Chapter 13: Reversal of Status(2)

I tried hard to erase the negative thoughts from my head, but they went even further. Saying that people’s deaths were a good thing, or that

this reality was better than before… It seemed that these kids also had a very wrong sense of values. The problem was that my heart was also

agreeing with their stories.

I steadied my wavering heart and looked at her twitching cat ears.

When I thought about it, Yejin would have had much worse experiences than someone like me. Most people, not users, would mistake her for

a werewolf just because she had animal ears on her head, and would drive her out or start a fight.

Until it became known that there was a separate race called beastmen, beastmen, who were generally smaller than the large werewolves,

were more often the target of hate crimes. Considering that, I could understand why she had such extreme thoughts.

It was a mind that I could fully understand. But those thoughts were clearly ethically wrong. As an elder, I would have to guide her to have a

more correct mindset.

“By the way, even if users are strong, there are police and the military. Aren’t they doing anything?”

“A while ago, some extreme user communities gathered and issued a statement… Read it.”

As she said, I turned on my cell phone and read the statement, which consisted of only three lines.

User Statement

-The users who have been oppressed will take revenge on the general public.

-If the public authorities try to interfere with this in a major way, the assassin users with ambush skills will target the leaders first.

-If you don’t want to die, please judge for yourselves. For your information, the stealth skills of the assassin class are not caught even by

military radars.

It was a simple statement consisting of three lines, but its contents were completely crazy. They were going to vent their anger on the general

public, and if anyone tried to stop them, they would kill them. Aren’t they just crazy?

“No, does such a simple threat work? It’s not like they’re powerless ordinary people, but an entire country?”

“A while ago, the Prime Minister passed away due to an attack by an assassin user. He was staying in the innermost bunker of the safe house,

but the culprit was not found. The cause of death was excessive bleeding shock due to stabbing.”

“Coincidentally, that Prime Minister publicly criticized such extreme users in a press conference a few hours before that happened. Since

then, the political world has been silent. The fact that ‘users can kill anyone they target, no matter what defenses are in place’ has been

proven by that incident. People are criticizing those politicians, saying that their lives are more precious than the lives of the citizens. It’s a

mess right now.”

Yejin turned the channel a few more times and displayed news from other broadcasters on the screen. People were shown protesting in front

of the Blue House. It felt like I was looking at scenes from a history book, with peaceful protests and people rioting with clubs and Molotov

cocktails.

“Look. It’s really a mess, right?”

“…Then what’s the situation in our country now? Are all the buildings in Busan Haeundae, like here, destroyed and in chaos?”

“The metropolitan area and large cities are maintaining security with the help of moderate users, soldiers, and politicians, but…most of the

provinces are currently in chaos. It’s safe to say that more than half of the country is in a state of anarchy. It’s strange that North Korea hasn’t

invaded yet.”

“Is it okay around here?”

“Most of the area around here is being protected by users who have voluntarily appeared, and institutions such as hospitals and schools are

generally safe. Even the extreme users seemed to think that it was ethically problematic to touch hospitals or public institutions, so they are

avoiding attacking them as much as possible. And the reason why this place is safer than anywhere else is…it’s hard for me to say this myself,

but it’s because we’re here.”

“I guess so. It’s hard to find high-level players like you anywhere…”

There are many ways to enjoy ‘Fantasia Online’. Since it’s such a famously free game, there were many users whose main purpose wasn’t

player-versus-player combat (PVP). For example, there were users who enjoyed decorating their own homes, which were impossible to set up

in reality, or enjoying content such as gathering, hunting, and fishing. These people also had much stronger physical abilities than ordinary

people, but since they weren’t characters raised mainly for combat, their own power was bound to be weaker than users who mainly enjoyed

PVP.

Moreover, what if the beings protecting this hospital were top-ranking users within the top 0.01% of those users who mainly enjoyed PVP?

Not only users with non-combat tendencies, but also strong people with PVP experience would try to avoid this hospital. Everyone would

know Yejin’s face if they were a user of Fantasia Online, even if they didn’t know Yerim. At least, as long as they had a head that could think,

they would run away when they saw her threat.

“No matter what kind of user comes, we can overwhelm more than 90 percent of them with simple status specs. If a top 10% user comes…”

She gathered her fists to her chest and used [Posture]. The red aura began to surround her body and burn again.

“If I show my face in this state, they’ll wag their tails and run away. All the guys who do some PVP know my face.”

Yejin, who was ranked 2nd in the server for all jobs in PVP, and Yerim, who was ranked 34th. There would be no crazy user who would make

the choice to break into this hospital, which is protected by these two people who boast the top specs out of hundreds of thousands of PVP

users. If they were all users of Fantasia Online, they would know Yejin’s face, even if they didn’t know Yerim. At least, as long as they had a

head that could think, they would run away when they saw her threat.

“Then I can rest assured and take a rest. But…do I have to pay for this broken window?”

“I don’t think so. The hospital side will see it as a good thing just that users who are friendly to people are staying here, so I don’t think they’ll

ask you to pay for it. We’ll prevent other users from invading, so it’s a kind of symbiotic relationship. If you tell the director here, they’ll

change your room.”

“Then let’s do that. If I leave it like this, I think I’ll catch a cold. Let’s do first aid for now…”

I used the skill to form an ice wall, which I used in the game to block the opponent’s vision, with the weakest output possible. Along with the

unfamiliar feeling of mana moving as I thought, the ice gradually increased in volume, clearing away the broken glass and filling the empty

window.

“Isn’t it colder if you fix it with ice?”

Around the time the window was all filled, I cut off the mana entering the skill in response to Yerim’s question and answered.

“It’s better than the cold wind from outside coming in, at least. Above all, since it’s ice made of my mana, it won’t melt until my strength runs

out.”

“That’s true.”

Yejin, who was nodding as if she agreed with my words, suddenly got up from her seat. She showed me the lock screen of her cell phone and

said.

“The doctor said that you’re healthy enough to eat porridge, so I ordered porridge and it’s said to have arrived now. I’ll go get it, so you lie

down.”

There was a message on her cell phone from the delivery app saying that the porridge she had ordered had arrived. I was impressed by the

fact that there were stores that were delivering even in this situation. I realized once again that money is more valuable than a person’s life in

a capitalist society.

“Then let’s take a walk outside for a while while going to pick that up. I’m getting restless from being here all the time.”

The hospital room, with all sides white, kept giving me a stuffy feeling somewhere. When I tapped my shoulder and suggested it, Yejin kicked

Yerim, who was lying down, and answered.

“I guess so. Hey, get up. We’re going out.”

“Ah- I don’t want to get up… Can’t I not go out?”

“No. If something happens outside, you have to stand in the front. Oppa is a mage who can’t even cast properly yet, and I’m a fighter, but I

don’t have any attack skills, so it’s impossible to be in the front. To be safe, we need at least one tanker.”