Chapter 38

The room of the Heavenly Horse was so spacious that one might think, "Isn't this room too wide for just one person to sleep in?"

A bed that looked even larger than a king-sized bed was firmly placed against the wall, and an old-fashioned bookshelf was densely packed with various books.

Was that all? Large exercise equipment, the kind you'd expect to see in a gym, was also arranged around the room.

At this point, the term "personal room" seemed almost meaningless.

"Hey, what's with your appearance?"

"Surprised? In this room, I revert to my original form instead of being in the Background Ling mode."

"Amazing."

"It's not much different from Background Ling mode."

A body that had been translucent like a ghost had returned to its original state, and it could no longer float around.

In a way, the original body was even more inconvenient than being in Background Ling mode.

"Anyway, that's not the important thing right now. Look at this."

What the Heavenly Horse pointed to was a large machine placed in one corner of the room.

It was a capsule, that's what it was.

Moreover, it was the same model, 'Artemis,' that Carpe owned.

"Did this suddenly appear?"

"Yeah. A little while after the room function opened, it popped up from the floor. It was quite a shock."

There was no need to mention that he had screamed in surprise.

"Is that why you wanted to talk to me alone? Well, it would be strange to talk about the capsule in front of those two."

After all, it wouldn't do to say, "Actually, the world you're living in is a fake world created by a smart developer for entertainment, and you are all data made of 0s and 1s. And that large object is a device to enter that fake world."

"Whether it's fortunate or unfortunate, it doesn't work right now."

"Right now?"

"Maybe when the room grows and gains more functions, it will eventually work. That's my guess."

"Hmm. There was indeed such a setting."

Carpe nodded and opened the status window.

[Room - Level 1]

- You can install various facilities in the room space. You can obtain various items and buff effects from the installed facilities.

- The types and effects of facilities you can install increase as the room level rises.

- To upgrade the room level, you need specific materials. Additionally, the player's level must be a multiple of 10 (Next upgrade level: 20).

[Currently Installed Facilities]

- Four facilities, including the workshop, are active.

[Manager]

- The manager function activates when your subordinates reach a certain level.

[Room Upgrade]

- Player Level (17/20)

- Solid armor imbued with magic power (0/15)

- Bark of an ancient tree that holds the sea (0/1)

The room's level was low, or perhaps it simply didn't exist, but there was not a single word about the capsule.

"So, it's useless for now?"

"Not exactly. The internet works."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not everything, but you can access things related to Lase."

You could only connect to platforms related to Lase, like 'In-Game' or 'Channel Lase'.

"Here's the main point. You said you wanted to be a streamer, right?"

"That's right."

Carpe nodded readily.

At first, he had no intention of doing so, but after the experiences of the past two days, he had made up his mind.

He had realized how incredible this opportunity was.

"I'm 23. Our major isn't exactly good for job hunting, and I don't have any special skills. I can't afford to miss this chance."

At 23, he was still young, but the sooner he planned his future, the better.

"Very well thought out. You uploaded a video yesterday, right?"

"Yes. I edited out all the notable parts."

"Good job. Check the views now. They must be going crazy."

Carpe manipulated the interface to open an internet window.

Sure enough, as the Heavenly Horse had said, the views were exploding.

The Hell Beast one-shot video, uploaded about 10 hours ago, had around 600,000 views. The guerrilla quest video he had first uploaded had already surpassed 1 million views.

- Lord Heavenly Horse! Lord Heavenly Horse! Please tell us the location of the guerrilla NPC! Please!

- Master of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Please, teach this humble one...

- Hello. This is JC Entertainment. We enjoyed your video. If you're interested, please send an email to [email protected]...

[email protected]... Please send an email here too.

- Just one message or email...

"There are a lot of comments asking for emails."

"That's all management. They can smell a promising newcomer and pounce on them like a pack of wolves."

"Management?"

"Yeah. They handle everything from basic video editing to planning content that will get high views. Almost all famous streamers are under management."

"True, it does seem necessary."

In fact, Carpe had stayed up quite late editing the video yesterday.

Even for that short video, there were many things to pay attention to, and if the video length increased, it could take more than a day just to edit.

"I need to find management too. Where's a good place?"

"No need. I can do it."

"Bro?"

Carpe looked at Heavenly Horse with an expression that seemed to ask, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

But Heavenly Horse was serious.

"What's the problem? The internet works, doesn't it? That's enough. Besides, you won't have anything to do after you log out anyway."

"Is it really that simple...?"

It's simple, it is. The issue is that it doesn't feel real.

"Isn't it troublesome? Why would you go through all this trouble?"

"Bro, I'm the kind of person who will do anything for you to succeed."

It's 100% pure truth, without a shred of lies.

Heavenly Horse was truly willing to do anything.

If he could keep this unpredictable rugby ball of a person in Lase, then so be it!

'You had a nightmare last night too, didn't you?'

In the dream, Carpe suddenly said, "Ah, I'm losing interest in Lase. I'll quit."

And with that, he really did quit. As a result, Heavenly Horse remained a ghost in the game forever... until he woke up from the dream.

'This guy really could do something like that.'

If that happened, he would have to regress again.

'Absolutely not. Not this time!'

He had to make Carpe someone who couldn't live without Lase.

In that sense, a career that made Lase itself a job, like a professional gamer or streamer, was very desirable.

"Trust me. I'll make you the best."

That's the path to survival for both of us.

Heavenly Horse was burning with determination.

* * *

When Carpe returned to the village, he first made Moohyang and Tina wait in the room.

Moohyang was one thing, but Tina's appearance was too striking. Her looks were far beyond what could be covered by customization.

"Can subordinates wear custom items? I should buy some and give them as gifts."

- Really? Just keep them in the room and summon them when needed.

"…They might get bored if left alone."

- I don't understand why you care about whether NPCs get bored.

"Such a cold-blooded person. Ah, we're here."

The place Carpe visited was the largest building in Luana, the auction house.

"The item trading place... is here."

Unlike when he first registered his account, he used an unmanned system to buy and sell items.

When he placed his hand on the orb at the counter, a notification window appeared, and the transaction proceeded.

[Black-grade account confirmed. All transaction fees are waived.]

[Please select the items you wish to register.]

"Let's see."

Carpe opened his inventory and registered two items for auction.

The 'Carpenter Kedlock's Gloves,' the reward for ranking first in the Hell Beast Time Attack.

And the 'Fanatic's Sickle,' obtained by defeating the priest in this dungeon.

"Good, registration complete."

He set the starting auction prices roughly.

After all, he would be getting countless items far more expensive than these in the future, so he didn't want to waste time setting prices.

- A wise decision. It's better to spend that time killing one more monster.

After completing the registration, Carpe visited the blacksmith to repair the 'Green Skin Slayer' that had been broken into two pieces during the battle.

It was quite amazing to see a sword broken into two pieces repaired with a single hammer strike by an NPC.

Before leaving for hunting, he also bought some potions and acorns from the general store.

"Alright, preparations are almost done. Now, let's start the quest again... huh?"

However, before leaving for hunting, a problem arose.

[You cannot proceed with the quest 'Magi King's Relic (3)'.]

[Your player level is insufficient (Quest start level: 25).]

"Damn. It seems there's a quest design flaw. Or maybe it's a dead-end section?"

It was a common occurrence in online RPGs.

Sometimes the quest design was flawed, or the player's actions or abnormal play caused the quest to become impossible to complete.

In such cases, there was no other option but to grind and level up until the quest could be completed.

- You're talking about a design flaw. It's obvious that you're the one who's strange.

The reinforced skeletons in the pit dungeon were powerful monsters.

Even a player with confidence in their control skills would need at least level 30 to solo the dungeon.

Moreover, to dodge the dungeon boss Maia and trigger the event, you would need at least level 35.

- But the developer might have thought, 'If the energy of the universe converges and explodes, it might be possible to clear it at level 25.'

However, what happened was this:

Some unpredictable force of nature appeared and cleared it at level 17, saying, "Ah, the quest was poorly designed!"

If the developer knew, they would probably have a nervous breakdown.

"Anyway, I need to change my strategy a bit."

Carpe's current level was 17, and he was 8 levels away from the next Magi King quest.

He needed to fill that gap with something else.

- There are a few good spots near Luana. It shouldn't take long to gain 8 levels.

"Bro, as always. Where's the best place?"

- I want to hear your opinion first. What do you think you're most lacking right now? We need to choose a route that will address that.

"Hmm. What I lack... "

Carpe recalled the battles in the dungeon, especially the final boss, Maia.

He had only managed to establish a fight after investing most of his saved stats.

If he hadn't had the Holy Sacrifice skill, he wouldn't have won even if he had died and respawned.

"I need an attack skill."

The most frustrating thing in the battle with Maia was that his only attack skill was 'Elemental Arrow.'

"Having only one attack skill made my attack pattern too monotonous."

Unlock, repeat, magic engineering, elemental mastery, striking.

Ironically, they were all good skills, but none of them were attack skills.

And the 9-star skill 'Dreadshrew Puppetry' he had just obtained was also not an attack skill.

"Since I lost Calling Thunder, I need to fill that gap."

- I think the same. Then the direction is clear.

Content to obtain skills.

Fortunately, there was such content in this port city of Luana.

- It's a specialty of Luana.

There's a saying among Lase players:

"If you've arrived in Luana, you must do the sea cave quest, no matter what."

Why? Because the reward is excellent, of course!

The quest reward was no less than a Beginner Skill Pack (non-tradable).

"Wow, there's such a thing?"

- Yes. It's a quest designed to help players who struggle without skills in the early stages.

"I can't tell if this game is considerate or inconsiderate."

- Anyway, it's a must-do quest. There's just one ambiguous condition.

"Ambiguous condition? What is it?"

- It's...

Carpe's expression became truly ambiguous upon hearing Heavenly Horse's answer.

The 10-star player who became stronger through luck.