Chapter 81 – Divorce (7)

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Shin Eun-jo said Meursault was not a capture target.

‘Target character’ was a term not used in Safe Zone.

After all, Safe Zone was a game about conquering zones.

Even so, the fact that she spoke the words ‘target character’ led to one conclusion.

“By any chance, did you also play that dating sim?”

To my question, a clean answer came back from Shin Eun-jo.

“Middle-aged man dating simulation? I played it.”

That dating sim…

Was it a super famous game? Was I the only one who hadn’t played it?

No, wait.

“Does a shaman play dating sims too?”

“I ended up playing it because I’m a shaman.”

“Huh?”

Although I did not know much about dating sims, I knew that the sentence ‘I ended up playing a dating sim because I’m a shaman’ was by no means ordinary.

“What reason does a shaman have to play a dating sim? Do you perform cyber exorcisms or something?”

“I played that game for the sake of customer management.”

Do shamans these days have to play dating sims to manage customers?

“An MZ shaman… something like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but a customer just brought it to me to see if the game they made would sell well. I just played it.”

It was even more surprising that there was a customer asking a shaman to evaluate a dating sim they made.

…Wait.

“A game they made…?”

“Yeah.”

“Did that customer say they made the game themselves? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Because the modifications I sent by email back then are all reflected in Safe Zone as well.”

Reflected the modifications…?

“What does that mean?”

“I told you earlier. That customer brought it to me because they wondered if that game would work well. But it wasn’t fun. So I asked them to modify a few things.”

“What did you ask them to modify?”

“Things like Commander Hayden’s age or appearance. I don’t have a taste for middle-aged men.”

Ah, no wonder Commander Hayden was so young despite the title being Middle-Aged Man Dating Simulation.

Was that the result of reflecting this punk’s modifications?

‘If everything Shin Eun-jo said is true, it means that before possession, Shin Eun-jo met the creator of the middle-aged man dating simulation… the CEO of Cthulhu Games.’

In a way, this might be an event much more strongly related to this group possession than the fact that my mother was the CEO of Salvation Project or that CornerHoney’s older sister was an employee of Salvation Project.

Because the beginning of player possession was the dating sim.

‘I need to organize the timeline.’

Before organizing the timeline, I had something to confirm with Shin Eun-jo first.

“The one you met was the representative of Cthulhu Games, right? Not the head of another game company.”

At my words, Shin Eun-jo’s eyes widened.

“Yes! Right! Cthulhu Games! It was definitely written in the email address! Why couldn’t I remember this simple name until now?”

“About that representative. Was it a man or a woman?”

“It was a man. One who resembled Commander Hayden.”

‘Right. A different person.’

Actually, I had thought that the CEO of Cthulhu Games might also be my mother.

But if the person Shin Eun-jo met was a man, it meant that the person who started all of this was not my mother.

I felt an unknown sense of relief.

‘First, considering the development order of the games we were possessed into…’

[Cthulhu Games’ Dating Sim -> Salvation Project’s First Safe Zone Series -> Square Soft’s Online Apocalypse: Safe Zone]

Luna Moon and Daphne were possessed into this game through the dating sim, and we were possessed as a group through Online Safe Zone only ten years after Luna Moon died.

Synthesizing the information heard so far, the expected timeline was as follows.

[Dating Sim Production -> Meeting between Cthulhu Games’ CEO and Shin Eun-jo -> Dating Sim Distribution -> Luna Moon and Daphne’s Possession -> Salvation Project’s Safe Zone -> Square Soft’s Online Safe Zone -> Group Possession]

‘Does it go like this?’

Placing Salvation Project’s game development after Luna Moon and Daphne’s possession was because, if a game called Safe Zone had already been released, it would be natural for Daphne to assume that this might be an apocalypse game rather than a dating sim.

However, Daphne seemed to know nothing about the apocalypse at all.

‘But if this is the case…’

As I organized the timeline, one thing finally became certain.

That was, Luna Moon was indeed my mother.

‘It is natural to assume that my mother, who had been possessed as Luna Moon, died in the game, returned to reality, and made a game with the exact same worldview as the world she saw.’

I did not know why, but my mother was obsessed with making the game, even to the point of neglecting me, her child.

The problem was that even now, when I accepted the fact that Luna Moon was my mother, I did not know why she tried so hard to reconstruct Safe Zone.

If my mother was also just a victim of possession, the person who started all this must have been the CEO of Cthulhu Games.

Why did even my mother follow suit and end up making the game?

And my ending up possessed in Online Safe Zone without even knowing it was a game developed by my mother…

‘Was it really a coincidence?’

For the first time, I wanted to return to reality.

There were so many things I wanted to ask my mother.

And, it was at that moment.

That a message popped up in front of my eyes.

[You have taken a step closer to the secret of the apocalypse…]

It was a message I had already seen once before.

‘The message that appeared when I obtained Luna Moon’s ring!’

When this message appeared, the system was opened for the first time.

‘Then, the fact that this message appeared now means…’

[Opening the system additionally.]

‘As expected!’

When that message first appeared.

In other words, ever since it wrote ‘Partially opening the system’ instead of ‘Opening the system,’ I had thought that there would be more unopened systems.

It seemed that the system expanded every time I approached the secret of the apocalypse.

I quickly read down the newly opened items in front of my eyes so that Shin Eun-jo would not find it suspicious.

[Ranking]

[Shop]

Rankings or shops were functions that did not exist in Safe Zone, but even up to this point, it was not surprising.

The problem was from here on.

[Log Out (Locked)]

‘Log out?!’

Although it was still in a locked state, it was definitely written as log out.

‘Was it possible to log out?’

But this was not the end.

[There is 1 message from the game developer. Would you like to check it?]

The notification of the message from the game developer flashed, as if urging me to open it quickly.

* * *

After telling Shin Eun-jo to come to the meeting with Daphne tomorrow, I hurried back to my room.

It was to look into the additionally opened system.

The first thing I opened was the ranking.

When I opened [Ranking], the first thing that came up was a notice.

[*The ranking criterion is the number of titles held, and in the case of the same number, they are listed in the order they were acquired first.]

There were no levels in Safe Zone and nothing that could be converted into points, so I had wondered what criteria they used to make the ranking, but it seemed the number of titles was the standard.

[*Only the top 10 players are displayed in the ranking, and rewards are paid monthly.]

I wondered why there was a ranking system, but was it to give rewards?

[*Reward payment applies from the moment the additional system is opened.]

I wondered if there might be rewards accumulated over the past few months, but it seemed to be a reward that could be received starting from now.

That meant, even if there were other guys in the ranking, they could not receive rewards unless they opened the additional system, so there was nothing bad about it.

[*1st Place Reward: 100 Points

2nd-9th Place Reward: 50 Points

10th Place Reward: 10 Points]

‘The point difference between 1st place, middle ranks, and 10th place is large.’

Perhaps this point was a kind of currency used in the [Shop] that opened along with the additional system opening.

Only after the notice ended was I able to check the ranking.

[1st Place: Dopamine Addict

2nd Place: Dopamine Addict

3rd Place: T-Bastard

4th Place: God

5th Place: IDontCryThatIsCardio

6th Place: HomeProtector

7th Place: SsapPossible

8th Place: Druggie

9th Place: CornerHoney

10th Place: Dentist]

“Huh…”

Although it was surprising that CornerHoney, who was not even a player with an opened system, was ranked 9th ahead of the Dentist.

Judging by the fact that Dopamine Addict was written side-by-side in 1st and 2nd place, it seemed the nickname of the Unicorn Zone player was truly Dopamine Addict.

How on earth was that possible?

Opening the shop next, I could not help but be even more surprised.

[Held Points: 50]

Because the points I received were 50.

Judging from the content of the notice that 1st place receives 100 points, and 2nd to 9th place receive 50 points…

‘Does that mean I am 2nd?’

How could that be?

I inherited all of my previously acquired titles as a perk for conquering all zones.

Scientifically, it made no sense that a player with more titles than me existed.

‘Seriously, this guy… what is his identity?’

Well, since the ranking is determined simply by the number of titles, there would be no problem with the future conquest.

Still, I could not help but feel uneasy about his existence.

For now… let’s finish looking at the shop.

[Message (10 Points) – You can send a message to a player who is not a friend.]

…By any chance, did the Unicorn Zone player use this item to send messages to other players?

‘Then that means that guy had already opened all the additional systems long ago and was gathering points…’

However, whether to call it a relief or not, other than the message, the majority were recovery potions or food, so there did not seem to be any items that looked particularly useful.

[System Opening Ticket (100 Points) – Can open the system of a player who has not yet opened their system.]

Oh.

Although it is a bit expensive, this looks useful.

However, I wonder if there is a player who would spend 100 points just to do someone else a favor.

There seemed to be more items after the system opening ticket, but they were not visible because the padlock was locked.

Instead, the following phrase was written.

[*Open at 10,000 Points.]

[*Exchangeable for 10 points per title.]

There did not seem to be any particularly useful items, so would anyone gather 10,000 points just to open this?

It would be better to wait until someone else opens it and open it then if there seem to be good items.

‘Then now…’

It was time to examine the problematic [Log Out (Locked)].

Since it was written as locked, it did not seem like clicking it would log me out immediately, so when I touched the item.

[*This function can be used after all players open their systems.]

Even ignoring the premise that all players must open their systems for now.

‘Does it mean that this function can be used someday?’

Is log out really possible?

Is that why they were selling system opening tickets in the shop?

Because logging out would be possible only after opening other guys’ systems?

“…”

Originally, I had no intention of returning at all.

But now, a situation has arisen where I have things I want to go back and ask my mother.

It was a function that could simply be ignored.

Among the players, there would be those who want to go back.

‘If this is the case… I need to get other guys’ systems additionally opened.’

The problem was that I did not know how I had taken a step closer to the secret of the apocalypse.

There was a clear causal relationship with Luna Moon’s ring, but this time, the system window suddenly popped up while I was organizing the timeline, so there was nothing I could accurately guess.

‘I will think about that slowly…’

Now, what remained.

Was checking the message that arrived from the game developer.