Chapter 203
“No, a has-been? What are you saying? I have never said such a thing.”
“Really? Not even once? Can you confidently say you’ve never thought of me as a has-been, even deep down?”
“Y-yes. Of course. Who would dare? Anyway, are you interested in Cheonchilbaek’s debt? If you, elder, are planning to pay it off for him…”
Paradox clicked his tongue at the perplexed Osai’s words.
“Tsk, this friend is a slow learner. I said it’s Paradox, not elder.”
“…Yes, Paradox-nim.”
“Right. Good job. So, what did you ask? Ah, if I was going to pay off the debt for him? Me?”
Paradox smiled benevolently. Cheonchilbaek looked at him with desperate eyes and prayed inwardly.
Come to think of it, Paradox had shown considerable interest in him since the first day, for whatever reason.
What other reason could there be for him to appear right on time during this moment of crisis? It must be to save him, Cheonchilbaek.
Here, Paradox was a god and invincible.
He had tried so hard to cater to the whims of this sergeant of Glitch Hall, so the time had come to be rewarded!
“As if I would.”
Of course, reality was cold, completely separate from Cheonchilbaek’s hopes.
“Do I look like I have that little to do? Enough to meddle in the private financial relationship between you, Osai, and the newcomer? No matter how old I am, I’m not that bored. Isn’t that something you two should resolve on your own? Grown adults shouldn’t need my mediation to solve such a trivial problem.”
“No, mediation is very much needed!” Cheonchilbaek screamed inwardly, but naturally, Paradox didn’t seem to hear him.
“Haha, of course.”
Osai accepted Paradox’s words with a smiling face, but his uncomfortably twitching eyebrows seemed to say, “You old geezer, then why did you come all the way here to annoyingly interfere.”
As if reading those uncomfortable inner thoughts, Paradox smiled brightly.
“The reason I sought you out is to make a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
Osai frowned. He probably didn’t want to accept it. Whatever it was, he must be worried that Paradox was trying to cause interference on what he was trying to do, or what needed to be done with some clever trick.
Paradox casually spat out, as if using Mind Reading.
“Don’t worry too much. It won’t be anything that gets in the way of your business.”
“Hahaha, if it’s Paradox-nim’s proposal, there’s nothing to worry about. What do you mean, get in the way!”
As if his inner thoughts had been laid bare, Osai twitched his stiff lips and forced out a hearty laugh.
Paradox nodded.
“I see. I like that you’re so hearty, Osai. Anyway, I heard you two suffered a huge loss from the mission failure. Not to mention Cheonchilbaek owes 2 million GP and the equipment you lent him, you beggar; but if you include the cost of your own equipment and life, you must have suffered a much greater loss. Shouldn’t you recover it?”
“…That is true. Do you have a good method?”
Osai’s voice was reluctant.
Either he didn’t need to recover the loss in the first place, or he wanted to but found Paradox’s proposal too suspicious to openly trust.
Paradox spoke in a low voice.
“Let’s play a game. How about it?”
* * *
“…A simulation that will more than recover all the losses I suffered?”
“Of course! Is that all? It will depend on how you do, but you could generate double that in profit. Would I really propose a game that doesn’t make money to you? You haven’t forgotten who I am, have you, Osai?”
Osai’s expression stiffened at Paradox’s meaningful words.
“If Paradox-nim says so, I have no choice but to believe it. But… if it’s a mission with that much on the line, the difficulty must be high too, so should I bring some friends I know? Or perhaps Paradox-nim…”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. The members are set. It’s a 4-person party, and from what I see, we already have the right people, so the numbers fit perfectly.”
Cheonchilbaek suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Osai must have felt the same, as he whipped his head toward Cheonchilbaek and said.
“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to bring the newcomer to that big game?”
“Oh? Osai, how did you know what I was thinking? Amazing. Your foresight has improved a lot.”
Osai’s expression crumpled spectacularly. He opened his mouth as if to refuse right away, but then hesitated, seemingly unable to coldly reject Paradox’s proposal.
Paradox laughed heartily.
“I know what you’re worried about, but look here, Osai. Do I look like someone who would step into a doomed game? Just trust me this once. There’s a reason I chose the newcomer. The game we’re going to play is a little different from what you know. There will definitely come a time when the newcomer’s fresh perspective will be helpful.”
After Paradox said that much, there was no way he could refuse. Osai nodded, and Paradox looked satisfied.
“Right. Good thinking. Nothing to worry about. Right now, you, me, and the newcomer are the filled spots, making three, right? The remaining one will be filled by a Veteran who will satisfy even you.”
Cheonchilbaek was momentarily, albeit slightly, dumbfounded.
No, why was it a given that he, Cheonchilbaek, was participating? In reality, he was the one who wanted to participate in such a suspicious game the least.
However, when Paradox turned his unfathomable eyes this way, he saw the Aquarium.
“You’re okay with this too, Cheonchilbaek? If you have a different opinion, speak up quickly.”
Even if he did, there was no way he could say it.
Cheonchilbaek bit the bullet and nodded vigorously.
* * *
“First, let’s do the character creation.”
“character creation?”
Paradox answered Osai’s question.
“This game is different from normal VR. We have to create avatars in advance to represent us and then participate. We set the character’s background story, abilities, and so on beforehand.”
“That will consume GP, won’t it?”
It was a sharp question, but Paradox unexpectedly shook his head.
“If that were the case, would I have brought the newcomer? You can’t use GP in this game. That’s why it’s difficult, because you can’t beat it with money. The stats you can set are somewhat fixed. I’ll explain stance as we go.”
It certainly seemed different from the games so far, as Osai blinked with a puzzled expression.
Instead, the 4th participant, who had been quiet until now, stepped forward. It was Samsao.
“Then is the character superior to the real me?”
“Exactly. You can think of it as literally creating a game character.”
“It’s very different from the simulation games so far.”
Glitch Hall’s simulations usually projected the real-life prisoners exactly as they were into the virtual world, so this was definitely new.
A few hours passed.
“Looks like you’ve slowly finished your character creation. As expected of young people, you all make fast progress.”
Paradox, who had just spoken, now appeared as a middle-aged fat great detective.
His Character Name was “Hurlock Sholmes”, a bizarre character, a self-proclaimed great detective Sherlock Holmes, and he had strengths in the [Investigation], [Attention], and [Connections] stats.
Even though it was a character unrelated to their real selves, no one had imagined he would create something so completely different, so everyone had a bit of a startled look.
On the contrary, Samsao created a Ronin character that looked exactly like him, a formidable brute with a bad personality. His name was “Crusher”, and his [Close combat], [Physical strength], and [Agility] stats were high.
Cheonchilbaek’s character was also conventional. He was a normal utility-type petty thief character. His name was “Stealer”, and his [Thievery], [Stealth], and [Deception] stats were high. His appearance was also just slightly more handsome than his original self.
The unexpected one was Osai’s character.
His Character Name was “One-Eyed Jack”, and he was a womanizer who seduced women, a one-eyed marksman who shot a pistol incredibly well, and at the same time, a highly skilled hacker.
It was a messy background with all sorts of things tacked on. Perhaps to match the setting, his stats were also heavily skewed toward [Hacking], [Shooting], and [Social skills].
At the handsome face, a stark contrast to his real one, and the character setting that seemed overly invested, Paradox smiled and said.
“Oh my, looks like someone wanted to make a protagonist? You put quite a lot of effort into it.”
At those words, Osai’s handsomely transformed pale face flushed red. At his visibly restrained anger, Paradox waved his hand.
“I’m not criticizing you, so calm down. In fact, that’s the right way. This game is originally meant to be enjoyed like that. You have to create a character you like to truly immerse yourself.”
“…But didn’t we come here to earn GP, not to have fun?”
“That is true, but.”
Paradox shrugged.
“Then shall we decide on the minor details before the game starts? Everyone, use your imagination and tell me. Why did your characters end up locked in prison?”
Prison? When everyone made a puzzled face, Paradox spoke.
“Ah, did I not explain? The setting is that all our characters are locked in prison, exactly like us in reality, or more precisely, in Glitch Hall.”
“We’re all locked in Glitch Hall? Why?”
Paradox answered Osai’s question.
“That’s because of this game’s mission.”
He paused for a moment before dropping a bombshell.
“In this simulation, our goal is the Glitch Hall Escape.”