Chapter 44: Ascent Trajectory (1)


    The golden core that was ever so casually stored in my inventory, that huge core, was set in a small square in the inventory window and shimmered.


    I had just turned a historical relic that had made a deep impact into an item.


    Although I had just aplished such tremendous work, I couldnt do anything but stand still at the spot.


    Then I touched the warm ne that felt like a part of my body since it had absorbed some temperature from my body.


    Lairo must have created a countless amount of items and handed them out to numerous yers.


    In order to find a yer that would aplish revenge for him and one of them was this ne.


    I couldnt imagine what kind of sacrifice that he had to make in order to obtain this ability. Just thinking about that made me feel like I was going to drown in the darkness.


    There was nothing but just a deep puddle left where the ship used to be.


    My upper body stumbled as I started to move my steps. It was only when I climbed the wall with both trembling hands and reached the charred za that the feeling of reality shivered through my entire body.


    My heavily bumping heart refused to calm down no matter how many times I tried to breathe slowly.


    I could already tell that my ears must have turned red without even looking at the mirror.


    After I climbed upstairs through the spiral stairs and met a familiar face waiting for me as he approached me after he unwrapped his arm and pulled himself up from the wall he was leaning against.


    "This is the third time already, no?


    The man who could be called one of the strongest in the continent. It was Hire of the Order of the 14 Holy Knights who follows the Saint.


    "This is the first time that Ive met the same immortal so many times. Truly amazing. And very impressive. Mose, Im talking about you.


    Although the sun had not yet crossed the mountain and the faint sunlight was shining everywhere, his silver uniform boasted a graceful pearly color.


    "How did you get to a ce like this?


    I carefully opened up my mouth to ask a question.


    He took two or three steps closer to me as he fluttered his shiny golden curly hair.


    "Honestly speaking, I had no other intentions hidden when I approached you. Ive only followed the emergency information about the De Munt castle that we, the Order of the 14 Holy Knights, had kept our eyes on.


    Hire said as he softly opened his hands with a shrug.


    "And it just happens to turn out that the two young Sworders of Asparagan were rted to this case. Such an amazing coincidence, isnt it? Even Bellica, God of the Sun, would not be able to see such coincidenceing.


    "Are you going to hold Khea responsible for what she did?


    Hire took off his white silk gloves and put his palm on his forehead with his bare hand after hearing what I said. Then he made his signature handsome smile that nobody could hate.


    "Responsible, not really? I like to put weights on a scale a lot. And my personality sets a priority on the heavier side. And so, Ive weighed this matter on a scale of mine, and yikes! It turned out that the weight that the lord of the De Munt castle was responsible for was much heavier than the other.


    "I thought you had a set of rules you followed, and you acted upon them?


    That came out sharper than I intended, mostly due to his unpredictable words and behavior. However, he simplyughed it over.


    "Hm. Well, I am quite aware of the rumors surrounding our Order, but if I had to tell you just the conclusion, I am also human, much like you.


    Of course, I wasnt able to receive the blessing of immortality. I would very much wee a greater evil wiping out another evil, for me at least.


    "Then


    He let out an exmation even before I could start my sentence.


    "It was quite a refreshing sight to behold, honestly! I have an intense hatred towards those who put death and fear near their own people! Therefore, I was deeply impressed by the young female Sworder!


    The corners of the holy knights lips rose.


    "And the person who was behind all this was you. Isnt that right Maxim?


    I identally bit my lips in that instant without realizing it. His sharp eyes towards me almost felt as if they were des that pierced through my heart.


    And he managed to keep his rxed smile among all that.


    "You are very different from the other immortals, it seems. Oh, sorry for talking on and on for so long again. I apologize for taking your precious time, young Sworder Mose. Anyhow.


    He turned his back and started to walk out of the mine as soon as he finished talking.


    "I just wanted to thank you.


    The holy knight disappeared without ever looking back after he wore his soft white silk back on his hands.


    Leaving me, who feltpletely annihted, behind.


    My excited heart waspletely put out after that. But on the other hand, a sense of reliefforted my heart.


    This quest was definitely the best and perfect quest that left me with no remorse whatsoever.


    I was able to move towards the De Munt castle with a lighter heart.


    And as I reached the ce we were staying in, Khea wasing out of the room that she and Sharan were sharing.


    Khea opened her gleaming lips with a seemingly still red face.


    "You woke up early.


    "How are you feelin?


    As I responded to her greeting, she changed into a sullen expression in an instant and then rubbed her stomach.


    "It feels like the Landamal inside the drink had hatched into a drake inside my stomach.


    There were some words that I didnt know the meaning of in her expression, but I was able to get the gist of what she was trying to say, so I couldnt help butugh out loud.


    She frowned her eyebrows in a pretty way, and that made it even harder to stopughing.


    "Anyhow. It was thanks to you that I was able to make new friends. Thank you.


    Then, she continued to speak shyly, showing a blush on her red face, as if she had not yet been able to get sober.


    "Thats a relief. You took them as your friends.


    She then showed a small smile on her face after she heard what I said.


    Then, with her ck hair fluttering, she started going down the stairs.


    "I like yers much more. Since they dont see this world through prejudiced sses. You all treat me like a normal person. Well, just as you did.


    Khea disappeared into the bathing room under the stairs as she finished speaking her words. Once again, I was able to bring a genuine smile to my face.


    As I walked back into my room, I found Guile still lying on the floor unconscious. He drank and ate food that was worth 17 gold, so this wasnt really the worst he couldve gotten.


    And it was thanks to that fact that the owner rented us the best room in the inn.


    Iy down on my bed with this good feeling intact.


    I have acquired some courage. It was now the time for me to go elsewhere and do things that wont make me regret.


    "Log out.


    ***


    I silently closed my eyes, and the scent of dried petals and alcohol from Guile disappearedpletely.


    Soon I could smell the familiar fabric softener I was using, and I opened my eyes.


    I woke up in the small rented room, so small that I had to sacrifice most of the room in order to have the connector in it.


    I too,


    Had to be just like Mose.


    Mose had already aplished a drastic amount of change and growth. He had earned a lot of things too. And it was now the time to use those to change Lee KiHo.


    I hurriedly stood up from the seat and shoved a protein energy bar into my mouth.


    Then I grabbed my phone and called a familiar number as I felt my heart warm up all of a sudden.


    And a momentter, a voice I was used to, yet so kind flowed into my ear from the phone.


    "Son?


    "Mom!


    I opened my mouth with a childish smile on my face. I had to move busily as soon as I finished the call.


    It was after I had been on the phone for a long time to tell my mother toe outside to meet me with my father.


    Dressed in clean clothes, I drank water to help swallow the protein bar as I looked at myself in the mirror.


    It was a good thing I cut my hair short since Ive been hitting the gymtely.


    Obviously, my mother wouldnt have been happy about it if I had kept my untidy hairstyle.


    I got my thick brows from my father, however, I was able to avoid having a hawk nose. I was proud of the fact that I got my tall and pretty nose from my mother.


    While I was thinking this, I was suddenly reminded of Hires handsome face which made me envious of him.


    The moment hade for me to tell my parents about what I was going to do.


    I was worried about what they would say, or if they would strongly disagree, but I couldnt back down from this now that I decided to walk down this path.


    I was thinking of persuading them with the tremendous amount of money I earned.


    I turned my phone on as soon as I got on the bus from the bus stop. The entire inte was talking about Circuit.


    This amazing virtual reality game made other numerous games go out of business at a very fast rate.


    The only games that survived from this hit were the games that were called masterpieces which had their own unique characteristics.


    The game, Circuit had brought a huge shift to the market, but a lot of criticism was pouring in.


    As I looked through articles on a news website, I touched the one article with a noticeable headline.


    [ <Circuit>, More and more peoplein about mental illness due to its excessive reality ]


    A yer filed aint against the developer of the virtual reality game <Circuit>, iming that he suffered a mental illness because of the game.


    Mr. Kim (24), from Songpa-gu, Seoul, who has been enjoying <Circuit> for the past five months, imed that he ran into a monster with a cruel nature, and was tortured by the monster for an entire day while being in the state of being over-immersed into the game.


    The experience was so realistic and painful that he could not even think of a decision to disconnect from the game, and Mr. Kim said that he is currently suffering from a severe anxiety disorder that makes his daily life impossible to go through.


    In addition to Mr. Kim''s case, it was found that some yers who experienced the sensory realization system of <Circuit> suffered from severe side effects.


    On the other hand, the developer rmends ying the game after checking the possibility of mental and physical side effects from virtual reality devices and virtual reality experiences through examination.


    Despite such divided opinions, the first virtual reality game <Circuit> has recently surpassed 700 million yers, and its poprity continues to grow.


    There were over 440 thousand replies to this article, showing how big of a topic that Circuit truly was nowadays.


    [ You know what people dont get? The fact that Circuit isnt a game that forces you to go on venturing and hunting like the other shit games out there. NOBODY told them to go out hunting, but they still go full retard, ending up going full retard in real life too. There are so many other things to do like fishing or even drawing somewhere. So pls buff Crafting skills Circuit devs you assholes. ]


    Just like what thisment, which has an overwhelming amount of likes, was trying to say, Circuit was far from the other games that force you to go out venturing or hunting. That was how I felt, at least.


    Just like that coachman, who was earning money to buy powdered milk for his baby, I met a while back, <Circuit> presented countless possibilities and paths that one could take.


    However, I still felt some sympathy for the yer mentioned in that article.


    I too had experiences where I was excessively immersed in the game with overwhelming emotions.


    As I kept reading other articles, I realized that I was already in the familiar town.


    I got off the bus in a hurry and headed to the most expensive meat restaurant in the town.


    I burst open the door to the restaurant and came across my parents who were just sitting without even ordering anything, waiting for me.


    "KiHo!


    The two of them greeted me by calling my name in a loud voice, with some curiosity mixed in their faces.


    As soon as I took a seat in front of my parents, I was able to listen to my mothers concerns.


    "Are you eating well? Your face has gotten a little dull!


    "So, why did you call us out to a ce like this?


    My father said as he drank cold water from the cup.


    "KiHo wanted to eat some steak, that must be why!


    My mother said, seemingly annoyed at my fathers bluntness.


    "We could do that at home too.


    After the small talk, my parents got straight down to the business and asked me a question.


    "So, why did you call us here all of a sudden?


    "Did you have something you wanted to talk about?


    My parents seemed concerned about me, to the point it showed on their faces that they were ready to actively listen to anything I had to say. However, on the other hand, they seemed worried and prepared for the things I had to say in case they may be a burden to them.


    I ced a bank book on the table as I swallowed a gulp.


    "Mom, Dad. I have something I have to say.


    My parents just stared at me, waiting for me to speak up as they didnt even touch the bank book on the table.


    "I was able to go to college thanks to your hard work, mom. Though I have left college. Ive been doing part-time jobs and ying games with that money I saved up like an idiot.


    My father drank a cup filled with cold water in one shot as he listened to me.


    "But, theres this one game. Its like a dream to a lot of people. Many people actually make a huge amount of money from that game, because the products in that game sell for a huge price.


    My fathers facial expression hardened a little as he continued to listen to me.


    "I know about it. Its called Circuit or something?


    "Yes.


    "I heard there are many people who y that game. Are you confident?


    My mother said nothing. But my father continued to speak to me as he looked into my eyes with seriousness. I opened up my bank book and showed it to my parents.


    "This is how much I earned from the game so far. This may sound like nonsense to you, mom and dad. But I am serious about this game. I am seriously saying that this is my dream.


    What would they say after looking at such a huge amount of money out of nowhere? Would they scold me because they were very concerned? Or would they be sad because they may think that this was not the right way to earn money?


    It felt like my heart would explode, thinking about every single oue and reaction they may show.


    However,


    My father slowly closed my bank book with his hand. And said,


    "Cmon now. This is the first time youve talked so seriously to us about your future. Of course, wed believe in you.


    My mother sitting beside him continued,


    "Im not entirely sure about this whole thing, but I hope you can try your absolute best. Son.


    And smiled.


    And at that moment,


    Suddenly, without realizing it,


    Tears started to flow down my cheek,


    And I was able to put a bright smile on my face.


    My parents watched me with a light smile on their faces. Then my father, with a yful face,


    "Alrighty, then. Its time to see how much you made from the game!


    Opened the bank book, and I will never be able to forget the expression he put on his face after looking at the number written in the book.