With a light exhaust sound, the capsule's cover opened. I peeled off the connection patches attached to my temples and slowly sat up.
"Uuuugh, crack-pop!"
After loosening up my stiff body with a stretch, I headed straight to the fridge and pulled out a leftover, flat cola.
I roughly twisted the cap off and gulped down the lukewarm, sugary liquid, my gaze fixed on the upper corner of the room as I fell into deep thought.
'Should I just quit the factory and go all-in on gold farming......?'
The miscellaneous loot I'd gathered so far, the Epic-grade skill from killing Matus, and the massive castle tax distribution coming in from this event siege victory.
If I calculated liquidating all of this on an item trading site, I had earned in less than half a month what I, Jae-geon, would have had to work my fingers to the bone for over three months at the factory to even touch.
'Ah...... no. It might have just been because I was lucky......'
I wasn't someone who had studied particularly hard during my school days, nor had I learned a proper trade like others.
But right at this moment, I was agonizing over this as seriously as if I were an elite employee awaiting a transfer to a major conglomerate's core department.
[? Da-dan, da-da-dan, da-dan-]
"Who is it at this hour......"
Grabbing my smartphone, I furrowed my brow the moment I checked the caller ID on the screen.
[Vice President Kim Su-cheol]
The President's brother-in-law.
A nepotism hire who had snagged the VP position at the factory relying solely on his bloodline, despite having zero education or experience.
He was the trash of all trash, someone who normally treated employees worse than animals.
The thrilling euphoria I had felt while cheering madly alongside tens of thousands of people instantly plummeted to the bottom.
I forced my voice into the dry tone of harsh reality and swiped the call button.
"Yes, Vice President. Hello."
"Yeah, it's me. You're on PTO until the day after tomorrow, right? Cancel that right now and crawl your way into work tomorrow."
"Excuse me? But, Vice President, I definitely got my PTO approved and......"
He cut me off sharply, his overbearing words continuing.
"Ahem! The company is busy to death right now, have you lost your mind? We're short-handed to meet tomorrow's quota, so you better show up. If I tell you to do something, you do it without whining!"
Beep- beep-
The dial tone indicating he had unilaterally hung up.
"What? Did he hang up? Hey, you son of a bitch!!!"
I fired off the breath of curses I had been heavily suppressing inside my stomach right into thin air.
"Phew......"
After letting it out roughly, I suddenly got scared that maybe the call hadn't actually disconnected.
I checked the screen one more time and put the phone down with a sigh of relief.
"Tch."
It was dirty and petty, but what could I do?
Born with a dirt spoon in my mouth, living a life where I hadn't learned a damn thing—I had to at least hold tightly onto one safe lifeline.
Letting out a long sigh mixed with resignation, I trudged over and sat in front of my laptop.
And, as if possessed, I logged into my only sanctuary: the official
On the main screen of the official website, there was a separate [Event Siege Battle] category, and inside it, highlight videos from each server were densely posted.
Click-click!
I double-clicked my mouse, quickly found my server and group, and played the video.
The landscape of the siege battle began majestically, illuminating the ground from high up in the distant sky.
However, I only had one interest.
Lightly ignoring the fights of others, I was clicking through the timeline to skip ahead, looking solely for a scene where my character stood out.
Along with a cut of enemies being violently blown away by arrows flying from the top of the wall, I finally found my majestic figure captured in a solo close-up by the camera.
"Kiyaaa......!"
An exclamation burst out of me naturally.
The sight of players being violently smashed and rolling around from the arrows I shot was captured very vividly and artistically.
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Completely absorbed in my active performance on screen, I was grinning so wide my mouth reached my ears, as if my brain had completely wiped clean the phone call I had just received from that human trash.
"Hehe......"
After happily replaying my highlight scene dozens of times, I began in earnest to search for the drop items of each hunting ground and the high-efficiency hunting zones by level.
My current level was 35. Although I hadn't pushed through the main quests, I had already unlocked the auction house system, so it didn't matter if I focused solely on hunting without any major restrictions.
'Still... I have to clear the main quests, so I should head to the abandoned mine first after the tournament is over. Will that [Toxic] guild still be locking it down by then......?'
'Ah, whatever...... Let's just sleep for now. A terrible shift at work awaits me tomorrow.'
Rubbing my dry eyes, I turned off the laptop and lay down on my bed.
No sooner had I curled up under the cold blankets than I fell into a deep sleep, as if passing out.
Beep!
The next morning.
Clocking in and stirring a paper cup of instant coffee, I stared blankly up at the clock hanging on the office wall.
Just as I was preparing for the usual boring and suffocating daily routine.
"Oh, you're here early?"
That signature unpleasant glare that scanned people up and down.
Vice President Kim Su-cheol, his back perfectly straight, opened the office door and walked in with one hand arrogantly shoved into his pants pocket.
"Yes...... Good morning."
"Yeah, whatever."
Even in a single short answer spat out carelessly, arrogance overflowed, as if he lived with the world under his feet.
"I heard you stamped the iron plates backward last time? Do your job properly. The only reason you aren't fired is because my brother-in-law is a nice guy."
Despite the fact that he did nothing but hold onto the phone all day during work hours and play mobile games, the ridiculous sight of him lecturing me just because he was my superior almost made vicious curses erupt from the pit of my stomach.
However, raising the paper cup in my hand and forcing the lukewarm instant coffee down my throat, I barely suppressed my anger with a subservient, forced smile.
"Ah...... Yes, I apologize, Vice President."
Clack.
Right at that moment, the office door opened, and the President walked in.
Kim Su-cheol's arrogant expression vanished into thin air, instantly turning into an affectionate look like a puppy that had just met its owner.
"Oh my, brother-in-law! Why did you come in so early! You could have taken your time; I was keeping an eye on everything!"
Watching him flatteringly follow the President into his office made me so disgusted I wanted to kill him.
"Hey, I told you to call me President when we're outside."
"Ah, understood, President! About yesterday......"
As the President's office door closed, the bastard's voice was blocked out. I set down my cold coffee and let out a small sigh.
'I seriously need to just quit, man......'
Clang! Clang!
Lost in thoughts so deep that even the familiar sound of the press machine I heard every day scattered from my ears, I finally reached a clear conclusion after fierce calculations.
'Right...... With the skills I luckily got early on, I definitely have a winning chance in the tournament. The prize money is around ten million won, too......'
The money I had earned in Liberty so far was already enough to live on for three months.
But what if I managed to grasp 1st place in the tournament?
I would be given much more time, and I would be able to invest all of that time entirely into Liberty.
'If I win 1st place in the tournament, I'll quit without any regrets then.'
The answer was decided.
The evening commute home as the red sun set.
After finishing a grueling day where I had to work like a machine, my steps heading home were lighter than ever.
Wanting to escape this sickening reality and log into 'my real world' as soon as possible, I quickened my pace without realizing it.
As soon as I arrived home, I threw off my clothes like a shedding snake and took a rushed shower, barely wiping off the water.
Considering even the time to eat dinner a waste, I soothed my hunger with a sip of water and threw myself into the capsule without hesitation.
Psssssh.
Along with the familiar startup sound, my vision went dark.
Soon, when I opened my eyes again, instead of my suffocating and cramped single room in reality, the majestic world of
[Guild Master] Kangyu: Welcome back, Savior!
[Guild Member] Ian: Welcomeee!!!
[Guild Member] Succubus: You're a bit late today??
[Guild Member] Jude: Hi
Normally, I would have brushed past those obvious greetings indifferently, but I didn't know why they felt so touching and welcoming today, after enduring a hellish day.
It felt like my frozen insides were gently melting away.
[Guild Member] Savior: Haha, I was a bit busy in real life. Did you all rest well?
There was no need to drag the wretched exhaustion of reality all the way into this joyful space.
I just left a light reply, pretending to be relaxed.
Soon, Guild Master Kangyu, who had shown incredible performance in the last siege, boosted our morale for the upcoming stage.
[Guild Master] Kangyu: By the way, the solo matches are starting soon! Let's all do our best!! We're all going to see each other on the main stage, right?!!
[Guild Member] Ian: Sounds good!!!!!! Let's go!!!
[Guild Member] Succubus: Yep
[Guild Member] Jude: Gl
[Guild Member] Savior: Good luck to you too, Kangyu!
The 'Wild Field Battle Pass' I obtained by getting the last hit on the Lord. I decided not to needlessly brag about this massive privilege in the chat window.
Since it was a battle royale played under strict anonymity anyway, there was no way for others to know whether I was mixed into that hellish preliminary field or not.
Soon, the time approached for the participants to be forcibly transported to the field battle map.
With only me slipping out, the curtain seemed to rise on the horrifying Wild Field Battle where tens of thousands of people would tangle together.
'While others are fighting a bloodbath, maybe I should head to the hunting ground I looked up yesterday and prepare for the main tournament.'
My goal was a perfect victory on the 64-player main stage.
To pour this golden time I had obtained thanks to the pass into extreme growth, I mounted the Griffon's back without hesitation.
[ Status Information ]
───────────────
Name : Savior
Level : 35
[ Health ] 960 / 960
[ Mana ] 360 / 360
───────────────
[ Combat Stats ]
Attack Power : 540 (+110)
Defense : 92 (+15)
───────────────
[ Attributes ]
? Strength (STR) : 18
? Agility (AGI) : 145 (+12)
? Constitution (CON) : 32
? Intelligence (INT) : 10
? Perception (PER) : 30
───────────────
My current level was 35. However, trusting the goblin friends who would reliably act as meat shields in front of me, I boldly decided to head to the
My objective was clear.
The 'Shadow Tracker' that spawns here drops Rare boots with movement speed attached, and the monster called 'Apostle of Oblivion' drops a Rare necklace that has a chance to generate a shield when hit.
Besides that, decent Advanced-grade armor and weapons pour out, so whether I equip them myself or sell them on the auction house, it's unconditionally profitable.
Since I'm overcoming a 10-level difference to hunt them, an explosive amount of EXP goes without saying.
Of course, that's 'if hunting is even possible' with my specs.
The scenery of the
Massive stone pillars were tumbling around broken on the ground, and ruined houses with only their frames remaining without shape could be seen all around.
Soon, a hazy sandstorm fiercely blew in, covering my vision. I reflexively raised my arm to cover my face and frowned.
"Ugh, look at all this sand dust."
The texture of the soft sandy floor sinking deep every time I took a step was incredibly realistic.
It felt as if I had actually stepped into a real desert I had never visited in my entire life.
As I ventured a bit further inside, the black silhouettes of humanoid monsters wavering bizarrely through the yellowish, sandy wind began to reveal themselves one by one.
'Phew...... Let's go.'
The pressure of a 10-level difference. Firmly suppressing my nervous heart, I called out my guards in a low voice.
"Summon......"