Technology had advanced far enough that the world looked nothing like what it once did.
Buildings scraped the sky while holographic screens floated between structures, vehicles moved through the air rather than on the ground, and the devices people carried made life feel like something out of a science fiction film.
Almost everything ran on technology.
Vehicles, homes, communications, public infrastructure, every part of daily life had been made simpler and faster.
Major cities were packed with skyscrapers lit through the night.
Flying vehicles moved between buildings while holographic screens broadcast ads and information up in the air.
Technology had become as natural as breathing.
Buying food, making payments, getting somewhere, talking to someone, all of it could be done in a few taps.
And one of the most popular pieces of technology in this era was the Game Capsule.
A capsule shaped like a bed that could connect the user’s consciousness directly to a virtual world.
Through that technology, a person didn’t just see or hear the game world, they could feel almost every sense as though they were actually inside it.
Game Capsules had become one of the most popular entertainment devices on the planet.
Major game developers were racing to build virtual worlds that were wider and more realistic with each release.
And there was one person who loved those games so much he had no problem spending days inside a Game Capsule.
“That’s me.”
Minjae smiled and rubbed his chin with genuine pride.
What exactly was there to be proud about spending all day playing games?
Don’t judge too quickly.
With his friend’s help, the one he referred to as his father earlier, Minjae made good money doing exactly that.
Minjae ran experiments on games, hunting for bugs, side stories, alternate quests, and hidden endings.
Then through his own findings and Choi Hyuk’s connections, he sold or sometimes gave away the results to developers and other players.
Not everything was paid, some things he released for free depending on the scale of what he found.
“So what were you even watching? You were face down on the ground like you lost your mind.”
“Eternal Arcana just dropped a new patch! New story, new items, new heroines, and the thing that caught my attention the most is… the twin Villainesses! They’re stunning!”
Minjae shoved his phone toward Choi Hyuk’s face with barely contained excitement, breath coming fast.
Choi Hyuk pushed his face back with mild disgust.
“I was watching Streamer Rine reviewing the new patch. And honestly, these Villainesses are no joke.”
“Check the forums. People are saying they’re stronger than any villain or villainess that’s ever been in the game. Is it really that serious?”
“They’re serious. Rine was spamming Grade A skills and they didn’t even flinch.”
“Isn’t that absurdly overpowered?”
Minjae leaned back in the chair behind him, both hands laced behind his head.
“Same cycle every time. The previous villain or villainess was always supposedly the strongest, the hardest thing ever. And every time, I became the first player to beat them.”
“You’re a maniac who’s only in love with games.”
Choi Hyuk said it with sarcasm fully intended.
But instead of being bothered, Minjae took it as a compliment and stood up, starting to walk with Choi Hyuk falling in behind him.
“Let’s go home. I’m hungry.”
“You’re just going to play games the second you finish eating.”
“Don’t be like that, Choi Hyuk. This is literally my job. If I didn’t grind games, how would we be living this comfortably?”
The fact that Minjae genuinely worked hard for it left Choi Hyuk with nothing to say, so he just let out a short sigh and patted him on the shoulder.
“Kimchi and grilled beef tripe tonight.”
“Chicken Honey Parmesan.”
“Cook it yourself then.”
“How could you do this to me…”
* * *
Eternal Arcana.
A Single-Player Open-World RPG set in an Academy Fantasy world.
On the surface it looked like a standard fantasy RPG.
Players could explore a vast world, visit different kingdoms and cities, enter Dungeons, hunt monsters, grow stronger, and take on all kinds of quests.
A game that was still wildly popular years after launch, and for very good reason.
After finishing dinner with Choi Hyuk, Minjae went straight to his room and was now sitting in front of his PC.
On the screen was an article filled with player reviews and comments about Eternal Arcana.
“Obviously. All of them are 9/10, 9.5/10, and 10/10. Nothing below an eight.”
Minjae clicked on one of the player comments that read:
“This is a revolution in gaming. I don’t even know where to start, but this is genuinely incredible. Eternal Arcana gives its players complete freedom. You can become a noble, a king, an emperor, a hero, a demon lord, so much more! And you can choose which heroine to pursue. Not just one, you can go for two or even three at the same time! The difficulty goes up the more heroines you’re juggling, but if you actually pull it off, every bit of effort is worth it.”
Minjae looked through the flood of enthusiastic comments with an appreciative smirk.
Then he clicked on another one:
“No player doesn’t look forward to update patches. If you find one, that person has no emotions! Story updates, villain updates, Heroine updates! New heroines are always the best! Developers, please add more MILF heroines! #MommyLover1”
“Add a Goth Mommy too while you’re at it!”
Faced with comments that were equal parts passion and completely unhinged requests, Minjae could only shake his head.
“My, my…”
After scrolling for a while through theories that ranged from surprisingly insightful to completely pointless, he landed on one post that caught his eye.
“Huh?”
A post with significantly fewer comments than the various theories about the twin Villainesses’ power levels had pulled his attention.
[LATEST PATCH: Has anyone noticed that the twins’ Story Arc has multiple different branches?]
Minjae frowned and clicked into the post.
The poster explained that certain quests and dialogue could change depending on player actions before reaching the battle against Evelyn and Elysia.
According to some players, there was a Hidden Side Quest that the majority of players still hadn’t been able to complete.
“Hidden Side Quest?”
Minjae’s eyes lit up immediately.
As someone who spent his time hunting bugs, alternate quests, and hidden storylines, those two words landed far more interestingly than any post about builds or skills.
The available information was still extremely thin, though.
Nobody knew how to trigger the quest.
Nobody knew what the reward was.
Nobody had even confirmed whether the quest had any direct connection to Evelyn and Elysia at all.
The only thing anyone knew was this: something changed when a player chose not to immediately fight the two Villainesses.
COUGH!
Minjae choked on his coffee reading that.
Not immediately confronting the twin Villainesses meant trying to build Affinity with them.
Was this actually part of the new update?
He shut off his PC immediately and climbed into his Game Capsule to log in.
Unclear information didn’t mean impossible.
There was nothing wrong with running an experiment.
“Experimenting is kind of my whole thing anyway.”
With a wide grin, the capsule sealed shut.
* * *
Four days passed after Minjae had found that post.
Four full days without stopping, Minjae had found several pieces of information and put together a post of his own on the forum.
[NEW FEATURE? I spent four full days researching the information from the post that went around earlier. The results are pretty surprising. Evelyn and Elysia actually have a hidden Affinity Route, a hidden relationship path.]
It didn’t take long for the post to go viral after he uploaded it.
That was just how it worked when Minjae posted something.
He was one of the players who had contributed the most to the community and even to the developers directly.
If Minjae put something out, it was going to spread.
The comments filled up with theories and questions:
– I don’t know if it’s a bug or not, but if you pick certain dialogue options with one of the twins, Evelyn and Elysia respond differently.
– In that case.
I’m going for Mommy Evelyn and Elysia over the existing heroines.
– So wait, does this mean Evelyn and Elysia could actually become playable heroines?
– It’s still a possibility.
But didn’t you see?
Even the research player Rudh-nim hasn’t been able to confirm it yet.
– For real.
There’s some kind of hidden affinity, but it doesn’t show up in the status screen.
Out of everything in the comments section, one had the most likes by far.
– The real question is, who’s insane enough to actually try bonding with those two Villainesses?
– It’s Me.
– Me 2
– Me 3
– I Can Fix Her.
– Wait for me Mommy!
– I’m up next if he dies.
– Lmaoo
– Nobody laugh’s with him.
Minjae stepped out of the capsule with heavy legs.
Just staying upright was already a challenge.
Who played a game for four straight days without stopping?
If you asked him, the answer was Minjae.
“Because this is my job.”
Health came first above everything.
No matter how hard someone worked, if the body gave out, work would stop.
Or worse, it might never start again.
Moving with unsteady steps, Minjae tried to make his way down the stairs.
Four days inside the Game Capsule with no sleep had pushed both his body and mind to their absolute limit.
After getting through two steps, his vision started to blur.
He blinked several times and pressed a hand to his head as the weight behind his eyes got heavier, hoping the dizziness would pass.
It didn’t get better.
His body just kept losing its footing.
“Huh…?”
Minjae reached for the railing beside him, but his hand didn’t make it there.
His body tilted forward, and in the moment his mind was already going blank, the only thought he managed to hold onto was the Eternal Arcana Story Update he hadn’t been able to finish.
‘Damn…
I didn’t even get to see the twins’ ending.’
Before his body fully lost its balance, everything had already gone dark.
* * *
After some time unconscious, Minjae began to come back around because something with a sharp, unpleasant smell was cutting through his senses.
He was aware, but for some reason his eyes wouldn’t open.
Maybe Choi Hyuk had found him and brought him to a hospital.
The smell could be antiseptic and medication.
But Minjae couldn’t hear Choi Hyuk, or a nurse, or any doctor, or anyone tending to him at all.
And since when were hospital beds this itchy?
The texture was like grass, rough grass, and the smell was actually exactly like grass.
Without thinking about it, Minjae scratched the spot that was bothering him, and then a sound and a heavy weight hit him completely out of nowhere.
“B-big brother!”
COUGH!
Minjae finally opened his eyes and found a small, adorable little girl in worn-out clothes crying against his chest.
“Thank goodness…”
‘Who is this girl?’
Drowning in confusion, all Minjae could do was smile tiredly and pat her on the head.