The Chicken Legend's Game Becomes Reality - Chapter 5
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 5
Baek Hee-an answered honestly after a long moment, as if waking from a doze.
“…I dozed off for a moment.”
Rather than reproaching him for sleeping, the Guild employees regarded Baek Hee-an with expressions tinged with sympathy.
His insomnia was quite well-known.
“We’ve been holding you up too long. Someone who just returned from an overseas mission.”
“Let’s leave early.”
The Female Coworker who was usually close with Hee-an murmured very quietly.
“A bit…”
Hee-an flinched faintly and looked at her.
However, the Female Coworker, his colleague from the same department, said nothing more and closed her mouth, gauging the room’s atmosphere.
A Guild Employee spoke up.
“Isn’t there anyone among domestic Hunters that stands out in your mind? If you know them, you’d recognize them instantly.”
“They fight incredibly well.”
It was only natural that the Korean Hunter community was particularly fascinated by Chicken Bulssdagu, who had appeared like a comet and claimed the 12th position in the God Opal world rankings.
Because no one knew who they were.
Opinions diverged wildly about Chicken Seat’s true identity.
The Hunters unanimously believed that Chicken Seat, who had suddenly appeared on the World Rankings and climbed at breakneck speed, must be someone from within their own industry.
This was because all the rankers in GOF were genuinely renowned and famous Hunters.
Trivial chatter spilled out once more.
“Which Guild do you think they belong to?”
“I’m really curious, but I can’t think of anyone who fits.”
“Who on earth are they?”
In the replayed footage, the combat scene zoomed in as close as possible.
Someone flashed through Hee-an’s mind in that instant, though he didn’t think it was specifically because of God Opal.
‘Another nightmare scheduled for tonight, then.’
Hee-an pushed down the unnecessarily deepening emotions and rose from his seat.
* * *
After playing several rounds yesterday with Green One and Red One, whom I’d just recruited into God Opal, I came to this realization.
Even among the same Hidden Class, their specializations were vastly different.
Green One specialized in support skills that were particularly useful in multi-person battles, while Red One was a master of formidable swordplay.
Both had excellent skill compositions and performance when I tested them.
But the more I played, the more I missed Purple One—someone who could unleash powerful skill explosions barehanded and who excelled at exhilarating one-on-one duels like I did.
After I quit the game yesterday, I’d been increasingly bothered by how I’d unceremoniously kicked Purple One out.
‘That bastard Purple One wouldn’t have gotten sulky just because I’m an AI, would they?’
Of course they definitely had.
Constellations in God Opal were inherently a complete disaster of rudeness, arrogance, pettiness, inconsiderateness, and terrible personality.
Star-dust crushers who threw tantrums and cut Players off at the slightest provocation.
There was even talk that game developers had deliberately made Constellations so temperamental to squeeze money out of users—a devilish system.
‘This is the first time that actually resonates with me.’
I had been so popular with the Constellations from the start that I’d never really been pushed around by them.
‘I didn’t even know my situation was unusual until I checked the Game Community.’
When I used star dust to pull for stars, Dia-grade Constellations rolled around like pebbles, and the Constellations would broadcast Constellation Deuce 101 live to be chosen by me.
But now that I needed to call back the Constellation I’d harshly criticized, I felt oddly self-conscious about it.
A quiet morning.
Today I was at the Convenience Store again, working my part-time job.
Beep. Beep.
After scanning the barcode of the customer’s items and completing the card payment, there were no more customers.
‘Insane. Here I am worrying about an AI getting upset. This pathetic Constellation Dating Sim system. If a scrap of data leaves, it leaves—what can I do about it?’
Unlike other dating sims that could be replayed, this Constellation Dating Sim couldn’t be replayed—that was its defining feature.
They were practically sentient beings.
Still, if I groveled through Constellation chat, they might accept me back.
‘Why should I bother? I’ll try calling them when I get home later, and if they ignore me, I’ll just summon one of the Constellations I used before.’
My ranking might drop a bit, but that wasn’t my concern.
I was just doing it for fun—game rankings didn’t put food on my table anyway.
One day, as I grew obsessed with the game and my skills improved daily, blurring the line between fighting Players and NPCs, my nickname appeared on the ranking.
When I first made the ranking, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep, but after that, even climbing higher didn’t feel like much.
I’d feel a brief rush of pride, but my real life showed no change or reward whatsoever.
‘Is there a way to make money from the game?’
Thinking such thoughts, I stood up from my seat.
After checking the inventory of products that had arrived this morning, I began organizing and cleaning the Logistics Warehouse.
Despite appearances, I was a conscientious part-timer who had earned the Store Owner’s complete trust.
For ordinary part-timers, this job was just a fleeting gig for pocket money, but for me, this Convenience Store was a genuinely precious workplace.
Finding work with this intimidating face wasn’t easy.
Ding—
Just then, customers arrived.
“Welcome.”
I limped out from the warehouse toward the Checkout Counter, glancing at the customers who’d entered.
Clearly underage high school boys.
‘Damn.’
The most annoying situation possible.
Three punks reeking of high school swagger strutted in confidently as a group.
Normal students would be studying hard at School during this hour, not wandering around in casual clothes reeking of alcohol.
‘Delinquents.’
They were somewhat decent-looking but annoyingly overconfident, which was deeply unsettling.
For reference, there was a Boys High School nearby that had a notorious reputation for being extremely rough.
That was why the Store Owner had hired me.
“Give us Mevius Sky Blue and Marlboro Red, and a Dunhill Light.”
Their tastes were all over the place.
Clearly one of them was taking the lead, trying to buy cigarettes for all three on their behalf.
I couldn’t afford to be respectful with these bastards.
I answered curtly.
“ID card.”
“I know I look young for my age.”
The one standing at the front winked at me with a smirk.
‘This punk?’
The audacity of trying to slip past me with some cheap seduction routine just because he had a decent face ignited a deep, simmering rage.
When I hardened my expression, he flinched slightly and nervously produced his ID card.
“I’m a College Student.”
“….”
Looking at the ID, the College Student’s resident number checked out, but his face looked completely different.
Of all things, the Convenience Store’s fingerprint ID scanner happened to be broken, and somehow these punks knew the timing perfectly.
I gestured with my hand.
“Show me your student ID.”
“I left it at home.”
“Sure, that happens. Who carries their student ID everywhere these days anyway? Then pull up the School student ID app and show me.”
The three of them stiffened, clearly unprepared for that, their expressions hardening.
These bastards always follow the same pattern.
They pull off pathetically sloppy schemes, and when things don’t go their way, the underdeveloped prefrontal cortex of these punk kids unleashes their violent instincts.
“Ah, damn it. I was trying to do this the easy way.”
Watching him curse and try to control the atmosphere made me let out a hollow laugh.
I spoke flatly.
“If you’re pissed, come at me. I just called the cops. You’re High School Boys past the age of juvenile delinquency, so let’s ruin your lives with a criminal record while you’re still young.”
They froze.
At the mention of the police, all three of their eyes went wide, and one of them quickly turned to leave.
“Let’s go.”
“…Damn it. Because of that crippled pig, we can’t even buy a single cigarette.”
Hack, spit.
The one whose face looked like it had been ground into asphalt spat a glob of yellow phlegm onto the Convenience Store floor.
Something snapped inside my head in that instant.
“….”
Whoosh.
I pulled out the steel pipe I’d prepared in advance for emergencies.
This Neighborhood has always had a lot of crime.
Not that I was planning to become a criminal myself.
Thud. Thud.
At the irregular yet heavy footsteps echoing through the space, they stopped in their tracks at the Convenience Store exit and turned to look at me.
The moment our eyes met and they saw the steel pipe, they went pale with shock.
“Y-you’re insane!”
“Run!”
“Ugh!”
I didn’t call the police.
If I lost my composure and fought here, I’d be the one turning them into pulp and heading to prison, not them.
The three terrified High School Boys bolted away from me with all their might.
Thump, thump.
I reflexively gave chase, but then I remembered the state of my legs and stopped short.
“….”
Slam.
I stood in front of the Convenience Store entrance, club in hand, watching them disappear into the distance.
More precisely, watching their legs.
A customer who had been walking toward the Convenience Store from afar caught sight of me and flinched in alarm, then quickly turned around and fled.
‘…How irritating.’
I gazed at the stranger’s perfectly intact legs as they vanished, then slowly turned my body around.
Ding—
The Convenience Store door opened, and the bell chime sounded forlorn to my ears.
From playing virtual reality games so much, I sometimes forget that my legs are in this condition in reality.
‘If only my legs were fine….’
If my legs had been fine, if that accident hadn’t happened, if I hadn’t gone there that day.
By now, I would have had several gold medals hanging around my neck.
Just as the dark resentment festering in my chest began to rear its head, a mysterious message window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Recognition complete.
Your coin balance has been confirmed. Opening the Coin Market.
Do you wish to access the Coin Market?
My footsteps toward the Checkout Counter faltered.
“Coin Market?”
But the format of the message window floating before me felt strangely familiar.
It was unmistakably the same window that appeared when God Opal summoned the Constellations and cast out the riffraff, mentioning 100 coins or something.
I remembered it clearly because its format differed from the Game’s messages.
“Have I lost my mind?”
I suddenly wondered if I was experiencing hallucinations from overindulging in virtual reality games.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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