Chapter 123 : Chapter 123
Chapter 123
“G-get me out!”
“You can’t get out, can you?”
“This is a prank, right? Did you set up something like transparent tape?”
“If it were transparent tape, you would have broken through.”
“Could it be new technology? Have you expanded your domain from game development to this field?”
At the entrance of the old villa, President Min Hyung-joon and Han Yura were bickering.
To others, it was a ridiculous sight.
Min Hyung-joon flailing beyond the wide-open door, and Han Yura watching the scene with an expression that said she had expected this.
“…Excuse me, just passing through.”
In the midst of it, someone who appeared to be a resident of the villa passed by.
“Are they filming something, or what.”
The low muttering that followed was clearly audible to Min Hyung-joon’s ears as well.
They clearly thought of them as novice internet streamers.
Trying to capture strange behavior on video and desperately trying to increase their view count through it.
“Why?”
Thus, Min Hyung-joon was doubly confused.
The person who just passed by had clearly gone inside through the entrance without any resistance.
It would probably be the same when they left.
But as for Min Hyung-joon himself.
PING-
Every time he reached out his hand, he was only blocked by something.
“Section Chief Han. No, Ms. Han Yura. What is going on?”
“I told you. Reinhardt is a person trapped in the game.”
“…Is that true?”
Faced with a gaze full of disbelief, Han Yura declared.
“I’m not letting you out until you believe it.”
“You were a psychic?”
“Excuse me?”
“I see, now I understand. Indeed, that level of development skill wasn't ordinary. Unless you possessed some kind of psychic power….”
“What are you talking about?”
Min Hyung-joon, who was muttering with an expression of realization, flinched.
The way he furtively raised his gaze to look at her was like a little kid testing the waters.
“It’s not like that.”
“It’s not?”
“Where would something like psychic powers exist? I wish I had them too. Development would have been much faster.”
“Then what is this?”
“I just happened to find out that this phenomenon occurs. I brought you here to make you believe that fact too, President. I didn’t know either until I experienced it myself.”
Only then did Min Hyung-joon seem somewhat calmed.
“You’re going to listen seriously now, right?”
“I am more serious than I have ever been. Even more so than when I decided to make a game.”
“Then let’s go inside. I’ll explain.”
***
Inside the one-room apartment where [Reinhardt] used to live.
Han Yura recounted the entire incident she had experienced to the serious-faced Min Hyung-joon.
The misunderstanding caused by the marketing team, Team Leader Choi Ho-jun who had come to see her, and the facts she had learned after contacting Reinhardt.
And everything up to the present.
Min Hyung-joon’s expression was peculiar.
“Uh, so….”
“You’re wondering if you should believe this, right? But to dismiss it as a joke, there’s what you just experienced.”
“That’s how I feel.”
“It’s true.”
“The fact that it seems so makes it even scarier. You said the company might take a hit. That too….”
“Countless people will go missing. And only those who played Soul Calibur.”
Min Hyung-joon let out a regretful sigh.
It was because the weight of the situation was finally sinking in.
“Wait a minute. I’m going to go check one more time. I think I need to do that to be able to actively listen to your explanation.”
“Be my guest.”
Min Hyung-joon dashed out of the apartment.
Then, a PING- sound echoed from the stairs.
Min Hyung-joon returned with a slightly more serious expression.
“Understanding complete. You said it’s possible to get out of here, right?”
“Because I helped Team Leader Choi Ho-jun escape. With the method I mentioned earlier.”
“Let’s return to the company. We'll talk there.”
“Not here?”
“If we stay any longer, I might not be able to overcome the mental pressure and start screaming my head off. Then the next-door neighbor will come over, right? The upstairs neighbor will come too. Since I screamed, someone will report it, and the police will….”
“I understand.”
He acted as if he were joking, but that was his true feeling.
Having known President Min Hyung-joon for a long time, Han Yura could tell.
CLICK-CLACK-
Han Yura connected the laptop she had brought to the computer. As she went through the same process she had with Team Leader Choi Ho-jun, it led to the same result as that time.
“We really succeeded in getting out.”
“It was like this last time too.”
“You’re a genius. I’ve always thought so, but my belief has become even stronger today.
We’ll sort this out somehow, and when we proceed with the next project, I will definitely follow your opinion….”
“Is this really the time to be thinking about that?”
“You’re right. Shall we get going?”
President Min Hyung-joon drove himself.
He didn't say a single word during the entire drive back to the company, and Han Yura didn't try to start a conversation either.
She knew his mind must be a mess.
Only after returning to the president's office did color return to Min Hyung-joon’s face.
He operated a small coffee machine to brew a hot espresso. He poured it into a finger-sized cup and drank it in one gulp.
“Gack, gack!”
“Who drinks espresso like that?”
“To me, this is the same as drinking cold water. Waking up my drowsy mind with a strong stimulus, and pouring in caffeine… So, fine. It’s the truth. Reinhardt is trapped in the game.”
Min Hyung-joon spoke nonsensically before continuing.
“We’ll have to postpone the launch. I’ll say a critical problem has occurred. It’ll be a blow, but it’s manageable. Soul Calibur has built up a lot of trust over the years.”
Soul Calibur’s solid user base wasn't formed overnight.
It was possible because they had consistently, actively, and diligently repeated patches, always ensuring both fun and quality.
“The users will understand. We’ll get some flak. I can take that myself, but I need your opinion, Section Chief Han. This problem, can we solve it?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying, though.”
“With the performance you showed earlier, it seems possible. I was able to get out of the building, after all.”
“If there’s anyone here who can be certain of anything, that person must be the culprit.”
“So you weren't the culprit, Section Chief Han.”
“You suspected me?”
“It’s just my usual wordplay. The atmosphere is too stiff and heavy. To be honest, I’m very afraid of this situation. I feel like I'd have to accept it even if a gruesome-looking ghost suddenly appeared and brandished a divine wooden stick.”
It was a situation beyond comprehension.
Just as Han Yura and Choi Ho-jun had, President Min Hyung-joon was also trying his best to understand this moment in his own way.
“Let’s solve it. For a while, just focus on solving it. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just postpone the launch. I don’t know how long it will be postponed.”
“The time has come to use my sparingly-used presidential power. And?”
“We’ll pause development for a bit.”
“You can push forward with those things as you see fit, Section Chief Han. If anyone doesn’t listen, scold them harshly. Myself included.”
Having said that much, Min Hyung-joon slumped into his chair like ice cream melting in the heat.
His expression was one of confusion.
“I don’t know what on earth is going on.”
“It’s absurd, isn't it.”
“It’s absurd.”
Faced with something so preposterous, Min Hyung-joon closed his mouth for a moment and thought.
He searched his memories. From the days when it was hard to call it a company, to the present.
Then, suddenly.
Min Hyung-joon found a useful memory.
“Back when we first, I mean, when we decided to develop Soul Calibur. Before we even decided on the game’s name.”
“Yes.”
“What was the reason you decided to work with me, Section Chief Han?”
“Because I liked the story.”
“Right. The only thing I provided was the story. A little later, I managed to get a few pennies of investment here and there, but.”
In fact, the person who had designed the overall structure of the game was practically Han Yura.
Although someone else had overlaid the images on the framework, in the end, every ‘system’ of Soul Calibur came from her fingertips.
“You were already an incredible person back then, Section Chief Han. Your development skills, I mean. An attractive story that could entice such a person to create a game.”
“It was attractive.”
“No, no. That’s not what I’m trying to say. Do you know where that story came from?”
“Wasn't it creativity?”
“It could be creativity. If I subconsciously drew such a world.”
“What are you trying to say?”
To the question Han Yura threw out in frustration, Min Hyung-joon faced her with serious eyes.
“I had a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah. That kind of dream. It was a dream that flowed along with the story of Soul Calibur, the one that fascinated you, Section Chief.”
In his youth, Min Hyung-joon had a dream every time he lay down in bed.
The memory of the dream was vivid even when he woke up.
Thanks to that, he was able to write it all down without missing a thing, and by the time he finished his notes, a single, massive story filled the notebook.
“Actually, I thought everyone was like that. You know, there’s that saying about getting inspiration from dreams. Among artists.”
“I suppose so.”
“I’m not an artist, but anyway, I was like that too. It was all a dream. A vivid, lifelike dream, where I felt as if I was truly watching the flow of that world.”
In the past, it would have been a story she found merely interesting.
But now was different. Han Yura genuinely accepted Min Hyung-joon's story.
“Have you never had a dream like that again?”
“Why wouldn’t I? When we were planning the expansion pack. I was always the one who wrote the story back then too, wasn't I?”
“You were.”
Although he rarely came out of the president's office, Han Yura and a few others would meet
with him in person to write down the new story.
The results were mostly good.
Min Hyung-joon’s stories were always interesting, and Han Yura had the ability to unfold such stories on a monitor.
“…Is there anything else? If not, I’ll be on my way.”
“There’s nothing.”
“I’ll relay what I just heard to Reinhardt as well.”
“Do that. I need to coordinate opinions with our General Manager Kim Du-yeol.”
President Min Hyung-joon had become an ally.
With this, most of the external problems were essentially resolved.
ㄴ(Aslan): I’ve recruited the president too. I even had him confirm it.
Han Yura delivered the happy news.
Reinhardt.
It was news for the knight struggling in an unknown world.
***
“You recruited the president?”
Reinhardt found Han Yura’s comment so absurd that he snorted with laughter.
The scale of things was getting bigger and bigger.
Of course, Reinhardt was in a genuinely serious situation, and it had been a long time since the outside world had confirmed that fact.
‘It wouldn't be impossible for Han Yura.’
Han Yura was the backbone of the company.
No matter how much of a president he was, he would have to follow her words to some extent, and fortunately, she had ‘evidence’.
A villa building that one could enter but not leave.
A human who directly experiences such a phenomenon is bound to naturally develop a flexible way of thinking, aren’t they?
‘Good. They’re also doing something over there. Now that the president has joined the board, something will get done.’
It seemed that reality was moving just as busily as Reinhardt's world.
‘But not right now.’
It was welcome news, but he couldn't just place all his hopes on that.
“To summarize, Agrio-s and Truma made a bet on me. It seems the fate of the world will be decided by the result of the bet.”
Agrio-s and Truma.
According to the original story, those two beings were supposed to fight tooth and nail until one was completely crushed.
‘So that's why Truma was being so persistent. And why Agrio-s gave permission to kill Rosmein….’
BANG BANG BANG!
The thoughts of Reinhardt were cut off by a loud knock.
“Sir Reinhardt! It’s urgent! Are you in there? You are, right? Please tell me you’re there!”
“I am here.”
The owner of the urgent voice was Ethan Taton.
As he flung the door open, he grabbed Reinhardt’s shoulders and spoke as if shouting.
“The Paganoa Knights have requested your help! They said it’s related to Dame Evangeline!”
“…I will go now. Is someone here?”
Ethan nodded gravely.
“There is. I figured it would be better for you to hear the explanation directly. The situation is very complicated.”