Chapter 69

I entered the VR room.

It was an open sandy beach map that reminded me of the Mediterranean, which I had created myself.

It was a kind of meeting place to be used during the tournament period.

The virtual office that office workers had dreamed of had already become a reality. Given the performance of VR devices, it was only natural.

But even now, office workers still commute instead of working from home. Sadly.

I told you the metaverse was a scam.

Just because virtual offices exist, does it make sense for companies to stop making their slaves commute?

The salary the boss gives includes the cost of watching you suffer from commuting right beside you.

In other words, modern workers are laboring at an absurdly low price. Because companies are making them do additional work they never told them about.

I should never get a job.

“Unnie!”

Bunny Run, who had received an invitation and logged into the VR room at some point, came running at me. I staggered for a moment from Bunny Run’s body slam, then took off the VR device. I had escaped the virtual world.

But for some reason, I was still making eye contact with Bunny Run.

“……”

“Unnie, why?”

To Bunny Run, who asked innocently, I also asked,

“Bunny Run-nim.”

“Yeah?”

“How did you get into my house?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I was asking how you knew my house password.”

“You told me, unnie.”

I swear to heaven, I never did.

“Last time, unnie entered the password right in front of me, so I thought you were telling me.”

“Get a grip.”

I lightly tapped Bunny Run’s head with the edge of my hand and then spoke.

“It’s a one-room apartment, so it’s small. How are we supposed to use the VR device here with both of us?”

“Anyway, we’re not streaming today, just talking, right? Then it doesn’t matter.”

“Bunny Run-nim, you’ve got it all planned out.”

“I always have a plan.”

Thankfully, I sat on the bed and put on the VR device.

Then Bunny Run sat right next to me, clinging.

I took off the VR device and said,

“Bunny Run-nim.”

“Yeah?”

“Move away.”

Even if we were just planning to talk using the VR device, it was uncomfortable being this close.

At my words, Bunny Run clicked their tongue and moved slightly away.

Finally, things were back to normal.

I put the VR device back on. Then,

“What are you guys doing?”

Someone I didn’t even know had logged in was standing there, looking at us sideways.

It was Pape.

I recognized him because his avatar looked exactly like his real self.

That’s the advantage of being a cam broadcaster. It’s easy to recognize, right?

By the way.

“Making your avatar look exactly like your real self? Are you a narcissist or something?”

“……”

At my words, Pape suddenly closed his mouth.

Why is he like this?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Pape spoke up bluntly.

“Self-introduction?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your avatar. It looks exactly like your real self. Doesn’t it?”

“Are you saying you’re one of those people who expect VTubers to have avatars that look exactly like their real selves? That’s a pretty deep level of fandom.”

At my absurd words, Pape calmly continued.

“Clue 1. Why doesn’t Bunny Run oppose AR filter collaborations? What about Ga Joon-sik? If a broadcasting accident happens, it would be a disaster, right? Clue 2. Why Thierry? It’s obvious that it’s problematic. Conclusion. Han Yoorim’s avatar isn’t based on Thierry but something else. My guess is, it’s based on her real appearance.”

“What VTuber makes their avatar look exactly like their real self?”

“Clue 3. If it’s Han Yoorim, it’s entirely possible.”

“Are you Sherlock Holmes or something?”

Sherlock Holmes has been reincarnated in Korea, crossing over a century and the sea.

I clapped.

“Amazing, Pape. I can’t believe you already figured out my identity. Originally, I was supposed to meet you after winning the <Yoorim-pic> and having a dinner gathering, where you’d say, ‘Han Yoorim, your avatar looks exactly like your real self?!’ But you skipped all that.”

“I’m not Rumen, so why would I do that?”

At Pape’s response, Bunny Run whispered in a serious voice,

“Master. This is an unexpected strong opponent. What do we do?”

“Bunny Run. Don’t worry. After all, Pape-nim is just a loser who lost to me.”

*Click.* When I pressed the button, a voice echoed throughout the map.

[Han Yoorim! I won this bet!]

*Click.*

[Han Yoorim! I won this bet!]

*Click.*

[Han Yoorim! I won this bet—]

“Stop.”

“Okay.”

I turned off admin mode and checked the invite list.

Weird.

I definitely sent the invites correctly, but no one came except Pape and Bunny Run.

Why?

“Because it’s an hour before the scheduled time.”

Ah.

“But why did Pape-nim come so early?”

“Me? I was just resting when I got the invite, so I accepted it without thinking much.”

Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.

I enjoyed the zombie mode and escape mode I had prepared in advance with Pape and Bunny Run (Pape made a comment in the middle asking what the heck I had made).

Then, Mos logged into the VR room with an office worker avatar in a suit.

It was 10 minutes before the scheduled time.

Mos looked around at us and casually started a conversation.

“Am I late?”

“Malangmabang-nim. Time is money. If you don’t keep your appointments like that, you’ll be hated in society.”

“I told you Malangmabang is a yellow-bellied coward.”

“Apologize to unnie, Malangmabang-nim.”

“Haha.”

Mos, who laughed lightly, sat down and asked,

“So when does the meeting start?”

“Finally, you’re talking? Oh, by the way, I won the bet.”

“The signs were there from last time. Where should I send the money?”

“Unnie is really good at betting.”

“This is crazy.”

While Mos was shaking his head, *ding.* A new participant entered the VR room.

Someone came out of the cabin.

It was a frog wearing glasses.

Seeing that, Pape said in disbelief,

“What is that?”

“That’s our team member.”

“Why a frog?”

“I don’t know either.”

The reason why that person’s avatar is a frog…

I didn’t know either. When we recruited them, they were definitely a cam broadcaster.

Well, just because they’re a cam broadcaster doesn’t mean they have to make their avatar look exactly like their real self.

It’s weird that Pape is the one doing that.

The frog confidently approached us and gave a polite bow.

“Hello!”

“It’s a guy?”

“A girl wouldn’t use an avatar like that. You should’ve known right away.”

“You sure know a lot about girls, huh?”

“It’s Yoorim unnie. What doesn’t she know?”

The frog naturally joined the conversation. Not your average skill.

Seeing this, Mos shook his head.

“Another weird one joined.”

“It’s not weird. It’s just that Malangmapang can’t keep up with the flow.”

“Yeah, Malangmapang hyung.”

Mos sighed and then asked the frog.

“What’s your name?”

“Choco Full Bread, hyung!”

Hearing Choco Full Bread’s confident answer, Mos turned to me and asked.

“What’s Choco Full Bread’s position?”

“Originally, their main position is Main Carry.”

“So, they’re our team’s Main Carry?”

“If we use Full Bread as Main Carry, even if I use Six Paths Sage Mode Full Cowl Gear Fourth Domain Expansion, we’d still lose. They’re a Guardian.”

Pape, who had been quietly listening, raised a question.

“That bad?”

“Pape, you act all high and mighty, but you don’t really know much about Iron, do you?”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“I’m just stating the facts. Look.”

I projected a screen into the empty space.

It was a video that shocked me so much, I was stunned for a full minute.

Pape also let out a soft sigh.

“What is that?”

“That’s the mystery of Iron.”

“Wow.”

It wasn’t about hitting or missing skills.

We had to dig deeper.

It was questionable if they even knew how to control the character.

“You said your name is Choco Full Bread? How long have you been gaming?”

“This is my first time! I’ve only studied before!”

“First year in university?”

“Yep!”

“Hey, why did you bring them?”

Pape is from a big company. If we lose in a tournament, tens of thousands of people will curse at us.

No one likes that, not even a scapegoat priestess.

That’s why he asked directly, even in front of the person.

After all, Pape is the one carrying the most risk right now.

“That was the best option.”

“What?”

“That was the best option.”

Hearing my serious tone, Pape was taken aback.

“That was the best option?”

“Yes.”

“That kid who can barely move their character is the best option?”

“But they’re smart. Full Bread, you’re from Korea University, right?”

“Me? Yes. How did you—.”

“If we do hard training to get them used to controls, they might reach Silver level.”

“Just Silver? If Silver is the limit, it’s better to find someone who’s at least familiar with gaming, even if they haven’t studied it like—.”

[Gulp!]

“You scared me.”

With the cameo appearance of my eldest uncle, I continued.

“Those people don’t understand even when you explain. I tried teaching them the order of taking objectives through donations as an experiment, but not a single person succeeded. Can you believe it? Objectives are taken from closest to farthest from the base. They couldn’t even understand that simple thing. At least Full Bread tried and got executed.”

“Getting executed at a Tier 5 objective is serious, isn’t it?”

“But they understand it in their head! Don’t you know how valuable that is?”

“Calm down.”

Huff. The demon possessed me again.

I poked Bunny Run’s side.

“?”

“Hypnosis is forbidden.”

“?????”

I put on the VR device again.

After taking a deep breath, I spoke.

“Anyway, if we assign them to the Click position among Guardians, specifically the Click character, and have them practice character control for the remaining time, it should be manageable.”

“That makes sense.”

“Right?”

“Well, let’s say the Guardian issue is solved. So?”

“So what?”

“What about the most important Main Carry? If their mechanics are like that, should I just quit?”

“You can’t quit. We agreed to stick together till the end. Just wait.”

I checked the clock.

5 PM. The exact time we agreed to meet.

I pointed to the cabin and shouted.

“Let me introduce you. The ultimate monster who will lead us to victory. Chaenarin!”

““Wow!””

“Only Bunny Run and Full Bread are cheering. Everyone, give a round of applause.”

““““Wow!””””

“Good. Good. Now, Chaenarin, come on out!”

Ding. I changed the map to nighttime.

A spotlight from the darkened sky illuminated the cabin entrance.

Boom. Fireworks exploded in the sky.

It was a superstar-level entrance, but…

“…….”

“They’re not coming.”

Chaenarin didn’t show up.

They hadn’t even logged into the map.

I changed the map back to daytime.

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

“Maybe they went to the bathroom.”

30 minutes passed.

Only five people were still logged into the VR room.

I nodded.

“As expected of our Main Carry. Exactly the talent I saw.”

“Can I quit now?”

“No.”