Vol 1 Ch 18

Quite a few people were sitting under the parasols in front of the 24-hour convenience store. As soon as we entered, we headed to the liquor section to browse the selection.

 

The variety of beers available was as diverse as the cigarettes displayed at the convenience store counter. In particular, there were many imported beers and promotions like four cans for ten thousand won, making it fun to choose. I was carefully examining something new I wanted to try when I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck.

 

“Estonian beer is delicious.”

 

It seemed Jun was trying to whisper in my ear, but as I took a step to the side, my shoulder brushed against his chest. Feeling awkward, I tried to move to the other side, but his hand wrapped around my waist, then slid down to my hip. I could feel his fingers fumbling.

 

“I like you.”

 

“Wh-what?”

 

Jun, leaning heavily against my back as if I might collapse, picked up a dark beer and grinned.

 

Even though he wasn’t talking to me, I felt inexplicably embarrassed. Jun’s usual cold tone, which always carried a chill, felt loose and humid, perhaps due to the alcohol. Perhaps it was the alcohol too, but my face flushed the moment I heard those words.

 

“That, ahaha. That’s great. That. Wait a minute, what should we get for snacks?”

 

I twisted my body and walked to the other side, wanting to escape his embrace quickly. I saw Bin standing by the display of hot bars and lunch boxes.

 

“Doseon, pick whatever you want.”

 

“This one is enough for me.”

 

I picked up a single string cheese stick. Bin then grabbed three more and handed them to me.

 

“Eat more.”

 

Just then, Jun approached and took the entire package of string cheese.

 

“I like these too. Just buy them all.”

 

Even if he wasn’t paying, was it okay to just grab whatever he wanted? The cost of snacks exceeded the cost of beer. We paid for two bags and came out with our hands full. Then, Jun snatched the bag I was carrying.

 

“That’s ridiculous. You’re not carrying the bag of the person who paid, but carrying Doseon’s bag.”

 

“He looks frail, obviously.”

 

That’s not true. I’m not frail.

 

I wanted to say, ‘You’re just excessively fit, I have a standard Korean physique’, but I held back. We had been bickering like enemies at the Hanwoo place earlier, and I didn’t want to create that atmosphere again.

 

Jun had said I could stay over, but I intended to leave if I felt like it. Even at a close friend’s house, sleeping always felt uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because the pillow wasn’t mine, but it wasn’t comfortable.

 

I was simply curious about the interior. Who knows, maybe the building would go on the market later, and other real estate agents wouldn’t get to see his place, so it was good to take a look now. And the string cheese in that bag… I also had an ambition to sneak one or two out if possible.

 

I saw a familiar alley and my real estate office, which was closed. Then, we walked into Jun’s building, a place I would only enter for errands. Although their tone was still a bit sharp, the atmosphere between them had softened considerably compared to before. As we all got into the elevator, their conversation became clearer.

 

“I thought you were the bottom.”

 

“What? Do you have no eyes?”

 

They were getting heated, mixing in more incomprehensible words. Then, Jun pointed at me.

 

“Guys who look exactly like that are often the bottom. He has a pretty face. He looks younger than 28.”

 

“Hmm… I guess. His body is petite too. Just looking at his neck, his skin is so fair…”

 

They were whispering about my inner skin.

 

Is it even whispering when the person next to you can hear everything? What is this? Why are they suddenly commenting on my appearance? Pretty and fair-skinned! I don’t know exactly what ‘bottom’ means, but in this situation, it doesn’t sound like a good thing.

 

They looked down at me as if to say, The culprit is that guy. Even though I had done nothing wrong, I felt intimidated and instinctively shrank back.

 

Jun and Bin’s gazes clung to every inch of my body. Moreover, Jun glanced down at me and licked his lips. His tongue, red and moist like raw meat, disappeared lusciously into his mouth. Bin didn’t make such an overt gesture, but his usually gentle gaze had darkened, exuding a silent atmosphere.

 

Ding.

 

As the elevator reached the 7th floor and the doors opened, they got off, still chatting amiably. Sensing an unknown crisis, I stepped out a beat later than them.

 

Should I… run?

 

Instinctively, I pressed the button for the 1st floor. The elevator doors were slowly closing.

 

Yes. You shouldn’t ignore instincts like this. Absolutely.

 

As the doors slowly closed, I saw Jun stop opening the front door and look back. He saw me still in the elevator and urgently reached out, but his arm didn’t reach the door.

 

Clack.

 

The elevator doors closed, and I saw the floor numbers decreasing: 5th, 3rd. I couldn’t forget Jun’s desperate expression just as the doors were closing. My heart started pounding as if I were being chased by something.

 

What was that…?

 

It was the face of a hunter who had lost his prey.

 

That’s right. Jun was gay. No, but I’m not at all into that… Did he see me as prey? He’s so picky about looks! Before reaching the 1st floor, I checked my reflection in the elevator mirror.

 

Well, a rabbit doesn’t choose its prey based on looks either.

 

I shuddered and left the building. I thought it might be because he was drunk. Sometimes, when you drink, your libido rises, right? I thought Jun, being gay, could experience that.

 

Jing— Jing—

 

As soon as I left the building, Jun called. I felt it would be more awkward not to answer, so I picked up and vaguely explained that I just wanted to rest at home, but I heard his threatening tone.

 

[Come back. You have to drink beer before you go.]

 

“I don’t feel well, so I’m going to leave today.”

 

[…You ran away knowing, didn’t you?]

 

I wasn’t sure exactly, but I felt uneasy saying I ran away knowing. If you say you knew the witness was a murderer, it’s like you’re saying you were destined to be murdered.

 

“Ah, the bus is here!”

 

So, I quickly hung up, using the excuse of a bus that wasn’t even coming.

 

“Remember what Hanwoo said? Be careful of people who buy you beef. He said pure intentions only go as far as pork.”

 

Hanwoo’s words were accurate. Even after I hung up, Jun called again. Of course, I didn’t answer. I could just say I was drunk and passed out.

 

–

 

“Haa……”

 

After finally making it home, I lay on my bed and thought about the situation again.

 

Jun’s face as he desperately tried to catch the elevator came to me like a nightmare. It felt like ShutUp was trying to link with me, just like in the game.

 

Thinking about the game, I sat up. My drunkenness had worn off from the shock earlier, and now that I was home, I felt even more alert. It was Friday evening, and tomorrow was a day off from real estate, so there was no problem playing games late into the night.

 

“If I log in now, ShutUp won’t be there.”

 

I had already broken up our partnership, so I couldn’t see him anyway, but I was just conscious of it. I got out of my room, drank some water, and sat on the sofa, put on my headset, and logged into the game.

 

<<Welcome to Blood Planet.>>

 

<<Moving to your last login point.>>

 

As soon as I logged in, my level had indeed dropped to 45. It felt like I was constantly losing, the more I played the game, the lower my level became.

 

Getting involved with high-level players only leads to trouble, so I should just hunt.

 

My login point was the center of the lake where I had died yesterday. It was a pavilion, and below the lake, the eel-like creatures that had attacked me yesterday were swimming leisurely.

 

Yesterday, ShutUp had used a return scroll to go to the village. The banner was indeed down. It was difficult to find party members of a similar level in this adventurer’s village. So, I had no choice but to move to Velvet Town, a level 40 hunting ground.

 

<<Moving to ‘Velvet Town’.>>

 

If the adventurer’s village was like a medieval rural village with cobblestone streets and single-story buildings, Velvet Town had quite high walls and many shops. There were also individual shops in the plaza, and unusually, there were guard NPCs at the entrance of the town.

 

As is typical for game settings, there were many European-style buildings. I thought the game, Blood Planet, would have an SF background, but it was just a landscape similar to other games. Still, being virtual reality, it felt like traveling in Europe.

 

Donkeys and dogs roamed the alleyways. Upon closer inspection, I saw them picking up random items that users had dropped on the ground. They seemed like robot vacuums created by the developers to prevent the ground from getting dirty.

 

In the middle of Velvet Town, there was a fountain and an open-air theater. Sometimes events were held here, or GMs gathered to chat with users.

 

Party boards were placed throughout the town, allowing users without a party to post their profiles and find companions. I also added [Relax Skill Holder] to the special notes on my profile.

 

Looking around, I saw many guides waiting. Typically, parties were formed with three Psychics and one Guide, so even with many Psychic users, the turns came around evenly.

 

I sat on a bench next to the bulletin board and watched people pass by. Then, a user shot an arrow at a wandering donkey. The donkey fell and dropped random items, including many potions.

 

‘Huh? You can hunt those?’

 

Because in the adventurer’s village, users ran around noisily, using their skills freely, but the wandering chickens didn’t die. Something felt strange, so I looked around. There were many more users than in the adventurer’s village, but no one was using their skills carelessly in town.

 

“Could it be… that PK is possible even within the town?”

 

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

Someone plopped down next to me and answered my monologue. Above his head, it read [Son of Wind Kim Taepung].

 

“Are you a beginner who just started? You seem to have only been in the adventurer’s village?”

 

“Uh, uh. But if PK is possible… why isn’t anyone attacking each other?”

 

“See that?”

 

He pointed to a guard NPC with a bewildered expression. The sleepy-eyed guard had a shabby bow strapped to his back. The only thing he did occasionally was turn his head or look into his quiver, standing still like a statue.

 

“Why would a guard matter?”

 

“If you PK within the town, you become a Chaos character. Your user ID turns red. Then these guards attack, and even though they look frail, most are instantly killed by a single arrow.”

 

The motto of Blood Planet was to create an environment where PK was possible anywhere. They adjusted all towns to allow PK, but provided these control mechanisms.

 

If you get angry, you can kill your opponent. However, the point was to avoid the guards’ eyes. In fact, if you ventured too deep into town, you were often ambushed by those hiding in alleys.

 

If you become a Chaos character, you can lower your stats through hunting to return to normal. However, most Chaos characters, when they go to hunting grounds, become targets for multiple users. This is because Chaos characters drop double the items when they die.

 

“Wasn’t that guard intentionally placed here? For a beginner, you’re lucky to be in a plaza like this.”

 

Most people don’t read the product manual even when buying something new. Similarly, they didn’t read the game rules in detail before starting. Therefore, they didn’t know the existence or reason for such guards.

 

“Is that for beginners? The game is a bit friendly.”

 

“No. It was built to protect GM characters.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Sometimes GM characters would come to the open-air theater to hear suggestions or hold events, but Psychics had banded together and attacked the GMs. GMs were also one of the characters being tested, so they couldn’t be invincible. Although their attack and defense stats were significantly higher, they struggled against a large number of users.

 

Some did it for fun, while others participated because they disliked the game’s operating methods. When such an incident occurred, the developers created guard NPCs to protect the GM characters.

 

“And, they dropped items when you killed a GM.”

 

The weapon the GM was holding was very expensive, which was the root of the problem. It was true. Whether it was an event or not, people gathered whenever a GM appeared, eager for it. However, after the guard NPCs were introduced, there was a subdued atmosphere in town, but one time, even that proved useless.

 

“There are only one, two… five guards at most. No matter how fast they shoot, they can only kill five people simultaneously. But imagine dozens of Psychics attacking at once. They kill, loot, and run. So now, GMs don’t come unless it’s a special event. But they still keep the guards.”

 

They could have deployed more guards, but they kept the minimum number to encourage PK.

 

“GM appearances have become a way to increase the number of users now. People like it too. It’s like hide-and-seek or treasure hunt events. There are even some rankers who use weapons obtained from the GM. I saw one carrying a flaming ring.”

 

“Moment?”

 

“Yeah. That’s him.”

 

Just by looking, Moment’s weapon had a significant performance difference compared to other users’ weapons. Perhaps because they saw such a weapon, people seemed even more desperate.

 

<<Would you like to receive a party invitation? [Accept / Decline]>>

 

“I posted on the bulletin board, right? I’m level 50. Let’s hunt together.”

 

“Shall we?”