Chapter 35: Turtle’s Nest

As expected, Ma Sanghyun’s eyes went wide like a calf’s.

“…Yes?”

The giant arm moved. The bulging muscles twitched as though his arm was alive. He even scratched his ear with his pinkie finger, making the veins on his bulky biceps squirm like worms. Definitely overwhelming muscles. At first glance, he was the (future) King of Fist, no doubt about it.

Next to Ma Sanghyun, who made me look almost childlike, Shin Yeonseo asked me with a hint of disbelief.

“Are you serious right now?”

With a height of around 160cm, Shin Yeonseo, whose nickname ‘Sword Master’ didn’t match her cute appearance, prodded my side and laughed, saying, “Hey! You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m not joking.”

I wasn’t joking. Everything I had said was the truth. Shin Yeonseo blinked in astonishment, almost reminiscent of a squirrel.

“So, you’re saying you’ll pay for our plane tickets and our accommodation. Just to go on a trip to Japan? And tomorrow?”

“…”

When did I say we were going on a holiday to Japan?

“Get a grip. We’re going on a raid, not a vacation.”

“Ah. That’s right, yes. Sorry, I thought it was a trip.”

I clearly said it was a raid, but she must’ve heard it as a holiday since we were taking a flight. It was going to be Shin Yeonseo’s first time on a plane.

Shin Yeonseo spoke up.

“But we’re not that close, are we? Not close enough to travel and stay overnight together.”

“Then don’t come if you don’t want to.”

“No. Why are you so blunt? I’m not saying I don’t want to.”

She seemed slightly troubled.

“I’ll get an F if I miss any more classes…”

Ah. This was the Sword Master of this era – just a normal college student. It’s quite fascinating to see the future Sword Master worrying about failing grades. It seems she’s seriously contemplating it.

My Sense Eye is telling me the story.

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Status: Serious/Worried

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It’s so clearly worrying her that even my Sense Eye, which indicates prominent feelings, is capturing it well.

“Ah! Forget it. I’ll just think of it as a date. I’ll come along.”

I actually thought Shin Yeonseo would decline. Despite the ties of having helped her mother, we weren’t exactly close, and there wasn’t that much of a connection between us. I was planning to go to Osaka regardless of whether Shin Yeonseo would accompany us or not.

‘It’ll be much better if Shin Yeonseo comes along.’

As soon as Shin Yeonseo agreed to come, Ma Sanghyun pounded his own chest twice with his sturdy forearm. He looked like a human gorilla.

“I will follow wherever hyung goes. Even if that place is Japan!”

To be more precise, it’s Osaka, Japan. We can’t go anywhere near Tokyo right now because the tutorial is still ongoing.

“My life, already indebted to hyung, will follow you anywhere. Even though I despise Japan, I’ll still go.”

Ma Sanghyun doesn’t seem to do much thinking. He answers first without asking what might happen or what’s there.

“A man must stick to his word. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?”

I reflected on the summary.

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Summary: A magpie repaying kindness

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I was initially focused on ‘repaying kindness,’ but now, I think I understand why it was described as a ‘magpie.’ A magpie is a bird. Not that smart. There must be a reason why the Sense Eye specifically mentioned a bird species. Perhaps it’s because even after a decade, the King of Fist seems to have grown somewhat smarter after all he’s been through. Currently, however, he’s the epitome of simple-mindedness.

‘But there’s nothing wrong with that.’

A simple-minded yet fiercely loyal ‘magpie repaying kindness.’ Given his current state, it felt like he would even risk his life for me.

Sunhwa asked me,

“Oppa, what about me?”

Sunhwa, who was gently holding the end of my cloth, seemed to say ‘I want to come along too.’

“I’ll take care of your paperwork. If you don’t want to go, just let me know.”

Like it or not, she’s now legally my sister. Thanks to Chairman Song Kiyoung, the process was expedited, as fast as frying beans in a flash of lightning. That’s the power of a conglomerate. Sunhwa has now legally become my sister, and her name has been changed to ‘Kim Sunhwa.’

“No! I want to go! I really do! I’ve never been on a plane before!”

Our party was formed: the King of Fist of the future, the Sword Master of the future, me, who knows the walkthroughs, and one more tanker whose talent seems even more exceptional than the King of Fist or Sword Master.

‘With this combination… we’re going to be unbeatable at the beginner level.’

Ma Sanghyun is a tanker and dealer.

Shin Yeonseo is a dealer.

Sunhwa is a tanker.

‘But what about me?’

What am I? It was kind of ambiguous. I am also a tanker and dealer, to some extent. It’s a bit strange to label myself as just that.

‘I don’t know.’

It’s not important anyway. What matters is that our party is formed and we will depart for Osaka tomorrow.

* * *

My sister’s reaction was as expected.

“……”

She doesn’t show much. She just gave me a flat look before asking me,

“What’s this?”

“Our house.”

“What do you mean, this is ‘our house’?”

“The house where our family will live.”

“Explain.”

My sister didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

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Status: Anxious/Suspicious/Worried

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That state is quite normal.

Imagine the confusion and fear of being suddenly brought to a newly constructed 34-pyeong apartment in Seoul, a dream even for ordinary people, being told it’s ‘our house’. Would he have done something wrong? What exactly did he do? Her logical suspicions and fears were only rational.

“I kind of hit the lottery.”

“…Lottery?”

The explanation would take long. Plus, I can’t explain everything in detail and I don’t particularly want to. The plays I’m planning are indeed risky, and they would worry my mother and sister. I don’t want to cause them unnecessary concern.

“Sister, listen. I became what’s known as a player. I’m enjoying the early bird benefits. Last time I met with Chairman Seong Shin, I even got sponsorship.”

I explained only briefly.

“That’s why I bought the house. For mom, you and me. And it was incredibly easy thanks to that, to adopt Sunhwa as our daughter into our family.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything too dangerous. You know I’m a coward.”

Though I’d dealt with the Lycan Slope and the Magic Troll during the tutorial, cleared a dungeon near Seoul Station and a Gate, and tomorrow I’m off to Osaka with friends, oh, and I also handled Yook Mihoo. While everything is indeed fraught with danger, I still claimed it was safe.

“The world is changing fast. I’m just adapting to it.”

Mom and sister don’t need to adapt. As always, they just need to live their lives normally. Adapting is my job. I can handle it alone.

“I’m good at adapting, aren’t I?”

Gone was the figure of the test-preparation student. Thousands of times a day, I’d think of strategies and plan for the future, diligently working every second. This time, I’m determined to live well.

“So don’t worry. It’s completely legit and totally safe, that’s how I got this house. Sister, please explain to mom later.”

I could see a slight change in my sister’s ‘status.’

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Status: Suspicious/Anxious/Relieved

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Relief was added, easing the situation somewhat. That was enough for today.

“Sister, trust me. You know I don’t mess around.”

I asked her to explain to mom on my behalf. Mom worries a lot. She won’t accept it as easily as my sister. It would take some time to give all the necessary explanations.

I grinned.

“I’m off to Japan on an early morning flight for a trip with friends. Since I hit the lottery, I might as well enjoy myself and come back.”

* * *

Our destination is Osaka. To get there, we landed at Kansai International Airport.

“Amazing. Seriously amazing.”

Shin Yeonseo, in her fluttery sky-blue dress, kept exclaiming how amazing this was. Her face was full of excitement. We didn’t need to be nervous just yet, so I let her be.

“I’m flying on a plane for the first time. Not to Jeju Island, but abroad. And it’s all free.”

She looked at me, thrust her thumb up and continued,

“You’re so generous. Hyukjin-nim is paying for all our expenses. Are you secretly a tycoon or something? I’ve never heard of such treatment, never saw anything like this. Normally, you plan for trips months ahead to save as much as possible and go with a strict budget.”

“Talkative, aren’t you?”

“Well, thanks anyway. I don’t know much yet, but I’ll definitely make up for it with food.”

Food. She was going to take care of a lot of meals. I haven’t told her yet. Talking won’t do any good. They’ll understand when they bump into it themselves.

We took a bus to Namba Terminal.

‘So this is Namba Terminal.’

Also known as Namba Station, but it’s a station where buses come and go instead of the subway.

‘A dungeon will form here at Namba Terminal.’

I haven’t decided yet whether to clear it or not. It’s something for a year from now, something for the future. But it’s best to learn the layout of the land beforehand.

I’ve seen it several times on YouTube, but there’s a difference in seeing it in person. Especially the staircases, escalators, elevators, and other ‘means of movement’, places where you can hide – ‘cover’, and areas (spots) where you can escape in emergency situations. It’s good to imprint these in your memory.

‘Looks like I’ve got the gist.’

We wandered around Namba Terminal on purpose. I was etching the place into my vision.

‘Nothing special yet.’

I took the youngsters around Namba Station. Stored the information in my brain. Now that we’d arrived in Osaka, it’s time to start getting a little tense.

“Let’s remember once again. We’re not here to have fun.”

When the dungeon at Namba Terminal was first created, 300 people died. That’s the nature of the game. Not one, two, but hundreds. Even thousands can be slaughtered at once. At Jongno alone, a staggering 145,000 perished.

“We’ll rest up at the guesthouse, then head to Dotonbori.”

Dotonbori. Think of it like the Myeongdong of Japan. It’s where various restaurants and stores congregate. A bustling commercial district. And in the middle of that district, a stream slightly larger than Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, but too small to be considered a river, flows through.

Shin Yeonseo started to tense up a bit.

“…That means a gate will appear in Dotonbori, right?”

That’s correct. I don’t know the exact location. But it’s certain that a gate will appear. Shortly after the tutorial ends, or if not, even before the tutorial is completed, a gate will emerge.

‘If we look at the timing of the Gate Break… it happens right after the tutorial or even before it’s cleared.’

The gate was initially not cleared. After a period of time, a ‘Break’ occurrence took place. ‘Gold Turtles’ spewed from it, which led to another hundred or so people being dragged into the water and eaten miserably.

‘If possible, we need to find the gate and clear it.’

And if that’s not possible,

‘Then we have to catch them outside the gate.’

Gold Turtle. Translated into Korean, it’s ‘Golden Turtle.’ As its name implies, it drops a significant amount of ‘COINS.’ An essential target to capture.

The first day. We didn’t find anything notable in Dotonbori.

The same went for the second day, no substantial gains. But Japan underwent a big change. By the second day, the ‘tutorial field’ in Tokyo had been cleared, and the finisher of Japan’s tutorial, ‘Seijuro,’ emerged.

– The survival rate is estimated at about 33 percent…

Many more survived in Japan than in Korea. The majority of developed countries were exposed to the situation in Korea beforehand and had made some preparations.

Now the tutorials are ending worldwide. Everyone will enter the ‘novice level’ fields, and when the player levels surpass 30, when they reach 40, that’s when the real play begins.

We found nothing on the second day at Dotonbori either. On the third day, as we were searching around the Dotonbori area once again, suddenly a voice sounded.

“First of all, I would like to notify you that I am only visible to you all.”