“Woah! She’s quite the beauty.”

“Oi, don’t shout.”

“I don’t see too many foreigners, often.”

Things like this could be heard in the background. Sure, it wasn’t normal for people to be shouting such things, but they couldn’t help themselves when it came to the foreigners.

Two of them, a boy and girl. From an objective viewpoint, they looked like a foreign couple on a simple date, but that wasn’t really the case. The girl flicked her sandy brown hair since it was getting in her face. Her sea blue eyes looked at the boy dully as she sucked on her cup of coffee. She was in casual clothes, a hoodie, pants and a cap. On the table, she had her gloved hands on a pair of shades.

“I don’t know about the girl, but that guy is a high-schooler here.”

“That so?”

“Yeah. Bear river academy.”

“Eh? That place? Better not get close then.”

“Yeah.”

The boy frowned at the scene, especially after he heard the comments from the passers-by. He was dressed in a similar manner, but had a can of soda down in front of him.

“I have plans, so if you’re going to speak, say something.”

“You seriously changed quite a lot, Asher. You used to be so cute and friendly. Now you’re scowling at me.”

The girl teasingly complained. The boy, completely uninterested in her remarks flipped open his can and began to drink.

“Whatever. Stop calling me that. It’s Ji-yoon now.”

She clicked her tongues and sent her hands down towards the package next to her seat, before setting it down on the table.

“Still going on about that stuff? You know your dad di-”

“I have forgotten all about that and have no interest in remembering those things.”

He cut her off with a threatening growl. She rose her hands in submission and changed the topic.

“I was passing by and decided to give you a birthday gift. You’re 15 today, right?”

“Sixteen.”

Ji-yoon’s eyes scanned the parcel cautiously.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a bomb. You know I’m not religious.”

She mused.

“That’s kind of offensive.”

“Since when did you care about religion?”

The boy took the parcel and dropped it by his side.

“Thank you, Sophia. When are you going back?”

“In the next 30 minutes. Sorry, but I’ll be heading out now. Enjoy your day.”

She stood up and began walking away. All the men in the café’s eyes were glued to her as she left. Ji-yoon, the red-head, looked at his watch. It was a silver watch with the initials A.L printed on it. It was 11:31 on it, meaning he still had 5 hours till he had to go home.  

He wondered what he could do with his free time.

“Oh, that’s right.”

Sophia’s voice came through, demanding his attention. At the door, she had a wide grin that looked uncharacteristic of what one assumed a beauty like her would have. It felt absolutely terrifying for any who laid eyes on it. Any other than Ji-yoon who had seen that grin on far too many occasions.

“Go to the Fields of Indarri once you’re a level 200.”

After delivering her final piece, she left. Asher looked at her back for a long while before suddenly realising what she meant.

“HUH!?”

He yelled loudly and everyone in the café looked at him, shocked by his sudden outburst. Asher’s hands inspected the parcel with expert speed. It was in the shape of a box. Other than that, he couldn’t tell anymore. At that moment, he wanted to stand up and ask her what it was, but she was gone.

Without any hesitation, he tore open the parcel and before him was a cube, with no form of identification. Just a big brown box. Nervously, he ripped it open and inside was what appeared to be a manual. Further down through the package cushioning was a helmet with wires.

“What… the hell?! A gaming helmet? I don’t play games you stupid bitch!”

He was raging pissed. She knew very well that he did not have the time to play games, yet went out of her way to get him a game? He’d rather she gave him the money she used to buy it instead. That way it could be put to something profitable.

Angrily, he grabbed the parcel and ran out the door, but he saw that her car was long gone and there was no way he would make it to the airport before her on foot. Sure, he could order a taxi, but that costed money. Ji-yoon could not afford to waste money on such trivial issues.

“Guess I’ll just sell it then.”  

Scratching his head, he muttered under his breath then took out his smart phone from his pocket. There were a few contacts on it and he scrolled through for the one he was looking for.

“Wassup?”

The voice from the other side of the phone came through like it were in a rush.

“I need your help with something.”

“What is it? I’m about to start playing a game, so you’ll need to hurry it up.”

“Ever the serious slacker, I see.”

“It’s not slacking when you take video games seriously. So, what is it you need?”

“I want to sell you a console.”

“A console? Not interested.”

“Eh? Come on, it’s that new Vice Master Series X.”

“Already have one.”

“What? You just told me you wanted to get one.”

“I told you that two months ago. I bet you haven’t listened to me all this while.”

“…”

“Why do you even have one?”

“Does that matter?”

“I guess not. But if you want to sell it, I know a place you can go trade it for cash.”

“Hmm? Where?”

“I’ll send you the location. Gotta go now. Later.”

He cut the call, and Ji-yoon looked at his phone. It pinged as he got a message, with the location to the shop his contact was talking about.

‘That’s a thirty-minute walk. I guess I have time.’

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and started his short trip.

***

He managed to get to the shop in no time. The neighbourhood was not a good one, with lots of shops clustered up and trash littering the roads.

‘I see this part is as dirty as always.’

Ji-yoon had made some deliveries to this area back when he was a delivery boy. As such, he was already accustomed to the filth of the environment. Passing by, he could see some guys getting beat up in an alley way. He didn’t even spare them a second, knowing what could happen to him and his mother if they ever set their sights on him.

He walked a bit more before seeing the only decent shop in the area with a glowing signboard saying, “Pawn Shop.”

A pair of people walked out of the shop with smiles on their faces.

‘Seems like they got a good deal in there.’

He opened the door and the door bell rang annoyingly. Ji-yoon went straight to the counter, ignoring all the items hanged around for sale. They were all unnecessary expenses that he had absolutely no interest in.

At the counter, there was an old man tinkering with a gadget. He was using a soldering iron to mess with somethings Ji-yoon wasn’t too sure about. He tapped on the counter.

“I want to sell something.”

“What is it?”

“A vice master series X.”

He dropped the item on the counter. The old man’s eyes glowed with excitement.

“Seriously? Those are very expensive. No one would just sell one like that.”

The old man’s wrinkly hands inspected the package. He took out the box and readjusted his glasses to get a proper look.

‘Expensive? Thank you for the gift, Sophia. I wonder how much I can make for this. Let me check the internet.’

“Fraudster!”

The old man’s creaky voice attacked an unsuspecting Ji-yoon. The red head glared at the old man. He hated it whenever his integrity was insulted.

“What do you mean I’m a fraudster!?”

Ji-yoon slammed down on the counter. The shop owner also slammed down on the counter and both teen and man glared at each other menacingly.

“I mean, you’re selling me something that doesn’t even exist. At least have the decency to get something that looks authentic.”

“What do you mean something that doesn’t exist? It’s right there, isn’t it? You saw and touched it didn’t you?”

He gestured to the parcel that had been inspected by the shop owner.

“You told me Vice Master Series X. This definitely isn’t that.”

“Huh? Ok, maybe it isn’t a Vice Master Series X, but it’s definitely a VR helmet, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but what kind of VR helmet only accepts one game its entire run? I can’t sell this and no one would ever buy this. It’s basically garbage in this era of VRMMORPGs.”

“What?”

The man sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Sorry kid, but whoever gave you that console definitely scammed you. It’s like it was made to play one specific game alone, nothing else.”

Slowly and hesitantly, he picked up the console.

“See over there at the back? That’s where you install the game discs, but this thing doesn’t have that, meaning it already has one installed in it. It’s like those community VR sets under game company banners, but for one person alone.”

Ji-yoon could feel the veins in his forehead burst with rage. Sophia had ensured that he couldn’t get rid of her gift.

Feeling defeated, Ji-yoon gathered up the item and put it back in its packaging.

“Sorry for bothering you.”

He apologised to the shop owner and left the store, out of any energy he once possessed. Behind him, the shop owner could only feel bad. Still, he couldn’t do anything for the young boy and so he wouldn’t even try.

***

When Ji-yoon returned home, he noticed that the house was just as he left it. Meaning, his mother wasn’t around. On the fridge, there was a note she had left. It said she wouldn’t be home till late so Ji-yoon should order any meal he wanted.

“That’s a waste of money. I’ll just cook.”

He noted and went to work in the kitchen.

“What can I do? Hmm, how about some gimbap? Those are mom’s favourites, so I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Ji-yoon went to work, making his master class gimbap. Legends have it that any who taste it are cursed to eternally crave his gimbap.

After 40 minutes of meticulous yet quick cooking, Ji-yoon served the gimbap on a tray and set them on the table. He wrapped his mother’s so she could come meet it later. He finished his meal quietly, washed his dishes then went to his room.

His days were usually more exhausting than this, so now that he was done, he had nothing else to do. His boss had given him a day-off because it was his birthday. Normally, no one would have gotten a day-off for such a reason, but Park Ji-yoon was the most loved and hardworking member at his part-time job, so him receiving special treatment from his boss was nothing new.

“Should I learn? But I’m already up to date with my plans. Maybe I could read ahead?”

He sat up on his bed and looked at the little desk in the corner of his room with the lamp lit. Just as he got up to go check out what topics he could learn next, his leg hit the parcel Sophia had given him.

“Oh. This useless thing.”

He took the helmet out.

‘Maybe I could try it out.’

Placing down the helmet, he opened the manual and begun to read through it.

“Vice Master Gold Edition beta, huh.”

After a few minutes of careful reading, he had concluded that there were no demerits to using this. The only issue he had with it was that manual didn’t look like it was meant for a new player. Certain things had been placed there with the assumption that the holder already knew what they meant.

He had to look up most terms and features on the internet before he was properly set.

He plugged in the vice master and laid back on his bed. The helmet had comfortable cushions in it so his head wouldn’t hurt as he wore it. The vice master was a revolutionary technology that popped up about a decade ago and had the world completely hooked. Experts claimed the Vice masters would have died out by now, but they were even more popular than ever.

It utilised nerve gear to give the users an all too real experience in the game. According to some players, the game was so realistic it was simply unbelievable that it was simply a VR game. The users were capable of feeling and smelling. And the best feature was their interaction with the game.

All one would ever hear about the Vice Masters were praise. However, Park Ji-yoon wasn’t one to easily trust people’s words. He would have to test it out himself. Not like it mattered much, since he wasn’t going to be playing the game often.

-Do you wish to download your original character information into this version? –

He heard an automated voice speak in his head.

Even after doing his research, he hadn’t heard of something like this – the question it asked, not the voice. Maybe he didn’t search hard enough and was something everyone saw whenever they play this game.

“No.”

-Do note you will be required to start from level 1 if you don’t download your original character information. Do you still accept? –

“Well, I don’t have any original characters, so yes.”

-Please set Initiation Command-

The automated voice told him in his head. The initiation command was meant to be a unique feature in which users could choose a word of phrase that would commence the game.

Ji-yoon didn’t give it much thought.

“Gimbap.”

-Are you certain you wish to set this as your Initiation Command? –

“Yes.”

There was a boop-bleep sound, then Ji-yoon’s vision went completely dark as if he was blind out of nowhere. A little blue orb popped up in front of the darkness.

-Please place your hand on the orb to enter the character selection menu-

He did as the system order him to. A featureless figure appeared in front of him, staring at him blankly just like a mannequin.

“Character selection, huh? Guess I’ll go with this kind of look.”

He picked one of the pre-made character designs by the system. A height of 5’9, short dusty-brown hair, deep black eyes and an overall normal build.

-Are you certain you wish to set this as your appearance? You will not be able to change this after starting the game-

“Yes.”

He repeated monotonously. The body moved into him and when he looked down, his hands were different from normal.

-Please choose a username-

“Username… this is what everyone will know me as in the game, huh?”

 He thought about it more. And eventually settled on the English version of the name his mother gave him.

“Luck.”

-You wish to use the name Luck? You will not be able to change this after starting the game –

“Yes.”

-Congratulations. You are done setting up your character. Welcome to Free World, please do enjoy your time. -