Classic Game Maniacs (2)
Classic Game Maniacs (2)
That day's party became the connection that led to me happily teaming up with Tokkigyeongdyu-nim for group play.
Since saying their full name every time was a mouthful, I settled on calling them Tokki-nim to simplify things.
To be honest, I still don't really know what kind of person they are.
One thing is certain, though: they clearly have so much time on their hands they could rival me.
Seriously, it's relentless as hell.
How do they manage to log in every single day?
Every time I logged into the game, they were always there without fail, brightening the spot.
Frankly, I considered myself at the level of a 'Time Bill Gates', but this person was even worse than me.
It would be more accurate to call it an even higher level of free time.
Unlike me, who was playing this game out of 'nostalgia' for home,
they seemed 'dead serious' about it.
Since we happened to meet and form a party again today,
I won't go on about this any further.
As soon as I connected, Tokki came looking for me right away.
After a brief greeting, they'd send me a party invite and the hunt would begin.
Throughout this process, there isn't a single bit of small talk about everyday matters.
Though I sometimes grew bored and tossed them a word or two first, it was extremely rare for them to initiate a conversation with me.
After that, true to the purpose of the 'party' the game provided, our usual routine was hunting until we grew sick of it, with no conversation exchanged.
That pattern kept repeating so much
that now, we've become the kind of pair where having an actual conversation would feel awkward, so we simply hunt.
I was genuinely curious about why this person still hunted with me.
Were they not actually leveling their own character, the 'Archer', but rather raising my character, the 'Warrior', like a pet?
That thought crossed my mind often.
Not that I should be the one to talk, but it was truly peculiar.
Basically, all I knew about this person was their ID was 'Tokkigyeongdyu-nim', they were a crazy person, and every line they typed was short, probably because they were too lazy to hit the keyboard.
I finished off the monster I was hunting.
《 LEVEL UP 》
My character was enveloped in a white effect.
No matter how many times I saw it, the graphics were crude.
So this was finally max level.
The long journey had come to an end.
I never expected even I would hit max level as a Warrior in this game.
It was truly a garbage class. The Warrior.
Even though it was a result achieved through party-hunting with a power-leveler, the sense of accomplishment I felt was by no means diminished.
As my character stopped moving due to the level-up, Tokkigyeongdyu, who had been helping with the hunt, also came to a halt shortly after.
In fact, Tokkigyeongdyu was already max level.
They'd merely wasted time beside me, saying they'd help me hunt.
Thank you...!
Tokkigyeongdyu(god).
I typed in chat.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): So what do we do now? ]
Soon, the end of content had arrived.
There was nothing left for us to do.
If you've hit max level in a classic RPG, you're supposed to enjoy max-level content. What's this about there being nothing to do?
Shockingly enough, in this game,
max-level content simply does not exist.
Raids? None.
A max-level hunting ground? That's not there either.
I kind of thought, at this point, wasn't the real problem the person who actually managed to hit max level?
But I'd only stumbled upon that fact while I was in the middle of enjoying the game and leveling up, too.
I was just one more victim who'd been deceived by the game.
If I'd noticed before, I would've just quit and looked for another game.
But, damn it all, I found out at an awkward level.
In the end, sheer inertia carried me to max level.
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer): ? ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): There's nothing more to do, right? ]
And then.
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer): Just continuing to hunt is fun ]
Tokkigyeongdyu was a more insane bastard than I'd thought.
That's genuinely chilling.
Could their true identity really be a demon of gaming born from the cyberpunk era?
Even though they could no longer gain experience from hunting,
to say just continuing to hunt was fun.
I couldn't understand it.
I could physically feel my SAN points draining away in my mind.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Instead of that, since we've got this connection, how about we play a different game together? ]
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer): ? ]
Why the sudden question mark?
I view it as a far more productive activity than just hunting in an RPG where you can't even level up anymore.
Tokkigyeongdyu's character stopped moving once again.
...Hmm.
Was that a really clueless suggestion to make?
Actually, I started to overthink it, wondering if what they'd said earlier was just a roundabout way of telling me to get lost.
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer): Then, you mean. ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Yeah. ]
I answered the chat right away.
Please, tell me I wasn't being clueless there.
Come on, hunting with a Warrior wasn't all bad for you either. (Objectively speaking, it absolutely was all bad)
[ Tokkigyeongdyu-nim(Archer): Let's meet up once, then. ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): ? ]
This time, it was me who sent the question mark in return.
4. Classic Game Enthusiasts (2)
At most, I'd been thinking something like a hologram call, but from the look of it, the inner intimacy they felt towards me was far from ordinary.
To hear them suggest we meet face-to-face right away, on our first meeting.
Is everyone like that nowadays?
I typed a chat trying to refuse, saying it'd be tough if we weren't in the same city.
But I only found out just then that this old classic game I was playing was apparently only available in Neon City.
How did I not know that?
In conclusion, if location wasn't an issue, I figured it'd be fine to at least see each other's faces once.
As strange as this person was, they were also my benefactor who wasted their precious time hunting alongside my Warrior character.
[I recommend, once again, that you do not meet them.]
Of course, Eve was against it.
She mentioned how meeting a stranger from the net could lead to serious trouble, and also noted that since this was someone who enjoyed a weird game, the probability they weren't normal was high on average.
That latter case dealt damage to me, too.
...She's not entirely wrong.
Truthfully, I had been agonizing over it until the moment I left.
What if I go out thinking I'm meeting a normal person, and the ones greeting me are three brothers built like Orcs?
Since they tricked me into coming out anyway, they'd neatly strip me of my money and also try to strip out my organs and implants while they're at it.
Just imagining it was horrifying.
It wasn't the Orcs that scared me. It was the reality of being betrayed by a game connection I had trusted that depressed me.
"That's why I came out thoroughly prepared, didn't I?"
[I question whether it is worth taking such a risk.]
When she put it that way, I had nothing to say.
"Don't worry, because I trust my game friend."
[.......]
If it were before I fell into the game world, I wouldn't have gone out either.
But now is different.
I wasn't lacking in confidence when it comes to combat.
The story would be a bit different if the comparison was against major characters from the game, like Catherine.
But come on, what are the odds someone like that would show up at a place like this?
Thus, I wasn't particularly worried.
[That game you play is also very strange, I am worried.]
"That's been a trash game from the very start, you know."
How can an RPG possibly exist without max-level content?
Even thinking about it now, it made no sense.
[In truth, unbeknownst to the human 'Lee Si-woon,' I confess that I attempted to hack into that game.]
"Ah, trying to make an ID yourself?"
[That is correct.]
"So?"
Eve pulled up a blueprint of complex lines spreading out on one side of my vision interface.
[The game's server data is physically separated, I explain.]
"Huh?"
[This is not a common case. I believe that server data modification is impossible except in special circumstances or through physical access.]
So that's how it was.
No wonder it had been so quiet.
If it were the usual her, she'd have already hacked the game, created a new ID, and followed my character around.
"So you couldn't hack it, huh."
[...It is not absolutely impossible. However, based on the above reasons, I recommend that you return home.]
"But it's already too late."
I had already arrived at the meeting spot.
I took a sip of the drink I'd ordered ahead of time.
The sensation of the fizz stimulating the back of my throat spread coolly down through my body.
So, when would they arrive?
I checked the time using the clock floating in my vision.
There was still a little bit of time left.
A small restaurant on the outskirts of the Mid-level district.
This was the meeting spot.
The eating area was divided into booth-style partitions, making it look like a good place for a quiet conversation.
It was the other party who had decided on the meeting location.
I opened up the hologram interface.
I checked the messages sent to me again.
Sender: 'White Rabbit'
- It's a place called Ryu's Restaurant.
- I'll send you the time and coordinates.
- See you later.
In-game, they were a friend who spoke very briefly; it definitely seemed like typing on the keyboard was a hassle for them.
The messages they sent conveniently using their neural computer chip were exceedingly polite and quite lengthy.
But to set their name as 'White Rabbit.'
This person really was sticking hard to their concept.
Come to think of it, the rabbit thing suddenly reminded me: there was one character inside this game who also really liked rabbits.
That was probably why they always carried around a rabbit doll, or something like that.
I remember them appearing as an enemy character.
Their combat pattern was incredibly brutal.
Obviously, I'd never actually met them since coming to this world.
Though they appeared as a hostile character, I recalled they weren't your average mercenary.
Their setting was that they mainly took on illegal requests, I think?
It was so long ago, I can't really remember anymore.
Honestly, not running into characters like that was good for my mental health.
What good could possibly come from deliberately crossing paths with an enemy character?
- Ding.
Just then, a new message arrived.
It was Tokki-gyeongdyu, White Rabbit.
- I've arrived now.
- Where are you?
I replied that I'd be waving my hand above the partition.
That should be enough for them to find me.
I thought as I stretched my hand out over the top of the booth partition and waved it.
So, who was going to walk in?
If multiple Orcs appeared, my plan was to flip the table over immediately and run.
But the person who sat down in front of me was an entirely unexpected figure.
A woman of small stature.
Clutched tightly in her arms was a white rabbit doll.
Without realizing it, I asked.
"Who are you?"
"...Um, my ID is Tokkigyeongdyu-nim. My name is Julia."
Her name was Julia.
It felt like I'd heard it somewhere before.
A sense of déjà vu that was familiar to the eyes rang an alarm bell of unease.
What did I say earlier?
Rabbit doll──, hmm.
Game information that had been forgotten over the span of 10 years came flooding back to life.
Right on cue, Eve used my vision interface to display a picture and text of Julia.
[Information. I inform you this is a 99% identical match to a wanted criminal in the NCPD database.]
"?"
[The name is Julia. I add that she is registered as an illegal mercenary and terrorist.]
"Ah."
So it was that rabbit from the game.
"......Um, I'll order spaghetti, please."
Why has a wanted criminal come all the way here?
My head started to ache.