Everything in sight was painted pure white.
The room, filled with chairs, desks, beds, and various pieces of furniture, as well as the connecting hallway, was completely immaculate without a single speck of blemish.
This place was also the pinnacle of cutting-edge futuristic technology.
A fully automated space—the apex of sci-fi.
In other words, a massive space mothership.
The total size reached hundreds of meters, containing hundreds of rooms.
Ironically, there was a joke that every single room was more expensive than its weight in gold.
The conditions to enter were extreme.
Even if one somehow managed to get in, they’d risk their entire body turning pitch black from the heat cannons positioned throughout the rooms.
Unverified individuals were not even allowed to exist here.
However, currently, the sound of dozens of footsteps echoed through the fortress-like mothership.
“There’s been a dungeon support request from Busan! The grade is B, requiring reinforcements of several mid-tier hunters…”
“Unidentified suspicious activity has been observed in South Seoul. We need to strengthen the search efforts…”
It had been only a week since meteors struck and the world underwent drastic changes.
However, the events of that week could only be described as equivalent to a year’s worth of crises.
In response, an association was hastily organized, but there was far too much lacking—personnel, resources, and even time.
The top priority was providing a safe place where the association members could work and operate.
However, in this era where everyone could use the skills of VR characters, buildings were as fragile as straw.
Thus, the chosen location was this most secure place in the world, the mothership powered by cutting-edge sci-fi technology.
At its very center, the owner of this massive ship, a white-haired woman named Beak Ayun, sighed.
‘Never thought I’d end up as the association president.’
Right after the meteor incident, two women had come looking for her.
Swordmaster Lee Seul.
Magician Helena.
Both had made great contributions in stopping the meteors, earning them immense fame.
Naturally, she thought one of them would take on the role of association president.
However, their proposal was completely unexpected.
“Please take on the role of association president for us.”
“…Are you serious?”
“I only know how to wield a sword. And as for Helena…”
“Right, I was originally affiliated with the U.S. anyway. It’s not appropriate for me to take on the role of Korea’s association president.”
It was as if they had coordinated their responses in advance, their words flowing seamlessly.
“I heard that before diving into VR, you ran a business. We believe you’re much more suited to being the president than we are.”
“I ran away during the meteor strike.”
It was true that she had business experience. However, Beak Ayun lacked one critical factor compared to the other two.
She had fled during the meteor incident.
Using the mothership’s advanced technology, she quickly scanned the meteors and concluded they couldn’t be stopped.
Even with the newly-realized skills, it would have been the same.
The mass of the meteors was so great that even if she rammed the mothership into them, it would only slightly alter their trajectory.
Perhaps her previous business experience played a role in her swift decision.
“I honestly thought we couldn’t stop it. I believed the entire East Asia region would be wiped out at minimum.”
A strange darkness observed at the moment of impact—
The inexplicable phenomenon where the darkness, as if alive, engulfed the meteors.
If not for that, her prediction would have come true.
But the meteors vanished.
The disaster was averted by heroes, not her.
She was nothing more than a deserter.
And the public doesn’t trust deserters.
“I can’t accept this proposal. The public will oppose it from the start.”
However, the two didn’t back down.
“Then we’ll support you. After all, we’re the ones who contributed the most.”
“It’s the rational choice. Besides, if not you, the world’s second-ranked individual and the top in the sci-fi field, then who else?”
Their relentless persuasion continued.
Eventually, Beak Ayun surrendered.
In hindsight, it was an impulsive decision.
Taking on the role of the general manager to manage the chaos in such turbulent times.
It was a position of enormous responsibility but meager authority.
“President! A dungeon has appeared in northern Seoul…”
“There are reports of a series of missing persons. Considering the fact that only low-level Awakened individuals are being targeted, it appears to be highly deliberate…”
‘Tsk, and now we have kidnappers running rampant too.’
Even so, Beak Ayun couldn’t refuse the position of president.
Using an interface instead of paper, she diligently organized and handled her tasks one by one.
“Deploy nearby hunters for initial response to the dungeon. Dispatch a search team to the area of the disappearances and request cooperation from the police.”
Amidst her busy work, a report came through.
[President, the dungeon in South Seoul has been cleared. The dungeon’s monster was a Minotaur, and Hunter Sora, the Black Priestess, provided assistance.]
The South Seoul dungeon was cleared.
One of the dozens of interface windows displayed on the wall disappeared.
Yet, a thought lingered in her mind.
‘Wasn’t she known for using a giant sword? Did she change her concept?’
Well, she was a martial artist.
It wasn’t her place, as someone reliant on sci-fi tech, to meddle.
For now, there were more pressing matters.
The upcoming international summit.
The agenda: the second of the Seven Calamities.
And—
The true conqueror of the meteors and Korea’s de facto number one.
Recalling the mysterious darkness that enveloped the meteors, replaying the footage on the screen, Beak Ayun narrowed her eyes.
* * *
There was once a trending video.
“I heard the house over there collapsed, so I went to check it out. But when I came back, my house had collapsed. As soon as I saw it, I burst into tears.”
It was a bittersweet story of an old lady who went to watch a neighbor’s house collapse into a sinkhole, only to find her own house had collapsed as well.
Back then, it wasn’t my problem, so I just laughed it off.
But now that it’s my reality, I understand.
This just hurts.
It hurts so much it feels like my heart is freezing.
“They said a dungeon appeared under my house, so I went to take care of it. But when I came back, my house had collapsed. As soon as I saw it, my brain froze…”
I mutter to myself while staring blankly into space with dead eyes.
Passersby glance at me as if looking at a lunatic.
A slight look from me makes them quickly avert their gazes and walk away, but some, instead of avoiding me, glance back at the sound of my cute voice and even wave at me.
‘Is this what they mean when they say if you’re famous, people will applaud you even if you do something crazy?’
It feels a bit different, but whatever.
Just in case someone becomes suspicious, I firmly shut my mouth.
The moment I close my mouth, the wandering gazes disperse.
“Sigh.”
I take a deep breath to shake off the gloomy mood.
As I calm myself, a question arises.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t the hunters I met in the dungeon find my voice strange?’
Aria Eclipse, one of the Seven Bosses and infamous as the most brutal.
She was especially well-known as a marketing tool for Another World, so her voice was widely recognized.
By the fifth year, VR games were globally popular, even used as ID substitutes, so there wasn’t a person unfamiliar with the final raid boss.
And yet, oddly enough, no one recognized me.
‘Is there something I don’t know?’
I open a search window and set the time period to when the world was still normal, back in the Another World days.
Another World – Kr server
[Another World Final Boss Revealed]
(Image of a black-haired girl in gothic lolita attire)
“Super pretty.
Another World finally figured out how to make money!
These guys always made grotesque non-human monsters.”
(Image of the corrupted World Tree, Evil Yggdrasil, boss with wood attributes)
(Image of the giant stone soldier, Gigantes, boss with earth attributes)
“Since they have no more bosses to release, give us swimsuit and maid skins instead of gothic lolita outfits.
I’ll buy them all.”
“Wow, she’s super pretty.”
“Hehehe.”
“Anyway, the character is a boss mob, so there’s no chance of skins being released.”
“Come on, at least let us imagine.”
“How do you even fight her during the raid? She’s too pretty to hit.”
“This is ridiculous.”
‘Strange. The appearance is the same… Is the voice different?’
I changed the time period to something more recent.
[LOL, So hot]
(Image of Aria Eclipse, the final boss among the Seven Bosses, during a raid)
(Audio clip of Aria Eclipse’s first-phase opening line:
“Let us enjoy the pitch-black night together… forever.”)
“Her innocent face combined with her dead amber eyes and yandere lines is so hot.”
(Screenshot of a raid failure log)
“I’ve died over 100 times just to hear this line.
And yet I never get tired of it.
Sigh, I love it.”
(Replay of Aria Eclipse’s voice clip:
“Let us enjoy the pitch-black night together… forever.”)
“Hehehe, come here.
I’ll make sure you enjoy it forever.”
“Crazy, how many times did you die?”
“You don’t even need to try to die; you can’t clear it anyway.”
“Yup, so now I’m aiming to hear her second-phase lines before dying.”
“Is this the yandere counter they’re talking about?”
(Image of Eclipse glaring darkly with disdain)
(“Die!” image caption)
‘No way, I don’t want to run into a guy like that.’
The comments alone make me frown.
Still, listening to the voice clip, I feel like I know the difference.
‘The in-game Eclipse’s voice is lower, isn’t it?’
To be precise, it’s lower in pitch but has a sultrier quality.
I grab my throat and try to force out the same tone.
“Ah, ah.”
What comes out is a high-pitched, cute voice.
If I lower the tone—
“Ah, ah… Ugh.”
Nope.
Not happening.
I stop.
What am I even doing?
‘Anyway, I need to find a place to stay for the night…’
I turn my head to look around.
Though there aren’t many people, it seems the situation has stabilized somewhat, as some hotels are open.
I check the money I have on me.
[Gold Coins: 299,883 (+200,000)]
[This is Lee Minhyuk from the Hunter Association. Thank you so much for your help. The amount you assisted with has been deposited, and if you’re ever considering becoming a hunter—]
There’s no need to listen to the rest.
If I’m not careful, I won’t become a hunter, but hunted instead.
‘So, where should I stay?’
I’d like to stay at a hotel, but hotels and motels are out of the question.
In a world where people can transform into VR characters and crimes have escalated in scale, identity checks have become stricter.
If I tried to stay there, I’d be caught immediately.
‘Why can’t I spend money even though I have it…’
I look at the hotel with lingering regret.
If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve asked for a house instead of money.
‘Is there anywhere decent I can stay for the time being?’
I wander the streets, peeking into different places.
How much time has passed like this?
Tap, tap, tap—
Footsteps echo behind me.
When I glance back slightly, I see several people following me.
Step, step—
They match their pace with mine.
When I move forward, they follow. When I turn a corner, they turn and continue to trail me.
Click, click—
Their clothes are all different, but their shoes are uniformly black dress shoes.
And they’re whispering something to one another.
Click, clack—
Then, the moment I pause my steps, large figures block my path.
One of them smiles warmly and speaks to me.
“Cute little miss. I have some delicious food at my place. Want to come stay over at my house for a bit?”
“…?”
Wow, free lodging.
Looks like I’ve found a place to stay.