chapter 7

“How interesting.”

It was only a short moment but I felt inspired. I had wondered why they made sure only I could use it when installing the capsule but it was probably due to this. If ordinary people received such benefits then there would be a serious problem with equity.

“Kiik. Human, kill!”

The goblins came running when they saw the death of their colleague. I unknowingly snorted.

…Shall I look at their skills? The goblins were carrying weapons. One was holding a knife, one an axe, and the last one a spear. However, I didn’t have anything. I only had my bare hands and they were still behind my back.

“Kiik. Die!”

It was a bit sloppy but the one-handed sword stabbed forward quite sharply. No matter how much I looked, it was one step higher than the goblins I dealt with in the tutorial.

[Lv. 3 Goblin]

…They were three years old.

The one with the axe joined in from the side and I jumped up quickly, splitting my legs apart and hitting both of their faces at the same time.

“Uwack!”

“Ack!”

Both of them fell to the side and rolled around once. At the same time, a rusty spear came stabbing from in front of me. I quickly deflected the spear with the palm of my hand, moved closer through the gap, grabbed the spear, and slammed my elbow into the goblin’s joints.

“Kuaaaack!”

There was a terrible scream along with the sound of something breaking. Then I twisted its neck.

[Experience has been acquired.]

Perhaps it was out of fear but the other goblins started to falter. I watched them and wondered, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Kiik…”

“Then I have to go.”

I ran at them at high speed and flew into the sky. The goblins hit by my kicks floated in the air. I landed and started to beat them all over. I kicked the joints in their legs, hit them on the temples, and punched them. They were clean motions that could be seen in some of China’s most famous martial arts movies. The novices around me couldn’t shut their mouths as they watched.

“……”

“Hey, what did we see just now?”

“I don’t know, don’t ask me, I don’t know.”

“That grandfather, he is a novice, right? They are certainly the clothes of someone without a class…”

They were puzzled by this bizarre sight they could never imagine. Meanwhile, I was lost in a trance.

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

My strength was overflowing. Suddenly, a golden color wrapped around my body and enveloped me in warmth. The warm energy surrounded me like I had entered a hot springs. I could tell this was the precursor to the level up that Jeongdo had told me about.

[Your level has risen!]

Wouldn’t I quickly reach level 10 at this rate? I rummaged through the bodies of the goblins to see if any equipment or items had dropped. However, all I got were useless nails and leather. It was a bit disappointing that equipment didn’t come out but it was a pretty good start for my first hunt. I searched the body of another goblin and could hear murmurs around me.

“…?”

Ah, I was reminded that I was near the village. There was too much attention here so I quickly gathered the items and left. The goblins scattered into grey ash and disappeared like cherry blossoms in the spring breeze.

* * *

People were moving breathlessly. People were running around like crazy as well. Despite the chaos, the monitoring room was ironically filled with silence.

[CODE-0]

The aftermath of the storm it brought was the setting sun and there was a magic that felt like time was wasted if they just looked away from it. It was the same with Yoo Minseok, who was staring at the big screen in front of him.

“Have you found the protagonist of Code Zero yet?” Department Manager Lee Seokjun walked up behind him and asked.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“No. How can it be your fault?”

Yoo Minseok and Lee Seokjun once again turned their heads to the big screen. There were dozens, hundreds, of monitors showing different users. Only well-known rankers filled the screens and there were frequent reports about them based on observing their daily lives.

“You must find him. It is the chairman’s command.”

“The chairman’s command…?”

Chairman Lee Geonmyeong—the person who turned a small then medium sized Union Company into the global group it was now in 40 years. He was said to have invested his entire fortune into the creation of the virtual reality game Arcstar. Now he was almost 80 years old and people referred to him as ‘the sky who appeared late.’

‘Why is the chairman interested in Code Zero…?’

Chairman Lee Geonmyeong was someone who even skipped last year’s World Competition for health reasons. The chairman didn’t even show up to any events related to Arcstar. From Yoo Minseok’s point of view, it was hard to understand the chairman’s interest in Code Zero.

‘Code Zero… what secrets are hidden there?’

* * *

“Kueeek!”

[Goblins 49/50]

“Kieek!”

[Goblins 50/50]

Ttiring~

[The conditions of quest ‘Chief Chen’s Request’ have been met.]

“Sigh, I finally caught them.”

I stretched my body and then opened the status window to look at my level and remaining experience. I was at 50% after level 3.

“It has climbed a lot.”

It was still a long way to reach level 10. Once my level rose to a certain point, the goblins gave less experience. I sighed and walked slowly toward the village. “Well, the chief will tell me to kill other guys.”

It took a long time to return to Mulan’s gate. It was still a bustling village.

“Looking for someone who can hunt all day~!”

“Selling equipment 50% off for today only~! It’s cheap~”

“Try the special beer of Mulan for only $10!”

There was beer? I wanted to buy some beer and taste it but I stopped. I had a great mission to reach level 10 today. I had to level up as soon as possible to watch out for those tiger-nosed bastards flirting with my granddaughter.

…Yes, the first thing was to become strong. Mido was around level 150?

I quickened my pace and hurried to Chen’s smithy. The sound of hammering heard outside didn’t stop. I opened the door and saw Chen sweating as he tapped on a weapon with his hammer. He seemed to be the same age as me but he was still working. I couldn’t help being moved by his passion.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, you’re not. I was just about to rest.”

“I’ve finished killing the goblins that you spoke about.”

“Oh, really? You’ve worked hard! You are a really trustworthy person!”

[Chief Chen’s Request has been completed.]

“You’ve worked hard. This is your reward.”

[$500 have been acquired.]

[Chen’s trust has risen.]

[Since a two person recommended quest was cleared alone, the rewarded experience has increased by 1.5 times.]

[The rewarded experience has doubled due to the route preferential benefits.]

[Your level has risen!]

[Your level has risen!]

A number of messages rose in front of me. I slowly read it and my heart sang with joy when I saw the messages about gaining two levels.

…Good! I thought that leveling up would slow down since the experience stopped rising as much, but I actually gained two levels as a reward. Before I knew it, I had a very happy expression on my face.

“Hey, did you receive good news?”

“Ah, no. Rather, I’d like to fight stronger opponents.”

“Yes, that is good. However, your satiety has fallen? Why don’t you fill your stomach first?”

Satiety? Come to think of it, I could see something blinking since a while ago. Was it this…?

[Satiety 18/100]

As expected, it was this.

“What happens if satiety falls?”

“If it falls below 10%, all your stats will be reduced by 50%. The moment it reaches zero, you will starve to death. To avoid that, you should always thoroughly manage your satiety.”

“I will keep that in mind. Where can I fill my satiety?”

“Keke. There are many restaurants in the village. Fill your stomach with the money I gave you. Then I will give you a new job.”

“I understand.”

I descended the alley and headed straight to the restaurant alley Chen told me about. There were a variety of restaurants here. The smell of NPCs cooking seemed to pierce my nose.

“Ohh, there is a lot of variety here!”

For me, who once walked the chef’s path, this was a paradise. I was filled with a lot of curiosity as I stepped into the restaurant that smelled the most delicious. I stepped inside and the staff guided me to a seat before showing me the menu.

“There are so many dishes on the menu.”

There were plenty of dishes I had never eaten in my life. I ordered a $400 course meal because I wanted to eat it all. After a while, I was inhaling food.

“Aup. This… aup. Delicious…?”

Was this how it felt to have a vacuum cleaner for a mouth? The moment the female employee put down the plate, she looked surprised as she saw me devour the food. Still, looking at the guests like this was a bit…

“Aup. Give me one more plate of this!”

The female employee looked at the dishes piled up next to me.

“You want to eat more…?”

“Yes, I’d like one more plate.”

[Satiety is over 100.]

[If it exceeds 120, you might fall into a ‘stomachache’ state.]

[Movement speed will be reduced by 12%.]

[Current Satiety 112/100]

“Add another goblin fried rice~”

I could see the lady shouting to the chef.

The name of the food I was eating right now was goblin fried rice! I was amazed at how delicious it was when it was made from the goblins I had beaten. The course meal featured the goblin fried rice, wolf meat soup, and chicken stir-fry made from a monster called a cockatrice, although I hadn’t seen it yet. It was a new taste and new texture. There were even new ingredients.

This would be coveted by any chef.

…I was no exception. I once walked a chef’s path and loved the cuisine of the world. The even better thing was that virtual reality didn’t take up time! It was a dream-like thing to be able to eat and taste, but not fill up my stomach.

“I will eat a lot in the future.”

Of course…

…I had to make a lot of money. The cost of the meal wasn’t a joke. The $500 I received from Chen suddenly became $100.

“Why is the monetary unit in dollars?” I pondered on it but couldn’t know. It was just like this.

I was thinking to myself when the female employee approached and gave me the bill. “Here is the bill.”

[Oblique Restaurant Bill]

[Goblin Fried Rice: $50 x 6.

Cockatrice Fried Chicken: $100 x 2.

Wolf Meat Soup: $25 x 2.

***************

Total: $550]

“Huh? Why is it $50 more?”

“You just added one more.”

“…I’m sorry but can I cancel it?”

“I’m sorry. That’s impossible. We are already cooking it.”

I followed her gaze and saw the dish coming out.

…This.

Another female employee came up and put down the goblin fried rice in front of me. The smell of the fragrant cooked meat entered my nose. In the end, I couldn’t resist the temptation. Yes, let’s eat first. I was told that a ghost who died after eating had a better skin tone.

Was I going to be killed? Or they might throw me out. Thus, I started eating the goblin fried rice again.

After a while.

“Get out! Ahh, he is bad luck.”

…Shit.