DRMB Chapter 3

“…Called? By who?”

[Didn’t you press the ‘Yes’ button on the letter?]

Letter?

Frowning, she suddenly remembered her fingers frantically tapping the screen before the accident, hitting the ‘yes’ button and the message on the letter changing.

But what does that have to do with the current situation?

‘Wasn’t that just a game event?’

[It is an existing world, though.]

His voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes widened at his response as if he had read her mind.

How… 

Her lips, which had begun to mutter, closed tightly, then opened again. A wary expression looked at him.

“Please explain this whole situation to me. And who you are.”

[The situation is exactly as described in the letter. I’m a being who can give you a cheat key and a chance to try again.]

“…Does that mean you sent me the letter? Like, the game system?”

[Well, that’s not entirely wrong. Let’s just say it is, if it makes it easier for you to understand.]

A brief, disbelieving breath escaped her, her eyebrows twitching. Contrary to this, the corners of her mouth curved upwards in her characteristic relaxed manner. She was surprised by his unexpectedly compliant answers, but it wasn’t enough to lower her suspicion and wariness.

Sensing her gaze, which resembled the way one might look at a strange person, he raised one eyebrow again.

She decided to play along for now, pretending to agree, while searching for a way out of this place.

“…Okay, let’s say that’s the case. If what you say is true, what’s the reason you called me?”

[Because it had to be you.]

“What?”

[I thought someone who has failed countless captures like you would avoid the wrong answers in a real situation. It’s like having a definitive ‘wrong answer notebook,’ so to speak.]

“What did you say?”

Her pride was stung, and forgetting the situation, she glared at him with sharp eyes.

She couldn’t understand what he meant by a “real situation” or anything else, but one thing was clear; it wasn’t a compliment.

‘It’s not like he’s making fun of me… I know my gaming skills and luck better than anyone else, even without him telling me.’

Unfazed by her sharp glare, he continued.

[That’s why I called you. The confirmation is complete now.]

“What confirmation?”

[Hmm, the confirmation about whether this attempt would really worthwhile?]

As she frowned at his incomprehensible words, he suddenly snapped his fingers.

Then, something like a screen appeared next to him, where there had been nothing before.

Inside, there was the female protagonist, Ipersha, as she appeared on the very first screen when entering the <In the Name of the Oracle> game, along with her brief personal information and description. It was what she had seen countless times last night.

However, unlike the images she had seen in the game, Ipersha on the screen had her eyes closed as if dead.

[As you can see, it’s currently empty. She declared a strike, saying she couldn’t stand them anymore. I’m in quite a predicament because of it.]

“A strike?”

[Yes. She said she couldn’t handle those guys anymore.]

From that moment on, she felt inexplicably uneasy. There had to be a reason why he was telling her all of this.

[But if I leave things as they are, that world will be destroyed by those guys. You’ve played the game, so you know, but the madness of the Transcendent Ones is not something to be taken lightly.]

“It’s just a game, isn’t it?”

[…Well, that’s true.]

He uttered cryptic words with an unreadable expression. His attitude was somehow suspicious.

However, as if not wanting to give her time to delve deeper, he quickly composed his expression and continued. A somewhat authoritative tone flowed resolutely.

[The important thing is, I’m not ready to see that world destroyed yet.]

“…So?”

[And it just so happens there’s someone to take her place. A pitiful being on the verge of death.]

‘He’s talking about me, is he?’ 

She furrowed her brow, sensing that her unease was about to become reality. Even though his eyes were covered by cloth, she felt like he was staring right at her.

She put on the habitual smile she often wore at work, trying to brush it off as if she were hearing about someone else’s affairs.

“Oh, is that so?”

[Yes. So, it would help if you reformed them.]

But it didn’t work at all. It was never going to work in the first place.

Even sound logic doesn’t work on someone who’s already made up their mind, let alone an attempt to avoid the situation.

[It won’t be a bad thing for you either. I’ll save your life as a reward.]

“My life?”

[Yes. Oh, you don’t still believe me, do you?]

He snapped his fingers once more, and this time, the entire white space they were in changed.

In an instant, the surroundings became noisy, and a gruesome scene unfolded.

At the center of it was her, lying on the ground, bleeding profusely after being hit by a car.

[If I leave it like this, you’ll die soon. I’ve stopped time for now.]

Even as she listened to his words, she remained frozen like ice. The sight of herself, pale as a corpse with her eyes closed, felt unreal.

However, the blazing fire and acrid smell of burning from the car that had hit her and then crashed into the bus stop in the middle of the road, the loud sirens, and the murmuring of people were more real than anything.

All of it was so undeniably real that she couldn’t deny it.

‘I really… died?’

Ha. The first thing that came out of her trembling lips was a sigh of relief.

She had struggled so hard to live, and this was the result. Such a meaningless death.

‘…Should I live again?’

But the next thought that came to her was whether she should even bother trying to revive such an insignificant life.

She didn’t have much attachment to life. She didn’t have any grand goals or dreams.

She had just lived an endlessly arduous life, simply surviving because she couldn’t die.

‘What would change even if I came back to life? I’ll still have no money, stuck in a hopeless, tedious cycle of work.’

Then, perhaps death would be a sanctuary.

She clenched her hands tightly.

“What if… I’m not needed?”

[What?]

“I’m saying I don’t care if I die like this.”

Lifting her gaze from her seemingly lifeless body, she looked at him.

He seemed bewildered by the unexpected answer, frowning and raising an eyebrow.

“Even if I go back, it’ll just be a repetition of the same tedious life. No time to wish for anything, no room to feel at ease, just a dull and miserable life. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to just die?”

[…]

“To be honest, whether your world is destroyed or not, it has nothing to do with me.”

It was a somewhat cynical remark, but she meant it.

Honestly, his world was just a game. She wasn’t the kind of person who was generous or compassionate enough to care about a world that wasn’t even real.

But he didn’t back down easily.

[What if I could change your life?]

“What?”

[What if I offer you a life where you have time to wish for things, a life where you can feel at ease, as a reward? What would you like? Tell me what you want.]

His voice was benevolent as if he would grant her every wish. Scoffing, she blurted out in frustration.

“Well, if I ask for 10 billion Won, will you give it to me?”

She didn’t expect a being that was supposedly just a game system to actually change her life. She just thought that if she asked for an outrageous condition, he would back down.

[I will.]

“…What did you just say?”

However, the answer that came back was completely unexpected. Startled, she asked back foolishly.

His immediate acceptance of her thoughtless mumbling was quite disconcerting.

Unlike her, he stroked his chin, muttering to himself, and then reaffirmed his statement with conviction.

[If you succeed in the reformation, I’ll not only revive you but also give you 10 billion won¹ in financial support.]

Her jaw dropped at the voice promising a sum she had never heard of in her life.

Well, of course, it was the amount she had mentioned, but…

It was such an amount she couldn’t even fathom, making it feel even more unreal.

“Why, why?”

[You’re asking why would I go to such lengths?]

The countless questions swirling on the tip of her tongue condensed into one and tumbled out. Fortunately, he understood.

[I told you, I don’t want to see the world destroyed. Money is a small price to pay. Especially in that world.]

He tossed out the amount, which she could barely even utter as casually as if he were calling a dog’s name. It seemed so natural that she didn’t even feel a sense of absurdity.

It didn’t even cross her mind to ask how a game system could have such power.

[It’s not a bad offer. It won’t be that difficult to capture them with a little help from me.]
[If you succeed in the reformation, you can live a new life with 10 billion won.]

Like the serpent in Eden tempting her to eat the forbidden fruit, he whispered of a completely transformed life, enticing her.

[You can have a life where you don’t have to do anything and can enjoy everything you want. You’ve always wanted a life where you didn’t have to give up on what you want to do.]

He precisely pinpointed and tugged at what she longed for.