Chapter 18

Chapter 3 For That Handful of Silver Coins (1)

***

Click, whoosh!

The door of the connection device opened, and with the sound of the air being sucked out, a refreshing breeze gently enveloped his sweat-soaked body.

The professor slowly moved his body, testing his toes, ankles, wrists, fingers, and even making a fist. He could feel the calloused texture of his hands and the firm tension of his well-trained body.

"Master! You're back!"

'Back.'

The fuss Corduro made outside the connection device reminded him that he was back in reality. Back. Back, huh….

Smack!

"Ako!"

"Don't get so worked up. You didn't go anywhere in this world. It's just a game, and you're making a big deal out of it."

He couldn't help but give Corduro's drone a slap, which made him quickly pull his hand back in surprise. Where's the bandage, the bandage….

"Oh, it's fine."

"Huh? Of course it is. I was just pretending to be in pain according to the customer service manual. A drone can't get hurt from a slap, you know?"

No, not you. My fingers.

"What time is it?"

"09:48 PM."

"Did I play for about 28 hours in-game?"

"About that, I guess."

Habits are truly scary. It had only been less than six hours in reality, but his body had already adapted. He knew it shouldn't be, but his body reacted on its own. When closing the connection device door, he did it gently, and when lying down on the dust-covered sofa, he did it cautiously—

Thud.

"Huh?"

What's going on? The sofa that used to be so dusty that it could be used as a smokescreen if enemies invaded, now… why isn't it reacting?

He pressed his buttocks against the sofa again.

Squish.

Not only was there no dust, but it even seemed to emit a faint, pleasant smell.

There was no need to look for the cause. As soon as he sat on the sofa, Corduro's drone started flapping awkwardly beside him.

"Uh... Corduro?"

"Yes?"

"What did you do while I was gaming?"

"Oh, this? Well, it's a bit embarrassing to talk about such a trivial thing…."

What? I haven't even said anything yet.

Whirr—

Corduro's drone flapped past him and opened the door to the living room.

"It's nothing much, just... I did some cleaning! Hehe."

Whoosh!

The professor, who had been following Corduro with his eyes, frowned at the bright interior.

It's blinding. The house is glowing. I've lived here for 7 years, and I've never seen anything like this.

The bowls that had to be turned upside down because of the floating dust for 24 hours were now sparkling, the walls that he thought were originally yellow were shining white, and the greenhouse's inner walls, which had to be cleaned for two hours every day due to the humidity, were now transparent and shining. Everything in sight was gleaming.

"You... did all this?"

"Hem! Machines are diligent."

No, that's not what I meant. Does anyone think I don't clean?

"....What's the shield penetration rate?"

"3%. I blocked everything except fine dust."

Usually, it was 30%, blocking only large particles to save power.

"Lighting?"

"Everything except the broken ones is on."

"Water? The greenhouse was a bit dry a few days ago because of the weather. You must have used a lot of the water I stored, right? To make it this clean…."

"Oh, that's why I was waiting."

Corduro's drone, which had been flapping happily, brought a wet white towel from somewhere.

"Here. You must be tired from the game. Wipe off some sweat."

"....There's no water for a shower?"

The connection device, once entered, inflates its inner wall to fit the user's body shape as soon as the 'Linker' terminal is placed around the neck.

There is a cooling system, but after confirming that it used rechargeable batteries, he immediately dismantled it and put it in the greenhouse.

Thanks to that, he managed to create another small potato field of about 5 square meters, but the connection device turned into a steam room.

And now, Corduro was wasting the electricity he had been so frugally saving.

Crunch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't get mad! Stop your hand! Humans communicate with reason!"

"I won't hit you. I'm not angry."

I didn't even realize it, but I was so dumbfounded that I wasn't angry. I was just curious.

"What... what kind of wind blew you to do this? Huh?"

"Hehehe... Don't be surprised. Once you see what I've done, you'll say, 'Wow, our AI did a great job!' Look!"

With Corduro's confident voice, the small screen on his drone lit up.

==========

+ 'garrymoode0385' has entered the chat room!

+ 'Gasman' has entered the chat room!

+ 'ㅂㄷㅅㄹ' has entered the chat room!

+ .... has entered the chat room!

+ .... has entered the chat room!

+ ...

- Gasman: I knew it was a scam, but is this real? Is this really happening?

- garrymoode0385: Is this real? That fucking white one is roaming War Sight and defeated it? It's 124 solar years!

_ Speed Wagon: Yes. Ridiculously, it's real.

- HighWayNachoman: What? What's he saying?

- garrymoode0385: Holy Mama!

- Speed Wagon: He's asking if it's real that the white one was roaming and won in 124 years.

- SoySauceGaybar: Charlotte is invincible, and the professor is a god! Charlotte is invincible, and the professor is a god! Charlotte is invincible, and the professor is a god!

- g3854: Is the chat room big? Is it big??

- Jokass: It's really a shame. If he had caught Edeorn here, the world clear rate would have skyrocketed.

- Mukaba: You know, for the queen to have pulled out such a high-tier mutant in the early days of the Black Horse era, it must have been a huge loss. If he had caught it, the game would have been over.

- ㅂㄷㅅㄹ: But why did Charlotte let it go at the end? As a King's Knight, he should have had the skill to challenge a duel. It would have forced a 15-minute 1-on-1 battle.

- HungAnMandu: It consumes 5% of your max HP. The spear throw in the mid-game must have dealt too much damage, so he didn't have enough HP left. Or maybe he was about to die, and he thought he would die if he tried to block it.

- Holy: It's so, so hard... Charlotte was cutting the necks of the surviving knights while crying... He didn't make a sound, just tears... T_T

- HighWayNachoman: Don't be ashamed. No one would call it a luxury to shed a tear when sending off such knights.

- takealook: Wow, what a profound statement.

- Jokass: If left alone, he would have walked to the queen on his own. It's better to do it while he still has his sanity.

- DeerDrug: I saw it! Charlotte's gaze as he watched the professor being carried away by the mercenaries, while being supported by the soldiers and cleaning up the surroundings! That... that was a hint of a strategy!

- Jokass: Can you please, just for a moment, think with your brain instead of your lower one?

==========

HOT! Post: Reflections on the Possibilities of Negative Traits by Daedalus

No need for greetings; we see each other every day.

I recently watched a crazy broadcast, and it inspired me to write this post.

As you know, this game is extremely difficult to approach. What do you mean, there's no one in the world who doesn't GG?

Let's raise the bar. I'm not talking about just playing the game, but about someone who delves deep and studies it. The difficulty is ridiculously high, and it costs 500,000 silings to fully develop a single character. Unless you're rolling in money, it's impossible to try various approaches. Statistically, over 80% of players use the recommended starting combinations from this community.

Yesterday's broadcast by 'professor' was a shock. Check out the character sheet in the comments.

It's a conditional playstyle. Hmm~ conditional. It's a nostalgic term. Conditional Realism, where the character was completely wrecked. I won't go into the endless details.

The [Mental Weakness] trait, this is a game-changer. It's exactly what you think. The one that can blow up a high-level character with one hit. No casting, severe headaches affecting the real world, mental instability... the worst of the worst. But when combined with 'Realistic Mode,' the synergy is incredible.

It's almost like an all-weather radar. Nothing in the surroundings escapes your notice.

Out of curiosity, I looked it up. In normal mode, [Mental Weakness] apparently just spams error messages on the PC screen.

But in Realistic Mode, it directly implants information into the player's mind. Of course, the player has to filter out the necessary information from the flood, but the way this player used a negative trait so effectively is impressive. I commend this 'professor' player.

The broadcast was entertaining. Everyone should check it out.

==========

"Ta-da! This post went up just 10 minutes ago. Just 10 minutes! Look at the views. We made it! We succeeded! No more living like a bum, I tell you!"

"I can't agree with the content, but this... will definitely catch on."

It's not just any post; it's a popular one. The exposure will be massive, and the number of people streaming into the broadcast will increase significantly.

"Wh-what? So, the character... Charlotte, won?"

"Ah... Turan lost more than half of its troops, and the knights were all wiped out... but the queen will starve, so... let's call it a win?"

The professor looked at the excited people in the chat room.

There were more than just a few. He could see the usual faces, but a significant number of the IDs were new.

"Seven... seven hundred? There are seven hundred people in the chat room?"

"It's too early to be surprised! Let's keep going!"

Corduro flapped around his stunned face and then flipped to the next screen.

==========

HOT! Post: Reflections on the Possibilities of Negative Traits by Daedalus

No need for greetings; we see each other every day.

I recently watched a crazy broadcast, and it inspired me to write this post.

As you know, this game is extremely difficult to approach. What do you mean, there's no one in the world who doesn't GG?

Let's raise the bar. I'm not talking about just playing the game, but about someone who delves deep and studies it. The difficulty is ridiculously high, and it costs 500,000 silings to fully develop a single character. Unless you're rolling in money, it's impossible to try various approaches. Statistically, over 80% of players use the recommended starting combinations from this community.

Yesterday's broadcast by 'professor' was a shock. Check out the character sheet in the comments.

It's a conditional playstyle. Hmm~ conditional. It's a nostalgic term. Conditional Realism, where the character was completely wrecked. I won't go into the endless details.

The [Mental Weakness] trait, this is a game-changer. It's exactly what you think. The one that can blow up a high-level character with one hit. No casting, severe headaches affecting the real world, mental instability... the worst of the worst. But when combined with 'Realistic Mode,' the synergy is incredible.

It's almost like an all-weather radar. Nothing in the surroundings escapes your notice.

Out of curiosity, I looked it up. In normal mode, [Mental Weakness] apparently just spams error messages on the PC screen.

But in Realistic Mode, it directly implants information into the player's mind. Of course, the player has to filter out the necessary information from the flood, but the way this player used a negative trait so effectively is impressive. I commend this 'professor' player.

The broadcast was entertaining. Everyone should check it out.

==========

"Ta-da! This post went up just 10 minutes ago. Just 10 minutes! Look at the views. We made it! We succeeded! No more living like a bum, I tell you!"

"I can't agree with the content, but this... will definitely catch on."

It's not just any post; it's a popular one. The exposure will be massive, and the number of people streaming into the broadcast will increase significantly.

"Wh-what? So, the character... Charlotte, won?"

"Ah... Turan lost more than half of its troops, and the knights were all wiped out... but the queen will starve, so... let's call it a win?"

The professor looked at the excited people in the chat room.

There were more than just a few. He could see the usual faces, but a significant number of the IDs were new.

"Seven... seven hundred? There are seven hundred people in the chat room?"

"It's too early to be surprised! Let's keep going!"

Corduro flapped around his stunned face and then flipped to the next screen.

==========

HOT! Post: Reflections on the Possibilities of Negative Traits by Daedalus

No need for greetings; we see each other every day.

I recently watched a crazy broadcast, and it inspired me to write this post.

As you know, this game is extremely difficult to approach. What do you mean, there's no one in the world who doesn't GG?

Let's raise the bar. I'm not talking about just playing the game, but about someone who delves deep and studies it. The difficulty is ridiculously high, and it costs 500,000 silings to fully develop a single character. Unless you're rolling in money, it's impossible to try various approaches. Statistically, over 80% of players use the recommended starting combinations from this community.

Yesterday's broadcast by 'professor' was a shock. Check out the character sheet in the comments.

It's a conditional playstyle. Hmm~ conditional. It's a nostalgic term. Conditional Realism, where the character was completely wrecked. I won't go into the endless details.

The [Mental Weakness] trait, this is a game-changer. It's exactly what you think. The one that can blow up a high-level character with one hit. No casting, severe headaches affecting the real world, mental instability... the worst of the worst. But when combined with 'Realistic Mode,' the synergy is incredible.

It's almost like an all-weather radar. Nothing in the surroundings escapes your notice.

Out of curiosity, I looked it up. In normal mode, [Mental Weakness] apparently just spams error messages on the PC screen.

But in Realistic Mode, it directly implants information into the player's mind. Of course, the player has to filter out the necessary information from the flood, but the way this player used a negative trait so effectively is impressive. I commend this 'professor' player.

The broadcast was entertaining. Everyone should check it out.

==========

"Ta-da! This post went up just 10 minutes ago. Just 10 minutes! Look at the views. We made it! We succeeded! No more living like a bum, I tell you!"

"I can't agree with the content, but this... will definitely catch on."

It's not just any post; it's a popular one. The exposure will be massive, and the number of people streaming into the broadcast will increase significantly.

"Wh-what? So, the character... Charlotte, won?"

"Ah... Turan lost more than half of its troops, and the knights were all wiped out... but the queen will starve, so... let's call it a win?"

The professor looked at the excited people in the chat room.

There were more than just a few. He could see the usual faces, but a significant number of the IDs were new.

"Seven... seven hundred? There are seven hundred people in the chat room?"

"It's too early to be surprised! Let's keep going!"

Corduro flapped around his stunned face and then flipped to the next screen.

==========

"Ta-da! This post went up just 10 minutes ago. Just 10 minutes! Look at the views. We made it! We succeeded! No more living like a bum, I tell you!"

"I can't agree with the content, but this... will definitely catch on."

It's not just any post; it's a popular one. The exposure will be massive, and the number of people streaming into the broadcast will increase significantly.

"Wh-what? So, the character... Charlotte, won?"

"Ah... Turan lost more than half of its troops, and the knights were all wiped out... but the queen will starve, so... let's call it a win?"

The professor looked at the excited people in the chat room.

There were more than just a few. He could see the usual faces, but a significant number of the IDs were new.

"Seven... seven hundred? There are seven hundred people in the chat room?"

"It's too early to be surprised! Let's keep going!"

Corduro flapped around his stunned face and then flipped to the next screen.

==========

"Ta-da! This post went up just 10 minutes ago. Just 10 minutes! Look at the views. We made it! We succeeded! No more living like a bum, I tell you!"

"I can't agree with the content, but this... will definitely catch on."

It's not just any post; it's a popular one. The exposure will be massive, and the number of people streaming into the broadcast will increase significantly.

"Wh-what? So, the character... Charlotte, won?"

"Ah... Turan lost more than half of its troops, and the knights were all wiped out