Chapter 171 – Molang Fantasy (9)
The convenience store owner, whose beer belly and double chin had vanished, now looked overall much younger.
Seeing him again, he even seemed handsome?
The neighborhood pot-bellied uncle had transformed through the virtual reality game <Molang Fantasy>’s customization system into a hero who could dominate an entire era.
“If you’d impersonated some other human, I would’ve let it slide. It’s not my business anyway. But you touched someone you absolutely should not have touched. Do you know who Kang Moon-soo the athlete is? He was a part-timer working at my convenience store!”
“Uoooooh!”
“Waaaaah!”
It wasn’t just my long-time meal ticket, the convenience store owner, who had come.
The World Convenience Store Owners United Guild.
Commonly shortened to the ‘Convenience Store Guild’—the world’s No. 4 ranked guild—its members had swarmed in such numbers there was barely room to stand.
Is this for real?
(Hmm. Junior. This time you might actually die.)
“……”
What a joke that isn’t even funny. To think I’d end up getting killed by the very people gathered here to help me?
Although they clearly showed hostility toward me, I knew full well that the reason stemmed from their ‘goodwill’—so I couldn’t bring myself to kill them either.
Truly the worst possible situation!
I wanted to run, but the encirclement was so thick I couldn’t see a single gap to slip through.
“Any last words before you die?”
“Hmm…”
What should I even say to the convenience store owner asking for last words from his cherished former part-timer?
The one development I absolutely could not accept—even if it killed me—was admitting that I was the real Kang Moon-soo.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, then die. But if we all gang up on you, it’ll tarnish the Convenience Store Guild’s name. Come at me.”
“One-on-one?”
“That’s right.”
“If I win, let me go.”
“Hah! What a petty bastard. Now that death is staring you down, your attitude’s suddenly polite.”
“……”
You already know better than anyone how petty I get when money’s on the line, boss.
“I saw the circulating videos—you seem to fight pretty decently…”
Swish!
The boss charged straight forward like a bull.
‘I’m sorry, boss.’
When I get back to reality, I’ll stop by the store and treat you to some premium sirloin.
Taekwondo spinning back kick—sealed.
Using that would be the same as advertising “Taekwondo gold medalist Kang Moon-soo,” so I decided to use a different move.
(No time to play around.)
Why?
(You’ll find out soon enough.)
Swish!
The boss’s footsteps, which had been charging honestly, suddenly accelerated several times over.
“Haah!”
I sucked in a breath and countered—
“Arrogant punk.”
“Guh…?!”
My movements were completely read; the boss’s knee slammed into my abdomen.
Boom!
My waist folded like a shrimp’s, and I flew backward through the air.
“Ugh!”
I managed to regain my balance and stand before rolling pathetically, but right in front of my nose appeared the boss’s fist.
Crack—!
A sensation that rang through my very soul. My mind flickered in and out.
(If you don’t want to die, do exactly as I say.)
“……”
(Plant your left foot as the pivot and twist your body slightly clockwise while drawing your sword. Swing the sword in a small parabola from 9 o’clock to 5 o’clock. Speed? Don’t worry about it. I’ve already calculated that far.)
I emptied my mind and moved exactly as the senior instructed.
Tap!
I pivoted on my left foot and twisted my body.
“Hoo?”
The convenience store owner, who hadn’t given me any distance and was pressed right up against me, narrowly missed my jaw with his elbow.
Whoosh!
But in true game fashion, his arm wrapped in flames grazed me—and even that light contact burned my face.
“Ugh!”
I couldn’t stop here.
Shing—
I drew my sword and swung it in the direction the senior had specified.
“Hup?!”
The boss quickly dodged and tried to close the distance again, but upon seeing my sword curving in a parabola as if anticipating it, he clicked his tongue and pulled back his foot.
(Good reaction.)
The senior purely praised the convenience store owner for that.
“Ugh!”
My head was still spinning as if I had a concussion.
“For an impersonator, you handle a sword pretty well.”
“……”
It wasn’t me. I was just moving exactly as the senior instructed.
Naturally, I wasn’t happy about it.
“I felt a bit guilty bullying the weak, but swordsmanship is your specialty? That works out nicely.”
Shing—
The convenience store owner drew one of the three long swords hanging at his waist.
“…….”
The moment I saw him point the sword tip at me in a relaxed posture with his shoulders loose, my breath caught in my throat.
(Swordsmanship is his specialty.)
It must be. Back when I was working part-time at the convenience store, the boss often bragged about it—how he’d cut something down with a sword just yesterday.
And now it looked like that “something” was about to include “Kang Moon-soo”!
(Talk to him, stall for time. The imperial princess is looking for a way.)
If I win…
(Junior. This isn’t the time for sleep-talking. Open your eyes and face reality.)
“……”
I never thought I’d hear the words I used on Ranuvel patients thrown back at me.
(He’s coming.)
“Let’s start light~”
The boss said playfully as he swung his sword.
Clang—!
I couldn’t even think about counterattacking. It was so fast that just blocking was overwhelming.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang…!
I retreated while barely parrying attacks that would cleanly sever my body if even one landed.
“Ugh!”
Is this really the same pot-bellied uncle I knew?!
(He’s quite skilled with a sword. Talent slightly below a Volcanic Sect head elder, maybe? Probably because he never received systematic training.)
But he’s a convenience store owner?!
(Have you ever asked about his aptitude?)
Uh… No.
(The convenience store is just a means of making money. It’s not necessarily proof of this man’s aptitude. Or perhaps a physical defect buried his talent in reality.)
“Hmm?”
Swoosh—
The convenience store owner, who had been pressing the attack relentlessly, frowned and stepped back.
“Phew—!”
Having barely breathed while only blocking until now, I finally exhaled the pent-up air.
“What’s your level?”
“360, but…”
I responded to buy even a little time.
“Higher than I expected. I thought around 250. Is it because your aptitude is non-combat that your strength is like that?”
“……”
Non-combat.
Even just from the Priest description, it was clear this wasn’t an aptitude specialized for battle.
(He’s an expert.)
He spends 15 hours a day in <Molang Fantasy>, after all.
“Strange. Were the rumors exaggerated? You’re way too weak… What a hassle, dragging the whole guild just to surround one small fry.”
“……”
The convenience store owner scraped my pride all the way to the bottom.
“Hyung-nim, let’s finish this quick and go eat.”
“Haha! Don’t worry about it, Gil-dong. These things happen.”
“Since more than half the guild members gathered for the first time in a while, let’s find some meaning in that.”
“How about we hunt a dragon while we’re all here?”
I was already out of their minds. They treated me like a rookie they could kill anytime they felt like it.
(That’s reality.)
“……”
(You’re not a warrior. You’re weaker than that pot-bellied uncle—a mere shaman.)
“Uwa…”
My chest stung.
(The loyal subjects of the Holy Roman Empire who have been hiding their identities will arrive soon. If you don’t want to die, stay still, they say.)
BOOM—!
BANG! BOOM!
The moment the senior’s advice ended, a rain of fire poured down from the sky.
“Ambush~!”
“Who dares attack the convenience store…!”
“Identify yourselves!”
Due to the unexpected assault, the Convenience Store Guild—who had been surrounding me—scattered to avoid the rain of fire.
At that moment,
“We’re allies.”
Grab!
Someone whispered “allies” and snatched me by the waist, then leaped straight upward.
“Kieeeeh!”
And right on cue, I landed on the back of a massive bird that swooped in.
(Thankfully, we weren’t too late.)
Yeah.
The man who had rescued me spoke into the air.
“Rescue successful. Escape without dying or getting caught.”
He seemed to be referring to the escape system.
“Uh… Thank you.”
If I’d died, the whereabouts of Olympic chivalry would’ve become uncertain, but more than that, I felt terribly guilty toward the users and residents (NPCs) who had been sacrificed because I chose the Necromancer class.
“Haha! Don’t look so down. My ranking has dropped lately because I haven’t logged in much, but the leader of the Convenience Store Guild, Jang Gil-dong, is still a top-9 powerhouse. It’s only natural you couldn’t match him.”
“You’ve fallen quite a bit.”
It seemed his ranking had been slipping little by little ever since I quit the part-time job at the convenience store.
Were the part-timers slacking off that badly?
(You did your job honestly and well.)
Thanks.
“The imperial princess is waiting for you at a safe hideout.”
“You already knew everything, huh.”
“My main job being what it is…”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask what you do for a living?”
“I’m a national team member in chivalry.”
“Ah!”
The man lowered the altitude of the bird he was controlling and gave a grin.
“I’ll see you again at the Olympics.”
“…Yes.”
My mind became incredibly complicated.
***
“Your Highness. Thank you so much.”
It was only natural that I received help since I was assisting the witch, but even considering her position, I had really made a huge mess.
“No, it’s fine. When you said you were actively using the Necromancer class, we also bear responsibility for not properly investigating the dispositions of the specters.”
“Huu…”
The moment I arrived at the cabin in the woods where Ranuvel the 13th was waiting, I collapsed flat on the floor.
“It must have been quite exhausting.”
“Yes. To the point I wanted to die.”
Even in the hunter novel <I’m the Only SSS-Class Hunter>, the protagonist went through frustration and hardship until he obtained the SSS-class monster, Super Grand Galaxy General Infinity Blade. But there was a safety net: it was all just a dream with no impact on reality.
But what about here?
Though it was the world of a virtual reality game, it was extremely closely connected to the reality I lived in.
(Good experience, right?)
It was so good I never want to go through it again.
(Don’t forget that feeling.)
Yes.
“Mr. Kang Moon-soo. In exchange for the great sacrifices, haven’t you secured a large number of achievements that are hard to obtain unless one is a villain?”
“That’s true.”
[Achievements]
[Raped 1,000 royals.]
[Killed 1,000 young girls.]
[Tortured 10,000 women.]
[Betrayed comrades 100 times.]
……
There were an astonishing number of achievements with staggering digit counts.
“That’s why I’m not blaming you. For someone walking the righteous path like me, reaching 7th Job Advancement is extremely difficult. Even with the Priest aptitude’s achievement bonus, the conditions for 7th Job are just too harsh.”
“What…”
She wasn’t wrong. To achieve even 6th Job Advancement—something only possible for those who’ve poured their entire life into the virtual reality game <Molang Fantasy>—required achievements equivalent to doing it ten times over.
In theory, 7th, 8th, and even 9th Job Advancements were possible, but they were realms no living human could ever reach.
“How much is left until 7th?”
“Let me check… About 20,000 remaining.”
“20,000…?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure it’s not 200,000?”
“No, it’s correct.”
“…I have no choice but to admit it. The elder made an excellent choice entrusting this to you.”
“Is that a compliment?”
I was an excellent sacrificial pawn. Even if I brought it all on myself!
“It is a compliment. You accomplished what Ranuvel gave up on. You can take pride in that.”
“Ah, yes.”
“The real problem starts now. Since these achievements aren’t ones you earned yourself, it’s going to be hard to push them to the next tier.”
“Yeah, probably.”
I did take the specters’ achievements as payment for lending my body, but the time and effort they invested were separate matters.
For example,
[Killed 10 heroes.]
To reach the next stage of this achievement, I would need to kill not 90 more heroes, but 100. Because I’ve never personally killed a single hero.
Most achievements worked that way.
“If you lent your body to even more vicious specters, maybe…”
“No thanks.”
I’ve suffered enough.
“Then filling the remaining 20,000 won’t be easy.”
“Hmm…”
Even though 20,000 achievement points sounded small, it was enough to complete two full 5th Job Advancements.
(Frustrating junior.)
Yes.
(Seeing the convenience store owner didn’t spark any thoughts at all?)
I realized I have no talent for fighting.
(Then what are you good at?)
“……”
Sadly, it seems like nothing.
(You frustrating idiot! That’s exactly why you can’t escape your frustrating life!)
“Ugh…”
Senior. Please stop hitting me today. This junior is already too exhausted.
(Listen carefully.)
Yes.
(Among the specters you lent your body to, was there even one who did business?)
“Ah!”
There wasn’t. Though their dispositions varied slightly, every single one was a combat-specialized specter befitting a hunting ground boss.
“Mr. Kang Moon-soo. Did a method come to mind?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not entirely convinced, but I’ll listen and judge.”
“Part-time work.”
The longest job I’ve ever held was at the convenience store, but there’s hardly any part-time gig I haven’t tried at least a little.
“…Not bad. I’ll ask the empire’s loyal subjects to find you a job.”
“Thank you.”
Should I start with dishwashing at a restaurant as a warm-up?
Let’s go back to basics.
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