Chapter 9
The members of the One Piece began to cautiously close in on Carpe, leaving ample space between each other, perhaps worried that Carpe might attempt to escape.
However, that was their first mistake. Carpe had no intention of fleeing whatsoever.
Without hesitation, Carpe dashed towards the leftmost user of the One Piece.
"Huh, what's this guy?!"
"Quick, be careful!"
The One Piece members were taken aback by Carpe's speed, faster than they had imagined. As Carpe swiftly approached, the targeted user swung his dagger horizontally in panic.
Swoosh.
But there was no target to hit. Despite the difference in stats and the panicked state, the dagger's trajectory was too straightforward.
Carpe effortlessly dodged by lowering his waist, and the dagger sliced through the air.
"Gotcha!"
Not stopping there, Carpe's palm flew towards the target's chin. With a smack, the palm struck directly, causing the opponent to stagger, perhaps from the shock to his brain.
"Insane?! What the? Did he stun with just a palm strike?"
"Hey, hey! Snap out of it!"
The remaining members rushed in panic, but Carpe was much faster. He swiftly moved to the back of the stunned dagger user.
"Grragh!"
Then, with his right arm, Carpe grabbed the opponent's exposed neck and, using his foot, delivered a swift kick to the back of the opponent's knee, known as the popliteal.
Thud! With a sound, the One Piece member's knee hit the ground, and Carpe, in the same motion, forcefully stepped on the opponent's back.
And then...
Thunk.
With the sound of a bone breaking, the One Piece member turned gray and vanished in an instant. In his place, a fallen dagger.
"...."
"...."
-...Wow.
The seamless combination of moves left not only the remaining two members but even Cheonma momentarily speechless.
"What did I just witness? Is he some kind of special forces veteran or something?"
"I think I've seen that in a movie before. Like John Wick."
Oh, no.
Although they had been harassing beginners in the starting village, they were fairly experienced in PK. So, just by observing the actions, they knew. They couldn't beat him even if they died!
"Run!"
"What the... is that guy! Did he hit level 10 and unlock a hidden class as his job?! How is he moving like that!"
The two immediately turned their backs and fled.
And that was their second mistake. They should have at least fought one person to buy themselves some time to escape.
"Thwack!"
Carpe picked up the fallen dagger and hurled it directly at the backs of the fleeing men. The dagger hit the back of the leftmost member of the duo, causing him to stumble backward. As his comrade fell victim to the same fate, the last remaining One Piece member, too shocked to react properly, tripped over his own feet and fell.
Carpe calmly walked towards the last remaining One Piece member, a young man who seemed to be about Carpe's age.
"Wait, hold on! Just one look, please! If I die again this time, I'll be banned from logging in for three days... That means I'll have to live on cup noodles for three days."
"Ridiculous. Have you ever spared someone's life while PK-ing?"
"Yes. Twice."
"What?"
Carpe was incredulous at the seemingly matter-of-fact response, but the other person was serious.
"I spared someone once because they promised to give me all their items if I let them live, and the other time it was a female user, so I spared her because she was pretty. I spared her in exchange for her phone number."
"Oh, I see..."
Carpe chuckled briefly, then tightly gripped the dagger.
"So please spare me! I'll give you all my items!"
"No need. They'll drop when you die anyway."
"I'll give you my phone number too!"
"Die!"
Thunk.
Carpe's dagger plunged into the chest of the last One Piece member. He glanced at his own chest once, then looked at Carpe with a resigned expression.
"...I'll curse you every time I eat cup noodles from now on."
"You're insane, man."
[The opponent has been defeated.]
With those words, the opponent turned gray and disappeared, leaving behind a pair of wrist guards.
"Whew. Is it over?"
Even though direct combat hadn't lasted more than five minutes, exhaustion flooded in. Or perhaps, the fatigue was solely due to the mental assault from the last guy.
"Well, now it's time to harvest the items..."
"Hey, what exactly is your deal?"
"Huh? Why are you suddenly saying that out of the blue?"
"It's not out of the blue for you. Why are you so good at fighting? Are you really from a special forces background? You said you've never exercised."
"I haven't even been officially called up for special forces yet. And I haven't really exercised. But am I good at fighting? I'm not sure."
"If you're going to lay someone out like that without batting an eye, don't try to fool me. But why didn't you use the black sword you got from the tutorial?"
"It's a dense forest. It's hard to use something like a sword with all the trees around."
"...Is this your first time playing?"
"Is it that obvious? Most people don't think like that until they've experienced it firsthand... Oh, right. You used to hang out in the arena a lot in Real Fantasyia, right?"
It wasn't a particularly old conversation. If Cheonma remembered correctly, Carpe had mentioned enjoying duels in the first virtual reality game before Lasse.
"How high were you ranked there?"
"My ranking? Um, my highest ranking? Or my ranking before I quit?"
"Tell me both."
"My highest ranking was 2nd place. Although I dropped out after a few hours."
"What?"
Cheonma was astonished. 2nd place?!
"I mean, I've never done it, so I don't really know... Wasn't that a global server? So, 2nd place in the world?"
"It was, but it's not as impressive as you think, Cheonma. When I got to 2nd place, word got out that it was a crappy game, and users started leaving in droves."
"Still, even so..."
To say that people leaving in droves was a good thing meant that those who remained were hardcore users. Of course, like Carpe, some might have stuck around because they had nothing else to do, but most were core users who had a passion for the game.
Recording 2nd place, even for a moment, among those users was no small feat.
"The day I hit 2nd place, I was really in the zone. I got lucky too. Well, after that, I kept dropping... I stopped because the pressure of the internet cafe expenses got too much."
"Still, 2nd place is impressive... Wait, what did you just say?"
Cheonma's mouth fell open again.
"Internet cafe expenses?"
"Yeah. Our family wasn't that well-off, so I had to keep going with the allowance I got as a college student. VR gaming at the internet cafe was ridiculously expensive."
"Were you at a luxury premium VR cafe by any chance?"
"No, it was just a regular VR cafe near the university."
"Huh."
Cheonma chuckled incredulously. He couldn't even find the right words because it was so unbelievable.
And no wonder.
"So, you played on the 'basic' VR machine?"
The basic VR machine, the 'Mark-1'.
Commonly known as the 'can', it was the first-generation basic machine, and most local VR rooms were filled with it.
Why? Because it was cheap.
And as cheap as the price was, the user synchronization rate was famously terrible. Cheonma had once played on the 'can' by chance, and he had almost smashed the machine because it was so frustrating.
When the synchronization rate dropped, delays occurred in perception and reaction. The brain kept up, but the body couldn't, leading to more than just frustration.
So-called pro gamers all used the latest VR machines without exception.
"A global 2nd ranker using the 'can'... Should I believe this? Isn't it uncomfortable?"
"Well, I've never used anything other than the 'can', so I can't compare. I just take it as a given."
"So, are you still using the 'can'?"
"I'm in the game room on the 1st floor of the Lasse Korea branch. It's a basic Mark-3. Oh, come to think of it, that's why moving felt a bit smoother."
"Well, it's still basic..."
He felt that it wasn't normal, but he never expected such a physical monster.
If his experience and future information were mixed in... he might really put an end to the game.
Cheonma was now caught up in unprecedented excitement.
"To do that, we need to start with the dungeons... No, with other hidden pieces... and 10-star skills..."
"Why are you muttering to yourself like that? Let's start by collecting items."
"Alright. The plan is coming together roughly. You, first buy the latest premium VR machine."
"Premium? Isn't that what pro gamers use? It's so expensive."
"Yeah, that's it."
"I want one too, but I don't have the money. How can an ordinary college student from an ordinary family afford a machine worth millions?"
"There are many ways. Anyway, I'll take care of that. Money is just a joke after about five regressions... Hm?"
"Huh?"
It was when Carpe picked up the wrist guards and went to inspect the items dropped by the user who had been stabbed in the back. There, he found unexpected items.
- Coins, huh.
"So, not only equipment items drop, but also miscellaneous items."
- Except for bound or special items, everything drops. Hmm, this changes the story a bit.
"Is there a problem?"
- Problem? No, quite the opposite. It's rather intriguing. Do you think the Mammonism Guild will collect coins for something?
"Well, of course... huh?"
I don't understand.
According to that thick-skulled Rohan, they collect coins to sell them using the bargaining skill as a "merchant."
"That's obviously a lie. Just picking up miscellaneous items to sell, helping with quests, and even managing the One-P faction? It wouldn't even cover the labor costs."
But clearly in the Beginner's Best Strategy...
- You surprisingly have a naive side.
"Me?"
- Who do you think wrote that beginner's guide?
"Huh? I thought it was written by that guy who's always talking about luck or something."
- How many users are there in Lasse's in-game chat? There's only one user who writes strategy guides, right?
"No way..."
- Yeah, that Beginner's Best Strategy was written by the Mammonism Guild. Personally by the guild leader.
"Huh. So, anyone could easily access the Best Strategy?"
- I doubt it. It made it to the best because it was well-written. Of course, there might have been some manipulation of recommendation numbers at the beginning, but fundamentally, it's a well-written guide. Even after playing Lasse for over 10 years, I nodded along with it. There's only one line of misinformation in that guide.
Cheonma chuckled slyly as he spoke.
- "Coins are just miscellaneous items, so sell them at the store to get early potion money."
It was a single line of falsehood hidden among countless truths by Mammonism.
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