Chapter 3

Jung-hoon stared intently at the background spirit.

"......"

He was a man in his late twenties, with thick eyebrows that made a strong impression. However, his appearance was very different from the other background spirits.

A white T-shirt and jeans.

His modern attire had no trace of the characteristics of fantasy or martial arts. If his name, 'Gang Jin-ho,' were added, there was only one possibility.

"He's Korean."

A modern person as a background spirit? Had such a case ever existed?

Jung-hoon tilted his head, reconnected to the chat, and searched for information.

However, he could not find any information about a modern person appearing as a background spirit, nor any information about a 0-star background spirit.

"......Is this a bug?"

Lase was a game famous for having no bugs, but...... how could a game created by humans be 'perfect'?

There must be some minor bugs, and Jung-hoon thought this situation was one of them.

"Perhaps it's someone else's personal information...... Why does he look so familiar?"

A face he had seen somewhere.

Jung-hoon tried to recall for a moment but could not figure out who it was. At least, it was not someone directly related to him.

"Well, what does it matter. I'll just send a bug report to the developers and continue the game."

Just as Jung-hoon was about to write the bug report,

Ding.

The information about the 0-star background spirit caught his eye.

「0-star – Gang Jin-ho」

[This background spirit has no unique dialogue.]

[This background spirit has no background story.]

[Category: Player, Irregular]

"......"

Look at this.

Jung-hoon stopped writing the report and looked at the background spirit again. It didn't seem to be a simple bug.

The information, though brief, was significant. However, Jung-hoon's eyes were drawn to one word.

'Irregular!'

His heart began to race.

Jung-hoon had read a lot of books during his middle and high school years. Of course, the 'books' here referred to manga, fantasy, and martial arts novels.

He didn't read them to the point of sacrificing his grades, but he could still join in conversations on related topics and enjoy them.

That's why he knew.

Cliché-wise, 'Irregular' could never be a bad thing!

"Moreover, it's clearly marked as [Irregular] in the information window. This means it's not a system error, right?"

It's not a bug.

Although it was unknown, Lase had an 'Irregular' class, and he had just drawn one.

"......There's no other choice."

Jung-hoon glanced at the knight emitting a silver aura. Although not as impressive as a 7-star, it still had a noble and captivating presence.

In Lase, starting with a 6-star was a pretty good start. Most players couldn't even draw a 6-star and had to start with a 4-star or 5-star.

A 6-star, especially a popular 'knight' class, would guarantee stable growth.

"0-star, here I come!"

Jung-hoon was not the type of gamer who considered stable growth. If he had, he would have chosen a 7-star in the first draw.

He preferred fun games over hardcore ones.

If there was a more interesting choice, he would go for it, even if it meant giving up some advantages.

Jung-hoon was that kind of person.

Ding.

[Do you want to select '0-star background spirit – Gang Jin-ho' as your final background spirit?]

[The background spirit is a crucial element that significantly influences the player throughout the game. Once selected, the background spirit cannot be changed through normal means.]

[Are you sure you want to select it?]

"Scaring me."

A typical warning message appeared, but Jung-hoon ignored it and tapped 'Yes' as if he had been waiting for it. An immediate reaction followed.

"Ah."

The other background spirits disappeared.

All the background spirits except the one he chose vanished, leaving behind a blue aura. Not only the background spirits, but the vending machine also disappeared, leaving a large blue aura.

Eventually, the blue auras began to converge and seep into the remaining background spirit, 0-star Gang Jin-ho.

Then,

The background spirit, who had his eyes closed, slowly opened them. Jung-hoon involuntarily swallowed.

"Once the background spirit is fully selected, there's a brief time for conversation."

There were countless background spirits in Lase, but the number of players was far greater.

Naturally, one background spirit had to handle multiple players, and with the distribution, they couldn't provide detailed care.

"Once the game starts, you can have a conversation with your background spirit occasionally."

Or rather, it was more like a one-sided message from the background spirit. It was more like a divine revelation than a conversation.

However, there was a moment when even the high-and-mighty background spirits could have a deep conversation, right after they were drawn.

No matter how busy or high-and-mighty they were, they had to introduce themselves when they first met.

"I heard that a background spirit like Cao Cao had a powerful first impression."

They could move people with their words, making the players feel like they were riding into battle on a horse, ready to charge into the battlefield.

It wasn't just Cao Cao. Many players reported being deeply moved by their first meeting with their background spirits.

Swallow.

What kind of impression would this background spirit give him? Jung-hoon looked at Gang Jin-ho with anticipation.

* * *

"Hmm. So......"

After hearing a rough explanation from Jung-hoon, Gang Jin-ho scratched his chin in disbelief.

"So, you......"

"My name is Jung-hoon. Please speak informally. You're much older than me."

"No, not that much older...... Ah, if you say to speak informally, I will. Anyway, that's not the point. If I understand you correctly, I appeared in Lase's background spirit draw, right?"

"Yes, as a 0-star."

"Ha. I was just playing the game fine a moment ago. What the hell is going on? Seriously?"

After a brief conversation, it turned out that Gang Jin-ho was just a regular player, not a background spirit in the Lase world, and the '0-star Irregular' was likely a system error.

Jung-hoon was secretly disappointed but shrugged and continued.

"It seems to be a bug."

"Bug? That's ridiculous. Lase has no bugs. The information window said I was a 0-star background spirit Irregular. That means the system recognized me as a background spirit. I really became a background spirit. Damn it."

"What? No, anyone can see it's a bug. How can a player suddenly become an NPC?"

"Even though it's the first time, it's definitely not a bug."

"How do you know......"

"I know. Except for the developers...... No, even including the developers, I'm the one who has played Lase the longest."

"......"

You must be crazy.

Jung-hoon took a step back at the incredibly middle-school-like statement, but Gang Jin-ho, ignoring him, muttered seriously.

"What went wrong? This wasn't supposed to happen......"

Jung-hoon didn't pay much attention to Gang Jin-ho's muttering. He just wanted to send a bug report and have some food.

"Anyway, I'm going to log out now. I need to watch the Champions League final in the early morning, so I need to get some sleep."

"Champions League final? What? It's June 5th, right?"

Gang Jin-ho looked at Jung-hoon with a puzzled expression.

"What are you talking about? The Champions League final is in June."

"Yes, June 5th. So, it's early morning today."

"But it's March now? March 19th."

"......Excuse me, but are you mentally unwell?"

It was a rude question, but Jung-hoon couldn't help asking.

You said you knew the game better than the developers, and now your sense of time is off. Did you get frozen for three months and just escape? Are you Captain America?

"Damn, what the hell. It's really June 5th?"

"Yes, really. You might confuse a day or two, but not a whole month. How could you mix that up?"

"Right, you shouldn't mix that up."

Right, Gang Jin-ho muttered. Then, he seemed to have an idea and asked Jung-hoon.

"Did anything big happen around mid-March...... No, I can't remember that specifically. Okay. Was there any major event or incident around mid-March?"

"What are you talking about? A major event?"

"Something big happened in the world, or something about you. If not, something related to Lase. Was there any significant issue?"

"Hmm."

It was a completely random question, but Gang Jin-ho's eyes were serious. So, despite finding it strange, Jung-hoon tried to recall.

"Let's see. What did I do around mid-March?"

Nothing particularly significant came to mind. It was around the time he applied for a leave of absence and enjoyed a leisurely life.

"So, I decided to take a leave of absence and play Lase...... Wait."

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Jung-hoon's mind, and he looked up at Gang Jin-ho. When he confirmed the familiar face, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Where have I seen you before!"

Right, he had tried to start Lase about three months ago. But he gave up due to a certain incident.

That certain incident was:

"Gang Jin-ho. The first player to die while playing 'Last Savior.' The death caused a controversy over regulations on virtual reality games......"

"Damn. Now, I die and become a game NPC. My face was on the news?"

"Yes, that's why you looked familiar. But......"

"What? Why?"

"Are you a ghost?"

"I don't know. But probably not. Since the Lase system recognized me as a background spirit, maybe something happened during the game, and my physical information, data, or soul was incorporated into the game's system. Something like that?"

"That's ridiculous."

That's a setting from a fantasy novel or movie. It seemed more realistic to think you were a ghost.

"No, but why are you so calm? This is a huge deal."

"I've experienced stranger things."

"......"

What could be stranger than dying and becoming an NPC? He couldn't even imagine.

Gang Jin-ho scratched his head in frustration. After a moment of thought, he sighed deeply and spoke.

"I don't know if you'll believe me, but......"

At that moment,

Ding.

[The skill draw has started.]

A new vending machine appeared from the floor. Before Jung-hoon could fully process it, the capsules inside began to mix violently.

"What? What's this?"

"The skill draw has started. It begins after you draw a background spirit and have a bit of a conversation. But it's not as exciting as the background spirit draw. The grades are set, so......"

"The grades are set?"

"......What the hell is this effect? I've never seen this before. This can't be right?"

6-star is silver. 7-star is gold.

The same applied to skill grades. The vending machine would emit the corresponding effect for the grade. Silver for 6-star, gold for 7-star.

But the vending machine in front of them emitted no color.

Instead, cracks began to appear all over the vending machine.

"......You said your grade was 0-star, right?"

"Yes...... Wait, don't tell me?!"

"Right, it's probably what you're thinking."

The skill draw was not as exciting as the background spirit draw for one reason.

The grades were set.

In Lase's draw system, the sum of the background spirit's grade and the skill grade was always 10!

Crack!

The cracks in the vending machine reached their peak.

Boom!

The vending machine shattered, and a capsule shot out.

Ding.

[You have received a 10-star skill.]

[Congratulations. You are the first player to obtain a 10-star skill on the server.]

[Title: 'First 10-star Skill' obtained. A bonus is granted to this 10-star skill. Additionally, you will receive extra skill points with each level up.]

[Congratulations. You are the first player to obtain a 0-star background spirit on the server.]

[Title: 'First 0-star Background Spirit' obtained. One restriction of the background spirit is removed.]

[Title: 'Two Firsts' obtained.]

"Wow. This game is insane."

"Wow. This game is insane."

Jung-hoon's choice of 0-star had hit the jackpot.

A 10-star skill, making him a 10-star player through the draw.