Chapter 6

While riding the carriage to the next village, I pondered over what had just happened.

Back then, I just wanted to enjoy the game quickly, so I blocked that guy and left. But now, thinking about it, all the attention from everyone there was directed at me.

In other words, the reason so many people had gathered there was entirely because of me.

“What… did I do something weird?”

No matter how much I thought about it, all I did was hunt goblins, slimes, rabbits, and even the level 15 Field Boss.

The guy I blocked back then was definitely level 60, max level. And most of the people around seemed to be max level too.

Usually, people gather like that for updates or when something big happens.

There was no update when I launched the game, so it must have been an incident.

“Was I at the center of that incident…?”

Now that I think about it, everyone was indeed looking at me. But I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?

This is kind of a big deal. If that many people gathered, it means a lot of them must have seen it on some specific site, like a forum.

In RPGs, reputation is extremely important.

Especially in top-tier raids, a player’s reputation is crucial when forming raid parties.

In RPGs, reputation and logs always need to be managed.

Logs are simply records of what you’ve done in raids. The most commonly used log is the damage meter.

It records how well someone deals damage and how many mistakes they make.

Some people get stressed over these things, but as an RPG player, I think having a damage meter is a good thing.

Because every time I raid, I can see myself improving. At first, I’m at the bottom, but as I get used to the mechanics and my class, my records gradually rise.

Anyway, the most important thing is that to join a raid party, you need a good reputation.

Who would like a party member who curses and ruins the mood over a small mistake? That’s why once you’re kicked out of a party, it’s hard to join another.

But no matter how much I think about it, the situation in the starting village…

It didn’t seem like a good situation.

‘Am I going to hit max level and not be able to raid…?’

No matter how skilled or physically capable you are, raids are something you can’t clear alone. The game is designed for party play, and it’s obvious you won’t even get in.

All those max-level players were looking at me with unfriendly eyes.

‘I need to figure out what happened.’

I logged out immediately.

As soon as I saw the white space, I opened the access device menu and went online.

Even though it’s the future, the internet isn’t much different from my world. I quickly searched for Leore.

The top result was the Leore gallery. As soon as I clicked in, countless posts caught my eye.

And when I clicked on the trending posts, the title of the top post stood out.

[Player Solos Orc Chieftain] [315]

As soon as I clicked in, a game screenshot appeared, and there I was.

“Huh?”

Looking at the highly upvoted comments, I quickly grasped the situation.

‘Wait, the Field Boss was a Raid Boss?’

I thought it was just a unique monster, but it turns out it was a boss meant for parties to take down.

And parrying was the start of it all.

Sure, parrying was difficult and exhausting, but I didn’t think it was as hard as people were making it out to be in the comments.

Of course, my current body’s talent is exceptional, but it’s still the body of a young girl.

‘Well, if a beginner suddenly soloed a boss, I’d think it was a hack too.’

But hacks don’t exist in this game. In Leore, hacks refer to illegal modifications.

The access device, which looks like a collar around your neck, blocks signals from your brain to your body and sends them to the game instead.

That’s how you move in the game as you think.

But there are modifications that intentionally amplify those signals. Of course, the side effects are severe, so it’s legally banned and considered an illegal modification.

And now they’re saying I used an illegal modification.

‘So that’s why that guy told me to play fair.’

Now I’m starting to understand what happened this morning.

If I had really used an illegal modification, I’d be anxious and restless, but I’m using a perfectly healthy and normal access device.

The access device I’m using is different from others, but it’s still a normal one.

If this were just a regular RPG, I’d ignore it all, quit the game, and look for something else fun. But I want to keep playing Leore for a long time.

“Ugh… what should I do?”

If I leave it as is, people will keep misunderstanding, and eventually, I’ll just be labeled a hacker. Then naturally, getting into raids will be impossible.

“I don’t want that…”

But it’s also a burden to step forward in front of so many people to clear up this misunderstanding.

But if I want to keep playing Leore, I need to at least resolve the issue about hacks and illegal modifications.

After all, the screenshot with my appearance has already been seen by anyone who’s even slightly into Leore, and I’m already famous.

“But how do I clear up this misunderstanding? Hmm…”

Thinking about it, I just tried to take down the Orc Chieftain, parried, and ended up defeating it.

But they say that’s impossible? But I already did it.

Isn’t it just that they’re not skilled enough?

==

Legacy of Raid Customer Service.

Suddenly, the customer service was flooded with five times the usual number of inquiries.

The strange thing was that all those inquiries were about one user. The customer service staff sensed something was off and reported it to their superiors.

The Leore customer service team leader personally looked into the inquiries about that one user.

“Someone soloed the Orc Chieftain?”

Until now, no level-adjusted boss had ever been soloed. Even physical monsters among players needed at least six people to take them down.

But someone soloing such a boss was clearly an anomaly.

Most of the inquiries were suspicions about illegal modifications to the access device, asking the company to investigate.

Feeling that this was sufficiently strange, the customer service team leader immediately informed other team leaders.

The team leaders gathered to discuss the controversy unfolding in Leore.

They all watched the video of a user soloing the Orc Chieftain, showing impossible parries and clearing it at level 5.

“It’s impressive, but theoretically, it’s possible, right?”

“That’s true. But there’s one problem.”

“A problem?”

The team leader, who had been gathering information about the user Arang just in case, shared what they had found. Hearing this, the team leaders went to the head director.

“So, you’re saying this child really soloed the Orc Chieftain?”

The Leore director addressed the team leaders about the sudden controversy.

“Yes.”

“What’s this user’s info?”

“Her real name is Arang, matching her nickname, and she’s 15 years old.”

“Then what’s the problem? There’s no hack in our game, right? Was there an issue with the logs?”

“There was no issue with the logs. This 15-year-old girl really soloed the Orc Chieftain on her own.”

“Really? Then why did this case come to me? Is there another issue?”

“The issue is with the access device.”

“The access device? Are you saying she really used an illegal modification? This girl?”

The director frowned.

“We haven’t confirmed illegal modifications, but we’ve never seen this access device model before. And the model name is…”

“A model we’ve never seen? Is that even possible?”

The Leore director took the paper. It contained information about the user Arang that the game company could legally obtain, including the access device model she used. But the model name was something even the director had never seen before.

“This is…”

[MDB Medical DeathBed]

A model name the game director had never seen before.

No manufacturer or generation was listed.

But just by looking at the model name, it was intuitive enough to understand what kind of access device it was.

[MDB Medical DeathBed] translates to [Medical Deathbed Access Device] in Korean.

I’ve heard of it.

It’s used in the medical field because it blocks brain signals, potentially replacing anesthesia with slightly less risk. It started out of curiosity.

Deathbed.

A heavy word.

Deathbed means the approach of death or the end of life.

So, the [MDB Medical DeathBed] access device is meant to reduce pain for patients nearing death.

“This young girl…”