It had to be either a narcotic painkiller or a blood clotting agent that required a doctor’s prescription.
“Somewhere between 5 to 10 magic power.”
There were items like potions in most RPG games, and looking at the prices under the descriptions that claimed to heal wounds and boost magic power recovery, I felt a bit relieved.
“The minimum purchase unit is 150 magic power…”
It came in bundles of 10. It was one of the few items within reach.
It was a necessary item unless you could avoid injuries.
“I wonder how effective it really is.”
Thinking of it as a backup life, it didn’t seem too expensive.
For a while, I browsed through various items in the medicine tab.
Then, I came across a familiar name again.
“Purifier.”
Sure enough, you could buy a purifier at the store.
“Cleanses tainted magic power. The purification value varies depending on the individual’s magic power control ability.”
As always, the explanation was unfriendly, but I wasn’t bothered. I had used it before, and now it was something unrelated to me.
“I have the growth-type purification attribute.”
Ethan, upgraded to Beta (B), didn’t display proficiency as he was a non-growth type.
Meanwhile, I was a growth type with proficiency displayed along with levels.
It seemed like an upgraded version at a glance.
The visible information clearly stated that the purifier was an item for Gamma (C)s.
Most players of Gamma (C) grade, who couldn’t even participate in the upgrade test, had to rely on purifiers.
When they hunted monsters to absorb magic power, some of it had to be used for purification without any choice.
The price of the purifier displayed in the store was a whopping 100 magic power per pill.
It concluded that Gamma (C)s would inevitably grow slower compared to higher grades.
“Well, it’s not my problem.”
As I was about to scroll down to look at other items, a notification appeared with a sound.
“A new comment has been posted.”
With a sound, a red dot appeared on the speech bubble icon at the bottom left.
“Community.”
Muttering softly, a white screen appeared.
The number of players at the top had increased.
“10,098…”
I glanced at the number 10,000 for a moment.
Ignoring the new post, I manipulated the search bar.
Soon, the secret post I had written to exchange information with Ethan appeared.
I entered the agreed-upon password and opened the post. Ethan had left a comment.
– (Secret Comment) It’s finally begun.
We had decided to set all comments, both old and new, as secret to prevent anyone accidentally guessing the password and seeing our conversation.
I mainly shared information about magic power and the system, while Ethan provided me with confidential information from the UK or the US that I couldn’t access.
This was necessary to avoid attracting attention.
⌎(Secret Comment) Yeah, finally.
⌎(Secret Comment) Did you check the mission update?
Ethan immediately replied, seeming to have been waiting for me.
⌎(Secret Comment) Not yet.
While leaving a comment, I called up the mission window I hadn’t checked yet.
But before examining the content properly…
⌎(Secret Comment) Check it out. It seems like we have some choices this time.
I read Ethan’s comment first.
“What…?”
As soon as I focused on the mission window.
“Ah.”
I was speechless for a moment.
* * *
As soon as I finished my work, I returned home.
Heading to the bathroom to wash off the dirt, the mission window I had seen in the afternoon flashed before my eyes.
What I saw was a list of achievable missions.
Unlike the previous mission, where I was forcibly taken, now I could choose the missions I wanted to pursue.
When I realized that, I hesitated for a moment.
If it wasn’t for being forcibly taken, I had no reason to willingly walk into danger.
But that hesitation ended in a few seconds.
Because when this damn game started, I had no choice.
If another moment came when the system forced me.
If I were surrounded by dozens of monsters.
“To secure immediate safety, sacrificing yourself could lead to your future death.”
In the end, I decided to try the mission.
Of course, I planned to have enough preparation time.
Still, I haven’t explored the entire store, so that’s the first thing to do.
If there’s any useful technology that could help, I should buy it to enhance my capabilities.
If proficiency increases like magic power control, I’ll need time to practice.
‘Right, I should contact the old man.’
It seemed like I would need help. There was a lot to do ahead.
But the sight I witnessed during the day made it hard for me to think clearly. Eventually, I called up the mission window again.
‘Mission Window.’
The mission available list and the mission completed list. The two tabs in the mission window were simple in structure, but the content was not as straightforward.
The densely packed numbers on the white screen confused my vision.
[Mission Available List (8,651)]
The updated mission list with the activation of the main server was roughly around 8,000. They didn’t have special titles; they were all indicated by numbers.
01-15(0/10)
01-18(0/10)
01-9(0/10)
01-1(0/10)
01-19(0/10)
01-8(0/10)
…
Ethan and I considered the first number as the difficulty level of the mission, likely arranged from 01 to 10.
But strangely, the second number changed unexpectedly.
A mission labeled ’01-9(0/10)’ with five attempts would later become two or three after some time.
So, the guess that it might be the number of monsters was raised.
‘They move, after all.’
The meaning of the third number wasn’t clear yet.
‘Even from 03, there’s no last number.’
It was genuinely unfriendly notation.
Staring at the numbers that were changing every moment, I scrolled down to the end.
After a few hours, I could see the scenery that had been making my head dizzy.
8,073,885.
8,642,813.
10,664,239.
11,006,971.
17,330,320.
…
Just looking at the numbers, different from the mission list at the top, made my hands shake. Although I tried to control my breath, the trembling had spread throughout my body.
Even the numbers at the bottom of the list were changing from time to time.
‘I wonder if those are also missions?’
If even one of those numbers represented the number of monster entities.
Just facing such staggering numbers, I closed my eyes, avoiding the mission window.
As if turning away from the mission window like that.
I had to go, I judged. Even though I had to go through it, every passing moment made it feel suffocating.
For a while, I stood under the shower, letting the water pour over me, absent-mindedly.
But not long after, I rubbed my face with the towel and mumbled.
“Pull yourself together.”
There was no time to waste like this.
‘First, let’s go out.’
I had to keep moving. There was still a lot to check, and I needed to train my magic power.
I quickly finished my shower. When I was drying off with the towel.
“Ah.”
I realized I hadn’t brought clothes to change into.
I had developed a habit of carrying clothes when showering because of Yeonwoo.
But today, my mind was occupied with different thoughts.
Fortunately, my siblings were probably still at school.
I only took the towel I used to dry myself and left the bathroom.
Almost simultaneously, a mechanical sound was heard, ‘Beep.’
“Huh?”
The front door was opening.
Even though I didn’t hear the sound of entering the password!
In reflex, I covered myself with the towel.
In that state, frozen, I faced my siblings as I opened the door.
Unfortunately, the bathroom and the front door were in a straight line.
The uncomfortable silence was very short.
Yeonwoo, who had just dropped the plastic bag, screamed with her hands covering her eyes.
“Ack!”
Oddly, her fingers were still wide open!
‘If you’re going to cover, cover everything!’
Surprised by Yeonwoo’s actions, my body, which had stiffened, relaxed. I leaped into my room as if escaping.
As I closed the door with a loud bang, I could hear the frightening footsteps.
“Gyaaak, gyak! Six-pack! Biceps! Solid chest! Shoulder gangster!”
Yeonwoo’s antics, chasing me all the way to the door, began.
Her face was flushed with excitement.
I quickly put on my clothes at the speed of light and opened the door with a bang.
“Show me once more, Six-packs Kang Hyunwoo!”
Yeonwoo, making a rectangle with her fingers, came back and forth in front of me, shouting without pause.
With a stern face, I pressed Yeonwoo’s head firmly.
“Why are you guys at home at this time?”
“It’s the school foundation day today, so we didn’t go to school.”
Jinwoo, who came inside carrying the abandoned plastic bag, answered.
He said he had been studying at home on the day off and went to the mart to do some grocery shopping.
‘Come to think of it, did he mention it was in mid-June?’
I vaguely remembered hearing about the school foundation day when I first entered school.
With all the thoughts about the system and the game, I had forgotten.
‘Darn it.’
As I recalled the recent events, my head throbbed.
Whether they were aware of my current state or not, Yeonwoo approached me, attempting to lift my T-shirt.
“Where are you looking!”
I grabbed my clothes firmly, glaring at her.
“Why, let’s see the six-pack once more! I didn’t know our older brother had such a great body.”
“What’s there to see? Look at your boyfriend’s body later!”
“Tsk, it’s not like it’s going to wear out just from looking.”
Yeonwoo pursed her lips but didn’t give up, continuing to tug at the hem of my clothes.
I firmly pushed Yeonwoo’s hand away.
“What was that just now? The password?”
“What do you mean… Oh, I entered with the master key.”
“Huh? Wasn’t it lost?”
“I found it while taking out summer clothes.”
It was really frustrating.
‘Did you see it? You must have, right?’
I didn’t immediately ask the two what they saw. But it was hard to assume they hadn’t seen anything.
‘They faced me so directly.’
I was pressing my forehead with a complex feeling when Jinwoo asked.
“Hyung, I’m going to make soybean paste stew for dinner. Is that okay?”
I sighed and nodded.
“…Sure, should I help?”
“We got it.”
“Then call me when it’s ready. I’ll be resting a bit.”
“Got it.”
I was about to enter my room when Yeonwoo said, “If you won’t show it, at least let me touch it!”
Hanging on my leg, Yeonwoo started pulling at the sweatpants.
“Hey, hey! The pants are coming down!”
“Consider it as helping with my skeletal muscle study, just once!”
Amidst this, she even brought up studying. Since I usually listen to most of what they say about studying, she deliberately did this.
“Hey…”
“Let me touch the six-pack just once…”
“Stop it!”
I shouted, and I pulled my thigh away from Yeonwoo’s hands.
Shortly after, I entered the room before Yeonwoo could hang on again.
“No, my six-pack!”
Yeonwoo’s commotion continued from beyond the tightly closed door. But not long after, Jinwoo intervened.
“Stop and come help.”
The now quieter Yeonwoo moved away from the door.
But I didn’t relax. With my senses expanded through magic power control, I cautiously observed the situation outside the door.
“Did oppa ever been injured?”
In a hushed voice, a conversation emerged.
* * *
“Well, it seems there is no special information.”
“I’ve told you everything I know. Ethan received a call from David, the director of MI5.”
This kind of meeting was not the first time. David periodically called Ethan, and the reason was simple: to ask the same questions he had asked countless times before.
‘He’s persistent.’
David, whom Ethan had seen so far, was so persistent that it sent shivers down his spine.
“I was asking if there might be any news in the community.”
“I should have mentioned that part too. It’s been quiet since four days ago.”
Ethan’s sharp response revealed an unmistakable sense of hostility.
Therefore, Ethan could never see David in a positive light.
– You must understand how the unrealistic phenomenon you are experiencing will affect our country.
– Now is the time for patriotism.
– Your family is also living in this country, aren’t they?
– To protect them, we need to control dangerous variables.
It was David who forced cooperation by mentioning Ethan’s family in the past. He was also the one who ordered a gun to be pointed at Ethan’s body.
David treated Ethan as an experimental subject in the name of the nation and justice.
“Four days… Yes, it’s the day when the presumed dead appeared.”
Ethan didn’t bother responding to David’s muttering.
Instead, he sighed deeply and opened the community window.
“Even if I check again, there’s nothing. It’s been quiet since that day.”
This was not a lie. The community had been eerily silent for the past four days. Not a single new post, no increase in comments.
It was because of the number displayed at the top of the community.
‘10,092.’
It was reduced compared to when the promotion test ended.
This meant that six players had died.
Among the players who were boasting just four days ago, some brought up the topic of forming a party.
The number next to the mission 01-10 changed boldly to (6/10).
And in less than two hours, it returned to (0/10), and the player number displayed at the top of the community decreased.
Thanks to this, Ethan could understand the meaning of the third number in the missions 01 and 02.
‘The number of players who can enter the mission zone.’
As a price for confirming this new fact, the community froze.
It seemed that everyone just realized the reality of death now.
Unlike the tutorial, from now on, injuries would not heal.
Ethan unconsciously touched his neck. It was the part where he had been bitten by a monster.
As he swallowed dryly, David threw another question.
“Did those six really die?”
