Chapter 68: Chapter 68

Yeo Min-Ji had lost count of how many times she had seen the results of the 2nd class advancement event.

-1st Place: Undisclosed/Undisclosed/Martial Arts Master (2nd class)

Anyone could tell that Jeong-Hoon had taken first place.

As befitting a hidden class, he had revealed himself as a Martial Arts Master and then blinded his information, probably to wear the mask of a common grade.

[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: It’s a secret.]

However, Jeong-Hoon hadn’t given Yeo Min-Ji a clear answer.

“Wow… So he’s playing hard to get, huh?”

Although it was frustrating that he was being so secretive, Yeo Min-Ji couldn’t back down here. She had to find a way to observe Jeong-Hoon’s martial arts up close.

She had to be even more shameless.

She bided her time, leveling up and attending guild events, waiting for the right opportunity.

Since the level difference between her and Jeong-Hoon was significant, she waited for content where they could act together to appear.

[Capsule Room Siege Event]

‘Here it is.’

A new event prepared by New World.

They were trying to hold an event using the familiar siege warfare, which was held every month.

[Levels will be fixed at 150 in the event.]

Moreover, all levels were fixed at 150.

That meant it would be decided purely on skill.

“If it’s this…?”

However, there was a restriction that participants had to log in using a capsule room’s dedicated capsule to participate in the event.

Yeo Min-Ji immediately sent a whisper to Jeong-Hoon, and the reply arrived in the evening, after some time.

[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: Yes, I’m planning to participate in this event.]

At the positive reply, Yeo Min-Ji shouted “Hurray!” three times and then left for Autobahn, where Jeong-Hoon was.

This was the reason why Yeo Min-Ji had come to find Jeong-Hoon.

“Yes, I’m going to participate in the event.”

“As expected! Then would you like to go with me?”

“I already have party members.”

“Wow… You’re so fast? Is it already full with 4 people?”

Oh, the dizziness.

She grabbed her throbbing head and barely managed to keep her balance.

“Yes, but there are only two of us so far.”

Yeo Min-Ji’s eyes sparkled at the mention of two people.

“Then there are two spots left?”

“…Yes.”

“Wow! What a coincidence! Actually, I’m alone too. Then can I tag along? Right?”

“Would that be okay?”

“Of course! It’s better to be two than one, and three than two.”

Actually, the person Jeong-Hoon had in mind wasn’t Yeo Min-Ji.

‘If I remember correctly, Yeo Min-Ji didn’t participate in this event.’

Rankers had their own individual capsules.

And since they belonged to named guilds, they received considerable rewards by participating in siege warfare every month.

There was no reason for them to participate in the event.

Therefore, Yeo Min-Ji should have skipped this event as well, but she came to Jeong-Hoon herself and asked to join the party.

However, it was also awkward to refuse.

If Yeo Min-Ji joined, the difficulty would be easier.

Even if her level was adjusted to 150, she was a proper ranker who had completed the fourth class advancement.

They’re quietly giving hints.

That they would turn their Earth into a game.

And that if they failed to defend it, it would collapse.

People would later call this event the ‘1st Cataclysm’.

“Huh? Why don’t we meet up and go in together?”

“Meet up?”

“Yes! To participate in the event, you have to get verified at a capsule room. It would be better to move together than separately, since it’s cumbersome to move individually.”

Her words made sense.

If they had to move as a group, it would be much more convenient to register and move from the same capsule room.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Yeo Min-Ji smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes. Then I’ll log out and contact you right away.”

As she said, there was a text message on Jeong-Hoon’s smartphone that day.

[This is Yeo Min-Ji! I’ll contact you through this outside the game!]

* * *

One week before the event.

To prepare for the event, Jeong-Hoon had a three-way meeting with Ha-Jin and Yeo Min-Ji.

‘We should get to know each other beforehand. You’ll have customized your characters in the game, right?’

Thanks to Yeo Min-Ji’s proactive attitude, the three of them met at a cafe near the capsule room.

However, Ha-Jin became tongue-tied at Yeo Min-Ji’s appearance, and a brief silence fell over the table where the three of them were sitting.

“Hello. My name is Yeo Min-Ji. I turned 21 this year, and my MBTI is ENTJ.”

Yeo Min-Ji broke the awkward atmosphere with a brief self-introduction.

After finishing her self-introduction first, she stared at Jeong-Hoon, and eventually, he opened his mouth.

“Yes, I’m Jeong-Hoon. My last name is Jeong, and my first name is Hoon. I’m 36 years old.”

“Huh? Hey, you’re 21 years old.”

Ha-Jin pointed out his age with a puzzled look.

Ah, right.

He had returned to 15 years ago, so he was 21 this year.

“Just kidding. Yes, I’m 21 this year, and I don’t know my MBTI.”

“You haven’t taken the MBTI test?”

Yeo Min-Ji asked with a surprised look.

“No, I’m not really interested.”

Jeong-Hoon knew about MBTI, but he hadn’t taken the test.

He found it funny to categorize countless people into a few types, and he didn’t feel the need to do it.

Then Ha-Jin tactfully spoke up.

“Is it my turn next? I’m Jang Ha-Jin. I’m 21 years old this year, and my MBTI is ESFP.”

“Ah, yes.”

The self-introductions ended quickly.

Silence fell over the three of them again.

Feeling awkward, Ha-Jin broke the silence and spoke to Yeo Min-Ji.

“Um… You’re the same Yeo Min-Ji I saw before, right?”

“Yes? Have we met before?”

“When I asked Hoon to take me as his disciple, I was the one next to him.”

“Ah, you were that person. I think I remember.”

It could have been a bit offensive since it was a dark past, but Yeo Min-Ji responded skillfully.

“Yes!”

Ha-Jin smiled broadly at the fact that she recognized him.

‘Wow, your so pretty.’

He hadn’t been this impressed in the game.

This was because those who enjoyed the game always set their appearance to be as beautiful as celebrities through customization.

So he thought Yeo Min-Ji would be the same, but what was this?

She was as beautiful in reality as she was in the game.

He couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Then, since we’ve gotten to know each other today, let’s see each other in a week.”

The introductions were over, so it was time to return to the game.

“Yes. Then I’ll be going.”

As Jeong-Hoon ended the conversation, Yeo Min-Ji quietly got up and left the cafe.

“Then let’s go too.”

Jeong-Hoon got up from his seat.

But Ha-Jin couldn’t get up and just stared blankly at the door she had left through.

“…Wow. Hey. I’ve never seen anyone so pretty.”

“Yeah. Anyway, let’s go.”

“I’ll stay a little longer…”

“Suit yourself. Then I’ll go first.”

“Yeah…”

Ha-Jin, still lost in the afterglow, sat still for 30 minutes.

‘Wait a minute… But if they said they would contact each other, that means they know each other’s personal contact information?’

The thought struck him, and he suddenly came to his senses.

At the same time, envy and annoyance surged through him.

“What is this? Damn, this shitty feeling?”

* * *

Jeong-Hoon entered the game and headed to the field outside the lord’s castle.

A familiar face caught his eye in the field.

It was Lee Si-Woo, the level 201 DespairedYou, who had subjugated the Ogre King’s horde with Jeong-Hoon.

‘Why is he still here?’

A lot of time had passed since they parted ways, but Lee Si-Woo hadn’t left Autobahn.

“Huh?”

Lee Si-Woo also recognized Jeong-Hoon.

“Why are you still here?”

“Ah… I have something to do.”

“Something to do?”

“Yes. I’m going to kill those bastards one more time.”

The guys who had requested him.

The 120 hours they were suspended for would be over soon.

‘If they had any sense, they would log in a few days later, but that’s not going to happen.’

They were deeply obsessed with New World.

120 hours probably felt like 1,200 hours to them.

So they would be waiting for them to log in while leveling up here.

His prediction was correct.

The Ora-Knight and the assassin tried to log in at the same time.

“I’ll take care of them.”

DespairedYou, Lee Si-Woo, drew his sword and approached the two.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“We’ve committed a grave sin! Please spare us!”

The two knelt and slammed their foreheads on the ground.

“Wait.”

Jeong-Hoon raised his hand to stop Lee Si-Woo.

“Yes? Are you going to handle it yourself?”

“Yes.”

“…Alright.”

Lee Si-Woo quietly stepped back.

“P-Please forgive us just once…”

“We must have been out of our minds! We’ll beg like this. Please have mercy on us idiots and spare us just once. Sob!”

As Jeong-Hoon approached, they desperately begged for forgiveness, rubbing their hands together.

If they got suspended again here, it would be for a month.

That absolutely couldn’t happen.

24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 120 hours.

In total, a whopping 11 days.

They had been miserable for 11 days without being able to play New World.

And now they had to endure another 30 days?

Their pride was long gone.

“If I spare you?”

“Yes…?”

“You insulted my mother. I can’t let that go.”

“…”

“You’re not really dying anyway. Just die here, and I’ll come back and kill you again in a month. Then it’s a year, right? Oh, and I’ll come back and kill you again in a year. Then it’s goodbye to New World forever.”

The Ora-Knight, Hong Hyun-Woo, and the assassin, Kim Bong-Goo, turned pale.

This relentless guy would definitely get them permanently banned.

“P-Please…”

“If you just spare us, we’ll do anything you ask!”

At Kim Bong-Goo’s words, a strange light flickered in Jeong-Hoon’s eyes.

“Really?”

Seeing that it was working, Kim Bong-Goo added,

“Yes! I can’t take back what I said, can I? So I’ll make it up to you with my body!”

“And you?”

Jeong-Hoon looked at the Ora-Knight, Hong Hyun-Woo.

Both of them had started the trouble, but it was this bastard who dared to insult his mother.

“I-I’ll do it!”

[Lightning Bolt activated.]

At that moment, Lightning Bolt poured out of Jeong-Hoon’s hand and struck Hong Hyun-Woo.

Crackle.

“Ugh!”

He trembled as if electrocuted.

Perhaps because he was level 142, he didn’t die immediately from Lightning Bolt.

Jeong-Hoon finished him off with Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

Hong Hyun-Woo’s body disappeared once again.

This meant a one-month suspension.

“Your answer is late. You should consider yourself lucky.”

“Th-Thank you…”

Kim Bong-Goo managed to reply in a trembling voice.

“You said you’d do anything, right?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Then I’ll spare your life, especially for you.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“Then participate in this Capsule Room Siege Event.”

“Capsule Room…?”

“This son of a bitch!”

***

Hong Hyun-Woo, out of the capsule, grabbed his hair.

120 hours.

Five days had passed, so he had logged in with Kim Bong-Goo, hoping that the guy might have given up.

But as expected, the crazy martial artist bastard was right there in front of them.

And next to him was the Saber they had hired.

So, as Kim Bong-Goo suggested, they knelt and apologized.

To that damn bastard they wanted to chew up and spit out.

‘But he still kills me?’

He had thrown away his pride and apologized, but all he got in return was a one-month suspension.

Buzz-

Soon after, a message came from Kim Bong-Goo.

[Hey, are you okay?]

“Damn it, you died too? Ha, that’s why I told you not to apologize!”

Hong Hyun-Woo shouted.

Kim Bong-Goo sighed quietly at his irritated voice.

[You should have apologized properly. I survived.]

“What…?”

[…Unfortunately, he said he’ll suspend you again after a month. He said to quit New World if you don’t want to get suspended.]

“That’s bullshit.”

[Anyway, I warned you.]

Click.

“Hey! Hello? Hey!”

Hong Hyun-Woo hurriedly called Kim Bong-Goo again.

But the call didn’t connect.