Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Seoul Siege Event
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Kim Bong-gu was originally a capsule room user.
Unlike his friends, he couldn't afford a personal capsule, so he started building his character at a capsule room.
That's how he met Hong Hyun-woo in New World.
They first crossed paths in Origin Village, trading barbs before getting into a huge fightand quickly becoming friends after.
Same age and similar levels, they stuck together.
He got swept up in Hong's influence and started doing dirty deeds without a second thought.
But after getting repeatedly blacklisted by Jeong Hoon, his feelings toward Hong Hyun-woo soured beyond repair.
Still, he couldn't just cut ties with a friend he'd been with this long.
Hong was the one who suggested messing with him, but Kim was the one who'd actually gone through with it.
Hey, you fucking bastard. Cross my path again, and you're dead!
But not anymore.
Kim had sincerely apologized, while that guy was still full of himself.
If he didn't cut ties here, he'd just get dragged into more dirty business.
Better to go soloit'd be way less stressful.
"You're cut off, asshole."
That was the moment their friendship shattered.
Event day.
Jeong Hoon finished getting ready and stepped into the living room.
"Heading out today?"
His mother was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"Yeah."
"Good timing. At least eat before you go."
At her words, Jeong Hoon sat down at the table.
Breakfast was his mother's signature doenjang jjigae.
The homemade miso soup, made from beans she'd fermented herself, was out of this world.
How did she make it taste like this?
It was on another level from anything else.
"Nothing beats Mom's cooking."
Jeong Hoon gave her a thumbs-up, and she beamed happily.
"Eat up. Gotta take first place again today, right?"
"I'll give it my all."
"You do that. What do they give for first?"
"A capsule."
True to the capsule room event, the top prize was a capsule.
Only the winning party got one, thoughsecond place and below got other prizes.
"Oh? You already have one, so should you aim for second?"
"Nah, first place. If I win it, you can use it, Mom."
"Me?"
"Yeah."
When the game became reality, his mom would get pulled in too.
He'd planned ahead to build up power and transfer some stats so she could hold her own.
But an extra capsule would let her jump into New World much faster.
He hoped she'd start sooner rather than later.
"Hmm... If you snag first and win a capsule, maybe I'll give it a try."
Luckily, his mom didn't view New World negatively.
Well, if she had, he wouldn't have been gaming at home in the first place.
Jeong Hoon shoveled the last spoonful into his mouth and stood up.
"Just leave it to me."
He'd make sure he took first in this capsule room tournament.
"You're here?"
Yeo Min-ji had already arrived at the capsule room entrance.
And this was thirty minutes before the agreed time.
"You're early."
"Figured I'd better be safe than sorry."
"Right? Let's head up then."
Jang Ha-jin said he'd be on time, so Jeong Hoon went inside with Yeo Min-ji first.
Even three hours before the event started, the place was packed.
'It's reserved, so just trust me.'
Thanks to Ha-jin's friendship with the owner, Lee Hyun-woo, they had spots secured.
Three empty capsules waiting.
"Welcome! Oh? Jeong Hoon? You're here?"
Lee Hyun-woo, greeting customers at the counter, spotted him.
Back when Jeong Hoon didn't have his own capsule, Lee had always been kind, so he returned the courtesy.
"Yeah. Long time. How've you been?"
"Haha, same old. But more importantly..."
Lee Hyun-woo's gaze shifted to Yeo Min-ji beside him.
Even Jeong Hoon had to admit her beauty was celebrity-tier.
Ever since they walked in, customers had been stealing glances.
"Could I get an autograph?"
He held out an A4 sheet and a pen.
New World rankers were more popular than most idols.
When Ha-jin submitted the party entry, Lee had been floored seeing her name.
At first he thought it was just a coincidence, but the level and class next to it confirmed it was her.
"Sure."
Yeo Min-ji took the pen like it was nothing and scrawled her signature.
Under her distinctive mark, she added the capsule room's name in small letters.
"Thanks!"
Lee Hyun-woo's mouth stretched into a huge grin as he checked it.
A ranker visiting his shop!
What better advertising could there be?
And as if on cue, customers swarmed her.
"Yeo Min-ji! Photo please!"
"A ranker here! What an honor!"
"Wow! It's really her!"
"You're too pretty... I'm in love!"
Yeo Min-ji mouthed an apology to Jeong Hoon.
She'd planned to slip straight into a capsule, but things had spiraled.
"Alright, that's enough! No photos in the capsule room!"
Lee Hyun-woo stepped in to shoo them off.
"What?! Why not?"
"Come on, a quick pic can't hurt!"
The customers protested, but Lee had no intention of treating them like royalty.
"Don't like it? Hit the road. I'll cancel your event slots too."
It was the kind of line only someone not desperate for cash could drop.
"......"
In the end, the crowd backed down under his firm stance.
"Thanks."
Yeo Min-ji thanked him.
"Just doing the obvious. Now, let me show you to your spots!"
Lee Hyun-woo led Jeong Hoon and Yeo Min-ji to the empty capsules.
"I'll head in first."
Perhaps self-conscious of the stares, Yeo Min-ji logged in right away.
As her capsule door sealed shut, Lee Hyun-woo sidled up to Jeong Hoon.
"So, how'd you end up buddies with Yeo Min-ji?"
"Not buddiesmore like we ran into each other by chance. She didn't have an event partner, so we teamed up."
"Whoa... that's insane."
Lee Hyun-woo kept marveling nonstop.
He'd never dreamed a ranker would show up at his shop for an event.
"Anyway, I'm logging in too. When Ha-jin gets here, tell him to connect ASAP."
"Got it."
Autobahn Square.
Kim Bong-gu was waiting there for Jeong Hoon.
"You're here!"
Spotting him, he snapped to attention and bellowed a salute.
Drawing stares from all around.
"What? Lv141 saluting a Lv104? Heh heh."
"And to a plain Martial Artist?"
"Pfft...! Nickname's a riot too. 'YourMomFuckedTheNation' or whatever."
The jeers and mockery rang out loud and clear, but Kim Bong-gu didn't bat an eye.
All his focus was locked on Jeong Hoon.
'Mess with him, and you're dead.'
Some people in this world you just didn't touch.
The ones with no backing.
The ones who bit down and never let go.
Jeong Hoon looked like the latter.
The type who'd crush you with raw poweror find some way to hit back twice as hard.
Absolutely untouchable.
"Right. Event entry done?"
"Of course!"
Not wanting to piss off Jeong Hoon again, he'd submitted it the second he logged out that day.
"Good. Accept the party invite."
"Yes sir! ...Uh, just the two of us?"
"Nah, two more coming."
A moment later, Yeo Min-ji appeared.
"Sorry, I ran a bit late?"
She'd logged in earlier than Jeong Hoon, but guild business had held her up.
"Y-Yeo... Min-ji...?"
Kim Bong-gu's pupils shook wildly at the sight of her.
Why was the number one Korean Martial Artist rankernumber 286 overallhere?
"No worries. She's our party member for the event."
Jeong Hoon clapped a hand on Kim Bong-gu's shoulder.
He jolted to his senses and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"Kim Bong-gu here! The nickname's just a joke, so please don't get the wrong idea..."
"Ah, sure."
She gave a curt nod without even glancing his way.
She'd already heard why he'd joined the party.
Hard to look favorably on that.
Faced with her ice-cold demeanor, Kim Bong-gu shut his mouth, face burning.
"Sorry! I late?"
Ha-jin arrived next, completing the four-man party.
NPC Information
-Nickname: Lingling
-Level: 700
-Job: Event NPC
Jeong Hoon approached the event NPC in the square.
It was Lingling, the one he'd seen before.
"Oh, you again?"
She recognized him instantly.
No surprise there.
He'd beaten her in their bet and walked off with a ton of Heavenly Energy.
"Yeah. Didn't expect to see you here."
Jeong Hoon grinned.
"Hehe, glad I'm handling the Korean server. Figured you'd show up again."
"Why? Up for another bet?"
"You catch on quick."
Lingling's lips curved into a big smile.
Exactly what Jeong Hoon wanted.
'I'm not here just for the capsule.'
Why was this event called the First Chaos?
The penalty for failing to defend the base.
That penalty slowly poisoned the whole world, and people only realized later it came from New World.
'Mom suffered because of it too.'
The penalty was a disaster.
Various calamities hit, and fire struck his mom.
A quarter of her body scarred from burns.
She said she was fine, but watching it tore Jeong Hoon apart.
He'd change that history this time.
'Defense failure.'
The global event had ended in total failureno successes anywhere.
Jeong Hoon would pull it off.
"So, what're the bet terms?"
"Simple. Succeed in the siege defense, and I'll toss in an extra 5 Heavenly Energy."
"5... Deal."
"Hm? No haggling for more?"
"Nope."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Lingling's face.
The siege was no joke difficulty-wise.
His goal was to rewrite history, so he had to nail it.
"Welp, can't force ya. Send you over now?"
"Yeah."
"Good luck then. Fighting!"
She snapped her fingers.
You have entered Event Base: Seoul.
1 hour 48 minutes until event start.
Users participating in the event, please prepare.
Time remaining until start: 1 hour 48 minutes
Results based on contribution will be announced after the event ends.
The event backdrop was Seoul.
Tailored to the Korean server, players from each region were tasked with defending their home turf.
"What? Seoul out of nowhere?"
"We sieging here or what?"
Early arrivals wandered around, eyes wide with wonder.
Apartments and skyscrapers were rendered at 100 accuracy to the current dateno ants stirring except for players.
"Where's this?"
"Road."
Jeong Hoon's party spawned smack in the middle of a street.
Countless cars parked along it, all eerily empty.
Just set dressing.
"Wonder why Seoul for the backdrop?"
New World was a medieval Europe game.
Sudden shift to modern city? Questions were natural.
"Dunno. Hop in the car."
"The car?"
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon slid into the driver's seat.
Ha-jin took shotgun, Yeo Min-ji and Kim Bong-gu in back.
Everyone buckled in, and Jeong Hoon started the engine.
"Where we headed?"
"Namsan."
"Hm? Why make that our base?"
Ha-jin had siege experience.
He knew how crucial the base was.
"Central on the map."
"Huh...?"
The event was a siege defense.
Meaning: protect Seoul.
Monsters would pour out focused on Namsan.
If they broke through Namsan, defending the base was impossible.
Building damage directly drained base defense.
Ah, fuck. Normal sieges have gates on the outskirts. Why center and screw us?
-Who'd guess monster waves from Namsan.
Lol yeah, wiped in 30 min.
How block monsters toppling buildings?
Real siege war.
Jeong Hoon parked haphazardly in the Namsan lot and got out.
"Base here's the plan?"
"Yeah."
"Waves don't spawn inside bases. Outskirts make more sense..."
Everyone had thought the same and rushed the edges.
Outskirts held ironclad by players.
But that choice doomed the base in under an hour.
"Did it say a word about monsters coming from outside?"
"...No. Nothing like that."
Siege event: defend base from monsters.
Waves incoming.
Not a peep about waves being external.
"Exactly. Center's possible too, right?"
"But..."
"Let's watch for now."
His firm tone shut Yeo Min-ji up.
Remaining time: 0 hours 1 minute
Time ticked down to event start.
Jeong Hoon, Ha-jin, and Yeo Min-ji climbed Namsan to wait; Kim Bong-gu hauled barricades below to seal the entrance.
"This good?"
He wiped sweat from his brow, checking his setup.
Barricades bought pre-event from the achievement shop.
'Get these ready like I said.'
Jeong Hoon's orders.
"But seriously, waves here?"
No precedent for waves spawning base-center.
Doubts were fair.
Still, outskirts swarmed with others, so center guard duty got nods.
1st Monster Wave commencing.
Event kicked offand a massive gate ripped open atop Namsan.
"Uh...?"
Kim Bong-gu's eyes bulged like saucers.
Just like Jeong Hoon predicted: waves from Namsan.