Chapter 2

Where am I? I was sure that when I took off my shoes, I was at the entrance of our house… Why am I suddenly outdoors? And what's with this ratty coat? Where did my coat, which I bought with my saved-up part-time job money, go?

Looking around, I found myself in a place I could never have imagined. Despite the limited space in Seoul, there wasn't a single high-rise building like an apartment complex in sight, only low-rise buildings packed closely together.

No matter how much individuality is valued in society, I've never seen such strange outfits, even in indie culture. Could that be armor?

The numerous people on the street, with their various hair and skin colors… Green skin? Is this performance art?

Where am I? I looked at my phone to use location services, but the screen was just black. Ah…

In this desperate situation, scenes that I would only see in RPG games or movies were unfolding before my eyes. Is my mind as broken as my phone…?

“What? Are you a customer? …Or are you just loitering? Get lost!”

Oh, I must have been blocking the entrance to a building. A chubby man burst out from inside, scanned me from head to toe, and started yelling, waving his fist.

Old men's tempers haven't changed, I see. Anyway, I was afraid of getting hit by that big fist, so I hurriedly moved away. But there was nowhere to go.

“No beggars allowed!”

“What do you think you're doing, loitering without knowing the usage fee?”

“Don’t stand in front of our inn! You’ll scare away potential customers!”

“Do you think you can get a room looking like that?”

Because the buildings were packed so closely together, every time I moved, I ended up blocking another entrance. The owner, who seemed to be inside, came out in a hurry.

I'm sorry for blocking the entrance, but why do you keep treating people like beggars…? It feels like all human kindness has vanished. When did this country become so miserly and devoid of human warmth…?

With no choice, I hurriedly moved without a destination, and before I knew it, I was standing in a dark alley. Surely they won't tell me to get lost here too?

Hiding in the darkness, I glanced at the bright street to assess the situation. People with peculiar clothes and appearances were walking around, as if in a movie set.

The noise that had seemed overwhelming before began to make sense as I focused on it. Distinct voices started to become clear.

“Lower prices than the market! 10 diamonds for a low-grade enhancement stone!”

“I can appraise your weapons! Special discount, 3 diamonds!”

“Take some potions made by me! Cheaper than the alchemy tower! 5 diamonds per bottle!”

Diamonds? Am I hearing things because I'm obsessed with <Infinite Diamonds>? What's with the potions and enhancement stones? Why are these game terms being used so casually, like fish in a traditional market?

“Diamonds… something you’d only hear about in a conversation about engagement rings….”

[Master!]

“Ah! What is it?”

Driven to the brink by the "get lost" comments, I jumped at the sudden voice from beside me.

There's no one around, so where did that voice come from? Is it a ghost…?

My heart was pounding wildly.

[Master! Do you need diamonds?]

“Why is even a ghost chanting about diamonds? Where is this voice coming from?”

[Master! Here! Here!]

Following the "here" calls, my gaze slowly moved to the phone in my hand. The dead phone was talking.

“…Hello Siri…?”

[Master! Do you need diamonds?]

“Huh? <Infinite Diamonds>?”

The phone, which I thought was dead, came back to life, and a very familiar screen appeared. It was the game screen of <Infinite Diamonds>. The dwarves, who should have been diligently mining, were all looking at me and waving their hands.

Honestly, it was creepy. If it weren't for the hope that the phone was working, I would have thrown it away long ago.

As I stood there with a serious expression, the dwarves stopped waving their hands.

Then they climbed onto the diamond cart and started waving diamonds in both hands. What am I supposed to do with this…?

“Give me two bottles of potion.”

“Here you go! That’s 10 diamonds in total!”

Just then, a merchant successfully made a deal amidst the loud calls. I was so curious about the diamond transaction, which seemed to involve sparkling diamonds of various carats, that I hurriedly looked over.

The person holding two bottles of liquid took out a blue diamond from their pocket… It looked exactly like the blue diamonds the dwarves in my phone screen were waving.

“Those… those…”

[Master! Do you need diamonds? There’s a mountain of them in the cart!]

[Master! There’s a mountain of them in the underground storage!]

[Master! There’s a mountain of them in the fountain, replacing the pebbles!]

I looked at the blue diamond going into the merchant's pocket and the blue diamond the dwarves were waving like glow sticks. My dull mind stopped working, and I blinked my eyes…

Hey, when did you guys start talking to me? For a bunch of dots…

“What can I do with those diamonds?”

[Take as many as you want! All the diamonds here belong to you, Master!]

[Do you want us to shovel them for you, Master?]

[Do you want us to scoop them for you, Master?]

You little dots… What am I supposed to do with the diamonds, which are just graphics?

“What are you guys? When did you become AI? You seem smarter than Siri from the way you answer.”

[This is inside your wallet, Master!]

[You need a lot of diamonds for your adventure! There are plenty of diamonds!]

[Take the diamonds! Buy clothes, weapons, mercenaries, and take care of your food and lodging!]

I, the idiot, the fundamentally stupid trash. The problem wasn't the phone screen, which seemed possessed by diamonds.

“Do you guys even know where I am?”

Where am I, exactly? I know it's not Seoul, but I can't tell if it's not Korea just because I don't hear a foreign language.

The dwarves, who were chirping like sparrows a moment ago, fell silent. They looked at each other, whispered, shrugged, and shook their heads.

[Master! We don’t understand what you’re saying!]

“I’m asking if you know where I am!”

[We don’t know! We are just your faithful wallet! Use the diamonds! Solve your questions with diamonds!]

Do you think this world is <Infinite Diamonds>? Do you think it's a game where everything is done with diamonds? I felt like I was going to die from frustration. The dwarves kept singing, telling me to use the diamonds, oblivious to my frustration.

“Fine, I get it. So, how do I get diamonds?”

[Take them!]

If it weren't for the fact that the phone in my hand was from a discontinued series, I would have thrown it away long ago. What kind of phone tells me to take diamonds like pulling out bills from a wallet?

Angry, I flipped the phone screen and tapped it on my palm. Damn, about six blue diamonds rolled out like spilled pills.

Real diamonds, not the dot graphics, were rolling around in my palm. I clenched my hand tightly, feeling the small, hard, cold stones of the dodecahedrons.

[Master! Take more! That’s not enough!]

As a test, I put my hand on the phone again and gently tapped it, and a couple more diamonds rolled out.

Wow, this is really… too real to be a dream.

The dwarves waved the diamonds in their hands more vigorously, urging me to take them. I couldn't regain my composure with the handful of diamonds in my hand.

“Excuse me….”

“Crazy… is this real? What kind of phone can render graphics in 4D? Did I somehow travel to the future without knowing it?”

“Excuse me… Pardon me.”

“Wow, so people in the future wear armor and stuff, huh?”

“Excuse me! Druid!”

I thought the dwarves in the phone screen were just making useless noise and ignored it, but the feeling was different. I turned my head to the source of the sound and saw a small girl standing at the entrance of the alley.

When did you get there? Did you see me talking to myself? …She also has a peculiar appearance.

The girl had bright red hair, as if it had been dyed several times, and was wearing a shabby dress made of roughly sewn cloth. She looked flustered when I stared at her with suspicion.

“Hello, Druid. Nice to meet you. I work as a guide in this village. If you’re looking for an inn, I know a good place. Would you let me guide you?”

She curtsied, a gesture I've seen in medieval movies. Oh, that's unique. Since I didn't respond, she quickly added more.

“If you try to find an inn around the market now, you might end up paying a lot! Many druids are gathering for the World Tree’s fruiting tomorrow. The inns around here are already full and will charge a lot. If you’re new to this village, you might not know….”

I don’t understand what she’s saying, but I can tell that she’s a hundred times more helpful than the dwarves in my phone.

I felt more relaxed because the person talking to me in this unfamiliar place was a young girl like me. In another situation, I might have thought, “What, is this a scammer?”

“Do you accept anything other than bread?”

“Um… a few sips of clean water would be fine. The village wells are drying up due to the influence of ‘fire.’ Or some fruit….”

Oh, this is a big problem. I don’t have any bread, water, or fruit. But why is she asking for food instead of money? I took one of the diamonds in my hand and waved it in front of her.

“Would you accept this?”

The girl’s reaction was beyond my imagination. Her eyes widened, and she started waving her hands frantically.

“That’s too much! It’s too much for me! I just need a little bit of what you buy after you’re done!”

So, these diamonds are definitely valuable. They can be used as currency to buy things, and the girl’s reaction was so intense.

“I’ll give you this. In return, help me.”

“I don’t have the ability to protect it….”

Even as she said this, her eyes followed the diamond I was waving, showing her greed. But all I have is my phone, a cheap coat, and the diamonds that roll out of the phone.