101

Title: From Game to Reality Episode 101

Chapter 26: Incident (3)

"Wha... what? This can't be real, it must be a joke, right?"

At first, Veltor thought the enormous bounty on himself was a joke. [Black Dragon_Penny] But seeing that the account posting this was the guild master of the Black Dragon guild, he couldn't dismiss it as a joke. Unlike posts from unknown low-level players, if it was from him, a leader of a massive guild and a renowned ranker, it had to be credible. Clearly, the person he had killed must have had dealings with the Black Dragon guild, perhaps the guild master was acting as their representative. Thanks to that, the post garnered explosive attention.

Pastel Blue: Whoa, seriously? Is this for real? -Black Dragon_Penny: It's true. We PK'd someone who was dealing with our guild and got away with items worth billions.

King_LapisLazuli: Still, it's hard to trust this amount, isn't it? -Black Dragon_Penny: It's the real deal, staking our guild's reputation. Can't you see the balance verification? -King_LapisLazuli: Well, even if there's verification, the amount posted is outrageous. -Black Dragon_Penny: That person is a noble. A noble with a title, I heard. If you're just going to blab nonsense, get lost. Don't spark unnecessary fires.

Tarnis_Earwig: Still, since it's posted by a huge guild, we can't outright deny it. I believe it. I've heard rumors that Black Dragon has recently PK'd someone. -Tarnis_Nosewig: Yeah, I've heard of it. -Tarnis_Mouthwig: The person leasing exclusive hunting grounds? -Black Dragon_Penny: Where did you guys hear that? Give me the source. -Tarnis_Nosewig: Source? Isn't it already known by everyone? Looks like even PK offenders are stirred up by those rumors? Even famous rankers were showing interest, turning the post into a sensation in no time. Within an hour of its posting, the views had reached 300,000. By this point, Veltor was starting to feel uneasy. "But, even if they're a noble, they must be exaggerating to some extent." In his mind, he wanted to think it was just an empty threat. But... Considering the value of the items he had acquired twice through PK, he couldn't just ignore it. If the noble indeed had a cash asset of tens of trillions like an authentication claimed, it meant they were beyond powerful. Such a person, if they set their mind to it, could easily find someone through the information guild. "How many people know my information in the game?" He calmed his wildly beating heart and organized his thoughts. Luckily, he didn't have many friends, and among the few, none played Chronicle Online. However, there was one person. Someone he had become close to in the game, who happened to live in the same area as him, and whom he had revealed his real name to. Though they had become friends in the game, he considered them a reasonably trustworthy person, someone who wouldn't fit the profile of someone behind this mysterious post. But... That was just wishful thinking on his part. How many people could resist such a huge sum of money?

Kars: Excuse me, me! I have information on Rokuran users! -Black Dragon_FishSteamer: Yes, please send a message. As he read the comments and saw people offering to sell information, he had to suppress a groan. "Should I confess and apologize now? Will they forgive me if I admit my mistake?" "No, no way. Nobles are... you see them in movies, they're all villains and scum. There's no way they'd understand." Veltor, unaware that to some, he was the villain. Nevertheless, by this point, he couldn't deny that he had stirred up trouble with someone he shouldn't have. Wrapping his head in his hands, amidst various thoughts, he suddenly had a good idea. "Yeah, I'm at risk of getting caught anyway. Selling information is aiding a crime. Even if the game company turns a blind eye to players, they wouldn't ignore criminal activity." He quickly dialed the customer service number of the game company. Luckily, it wasn't hard to get through. [Thank you for calling. This is the World Games Customer Service. How can I assist you?] "Um, hello. I have a request regarding Chronicle Online." [To confirm, could you please provide your username?] "Veltor." [...Yes, Veltor. How can I assist you?]

"Someone is publicly seeking my information on the community right now. It's clearly an attempt to intimidate me, and I don't think ignoring such criminal behavior is the right thing to do."

"Are you asking for the removal of that post?"

"Yes!"

"Understood. We will contact you again after taking action. Can we reach you at the provided terminal number?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Fortunately, the consultation result was satisfactory. The consultant accepted his request without any resistance.

Sephiros: Hey, hey, I just found Veltor's contact! But Veltor forgot something. Naturally, he thought the game company, which he considered neutral, was ultimately run by people, and the customer service employees, who could be considered the weakest link, were not highly satisfied in their jobs as they belonged to a subcontractor. He had given his information to someone he thought wouldn't care whether they were laid off from the company if they had a chance to get a fortune. -Black Dragon_Penny: Send me a message. Once the information is confirmed, we'll deposit the payment immediately. What Veltor needed to be cautious of wasn't just his acquaintances. "This... woman?" Even after the contact with the customer service ended, the post didn't disappear, and upon confirming the comment attached to it, he paled. "What the hell is going on? It doesn't make sense to react like this just because I was PK'd twice. And how did they figure out my phone number just from my ID?" He said it bravely, but when he came to his senses, he found himself sorting out his items, exchanging the money he had obtained, and packing his belongings in his studio apartment. -Ding dong. About ten minutes had passed since a comment offering his information was posted on the community. Suddenly, the doorbell of his studio apartment rang loudly. "What's this?" It was too soon to take action logically. Therefore, instead of fearing that the user had 'come,' Veltor had to express doubt. He glanced at the face of the person who came to find him through the intercom. "Huh?" Veltor unwittingly uttered a foolish exclamation. It was as if the intercom was projecting the face of a celebrity, casting their face in a TV-like manner. -Kwaaang! And unbelievably, as if from a scene in a movie, his front door burst open with a loud noise. Despite the unreality of the scene, he blinked as he saw the thick iron door fly off due to the impact and hit the opposite wall. "We found you, Veltor." The person who revealed himself next was a young man with a head of gray hair that would even make a man look handsome. "Why is Adrian Lawrence in my room...?" To his question, the intruder with the gray hair, Adrian Lawrence, replied, showing his middle finger. "I'm Min Gi. You bastard." "...." For a moment, Veltor, who couldn't understand his words, cocked his head.

I've heard stories of people getting excited while playing games on Earth and ending up with nosebleeds. Every time, I could only shake my head, saying there was nothing I could do, but now that I've experienced something absurd, I could understand their feelings a hundred times over. Although having activities in the game directly affecting reality is different, they were just as sincere about the game. So, based on the information I obtained, I ordered Blue Moon to capture those individuals, and I even went as far as personally capturing and bringing back Veltor, who had experienced death twice. Thus, there were ten men standing before me. I scratched my forehead as I looked down at them. "P-please spare us, Lord Fuchak." "We just fell for Veltor's trick." "If we had known that our target was Lord Fuchak, we would never have done such a crazy thing." "T-that's right. It's all Veltor's fault." "We will return all the money we received. No, we'll even add interest." They begged earnestly while bowing deeply. Moreover, some of them even cried, burying their heads deeply into the ground. Their ages ranged from their early twenties to their forties. It was natural for them to show such reactions. No matter how advanced the technology, Rondelle was fundamentally a class-based society, and the infamous reputation of nobles among the commoners was sky-high. To the commoners, nobles were truly celestial beings. With just one word, they could kill them. "First, delete your accounts. I don't want to see you wandering around Chronicle Online again." I handed them each a virtual reality headset and gave instructions. "B-but if we sell the items in our accounts, we'll have money to compensate...." "Just delete them." Although these people had devoted everything to the game, when I asked them if they objected, they all obediently deleted their accounts. Thus, they lost their characters that had been cherished for a moment's wrong decision. "Hey, full name." This wasn't the end. Since the senses of the game and reality were shared, the pain I felt while being targeted by them was considerable. While it might have been a joke to them, I experienced the pain of death twice. I asked Veltor. He, with a vacant expression, trembled and answered. "Ian Cliff." "Age." "I'm thirty years old." "Occupation." "I'm... preparing for the civil service exam."

In other words, "공시생" means being publicly announced, which implies being unemployed.

"Do you really ask your parents for money at that age?"

"I'm sorry."

"You should apologize to your parents."

Although I was angry and brought them here, what should I do with these guys? Just killing them off is a bit excessive, but torture doesn't fit my image either. Should I just keep them imprisoned in the underground jail like this? As I pondered over and over, I snapped my fingers. Most of them were unemployed and insignificant individuals. Well, if they were proper people, they wouldn't be thinking about making money through PK anyway. So, I decided to show them some mercy. "I will personally provide you with jobs." Worried that it might be a scam, they all reacted strangely when I said I would give them jobs. "Wow!" "P-please spare us!" "We admit our fault!" The reactions were extremely intense. Some of them who were shedding tears cried like children, and those who begged for mercy banged their heads on the floor. "After all, it's where people live. And since there's a king, work hard." Even the absent-minded Veltor eventually begged for forgiveness. I nodded with satisfaction. Apparently, the name "Assassin Guild" brought about considerable fear. "I won't really let them die. But I'll have to use some persuasion until they're about to die." For the families suffering because of these incompetent guys, I need to toughen up a bit. "I'm leaving." With that, I left the underground prison where I had gathered them without any lingering attachments. If it were Earth, this would be considered kidnapping and confinement, but being a noble seems convenient in many ways.

["I'm quitting my job! The money has been deposited for real!"] ["Wow! Thank you! Thank you! I'll live happily!"] ["Black Dragon Guild's public request review!"]

Peshullian: Wow, seriously? -OhhToday: Crazy... There really was a water bear guild in the Black Dragon Guild.

King_Irion: But is this okay? Isn't it a crime, honestly? -Yorokol Gyesuk: Yeah, what's good about it?

Charisma_Canine: I'm getting goosebumps. -Yorokol Gyesuk: What's wrong? -Charisma_Canine: When you send a message using the nicknames of the wanted users, it shows that all the accounts are non-existent? -Yorokol Gyesuk: ... -OhhToday: ... -Norioguri: Could it be that they were all taken away for real? -Yorokol Gyesuk: Could it be a farce? They were never there to begin with. -OhhToday: No, there were people who were actually there. Someone investigated those users through personal broadcasts.

TimeTimer: This doesn't seem like something we should just overlook, does it? Isn't it something that requires action on the part of the game company? -Kingdom_KnockKnock: Yeah, I'm scared. Who would want to play games? -AntiWorldGames: There's no way there would be any action. Even when there was a murder case due to hyuppi last time, it was just grudges between users, and they claimed they weren't responsible. -Kingdom_Pull: Isn't it like no response at all? There's not even a notice. As my post, uploaded through the Black Dragon Guild guildmaster, attracted a lot of attention, the community was in an uproar with reviews. I don't think anyone will dare to come at me fearlessly in the future. I've become completely untouchable, a person not to be messed with. But unexpectedly, what surprised me was that the management team, who I thought would interfere in some way, stuck to no response. If the problem escalates, I was thinking of buying World Games shares as much as possible to become the largest shareholder or using Hollywood System Administrator privileges, but it seems unnecessary. "Surely, World Games isn't owned by the Lucas Duke, right?" I chuckled to myself, feeling silly. I got carried away in the excitement.