NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 37
#37 Episode Server Merger and the Third Trial (4)
Dimo.
In reality, the young man known as Kim Yoon-sik was serious about the game BE.
How serious? He was so serious that he almost died while playing BE but still couldn’t pull himself away from the game.
During the game takeover incident caused by Lunara, he was literally on the verge of losing his life.
If Ryu Yerin’s intervention had been even a few minutes late, he would have been toast.
Of course, Dimo was shocked at first.
“Damn it! Damn it! I almost messed up for real!! If I ever play a virtual reality game again, I’m not human!!”
He hastily sold his cherished gaming console second-hand and spent his remaining time working out or reading books.
Initially, he was perplexed but soon found the admiration and praise from those around him satisfying.
Well, that lasted a few days.
“…Was I too hasty? I don’t think I needed to sell my gaming console.”
He felt proud while jogging and starting to hit the gym, but that only lasted for a moment.
The muscle aches plagued him, his body felt worn out, and the gym began to feel like homework.
More than anything, he wanted to game so badly.
“Right! BE is the problem, not other games. There are other games like Sword of Dragons or Hungry Shadows, so I can play those.”
Since he had sold his personal console, he started gaming at an arcade lined with several colossal capsules to lie into like a bed.
He became a warrior in ‘Sword of Dragons,’ shooting out sword energy, and in ‘Hungry Shadows,’ he fought for survival against zombies.
But it fell short.
“…Was it always this boring?”
Objectively, the first two games weren’t that terrible.
However, people’s standards for evaluation are always relative.
Having tasted BE and felt its joy, Dimo’s expectations had risen to the point he could no longer be satisfied with average games.
Moreover, people tend to be strongly attracted to the words ‘forbidden,’ ‘taboo,’ or ‘please don’t press this red button.’
If BE was functioning normally, Dimo would have been cursing and holding a grudge against the shameless ones who continued to play. But when the service stopped, he felt a bit deflated instead.
It’s frustrating to want to play but not be able to.
“Ugh, damn it. I was so close to getting that unique skill!”
“Well, it’s the thief who’s bad in theft, not the victim. BE and the management can be considered victims too. So, it wouldn’t be strange for me to bring a broad mind for a comeback here.”
“How many BE players are there, and how much are they earning? There’s no way they’d just stop the service like this, right? That can’t be!”
“Why won’t they open the server!! Hurry up and open it!!”
Then one day, a strange broadcast was aired in the sky.
A life-or-death game. Mysterious material transmission. Without any gaming console, just raising your hand and shouting to sign up would make a person disappear—a true magic.
In a situation that was fantasy itself, many were calculating or gossiping, but Dimo was worried about something else.
‘…Does this mean BE won’t ever come back?’
Looking at the situation, it seemed ‘normal’ BE would indeed end the service like this.
That means that the BE run by that scammer Lunara was likely going to be his last BE.
Plus, with many people’s eyes glinting for miraculous cures or rejuvenation potions, there was a chance for material gain if successful.
Even if worst-case scenario, he had to skip work for about a year, getting that reward would be enough compensation. Maybe he could even live his life gaming without needing to work!
Having thought that far, Dimo finished some personal arrangements and game research before participating in the game without hesitation.
It was a madness even Ryu Yerin and Ryu Inseo would have to blink at.
*
Given that the motivation for entering the game was what it was, Dimo wasn’t very proactive about rescuing other players.
He didn’t think he had to be the ‘let’s kill all the competitor scum’ type, but he wasn’t about to help others if it meant inconvenience for himself.
Still, eavesdropping on Erin’s story and jumping on it had one reason.
‘I need to start finding a party soon.’
There were differing opinions on whether solo play or party play was more advantageous in BE.
Some said it could lead to faster leveling by solely indulging in solo hunting, given the contribution system splits experience. Others argued that despite split experience, if four players kill four monsters, they’d overall gain more experience.
Dimo had a mixed opinion.
While playing in a party with skilled players could potentially be quicker and more powerful than soloing, if he had to move with mediocre players, soloing was essentially better.
Since the game started, he had formed parties with a few players, but so far, none met his standards.
To grow fast, he had to aim for opponents of a certain higher level, unlike players who only fought monsters below their own level.
Players with terrible control and awful game sense were always loudest when it came to dividing loot.
Players who would retreat the moment their health or mana dropped even slightly.
Dimo occasionally encountered players of similar skill in the dungeon, but they were already in parties and had extreme wariness toward outsiders.
The last category of players was the decisive factor in Dimo’s decision to seek a new party.
‘Those guys were ready to throw me under the bus if it suited their needs.’
As a beta tester, Dimo possessed ample game knowledge and sharp instincts.
But precisely because of that, he would be an immense eyesore to those chasing the rankings in this game.
He could possibly avoid running into them entirely, but considering efficiency while hunting in an RPG would eventually lead to similar paths.
With Dimo as one of the leading players, it was inevitable he’d frequently cross paths with the other front-runners.
In the end, he had two choices.
To abandon growth and only roam hunting grounds where he wouldn’t run into them, which basically meant giving up on competition.
And the other was for Dimo to also form a party to deter them from recklessly challenging him.
In that sense, Erin was a highly sought-after talent.
‘A Reaper Knight wearer. Plus, she recognized my equipment immediately. That means she has decent knowledge of the game.’
Well, there was a chance her skills didn’t match her knowledge, but that would become evident once they hunted together.
Moreover, the idea of having an alchemist create a serum was frankly intriguing.
In gaming terms, it didn’t make sense, but since BE was a game like no other, who knew?
If it succeeds even by a slim chance, it would be a huge win. If not, well, that couldn’t be helped, Dimo thought as he followed Erin.
About 30 minutes later, Dimo couldn’t help but drop his jaw.
Orcomenia was a hub for somewhat high-level players. The surrounding map’s monsters had levels of at least 40, quite substantial.
Slash! Boom! Crack!
And those monsters stood no chance against Erin, falling victim to a slaughter without even a fight.
Evading to the right while slicing off a wolf-like monster’s outstretched paw with his sword, she unleashed ice magic into its unguarded side.
For plant-type monsters whose spore attacks were tricky, she blasted flames at the budding section to cut off their skills, and then made quick work with her sword.
There was no waste in her movements, skills precisely targeted the enemies’ weaknesses, and even amidst the fierce skirmishes, she was fluid in her actions.
It wasn’t a matter of high equipment or level.
Optimal cycles, optimal movement paths, optimal play!
Dimo, being a competent player himself, could fully realize just how absurd the combat Erin was demonstrating was.
‘This is beyond my evaluation level. She’s completely in a different league!!’
So remarkable was her performance that even Dimo, who was quite confident in his gaming abilities, felt a sense of defeat.
Of course, Erin and her older brother were evaluating Dimo similarly.
‘I expected somewhat, but with that kind of skill, she must have really focused on gaming. Her movements are just different.’
“She wastes almost no skills, and her physical movement is adept. But will that be okay? Since you’ve been keeping an eye on her, I’m sensing something other than pure goodwill—it feels like you approached with another intent.”
‘That intent, unless it’s to sneakily stab me in the back, doesn’t bother me much. Besides, with Nadia taking on the role of central figure with her reputation, as long as I can help in some manner, I can accept some conditions.’
While holding different thoughts, the two safely finished their hunt.
When it came to zombies, there was the hassle of having to wrap the remaining body parts in a large cloth after slicing off the arms since if the monsters were slain outright, the body parts vanished too.
But still, the result was successful.
As they brought the completed samples, Cagliostro’s eyes sparkled, and he dove straight into his research.
For the next two days.
Erin and Dimo had to cut off the arms of twenty zombies and present them to Cagliostro, who had to undergo the process of infection with the zombie virus and subsequently being cured by the serum.
This even resulted in a commotion with the guards who viewed the process suspiciously, leading to the lord himself paying a visit.
And on the third day.
“Hey, hey! They’re selling serums for curing zombie viruses at Orcomenia!”
“What? Why are they selling event items in stores?”
“Why it’s being sold is not important! What’s crucial is that it is being sold!”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’ve been fed up seeing nothing but zombies every day. Damn it, we’re all dead now!!”
“Nadia’s expedition team is recruiting! We’re a party dedicated to eliminating zombies before they evolve while traveling designated routes! We’ve got plenty of serums, so anyone who wants to join us, come on in!”
“There are also Expedition B and C, so everyone hurry and join!”
“I’m joining! Let me in too!”
As always, once again, the Alpha server began to stir.