Chapter 2

[IlllIllIl: Anyway, the broadcast is today. Since it’s an agenda that was initially supported by the majority, no one should say anything to me regardless of how our clan performs, right?]

[plzplzlqzlq: Why majority? Only you and Sia approved out of four people. You better prepare yourself for the day our clan bursts.]

[혜지면밤이된다: Well, since Minjoon oppa sacrificed his face, it should be okay, right? If the clan bursts, we can just create it again.]

[IlllIllIl: NoName has a silent syndrome concept, but it’s funny that it’s counted in the majority. Haha.]

[혜지면밤이된다: Imyr oppa was surprised to hear the appearance fee too.]

[혜지면밤이된다: They said they’ll deposit it right after the broadcast ends.]

[plzplzlqzlq: What about NoName? Do you really plan to not share the money?]

[IlllIllIl: Did I already cheat you or something?]

[IlllIllIl: They won’t give me the account number, so what am I supposed to do?]

[IlllIllIl: Even if you want to maintain the silent syndrome concept, you can tell me in a whisper, but you still won’t say a word.]

[plzplzlqzlq: Anyway, Minjoon, you need to take responsibility and hand it over properly.]

“This guy is only acting up with me!”

As the clan leader Imyr of ‘Please’ stepped out of the clan home, Minjoon hit the floor angrily. The middle finger was a bonus.

Opening the friend list, he scrolled down to find the protagonist of the issue.

[NoName – In game 13:47:08]

“Aren’t you tired of it…”

At 8 PM, when others were finishing work, having dinner, and starting their leisure time, NoName had already been logged into Legacy of Legends for 14 hours.

Released in 2009, Riore became a global sensation, and ultimately, no computer game was able to stop its wildness afterwards.

However, starting from the late 30s, capsules became popular, and virtual reality games began to surge.

Riot Games jumped on the bandwagon and released a capsule sequel called ‘Legacy of Legends,’ quickly rising to the number one market share despite being a latecomer.

Recently, it had been somewhat falling behind ‘Resonance’ and ‘World of Arseria,’ but the player base remained significant.

Minjoon himself could not find any decent alternatives and was stuck playing this damn game with 3,000 matches each season.

However, in comparison to the 8,150 matches he played last year and over 50,000 matches over the past six years, he seemed extremely modest.

No matter how talentless one might be, they would have succeeded at something if they had done anything else with that time.

But NoName seemed to contradict this claim as the tier difference between him and Minjoon was unmistakable.

“Bronze 3… Is he not the one who has truly succeeded in life? He really knows how to enjoy the game as a game! Unlike me, getting angry every match and shortening my lifespan.”

Even though Minjoon had a Grandmaster badge, he didn’t look all that happy.

An unresponsive friend list on one side, while on the other, the famous streamer ‘Delete’s’ ‘Documentary for 4 Days’ was airing.

Recently, it became a hit on Twish and Vtube.

The content was covering the lives of pro gamers, streamers, and internet celebrities.

It would still take some time before the video that covered their clan was released.

“Is this really that fun?”

Honestly, he agreed to participate willingly because they said they would pay him, but he didn’t understand why this content was trending.

* * *

[NoName – Searching for game 14:39:40]

[NoName – Waiting Room 14:39:43]

[NoName – Joining Clan 14:39:48]

When he opened his eyes, he was summoned to the clan lobby. The person he was looking for was close by.

500,000 won per person. Money that could only be earned after working 18 hours a day for a week.

In a world where economic bankruptcy meant saying goodbye to life, the offer from clan member Minjoon to appear on a streamer-led documentary was enticing.

Initially, Imyr held a negative stance about it.

However, as Minjoon and Sia were in need of money, it was decided that they would participate in Delete’s Documentary for 4 Days.

Though it was his avatar in virtual reality, it was reasonable for him to share the earnings since his avatar was shown when capturing the clan waiting room.

He approached Minjoon and stood in front of him.

“Hey kid, what are you just staring at me for? What do you want me to do?”

Minjoon glared at him with disdain.

Why is he so angry?

What should I do, then?

He needed to try and start a conversation, but he couldn’t do that.

Moreover, he didn’t have an account in his name.

With numerous problems to solve, his head already hurt.

Whether it was an issue with the Chinese capsule or the act of being kidnapped by a criminal organization, the language processor module was not connected to the server, making conversation impossible both in and out of the game.

Strangely enough, he could understand what was being said within the clan, and he was grateful for that.

So wouldn’t signing be possible? It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried.

As virtual reality was indeed a space comparable to reality, there were systems in place to prevent interactions such as stalking or sexual harassment under communication media abuse laws.

In other words, when trying to attempt conversation or expression, brainwaves would be blocked, thereby suppressing the act itself, and all accounts without registered identities were subject to this sanction.

All he could do was blink.

Blink

Blink blink

“Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

While Minjoon continued to express his frustration, a viable solution to the account issue started to take form in his mind.

There was a temporary account for cash that came during title transactions on a Chinese site, and since it was valid for just over a week, he could ask them to send it there.

452-5213-8019-108903

He accessed a history and stats searching site and took four screenshots, displaying them one by one in the air.

Then, he intensely concentrated on just one part in front of Minjoon.

“What do you want me to do? Look at that?”

Since he blatantly displayed the screen, Minjoon couldn’t help but look.

“Is this troll like you too? Only managed to deal 452 damage until the end of the game.”

Good.

Just keep doing this.

“This is your record, right? Is this even a person? 5213 damage?”

He recalled that he had dealt exactly 5213 damage in the last match, which sparked the idea in his mind.

Praising himself for being smarter than expected, he engraved the other two numbers into his memory.

“What are you trying to say?”

As Minjoon still expressed curiosity, he suddenly remembered.

What does it matter if I’m smart? But he’s an idiot.

Moreover, due to the Chinese account, the number of digits was different from the typical Korean account, making it hard to infer.

As Minjoon seemed to lose interest and was about to leave, he hurriedly blocked his way in front of him while blinking repeatedly.

How could he appeal this desperate situation?

He turned his gaze toward the statue engraved with their clan name.

[Please]

Please.

If you don’t give me this money, when the game has extended maintenance, I’ll die.

It’s a life that my mom protected even at the cost of her own life.

Do you know the feeling of being trapped in a capsule where you can’t escape, and logging back into virtual reality in despair?

If I’ve gone this far, please try to understand.

“What? Long time no see, our NoName is here? What are you two doing?”

“Sia? No, this kid has been saying something since earlier, but I can’t make sense of any of it.”

“452, 5213, 8019, 108903? Is this some sort of code? I’m weak with these things.”

“I’m too.”

“NoName, weren’t you the one who called? You wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“I said if I wanted money, I’d need the account number. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll take it all.”

“…?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t this an account number?”

Minjoon and Sia turned their heads in sync.

Sure enough, two heads are better than one.

Blink blink blink blink

“This terrible concept-filled bastard…”

“Hey, no bad language in front of the kid!”

“I don’t know if there’s a 50-year-old uncle or a 70-year-old grandmother in there, yet you talk like that.”

“NoName is a kid. We have to protect him.”

While Minjoon and Sia patted each other on the back and played around, he took his time watching the documentary for 4 Days Minjoon had played back.

Tomorrow, 500,000 won would be deposited, so he thought this next-level luxury should be okay.

Although there were only four members in the clan, he wondered what made them so popular.

After the life of pro gamers and full-time streamers was covered and two ads had aired, the familiar main gate of their clan appeared.

With the background sound of birds chirping, it seemed to unfold in a peaceful moment, but reality always exceeded his expectations.

[No, what’s going on with the teleported cleanse on Carmil! You had a cleansed entity when you sniped me last match!]

In the last match of the promotion match, Minjoon’s character showcased overwhelming might against the streamers, tallying up 25 kills across the battlefield.

The expression of the streamer, who was falling further away from the dream of Master after a disastrous losing streak, was even more ridiculous.

[Three of them are waiting here for a reverse gank? Wait, isn’t he playing using stealth?]

Watching another streamer who was setting up for a three-man dive, Mir responded with a four-person counter-gank, causing the game to erupt.

[If you hit this, you get money. Oppa, hit quickly.]

Thinking he was a female beginner playing the game for the first time, they held a duo stream, but Sia, the supporter who took all the resources, stole the show as the scene-stealer.

Ultimately, that match ended with the streamer achieving an embarrassing record of 0/7/9, while Sia dominated the game with a score of 18/1/2 despite being the support.

When their main account nicknames were revealed afterward, that was the true highlight. The comment section started shaking in real-time.

[IlllIllIl: GrandMaster / Ladder Ranking 512 / Top 0.00669%]

[plzplzlqzlq: GrandMaster / Ladder Ranking 780 / Top 0.01019%]

[혜지면밤이된다: Challenger / Ladder Ranking 294 / Top 0.00384%]

People really love numbers.

Look at the comment section. When they were being criticized earlier, suddenly the public opinion turned favorable.

Words such as [Wow] or [Haha] poured down like rain.

The viewers didn’t give them a second’s break, soon there was a video edited with their highlight moments.

In a section where monsters that the general public seldom got to encounter lurked, Minjoon, Imyr, and Sia, who became like protagonists there, seemed to shine brightly.

The final planner, Delete, also raised his tension with satisfactory responses, adding various commentary.

And it was at that moment he realized why he wasn’t appearing with these guys.

Then came the footage of his play.

In that footage, he saw himself standing still in the starting village for minutes, ignoring dying teammates, or sometimes photographing the moment as if trying to humiliate them.

The public opinion was, of course, at an all-time low.

Countless combinations of letters covered his eyes.

Some things that couldn’t even be uttered quickly turned into “Deleted Comment.”

But unfortunately, the uncensored contents took root firmly in his memory.

Perhaps their anger was justified.

It was understandable that they would feel upset if a troll like him was mixed into a game meant for relaxation, squeezing hours out of their day.

But particularly one comment didn’t get deleted and continued to descend.

Descending.

Reaching his head.

[Your mom is likely to die from cancer too, haha.]

The ending scene of the video returned to focus on the ‘Please’ clan.

Separated from the other three, he stood there with a blank expression.

All he could do was blink regularly, praying that at least one person would notice his distress signal through the video.

Blink Blink Blink

Blinking continuously.

It truly was a hellish world.