ALL NOVEL 10.
10.
“Wh-what is it?”
“There’s a game called ‘Forest Effect’.”
“Oh? I know it. But why suddenly?”
“…I didn’t mean to overhear, but it seems you’re looking for something to do as a hobby. Forest Effect is fun. Even people who’ve never played games before can easily play it.”
“Ah… A hobby. Hmm. A game. Okay. Thanks.”
The two, who had just received a game recommendation from Kwon Je-beom, the world’s most popular pro gamer, whispered to each other and then called someone.
Kwon Je-beom’s plan was successful. Ha Jin managed to make his brother play the game under the ridiculous excuse of it being a class assignment.
Now the problem was finding out his nickname…
Sitting in front of the computer, Kwon Je-beom fell into deep thought.
‘Hey, what’s oppa’s character name?’
‘H^$dara.’
‘Ah, H%^da. Somehow it sounds just like oppa.’
Of all parts, that one was hard to hear. ‘H’ was definitely the first. The last was certainly ‘da’. As for the rest, he wasn’t even sure if it was Korean, English, or a mix…
Kwon Je-beom, having made a firm decision, typed on the keyboard.
[Whisper/To Hagananda: Hello, Hagananda-nim ^^]
[This name does not exist.]
[Whisper/To Haganada: Hello, Haganada-nim ^^]
[This name does not exist.]
[Whisper/To HAganada: Hello]
[Whisper/HAganada: Wow]
[Whisper/HAganada: Wow]
[Whisper/HAganada: Beombi-nim??///
[Whisper/HAganada: OMG what’s up]
Ah. This isn’t the person.
[Whisper/To HAganada: Ah, I’m sorry. It was a mistake. Enjoy your game ^^]
[Whisper/HAganada: Wow]
[Whisper/HAganada: ㅠㅠ]
[Whisper/HAganada: Even if it’s a mistake I’m happy]
[Whisper/HAganada: Hyung, let’s do a cocktail run together]
[Whisper/HAganada: Cocktail gogooo]
Kwon Je-beom ignored HAganada and sent whispers to several people whose names started with ‘H’ and ended with ‘da’. He knew the server for sure, so he just needed to find the name…
That’s when it happened.
[General/Angryy: Fighting]
Kwon Je-beom quietly watched the rapidly scrolling general chat window.
[General/Angryy: Cheer up]
[General/Angryy: You can do it]
[General/Angryy: Mino, cheer up, you can do it]
Ah. This is the person.
He was certain without a doubt.
My goodness. ‘Angryy’? He could also understand exactly why Ju Da-bin said it sounded just like oppa.
Kwon Je-beom took a deep breath for a moment.
He had no intention of becoming friends. He just wanted to take responsibility since he recommended the game and that person had never played games in his life. Since he’s a scary person with tattoos all over both arms, let’s help him slowly while being careful not to annoy him.
And if Ha-un is “that person”…
“…”
Kwon Je-beom was a pro gamer. A pro gamer skilled in build-ups and strategies.
Although extremely introverted, he could pretend to be an extrovert online.
Kwon Je-beom moved his fingers. This was just the beginning.
Adding a Friend
The game character appeared in my dream. I hope this isn’t already a sign of game addiction. Maybe because it was such a weird dream, I even overslept. I was in a daze for a while before leaving my room at Jin’s call to eat. Jin was taking out side dishes from the refrigerator. Usually, I, the unemployed one, would get up earlier and prepare breakfast, but today I came out late…
“Hyung, you overslept today. That’s unusual.”
“Yeah, I had a weird dream.”
Clang.
Jin dropped a spoon on the table. His eyes were shaking wildly.
“A dream? What? What kind of dream? Another lottery? Is it another lottery? Are we winning the lottery first prize again? Ha, thankfully there are so many types of lotteries in the world. So what should we buy this time?”
“Calm down, little brother. It was really just a weird dream.”
“What kind of dream was it?”
“This tastes better if you heat it in the microwave.”
I wrapped the pollack pancake I bought online in plastic wrap and heated it in the microwave. Jin, being twenty, does set the table for meals, but he’s still lacking in some areas. Jin picked up the spoon again, but he was still not calm.
“Tell me what kind of dream you had. There’s always something in your dreams, hyung.”
“It’s really nothing. Hurry up and eat, then go to school. Make sure to check if you’ve forgotten any assignments.”
“Please… I can’t miss this opportunity. It’s a chance to become a trillionaire, beyond a billionaire.”
“You’re talking nonsense. If you become that rich, you won’t die when you’re supposed to. And it was just a dream where you got a job later, got scolded by your boss, and came home crying. So stop now.”
It wasn’t a complete lie because I had actually dreamed something like this once.
“Ah, hyung. You’re too much.”
My brother’s face, which had been flushed with expectation, turned gloomy.
“I’ve completely lost my appetite.”
“Eat before I shove it in your mouth. What did I say about breakfast?”
“You said we should eat breakfast even if we collapse while eating it…”
My brother picked up his spoon weakly and took one spoonful, then another. After swallowing a few bites, he seemed to get his appetite back and started eating normally.
After feeding the kid and sending him to school, it was 8:40 AM.
Usually, I would jump into bed and space out until my brother contacted me again, but…
Now I had something to do too, so I went to my room.
After logging into the game and connecting as the ‘Angryy’ character, I appeared exactly where I had logged off yesterday. Maybe because it was a weekday morning, there was no login queue this time.
There were a few quests similar to ‘Comforting Mino’. I ran errands while learning lots of new emotional expressions. From the flower shop to the bakery, from the bakery to the fruit store, from the fruit store to the sword training hall, from the sword training hall to the temple…
At one point, I had to draw water from a well, but someone else was doing it, so I waited behind them. After a while, that person said:
[General/Pepepepero: ?]
[General/Pepepepero: ;;??]
[General/Pepepepero: Um… ?]
[General/Pepepepero: Angryy-nim, why… are you lining up behind me?]
Ah, I don’t want to type.
[General/Angryy: It’s for a quest]
[General/Pepepepero: Ah…? lol]
[General/Pepepepero: What quest?]
[General/Angryy: They told me to fetch water from the well]
[General/Pepepepero: hahaha you’re a newbie, that’s really cute]
[General/Pepepepero: You can do this even while others are doing it lol come and press G]
Half in doubt, I went and pressed G, and indeed, a water bucket that wasn’t there before appeared, and I could draw water.
[General/Angryy: Thank you]
[General/Pepepepero: You’re welcome… lol but are you really a newbie?]
[General/Pepepepero: You’re not a veteran playing with an alt character?]
[General/Pepepepero: Looking at your cumulative experience, you are a new character lol]
[General/Pepepepero: Hey, can you answer me??]
Ah, this is annoying again…
[General/Angryy: I don’t know what a veteran or an alt character is, and I’m slow at typing and it’s tiring, so please stop talking to me]
[General/Pepepepero: lol okay, you’ve got your concept down. I’ll give you a heart]
[Pepepepero has sent you a ♡.
Cumulative hearts – 1]
What’s this now? I quickly dismissed the annoying window on the screen. Fortunately, Pepepepero left, smiling, without talking to me further.
After finishing the quest, I returned to the village and ran around again. Just when I was getting bored and wanted to throw the mouse, combat started again. Indeed, combat suits me better than village quests. The satisfying combat of beating monsters to death in the field.
However, four users were loitering around the Poison Lacra, the monster I had to kill. I waited for them to disappear, worried that my attack skills might hit those people. I didn’t want to be the one to pick a fight first.
But what were those people doing… They even sat down right in the middle of the Poison Lacra.
Finally, I went to talk to them.
[General/Angryy: Hello. I need to kill the Poison Lacra]
[General/Trainee: ?]
[General/OldBaby: So what??]
[General/Angryy: Please move aside for a moment. I think you might get hit if I use my skills]
[General/Trainee: ????]
[General/Trainee: What are you talking about]
Why can’t they understand? My blood pressure is rising again from frustration.
[General/Angryy: Please step aside for a moment, I’ll just kill ten of them]
[General/OldBaby: Are you saying… you can’t kill the mobs… because we’re here?]
[General/Angryy: Yes]
[General/OldBaby: What the;;;;;]
[General/Trainee: What on earth are you talking about]
[General/lionn: Damn; this is crazy cute]
[General/Trainee: What’s cute?]
[General/lionn: Are you crazy?? Don’t you understand?? The newbie is afraid of hitting us while attacking monsters, so they’re asking us to step aside]
[General/OldBaby: lololololol oh my god]
[General/iionn:
[General/GreenWidow: lol they’re asking us to step aside for a moment, let’s eat them up]
[General/Bodyguard:
[General/ThisWillFloat:
I didn’t understand why they were acting like this, so I just stood there blankly. Those people suddenly started making a fuss, sending me friend requests and party invitations. The heart notification window from earlier also popped up. After closing all the windows, one of them said:
[General/GreenWidow: You can just use your skills here, we won’t get hit]
[General/OldBaby: Skills don’t affect other users except in specific areas, you can freely use your skills lol]
OldBaby actually killed a monster with some unknown flashy skill, proving that what they said was true.