HG Ch 8

<8>

What just happened?

It seemed like the server had suddenly become unstable, causing a system crash. But since Eunho knew nothing about programming, it was hard to guess what was really going on.

And that system window—what was that? By any chance, do you know the Stairway to Heaven^[1]? Multiple windows had overlapped chaotically, flickering like a glitched screen, making it impossible to read what they said properly.

The only thing that stuck in his memory was, “I’ll be there soon.”

Why did the system say that?

“What’s coming? That sounds creepy…”

And once it gets here, then what? No matter how hard he thought about it, nothing good could come from getting tangled up with the system. That was the conclusion of Eunho, a veteran reader of game-fantasy novels.

“One of the classic clichés of game-fantasy novels: The system is the mastermind.”

Could the server’s instability have been caused by his presence as an unfamiliar entity? And was the system trying to eliminate him because of that? Did he somehow enter a Matrix-like world, only to find out he wasn’t the cool protagonist but just… Smith?

As Eunho stood there, his face turning pale—

「What are you doing just standing there like a fool?」

A butterfly fluttered in from somewhere and landed squarely on his forehead. Its jet-black wings partially blocked his vision, but Eunho’s eyes lit up like a child finding a lifeline.

Raising his hand, he grabbed the butterfly’s body as it rested on his forehead. The mechanical texture, the stiff wings with not a single soft spot—this was definitely the mutant butterfly.

“Where have you been? Why are you only showing up now?”

「Where else would I go? I have always been by your side. I want to leave too, but your level is so pitifully low that I can’t leave you alone. Truly, my fate is tragic.」

Yes, this was it! That nagging voice that made him want to shut the door and retreat into his room! They had only been apart for a few minutes, but the butterfly felt strangely comforting. Maybe it is true that you only realize the value of something after losing it.

“Don’t you remember? You suddenly disappeared! Do you have any idea how worried I was? I nearly died of fear when all those system error messages started popping up!”

「I have no idea what you’re talking about.」

“Wait, now that I think about it, if I were some kind of error account—a virus in the game… No, a bug?—then you wouldn’t have latched onto me in the first place. That means I’m a normal account, right?”

「If you were normal, your spiritual power would be at least 20 by now. You are not normal!」

“Right? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? This isn’t some kind of deletion ending, right? That was just a meaningless glitch because the game server is fragile, right? I mean, just look at these ultra-realistic graphics—the game’s storage capacity must be insane—”

「Quit your chattering and let go of me at once! When will you finally fix that bad habit of yours, putting your hands all over your master? Keep those hands of yours in your pouch, where they belong!」

Thank goodness. The “Eunho-is-a-virus” theory was dismissed as nonsense. Relieved, Eunho let go of the flailing butterfly. Then, following its instruction, he reached into his beginner’s worn-out pouch.

[SYSTEM] A command motion has been detected. [SYSTEM] Retrieving inventory.

A hazy Inventory system window popped up before Eunho’s eyes. Maybe because the pouch was small, there were only ten slots, but this was definitely an inventory function. Eunho scanned through the items he had.

• Beginner’s Healing Herb (x5)
• Cheap Snake Hide (x1)
• Boar Meat (x2)

The healing herbs were probably basic health potions, while the snake hide and boar meat were drops from the mobs he had defeated during the tutorial. As he inspected his inventory, Eunho’s gaze stopped on something.

A worn-out norigae^[2].

“Why is there a norigae?”

As he focused and stared intently at it, an additional system window appeared.

[SYSTEM] Retrieving detailed description of the item “Worn-out Norigae.” [SYSTEM] This is an extremely worn norigae. After dispelling a will-o’-the-wisp, you discovered an abandoned norigae. Staring at it for a while, you feel as if a strange energy is emanating from it. It might be a good idea to show it to the old woman. However, she will only trust you once you have achieved [a certain level of spiritual power].

Eunho fiddled with the norigae, lost in thought.

「What’s wrong?」

Until now, Eunho had been trying to take things slow and steady, making sure not to make any mistakes in his gameplay. He wasn’t competing in a speedrun; there was no reason to rush ahead recklessly and risk getting entangled with the novel’s characters in ways he wanted to avoid.

But after experiencing that temporary system error just now, a new hypothesis formed in his mind.

…What if he actually didn’t have much time left?

He had already figured out that dying in this game didn’t mean the end. His experience points, level, and quest progress would reset, but he would revive.

But what happened when the system itself crashed?

In standard MMORPGs, developers regularly performed maintenance and updates to stabilize the system and fix bugs. When that happens, regular players get kicked back to reality—but what about him, someone who’s abnormally trapped inside the game? Would he also be forcibly logged out, just like a regular player? That would be ideal. But he had no way to be sure, and he certainly didn’t have the guts to test it out.

What if he died while experimenting? Eunho had never been the reckless type. If an adult told him not to touch something, he didn’t touch it. If they said something was dangerous, he stayed away. His personal safety was a hundred times more important to him than curiosity.

That left only one option.

Time to go full Crazy Korean <Serious Mode> and grind like hell. Level up as fast as possible, clear all the main quests, and get the hell out of here.

* * *

He inserted the fuse into the ignition hole of the powder flask. Then, he loaded the gun barrel with gunpowder and packed it down with a ramrod. After sealing the gunpowder with clay, he tamped it down again before placing the iron pellet inside.

The iron pellet was secured with more clay. He adjusted his upper body about 45 degrees to the right while extending his left hand forward. Now, it was a test of patience. He had to remain perfectly still, waiting for his prey to come closer.

Eunho’s effective range was only about 50 meters. He needed to close the distance to at least 20 meters for a significantly higher chance of landing a critical hit. He focused, keeping his sights locked onto his hazy target until it became clear.

He lit the fuse and aimed at the enemy.

Bang!

「That was perfect. Did you feel it? You struck the critical point of the Three-Headed (One-Legged) Hawk and inflicted a fatal wound.」

The three-headed hawk thrashed wildly in the air before spewing out a thick, black mucus.

[SYSTEM] You have gained 1,341 experience points.

[SYSTEM] You have gained 1,205 experience points. [SYSTEM] You have accumulated enough experience to increase your spiritual power. [SYSTEM] Your HP and MP have been restored, and all status effects have been removed.

「Your accuracy is impressive. You’ve even gotten skilled at hunting smaller targets.」

[SYSTEM] Current Season: Spring, Rainwater (Usu) [SYSTEM] Current Time: Midnight (Hour of the Rat[3]) [SYSTEM] Current Weather in Nonyeok Village: Clear Skies.

[PROFILE] Name: MwonGaeSori Spiritual Power: 28 Class: Gunner HP: 210/273 MP: 140/158 Strength: 42 (+11) Agility: 52 (+14) Intelligence: 14 (+9) Defense: 24 (+15) Recovery: 8 (+8) Distributable Points: 6 Exclusive Traits: <Even If a Tiger Bites You, Stay Calm and You’ll Survive>, <Two-Faced>, <Unyielding Spirit> Passive Traits: <■■■■>, <■■■■■■■> Abilities: <Basic Shooting> Lv.3, <Rapid Fire> Lv.2, <Aerial Shot> Lv.1, <Tracking> Lv.1, <Ignition> Lv.1, <Keen Sense> Lv.1, <Movement Spell> Lv.1 Special Notes: <■■■>, <■■> Currently Active

For nearly five hours, Eunho had done nothing but breathe and grind. With his goal set, the dark forest paths and graveyards now looked like a feast-worthy hunting ground. At this point, he was no different from an illegal fisherman using TRAWL^[4] methods to devastate the marine ecosystem—obliterating everything in sight. Thanks to his indiscriminate hunting, will-o’-the-wisps had long since gone extinct.

Shoot, aerial shot, aim, shoot again.

Eunho had been mindlessly laboring like a machine when—

[SYSTEM] Fatigue: 250/300 [SYSTEM] Your fatigue level has exceeded the threshold. Sitting down to eat or resting at a village tavern will reduce your fatigue.

For the first time, the fatigue system had been revealed.

“…Are you serious?”

And with that, one fact had been proven. The fatigue system wasn’t for the players but for the game company.

They could claim all they wanted that it was meant to “prevent excessive player immersion and promote a healthy gaming experience,” but see? Now the truth was out.

Instead of showing fatigue level in a virtual reality game, shouldn’t they force players to log out? Maybe implement a ‘mandatory 2-hour break after 5 hours of real-time gameplay’ policy or something.

“Emergency shutdown! This pain is unbearable!”

[SYSTEM] Invalid command.

In the end, the so-called “fatigue system” was just a desperate attempt by the developers to slow down content consumption. And while they were at it, they’d probably sell cash items to reduce fatigue, squeezing more money out of players.

“Damn capitalism. Nyaa–ruined game^[5]. Ugh, I really don’t feel like going back to the village… What kind of food do I need to eat to lower my fatigue?”

There was no mention of the fatigue levels in the novel, which made him uneasy. What if the only way to recover fatigue was through cash items? How would he even buy them?

If, by some ridiculous logic, his public certification^[6] and OTP authentication had also been transported into the novel world, that would be hilarious. And if he somehow managed to make an in-game purchase and escape this world, would the receipt show up in his original world?

Just as he was lost in those ridiculous thoughts, a system window popped up.

[SYSTEM] Eating Tarak♥Juk[7] will restore your fatigue.

---

Author’s Note: Smith – Name of the mutant virus that appears in the movie.