"Yo! I am BallsDeep69."
"Dude. What kind of username is that?" Dual-Sword Lunatic followed, a mocking look on his face.
"Hi. I am Seol-ha." Yu Seol nodded at the approaching players.
She decided to use her common Korean nickname. Calling herself "Zenith Sword" just felt too embarrassing.
"Ohh. Nice name." The man was burly, with brown hair. He looked Japanese.
BallsDeep69 nodded with a smile.
"This guy is Dual-Sword Lunatic."
"Hello." Yu Seol gave an awkward wave.
"Um... hello…" he scratched his head, showing a dumb smile while looking away.
Dual-Sword Lunatic's smile twitched, annoyed at how BallsDeep69 seemed to want to drag him down to his level.
'Seriously. This guy is introducing me to a pretty girl with this ugly in-game name. I am gonna kick him in the balls after this!'
Dual-Sword Lunatic's eyes gleamed with killing intent aimed at BallsDeep69.
However, seeing BallsDeep69's ignorant smile only made him more furious.
"Yaho! I am Kiana. The Great Tuna Goddess!" A girl with silver hair and blue eyes waved energetically.
'Ugh…' Yu Seol instinctively stepped back from the incandescent light radiating from such a powerful extrovert.
She bounded over to Yu Seol and smiled.
"Let's be friends from now on, right, Seol-ha?"
Yu Seol shuddered at her gaze.
'Why does she feel dangerous?' She took another step back, while the guys just looked amazed that they'd been teamed up with two pretty ladies on day one.
"Huh? The guy over there. Why are you standing so far away?"
"Hm… I am busy analyzing this place." He adjusted his glasses with an annoyed sigh, as if he'd been interrupted during a delightful dessert.
"Conan. British. Age 21. Student from Harvard." The man's introduction was so concise it left them speechless.
He wasn't even looking at them, instead staring at the walls as if trying to pierce through to the past. What a weirdo, Yu Seol thought.
"Right. There should be, like, 6 more remaining for this mission, right?"
They glanced at the digital numbers floating above them.
[ 4/10… Waiting for the remaining players… ]
[ Mission Details: Pending… ]
Yu Seol sat on the stairs, staring at the wall.
After some time passed, the rest of the players finally arrived.
"YAYY! The bad guys are finally down!!!"
An auburn-haired girl rushed through the door before slamming her face into the pavement, landing next to Conan, who was too focused on the ruins to notice.
"Um. Are you okay?" Yu Seol asked.
"I am alright! I don't feel pain at all! But it felt weird, like I was hit by an impact but was too late to notice it, like an adrenaline rush! $@&)(@;&," she explained, her nose bleeding.
She continued to babble words that just confused Yu Seol, who was starting to regret talking to her in the first place.
However, with her arrival, the team was complete.
[ 10/10 players… please press the gate to start. ]
The players didn't rush in, instead gathering around.
"This seems like a dungeon-type game," Dual-Sword Lunatic said.
"How should we compose our team?" Another player asked.
"How about this? Let's begin with this set-up."
The group began discussing their composition. Nobody was left out as they talked about their roles and the game itself.
"Aw… I wanted to be the vanguard!" the auburn-haired girl, Nora, pouted.
"Illogical. It would be foolish to put a time bomb in the front. Who knows if you'll press something and blow us all up?"
Conan adjusted his glasses, his eyes already judging the unstable element of the team.
Yu Seol glanced at him, feeling like she was looking at a hypocrite after having watched him poke and piece the cracked walls and torn-out circuits earlier.
"Hmph!" Nora snorted. The two created sparks as they glared at each other.
"Okay. Let's start with this team composition, then," BallsDeep69 said, smiling awkwardly as he stood between Conan and Nora, who were glaring at each other endlessly.
The composition was game log. Players with close-combat weapons like swords or gauntlets were placed at the front.
Those with longer-reaching weapons, like spears or greatswords, formed the middle line. Support players, using guns, took the back-line.
BallsDeep69, Dual-Sword Lunatic, and Seol-ha were the frontliners (DPS/Tank).
Nora and three other players formed the mid-line (Extra DPS/Backup).
Kiana and Conan were the back-liners, acting as support with makeshift pistols in their hands.
This setup allowed the back-liners to support both the front and middle, as they had a better overview of the battle and could see where the formation was weakest.
As for their aiming... well, they'd already tested it.
They were excellent, almost like aimbots. Kiana came from a family of soldiers, and Conan was an intellect capable of learning anything.
The two would work well together.
"Whoa. This team composition is pretty good," BallsDeep69 couldn't help but notice.
"Come on. Let's go and finish this tutorial. I wanna start the game," Dual-Sword Lunatic said with an impatient voice.
Everyone was eager to finish this trial and experience this crazy game that seemed to be several centuries ahead of the modern world's gaming industry.
As they entered through the gate, they were plunged into darkness.
[ Ding! ]
[ Please grab the walkie-talkie from a car in this area to gain information about the mission details. ]
[ Mission Details: Pending… ]
"Let's split into two groups of five. We'll search this garage," BallsDeep69 said. "If a team needs backup, just shout for help. Let's regroup at this location once we've explored the area."
"Got it."
The rest nodded. With BallsDeep69 acting as the temporary leader, they began to pair off and designate search areas.
Of course, Kiana and Yu Seol had teamed up. After all, it was difficult to refuse when Kiana was looking at her with puppy eyes.
"Hehehe…" Kiana giggled from right behind her, causing Seol-ha to shudder.
"Um… how about we walk together?" Seol-ha suggested.
"Oh-oh, sure!" Kiana smiled brightly.
Seol-ha wondered why this girl was staring at her so much from her back. She could feel the gaze from behind.
Was she... interested in her, despite them both being girls? For a straight girl like Seol-ha, the thought gave her goosebumps.
"I'll check this car..." Seol-ha said.
"Ok!" Kiana replied, moving to the other side of the aisle, though she seemed eager to finish the exploration so she could get back to whatever she was doing.
Yu Seol sighed as she checked the decrepit cars.
She found several items.
[ Distortion Soda 1+ ]
• Significantly increases emotion levels.
• Slightly replenishes stamina
[ Spicy Soup 1+ ]
• 0.3%+ Regen Speed for every second in 2 minutes
• 5+ Speed for 3 minutes
• 1+ Strength for 3 minutes
• Replenishes stamina
[ Candy Bar 1+ ]
[ Teddy Bear 1+ ]
[ … ]
Most of it was junk as she walked through the place.
However, she managed to get something interesting.
It was a syringe with a green liquid with a 'K' symbol placed on the middle.
[ K-Corp Ampule ]
- Reverts the person to their optimal state based on the individual's conception of human.
- When taking another ampule the person reverts to an amorphous, primordial goop.
- Heals all injuries and illnesses within seconds as long your head remains attached to your body.
Wasn't this too overpowered? Yu Seol looked at the potion with shock.
It was definitely a healing potion.
However, this healing potion could instantly cure all illness and injuries.
Wasn't this a panacea? Though. She still remained skeptical because such items would have the same stereotypes of having long cooldowns before use.
Plus, she didn't understand the conception of human detail. Did this mean, this wasn't primarily a healing potion, but is an item that depends on the individual's view of their human body to make any changes to it?
Well, at least she now had an extra life. She'd use it well in the trial.
She walked out from behind the car and approached the waiting Kiana, who had been glancing at her with what looked suspiciously like drool, which she quickly wiped away, flashing a dumb smile.
"Seol-ha! Are we done now?" Kiana asked.
"Yes. I didn't find the walkie-talkie," Seol-ha replied.
"Oh. That's fine! The other group must've found it."
"Alright. Let's head back then." Seol-ha nodded and started walking. Kiana followed closely.
When the two reached the starting point, the other players had already gathered.
"Hey, welcome back," BallsDeep69 greeted them. "Nora got the walkie-talkie."
"Hehehe. It's all thanks to me!" Nora raised her chin, striking a proud pose with both hands on her waist, shooting a smug look at Conan, who was frowning.
"Hmph! Mere foolish luck," Conan snorted, returning his attention to some small gadget in his hand.
"Oh, nice job, Nora." Seol-ha smiled.
"Alright. Since everyone is here. Let's start." BallsDeep69 said while pressing the call button on the device.
-"...Hello? Hello?"
"Wow. No way, it's an actual voice from an NPC," BallsDeep69 said with an astonished face.
-"Seems like you can hear me. This is a fixer from Hana Association. I trust that you've acquired the mission objective? Then, I won't waste our time."
-"Your mission is to find the generators and power them up using 'Enkephalin'."
BallsDeep69 quickly asked his team, "Do you guys have any Enkephalin?"
Several players raised their hands. Dual-Sword Lunatic sighed in relief.
The voice on the radio continued, oblivious.
-"Turn on all four generators and clear the four Ordeals. The entrance to the main control room will open once you do. Get the Golden Bough and leave before the area collapses."
-"That's all for the mission briefing. As for the rest... you know what to do."
The line clicked off. The voice left without any wishes of luck, as if the person didn't care whether they lived or died.
"Wow. So that was an NPC, huh? Sounds like a corporate wage slave driver, alright," one of the players said, and the rest laughed at his joke.
"Alright everyone," BallsDeep69 said. "Let's get in. We should start looking in that area. We shouldn't spread out. Who knows if we'll get picked off one by one in the dark, or trigger a trap?"
"Oh! Oh! Look! It's a button!" Nora yelled.
"Huh?"
"Wait! Wait! Don't press that, Nora!" Dual-Sword Lunatic screamed in shock.
But they were too late.
Boom!
While staring at the screen, I watched the scene unfold.
"Not bad… these leeks are doing quite well. Most of them teamed up without any issues. Well, even if they teamed up... it won't make a difference." I smiled, enjoying the show.