Chapter 13

[Community – You have unread messages(325)]

Community was one of the features activated after clearing the first quest.

Though he couldn’t know what kind of people were gathered there and what they were talking about, or whether joining would be beneficial or harmful, with his smartphone now unusable, this community was the only way to get information about the goggles and the changed world.

[Only ‘users’ can enter the Community]

[Please set a nickname. If not specified, it will be fixed as ‘Han Yuseong’]

“RoomDweller.”

[Welcome RoomDweller to the Community!]

-GreatMage : Hey you bastards. Send me some mana stones if you have any! We need to close the gates first!

-Blue Blood : Someone who claims to be an archmage shouldn’t need mana stones to close gates? Just be honest and say you want the mana stones.

-Carlos : Want me to help?

-made in usa : Sir, just focus on securing your assigned area. This is just the beginning. We can’t prevent all damage. Just move according to plan. Establishing new systems comes first.

-SuperAnt : Sorry but could you send some support?

-made in usa : Did you not hear what I just said?

-SuperAnt : No, I try not to ask like this usually, but an incident happened near the Ilsung Research Complex of all places. We absolutely can’t lose this place, right? With ‘OneLifeOneShot’ gone, we can’t hold out with just our forces here.

-made in usa : …Support incoming immediately. Just hold out for 30 minutes.

…

……

………

Surprised by the unexpectedly light atmosphere, Yuseong relaxed and carefully checked the conversation history.

There were 9 nicknames total, but whether they were busy fighting monsters or resting, only 3 nicknames remained actively chatting now.

“What should I do.”

Just checking the conversation history had resolved some of his questions.

He could leave now without issue, but since he was already here, he decided to at least announce his presence and wrote:

-RoomDweller : Nice to meet you all.

A moment of silence.

Then messages filled with palpable shock even through text started appearing.

-BalanceLover : …Who are you?

-WeaponMaster : Never seen this nickname before? A new user?

-SuperAnt : That’s impossible! What new user! Obviously someone used a nickname change! Where have you been until now!

With messages piling up rapidly, Yuseong cut straight to the point without hesitation.

-RoomDweller : I am a new user.

-SuperAnt : What kind of useless lie is thi…

-RoomDweller : The previous owner sold me the goggles and disappeared.

-SuperAnt : What?

As if it was an unimaginable answer, when SuperAnt fell silent in shock, BalanceLover continued with questions instead.

-BalanceLover : Goggles? You mean the Deus Ex Machina? What do you mean it was sold?

-RoomDweller : Exactly what I said. I was looking for used VR devices online to play games, ended up buying these goggles, and became a user after using them without any suspicion.

-BalanceLover : …Where did the previous owner go?

-RoomDweller : How would I know? I’d rather ask you since they seem like your acquaintance. Know where that bastard went? I have some serious things to discuss about the product.

-BalanceLover : No, what kind of nonsense is this?!

“Seems these guys got screwed over too.”

The nickname ‘OneLifeOneShot’ that appeared occasionally during their conversation.

Among the 9 nicknames in the community, it matched none of them, and seeing conversations asking things like ‘where is OneLifeOneShot and what are they doing’ and ‘are they working on a difficult quest’, Yuseong could intuitively understand what had happened.

‘That bastard OneLifeOneShot. They ran.’

The people in this community, the users, knew about the monsters’ appearance and various anomalies in advance and were making various preparations accordingly.

For example, the person with nickname ‘made in usa’ seemed to be in charge of providing various advanced weapons to different countries, while ‘SuperAnt’ seemed to be responsible for mass-producing ability users somehow, though the exact method was unclear.

But ‘OneLifeOneShot’, for whatever reason, abandoned their role and ran away with disaster right around the corner.

And the unlucky person who ended up inheriting the role they abandoned was…

-RoomDweller : …Me, right?

-SuperAnt : How is that possible? Ah! I get it. You’re joking because you came late and thought we’d be mad? We won’t get angry so just tell the truth. You’re OneLifeOneShot, right? That’s it, right? Just joking around?

-RoomDweller : Sorry, but it’s all true.

-SuperAnt : No, this! What! Fu!

While SuperAnt was spamming messages, WeaponMaster asked a more constructive question.

-WeaponMaster : So when did you buy these goggles?

-RoomDweller : March 7th. 4 days ago.

-WeaponMaster : That makes it even harder to believe. Community features only unlock at Novice Solver rank, and you need to clear over 10 quests to rank up from Beginner to Novice Solver. Even if you really were just a normal person who randomly became a user, reaching Novice Solver in 4 days is impossible.

-RoomDweller : 10 quests? I ranked up after clearing just one.

-WeaponMaster : …What was the quest rank?

-RoomDweller : I got promoted after clearing an E-rank quest with SSS rank clear.

Recalling his 999 deaths he’d forgotten about, Yuseong gave a bitter smile while rubbing his crown that had been split countless times.

-WeaponMaster : SSS? That’s impossible…

-SuperAnt : Beginner rank has the special benefit of retry counts not being deducted. Must have retried endlessly until getting a perfect clear.

-WeaponMaster : Just retrying a lot doesn’t mean you can get a high rank clear. Plus SSS rank means solving it almost entirely with given abilities without using skills or items – you think that’s possible even for an E-rank quest?

-SuperAnt : If they were lying, they would’ve made up something more believable. It’s so blatant that I actually find it credible.

‘High rank clears are impossible?’

Getting this reaction from just one, there seemed no need to create unnecessary trouble by revealing he’d cleared two quests with high ranks.

While the two were arguing, the remaining person who had stayed silent since the first message asked a question.

-BalanceLover : How can you be so calm?

-RoomDweller : What do you mean?

-BalanceLover : If everything you’re saying is true, how can you be this calm? You became a user just 4 days ago. How can you so calmly chat after becoming an otherworld being in just 4 days, overcoming desperate situations, learning you can bring powers and items from other worlds to Earth, and facing this unrealistic situation of otherworld invasion? Wouldn’t a normal person’s reaction be to ask what the hell is going on?

-RoomDweller : Well, because I’m Korean?

-BalanceLover : What?

Though BalanceLover seemed not to understand, the other two grasped the meaning behind those words and accepted the situation easily, making their previous argument seem pointless.

-SuperAnt : Ah, then it can’t be helped.

-WeaponMaster : Indeed, the gaming people…

-BalanceLover : Wait. Why are you accepting this? What are you accepting about being Korean? I know Koreans are good at games but isn’t that calmness strange?

-SuperAnt : Oh, are web novels not popular where you are?

-WeaponMaster : East Asia, especially Korea and Japan, are very well-versed in these situations, you could say they have the environment to get used to it through indirect experience. While other countries are still in chaos if you just look online, in Korea and Japan they’re already talking about ability users forming guilds, making jokes about trying to open status windows first…

-RoomDweller : Just think of it as a cultural thing.

-BalanceLover : I really can’t understand.

-SuperAnt : So if you’re Korean, where are you right now?

About to send a message reflexively, Yuseong paused as a sudden question occurred to him.

‘Do I really need to cooperate with the users?’

Cooperating with users would certainly bring many benefits.

As pioneers, they could provide lots of information about quests and other worlds, as well as spare skills or items, and being one of only 10 users in the world could bring a sense of belonging, various conveniences, and guaranteed safety until he grew stronger.

Any of these would be like rain from clear skies for his current confused self in this chaotic world.

However, instead of answering hastily, Yuseong subtly changed the subject.

-RoomDweller : Can I ask a few things?

-SuperAnt : Suddenly asking questions? What is it?

-RoomDweller : Do you know the exact cause of the current monster invasion and various disasters?

-SuperAnt : That would take half a day to explain properly.

-RoomDweller : Please explain in three lines.

-SuperAnt : I’m not good at that kind of thing.

-WeaponMaster : War broke out between dimensions. Fragments of broken dimensions and the losers drifted through space seeking new sanctuary. Earth is where they ended up. End of explanation.

-SuperAnt : Oh, not bad?

-BalanceLover : You understand from that?

-RoomDweller : More than enough.

If anything, it was a bit too much.

Anyone who’s read web novels would understand the whole situation just from “War broke out between dimensions” alone, not even needing three lines.

-RoomDweller : Just one more question. Are there any side effects from using the goggles?

-SuperAnt : None.

-RoomDweller : Really none? Can you definitely say there are no side effects like the device being made by demons so using it gradually steals your soul, or failing while traveling between worlds and drifting eternally between dimensions, or using the goggles emits strange signals that accelerate otherworld invasions?

-SuperAnt : I can say definitely. Deus Ex Machina is a device that changes catastrophic fates and brings otherworld powers and items in exchange for the karma generated in the process. If there are any side effects, it’s just the chaos from bringing otherworld items.

-RoomDweller : I see.

-SuperAnt : Anyway, so where are you right now?

To SuperAnt’s question, Yuseong replied without hesitation.

-RoomDweller : Not telling.

-SuperAnt : …What?

-RoomDweller : Ah, sorry. Since it’s not typed directly there was a typo. Not “Not telling” but “I don’t want to tell you.”