A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 183

Time passed more quickly than I expected.

Before I knew it, tomorrow marked the first official offline event for New Dimension.

If there’s anything I’ve done over the past three weeks… well, it seems like I haven’t done much beyond streaming.

Saying that might make it feel like I did nothing, but considering my job as a streamer, it was rather proof of my hard work.

Well, since that day, I hadn’t turned on the camera even once.

Despite the overwhelming backlash from my fans, after about a week, everyone returned to the original atmosphere… the vibe in the chat window from when I hadn’t turned on the camera.

It turns out cameras aren’t all that useful.

Anyway, tomorrow is finally the first official offline event for New Dimension.

The developers grandly announced the event about two weeks ago, and as expected from the popularity of New Dimension, all tickets sold out in under a minute.

The guests are truly luxurious.

From Ga-eun to various super famous streamers and celebrities from Raimeing are said to be attending.

…Of course, the only person I recognized from the list was anyone from the Sirius Team.

And the identities of the two special guests, including myself, remained unknown, and I hadn’t heard a thing about the other special guest.

I guess that’s part of the fun, or something like that.

Well, I kind of understood the implication.

What they wanted from me at the event was PVP.

They plan to have a PVP battle with me and the other special guest as the highlight of the event, but such things are definitely most fun when kept under wraps until the last minute.

Anyway, while I was lost in those thoughts waiting for tomorrow’s event…

“…I’m screwed.”

An unexpected… no, an utterly unforeseen problem had arisen.

My pristine white shirt was now stained black, and the brown chair seat in the Reverse Capsule was discolored.

“Wh-why…?”

How did this happen?

I could only glare resentfully at the can rolling around on the floor of the Reverse Capsule.

★

The Reverse Capsule supports an incredibly vast array of functions.

Not just for gaming, but you can also access the internet inside the Reverse Capsule, and it even has a sleep mode…

Well, it’s said that sleeping inside a Reverse Capsule isn’t good for your health or anything.

Anyway, there are tons of activities you can do in the Reverse Capsule, and originally, I had never used it for anything other than New Dimension, but these days, I’ve been using many of its features.

For starters, I used to always check the community on my computer after finishing New Dimension.

But lately, I’ve been checking the community entirely from inside the Reverse Capsule.

That was the first cause of today’s mishap.

And the second cause… was a new habit I had developed recently.

I’d heard that in the past, there was something called the Tapioca Challenge in Korea and Japan.

It was a challenge where women would balance a drink called tapioca on their chests while drinking it… or something along those lines.

A Rebongi had posted pictures and videos of that challenge on Remagal.

After seeing that, I thought to myself, “Can I do that too…?”

Since I never usually drink beverages like tapioca or Americano, I stuck a straw into a big can of cola that I had plenty of at home and gave it a shot.

The outcome was successful.

Thanks to that, I could drink cola just by slightly tilting my head down while using the computer.

Of course, the weight I felt on my chest increased, but considering the convenience I gained, it was a trade-off I could tolerate.

Once I got used to it, I naturally started bringing cola into the Reverse Capsule.

However, up until now, I had never made such a mistake.

When playing New Dimension, my body doesn’t move, so there was never a chance for mistakes, and after finishing New Dimension, I always consciously remembered that cola can as the first thing.

But today… after finishing New Dimension and checking the community, Bora came knocking unexpectedly.

As soon as I heard the doorbell, I instinctively jumped up from my seat.

“Wh-what?!”

Such an abrupt movement naturally caused the cola can that I had resting on my chest to fall to the floor.

And with that, the cola that had been half in the can obviously spilled everywhere.

“…I’m screwed.”

That lamentation slipped out naturally.

My clothes were damp and sticky, which felt awful, and sitting on that discolored chair seat was clearly out of the question.

If my memory serves me right, when you spill something inside the Reverse Capsule, you have to call a technician.

Replacing that chair might take about two days, right?

In times like these, it’s not just about replacing the chair; I believe they take the entire Reverse Capsule for inspection just to be safe…

In other words, I, who was supposed to connect to New Dimension as a special guest tomorrow, can no longer access New Dimension.

“Wh-why…?”

What on earth did I do to deserve this?

If I had drunk up all the cola or hadn’t seen the Tapioca Challenge, this accident wouldn’t have happened.

If I had just checked Remagal as I always did on my computer, then even if an accident occurred, it wouldn’t have had any impact on the Reverse Capsule.

In other words… this was an accident caused by a series of unfortunate coincidences.

So, I guess it’s the Rebongi who posted the Tapioca Challenge on Remagal that’s the real problem here.

I won’t forget this grudge….

“Rene! Why are you taking so long?!”

“Oh, Bora… uh, this is, ha…”

“…Is that your outfit?”

Bora looked at my stained white shirt with pure eyes and asked me.

I could only give a hollow laugh in response to that question.

★

【Rene Galleryⓜ】

【Title: I’ll be Offline for a Week】

【Author: Rene🔸】

(Image of the Reverse Capsule.jpg)

I accidentally spilled cola on my Reverse Capsule chair.

I contacted customer service immediately, but they said they can come in four days.

Also, to replace the chair, they need to take the Reverse Capsule, so it’ll take an additional three days…

So, I’ll be on a break, I’m sorry…

【Likes: 81 / Dislikes: 64】

Nore Rene No Life🔹: Just turn on a casual chat stream.

★

The reason Bora stopped by for a moment was to deliver some rolled eggs.

A life of exchanging rolled eggs and New Dimension for a week, it’s ridiculous.

Since New Dimension opened, I’ve never missed a single connection record.

Is this even right?

…No. More importantly, what am I going to do about tomorrow’s event?

If I can’t connect tomorrow, that’s a big issue.

This isn’t just a matter of record; it’s a matter of promises… a matter of trust.

“Ah, uh…”

I took out my phone and immediately called Jaehun through Miscode.

He had told me to contact him first if anything went wrong.

[Hello? Rene?]

“Ah, yeah… M-master…”

And Jaehun picked up the call in less than ten seconds.

“Uh, um… I made a mistake…”

[…Are you saying there’s a problem with participating in tomorrow’s event?]

“Ah, well… yes… I accidentally spilled a drink on my Reverse Capsule chair, so… I won’t be able to use it for a week…”

I was worried I might not convey my message correctly due to panic, but fortunately, Jaehun accurately grasped my intentions, allowing me to easily explain my current situation.

[Ah, um…]

And Jaehun seemed taken aback, taking a breath and biting his lip.

I mean, it would be strange if he weren’t flustered.

Who would think a problem like this would arise the day before the event?

[A week, you say?]

“Ah, yes… They mentioned it will take four days for the technician to come due to scheduling issues… And another three days for the replacement and shipping…”

[Then participating in tomorrow’s event becomes impossible.]

“Th-that…”

What should I do?

No matter how you look at it, skipping the event for this reason would be painfully torturous on multiple levels.

[…Rene, may I ask if you still wish to participate in the event?]

“…Yes.”

New Dimension is my favorite game in the world.

There’s no way I could refuse an invitation as a special guest for the first official offline event of such a game.

[Then why don’t you head directly to the event venue tomorrow.]

“…Huh?”

Ah, that’s a bit much.

“I’d be satisfied just watching it on my computer…”

Yeah.

If anything goes wrong, it’s fine to cancel anytime, as Den and Felt told me.

Unfortunately, I’ll just have to let go of participating as a special guest.

[…We’ll send our maintenance team to fix your Reverse Capsule and have it completed by tomorrow evening, so please go to the event venue.]

…Huh?

“Is that really possible? They said it would take three days just for repairs…”

[It’s tight, but it is possible. The customer service can’t handle just one repair at a time, so it may take longer. Anyway, we’ll take care of your Reverse Capsule repair, and you should go directly to the event venue.]

…So if I go to the venue, they’ll finish the inspection by tomorrow and send it back to me?

But there will be so many people at the event venue.

Especially at the level of New Dimension… just thinking about it makes me tremble.

But they’re offering to return my Reverse Capsule by tomorrow after finishing the inspection.

Since I’ve already connected to New Dimension today, I’m set.

And even if I connect to New Dimension at the event venue tomorrow, since I’ll only be doing PVP, I realistically won’t be playing the game.

But if they send my Reverse Capsule back by tomorrow, no matter what happens, I’ll maintain my connecting record for New Dimension.

…This feels somewhat like coercion.

Though that wasn’t likely the intention.

“Tomorrow….”

Regardless, there was no option for me to refuse Jaehun’s proposal.

“Tomorrow… I’ll go to the event venue…”

In the end, I would be attending the offline event for New Dimension in person tomorrow.

[Thank you! Thank you!]

[Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!]

For some reason, Ben and Felt were incredibly pleased too.