Hyper Luck

I’ve emptied all of the 8 bookshelves. The tips of both of my fingers had turned black, and there were at least a few thousand books piled around me. 

In order to find the diary of a fainthearted blacksmith, which was the hidden quest reward and the key item of the new quest, I decided to search through all the books in this huge library.

However, I couldn’t dare to decide where to start since there were at least a few hundred books stored on each of these hundreds of bookshelves.

If this was just a computer game, I would’ve had to work hard for days with just a mouse and a keyboard, but in a virtual reality game, I had to engage in manual labor using my entire body.

Of course, even if I repeated these actions over and over again, I didn't feel tired thanks to my stack. But it was terribly tedious.

While searching for a while, a book with a familiar title was caught in my hand.

[Bard of the Cafera]

I managed to subconsciously remember the name of the book that Khea had told me to bring for her.

Not that I was looking for it, but I was able to find fun in this result of finding the book Khea had told me to bring for her. I was able to gain some motivation from that, but I had to give up in the end.

Virtual reality was where anything you can imagine was possible, but finding the book you want in such a huge library at once was a situation where you had to be extremely lucky.

“I’ve spent too much time on this.”

I stood up from my seat, whispering to myself. The shallow stiffness that settled down on my shoulders pulled my back and neck.

These symptoms disappeared right after I did a simple stretch. Mose’s body had many features and functions that Lee KiHo was very envious of.

It was already dark outside when I had to settle with the satisfaction of finding the book that Khea had requested and went back to the SkyLord.

The interior lighting had also been toned down, but only one corner of the hall was shining with a soft light.

Khea, as usual, was asleep next to an open book, barely covered with a blanket.

Next to her, there were two lanterns gleaming precariously, as if they were trying to pull her out of the deep sleep she was in.

The hall soaked in complete darkness as soon as I turned the two lights next to her.

I went out to the deck carefully.

The cold air of the night sharply passed over my cheeks, turning my ears red.

It wasn’t like the bitter coldness of Langeru, but it had the coldness of the night intact.

I leaned against the railing and looked around. In the sky, there was a huge moon that NPCs here called Velluce and served.

Something red was floating under the round silver moon, and the Milky Way was flowing around it as if small jewels were randomly poured into the water.

A world completely separated from reality, but I was convinced that I existed there.

At Linduroak, at Asparagan Sanctuary, at Langeru, at Bing Caravan...

Do all the game protagonists live such an extraordinary and tumultuous life?

It was necessary to reflect on the path of the protagonists of all the games I have played so far and compared them to mine.

Because it could suggest a new entertainment, no, a new way to me, who had pursued mediocre fun by simply controlling them with a mouse and keyboard.

A long time had passed.

That long time was enough to bring me back to my senses as I was lost deep in thoughts while leaning against the railing, unable to control the swaying emotions.

That long period of time was considered very short in reality.

There was also the question of how they manipulated the time in VR and the reality, but as I did not have any professional knowledge, I had no choice but to stop and dismiss this topic in my head.

I went back into the cabin and sat down on my bed. Then I looked again at the parchment on the table.

There were many fictional characters that caught my attention and stayed in my mind for weeks even after I finished the game I played on a computer or console.

However, Khea was different.

This feeling became clear over time and made me feel perplexed.

I like her.

It was fine to have a deeper relationship with the residents of <Circuit>, just like Guile did. However, this came to me as a different matter.

A strange wall was blocking me from forming a deeper relationship with her.

It made me frustrated that I had no choice but to explain it as a sense of difference without being able to clearly define it.

To be honest, I considered straight-up confessing to her multiple times.

However, it was also quite difficult to show the emotions that I never had in real life.

I was in bed in deep thought for a while, and, as always, I quietly opened my mouth after a long enough time to ‘get back to my senses’.

“Log out.”

***

The narrow ceiling and the soft warmth from behind welcomed me back. The familiar feeling of physical fatigue, that could never be found in Mose’s body, spread from the neck to the shoulders, back, and down my waist.

I was back to being Lee KiHo.

I carefully got out of the capsule and took a look around my small rented room.

I haven't touched anything lately, so the whole room gave a clean impression. Like an uninhabited room, thin dust was piled up everywhere.

The dust tickled my eyes more clearly with the exceptional sunlight.

Without a word, I got up and opened the window to ventilate.

Just a moment ago, I was breathing the cold night air under the huge moon, red stars, and a very vivid Milky Way that did not exist in reality. And now I was breathing in the turbid morning air mixed with dust

However, this morning air was just as sweet to me as the night air in <Circuit>.

I forcefully moved my stiff jaw and put an energy bar into my mouth.

Then, I opened my old laptop and turned on the power to access the <Circuit Master> homepage.

It was a moment to demonstrate the power of Lee KiHo which allowed him to get access to the events that were happening all over <Circuit>.  This was an ability that Mose did not possess.

And when I discovered the keywords that were heating up players of the game <Circuit>, my heart sank.

The collapse of the <NGTEC>, which almost set a phenomenal record of 300 billion won in net profit within one year of its founding, put many investors in real life in despair.

In many ways, the events of <Circuit> became a butterfly effect and started to affect real life.

And among all of those keywords, the most popular keyword was 'Mose'.

The word that referred to me.

Just two days ago, my nickname was ranked first in the most searched words on every search engine website.

It even surpassed not only the scandals of famous celebrities but also the regular keywords of <Circuit>

This made me feel very nervous.

A game character, but it conveyed more than just that of an ordinary game. ‘Mose’ was me in another form.

And he was now putting the entire world in astonishment.

All I did was clear the quests that came to me, and that changed even the real life.

This reminded me of a movie about jumping into people’s dreams and manipulating people's minds to control reality.

I couldn't even imagine that a large corporation had collapsed because of me, so a vague fear came over me.

Wouldn't their power be enough to find me and harm me?

In <Circuit>, I was confident that I could endure all the trials that would come to find me, but the present Lee KiHo had no reason to feel like that.

I’m only just a man with no power!

<Circuit Master>... <Circuit Gallery>... <Korea’s NO.1 Circuit Cafe>... After going around several sites, I finally arrived at the Ormachon token trading site.

“Oh my god...”

As soon as I connected to the site, I was amazed at the screen I encountered.

1 Ormachon token current purchasing price - 152,250,000 won

1 Ormachon token current selling price - 147,750,000 won

The Ormachon token price has risen like crazy. A whopping 150% increase. I sold two Ormachon tokens once for 200 million won, but now they’re worth around 300 million won.

This feeling... It felt very unfamiliar.

It seemed clear to me why our older generation paid attention to the ‘unusual’ price fluctuations of cryptocurrencies in the old days, becoming enthusiastic and frustrated.

There were notices at the bottom of the main trading site.

I clicked on the article at the top of it.

[Ormachon token production has been stopped.]

The Bank of Arantis abruptly stopped the production of Ormachon tokens on the 9th. This is due to the depletion of Orma Coil, the material of the token, and it is said that Orma Coil related businesses will be discontinued in order.

Since this Orma Coil is an excellent metal that is superior to any other material, the value of Ormachon Token began to rise exponentially.

In fact, the Ormachon tokens are being traded at a price much higher than their original price within Circuit.

Since the Bank of Arantas has stated that they do not intend to issue new checks, the price of Ormachon tokens, which exist only in limited quantities, is expected to rise further in the future.

Orma coil is used not only as currency but also as ‘material’, so the quantity is expected to decrease gradually, so the prospect of a second coin boom is very likely.

I was shocked at the fact that Ormachon tokens were no longer produced. Meanwhile, the price displayed on the website started to fluctuate again.

1 Ormachon token current purchasing price - 162,250,000 won

1 Ormachon token current selling price - 159,750,000 won

It has increased by around 10 million won in a blink of an eye.

After doing a bit of research, I learned that some token exchange websites split 1 Ormachon token to induce group purchases.

People who are making small investments were captured on the site without difficulty, and the volume that it was being traded was huge.

Then I remembered things that were sleeping in my inventory that I didn't care about.

If I recall correctly,

There were still 6 tokens left in my inventory.

I couldn’t help but compliment myself for not cashing them in too early. As a result of being completely lost in playing <Circuit>, I ended up bringing a huge windfall upon myself!

As I was enjoying this movement alone, my phone started to vibrate on the floor. The short vibration stopped and repeated itself soon after.

When I checked my phone, there were hundreds of messages piled up that I missed.

In the meantime, new messages were piling up while vibrating.

It was a group chat.

The names in the group chat were all familiar to me. The name that caught my eyes first was,

[KwonCheol: I know right? It’s been such a while.]

The name of my friend that hung out with me every day back in high school. After that, other messages appeared one after another.

[Lee JiWon: How y’all doing? Let’s meet up sometime!!!]

[Woo WonKi: Emote]

[Park JaeHa: Sure. But I can’t do that on weekdays.]

[KwonCheol: Me too]

[Woo WonKi: Emote]

I hurriedly connected to the group chat. Then, naturally, I lay down on the Circuit connector I was using as a replacement for the bed.

[Lee KiHo: When did you guys make this group chat?]

[KwonCheol: Oh?]

[Lee JiWon: Oh!]

[Park JaeHa: Holy shit! It’s Lee KiHo lool]

[KwonCheol: Finally, he’s awake.]

[Lee JiWon: How have ya been?]

[Lee KiHo: I’m fine, as always. How about you guys?]

[KwonCheol: I’m about to die cause I haven't seen ya in such a long time!]

[Lee KiHo: Stop talking nonsense]

[Woo WonKi: Oh, Lee KiHo. Long time no see.]

[Choi SeongHoon: So when are we gathering up? Oh, KiHo! Sup!]

[WooHyuk: Guys, I don’t think I can make it..]

[Choi SeongHoon: Wtf why?]

[WooHyuk: My boss says get on Circuit on the weekend.]

[Choi SeongHoon: Lmao nice. Power level for your boss!]

[Lee JiWon: Then how about we gather up for a drink and meet in Circuit?]

[Choi SeongHoon: Want me to PK that boss of yours?]

[Woo WonKi: That’d be hilarious lol]

[Lee KiHo: You guys decided to meet up?]

[KwonCheol: ?]

[Lee JiWon: ?]

[Choi SeongHoon: ?]

[Lee KiHo: What?]

[KwonCheol: Wtf u talkin about? Don’t tell me you’re not coming?]

[Lee KiHo: -,-]

[Park JaeHa: I believe in him to come XD]

[Lee JiWon: Everyone is fine with this weekend?]

[Choi SeongHoon: Everyone, meet at Hong-Dae!]

[KwonCheol: Mr. KiHo? Waiting for your answer]

[Lee KiHo: Okay fine, I’ll go.]

[KwonCheol: Nice!]

[Lee JiWon: Good. Everyone will attend since KiHo’s coming.]

[Woo WonKi: Alright, I’m coming too.]

I was swept away by them like a storm, and as I exchanged words, a smile formed on my face without realizing it.

These friends were very precious to me and it was very hard to separate from them. We went all over the place playing our asses off, while other high school students were struggling and studying their asses off.

After we entered our 20s and returned from the military, most of us regretted the days we spent in vain and were struggling to live in reality.

I suddenly wanted to see the faces of these guys again.

There were so many stories I wanted to tell them.

After all, <Circuit> was also popular among these guys!

Well, it would be natural.

Lee KiHo’s time, which had been stopped, started to flow quickly again.

I looked at some houses for sale on websites, getting excited and thinking about what it would be like to live here.

Even in that meantime, the phone never stopped vibrating. It was only natural since my friends would also have many things to talk about and hear about.

So this continuous vibration didn’t feel annoying at all to me. The loud vibrating from the floor sounded like the familiar voice of my friends that I spent my high school days with.

But first, I had to face the start of a new journey in ‘Tikris’.

Three hours had passed in real life. 3 hours in real life was 9 hours in Circuit, so I had to hurry up and prepare.

[Lee KiHo: I have to go for now. Tytl]

[KwonCheol: cya]

[Choi SeongHoon: bye]

Even after saying goodbye to my friends, I happily listened to the sound of vibrations that came from the phone as I entered the connector.

The sheet that had cooled down surprised me, but it started to adjust to the same temperature as my body temperature.

“Connect.”

As always, I was able to open my eyes only after going through a dizzying shift in consciousness that felt like falling off a cliff.

The sweet taste of the energy bar that remained on my tongue was gone. Only the smell of sweet dry flowers greeted me.

Mose,

Another me with a terrifying body that can even fold a paper airplane out of cast iron if he wanted to.

Every time I logged in, it felt so refreshing that it made me smile.

When I hurriedly opened the door and went out alone, the scattered sunlight was already coming in from the window, illuminating every corner of the hall.

And Khea was sitting in the middle of the hall, where the stage was.

“Just woke up?”

“Yup.”

She handed me a tea cup with green leaves drawn on it.

“Thanks.”

Having already adapted to the strange taste of kefir leaves, found only in <Circuit>, I happily accepted the tea.

“Anyways, how are you feeling right now?”

“How am I feeling right now?”

“You know, the feeling of entering the sovereign airspace of Tikris.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the notification of the area entry appeared in my sight.

<Tikris>