V58C5P2 – The People of Royal Road

There was an incident where a group of juvenile delinquents picked a fight on Lee Hyun during his milk delivery and were completely wiped out.

Some of them gathered more friends for vengeance, but sadly they came across loan sharks stepping out from Lee Hyun’s house.

“Oh. We have a fresh flock over here.”

One of the loan sharks tried to pat one of the thugs on the head, but the teenagers weren’t going to take that idly.

“Who are these old pickles?”

“Hahahahaha. These cute punks.”

These sharks were the meanest of all sharks.

They dragged the teenagers to their place with a practiced ease.

The dark bas.e.m.e.nt wreaked the smell of blood.

‘Hey. The smell from that last pig still stings my nose.’

‘I took care of it with a full wash with water.’

‘You idiot. You buy meat from the store. Who slaughters a pig here with a knife?’

‘I tried my best since we were going to have a feast. The pig resisted so much I had to get 5 st.i.tches from the hospital.’

‘Well done. Anyway, these children won’t believe we had to get st.i.tches just from slaughtering a pig…’

‘We should intimidate them a little. Isn’t this a good time?’

‘Should we? It is pretty scary when they chop people up in movies.’

‘Real scary. I couldn’t sleep at all after watching that.’

The loan sharks set the atmosphere without turning on a light.

“What’d you do with guys before?”

“We extracted the kidneys and eyes and sold them. The liver was too ruined to sell.”

“You punks, business has to be done right. What the h.e.l.l is that?”

“I’m sorry, hyung-nim.”

“Man, I got to bring in a technician from Yanbian.”

“I can open up bodies pretty good too. I’m great at extracting the heart.”

The conversation between the loan sharks drove the teens into a panic.

“I’m hungry. What’s on the menu for dinner?”

“I prepared some ribs.”

“Ribs?”

“Yeah. The taste is stunning. You know, humans taste the best of all the meats out there. Especially the neck after roasting it and chewing through the bones, it’s just…”

Some of the juveniles ended up pa.s.sing out. The rest of them turned pale and dropped to the ground like newborn deer.

‘Yo. Human meat is too far. I was going to order some black bean noodles.’

‘Sorry about that, hyung-nim. It’s fun picking on these kids.’

‘I think they bought it.’

‘Our acting was spot on.’

The loan sharks worried that this may turn into trouble and released the teenagers. Even if they were reported to the police, they had not actually abuse them and merely pulled a prank.

Even so, the juveniles were full believers and did not wander by Lee Hyun’s house ever again. Rumors of Lee Hyun being a human trafficking technician spread wide.

– Royal Road. A new world has been created.

– A place where dreams come true, the Versailles Continent where heroes reside!

– The moment that everyone has been waiting for.

– History has begun.

The seniors never bothered Kim Yo Sam again. He was able to attend school normally, and when he entered his last year of middle school, the internet bustled.

Unicon group had announced the completion of Royal Road.

“Is this real?”

His school was turned upside down.

It was a virtual reality that was on a completely different level from mobile or PC games. The advertis.e.m.e.nts of characters sailing across the ocean and flying over cities on a bird mesmerised Kim Yo Sam.

“Hooray! I am so grateful to have been born.”

“I will buy you a capsule if you can get accepted into Korea University.” His parents had promised him.

Kim Yo Sam studied diligently with the words of his parents fixed in his mind.

“I’m going to start when I get into university. Believe it!”

3 years pa.s.sed, as he did nothing but eat and study, finally being admitted into Korea University.

His program was unquestionably the Virtual Reality program.

Unconditionally, he pestered his parents for a capsule even before he received the admission letter.

Will you log into Royal Road?

“Right now!”

***

Choose the name of your character.

“Seed.”

Kim Yo Sam named his character Seed and chose the human race.

His starting kingdom was undoubtedly Arpen.

He collected some information prior to starting Royal Road and the general consensus was that there were no other cities better than Morata.

The city was abundant with novice equipment, lots of monsters and friendly folks.

“I’m going to become a hero, attract all the ladies and earn lots of money.”

With his ambitious dream in mind he logged in.

With a ray of light, Seed appeared in the middle of Bingryong Townsquare.

“Woahh!”

The first thing that came into view were wagons and a huge crowd.

“Selling biscuits used in gra.s.s porridge!”

“Selling pet rabbits. They lay eggs when you keep them in your home. I’m serious!”

“Red herbs, good for health. I’m not going to say what it’s used for. Only for those who know what I’m talking about.”

The townsquare was filled with players out for trading.

The new players like Seed who have just sp.a.w.ned in light were caught up scouting their surroundings.

The enormous sculpture of Bingryong at the heart of the townsquare attracted the attention of the players.

“It’s not the time for this right now!”

Seed headed straight to the training arena. Weed’s training method that someone had a.n.a.lyzed boasted 3 million views.

– The completion of the basic level training ground will become the growth fundamentals of your character.

He had to strike dummies for 4 weeks…

“It will be quite boring, but necessary for the glory ahead!”

The training ground was already packed with players striking the dummies with wooden swords.

“Oh, we have a newbie. Then…”

“I know all about it, so just hand me a sword.”

Interrupting the instructor’s words, Seed received the wooden sword.

One two, one two.

He had no experience in martial arts or sports, so he hit the dummy like he was dancing awkwardly.

‘Yeah. A thousand steps begins with the first. From here and on, I will become a master.’

After 5 minutes, sweat began to drop.

‘Wow, this is exhausting. This feels so real.’

10 more minutes pa.s.sed.

His arms and legs began to ache and his entire body was soaked in sweat.

‘This is tiring, but one can only become a master after all this.’

Enduring is bitter and the fruit is sweet!

Seed told himself over and over as he struck the dummy.

From then on, he couldn’t understand why time was pa.s.sing so slowly.

‘Just when am I going to get an increase in stats? This is so draining.’

After 30 more minutes, his breath was about to break.

Even in the real world, he never had a moment where he tried so hard.

He thought of it as mere grinding before he started Royal Road, but getting through it firsthand was extremely exhausting.

‘Should I rest for a bit? After all, it’s only the first day and there is no need to overdo it.’

Seed took a look around and indeed there were a lot of players on the dummies.

These novice players were halfheartedly swinging their swords with no energy!

Honestly, the training wasn’t as easy as it was said to be.

In the real world, even athletes and fighters suffer mentally and physically training 4 straight weeks. The basic training ground was of the highest difficulty and grinding was grueling.

Normally, pa.s.sing the basic training ground in three or four months was decent.

Weed was just a monster that destroyed the concept of difficulty.

‘Hu-hu. I’m different. This man is going to become the G.o.d of war.’

Seed looked down on the others and exited the arena.

Time flew as he toured the busy streets, the shantytown and the great landmarks of Morata.

At night, he observed the Freya G.o.ddess statue and the Tower of Light afar and closed the books on his exciting day.

***

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Seed advanced to the dungeons near Morata after about 3 months.

It was when the Arpen Kingdom was well under expansion with Morata at the core.

“Looking for a party at the Sweet Potato Dungeon. I’m a level 46 warrior with a sword. Invite me.”

“Come this way.”

“Here! We need a warrior.”

“Can you use a s.h.i.+eld as well?”

It was easy to join a party in Morata with the crowd of players there. The excitement and tension in the exchange of conversations on the way to the dungeon, the fresh air outside the gates and the vast green natural scenery was awestricking.

Mooo.

Riding on bulls, they climbed the picturesque ridges and travelled towards the dungeon.

‘So this is the world of Royal Road. I have no other choice but to be immersed. It won’t be easy to leave this behind for the rest of my life.’

The money he earned from hunting and quests he spent on buying a cottage and registration for the Crab Porridge society.

Once a week they held a crab party at the east gate where you could pay 1 silver and eat as much as you wanted.

“Weed-nim is in town.”

“What… Weed-nim in Morata!”

“Bull Townsquare. Everyone a.s.semble!”

One day, Seed was selling miscellaneous items at the townsquare and the news of Weed’s arrival spread across the city.

The players of Morata were stampeding as if a war broke out.

‘Will he remember me?’

He was some guy he knew in the neighborhood who had achieved unbelievable success.

‘All the bread we shared. Ha. Even if he remembers my face, it would be hard to recognize me among such a huge crowd.’

Seed had little hope as he headed to the Bull Townsquare.

Tens and thousands of players had already surrounded Weed.

“Selling handmade sculptures! Fox sculpture at 30 gold, lower than the material cost! The profits will be donated to the novice a.s.sistance and the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult!”

Weed shouted and the merchants of the Mapan Council were distributing the fox sculpture for 30 gold each.

– Made by Weed.

Though it belonged to Weed, there were rumors that the sculptors of the Mapan Council a.s.sisted in the crafting, producing 11 sculptures per minute.

It was labor much like at a factory and the one who spread this news was scolded heavily.

– Do you not know Weed-nim’s intentions? He’s trying to give out a souvenir to the people of the Arpen Kingdom…

– If you’re so bothered by it, don’t buy it.

– Is this guy a spy from the Hermes Guild?

– If you’re going to be petty over 30 gold, don’t use them. Buyers will buy.

– All the sales are going to help the novice players. Do you think the great landmarks of the Northern Continent were raised out of nothing?

He did say that some of the profits would be donated, but the details were never released once. Therefore, if he donates even 1 silver, he was true to his word.

Weed brought over 20,000 fox sculptures and sold out in just one hour.

“I’ve arrived. Sold. Earned!”

“Wahhh!”

“Weed-nim, hooray!”

In Seed’s eyes, it was a strange view.

People with big bellies were spread out across the townsquare.

‘No… It can’t be. He couldn’t have called wingmen for this.’

Seed told himself it was a misunderstanding as he watched Weed depart.

Weed looked over the crowd and his eyes stopped.

“Kim Yo Sam?”

“Huh?”

Seed was surprised.

He was impressed with Weed’s eagle eyes that spotted him in an instant, but also the attention from the people around him.

***

Weed arranged to meet with Seed at Black Giant Star, a lord castle in Morata.

The presence of the Black Giant Star weakened after the construction of the Earth Palace but was still maintained like a monumental building.

Anyone could enter by paying the entrance fee of 3 gold.

“Um… Weed-nim summoned me.”

“You have to pay 3 gold.”

“That’s strange.”

Seed reluctantly paid 3 gold and entered the Black Giant Star.

Weed greeted him brightly at the lord’s office.

“Oh, Kim Yo Sam. To meet you here of all places…”

“Heheh. Same for me.”

Seed put on a wide smile for show. He talked behind his back all the time when he was young, but now this man was the man of success.

“Yeah. How’s your stay?”

“I’m living in a wooden cottage. The rain leaks and crawls with bugs.”

“It will be great memories in the novice years. When you earn lots of money, buy a cottage at Puhol Waterpark, you will probably use it once in a while.”

“…”

He couldn’t ask for a remodelling with the faulty construction.

Seed had a bigger goal in mind and wasn’t about to fuss about such a thing.

It had been almost 10 years since he first met him.

Though they only met from time to time, a friend was a friend.

‘Would he invite me to a dungeon hunt? Wow. If he takes me to a level 600 dungeon like what I saw on the broadcast… That’d be sick. Could I appear on TV?’

He was a fresh newbie, but Weed was a public figure of Royal Road and had plenty of opportunities to be on TV.

‘If he himself is too busy, he could a.s.sign me an Arpen knight as my guard… Warrior Bahamorg was just so insane.’

Life was harsh and so was Royal Road.

The rich indulged in the best equipment and the most delicious cuisine.

They bought the finest breed of horses and traversed the mountain terrains like a plain field, and the poor treaded carefully for any potential encounters with monsters.

A novice about level 50 travelling long distance with the danger of monsters was quite thrilling, but it was incomparable with riding awesome horses or wyverns.