I fell for my dongsaeng’s childish taunt.
Honestly, it wasn’t like I really fell for it.
I just indulged him because he was begging so earnestly, and as a brother who cares about him, I decided to give it a look.
“Hyung, I’m really good at games. I’ll cut you some slack, so just trust me.”
…Sigh.
I really just gave in.
After nodding nonchalantly to my brother, I carefully entered the capsule.
It was nothing like the outdated capsule I had used in the past.
Back then, the air conditioning hardly worked, and as soon as you got in, it was filled with a sour smell of sweat.
It made sense since I had picked up an old capsule from a local capsule room at a bargain price.
The luxury of a high-end capsule was new to me.
To be frank, I felt like I could sleep in it all day.
The air conditioning was working, and the cushion was soft.
It seemed like it wouldn’t be too bad to use as a substitute for a bed.
The basic operation wasn’t much different from the capsules of yesteryear either.
As soon as I entered the capsule, I put on the headset, and the small hairband-like headset tightened considerably around my head.
However, the pressure didn’t last long.
Soon, the headset adjusted to the size of my head, and the discomfort disappeared.
The world had really improved.
Back in the day, you had to force it on even if it didn’t fit your head.
Woooom!
With a light activation sound, a world filled with white light unfolded before me.
At the same time, I heard Jinhyuk’s voice in my ear.
– “Oh, hyung, I was worried you might not connect properly, but you’re good at this, huh?”
Were Jinhyuk’s capsule and mine connected?
I could communicate with Jinhyuk without any additional devices.
I nodded slowly and closed my eyes.
“Shut up and just log in to the game. What’s there to do besides logging in?”
– “Log into a game called Excalibur. I’ve already downloaded it to your capsule. Should I explain the game to you in advance? I’m going to start broadcasting as soon as I log in to the game, so there’s no time to explain separately…”
“Just shut up and log in, will you?”
I already had profound knowledge of the game.
Why?
Because in the army barracks, the topics of conversation among the guys were limited.
It was either women or games.
That’s pretty much it.
I’d already heard through the grapevine what this game was about.
Excalibur.
It’s a familiar battle royal-style game, and the main weapons used were swords, spears, bows, etc.
It was also a game that generated quite a few issues with its flashy duels.
It had a solid fan base to the extent that a professional gaming league was created.
As soon as I heard Jinhyuk’s words, I immediately spoke the word “Excalibur” into my headset, and suddenly the background in front of me changed.
Before I knew it, I was in the middle of a lush forest.
[Welcome to Avalon, where the honorable duels of heroes come to life. Here, you too can write your own epic saga.]
Excalibur is a representative second-generation VR game.
Unlike first-generation VR games represented by Gaia Online, the immersion rate had increased significantly, and with it, the senses became much more vivid.
I had only heard about it but experiencing it firsthand was even more impressive.
Even during the Gaia Online era, people said science had surpassed the realm of imagination, but now it was even more so.
It felt almost indistinguishable from reality.
Honestly, my heart raced uncontrollably.
I had resolved never to play games again after that time, but even that determination seemed to waver.
Damn it.
Maybe I was someone who just couldn’t live without games.
I managed just fine in the military.
I quickly created an account and skipped the tutorial for Excalibur.
The game’s tutorial, meant for first-time VR users, covered basics like controls.
It was irrelevant to someone like me, who had extensively played first-generation VR games.
As soon as I skipped the tutorial, the character selection screen appeared.
Being level one, I had no items to choose from.
What’s more, starting off on the wrong foot, this game didn’t allow free customization.
At best, I could wear a mask.
Even the mask size was not substantial.
Meaning, my still immature head was all too apparent.
Good grief.
[Streamer Jin has invited you to join.]
While I was still in shock over the lack of customization freedom, my dongsaeng had already sent me an invite.
I heard that this “Jin” was Jinhyuk’s streamer handle.
With no choice but to hastily put on just the mask, I accepted my brother’s invitation.
Then, the background changed, and I was transported to a lavish waiting room filled with numerous statues.
There, my brother was waiting, decked out in a flashy cape and various accessories.
“Hyung, you’re he… pfft!”
“What the…?”
Jinhyuk started laughing his lungs out upon seeing me.
“Sorry, I really didn’t mean to laugh… kekeke. No, it’s not that hyung’s appearance is funny or anything.”
Shhhrrring.
As my dongsaeng gestured, a long spear appeared in mid-air.
From there, texts were constantly scrolling down.
[You said you were bringing home a discharged soldier, but what’s with this sturdy one, eh? ㅋㅋ]
[Sturdy indeed (Meaning “a high-quality sturdy guy”).]
[Kyaaak! Look at those muscles, bro. As expected, soldiers do have impressive muscles (dangling loosely).]
I’ve seen enough of these things to know.
A broadcasting mode provided for streamers.
It seemed like Jinhyuk deliberately set it to public to show me, but the chatroom was nothing short of hellish.
Even corporate chatrooms weren’t this chaotic.
I glanced sneakily at Jinhyuk, who barely managed to suppress his laughter as he replied,
“Sorry, my viewers are a bit…”
“A bit?”
“A bit that way.”
The chat room then erupted into noise once again.
[Ma! Are we embarrassing to you?]
[Oh geez, typical Jinhyuk.]
[Oppa! Are we an embarrassment?]
One lucky thing was that there were female fans.
I thought it was just a bunch of guys, but like he said about his good looks paying off, right?
But the answer that came back was shockingly indescribable.
“Actually, 99 percent of my viewers are male.”
“What about those who call you ‘oppa’?”
“Those guys are actually male. Why else would they say ‘dangling loosely’?”
What?
These crazy bastards.
And calling someone who was just discharged “sturdy”?
I just remembered what to call such guys.
Malicious.
To my eyes, it was a channel full of some of the worst on TwiPot.
The firepower of the chatroom was strong enough to overwhelm any major corporation.
I watched the dreadful chats filling the screen moment by moment and looked at Jinhyuk.
…This guy.
You’ve really been working hard earning money while hyung was away.
Hyung is sorry.
“…A bit spicy? My viewers are a bit too much. But they’ve become quite gentle since they heard you were coming today.”
This was gentle?
***
The number of viewers was fluctuating between 400 and 500, just as Jinhyuk had said.
[“JinhyukLovesDogs” donated 10,000 won!]
[Today’s underwear color? And immediately starting the mission?][1]
The first donation exploded within 10 minutes of Jinhyuk’s broadcast going live.
Everything from the nickname to the content of the donation.
The epitome of a pervert.
Suddenly asking about the color of someone’s underwear?
While I was looking at the chat with contempt, Jinhyuk naturally smiled and replied,
“Today it’s black, and I’ll proceed with the mission to win a duo victory while bringing hyung along. You said three attempts, right? I’ll finish it in one try, so watch closely.”
My dongsaeng, my dongsaeng couldn’t possibly be like this.
My dongsaeng, whom I went through so much to save, has changed like this because of money.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
This kind of broadcast was a first for me, leaving me stunned.
As I was shocked, looking at the chatroom, the game had already begun.
Before us, a vast map had been generated.
And on that map, about ten red dots had settled in.
[“ChoiceFairy” donated 1,000 won!]
[The next stop is the training ground, the training ground.]
The training ground, huh.
Even I, who had never played the game, knew it was a famous place.
Excalibur was a game where 60 players competed for survival.
You loot hidden armors and weapons, evading the ever-encroaching magic barrier, aiming to be the last survivor.
Among these locations, the training ground was where the most users gathered.
The reason was simple: Legendary equipment spawned quite frequently, and various auxiliary gears were abundantly available.
Of course, such games came with inherent risks.
As with any place abundant in rewards, it naturally attracted swarms of flies.
It was a hotbed for early battles, making it particularly hellish for beginners.
However, it seemed Jinhyuk had no intention of showing me any consideration.
As soon as he received support, he unhesitatingly chose the training grounds.
“Since ChoiceFairy has granted us this, let’s dive in with gusto.”
Then he looked at me shamelessly and said,
“Hyung, it’s okay if you just die. You know? It doesn’t matter to me since this is just an alt character for me; this part is just for leveling. You just need to win.”
I decided to lightly ignore the nonsensical talk.
I was in a really good mood, returning to a game after so long.
It was a VR game I swore never to play again, yet, once logged in, I couldn’t understand why it felt so exhilarating.
It was as if I had returned to my hometown.
Time passed briefly, and before I knew it, we had both arrived at the “Training Grounds.”
The place, not particularly vast, was dotted with training dummies.
Soon, items of various colors revealed themselves before my eyes.
“When you’re a beginner, you learn by dying. So, pick up anything and check it out. Back in my day, I used to figure things out alone with a guidebook.”
Couldn’t you at least teach your hyung a thing or two?
By the way, my dongsaeng…
It’s been a while since I’ve seen you…
Well, you’ve changed a lot… yeah.
It’s never easy playing the role of the head of the family alone.
It’s understandable to talk like that.
Jinhyuk didn’t bother looking out for me and disappeared from my sight in search of his own items.
Once Jinhyuk vanished, I slowly started moving and surveyed the surroundings.
The immersion was truly impressive.
Gaia Online‘s immersion was barely 5%, but this sensation was incomparable, undoubtedly at a much higher percentage.
“Haahhhp!”
I was enjoying these rather unfamiliar sensations, strolling around the training grounds when suddenly, a shout rang out, and a sword whooshed toward me from the side.
However, I casually stepped back and glanced at the attacker.
Golden armor shining brilliantly.
And a purple sword.
The equipment looked very useful.
I dodged the following sword strike by stepping back and then grabbed a crowbar rolling on the ground.
A crowbar as my first weapon…
Good enough.
As I held onto the crowbar and smirked, the female user who attacked me shuddered and screamed,
“You, you’re crazy!”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s creepy!”
“But you attacked me first, why are you saying that to me?”
[1] For reference, the phrase “오팬무” is an abbreviation for “오늘 팬티 무슨 색,” which translates to “What color is your underwear today?”
