Chapter 13

I quite enjoy the combat in this game.

A world that realistically simulates reality.

The system, painted in vibrant colors, enhances the flavor of battle, and the enemy before me emits malice without a moment’s hesitation.

What I love is the coolness of a finely honed blade and the crisp sound when genuine swords meet.

The thrill of deflecting the enemy’s killing intent by a hair’s breadth has captivated me in this world.

And then there’s the pleasure of cutting off the opponent’s breath.

It felt as though my brain was flooded with drugs, causing a seismic shake in my head.

[Victory! Earned 18 points.]

[Achieved 9 consecutive wins. The longer the winning streak continues, the more points you can earn.]

[Current record: 9 wins, 0 losses.]

At this rate, I should be able to secure a stable spot in the safe zone after a few more rounds.

Based on community reactions, it seems the penalty for losing is larger than expected.

It seems difficult to earn points if I can’t keep the winning streak going.

On the other hand, if I can pile up a lot of consecutive wins, I won’t need to play dozens or hundreds of rounds.

It’ll be enough to just maintain stability by confirming the daily trends.

After all, during rank game competitions, it’s rare for the score cutoffs to skyrocket.

At the start of the second preliminary round, I expected to focus only on the preliminaries, but it turns out I have some spare time.

Since the system matches regardless of tier, it’s not hard to stack victories.

It might be a consideration for professional gamers’ time constraints.

Perhaps participation was lower than what the developers anticipated?

Anyway, it’s not a bad thing for me.

“Looks like I can manage to handle this alongside my other work.”

[Market Alert: A sky reconnaissance arrowhead sold for 15,000,000 Gold.]

[Market Alert: A Cyan Crystal Gemstone sold for 22,000,000 Gold.]

[Market Alert: A Terrifyingly Divine Lemon sold for…]

I was just deeply pondering money-related issues.

Invulnerable RPG (or “Inbl”) is an RPG game.

Its setting involves discovering the ‘Abyss of Infinity’ somewhere on the continent. The name comes from the first person who saw it saying something like, ‘it was an endless expanse of blackness’—though I’m not really sure.

Honestly, the naming senses here are bad.

It feels like the CEO, who used to be a developer, pushed for this name, and the people below tried their best to package it.

In any case, I’m not a professional gamer who only excels in the ranked game environment.

I’d say I’m closer to the opposite.

Most of my income comes from a castle-siege guild, so the grueling battles in the field are, in a sense, my hometown.

For someone like me, having good specs is essential.

In RPG games, equipment is also part of skill, after all.

When the scheduled patch comes, I’ll need to upgrade to better equipment.

Maintaining high-end specs always requires a substantial amount of money.

I have some funds saved up, but spending a large sum is never pleasant.

Since I don’t know what will happen in the finals, it seems like a good idea to earn money now.

[Victory! Earned 17 points.]

[Achieved 10 consecutive wins…]

[VS Dynamic Station Agent]

“Huh?”

For some reason, it feels strangely familiar.

Sure enough, I just happened to match with someone I know.

As if to confirm, messages start popping up in the chat.

Since I have all chats from strangers hidden, it means this person is on my friends list.

Well, whether this person actually qualifies as a “friend” is questionable.

[Private message from Dynamic Station Agent]

– Hey, you startled me.

– That was really participating in the arena.

– I thought you wouldn’t care about such events.

– Why aren’t you responding?

Well, I don’t necessarily have to reply.

And why should I engage in warm conversation with just anyone?

Dynamic Station Agent is someone who is part of the ‘SSA’ guild.

SSA is a guild that’s not strong enough to qualify as a major guild but is oddly powerful enough to be considered a mid-sized one.

They are especially known for their aggressive nature in the castle-siege scene, to the point where people whistle in amazement.

If this person were particularly nitpicky and responsible for relentlessly checking opposing guild members, one wouldn’t need to elaborate on their character and demeanor.

The reason I even added them as a friend was mainly for business purposes.

It’s like the relationship between a hired killer and a hired thug—sometimes we fight, but other times we cooperate…

– I saw it. That Kimchi Ninja video.

– Is that your thing?

“Where are you? I’ll come right away. Haven’t seen you in a while, let’s meet.”

I clearly asked where you were, so why aren’t you answering?

Am I that easy to underestimate?

It might be time to sort out the hierarchy again.

Anyway, killing each other among people like us isn’t that big of a deal.

“Offending me” is not only a sufficient but almost exemplary reason to k*ll.

– It’s a joke, so calm down a bit.

“I’ve calmed down. So, where are you? I’m not coming. I swear on my testicles.”

– You don’t even have testicles, you mad guy…

– Now you’re straight-up scamming.

Nostalgic. There used to be something there.

Swearing on men’s promises was once a symbol of trust.

Of course, I have never sworn with the intent of keeping my promises.

Take it if you can.

If you can beat me with my d*ath stick, that is.

There was a time when I could say that.

– Hey, but this is good timing. Are you free for a schedule?

– When I checked, it seems like the arena will let me accumulate points easily.

– Let’s work on something together.

The furrow in my brow deepened as Dynamic Station Agent’s words came out without any thought.

“No.”

– Why? Are you busy nowadays?

“Because the words you just said were from a movie I like. To hear them from such dirty lips is a grave insult. Now I’m in a bad mood.”

– d*mn you, seriously!

*

Although I said that, I decided to listen to the proposal before making any decisions.

It was because there was far too much money at stake to refuse outright.

Also, the request didn’t seem too bad at first glance.

– Since I know your tendencies, I won’t try to get you involved in field battles.

– Not that I would even force you to do that.

“I understand. I don’t plan to get too deeply involved in that scene anyway.”

Generally, I don’t take requests to participate in sieges or wars.

If I commit to one faction, my worth decreases, and if I swing between sides like a bat, I just become a thorn in people’s eyes.

In this game, there are guild wars that create strong bonds between guild members.

When someone is in trouble and a guild member drops everything to come to their aid, it is only natural to feel emotional.

Once you’re in the same guild, you’re automatically considered a comrade or comrade-in-arms.

Since you emotionally attach, it’s natural to develop strong enmity as well.

Getting too excited and gaining enmity could make things difficult in the future.

The battlefield where one can rampage without consequences is best exploited occasionally for the sake of sales figures. Just to make a presence known.

But if the terms are good enough, exceptions can be made.

– You’ll just be farming with our junior member.

– Loot distribution from hunting will follow the standard party rules, and this is obviously separate from your compensation.

“What if hostile enforcers come?”

– The terms cover only the response to the first hostile encounter. If our junior survives it, we’ll add 2,000 more to your payment.

This kind of thing happened sometimes.

When other guild conflicts needed justification, there would be party hunts.

In MMORPGs, parties are essential content.

Not every party can be filled solely from within a guild, and among those gathered, there may even be members from guilds at war.

If the hunt is interrupted by an enemy guild, it can be used as a pretext by other party members to declare war.

It’s a bit like closing one’s eyes and saying “woof” but, surprisingly, even in-game wars require justification.

To prevent community stagnation, reduce guild member turnover, and maintain internal cohesion.

There are reasons even for such cumbersome actions.

“So, why are you doing this and what’s the job? I’ll stop immediately if it makes me the least bit uneasy.”

If it comes to that, of course, I won’t return the down payment.

In this field, you can’t always trust a client.

I’ve almost gotten backstabbed more times than I can count.

Not to mention, I’ve had spats with Dynamic Station Agent in the past as enemies.

We both do it for money, but precisely because of that, trust is even harder to come by.

That person is someone who could betray me at any moment depending on the situation.

I’ve managed to maintain my position in this dirty world because of such caution.

Nothing in this life is easy.

– Do you know a streamer named Dongmicham?

“I’ve seen the name a couple of times, but I haven’t watched the streams.”

– You don’t need to. She runs bad content—grabs loot and takes screenshots, apparently?

“Goodness! Incredible.”

I was so shocked that I couldn’t close my mouth.

Dynamic Station Agent seemed surprised by my reaction.

– What’s so shocking about that? There are plenty of weirdos in this industry, you know?

“Ah, no. It’s just surprising to hear you label something as ‘bad’.”

– Do you want me to transfer the request to someone else?

“Sorry, keep talking.”

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