Chapter 24
Having defeated the Hell Beast, Karpe immediately returned to Lasean via the warp.
“It’s always bustling here, no matter when you come.”
• The more harsh reality is, the more lively Lasean becomes. It’s quite an amusing story.
The popularity of Lasean lay precisely here.
An escape route from the suffocating reality.
A space where the unsatisfactory aspects of reality could be easily obtained.
• When reality becomes suffocating, people seek escapism, and Lasean is a world that perfectly fulfills that escapism. It’s not for nothing that the number of users exceeds 500 million.
“It makes sense.”
During the early days of its opening, when various advertisements and praises were poured out for Lasean, one might wonder why people were so over-the-top. But now, even Karpe understood. There wasn’t an ounce of falsehood in those words.
Lasean wasn’t just a space for hunting monsters with swords and magic.
It was where people lived, where societies existed, where life thrived.
Another world.
It might sound like a cliché catchphrase, but there was no other way to describe it.
Lasean was truly another world.
• And the mainland can truly be called Lasean’s ‘real world.’
It didn’t just mean that the map expanded and more monsters appeared. It meant that users from all over the world gathered to create a society.
• You know that there isn’t only one newbie city in Lasean, right?
“Yes. I saw it in the announcement. There are a total of 10.”
When you first start the game, you move to one of the 10 newbie cities, and where the player is placed depends entirely on their country of origin.
Korea, China, Japan, Russia, North America, South America, EU, India, Middle East + Africa, Southeast Asia + Oceania.
Lasean classified the Earth in this way and created 10 cities accordingly. Among them, ‘Lasean’ was a newbie city in the Korean region.
• Unlike here, most areas in the mainland are PK-enabled zones. Not a single lapse of vigilance is tolerated.
The main stage where people from all over the world compete. That was the mainland.
And now, the users gathered near the mayor’s house here were also people who sought to step onto that main stage.
“There are a lot of people here too.”
The steady influx of new users is proof that within two years, the total number of accounts in the game will skyrocket to 10 billion.
While there are many users trying to transfer to the mainland, there’s only one mayor who can send them there, so the area near the mayor’s house was bustling with waiting users.
Of course, since there’s no special procedure for transferring to the mainland, the queue quickly diminished.
In about 5 minutes, they would probably be able to transfer to the mainland.
During those 5 minutes of waiting, users were engaging in various conversations.
Two people near Karpe brought up an interesting topic.
“Hey, have you heard the news? They say an app for Lasean was released this morning.”
“An app? Why would we need an app to play the game with capsules?”
“Oh, this guy is slow with the news. Haven’t you heard that the Behind the Scenes app is coming out?”
“Oh, Behind the Scenes! Wasn’t it supposed to be released today?”
“Yeah, as soon as you finish logging out, make sure to install it right away. If you miss the notification, you’ll regret it.”
Karpe, who had been silently listening to their conversation, looked at Cheonma with a questioning expression, demanding an explanation.
“Behind the Scenes app? What’s that? Did you know about it too?”
• Of course, I knew. It’s not something related to you, so I didn’t bother mentioning it.
“What is it then?”
• Literally, it’s an app that gives you notifications when Behind the Scenes gives you quests.
“Is such a thing necessary?”
• It’s very useful.
It was a very obvious statement, but humans are creatures that need nourishment and rest.
It meant that you couldn’t stay logged into the game for several days without taking care of your health.
To prevent such a situation in the first place, the login time was limited to 10 hours a day.
However, that didn’t apply to Behind the Scenes. They were part of the game’s composition and always existed in the game.
And it was precisely this difference that caused problems.
• How many times do I have to tell you? Even though there are many Behind the Scenes, they are woefully inadequate compared to the number of users.
Ideally, one Behind the Scenes would be assigned to one user, but reality was different. There were too many users for that.
• We conducted a survey on Behind the Scenes statistics for Lasean’s first anniversary, and the most selected Behind the Scenes was the 6-star Percival.
Percival, the Knight of the Round Table.
In a situation where even unheard-of Behind the Scenes were abundant, they still managed to establish their own name value, and being a 6-star meant that the moment they were chosen, a silver effect was activated.
Moreover, since their performance was also decent, people were eager to pick them as soon as they rose to fame.
• The number of people who picked Percival as their Behind the Scenes totaled 137,000.
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
With the situation as it was, users were in awe of the fact that Behind the Scenes were communicating with them, referring to the situation as ‘omniscience’ or ‘trust.’
• Think about it. Let’s say one of those esteemed Behind the Scenes is in a good mood today and wants to give a quest to their apostle.
And that Behind the Scenes has a user they’ve been keeping an eye on.
So they try to talk to them, but the user doesn’t respond.
Oops, that user wasn’t logged in at the moment.
“… That’s terrible.”
• Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t give it, so I have no choice but to give the quest to someone else. Describe the feelings of a user who missed the Behind the Scenes quest due to being late by about 5 minutes. 3 points.
“I only imagined it, but I feel like quitting the game.”
• Really? It actually happens. That’s why the app was created.
The usage is simple too.
Just link your Lasean account to the Behind the Scenes app and you’re done.
Once linked, whenever the Behind the Scenes looks for a user, you’ll receive a notification on your phone, and the user can wake up from sleep and log into Lasean to receive the quest.
“It doesn’t seem like I need it much.”
• That’s what I said. It’s not needed.
The original 0-star Behind the Scenes, Cheonma. Naturally, the only person who chose that Behind the Scenes was Karpe.
To Karpe, the attention that others coveted from the Behind the Scenes seemed very natural.
As Karpe and Cheonma conversed, the two who were discussing the app earlier were almost done with their conversation.
“From today, I’ll leave about 10 minutes of login time and then log out. I’ll also install the app.”
“Yeah, make sure to install it. Imagine if the Behind the Scenes tried to give you a special skill but thought you couldn’t log in. That would be such a disappointment.”
With that, the two entered the mayor’s house. Karpe’s gaze once again turned towards Cheonma.
“Cheonma, bro. I just remembered something from the conversation earlier.”
• … What?
“Special skill. Can I learn it too?”
• Ugh.
In Lasean, there existed special skills that were treated separately from regular skills.
Unlike regular skills that could be obtained naturally through various paths while playing the game steadily, special skills could only be learned through Behind the Scenes.
In other words, the relationship value between luck and the Behind the Scenes was the most important factor in obtaining a special skill.
“We’re close, right? Our relationship value is Max. You can just give me the special skill!”
• … That’s the thing.
Cheonma silently broke into a cold sweat.
Actually, the special skill Karpe mentioned was something Cheonma deliberately avoided mentioning.
• … I could give it. I have a feeling of how to give it.
It was like when he gave him his first profession.
Since Karpe had completed his transition to Archmage, a warm feeling began to spread in Cheonma’s heart, and he started to feel a tingling sensation.
And there was a conviction that ‘if I explode this, I can give a special skill.’
Nevertheless, Cheonma didn’t immediately give the special skill because there was a precedent.
Farmer, fisherman, lumberjack, shepherd!
He had boasted loudly about giving them as hidden professions, but the results were like that, so he couldn’t bring himself to mention giving a special skill first.
No, the situation was actually much worse than back then.
• Special skills are rated the same as Behind the Scenes grade, you know?
A 6-star Behind the Scenes gives a 6-star special skill. An 8-star Behind the Scenes gives an 8-star special skill.
“So… 0-star Behind the Scenes gives a 0-star skill, huh?”
• Well, that’s highly probable…
“It’s not just probable, it’s practically certain.”
• No, there’s no precedent for a 0-star Behind the Scenes, so who knows? Maybe due to a computer error, an extra 1 might be added in front of the 0. Ha, congratulations on two 10-star skills…
“You’re talking nonsense. For someone who claims there are no bugs in Lasean, that’s a feeble excuse.”
As they chattered away, all the people who had been waiting in front of Karpe disappeared.
• Hey, let’s just move on to the mainland for now. How long do you plan on standing here? Look at all the people waiting behind you.
“Sigh. Okay, let’s move on.”
As they hurried into the mayor’s house, a man who looked to be in his middle age or older greeted Karpe. It was the mayor of the novice city of Lasean, Kedulak.
“Hehe, so you’ve come here to leave this place too?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Another hero leaving our village. Once you leave, it’s hard to come back unless it’s under special circumstances. But are you sure about this?”
Visiting high-level areas from low-level ones in Lasean came with hefty penalties. Especially, it was almost impossible to return to novice cities like Lasean without special circumstances.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright then. Let me open the way for you… Wait a moment! You, there! You were the hero who defeated the Hell Beast!”
The mayor exclaimed in surprise as he looked at Karpe’s face.
Then, he hurriedly ran somewhere and returned shortly after holding a glove in his hand.
“I can’t let someone who worked so hard for our village leave empty-handed. Here, take this.”
Ching.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the ‘Carpenter Kedulak’s Glove,’ a hero-grade reward for ranking first in Time Attack.]
“I’d love to chat more, but sadly, I don’t have the time. There are many heroes waiting behind you.”
After saying so, the mayor pulled out a scroll from his pocket and tore it up on the spot.
Then, with a rumbling sound, a blue portal opened right in front of the mayor.
“Go through here, and you’ll be able to go to the mainland city of Luana. May the blessings of the goddess be with you on your journey.”
“Thank you.”
Karpe nodded slightly to the mayor and entered the portal without hesitation.
It was the beginning of a true adventure.
The city of Luana.
A huge port city near the sea, where all users who ventured out of the novice cities would arrive first.
Unlike Lasean, which was called a city but was actually more like a village, Luana didn’t feel awkward being called a city.
“Wow, the scale here is really different.”
• In terms of size, it fits within three fingers in Lasean. I’ve heard it’s even bigger than Beijing in China.
“I’ve never been to Beijing, so I can’t really grasp it, but I can definitely tell it’s big.”
Not only the size but also the population density seemed to exceed imagination.
At first glance, there were so many people that you couldn’t properly walk without bumping into someone.
• As big as the city is, naturally, there are many hidden pieces and plenty to see. I’ve already planned everything out for you.
“Hyung.”
• Yeah, just trust me. Oh, right. You haven’t had proper food in Lasean, have you? Luana’s seafood dishes rival Michelin stars, so let’s start with that…
“Hyung, let’s focus on the special skill first.”
-Tsk. Doesn’t work, huh?
Cheonma clicked his tongue.
Well, pulling like this was meaningless anyway. It’s better to take the hit first.
• Alright, go ahead. I’ll take the hit. Take the hit and relax.
“You’re not even considering that something good might come out for yourself!”
• No, that’s just it. Special skills usually follow the Behind the Scenes job.
For example, if the Behind the Scenes is a 7-star Roland, a physical knight, then a special skill like ‘Indomitable Spirit,’ a physical enhancement skill, would be given.
In the case of 7-star Zhuge Liang, a large-scale battle command skill like ‘Art of War’ would be given.
In other words, a special skill was based on the famous feats or legends of that Behind the Scenes.
• Do you think I have a legend? Or have I fought in a war? It’s a toss-up what will come out of this.
“… Hyung, what’s your job?”
• Unemployed. I’m a laborer who poured his life into Lasean. I’m literally sliced and preserved for the game.
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it too.”
A Behind the Scenes with the job of an unemployed person giving a 0-star skill.
Wow, I’m really excited!
• Alright, let’s go.
After saying that, Cheonma gave a battle cry. Soon, notification windows popped up in front of him.
[Special skill quest has arrived from the Behind the Scenes.]
[Relationship value with the Behind the Scenes is at maximum.]
[The quest is automatically cleared.]
Ching.
The last notification window that popped up had two bold letters written on it.
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