" sounding like "all boo-ja," but really meaning "soft guy deep down."
Yura caught on late and burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Pfft, hahaha!"
The Albuja Guild members cheered at the sight.
"Y-Yura laughed!"
"An angel's smile……!"
The expressions of the onlookers watching from behind soured more with each passing moment.
A short while later.
The brief yet endlessly long conversation with Albuja Guild wrapped up.
"Well, until we meet again by fate."
"O-oh! Such a beautiful heart too!"
"Angel—no, Lady Yura. We'll be off now!"
"Ah, yes. Take care."
"Thank you!"
Even as they left, they kept stealing glances at Yura, faces flushing, eyes softening every time.
It didn't feel bad, though. There was no lechery in their gazes. A bit excessive, maybe, but harmless.
Once they were gone, Yura remarked,
"They were fun folks."
Kim Min-ho PD sighed in relief.
"Phew, no issues, so that's good. Let's get moving again."
"Yes."
The whole group, Yura included, resumed walking. One Albuja Guild member, still glancing back wistfully, finally faced forward.
That's when something he'd forgotten hit him, and an exclamation escaped.
"Ah, damn……!"
"What's up?"
"B-big trouble. Huge trouble!"
"What happened?!"
"S-screenshots! We have screenshot function!"
Illusion includes video recording and screenshot functions.
"Oh, right!"
"Arrrgh! Damn it! We should've at least taken a screenshot together!"
"Why didn't we think of that sooner! Rookie!"
"S-sorry, bro!"
"Not bro—guild master!"
"Ah, yes. Guild master!"
The dejected Albuja Guild master turned around.
"Shall we go back?"
"Huh?"
"Too late already?"
"Yeah, they probably took another fork by now……."
"Sigh."
As they lamented, footsteps approached from the direction Yura had come.
Thud. Thud.
Another group emerged.
"Hm? More users."
"Yes, bro—no, guild master."
"Ahem, yeah. Anyway, no pointless fights. Pass 'em nicely."
"Got it!"
They moved forward in response.
The approaching group numbered exactly twenty, all wearing deep hoods over robes.
The vibe was eerily ominous, but Albuja Guild had thirty-two members now—more than them—so they didn't worry much.
Even if outnumbered, they wouldn't have cared. If provoked, they'd hit back. That was their mindset.
They had confidence.
And hey, it was just a game.
They soon came face-to-face.
A quick glance.
Just as they meant to pass by, the hooded users vanished, and an explosion rocked from behind almost simultaneously.
Boom!
Whipping around in shock, they saw several Albuja Guild members gravely wounded. Limbs severed, they couldn't properly counter the follow-up attacks from the strangers.
The rookie was especially bad—both arms gone, an ear torn off.
In the momentary panic, a finger flew into his eye. The wriggling sensation inside made him shudder.
Then the eyeball was gouged out, a faint pain rising. But the terror dwarfed it.
"A-aaahhh!"
For an instant, he forgot this was virtual.
Forgot he was in the game world of Illusion.
"M-my eye! My eye!"
The severed arm threw off his balance.
Then the remaining eye was plucked, vision gone.
A slicing sensation rose—slash—and one sturdy leg vanished.
His body tilted and collapsed.
Thud.
Fear and pain crushed his shoulders.
"S-save me. Save me, bro!"
"Y-you bastards!"
Albuja Guild members snapped to and rushed to save their brothers.
"Heal first!"
"Got it!"
"Let's wipe these bastards!"
Magic flared, powerful arrows loosed at the strangers—but they dodged everything effortlessly.
Their movements were insane.
"Still……!"
Cool Guy, the Albuja Guild master, planned to meet them head-on. He faced one and clenched his fist hard.
Click.
Spikes protruded from his knuckle gloves.
Using Light Step to close in, he lightly extended his left hand.
The hooded user raised a dagger and deflected it casually. The dagger—and the user's wrist gripping it—froze solid.
As the foe stiffened, Cool Guy swung his right fist into the face.
A deep gash from the knuckles, frost spreading around, cold surging.
Plus the raw power sent the stranger stumbling back, collapsing.
Albuja Guild cheered, morale soaring.
"No big deal!"
"Wipe 'em!"
The guild master approached the fallen man.
"Why pick a fight?"
The stranger lifted his head.
Through the hood, manic eyes and a curled lip flashed.
Cool Guy flinched.
That was madness.
The madness-stained figure rose, laughing.
"'Cause it's a game."
"What?"
"It's just a game, right?"
With that, the stranger charged.
Whoosh!
Far faster and stronger than before.
Cool Guy somehow blocked and dodged, amazed at his own reflexes.
The foe was that hard to track.
"Ugh……!"
He couldn't last long, wounds accumulating.
Little by little, then more.
HP dropped below half before he knew it.
"D-Dong-sik! Heal!"
"……."
He needed healing—no response.
"Gah!"
HP hit zero; he crumpled.
Why no heal?
With a hint of resentment, he glanced back—and saw it.
His guildmates, butchered, fading one by one.
"Ah……."
A dagger plunged, slicing his gut.
Utter terror dominated his mind.
"W-why……."
The stranger yanked out entrails, grinning.
"Told you. It's just a game."
"What does that……!"
"Too hard to understand?"
"G-guh……."
"Fun. Let's call it fun."
The word pierced his ears.
Fun……!
All senses faded; he logged out.
The twenty users finished the slaughter.
"Now…… who tasty prey comes next?"
Their madness wasn't sated.
*
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo advanced oblivious. Yura and the program staff chose right at the new fork too.
"Keep right."
"Yeah."
They met another variant Hydra there.
A few battles had made them more accustomed; it wasn't too hard.
Experience has increased.
The dead variant Hydra.
Mu-hyuk approached and used Corpse Dissection.
He swapped it for an Armor Knight's bone matching the trait.
"Let's search nearby first."
"Sure."
A tired reply, but they didn't slack on the search.
They checked floor, walls, ceiling meticulously—no anomalies.
"Nothing here?"
Kim Min-ho PD gestured.
"Then let's rest a bit. Hunger's dropping too."
"Already that late……."
They paused recording.
A female user from the program staff would cook, but Mu-hyuk forced himself up to level his skill.
"I'll help."
"Oh, thanks."
They prepared together.
Yura, watching, joined in.
"Me too!"
"Yura too?"
"Yeah, no skill, but……."
"Thanks. Could you handle these?"
"Sure!"
The three dove into cooking.
Experience rose some?
More effort needed for tastier food.
Just a bit more to 14.
Crafting at 12, Repair at 11.
Over level 10, growth slowed drastically.
Time would fix it.
Shaking off skill thoughts, he distributed the food.
Everyone smiled contentedly after tasting.
"Damn, tasty."
"Whoa, killer!"
They filled up satisfied.
Hunger restored.
"Let's head out again."
Recording resumed with Kim Min-ho PD's words.
They advanced, hunting and picking right at forks repeatedly.
Occasional user encounters, but no trouble.
"Phew, tough."
"It's 10 PM already."
The morning exploration neared end.
"Tired, right?"
Nods all around to Kim Min-ho PD.
"That's it for today."
Relief spread. A full day hunting monsters piled fatigue naturally.
No treasure traces built stress too.
"Log out here then."
"Yes."
"Reconnect at 8 AM."
"Got it."
One by one, they exited Illusion.
Last three: Yura, Mu-hyuk, Sung Min-woo.
"See you tomorrow, Mu-hyuk."
"Yeah."
"Bye, Yura."
"You too, Min-woo."
She left.
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo, last remaining, nodded.
"Skeleton Summon."
"Spirit Summon."
They scattered summons everywhere.