CHAPTER 71………………………..
“No matter what I do, you say you’ll stop me… You’re not planning to use violence, are you?”
Even though there was no way Baek Sohyeok would ever use violence against me, the way he spoke so firmly was still unsettling.
“You don’t have to make that worried face. I won’t be coercive. Probably.”
The word probably at the end gnawed at me, but I decided to ignore it.
“I’m going to do as I please, so you do as you please. If there’s nothing more to say, let’s go home.”
Baek Sohyeok didn’t seem to hear my refusal at all. Ignoring my persistent gaze, he stared out at the sea. It was clear that the peace that had been lingering beside us was quietly slipping away.
“Alright. Let’s go home, hyung.”
The reply came after a long pause. On the way back home in the car, I pretended to sleep even though I wasn’t tired. Baek Sohyeok knew I was faking but didn’t say a word.
By the time it was almost nine, Baek Sohyeok was getting ready to go out, saying he had some errands to run.
“I’m heading out. Contact me if you need anything.”
I waved from the sofa to acknowledge him. He had said he would rest today, but it seemed he had gotten busy with a new quest. I didn’t know the details, but just making time to go to the sea with me probably wasn’t easy.
If he goes out, I can comfortably read the quest too.
Even after getting home, I hadn’t dared to check my status screen because of what I had heard earlier. I considered sneaking into my room to look, but I felt Baek Sohyeok would notice instantly, so I resisted.
Meoww.
Yaong, having eaten the fish to satisfaction, leisurely groomed itself and jumped onto my lap.
“Yaong, you’ve gotten way too heavy.”
Yaong had grown about one and a half times bigger than when I first saw it. Now, taking it outside made it feel more like a wildcat than a domestic cat. Yet Yaong acted as if it didn’t know it had grown. Even when I tried to show my struggle, it had no intention of leaving my lap and simply closed its eyes.
Fine. Do as you please.
Ignoring the heavy weight on my lap, I opened the status screen. The quest, glowing red, seemed to urge me to open it quickly.
[System Quest: Choose a Faction]
Difficulty: D
Clear Conditions: Obtain agreement from at least 70% of all guild members to choose a faction.
Time Limit: 3 days
Reward: 5,000 diamonds
Penalty for failure: Loss of faction selection rights
Refer to the descriptions below for each faction.
Since I already knew the content, I skimmed through it. Then, recalling that the story progression had changed, I carefully rechecked for any differences. Fortunately, everything matched my memory perfectly.
[Factions are divided into ‘Order’ and ‘Chaos’. Read carefully and choose wisely.]
[Order Faction:]
If this faction wins in the end:
- Establish a system to protect non-manifested individuals.
- The System is strengthened.
- All manifested individuals receive not only System Quests but also Special Quests optimized for their abilities, making them stronger and reducing individual ability gaps.
- Gates stabilize.
- Dungeons occur only in specific areas.
- The guild with the highest contribution gains the right to intervene in the system strengthening process (once, at the first instance).
[Chaos Faction:]
If this faction wins in the end:
- The existing System changes.
- System Quests are deleted.
- Only a selected few receive Special Quests.
- Gates become unstable.
- Dungeons appear randomly.
- The guild with the highest contribution can have one wish granted.
Once chosen, you are considered to agree with the system of the chosen faction.
Faction choices cannot be changed until the mid-transition period.
The final winning faction is determined in the ‘Last Battle.’
Subsequent quests proceed according to the chosen faction. Choose wisely.
Most people, when faced with these two options, would choose Order. Those determined to protect the weak rarely hesitate.
Of course, choosing Order didn’t necessarily mean someone was a purely good person. The right to intervene in the system might seem abstract, but on closer thought, there were many ways to use it advantageously—or even exploit it.
Chaos, on the other hand, attracted people with the appeal of a wish. A few strong guilds, including the one created by Kang Gunhoo, chose Chaos, making the two factions relatively balanced in strength.
Which faction did I choose in the game?
I seemed to have chosen Chaos to see more of Baek Woojin’s route, though my memory wasn’t clear.
I think I forced myself to choose Chaos even if it didn’t suit me, but I was disappointed that Baek Woojin’s death scene was the same or similar anyway.
Even recalling how Seo Hangyeol played was like fog clouding my mind, despite having spent so much time on the game.
Maybe it’s because of that synchronization rate thing?
It was a reasonable suspicion, but I decided not to dig deeper.
What does it matter now? This isn’t a game anymore; solving the immediate problem is more urgent. I’ll decide which faction to choose.
I stroked the purring Yaong while reading through the descriptions. I weighed whether choosing Order, which seemed sensible, was better, or if it was wiser to abandon faction selection entirely.
I should ask the other guild members’ opinions too.
Although they had said at the meeting that they’d follow me, their minds might change after reading these descriptions. I thought about gathering them for another meeting tomorrow.
Then, the previously silent status screen buzzed. A creeping sense of dread tightened around my throat. With trembling hands, I clicked the screen, and the loading screen that had been running since the hospital room shifted to a new Special Quest window.
[Special Quest: Choose ‘Chaos’ Faction]
Difficulty: Undecided
Clear Conditions: Obtain the unanimous consent of all guild members to choose the ‘Chaos’ formation without mentioning this Special Quest.
Time Limit: 3 days
Reward: 5,000 diamonds
Penalty for failure: One current Chronos guild member will die.
I jumped up from my seat as soon as I finished reading. Yaong looked puzzled, but I couldn’t control my trembling. The more I read, the angrier I became. The penalty for failure revealed the strong intent to manipulate me.
Whoever gave this Special Quest is vicious.
They took the guild members hostage as soon as they realized I valued them. It was clear they intended to block my escape.
“Why are you trying to force me into the Chaos faction?”
Of course, there was no answer.
While the Order faction combined a few major guilds with a noble cause, the Chaos faction involved individual battles. Only one team could have their wish granted, making competition fiercer.
Surviving there would be nearly impossible.
Judging from the current situation, this Special Quest wouldn’t end with just choosing a faction. They’d expect me to do something in that faction. Each time, if guild members were held hostage, I couldn’t resist.
I need another plan.
I would follow this quest for now but prepare for the next. I decided to treat whoever issued the Special Quest as an enemy.
As I calmed myself and sat back down, my phone in my pocket went off like crazy. The ringtone was different from the one I had set—it was an upbeat song I hadn’t heard before, three times louder than normal, shaking the whole living room.
Who changed this?
I hastily pulled out my phone before my eardrums exploded.
[Kwonhoo hyung]
Seeing the name, I instantly knew who had set the ringtone. I had saved Kang Gunhoo as “Kang Gunhoo,” never as “Kwonhoo hyung.” How and when he got my phone to change both the name and ringtone remained a mystery.
“Hello.”
- You answered right away.
“Someone set my ringtone to something really obnoxious.”
A soft laugh came from the other end.
- Who else could it have been?
The culprit, of course, was him—brazen as ever.
“What did you want to call about?”
The reason was obvious: he wanted to discuss the quest and gauge my reaction.
- I wanted to talk about today’s quest. You’ve seen it during the day, so you’ve had time to think, right?
“I just saw it due to circumstances. Can we discuss it all together tomorrow?”
My mind was still unsettled after seeing the Special Quest, not ready for a proper conversation.
- We have settlements to handle too.
“Settlements?”
As I anxiously wondered what settlements could mean, Kang Gunhoo’s next words made me stop dead in my tracks.
- You should have the right to ask at least three questions.
Previously, he had only gathered information indirectly, never asked directly. But this blunt statement meant he intended to get definite answers this time.
“Three questions? I think I’ve only directly spoken once.”
I tried to reduce the number of questions by scheming.
- Then we’ll go over those three in detail. Come to the door now.
The door?
