Chapter 15

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 15: Classic Game Enthusiasts (2)

The party that day became the beginning of a connection.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed partying with RabbitArcher (Archer).

I didn’t really like calling out the full name every time, so I settled on calling them “Rabbit-nim.”

Honestly, I still don’t know much about who they are.

But one thing was clear.

They had enough time on their hands to rival even me.

Seriously, it’s kind of creepy.

How are they online every day?

Whenever I log in, they’re always there, shining brightly in their spot.

I can’t deny that I consider myself to be at a “Bill Gates” level when it comes to time spent on games, but this person was a bit more extreme than me.

Perhaps “Even More Gates” would be an appropriate term.

Unlike me, who was playing mostly out of “nostalgia” for my hometown.

They seemed to have a genuine “passion” for the game.

So, since we happened to meet again today, I won’t dwell on this aspect any longer.

As soon as I logged in, Rabbit-nim immediately found me.

With a brief greeting, they extended a party invitation, and the hunt began.

There was no small talk or mundane conversation during the process.

Occasionally, when I got bored, I would say a word or two first, but it was rare for them to initiate a conversation with me.

From then on, our routine was simply to hunt without exchanging any words beyond the game’s “party” objectives.

As this process repeated many times, any conversations started to feel awkward and out of place amidst the constant hunting.

I wondered why this person still wanted to hunt with me.

Maybe they weren’t focused on leveling up their ‘Archer’ character, but rather treating my character ‘Warrior’ like a pet to level up.

I often thought about that.

Not my place to say, but it was truly peculiar.

All I knew about this person was their username, “RabbitArcher,” and the fact that they typed short chats, probably out of laziness.

I finished off the monster I was hunting.

《 LEVEL UP 》

My character was enveloped in a white effect.

The graphics were trash no matter how many times I saw them.

Finally, am I at max level?

The end of a long journey has arrived.

I never thought I would reach max level as a “Warrior” in this game.

It was truly a garbage class. Warrior.

Even though the results were achieved through party hunting, the sense of accomplishment I felt was undeniable.

As my character didn’t move after leveling up, RabbitArcher’s movements, who had been helping me hunt, also stopped.

In fact, RabbitArcher was already at max level.

They were just wasting time by my side, helping with my hunts.

Thank you…!

RabbitArcher (Archer).

I typed into the chat.

[ImARealMage (Warrior): So, what now?]

Eventually, we reached the end of the game content.

There was nothing left for us to do.

If you hit max level in a classic RPG game, you should enjoy the max level content, right? What’s there to do when there’s nothing left?

Shockingly, this game… didn’t have any max level content.

Raids? Don’t exist.

Max level hunting grounds? Those don’t exist either.

At this point, I started to think that maybe it was a mistake to reach max level.

But I only realized this when I was deep into enjoying the game and leveling up.

I, too, was a victim of being deceived by the game.

If I had noticed earlier, I might have just abandoned it and looked for another game.

But I realized it when I was at an ambiguous level.

In the end, I ended up reaching max level out of inertia.

[RabbitArcher (Archer): ?]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): So, there’s nothing left to do now?]

And then.

[RabbitArcher (Archer): It’s fun to keep hunting.]

RabbitArcher was even crazier than I thought.

It was really spine-chilling.

Was their true identity the demon of the game born from cyberpunk?

Even though they couldn’t gain experience points from hunting anymore, they still found it fun to continue hunting.

I couldn’t understand it.

I could feel my SAN (Sanity) points being depleted.

[ImARealMage (Warrior): Since it is fate, instead of doing that, why not do something else together? Like trying out other games.]

[RabbitArcher (Archer): ?]

Why the sudden question mark?

It’d be far more productive than hunting in an RPG where you can’t even level up anymore, in my opinion.

RabbitArcher’s character halted its movement once again.

…Hmm.

Was my recommendation too tactless?

In fact, maybe their earlier words were just a subtle way of saying they wanted me to quit, which got me thinking inwardly.

[RabbitArcher (Archer): Then.]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): Yes.]

I replied to the chat immediately.

Please, tell me I wasn’t tackless.

You weren’t exactly doing anything wrong by hunting with me as a warrior. (Objectively, it was bad.)

[RabbitArcher (Archer): Let’s meet up sometime.]

[ImARealMage (Warrior): ?]

This time, I was the one responding with a question mark.

—

I had only thought about hologram calls at most, but it seemed that the inner intimacy they had with me was beyond normal.

To suggest meeting up right away on our first encounter.

Are people like that nowadays?

I was about to reject the idea, saying it would be difficult unless we were in the same city, but I remembered that the classic game I was playing was only being serviced in Neon City.

Why didn’t I know about this?

In conclusion, if location wasn’t an issue, seeing each other’s faces once wouldn’t be too bad.

After all, this person, weird as they may be, had been a valuable benefactor, wasting their precious time helping me hunt with my Warrior character.

* * *

[Translator – Peptobismol]

[It would be better to not meet up, I recommend.]

Of course, Eve was against it.

It’s said that you could get into big trouble by meeting strangers online.

And it’s also said that people who enjoy strange games are more likely to be abnormal on average.

In the latter case, it also affected me.

… Yeah, it’s a bit like that.

Truth be told, I had my doubts before coming out.

I thought I was meeting a normal person.

But what if the person welcoming me turned out to be a trio of orc thugs?

While they deceived me into coming out, they might as well rob me blind and rip out my organs and implants.

Just imagining it was dreadful.

It wasn’t the orcs that were scary. It was the betrayal from someone I trusted in the game.

“So, I came out fully prepared.”

[Whether it’s worth the risk, I ask.]

If she puts it that way, I had nothing more to say.

“Don’t worry, I trust my gaming friend.”

[……]

If it had been before I fell into the world of the game, I wouldn’t have come out.

But things were different now.

I wasn’t lacking confidence in battle.

If the comparison was to someone like Catherine, a major character who also appeared in the game, the conversation might have been different.

But surely someone like that wouldn’t show up in a place like this.

So, I wasn’t overly concerned.

[I’m worried that the game you’re playing is also very strange.]

“That game was trash from the start.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

How could an RPG have no max level content?

Even thinking about it now, it didn’t make sense.

[In fact, I attempted to hack into the game without the knowledge of human ‘Lee Siwoon,’ I confess.]

“Oh, trying to create an account?”

[That’s right.]

“But?”

Eve displayed a blueprint with complex lines extending out into the corner of my visual interface.

[The server data of the game is physically separated.]

“Huh?”

[This is not a typical case. Excluding special circumstances or physical access, I believe it is impossible to modify the server’s data.]

I see.

No wonder it seemed quiet.

Normally, if it had been before, I would have already hacked the game, created a new account, and followed my character around.

“So, you couldn’t hack it?”

[It is not absolutely impossible. However, based on the reasons mentioned above, I recommend returning home.]

“But it’s already too late.”

I had already arrived at the agreed-upon location.

I took a sip of the drink I had ordered in advance.

The refreshing sensation of carbonation stimulated the back of my throat as it went down.

Now, when will they arrive?

I checked the time through the clock floating in my field of vision.

There was still some time left.

A small restaurant on the outskirts.

This was the meeting place.

The dining area was separated by a partition, so it seemed like a good place to have a quiet conversation.

The location for the meeting was chosen by the other person.

I activated the hologram interface.

I checked the message that had come to me again.

Sender: ‘White Rabbit’

– It’s a place called Ryu’s Restaurant.

– I’ll let you know the time and coordinates.

– See you later.

They were a friend who usually spoke in short sentences in the game.

It must have been difficult to type on the keyboard, indeed.

The message sent using the neural computer chip was very polite and the content was lengthy.

But to choose the name ‘White Rabbit.’

This person really sticks to the concept.

Come to think of it, since they were called Rabbit, I suddenly remembered.

There was a character in the game who liked rabbits.

They probably always carried a rabbit doll or something like that.

I remember it because it was an enemy character.

Their combat pattern was extremely difficult.

Of course, since I hadn’t actually seen them in this world, I couldn’t confirm.

I remembered that as an enemy character, they weren’t just an ordinary mercenary.

Their setting was mainly for illegal missions.

It had been so long ago that I hardly remembered anymore.

Honestly, it was good for my mental health not to encounter such characters.

What good could come from deliberately meeting enemy characters?

– Ding.

A new message arrived.

It was from RabbitArcher, White Rabbit.

– I’ve arrived now.

– Where are you?

I replied, saying I’ll wave my hand above the partition.

This should be enough for them to find me.

I thought to myself as I waved my hand above the partition.

Now, who will come in?

If several orcs suddenly appear, I plan to flip the table and run away immediately.

But the person who sat in front of me was completely unexpected.

A petite woman.

In her arms, she held a white rabbit doll tightly.

Without thinking, I asked.

“Who are you?”

“…Um, my username is RabbitArcher. I’m Julia.”

Her name was Julia.

I think I’ve heard it somewhere before..

The feeling of deja vu in her eyes rang an alarm of anxiety.

What did I say earlier?

A rabbit doll— hmm.

The game information that had been forgotten after 10 years had passed was resurrected.

Just then, Eve displayed a photo and text of Julia on my interface.

[Information. 99% match with a wanted criminal in the NCPD database.]

“?”

[Name is Julia. Registered as an illegal mercenary and terrorist.]

“Oh.”

It was the same rabbit from the game.

“…Um, I’ll have the spaghetti, please.”

Why did a wanted criminal have to show up?

My head started to ache.

[Translator – Peptobismol]