Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Gather Around, Warmth Monster's Forest (5)
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“The brave adventurer Kim Pokttal shows mercy to the evil sorcerer Iqudraus. The four adventurers who set out with such spirit decide to pack their bags and head back to the village. The World Tree's rampage will continue onward. Even the kingdom's glorious history will one day be buried beneath the World Tree's roots and return to dust. Is that all right?”
“I'm fine with it. I got to shine, so who cares.”
“Me too. We gathered a ton of expensive plants, so heading back to the village for a rags-to-riches ending sounds great.”
“If we just bury those two bastards here, I'm all for it.”
“Then... we really don't have to roll the dice?”
We all nodded at Dahye's question.
The gold monkeys and the warmth monster had been bawling their eyes out just moments ago, leaving their eyes all red and puffy.
A proper adult might've found Dahye's tears adorable and laughed it off.
Or just comforted her simply.
But they synced right up with her and wailed uncontrollably.
I knew why.
Because we're shitty game addicts.
Billion Saga is an eight-year-old game.
Patches come slow, and there are hardly any new players.
The beginner village is a ghost town, and the vets swarm any noobs that show up, fighting over who gets to carry them.
About a month ago, a neighboring game called Vitera shut down its servers.
It used to be a rival to Billion Saga, so we all piled in to cause a ruckus as a group.
But once we got in, we couldn't even chat—we just stood there stunned and ended up leaving.
An empty city.
Even after the server shutdown news spread across the community, only about fifty users showed up.
The eerie silence mixed with that pointlessly upbeat BGM stirred up emotions too complex to describe.
We mingled among them, eavesdropping on the old-timers' reminiscences.
The countdown began,
the GM's thank-you message popped up on screen,
and then black screen.
Just like that, one world vanished.
Back home, no one mentioned Vitera.
We'd all felt the same shock, probably.
Vitera was an MMORPG too, so it must've started out brimming with endless adventures.
But as long as it's run by people, every MMORPG meets its end someday.
A garbage ending with zero logic, players getting screwed, and no one happy.
Vitera's demise wasn't some distant news to us.
Someday Billion Saga's servers would shut down too, and all our memories would fade to black.
That's why even we old fogeys could bawl alongside Dahye.
We're all waiting for an unwanted finale.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With everyone watching, Dahye folded up the playmat and stowed it in its box.
Clutching the dice tight in her fist.
Yeah, good girl.
Let the kingdom rot for all we care.
What we need isn't some grand ending—it's this endless piece-of-shit game.
“Ah~ That was fun.”
“Really... It was so, so much fun I lost track of time... Let's do it again next time!”
“Group sessions are the best, right? So don't bail when I call you all out.”
“Yay~ The orc porter worked hard running errands. Being carried by a thief probably wasn't much fun, though.”
“Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter declines to lay out a blanket. The three adventurers meet their end on the cold stone floor. The entire kingdom cheers at Linentrauzer's death.”
“You must've had a blast, huh?”
Yeah, hate to admit it, but it was way more fun than I expected.
Even now, with the World Tree Labyrinth packed away, I could picture it.
What went through Sorcerer Iqudraus's mind right before dying,
seeing the adventurers suddenly drop their boulder and pack up to leave.
Probably hit with a massive reality check and reformed on the spot.
Still, I hoped he'd stick around the dungeon forever, tormenting the next batch of adventurers.
The girls spread blankets in the living room to play Billion Saga on their laptops.
Not bad stamina for 3 a.m.
And Dahye pillowed her head on Monkey's lap, hugging Dinosaur tight, blinking sleepily.
Still buzzing from the adventure? She kept staring into space with her laptop right in front of her.
But...
Watching her like this was pissing me off for some reason.
Park Dahye, you thief... You hog my lap whenever you feel like it.
And now you're casually leaning on someone else's?
I knew this jealousy was ugly, but right now, I just wanted to low-kick Monkey's thigh hard.
That's when Monkey glared and said,
“What're you staring at? Go sleep.”
“I'm heading in now, you hag. Ease up on the game and put Dahye to bed.”
“Oh yeah? Not dating, my ass—why butt in? Daddy issues? Whine all you want, I'm not giving up Dahye, so sleep alone tonight.”
“That's what your husband always tells you, huh?”
“I'll kill you for real.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I shut the door and flopped onto the bed.
All day the house rang with noise, but finally, some peace.
One drink and ten hours of sitting left my body deliciously heavy.
But no matter how tired, I wouldn't sleep.
Over three weeks of bunking with Dahye had ruined me—I'd forgotten how to sleep alone.
Is this dependency?
Come to think of it, I shouldn't be worrying about Dahye.
If she vanishes after I've gotten this sweet fix, how the hell will I sleep?
Haa...
I really didn't want to go to the hospital, but I might need to book a sleep clinic.
Gotta start rehab training now for the end that's coming someday.
I lay there eyes open, letting time pass.
Keyboard clacks.
Murmured voices and laughter drifting from beyond the door.
Somehow, just listening lifted my mood.
Like the four-person journey had ended, but the epilogue kept rolling on endlessly.
I listened to those laughs until the sky outside turned blue,
then got up when they faded.
Time to make breakfast.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Breakfast was jjamppong.
A spicy seafood brew loaded with mixed shellfish and mussels, served with a bowl of rice.
The gold monkeys, waking up around noon like starved mutts after three days without food, shoveled it down greedily.
“Whoa~ This hits the spot. Kwon Seonghyeon, you got taste, dude?”
“Really clears out the gut... I never order from Chinese places, but I kept craving your jjamppong.”
“Oppa, I'll come here when I'm hungry. Way better than any restaurant.”
“Ditch Monkey and Chicken, and it's free. Oh, and a thousand won mental distress fee every time you say 'sex.'”
“Here.”
Aka whipped a thousand-won bill from her wallet onto the table and
opened breakfast with “Sex!”
Somehow, today felt like it'd be a lewd one.
Who to blame? My own loose lips.
“Dahye-ya, tasty?”
“Yeah! I felt like puking, but this settled everything.”
“It'll go down even more once those two leave.”
Then Monkey butted in again.
“Oh yeah? You don't know how much fun we had without you last night?”
“How could I not? You were so loud all night I couldn't sleep.”
“Wasn't because Dahye wasn't there? Maybe I should just kidnap her to my place for real. Got spare rooms—whaddya say, Dahye? Wanna come live with me?”
Obviously a joke, but my eyes flicked to Dahye anyway.
Maybe because I'd seen her so comfy on Monkey's lap last night.
But my worry was for nothing—her reflexive reply shot out.
“I like it way better here... Sorry, unnie!”
Good job, Park Dahye.
That's my retriever.
No hangover, but my gut felt perfectly settled anyway.
We finished breakfast and saw off the gold monkeys.
“Bye. And don't come back.”
“Sure, we'll be here every week now. Monkey, schedule more sessions.”
And Aka grabbed our hands, saying,
“Cars rust fast, so have one drink a day! Got it?”
“Thanks, it was great. See you next time.”
“Take care! You know to text, Dahye?”
“Yeah! Bye!”
Slam.
The door shut, and peace finally returned.
Dahye and I looked at each other, then grinned and high-fived wordlessly.
Finally... group session success!
Despite all my fretting, Dahye's face held only lingering reluctance.
She'd made friends and scored an art teacher—huge wins.
Come to think of it, Aka did it all.
Monkey and Chicken are totally useless.
Then Dahye pointed at Aka's tea set and said,
“Seonghyeon-ah, can I open this?”
“Yeah. Was gonna clean up, but let's have some tea first and take it slow.”
“Okay!”
Dahye opened the tea set, but no teapot or cups inside.
Just a bunch of little boxes spilling out.
Hmm... Figures.
Aka's age, and tea as a gift? Seemed off.
She prepared the same kinda crap.
Embarrassed as hell for saying we'd have tea first.
“Seonghyeon-ah, what's this? No teacups?”
Dahye innocently opened one box and pulled out the contents.
Then her ears went beet red as she slammed it shut.
What else? Condoms, duh.
I got Aka's desperate hopes, but someday I'd return them.
Only way to curb the sex maniac proliferation.
“Give that to me. Cleaning first.”
“Seonghyeon-ah, clean later—sleep first. You didn't sleep.”
True, she had a point.
Push through now and crash late, I'd toss and turn again, ruin tomorrow's work.
But seeing the condoms, why did “just sleep” sound so dirty?
Now I got how we must look to others.
I let her drag me to bed, burying my face in Dahye's chest.
A familiar scent.
Just one night apart, and her body smell hit me like crazy nostalgia.
I needed rehab training.
Worries flooded in.
Could I cut off this sweet honey myself?
When the end came, I'd have to toss the dice like a grown-up.
But this scent weakened my resolve endlessly.
[I can't throw it... I don't want it to end...]
Dahye's voice echoed in my ear.
I wished I were just nine years younger.
Then I could've shamelessly bawled, thrown a fit, snatched the dice, and run.
But as an adult, nowhere to flee.
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