The Novel’s Villain

31. Survive Until the End (3)

He didn’t even start the game, but he ended up being charged a lot. Normally it would have been a waste, but now he didn’t feel that way at all. Luriel’s smile was worth much more than that money! Thanks to that, he could customize a pretty decent face.

Greenish: L-O-O-K at that face

BreadJam~Hungry: It’s so fvking handsome.

Cell0: What a fraud.

Lanla: Don’t be fooled! Bread Jam is ugly!

It was completely different from Bread Jam’s original face. Of course, the donations exploded, and it was much more profitable. The number of viewers exceeded 400,000 and continued to grow. Of course, it also ranked first in the real-time searches of portal sites. The viewers came not only from Korea but also from abroad.

“Are you okay with this?”

[Yes!]

Luriel smiled and waved her hand. Then, Bread Jam’s body of light began to be pulled into the customized form.

“Oh, ooh!”

Admiration came out of Bread Jam’s mouth. He could move his body freely according to his will, just as he would in reality. Luriel put her hands together as if praying and looked at Bread Jam. She looked so holy.

“That body is an avatar… it has the power to defeat darkness.”

“I-I see!”

“Be careful. If you lose your life, your soul will be fine, but… you will lose your avatar as well as your item. To recreate an avatar… you will need more dimensional gold coins. So, be careful.”

Bread Jam was perplexed, but he nodded all the same. She said that the avatar disappeared and was reset when he lost his life. Once you die, you had to start all over again. There were many games of this kind, but of course, it was the first virtual reality game.

“I-it should be better if I think of it as reality.”

Bread Jam finished his adaptation training by moving his body according to Luriel’s instructions. He marveled at the body alongside his many viewers. Luriel explained the crisis facing the world in a sad tone. She said that the world would collapse if the Great Maze were not conquered. Those who climbed the maze were called heroes or adventurers.

“Then, Hero Bread Jam, I’ll take you there.”

“Yes!”

“Please break through the maze and save the world from the darkness.”

Of course, the immersion was great because it was virtual reality. Bread Jam nodded with determination. As Luriel gestured, a portal opened behind him, and he was sucked in.

“Argh!”

He felt a little motion sick. When he opened his eyes, he saw a huge space before him. It was like a dungeon that appeared in a game. There was a light emanating from the middle of the room, so it wasn’t too dark.

“Wow, the smell, moisture… I can feel everything. It’s not a game; it’s just reality. Even the sense of touch…”

Luriel said the pain would be greatly reduced. Other than that, there were no problems at all.

“Where should I go?”

He went straight for now. The more he walked, the darker the surroundings became. His whole body was shivering. He could feel a sign of presence in front of him. It could be an NPC, but he still approached it cautiously.

Clattering! Clattering!

“Eaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

A skeleton holding an old sword approached him. With glowing red eyes, it slowly started shambling towards him. The numbers were considerable. He tried to run away, but they also appeared from behind.

LongLiveMalangCow: That’s bloody.

Shot: Look at the visuals. It’s crazy, haha. It’s scary.

AeaA: Bread Jam, don’t you have any weapons?

“H-Hey guys, what should I do?”

Bread Jam looked at the chat window next to him, trembling in fear. Of course, the chat room was full of people laughing.

Pooled: If you don’t know, you have to search. LOL. But I don’t know either.

It was right to die if you didn’t know what to do in a normal game. But it felt like he was going to die for real. Bread Jam felt that way even though he knew it was virtual reality. What kind of game doesn’t have a tutorial?!

“Uh-uaaargh!”

He screamed and ran. The skeleton slowly swung its weapon while he threw out his fists at random.

Crack!

The skull cracked, and one of the skeletons fell apart. Bread Jam stared blankly at his fist.

“…Guys, it seems like I’m strong.”

Bread Jam gained confidence. A sword wielded by a skeleton hit him, but it didn’t hurt that much. It just felt a little bit numb.

“Whew!”

It was a mess, but he was able to defeat all the skeletons.

Ha-a: Hey, Bread Jam is good at fighting, lol.

LadyLunaisWatching: lmao awesome. You beat that one.

Bachelor: Farming. Bread Jam!

“I never thought I’d farm in virtual reality….”

Bread Jam mumbled and grabbed an old sword.

“Oh! Look at this. Is it jewels? Doesn’t it seem that I will become rich soon?”

The skeleton dropped a jewel that looked quite expensive. Bread Jam packed everything without missing a single one. He put the jewel in the pouch the skeleton was holding. When he held the sword, he felt quite like a hero.

Real King: Bread Jam, swinging a sword like that will hurt your hand.

Go Soo-im: Don’t just swing it.

Rootman: Farm properly.

“Ah, Guys, don’t give any tips like that. Try this yourself. It’s just like reality.”

After much effort, he managed to defeat the skeletons and reached a large room.

Go Soo-im: Your back, your back!

Lunamon: Bread Jam! Your back!

LikeMaze: Look behind you!

Elyzel: backbacbackback-

“Ah, don’t give me…”

The moment he looked back, Bread Jam’s body stiffened. This was because a skeleton, which was over three meters tall, slowly raised its body. The skeleton lifted its giant mace. He tried to avoid it, but the mace was much faster.

“Ah….”

Dip!

And just like that, his avatar was smashed. All the jewels he had collected during that time were also gone.

Brilliant: YOU DIE!

Waron: O.M.G

Itzl: Is it the boss?

Bread Jam’s will left the avatar and reappeared in front of Luriel. Bread Jam slumped into his seat in disappointment. He didn’t think he could ever win.

“You are back.”

Luriel approached Bread Jam and squatted down together with him. She patted him on the back and comforted him.

Mazitensi: Wow, Luriel is a real angel. [40,000 won donated]

Ta-da: Look how nice she is

Guest 1: You’re purified.

GamblingJam: Bread Jam, let’s just stay here.

“Don’t worry. You can try again. The only person who can drive away the darkness is you, Hero Bread Jam. Please try again for world peace. Please.”

Bread Jam stood up from his seat. The desire to challenge was wriggling inside him. So far, there was no game he couldn’t break. He customized the avatar again. Luriel was able to create the same avatar as before because she remembered it. Of course, he had to use dimensional gold coins.

He arrived in the dungeon again.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“Eaaargh! That’s crazy!”

“T-The skeleton!”

This time, he wasn’t alone. Other closed beta testers who had just logged in were running about. There were also quite a few people who died from the skeletons. The resurrected Bread Jam rushed towards the flocking skeletons. He was already figuring out how to defeat the skeletons, a veteran among the newbies.

Ialsowant: It seems that other testers have also logged in.

HeroBreadJam: Whoa! Bread Jam is awesome!

Lzzawn: I’d fall for you, too. [10,000 won donated]

Mimopoten: Look at the first person among them. lol

“Their attack is too slow. Hit the cracked part with your fist! Like this!”

When Bread Jam was demonstrated, the other testers followed. The basic physical ability of the avatar was considerable, so they were able to catch up without difficulty as they calmly dealt with it. After defeating the skeleton that appeared in the beginning, the testers embraced each other and rejoiced. Some testers even wept with joy.

“I died six times. I can’t see Luriel.”

“Mine was Gariel. He was cute… shall I just go see him again?”

“G&P is crazy. Did they torture aliens for this tech?”

“Ah! Aren’t you Bread Jam? I logged in while watching your live stream!”

Bread Jam naturally led the testers. This was because none of the testers reached the room where Bread Jam arrived before.

Hellomon: Captain Bread Jam!

CarryMachine: Bread Jam carries them all! Letzgooo!

ManagerIsDead: Wow, it’s just a game, but it feels like a movie. So much fun. [12,000 won donated!]

Not only Bread Jam but also his viewers’ level of immersion was at a peak. It was just like a movie. The testers moved into the big room while farming hard. It took half a day, but no one logged out. They were addicted to the taste of breaking the skeleton’s skulls and couldn’t get out of it.

They did quite a bit of farming, so everyone held weapons that were suitable for of spears, bows, and shields. They were crude weapons, but it looked pretty plausible. They also wore tattered armor.

“Here is the boss.”

When Bread Jam said that, the testers looked nervous.

ChocoCookieChips: Awesome, Bread Jam!

CarryMachine: With this number of people, I think the boss can be dealt with.

Ta-da: Its force was no joke.

Bread Jam opened the door first and went in. When all the testers came in, a huge skeleton in the corner stood up. Red lights glowed in its empty skull. It wore black rags and even held a huge sickle, making it look like a grim reaper. All of the testers were ordinary people and also beginners. There was no such thing as a strategy.

“Eaaaaargh!”

“Die!”

“Huaaaah!”

It was like seeing a real living monster. However, everybody charged and swung their weapons like crazy, and in the end, the huge skeleton collapsed.

“W-We won!”

Many people died.

“ChocoPyong… she was trying to protect me…”

“Ugh…”

The testers were mourning. Sadness poured in even though they knew that the dead ones would be revived.

Greenish: You got me! I cried. [100,000 won donated!]

GoodJobBreadJam: Why is it so touching?

Shielder: Is ChocoPyong dead? OMG…

Tomorrow’s General: Right, those who survive should live… [3,000 won donated]

But soon, their sorrow disappeared. This was because they were filled with joy that they cleared it. Bread Jam looked around.

“Did we complete Stage 1?”

More than half a day has passed, but if they had only broken through Stage 1, it could be said to be great progress. It was when Bread Jam was so lost in thought…

Tomorrow’s General: Crazy!

Hellomon: What the hell?

FoodBeforeDrink: The fck… it wasn’t a boss mob.

Skeletons identical to the one that had just been defeated appeared from all sides. It wasn’t a boss mob.

“A-A normal mob?”

Bread Jam and the testers were wiped out immediately. After the destruction, Bread Jam and the testers matched their mealtimes and logged out for a short time in order to take care of their bodies. They would die immediately if they logged out while there were monsters, so they had to do it in a place with no monsters. It was said that the angels in charge, such as Luriel, could store their avatar and keep it.

It was a very realistic setting. The place where Luriel was located was a kind of character selection window. After dozens of challenges, they were able to pass the last room. Now they were familiar with how to use their weapons. They also learned how to avoid hits by rolling on the floor.

Bread Jam and the other testers’ appearances were also different so that the weapons and armor fit their body perfectly. After dying dozens of times, they changed their characters to a body type suitable for battle rather than dressing up. The clumsiness they felt gradually began to vanish.

After barely clearing a much larger skeleton than the giant skeleton, a portal was opened.

“F-Finally…”

Bread Jam and the testers thought they had finally completed the first stage. The number of viewers exceeded 900,000.

Yum-Yummy: Wow, I’m still watching. Did you finally clear Stage 1?

ManagerIsDead: I’m watching it after taking my annual leave, but it’s a lot of fun.

JoblessTerminator: I’m dying to try it. I heard they were out of stock.

ChatMe: Bread Jam became a world star lolol. ​​He’s on CNS news!

All the media was talking about virtual reality games. Bread Jam even appeared on the U.S. news.

‘Leader Bread Jam, Defeating the Skeleton.’

‘Bread Jam and Heroes.’

‘Bread Jam’s Great Challenge.’

They were articles with such titles. Among the 10,000 closed beta testers, there were quite a few broadcasters, but all attention was focused on Bread Jam as he broke through the first stage the fastest. It was a valuable result obtained over a week. Bread Jam sobbed, and the other testers wept.

“Wow! Stage 2 Letzzzgoooo!!”

“Woaaa!”

“Letzgo!”

The testers cheered as Bread Jam raised his sword and shouted. Bread Jam and the testers advanced to the portal.

“Huh?”

In front of the Bread Jam was a huge space with several buildings. It was a village.

[The Village of the Beginning]

*You have learned how to control your body.

*Let’s start the basic tutorial.

There was such a sign. Bread Jam and the testers looked at the sign blankly. One week into their journey and they hadn’t reached stage one. It was just learning how to control their bodies.

“Ah….”

The tutorial had just begun.

What: ???

ChocoCookieChip: Wow, what’s with the crazy game volume?

YOMAN: It wasn’t even a tutorial, lol

Shielder: Isn’t this a crazy game?

liea2421: So fvking fun lol

Credo: You had a hard time, but actually, you haven’t even started, lol.

They arrived in the Village of the Beginning, where the tutorial was taking place.

* * *

The whole world was in shock as what was considered noise marketing had become a reality. The Psbox5 VR suffered from a massive surge of refunds. The PSbox5 had held a monopoly, so the price was kept insanely high. It had been doing a tight business that was now crumbling before them.

Gamers all over the world began to praise G&P, paying attention to the closed beta testers. It was a very good move to allow them to broadcast.

“How is the progress?”

“The testers on Bread Jam’s side have completed about 70% of the basic control tutorials.”

Jin-woo nodded at Yoo-na’s words. It was faster than expected. The place to learn the basic controls wasn’t even on the lowest floor of the Maze. It was a place to teach basic controls. The monsters that appeared at the beginning had no rank, and even if there were elite monsters, they were only Rank F. However, since they were all ordinary people, they couldn’t even clear F-ranked monsters if they didn’t get used to the body movements.

The simple tutorial began only when they came to this place called the Village of the Beginning. Several rural villages were created in the safe area at the bottom of the Maze to accommodate the many people. Each concept was different, so that it didn’t feel awkward. The Maze was so large that 10,000 people couldn’t see it at all.

Jin-woo was looking around the largest village. Heo-young gathered everyone and gave acting guidance.

“Welcome, hero. Hurry up…”

“A little more depressed!”

“I-I understand!”

The cast members assigned to the village were in the middle of practicing their acting while reading scripts. The angels who were in charge of creating the avatar were also deployed after undergoing a hellish type of training.

‘Heaven is in good shape.”

Heaven was energized by creating divine power with the dimensional gold coins received from the testers. The dimensional gold coins became divine power. Devotion was being transferred to Jin-woo, making it possible to earn dimensional gold coins from Goddess Luna, who was the source of divine power. The amount of divine power that the dimensional gold coins created was large.

Luna was currently busy with the final inspection.

“Lord Degurron! The success rate is too high.”

“C-cough… I don’t think it’s a good idea to fail so many times on purpose.

“It’s for the sake of peace.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Let’s try it again!”

Luna said so, looking at Degurron, who was holding his hammer. Degurron and the dwarves played the role of creating or strengthening weapons in the Village of the Beginning and in the other villages to be added in the future. The problem was that the success rate was too high because they were so talented. Degurron awkwardly grabbed his hammer and tapped the sword.

“Ah, oops! M-my hand slipped! Oh, my! T-the weapon was d-damaged!”

It was very awkward. Luna looked at Degurron for a moment and then shook her head.

“I think it would be better to get acting guidance from Heo-young.”

“L-let’s try it again. Just one more chance…!”

Degurron was almost begging, but Luna stayed cool. Her sense of responsibility and duty made her strong.

‘Her appearance hasn’t changed, but…’

She was just like Dark Luna. Jin-woo went to the store. He made it possible to purchase items with dimensional gold coins or items dropped by monsters in the Maze. The items were exchanged to currency issued by the Holy Empire in Middle-World, called coins. Dimensional gold coins were considered cash. Dimensional gold coins and the regular coins, there were only two currencies that could be used in the Maze.

Items purchased from players in the future were to be put up for sale in Middle World or the other dimensions. As Jin-woo entered the store, a demon smiled and spread her arms.

“Welcome, hero. We have good weapons ready for your use. Please choose.”

“I like your acting.”

She was a Succubus. When Jin-woo praised her, her face turned red with joy.

“T-thank you! I practiced hard.”

Jin-woo looked at the weapons on display. The things that could be purchased with gold coins had a slightly higher rank than those purchased with normal coins.

“What about this?”

“Ah, that’s a Mystery Box that Lady Luna suggested.”

“Mystery Box…?”

“Yes! It can be purchased with regular coins, and although there is a very low chance, you can get items that can be purchased with dimensional gold coins. It’s a very evil box that tempts the human mind!”

“Ah….”

“After the Goddess of Heaven fell, she became a demon! As expected of My Lord Emperor.”

The current Luna was indeed Dark Luna. Looking at it, the probability of getting a good item was quite low. The gained dimensional gold coins and coins were used to support vulnerable players, NPC actors’ salaries, revitalize each dimension, and manage several huge facilities. It was also intended to create a self-sustaining economic system. It resulted from discussions between Luna, the General Manager, and the town’s several representatives.

When Jin-woo stepped out of the store, he saw Luna running around quickly and testing everything. The General Manager was also there to help, so they wouldn’t just let it go if it wasn’t fully prepared. Some places taught combat techniques and magic. Gallock was the combat skill training instructor, and other people were stationed everywhere.

Additionally, players could also check their stats in a safe area such as a village. It was a function implemented by Kim Se-yeon.

‘It’s quite plausible for something prepared in a hurry.’

Jin-woo approached a place in the corner of the village. The wall opened when mana was injected into it, and a place connected underground appeared. It was the central control room on the lowest floor of the Maze.

“Sir!”

Kim Se-yeon welcomed Jin-woo. Se-yeon was operating very complex machines and artifacts. Jin-woo couldn’t understand what it was even when he looked through the Magic Eye of information.

“We have built a quest system.”

“Quest?”

“Yes, it is a system that can give instructions by linking the bead and the avatar. We can automatically assign quests and reward them as we wish. By combining the hologram system with the avatar setting…”

He didn’t quite understand it either.

“I don’t know, but it’s great, right?”

“N-not. Thanks to the bead, I think we can create a lot of things in the future.”

Jin-woo nodded. It was said that experience values could be given through the bead of the Emperor of Corruption, which had become the Golden Bead. Luna made handed them to Se-yeon. It was an automatic quest that was triggered when the conditions were right.

“Would you like to test it?”

“Should I?”

Jin-woo set the quest to appear when players arrived at the Village of the Beginning and finished the tutorial.

[F] Let’s kill the middle boss at the bottom of the Maze!

You’re finally ready to climb the Maze. Let’s try to kill the middle boss on the lowest dungeon floor as soon as possible. A reward is given to the party that clears it first.

Reward: EXP, 3,000G (Dimensional Gold Coin), 10,000C (General Coin)

Duration: Unlimited

Wouldn’t this be enough to motivate them? Jin-woo thought so. He thought it would be okay to give players quests like this periodically.

Tring!

He received a chat. Because the Maze was in the Golden Sanctuary, Wi-Fi was everywhere. Jin-woo took out his cellphone and checked it.

Grandpa: Is there any stock left?

Me: I don’t think so.

Grandpa: You rascal.

Me: LOL. I’ll give you one.

The Chairman ran to G&P to receive a New World Login Device. Jin-woo grinned.

* * *

Chairman Lee Hee-jin had arrived in Heaven. He was different from other testers. The other testers shone in white light, but he had a brilliance like seeing the sun. It was because of the countless dimensional gold coins scattered around him.

“H-hey, can I take this?”

“Take it. Is it not enough?”

“Kyaaa!”

Dimensional gold coins piled up again in front of the angel. They kept pouring out. Divine power exploded in Heaven!

“Umm, this’ good.”

Chairman Lee Hee-jin then appraised his body. It was a little different from what he looked like. He was impressed with the long white beard he had always wanted. He made it much longer than the Sword Master’s.

“I-I’ll give you this.”

Perhaps it was because she had just received a huge amount of dimensional gold coin, the angel handed a white staff to Chairman Lee Hee-jin. He looked at the staff and nodded.

“Winged child.”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything else?”

“Kyaaaa!”

More dimensional gold coins poured out. The angel eventually made even a robe for him. It was the moment when Golden Rundalf was born.