Party, Quantum Nexus (1)
Party, Quantum Nexus (1)
Now that the classic game had been updated,
the so-called "newbies"—people who played the game normally—seemed to have multiplied enormously.
The update log had been posted online and delivered as a separate notice inside the game,
so it turned out the game really did have proper game-like features after all.
Plenty of people had probably only just realized it.
A fresh influx of newcomers naturally extended the game's lifespan.
You could call it light and salt—a true blessing—for a stagnant game.
You can't purify water that's already rotten,
but if you keep pouring clean water into it, it's bound to become clear again eventually.
Of course, in all the time I'd been playing this game,
the only max-level players I'd ever seen were myself and Julia, but still.
Anyway, that was how it went.
The people who had been camping in front of the village bulletin board began heading to the hunting grounds.
And those hunting grounds, once deathly silent and packed with monsters, gained a certain liveliness.
Naturally, this entire trend could only be described as extremely positive.
However.
Just as a stronger light casts a deeper shadow,
a few people couldn't accept this reality and were agonizing over it.
[ Eve(Mage) ]
Eve's character, visible on my screen, activated a skill.
She was a textbook dealer class—
her tremendous firepower stood out.
A wide-area attack skill melted multiple monsters simultaneously.
Had Eve, who kept telling me to go outside, discovered the joy of gaming too?
Thanks to hunting with me right up until the end of the month,
she was already close to reaching max level.
At this rate, we'd be able to raid together soon.
Though why warriors never got buffed remained a mystery.
And.
Four characters were watching Eve's character.
What especially caught my eye was that they were all wearing hideously ugly steel helmets.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Multiple monsters at once... hunting them solo? ]
[ P77648(Warrior): It takes less than 10 seconds... to catch one? ]
[ InfoSellerNo. 7(Warrior): ...There were separate attack skills in this game too? Why are warriors... ]
[ IiiIiiIilIlIll1l(Warrior): (Use of inappropriate language) ]
.......
Had they each been off doing something else?
I'd been relieved I hadn't seen them in the game for a while.
The Jeonbungis I ran into after such a long time were all realizing the truth and falling into despair.
They had faced the truth inside Pandora's box.
......Still, hang in there.
Warriors.
Now that party-play content like raids had been added, a phase where the warrior's role became crucial was sure to come.
If you survive until then,
your day to see the light will surely come.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Guild master... how the hell did things turn out like this. ]
The very first person I ever gave a warrior recommendation to—
Jeonbungi No. 2—typed into the chat.
Hm.
As Jeonbungi No. 1 and the guild master of Jeonjangyeon, I couldn't ignore that.
I typed into the chat.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Everyone, fighting. I have something to do, so I'll be heading out now. ]
And I exited the game.
"......."
[.......]
Absolutely.
I didn't run away because I had no excuse to give in reply.
Nor did I leave because I had deceived them into thinking warrior was a good class.
The Jeonbungis weren't bad.
Warrior was still, without a doubt, the unshakable tier 1 class in my heart, after all.
It was just that, right at that moment,
a message arrived with perfect timing, giving me something to do, so I left. That was all.
Sender: 'Monolith, Taylor Blackstar'
- Since it's time, I'll send a car over to you.
- I'll leave the invitation in the car, so check it.
- It's a bit early, but it'd be better to arrive ahead of time.
- I'll assign someone to escort you, so don't worry.
- ( *˘╰╯˘*) ≡ (*˘╰╯˘* )
That's right.
It was time to go to the high-ranking officials' party being held in the Upper Layer, Platinum District.
11. Party, Quantum Nexus (1)
I sat in the unmanned aerial vehicle and gazed at the scenery outside.
Its landing directly on the road near my house drew the stares of people around me, but
I couldn't exactly refuse the ride.
Though I did think the fine for parking outside designated zones must be steep.
Well, it was a Monolith vehicle, so they'd handle it themselves.
The futuristic cityscape passed by outside my window.
A gigantic hologram character appeared right beside the vehicle.
Far in the distance, I could see the smog rising from Cloud Park, the factory zone in the Lower Layer.
And nearby were the high-rise buildings of the Middle Layer and the neon signs covering their outer walls.
As the vehicle's altitude gradually increased,
my tension rose along with it.
It wasn't that I had acrophobia or anything;
the party I was heading to was the reason.
Soon I'd be facing high-ranking corporate figures, so my throat kept going dry.
Not the Lower Layer or the Middle Layer.
I had only been to the Upper Layer a handful of times before.
In the first place, the Upper Layer felt completely different from the other zones.
Of course, access to all Upper Layer areas aside from Royale Vegas was strictly restricted.
If the aerial vehicle I was riding didn't have a pre-registered access code, I figured police drones would have come to greet me long ago.
......My throat still felt dry, though.
Was there anything to drink around here?
I shifted my gaze from the window
and took in the vehicle's interior, neatly appointed with luxurious seats.
There was an empty wine glass.
But no actual beverage to drink.
I tried to lift the glass, but it wouldn't budge; it was fixed by its stem.
"Hm......."
[Try pressing down on the glass itself, I advise.]
"Yeah?"
As Eve suggested, I pressed down on the glass.
Then the beverage began slowly filling it from the bottom up.
Only once the glass was completely full
was I able to lift it.
I took a light sip.
A sweet, fruity aroma wafted up strongly.
It made me think—this is why people work to earn money.
Because you can freely drink something—alcohol or a soft drink—while traveling in an aerial vehicle.
Even if right now it wasn't my money
or my car, still.
I felt the tension ease a little.
Since I was moving through the air, there was nothing to cause a traffic jam. I figured if I waited just a bit, I'd arrive soon.
North Houston, where I lived, was also close to my destination in the Upper Layer.
I sipped my drink while admiring the hologram billboards that had drifted right up alongside the vehicle.
I placed the empty glass back in its spot
and checked my clothes for any lint or loose threads.
My attire was the same as when I had gone to meet the Chairman:
the high-end suit Catherine had bought for me before we attended Andrea's concert.
It seemed alright.
[I am appreciating the fact that it is truly your first time in the Upper Layer.]
"Was it?"
At Eve's question, I thought back carefully.
The time I'd acquired Eve was during the final part of the main scenario, inside a corporate building in the Middle Layer.
And ever since the main scenario ended, I'd hardly done any mercenary work.
So Eve was probably right.
"The Upper Layer is just another place where people live, I doubt it's much different."
If there were any differences.......
It came down to the fact that the people living there were basically high-ranking corporate figures or celebrities like Andrea,
and maybe that basic municipal costs like electricity and water bills were free.
Plus, public safety was exceptionally good there.
Just then, a mechanical voice sounded from the vehicle.
《You have arrived at your destination.》
Looking out the window, the altitude was slowly lowering.
It seemed I had arrived while I was lost in thought.
I picked up the invitation that had been placed on one side of the seat.
It was made of actual paper—
a rare sight in this day and age.
The content wasn't anything special.
Just as Monolith had prepared in advance, it stated I was an employee belonging to Black Monolith Corporation.
For a mercenary freelancer like me to now be an employee of a mega corp... my heart swelled with a sense of grandeur.
There was also a line telling me to be careful not to tear it, as it might cause problems with the entry procedure.
Lest the paper get crumpled by any chance,
I carefully tucked the invitation inside my jacket.
"Hm... shall we go then?"
[I am looking forward to it.]
I opened the door of the aerial vehicle, which had now landed on solid ground.
Pleasantly warm air naturally flowed in.
In the Lower Layer, there were people who froze to death.
But here, wherever you went, it was basically room temperature.
I thought this every time I came here, but it really did feel completely different from the Middle and Lower Layers.
A lawn stretched out to one side of my field of vision,
and there were basically no high-rise buildings anywhere in sight.
There weren't even clouds in the sky.
Sunlight, rarely seen in Neon City, wrapped around the ground.
The air was incredibly clean, too.
I took off my mask and put it inside my jacket.
It made me think: this is why people from the other layers desperately try to make it to the Upper Layer.
After stepping out of the car, I looked straight ahead.
A large, luxurious hotel stood before me.
【Casa del Russo Grassium Hotel】
It matched the address on the invitation.
So, what should I do now?
Since I had the invitation, entering alone posed no problem at all.
But the Chairman had said they'd send someone.
Going in by myself felt a bit off.
.......
Alright, I decided.
I would go in together once the Monolith employee arrived—
absolutely not because I was an I-type and scared to go in alone.
I glanced around, looking for somewhere to stand.
There were many people dressed in high-class attire, and quite a few, like those cyberpunk celebrities I'd seen before, had changed their entire skin to gold or silver.
Among them were faces I'd seen on the news.
I could just wedge myself into that corner over there.
Just as I was thinking that,
a message arrived through my vision interface.
I thought it was from the Chairman,
but when I checked, it was from Monolith's Chief of Staff.
Sender: 'Monolith, Justin Borg'
- A message relayed from the Chairman.
- The Chairman says they may be a little late.
- They told you to go in first.
- Please, enjoy yourself carefully.
Hm.
That last sentence basically meant, "Don't cause trouble, just stay quiet and then leave."
"...I guess I should just go in first."
[There is no reason to keep staying outside, I agree.]
But the message's content was a bit unsettling.
"May be a little late."
Didn't that sound like the Chairman might personally show up?
I wondered if my neural chip's translation module was malfunctioning, but after checking, I found no issues at all.
.......
Probably not, right?
It won't happen.
Why would someone that incredibly busy bother to come to an event like this?
They'd mentioned it last time too—
that they had something very demanding to do and might not be able to make it that day.
"Hoo."
But why did I feel so uneasy?
Along with the surging anxiety,
I slowly walked toward the hotel, the party venue.