HG Ch 11

<11>

‘And then, Eunho arrived at Seonyeok Village in an instant.’

If only the story could unfold that way. But Eunho’s life was never that easy.

For starters, the teleportation spell could only store coordinates for places Eunho had already visited. Since Seonyeok Village was a new location, he had to travel there himself.

Of course, even in a Joseon-era setting, the game wouldn’t make a player run all the way to another village on foot.

「Head to the tax warehouse^[1] by the river near the village. There should be a boat transporting grain from Nonyeok Village to Seonyeok Village. If you can board it, the trip should be easy.」

“Aren’t there mounts in this game? Instead of hitching a ride on someone else’s boat, can’t I just ride a horse?”

「Oh-ho, and with that measly spiritual power, you dare?」

Seriously? Since when did riding a horse require spiritual power? Shouldn’t it just be about bonding with the animal? As someone who had never ridden a horse in his life, Eunho was clearly confusing reality with a Disney movie.

[Thread of Fate: 2. Milk-Selling Youth] [SYSTEM] Current Favorability: 45 [SYSTEM] ‘Milk-Selling Youth’ is leaving his bamboo goods store for the first time to search for you outside the village. [SYSTEM] Current Status: Worried you might be drinking someone else’s milk.

What the hell?!

“Master, where’s the tax warehouse? Hurry!”

「Just keep walking straight to the left. You’ll hear the sound of water soon.」

Eunho took off in a sprint. If he wasted even a second, that crazy power-leveling^[2] maniac might just turn him into protein^[3].

He ran non-stop for about ten minutes.

Just as the butterfly said, the sound of flowing water gradually reached his ears, and soon, a wide river came into view. Near the riverbank stood a storage building of a decent size. It had to be the tax warehouse.

「You’re in luck. A boat is about to depart. Board that one.」

“You mean that boat? The one that’s already in the water?”

「Yes. If you pay the fare and ask politely, they’ll gladly let you on.」

“Got it! I’m getting on right now.”

The moment Eunho boarded, he slumped down with a thud.

That was another near-death experience. How many was that now? At this rate, he was going to end up with an early death ending. Danger lurked at every turn.

「By the way, O child^[4], what is your taste in people?」

Just as Eunho was regaining his breath and looking around, the butterfly came out with another bizarre remark.

“…Huh?”

「That guy from earlier… was he not to your liking?」

What was this about liking?

「Could it be that you prefer younger ones?」

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Frowning, Eunho straightened up.

「You seem to have rather high standards. I was simply curious.」

“You, on the other hand, must have eyes on the soles of your feet.”

「…What?!」

It was the one spouting nonsense, yet it had the nerve to get mad about it.

Eunho scowled and decided to ignore the butterfly’s rambling. At that moment, he still trusted him, at least to some extent.

That was before the butterfly betrayed him so thoroughly. 

* * *

「O child.」

“Don’t talk to me.”

[SYSTEM] You have gained 4,341 experience points. [SYSTEM] You have gained 4,205 experience points.

「Take it easy. You’ll wear yourself out. The average player reaches Spiritual Power level of 35 in this time, but you’re already at 41.」

“Not like it matters. If I die, this body’s just going to rot anyway.”

「What nonsense. And what exactly are you doing, suddenly locking yourself away in this eerie cave?」

As the corpse of the Night-Glowing Ghost he had just hunted disappeared, a pair of kkotshin^[5] appeared in its place.

[SYSTEM] Retrieving item details for “Kkotshin” (Flower Shoes). [SYSTEM] The Night-Glowing Ghost has a peculiar habit of sneaking into nearby houses at night to steal shoes. Judging by the quality, the owner of these silk shoes was likely of noble status. If dismantled, there is a chance to obtain high-quality silk fabric.

Eunho picked up the kkotshin and stuffed them into his large leather bundle before chewing and swallowing a Gongjindan^[6] pill.

[SYSTEM] You have consumed Gongjindan. HP increased by 500.

Dressed in a jikryeongpo^[7] with a jeonbok^[8] draped over it, his firm waist secured tightly by the jeonbok’s sash, Joo Eunho now looked far more seasoned than he had just two days ago.

“If I’m supposed to take it easy, why play the game at all?”

This was the same butterfly that had been pushing him to reach a Spiritual Power level of 70 and hit the max level just a while ago.

「Life is not a race! Instead of shutting yourself away in this eerie cave, why not go out and enjoy the fresh air…」

Eunho had already fallen for that persuasion one too many times. He simply smirked, curling his lips.

“Yeah, not buying it.”

Why should he leave the low-level dungeon where he could farm in peace, safe from all the perverts roaming outside?

「Why have you… changed so much?」

At the butterfly’s absurd attempt to shift blame, Eunho finally snapped.

“Shoes^[9], don’t get me started. I’m already pissed off. The only reason I’m letting this slide is out of sheer sentimentality.”

At this point, he had even mastered “How to Swear in a Virtual Reality Game.” The butterfly staggered in front of him.

「‘MwonGaeSori’…」

“I told you not to talk to me.”

There was a simple reason why Eunho, who once treated the butterfly like a second parent and built a rapport with it, was now openly hostile.

[Thread of Fate: 1. Ryeongyul] [SYSTEM] Current Favorability: 65 [SYSTEM] “Ryeongyul” misses you. [SYSTEM] Current Status: I want to help you! [SYSTEM] You have achieved a favorability of 50 or more. “Ryeongyul’s” status message is now visible to you. [SYSTEM] “Ryeongyul’s” Status Message: Stay right thereㅠㅠ

[Thread of Fate: 2. Milk-Selling Youth] [SYSTEM] Current Favorability: 45 [SYSTEM] “Milk-Selling Youth” cannot forget you. [SYSTEM] Current Status: Thinking of you while milking cows.

[Thread of Fate: 3. Dupbibap] [SYSTEM] Current Favorability: 57 [SYSTEM] “Dupbibap” is looking for you. [SYSTEM] Current Status: I want to talk to you. [SYSTEM] You have achieved a favorability of 50 or more. “Dupbibap’s” status message is now visible to you. [SYSTEM] “Dupbibap’s” Status Message: Hyung, where are you? Haha.

[Thread of Fate: 4. Green Narae] [SYSTEM] Current Favorability: 21 [SYSTEM] “Green Narae” is feeling disappointed. [SYSTEM] Current Status: I wish you’d find me cute.

By following the butterfly and the system’s guidance, Eunho had already encountered four “Threads of Fate”. At this point, even someone as clueless as him couldn’t help but find it strange.

“The more I look at this, the more pissed off I get. Does this even make sense? Even if this is a BL novel, shouldn’t a person at least have some damn loyalty? How the hell am I supposed to believe in fate when there are this many candidates?” 

It made no sense.

The “Thread of Fate” was supposed to represent a unique, one-of-a-kind bond tied to one’s pinky. If things were going to be this ridiculous, they might as well rename it “Thread of Random Crisscrossing Fate”. At this rate, even ten fingers wouldn’t be enough. Forget fingers—soon, there would be toe threads, and hell, maybe even double-fingered fate threads.  

How did it come to this?

Inside the bleak and desolate dungeon, Eunho fell deep into thought.

[Thread of Fate: 3. Dupbibap]

Right.

He should’ve suspected the butterfly the moment he met that bastard on the damn transport boat.

— “MwonGaeSori-nim, hi. Are you headed to Seonyeok Village too?”

— “Yes.”

It had started out normal.

But about thirty minutes in, “Dupbibap” started saying weird shit.

— “…Hyung, do you use fragrance pouches? You smell really nice.”

Then, another ten minutes later—

— “Hyung. Your hands are so small. Wanna compare hand sizes?”

What the hell? Small hands? Compare hand sizes?

Eunho, who had been over 180 cm tall since his first year of high school and had large hands and feet to match, was utterly dumbfounded.

—”Are you out of your mind?”

—“Ah, hyung, why are you so cute? I mean, my mind left my body and flew to you, haha.”

Luckily, the boat arrived at Seonyeok Village at that very moment, letting Eunho make a frantic escape.

But the chills still hadn’t faded.

Something was definitely off.

He had already sensed it with “Milk-Selling Youth”, but with “Dupbibap” acting like that too, the discomfort became undeniable.

Eunho started to have serious doubts.

Did the author lend out their pen name and hire a ghostwriter or something? That author never had this kind of naming style before. They should’ve stuck to their style. Why are they switching things up and confusing the readers?

He had thought he’d be safe as long as he avoided two-character in-game names. But now, it seemed he had to be wary of every male player he met in the game.

With the situation spiraling out of control, Eunho completely revised his strategy.

If they were trying to turn him into a homo, then fine. He’d just prove to them how much he loved women.

Thus began his search for female players.

—”Hello, there! You must be a Taoist. I’m a hunter. Want to team up for a hunting party?”

— “What the hell is this? Ruining my mood in broad daylight. Are you gonna leave, or do I have to string your front teeth to your molars with steel wire, knock them together like castanets, and season you up before I eat you?”  

— “Ah… Understood. Have a nice game.”

But you needed fire to counter fire.

— “Um, hi, nice to—”

—”Stop right there. Do not come any closer. I have an allergy to men.”

— “Ah… My apologies for any discomfort.”

Eunho’s mistake was underestimating BL novels.

Just as every man in the game irrationally adored him, every woman irrationally despised him.

…No.

There was one woman who liked him.

— “Oppa, do you wanna party with Narae? Narae likes you sooo much! Heehee~”

[Thread of Fate: 4. Green Narae]

To be precise, it was a male player role-playing a female character.

In other words, a netkama.