Chapter 196
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Side Quest (2)
There is a practice known as Gu Poison.
It is a martial arts technique of poison cultivation where dozens, even hundreds, of venomous creatures are sealed in a single jar, which is not opened until only one remains. The venom of this lone survivor is said to be so terrifyingly potent that it can sometimes lead to the user's own ruin.
After all, the survivor is the strongest of them all, having grown by devouring every other formidable creature.
To even doubt its destructive power would be an insult.
In any case, following the ancient wisdom that learning has no end and prejudice is a poison, Cheon Yeon-ho, the emperor of the great nation of Rewind, readily adopted this method of the southern barbarians without the slightest hesitation.
And thus, the Gu Poison of the Eastern Depot was born.
A planning hell where they mercilessly tore each other's proposals apart.
“Why is the Yuras School causing trouble in the Red Hell? Based on the game's concept, Red Hell, which deals with elements, should be under Hadelune's control!”
“Wouldn't it be better to say a spy from Yuras went to the Red Hell to uncover Hadelune's conspiracy?”
“Argh…!”
“Yellow Hell's theme is space. Shouldn't encountering an NPC also require meeting specific conditions?”
“No, a single NPC whose phase doesn't change in the Hell of Space! That's the core of this quest! It's meant to give the player a sense of unease!”
“But…!”
“White Hell is the Hell of Ego. To make use of the monsters' fluctuating attributes…”
“You could also share someone's ego to see into their inner world! We can pull in the main theme from Hellic 4! If we use this side quest to shed light on Dean Colburn's past, it will add depth…!”
It was as if they were stabbing each other with knives, but the result was mutual growth and prosperity.
Pointing out logical flaws, after all, required background knowledge.
As they stabbed and were stabbed in turn, the planning staff became more knowledgeable about the game's lore.
Needless to say, they also became capable of logically organizing the various events that could arise from applying that lore.
On one wall of the conference room where they continued their meeting (or knifing), the theme for each map was written in large letters.
『Red Hell — Element
Blue Hell — Emotion
Yellow Hell — Space
White Hell – Ego
Black Hell — Sensation
Purple Hell — Time
Green Hell – Life』
The whiteboard was already smudged black in many places from their hands.
Additional theme settings filled the empty spaces on the whiteboard in tiny script.
That's how much the planning team had agonized over fulfilling the proposition of creating side quests that fit each map's theme.
The result,
“Not bad.”
Yeon-ho gave them his approval.
“The major events seem to be sorted out. At this point, players will get at least one main event in any given map…”
But as he continued, the planning team staff, who had been thinking, ‘Finally, freedom!’, felt a chilling premonition.
For some reason, Yeon-ho's words seemed to hint at something more to come.
“Next, let's plan the minor events.”
“Huh?”
“Then, we have those draft ideas for schools classified as extra skills, right? Let's flesh those out and create a roadmap for related side quests.”
“Ugh…!”
“Come on, we're almost there. Let's keep it up.”
At Yeon-ho's words, the planning team staff felt as if they were hearing a fitness trainer shout, “Just one more! Just one more!”
Planning Hell!
A place closest to death, where every moment was a struggle after struggle!
Why on earth did they have to endure such a terrible thing!
In truth, the answer was already decided.
“Ji-seok, it's payday today.”
“I saw the incentive bonus came in. We got the full amount again.”
“…Should we keep going, then?”
“…We have to.”
…Because the pay was good.
They were ordinary citizens living in 21st-century capitalist South Korea.
* * *
A month had passed since the start of 2022.
Development on Hellic 5 continued into the new year, but that didn't mean they ran nonstop without a break.
You still had to take care of what mattered.
“Happy New Year, Uncle!”
“You too.”
It was Lunar New Year's Day.
A major national holiday and a long-awaited break.
Following Yang Gil-sang's advice that properly celebrating such days was part of employee welfare, I gave the staff generous holiday bonuses and came down to my family home.
What was my nephew's name again?
Anyway, the child born while I was busy with work toddled over, bowed, and held out his hand.
Seeing his eyes sparkle, it seemed he already knew what money was.
I took a 10,000-won bill from my wallet and placed it in his hand, and he looked at me with an expression that, no joke, said, ‘Hmm, is that all?’
“What?”
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“But you're a president…”
The crafty little guy.
I roughly understood.
The cause and effect behind his disappointment.
“Hyung-nim?”
I looked up at my cousin, who cleared his throat and avoided my gaze.
My cousin's wife, feigning ignorance, took the 10,000 won from the child and pocketed it.
My nephew looked at me again.
His gaze seemed to ask, ‘Is this really it?’
I felt like I was witnessing firsthand the proof that man is born evil.
He's probably only four or five…
“…Come here. I'll give you a bit more.”
Only when I gave him a 50,000-won bill did the little rascal look satisfied.
But the race wasn't over.
There was my nephew starting elementary school this year, my high-schooler nephew, my cousin who was now studying for the college entrance exams, and my twin cousins who were college freshmen.
“Oppa, I want to buy a tablet for studying.”
“I want a bag…”
“I want shoes…”
“Uncle, I want a Nintender!”
I knew she wouldn't use the tablet for studying, and that the bag and shoes were for brand-name goods, but the heart of a relative is a weak one.
“I'll wire it to your accounts.”
“Hooray!”
However.
“Uncle! I want a Nintender!”
“How about I buy you a PlayStation?”
“Nintender!”
You little brat.
“I want a Nintender!”
I'm the guy who releases games on PlayStation.
I looked at my cousin, pleading for help.
My cousin just shook his head from side to side.
His desperate expression told me just how much he had suffered at this kid's hands.
Our family's little rascal who gets whatever he wants, Cheon Gyeong-min (8).
He was following in the footsteps of Cheon Yu-min (high schooler, murderer of the limited edition Ruin Crusader figure), who had since entered middle school, in giving me a massive headache.
This one was destined for greatness.
“…Let's go to the department store in a bit, just you and me.”
“Oppa, what about me?”
“Me too!”
“I wanna go with Uncle too!”
“What, are you buying presents today?”
Playing babysitter to the kids on a holiday is tough.
But there was a reason I had to do it with humility.
“Phew, thanks to our Yeon-ho, I can finally relax this holiday.”
“It’s such a relief that he’s so mature and well-behaved.”
“What is it, a golden miss these days? I hear there are a lot of people who live coolly on their own.”
“Mother, a ‘miss’ is a woman.”
“Well, seeing as he can’t even fulfill his duties as a man, he might as well be one.”
If I didn't do something like this, I'd be tormented by my relatives' merciless "When are you getting married?" attacks.
The prototype for Hellic 5 wasn't even finished yet; I had no time to look elsewhere.
No, after we finish the modeling, do the actual playtesting, internal QA, and external alpha testing… and while we’re at it, just release the game, then I’ll think about it.
By then, I'd be at a marriageable age anyway.
In any case, now was not the time to attract unnecessary attention, so I had to handle myself well.
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll go now. Kids, let's go.”
I left the house with my nephews and cousins.
If I stayed, I'd just have to listen to my father gloating about how Seoul housing prices have skyrocketed due to the COVID pandemic, and my uncle-in-law (who's from Busan) arguing that they could crash at any moment.
And so, we arrived at the department store.
“Oppa! Can I go over there first?”
“Wow, those shoes are pretty…”
“Nintendeeeer!!!”
“They sell tablets over there!”
The greatest crisis of Cheon Yeon-ho's life had arrived, and it was then that he had a chance encounter.
“Senior?”
“Seo-rim?”
“What are you doing here, Senior?”
“What are *you* doing here?”
“I came to do some shopping, of course.”
I ran into Han Seo-rim in the luxury goods section on the first floor.
Han Seo-rim's gaze fell on the children surrounding me, and she asked.
“Relatives?”
“You guessed it.”
“Genetics are a scam.”
“Huh?”
“…Nothing.”
In any case, it was nice to see her.
* * *
The saying goes that birds hear the words of the day, and mice hear the words of the night.
And in the Cheon household, those words were heard by Cheon Mi-rae (19), Cheon Jae-hee (20), and Cheon Min-hee (20).
“But why are you out alone during the holidays?”
“We didn't get together this year. Everyone’s too busy with their own important matters.”
“Their matters are failing?”
“…Don't say that, even as a joke. My family's in the construction business.”
“…Sorry.”
“Anyway, that's why I came out to shop. I didn't expect to see you here, Senior.”
The three girls watched Yeon-ho and Seo-rim's conversation with eyes full of interest.
To them, Seo-rim was a stranger who was close to Yeon-ho.
It was enough to pique the interest of girls in their prime.
In truth, they could have learned about Seo-rim with a little digging into the company called Rewind, but the three knew nothing of the sort.
To them, Yeon-ho was just their rich uncle, a loser who got nagged at home about when he was getting married, even if he appeared on the news.
Cheon Mi-rae (19) whispered to Cheon Jae-hee (20).
“It’s that, right? That thing.”
“I think so. Look at that woman’s eyes.”
To them, looking through some mysterious filter, Seo-rim's eyes were filled with hearts.
The same went for Yeon-ho's eyes.
Could it be that the two of them liked each other?
Seeing as they called each other senior and junior, they must have hidden their feelings for a long time….
“Kyaa!”
It was perfect fodder for gossip.
And it was actually a pretty heart-fluttering setup.
Above all, wasn't Seo-rim, at first glance, a rather stunning beauty?
To the girls standing on the threshold of adulthood, Seo-rim was an ‘adult woman’ who made them want to see her as a role model.
Of course, that was on the condition that they were unaware of Seo-rim's bizarre behavior at the office or the havoc she wreaked in online communities.
“What the heck, Uncle acted like he had nothing to do with women!”
“He had a plan all along! So sneaky!”
“Noona! My Nintender…”
“Quiet! This is an important moment!”
Even as the three of them made a fuss, the conversation between the two continued.
“Right. It's been a while since you bought new clothes, Senior. Since we ran into each other, I'll help you pick some out. Follow me.”
“It's only been two years.”
“You should buy clothes more often. Why don't you dress up when you look perfectly fine? Especially when you have so much money.”
“Seo-rim, the clothes there are expensive…”
“Not for you, Senior. Oh, and please stop spilling ramen broth on clothes like this.”
The atmosphere of her naturally buying clothes for Yeon-ho was established.
The kids, who until a moment ago had been wondering what to ask for, quietly followed behind the two.
“Senior, try this one and this one on.”
“You're going to let me go quickly today, right?”
“Depends on how you do, Senior.”
The fuss grew even louder.
“The atmosphere is insane…!”
“Aren't they actually dating? How can they not be dating when they're like that? Does that even make sense? Fucking hell, does it?”
“Don't use such strong language. It makes you look weak.”
“Shut up, Cheon Yu-min.”
It was then.
The conversation that pushed the girls' imaginations to their absolute limit took place.
“Senior, what would you do about clothes without me?”
“I know, right? I'd probably just buy whatever.”
“Ugh, you're impossible.”
“You should just take responsibility and pick them for me.”
“It's you who should take responsibility for me, Senior. After working me this hard, shouldn't you repay me for the rest of your life?”
“I said I'd take responsibility.”
Responsibility, lifetime, after working me this hard.
Fireworks went off in their heads.
In that instant, their fingers were already sending a text.
[Cheon Mi-rae: Emergency, Uncle has a girlfriend]
[Mom: Huh?]
And that's how the incident began.
* * *
Suddenly, I got a text from my mom.
[Mom: What are you doing not bringing her over?]
???