𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔𝟒
The next day.
‘What in the world happened?’
I couldn’t even log into Twilight, and I started to wonder what was going on as I paced around the capsule.
Was it because of that intuition yesterday? It must have been because of that intuition, right?
Thanks to it, I was able to activate the Divine Power, Sanctuary of Light, and even defeat Beluin, but a problem arose right after.
“Ah, really!”
Why can’t I connect!?
Well, to be precise, I can connect.
I can connect, but from that moment on, the headache gradually worsens, and then it continues to automatically disconnect with a warning message.
‘Should I change the capsule?’
No, I thought the problem was with my body, so even if I replaced the capsule, the same result would likely occur.
“Is there any good way……?”
I have to find something.
I had no intention of quitting Twilight like this, so I had to find something, but since I didn’t know anything about the phenomenon happening to me or the capsule, I was stuck.
‘Should I ask someone?’
For now, let’s put aside the phenomenon happening to me……
If I were to ask about the capsule, there was one person who came to mind.
‘Illia.’
If I asked her, a former developer, wouldn’t she be able to tell me about this phenomenon?
If she said the capsule was defective and told me to replace it, then I could do that.
Anyway, I didn’t think I would find any answers by worrying alone, so it might be better to ask Illia.
And to ask Illia……
‘I need to connect.’
Could I connect for about an hour?
It wasn’t that I was immediately kicked out as soon as I logged in, but the headache gradually worsened until I was kicked out, so until then, I could somehow stay inside Twilight.
‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered with Beluin or anything.’
I would have given up on the main scenario and everything.
But things have already happened, and since it has become difficult to connect to Twilight, I sighed and entered the capsule, thinking that I needed a way to solve it.
‘Damn it.’
[May you find what you seek in the streets illuminated by Twilight……]
* * *
“So you’re saying you get a headache when you’re connected?”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, meeting Illia was easy.
It would be strange if it were difficult to meet her since we were in the same guild, but anyway, I was able to meet Illia at the Guild Castle and briefly explained what I was experiencing, asking for advice.
“And a way to get rid of it……”
Illia was lost in thought, tapping her finger on the table as if it were a serious matter.
I had nothing to say to Illia, so I waited for an answer while feeling the gradually worsening headache. After finishing her thoughts, Illia spoke with a slightly troubled expression.
“Since when has this been happening?”
“It happened occasionally before, but it’s been constantly hurting since yesterday.”
“Is it happening now?”
“Yes.”
At my answer, Illia was lost in thought again.
Unable to bear watching her like that, I brought up one of the possibilities I had thought of.
“Is there something wrong with the capsule?”
“No, that’s definitely not it.”
But Illia firmly denied my guess.
“Twilight is a virtual reality game, you know. If there’s a problem with the machine, the person itself becomes endangered. That’s why I can confidently say that the capsule, at least, is made reliably.”
“But there’s always a one in a million chance.”
“If there was a problem, it would have been all over the internet and even the news, wouldn’t it?”
“……”
Indeed, I had never seen anyone who suffered damage due to a capsule malfunction.
“I think it’s more of a problem with Rudin-nim than the capsule.”
“……Is that so?”
“But well, we can’t know just by talking here. If you feel something is really wrong, contact the headquarters and ask them to replace the capsule. Then the company will analyze the connection logs from your capsule, and if they deem it appropriate, they’ll replace it for free.”
Connection logs?
“They can even tell that?”
“Of course. I said it was made reliably, but just in case, we have to prepare for that much.”
‘Hmm.’
Setting aside the company taking my capsule and analyzing it, what would happen if they found out about my intuition?
Account suspension? Or would I be dragged to a research lab?
“If you don’t like that, trying to connect with someone else’s capsule wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
“Someone else’s capsule?”
“Like you said, there’s a one in a million chance. So if you connect with someone else’s capsule and it’s fine, wouldn’t that mean your capsule is faulty?”
She definitely had a point.
Even if I bought a new capsule now, I would have to wait at least a few days. Rather than waiting like that, it might be better to try connecting with someone else’s capsule.
‘But who should I borrow a capsule from?’
Jaehoon?
Or……
* * *
“Yes? My capsule?”
Since the situation was urgent, I decided to ask Yua, who lived above me.
After all, I just needed to connect once.
Besides, if I asked Yua, I could check immediately without wasting any time, so I contacted Yua, who was already logged into Twilight, and asked her to meet me in front of her house and let me borrow her capsule just once.
“Please.”
“C-can you tell me the reason?”
Yua asked cautiously with a slightly perplexed expression. Even I, who brought it up, found it absurd, so it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand her situation.
“Actually, I think my capsule is broken.”
“Broken?”
“Yes, so I want to connect with your capsule to see if there’s anything wrong, and if there isn’t, I’m going to replace mine.”
“Then you can’t connect?”
“I can connect for a little while, but if I stay connected for too long, I get automatically disconnected.”
“Really?”
“……Yes.”
I came to Yua in a hurry out of desperation that I wouldn’t be able to play Twilight anymore, but seeing Yua’s slightly surprised and worried expression, I momentarily wondered if I had made the wrong choice.
“If it’s broken, you should have contacted the headquarters right away. But you connected today as well.”
‘Did I give the wrong answer?’
But I felt like I wouldn’t be able to borrow Yua’s capsule without saying this.
I have to try to explain it differently somehow.
“Ah, so I asked, and they said that capsule malfunctions are actually very rare. But I still wanted to check, and there’s no one else nearby besides you.”
“……Come in.”
Whether my persuasion worked or Yua’s mind changed, she cautiously allowed me inside, and I entered with a feeling of apology.
‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve been inside a woman’s house.’
Anyway, as I entered Yua’s house, I saw a neatly organized living room and a capsule.
And Yua walked to the capsule, operated the button to open the lid, and looked back at me.
“Check it out.”
“Yes, thank you.”
It would be ridiculous to turn back after coming this far.
So, I thanked her and entered the capsule, attempting to connect.
[May you find what you seek in the streets illuminated by Twilight……]
As I connected through Yua’s capsule, the surrounding scenery changed, transforming into the Guild Castle where I had just been.
To be precise, it was my room in the Guild Castle.
Anyway, I couldn’t find where Illia had gone, but I didn’t want to worry about that, so I felt the headache that arose as soon as I connected and let out a sigh.
If I felt a headache even after connecting with a different capsule, there was only one answer.
‘I was the problem.’
It seems that something went wrong with my body due to the intuition I used yesterday.
I finally admitted it after connecting with Yua’s capsule, and I let out a quiet sigh and sat down on the chair next to me.
‘What should I do now?’
The time I could connect was roughly an hour, but even that wasn’t certain.
Since my head had been hurting from the moment I connected, if I continued like this, the connection time could gradually shorten, and then I might not be able to connect forever.
“Ha.”
Well, actually, I’ve always thought about this since I started playing online games.
Every game has a lifespan.
It seems that for me, this game called Twilight has reached the end of its lifespan.
‘Should I organize my items?’
I’ve obtained quite a few items while progressing through the second main scenario.
I mean, I caught the raid Apostle, including the final boss, Beluin.
And although it didn’t quite fit the current situation, the items I got from defeating Beluin were much more impressive than I had expected.
Enough to earn at least 1 billion won if I sold them.
Knock- Knock━
“……?”
At that moment, I heard someone knocking on the door. I wondered who it was and got up from my seat to open the door. And there I saw Illia, whom I had seen earlier, standing there.
Didn’t she go to take care of something?
Besides, I didn’t know why she came back, so with a questioning feeling, I looked at Illia. She subtly came inside and said,
“How is it? Is it a problem with the capsule?”
“Is that why you came back?”
“Yes.”
She answered so confidently that I was speechless.
‘By the way, the answer is ambiguous.’
If I answered that the capsule was the problem, she would say I should just replace it. Conversely, if I said I was the problem, she would obviously ask about it, so the answer had to be ambiguous.
“Seeing that you can’t answer, it seems like it’s a problem with Rudin-nim.”
‘Huh? Ah.’
Was it a timeout?
It seems like I ended up answering indirectly due to the prolonged silence.
‘Well, whatever.’
Although it wasn’t my intention, I thought I had no choice but to quit Twilight, so it didn’t matter anymore.
“Should I take a look?”
“Illia-nim?”
“Yes, it seems like you don’t want to inform the headquarters, but you want to solve the problem. So I’m offering to help.”
“Thank you for the offer, but…… can I ask why?”
“Should I answer honestly?”
Does that mean she was planning to lie?
With that thought, I nodded, wanting an honest answer, and Illia spoke frankly as if it were no big deal.
“To be honest, as you might have noticed, I think Rudin-nim is using some kind of bug.”
“That’s……”
I already knew that.
She had asked me how I acquired so many S-rank skills from our first meeting.
Anyone, not just Illia, would think it was a bug.
“But if it’s a bug, there’s no way the headquarters wouldn’t have noticed. So I thought, and the headquarters also thought, that there might be some kind of method we don’t know about, and I’m curious about what that method is, so I’m trying to help.”
“That’s too honest, isn’t it?”
“Seeing you like this, it seems like you’re in a more regrettable situation.”
“……”
“The choice is yours, Rudin-nim.”
In the end, it was up to me.
But if I accepted Illia’s help, I would have to tell her about my intuition.
That way, she could figure out what the problem was and solve it.
On the other hand, there was no problem if I refused Illia’s help.
After refusing, I could just dispose of the items I had acquired little by little, earn money as I had originally planned, and quit Twilight.
‘As expected.’
As my heart leaned towards quitting Twilight, Illia’s voice was heard once again.
“Also, as I said before, I’m a fan of Rudin-nim.”
‘Fan?’
The word “fan” vaguely triggered a memory.
It was when we first met and I received the elixir.
At that time, Illia said she was a fan and handed me the elixir. As I recalled that memory, I looked at Illia with a bewildered feeling.
Was she being serious?
“You have a disbelieving expression.”
“Can you see my expression?”
“It’s just the atmosphere. Anyway, it’s not a lie. Actually, even while creating the main scenario, I concluded that there was a high chance of failure. But Rudin-nim defied all those expectations and led everything to success.”
She didn’t deny the high chance of failure.
In fact, in the first main scenario, all countries except for the Harpe Empire, where I was, failed, and in the second main scenario, I succeeded by drawing the Sanctuary of Light from the Book of Divine Power.
“A player who makes the impossible possible. And the battle you showed when fighting Beluin was fantastic, even in my eyes. If such a player like Rudin-nim leaves Twilight, many people, including myself, will be disappointed.”
Leave a Reply