GBAS Ch 1

Incident Report

[Notice] August 12th (Mon) Update Details – Once again, to a bigger world!

Hello. This is <The Frontier> GM Avocado. ^^

Have you been waiting long? The opening of the new continent, which was delayed last June due to the absence of the main producer, is finally just around the corner. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to the pioneers who have waited for a long time. Bow o(u_u )o

Quick pioneers would have already seen it through the teaser video released on the official YouTube channel, but considering those who haven’t heard the news yet(^^) I’ll explain the changes in this update in detail once again. Please follow along!

— Expand

Accident (事故)

[Noun]

1. An unfortunate event that occurs unexpectedly.

2. A bad deed that harms people or causes trouble.

3. The reason why something happened.

A week had passed since that day, and now Hyunwoo felt absolutely terrible.

“Ah.”

The man, stopping his steps with a short sigh, muttered with his face buried in his hands.

“……This is driving me crazy.”

Half air, half sound. A sigh, he couldn’t even count how many times he’d sighed today, followed the voice uttered with exquisite vocalization. As he exhaled the breath he had inhaled deeply enough to make his silver armor heave, his broad shoulders, hidden beneath the hard armor, slumped pathetically.

23 years old, a strong Korean man, Jeon Hyunwoo, had never regretted anything for long in his life. What’s past is past. The important thing is this very moment, breathing alive, and the beautiful future he will create. It was his long-held belief that there was no need to spend precious time looking back.

What is the reason why he is suffering so much?

“I wish I could go insane, why am I still sane? Ugh, I shouldn’t have thought that in the first place. Why did I say something so unnecessary……? I should have just quietly gone in and slept. Why did I… No, no…… I should have just bitten my tongue and died right then and there.”

Hyunwoo, with his face buried in his large hands, mumbled as he shook his head.

It all started from the huge accident that happened ‘that day’, that is, the crazy things he had done.

He had made constant efforts to overcome this situation through a time of pain, but nothing had improved. Hyunwoo still spent sleepless nights, and even when laughing at silly jokes, he would often make a long face at the thoughts that sporadically popped up.

How long will this continue? He had estimated it more than once, but the conclusion was always the same. There’s no need to think long. Nothing would change unless one of the two quit the game.

……Or unless he grew some thick skin.

Hyunwoo, trudging along the path in the middle of the vast grassland, wiped his reddened eyes as he sniffled.

“Ugh, fuck……”

However, the skin that touched his hand was extremely dry.

“……Sniff.”

It wasn’t just a simple inconsistency between words and actions. Hyunwoo genuinely wanted to cry. How good would it be if he could shed tears and relieve this feeling even a little?

But he couldn’t do that here. The place where Hyunwoo was, was not reality, but inside a virtual reality game called <The Frontier>.

Wait. Why is someone who wants to bite his tongue off and die right now leisurely playing games? ……Well, there are reasons for that, so let’s skip that for now.

Anyway, he could have shed tears using the [Cry] emotion in the chat options, but he didn’t want to do that now. This feeling was not something that could be replaced by a fake emotion, it was, well, quite a complex feeling.

After that, as he repeatedly pretended to wipe his tears and muttered to himself, ‘I should have, I shouldn’t have’, a small bell rang in Hyunwoo’s ears.

[Ding-!]

Gasp.

Even the breath he was exhaling was startled and came back, blocking his throat. His mouth instantly became parched, and his thick eyelashes trembled.

The small, cheerful bell was just a trivial notification that his friend had logged into the game, but at this moment, it felt like the last bell of his life to Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo’s lips turned blue as he squeezed his eyes shut.

…Could it be? He’s here?

A strange tension lingered in the heavy, stagnant air.

“…….”

Hyunwoo closed his eyes and counted from one to thirty in his mind, calming his racing heart.

When his breathing became comfortable, Hyunwoo slowly opened his eyes. Then he glanced at the interface bar spread long at the bottom of the screen. More precisely, at the ‘Friend’ icon flashing red.

Please, no. It can’t be. He can’t be here already. What do I do? What if he talks to me? What if he greets me? What do I do?

A moment felt like an eternity.

Just as the tense Hyunwoo was about to bring his trembling finger to the icon, a cheerful greeting popped up in the chat window.

[Guild] BlackCat2: Hello everyone><

“Aack!”

Screaming as the message appeared, Hyunwoo swayed like a deflated balloon figure at a gas station. He barely managed to regain his balance by slamming on the brakes, and a faint cloud of dust rose around his shoes as they scraped the dry ground.

“Ah, aha! Sh, wh, why did I get so scared.”

Hyunwoo awkwardly scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh. Even though there was no one watching, beads of sweat, traces of the tension he couldn’t hide, formed on Hyunwoo’s forehead as he desperately tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

‘That’s more like it.’

According to what he checked through the group chat room pop-up he belonged to, he said he might not be able to play the game until tonight, maybe even tomorrow.

Judging by the fact that the person who usually logs in around 2:00 p.m. hasn’t logged in yet, it seemed like he would only come in late at night. There were still two hours left until what could be considered night time……

“He seemed busy, can’t he just take a break from the game for a while? Like, for about three months……?”

Feeling relieved just at the thought of having a little grace period, Hyunwoo, who had recovered some of his usual playful demeanor, typed a message into the chat window with light, tapping fingers.

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: Hey guys

[Guild] JuJuPresident: ㅡㅡ

[Guild] JuJuPresident: What now

He had only said one word, but the reaction was already intense.

A few question marks popped up below JuJuPresident’s chat, but Hyunwoo ignored them and continued to say what he wanted to say.

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: I want to be alone

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: So could you all leave

These diligent guild members seemed to grow thorns in their mouths if they didn’t play the game for even a day, as they rarely missed a day, except for a few who were busy these days. Thanks to that, he was going crazy with the notifications that rang fifteen times a day.

Hyunwoo’s brow furrowed and the corners of his mouth twisted as he recalled how he had flinched every time someone logged in, 10 minutes ago, 30 minutes ago, and two hours ago.

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: Play the game in moderation

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: It’s Friday night, don’t you have any friends to meet?;

It wasn’t something someone who had been logged in for 23 out of 24 hours for five days straight should say, but he had a valid reason. Above all, Hyunwoo wasn’t in a position to be objective about himself right now.

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Bullshit

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Did you rent this place?

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Everyone here is living their best lives, and as a jobless, on-leave-from-school bum who doesn’t even have a part-time job, I don’t think you’re in a position to say that^^

[Guild] NoRetryKeepGoing: Ahlollollol

[Guild] BlackCat2: eek

[Guild] JiNyeongKun: Fact = He doesn’t have friends other than you guys ㅜ0ㅠ

[Guild] BlueBadge: lol

“Ah, shit……”

[Guild] NationalSlaveShowoff: I’m returning to school this semester???

[Guild] JuJuPresident: So what~~^^

As Hyunwoo bit his lower lip and glared at the chat window with narrowed eyes, messages continued to pop up.

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Anyone know why he’s acting like this lately???

[Guild] Camellia: I know, right

[Guild] Camellia: Noja-nim, is something wrong?

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Did he get beat up somewhere and is taking it out on us

[Guild] JuJuPresident: This is so ridiculous ㅡㅡ

[Guild] NoRetryKeepGoing: lol

[Guild] NoRetryKeepGoing: Seriously, this is the first time I’ve heard someone ask us to leave while we’re doing a party quest together lol

[Guild] JiNyeongKun: Where did he go though ㅇ,ㅇ?

[Guild] FlatDumpling: Oh yeah??

[Guild] JuJuPresident: Huh

[Party] JuJuPresident: Where did Jeon Hyunwoo go??

He lifted his head at the differently colored message, and he heard a voice looking for him among the people who were more than a hundred meters ahead.

“When did I get this far away?”

Just as he was about to turn around and wave to the people looking back,

Growl-!

The ground vibrated greatly along with a heavy roar that shook the air.

[Party] JuJuPresident: What the fuck

[Party] Camellia: Be careful!

He could see the startled figures of the people far away, and at the same time, large red letters appeared in the center of the screen.

[The Minion of the Blue Land welcomes the intruders.]

‘Minion of the Blue Land?’

This place was the tip of the peninsula of the recently revealed Viloa continent, in the middle of a grassland called ‘Blue Land.’ ‘Intruders’ must refer to their party, formed to find the hub city of Ribe Castle……

‘Who are they referring to as the minion?’

That was when it happened.

Rumble-!

The party chat became jumbled below the screen, which vibrated so strongly that his vision blurred.

[Party] JiNyeongKun: This is the first time I’ve seen this ㅇ,ㅇ

[Party] BlueBadge: Is it a field event?

[Party] JiNyeongKun: Yeah, I think so lol

[Party] Camellia: Everyone, get ready for battle

[Party] JuJuPresident: Okay okay

[Party] NoRetryKeepGoing: Ah, I should have brought Aqua with meㅠ

[Party] JuJuPresident: I know, right; He’s always away at times like these

[Party] JuJuPresident: But they say they welcome us, but what kind of welcome is this

The five party members standing far away from Hyunwoo, as befitting veteran guild members of a top-ranked guild, quickly prepared for battle and looked around.

Following their gaze, Hyunwoo turned his head and saw piles of dirt and stones scattered along both sides of the road.

To think I’m only noticing this now. While he was lost in thought, he seemed to have unknowingly entered a strange area.

Hyunwoo’s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at a pile of dirt, particularly high, like a small hill.

Huh?