Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 18

The shutdown message I had caught sight of just before logging out still lingered in my mind.

As I rose from the capsule, drenched in sweat, an overwhelming sense of elasticity hit me.

It was proof that I had immersed myself in the game to the point that my real body was affected.

“Ah…”

A soft sigh slipped from my lips. Just as I was about to distribute the gold, the clock struck ten, and the game forcibly disconnected.

The shutdown law was truly a terrifying piece of legislation. It used to be a law I laughed off as irrelevant, but now it had become a major obstacle in my life.

‘What should I do?’

My mind felt foggy. The brain that had been running seamlessly while gaming was now stuck.

I stepped out of the capsule and grabbed my phone. Thankfully, I still had a chat room with my party members where they could talk even when I couldn’t log in.

If this chat room didn’t exist, I’d probably have soared to stardom in the gossip forums.

The chat room already had a slew of messages piled up.

It was a group with 40 members. Even if just one person sent a message every second, that would accumulate to 40 messages in no time.

I stroked my cheeks and checked the messages.

– Wizard 1 Group Leader [Party Leader, shutdown law lolololol]

– Healer [Was it not a concept? Was it for real?]

– Wizard 22 [Party Leader… I believe in you…]

– Wizard 2 Group Leader [Hawawa… Junior high student is unable to game at 10 o’clock… ]

Looking through the stack of messages, the atmosphere didn’t seem too bad.

However, I could definitely feel an undeniable sense of anxiety. If left unattended, the mood would surely worsen.

I quickly typed a message.

– Party Leader [I’m sorry, I got disconnected because of the shutdown law. I’ll hop back in briefly to send you the gold via mail before school.]

Just then, a careful knock echoed from outside the room.

[Hayun. Hey, Hayun.]

It was Harang’s voice. I thought it was Mom, but what could that kid want to suddenly come knocking?

I ignored his call and focused on my phone.

– Wizard 7 [Serious about the setup;]

– Party Leader [It’s not a setup. I really can’t connect.]

Wizard 2 Group Leader [Hooee… Junior high student doesn’t lie…]

I frowned. I was only telling the truth, but it seemed no one believed that I was just a middle school student attending school.

Knock, knock, knock!

[Hayun!]

The knocking grew louder, and the voice calling for me got higher in pitch.

I frowned and walked to the door.

“What? Why?”

[Is that really true?]

“What’s true?”

[You… were playing Deron?]

Suddenly, he barged in with a question about whether I was playing Deron?

I sighed and opened the door.

“Uh…”

Standing in front of the door was Harang, making a strange face.

Why was this guy, who should be confined to a capsule, out here?

“What’s up?”

I glared at Harang, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

It was still awkward to deal with a boy who resembled my past self.

It felt weird to act friendly, and it was uncomfortable acting as Hayun’s older brother.

Harang, noticing my mood, pulled out his phone and showed it to me.

“Look at this.”

I checked the screen of the phone he handed over. There was a post on the Deron gallery.

[Deron Online Gallery]

[Let’s find out the value of ninja gold, junior high student.] [221]

(A real-time price fluctuation graph for a gold trading site)

The junior high student who turned the gallery upside down had racked up a total of 12,750 gold in just 5 hours.

According to the current market price, 10 gold equaled 14,900 won in cash.

So, that means the junior high student swallowed up 18,997,500 won in cash.

What an incredible event this was.

2,000 in just 5 hours? LOL

(A meme of Yeo’s character merged with a ninja, with a bag of gold slung over its back)

Everyone was fooled. She was not a junior high student but a ninja.

[Comments]

[Info: If calculated at 9,000 won for a bowl of rice soup, it equals about 2,110 bowls.]

ㄴ[Whoa… junior high student… gets stuffed while eating soup…]


ㄴ[Lololol]

[Wow… it seems like the last party won’t be running.]


ㄴ[Just distribute the gold right after the auction ends.]


ㄴ[We have to do a dice party.]


ㄴ[Last time, a damage dealer ninja who snuck in under the tank wiped us all clean…]

[It’s not a ninja; it’s just someone who got caught by the shutdown law.]


ㄴ[Do they believe that?]


ㄴ[The party members aren’t saying anything, so why the fuss?]


ㄴ[Here comes the junior high student party leader lolol]


ㄴ[I envy that gold, give me some.]

At the moment I checked the post and comments, my lips started to twitch.

I hadn’t been out of the game for more than 5 minutes. What on earth had happened in that brief time?

I frowned and glared at Harang in front of me.

“This isn’t it.”

“What, what isn’t?”

“I didn’t do the gold ninja thing.”

“Uh…”

“Seriously, I really got kicked out because of the shutdown law.”

“No, I mean… I just…”

“Were you curious about this and came to ask?”

Harang shook his head at my question.

There was an unmistakable look of anticipation in his eyes.

What on earth was his purpose?

“No, what I was wondering was whether that Puckle party leader was really you.”

I nodded at Harang’s question. I had no intention of hiding the fact that I played Deron, so there was no reason not to reveal it.

Harang then stepped closer to me.

“Hayun!”

“Ugh!”

It was quite intimidating when a guy bigger than me suddenly got close.

“Let me join the party too!”

“You want to join the party…?”

I backed away in response to Harang’s question.

At this time, I was definitely already a member of another party.

That was my first party, so I still vividly remembered it. The connections that had started there had lasted quite a while…

“Yeah!”

“Aren’t you in another party?”

“Me? I just hit max level two weeks ago… Joining a party…?”

I was left speechless by Harang’s words.

I’d just realized that this world was quite twisted.

It wasn’t a game played with a keyboard and mouse. Of course, this world’s Harang would have played very differently.

“What’s your job?”

“I’m… an archer… ”

As expected, this world’s Harang was different. Unlike me, who had leveled up a melee class, he was a ranged dealer.

But the ranking between top classes and lower classes was still crucial.

“What’s your first and second rank?”

“Both are Ranger.”

A Ranger could shoot multiple arrows with one attack.

It had excellent single-target and area damage capabilities, and while it consumed a lot of arrows, it was a class that didn’t fall short compared to the wizard class in terms of damage.

He had reached max level as a Ranger class.

That meant he had at least a basic sense.

“Step aside for now.”

“Huh? Uh…”

“I’m going to shower. We’ll talk later.”

For now, I wanted to wash off this sticky sweat.

After finishing showering and heading to the living room, I found ice cream sitting on the table.

Shaking off my wet hair, I approached the table and made eye contact with Harang, who had been sneaking looks from the corner.

“What are you doing?”

“Is there… anything more you need?”

“Did you put the ice cream on the table?”

“Uh… don’t you like it?”

What sat on the table was milk-flavored ice cream. I didn’t particularly love it.

It seemed it was something Hayun liked.

I shook my head, unwrapped the packaging from the ice cream, and took a bite.

It was quite delicious.

With the ice cream in my mouth, I surveyed the living room.

Not seeing Mom meant she had likely already gone to bed.

That signaled to me that I didn’t have to be cautious.

I walked over and plopped comfortably onto the couch.

Even though water dripped from my hair down my back, I didn’t mind.

Harang cautiously approached. He also had an ice cream in his mouth.

“Hayun.”

“What?”

“When did you start?”

I frowned, digging into my memories.

It had barely been a week since I had started playing the game as myself.

However, Hayun was already diving into Deron. Hayun’s account had other characters besides the one I had raised.

That must have been the character Hayun was playing.

“Somewhat?”

“Somewhat…?”

“Why… didn’t you say anything?”

“Did I really have to say?”

“Not really, but…”

Harang kept glancing at me.

I hated his frustrating demeanor. It was quite a sight to see a boy who looked just like my past self seeking approval from someone younger than him.

“I’ll let you join the party.”

“Huh? For real?”

“Yeah. Anyway, I was thinking of swapping out the dealer line.”

“Really? I was thinking the same. Watching those wizard brats was super frustrating.”

The moment I nodded at Harang’s statement, I heard a strange word.

Broadcast… broadcasting?

“Broadcast…?”

“Yeah.”

Broadcasting? I’d never turned one on before.

No, not me. Someone among my party members must have been broadcasting.

“You didn’t know?”

I hurriedly pulled out my phone.

What the heck? Who had been broadcasting? An exposure of our party’s tactics would be fatal.

If others began seeing and mimicking the strategies I had devised, the significance of my Puckle party would fade away.

Preserving the value of items was crucial.

It was also vital to maintain their symbolism.

If anyone could clear the raid, then raid gear would just become commonplace.

That was something I didn’t want.

My head throbbed. I knew there were a bunch of noobs in the party, but I never expected someone would just start broadcasting without even asking the party leader for permission.

Did I really burn myself for those clowns?

And even giving them Puckle accreditation too?

I hadn’t realized the broadcast had been ongoing until the end of the party.

Letting out a deep sigh, I started browsing various sites.

Indeed, because of the broadcast, everything was being revealed in real-time.

I checked the broadcast screen to see the nickname of the wizard who had been broadcasting.

[IceMagicBibiBig]

That guy was going to be expelled.

I clicked on the chat room and navigated to the management section to boot him out.

Administrator [IceMagicBibiBig] has been expelled.

– Healer [Whoa… Party Leader is dancing with a knife…]


– Wizard 2 Group Leader [Hawawa… junior high student ninja too;;;]


– Sub Tank 2 [That was the person broadcasting.]


– Dogrik [Wasn’t that something Party Leader allowed?]


– Sub Tank 2 [Considering he got expelled, seemingly not?]


– Party Leader [Just in case. Please leave if you intend to broadcast. This goes for broadcasters as well. Party tactics are confidential.]

The situation was resolved rather quickly.

Mumbling to myself, I stood up.

Harang, who had been sitting next to me, got up too.

I looked at him and asked,

“Why are you standing up?”

“Huh? Oh… I was going to play the game.”

Playing? It was past ten o’clock. That meant he would have to teach me some studying.

He had also fallen into my weakness. His membership in the party would depend on me. So he wouldn’t be able to refuse my request.

“Wait here.”

“Ah, you’re not going to…?”

“I need you to teach me.”

Harang, who had been gauging the atmosphere, nodded and obediently sat back down.

But still, he had a good expression on his face.

A small smile hung on his lips.