The Ninja's Real-World Debut
“Hoo.”
Carpe—no, Jeonghun—stretched as he climbed out of the capsule.
“Ow. Everything’s so stiff.”
Joints popped all over his body. Lying in one position for nearly ten hours was bound to take a toll.
Even the Artemis capsule, designed with cutting-edge ergonomics for peak human comfort, couldn’t fully eliminate the strain. Regular capsules must be a nightmare for players.
Guess I really should start hitting the gym.
Cheonma always nagged him about it, but staying healthy was essential for long-term grinding in RaSe.
For now, his early twenties recovery bounced him back fine, but there were no guarantees that’d last forever.
Plus, studies showed real-world fitness directly boosted in-game agility. For pros making a living off RaSe, exercise wasn’t optional—it was mandatory.
Hmm. Let’s see, which gyms around here are decent?
No more talk; time for action.
Jeonghun grabbed his phone to search for gyms.
His body ached from the marathon session, but his mood was sky-high. The headaches that had plagued him for days were finally sorted.
Job change quest and the audience, both cleared in one go.
Of course, being tied to a Mythic class, it was bound to be hell-mode difficulty. But even that had been slashed thanks to Gillian’s help!
Ran out of login time, so I couldn’t dig into the details...
From a quick skim, nothing seemed outrageously impossible.
The thought of tomorrow’s new adventure already had him buzzing with excitement.
That’s when it hit—just as Jeonghun started searching gyms with a grin.
His phone buzzed with an unfamiliar ping.
It was from the RaSe Patron Spirit app—he’d installed it but never once opened it.
“Huh?”
The app’s main purpose was quick alerts for sudden Patron Spirit quests.
But that didn’t apply to Jeonghun. Cheonma was his one and only Patron Spirit.
So this wasn’t from Cheonma.
Oh yeah, it had a messenger function too, right? Totally forgot.
He’d added her as a friend outside Ruana’s lord’s castle last time but hadn’t messaged since.
Feeling a twinge of guilt for ghosting, Jeonghun fired back.
“Huh?”
Real world?
So out of left field, Jeonghun hesitated on his reply.
Hanjo, sensing the silence, followed up anxiously.
Her story went like this:
She’d been crashing at a Korean acquaintance’s place, but family issues forced the acquaintance back to the States suddenly.
But no dice.
Right at renewal time, the landlord decided to give the place to family instead.
In short: Help finding a jeonse rental.
“Hmm...”
Jeonghun nodded. Her position made total sense.
Stranded in a far-off Eastern land, sole lifeline vanishing back home—anyone would panic.
Everything must feel scary. No family, no friends... so she reached out to her one contact: him.
Hanjo rambled on about past-life bonds and heavenly will, getting hyped, so Jeonghun paused replies.
Jeonghun locked in the plan with Hanjo and closed the app.
Then it hit him.
“...No way she talks like that IRL too?”
That’d be... kinda, no, extremely embarrassing.
As mild regret crept in over the promise, another ping.
“Hm?”
More to say?
He checked— not Hanjo this time.
“...Huh?”
The sender—er, ghost—was Cheonma.
Jeonghun tilted his head but replied quick.
Post-logout, Cheonma had warped to his Room chamber as usual, rolling around on the bed killing time.
Suddenly, the in-Room capsule lit up and vibrated.
Startled, Cheonma hopped in and found a new program installed: the RaSe app.
Chatting with a ghost via app. Movie material right there.
Cheonma’s curiosity was in overdrive again.
Jeonghun gave the rundown.
Cheonma’s tone carried a hint of wistfulness.
“Huh?”
Jeonghun’s thumbs froze mid-type.
Come to think... yeah, it could look that way.
Jeonghun ignored Cheonma’s boomer ramble.
...Hadn’t thought about it before, but now it nagged a bit.
With a weird mix of feelings, Jeonghun hit the hay.
The next day.
Jeonghun sat on a bench by the clock tower near Korea University in Gangnam.
“Hoo. Hot out.”
Early summer sun bit hard.
Passersby in light clothes hammered home that summer was here.
“Been ages since I was here...”
Jeonghun was a fourth-year at Korea University.
Last semester done, he’d taken a leave—so this was a rare campus visit.
Should’ve picked somewhere else.
Realtor near campus, so clock tower meetup... but what a mistake.
Korea U main gate clock tower was infamous locally as “Meeting Square.”
Nine outta ten local promises happened here.
I.e.,
“Huh? No way! Kang Jeonghun! What’re you doing here?”
Odds of running into someone you knew were brutal.
Jeonghun eyed the guy calling him.
Jung Jinsu.
Same major, solid buddy back in the day.
“Whoa, it’s been forever. You ghosted hard!”
“Yeah, long time. Sorry, been busy. Went dark.”
“Oh... right. Yeah.”
Jinsu looked guilty.
Half a year back, Jeonghun had been wrecked mentally for Reasons™—Jinsu was one of the few in the know.
“Foot in mouth. My bad.”
“Nah, water under the bridge. Doesn’t faze me now.”
“So what brings the homebody out?”
“...I don’t live glued to my screen? Got promises sometimes.”
“Promises? You dodged class hangs forever... Oh!”
Jinsu’s eyes widened like he’d cracked a case.
“Shit, big trouble. We’re mid-finals cram, just stepped out.”
“We?”
“Me, Jinyoung... and Sojin...”
“Hey! Jung Jinsu! Where you running off to?”
Then—a group approached Jeonghun and Jinsu.
All classmates and underclassmen. Including one very awkward for Jeonghun.
“...Huh? Senior Jeonghun?”
Shin Jia.
His ex. The one who’d shattered him half a year ago.
“...This sucks.”
Jinsu muttered like it was his fault, glancing at Jeonghun.
Honestly, Jeonghun was over it... but the vibe was still sour.
“...”
“...”
Awkward silence chilled the air as eyes darted.
“Found you!”
Then—a bright voice from right beside them.
Jeonghun whipped around. There stood a tall blonde blue-eyed beauty.
Ponytail under a cap. Plain white tee and jeans—simple, but she owned it, shining.
“Whoa...”
“Model? Actress?”
“Damn... insane face. Proportions unreal.”
Every passerby gawked.
And she beamed straight at Jeonghun.
“...Whoa.”
No way Jeonghun was dense enough to miss it.
Hanjo.
Cheonma nailed it: blonde blue-eyed stunner. Even Jeonghun, used to Tina’s looks, was floored!
This goddess was that muffled ninja?
Cognitive dissonance hit hard—but the real shock followed.
Hanjo cleared her throat dramatically, then cupped hands in a martial salute to Jeonghun.
“Grateful for your time, Tusin!”
“...Ah.”
Jeonghun’s fears were spot-on.
Concept zombie Hanjo.
Stuck in character IRL too.
“Actress after all. Shooting here!”
“Mom! I’m on TV!”
“No cameras though...”
She owned it shamelessly—why was he the embarrassed one?
Drowning in stares, Jeonghun could only duck his head.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw