Chapter 1: The Only Rare Breed in a Zelpia World

“Did you see the Sephiroth video that dropped yesterday?”

“Of course! Did you see those controls? How does he solo a 20-man dungeon? Wow, I almost fainted while watching.”

“They say he’s devoured every hidden piece available, but don’t you think he’s a bit too OP?”

“That bastard probably feels like he’s playing a completely different game than us, right?”

It started again.

That damn Zelpia talk.

As soon as the lecture ended in the large hall, Kyutae and Seongjin, who were sitting next to me, began their passionate debate.

It wasn’t just Kyutae and Seongjin; similar conversations were popping up from every corner of the lecture hall.

It was all about the game.

I’d heard the username Sephiroth so many times by now that it was beyond familiar—it was exhausting.

The virtual reality game, Zelpia.

It had been three years since this Korean-made VR game took the world by storm.

Boasting stylish action and vivid lifestyle content, the game succeeded in capturing the hearts of both combat-oriented users and community-focused players.

With AI-analyzed patches released weekly and new content updated every month, Zelpia functioned less like a simple game and more like a global cultural phenomenon.

Zelpia’s top rankers enjoyed popularity greater than most celebrities, and it was common for actual celebrities to play Zelpia just to gain followers.

There was even a joke going around that you could gain a million subscribers just by posting pictures of Zelpia’s scenery.

That wasn’t all.

Every time news of a Zelpia update broke, various industries would shake, as professions that became hits within the game would trend in the real world as well.

Items from Zelpia even began trading for high prices in reality; thanks to an AI that shut down gold farms with eerie precision, the price of rare items skyrocketed.

There were even rumors that more than half of the top-tier rankers in Zelpia were members of conglomerate families.

The level of public attention and interest in Zelpia was at a point where it couldn’t be dismissed as mere interest in a game.

Numerous VR games had been released since then to take down Zelpia’s stronghold, but none had even come close to threatening its popularity.

…I heard all of this from Kyutae, Seongjin, and the countless other friends who tried to sell me on Zelpia.

I quickly swept my prints and pens into my bag.

I had to slip out quietly before my two friends, currently debating Sephiroth’s greatness, noticed me.

I lowered my body and crept toward the exit.

If I could just make it to that door in front of me.

Screeeak.

Damn it.

The sound of the metal chair dragging against the marble floor was unnecessarily loud.

Four eyes turned toward me.

Since I already knew exactly what they were going to say next, this was nothing short of a nightmare.

“Hey, Eonha. I’m telling you, you really need to try Zelpia.”

Just as expected.

Kyutae grabbed my arm, raising the curtain on his sales pitch.

“I told you I’m not interested.”

“Don’t be like that, just try making a character at least. If you hate fighting, the production classes are really well-made, too.”

That damn Zelpia.

Zelpia!

Zelpia!!

Over the last three years, it felt like I was the only person who hadn’t lost my mind over it.

Zelpia clearly put drugs in people’s brains.

Otherwise, there was no way this many people would chant at me to play Zelpia every time they saw me.

I was one of the few rare breeds who hadn’t played Zelpia for three years.

And these guys were a group of villains trying to corrupt that rare breed.

“I told you, I quit gaming.”

“I’m telling you, VR games are different from computer games.”

“That’s right. There’s even a research report saying people who exercise in Zelpia see 80% of the effect they’d get from exercising in reality.”

Why are you even looking that up?

“The capsules are too expensive.”

“There are capsule rooms.”

“I don’t have time…”

“Ah, just play with us once. Please? They’re doing a friend invitation event, and I don’t have any newbies to recruit.”

“Unlike him, I just want to enjoy Zelpia with you out of the goodness of my heart, buddy.”

Kyutae and Seongjin each added their two cents.

My friends, who had been pitching Zelpia to me for two years now, pestered me as regularly as a set alarm.

“Ah, please. Just once. If you just register for this friend invitation event, I won’t bother you anymore. Okay?”

As if you won’t bother me.

I should only trust those who are trustworthy.

I turned my head, trying to ignore Kyutae who was clinging to me.

Just then, Na Eunhyuk was walking into the classroom.

His pitch-black hair was swept back lightly, and beneath his half-exposed forehead, dark eyebrows were handsomely situated.

His eyes were deep and soulful, and the eyes revealed beneath long eyelashes were elongated at the corners.

His expressionless face, devoid of a smile, felt a bit chilly, reminiscent of a wild beast that had never been touched by human hands.

He was wearing a navy jersey, and the contours of his broad shoulders and thick build were evident even under the large garment.

His hands thrust carelessly into his pockets and the canvas bag slung over his shoulder were common sights on campus, but the aura radiating from him made him something different from those ordinary people.

Suddenly, Na Eunhyuk looked this way.

Startled, I reflexively bowed my head in greeting.

“Wow, really? Thanks, buddy!”

“Wh-what?”

“You just nodded! You said you’d play Zelpia with us!”

“Huh?”

No, f*ck.

That wasn’t it.

My mouth hung open, but it was already too late.

An excited Kyutae began to cheer, throwing his hands into the air.

Park Seongjin, who at least knew what shame was, hurriedly covered Kyutae’s mouth, but seeing how he grabbed my wrist with his other hand, he wasn’t on my side either.

And Na Eunhyuk.

“Ah.”

He had already sat down indifferently after finding his seat.

The phone held in his large hand looked relatively small.

His gaze, fixed on the screen, showed no intention of returning to me.

I didn’t even have time to dwell on the disappointment.

Soon, my body was helplessly dragged away by Han Kyutae and Park Seongjin.

The capsule room I was dragged to was larger and brighter than I expected.

Unlike the neighborhood “Black Knight PC Room” which was always dark, this capsule room had a white-toned interior and bright lighting.

Instead of the smell of food, a subtle aroma of incense wafted through the air.

No, what is all this for just a game room?

It must mean they make that much profit.

They said the capsule room business was booming, and it seemed it really was.

“Three adults, please.”

While Han Kyutae was paying, Park Seongjin tapped my shoulder.

“I’ll help you with the initial settings.”

“I’m so moved I could cry.”

Following the staff’s guidance, I was led to a capsule.

They said a single capsule, which looked large enough for two people, was for one person.

I sat down, equipped the VR gear, and went through a simple adjustment process.

Not knowing what to do, I just followed Han Kyutae and Park Seongjin’s instructions half-heartedly.

When I turned on Zelpia, a green meadow soon spread out before my eyes along with the BGM of birds chirping.

A yellow lark was flying in the sky, and the scent of fresh summer wafted from the lush grass growing under the blue sky.

Oh, this is actually pretty cool.

After the opening screen, a login window appeared.

The part about scanning biometric information for membership registration made me feel uneasy, but I figured it was fine since everyone else was doing it, so I nodded.

[Would you like to create an account? Yes.]

[Duplicate accounts cannot be created. To create a new account, the existing account must be deleted. Yes.]

[Terms and conditions are as follows… Agree to all.]

After mechanically moving my arm to check the boxes, a character creation screen appeared this time.

[The first face that comes up is exactly like yours, but you can change it by moving the bars.]

I heard Park Seongjin’s explanation through the headset.

Just as he said, a man who looked exactly like me was standing before my eyes, wearing rags and swaying his body.

This is me?

Feeling strangely unpleasant, I moved a few setting bars as Seongjin suggested.

The face that was identical to mine soon became a face that was reasonably similar to mine.

They said if I tinkered with it more, I could make it more delicate and diverse, but I didn’t want to go that far because it was a hassle.

I registered Han Kyutae as the recommender and pressed OK.

[Lastly, please decide on your ID.]

I wrote it down without much thought.

[BlueberryWhiskey]

The reason for the ID was simple.

It was because I thought of the blueberries I had bought for my place that had turned into food waste because I didn’t eat them, and because I wanted to burn my stomach with a shot of strong whiskey after this situation was over.

And soon, the world flickered.

[Shouldn’t there be a Sephiroth Victims Association?] Author: DepressedMan | Views: 2381 | Comments: 142

I know Sephiroth-nim is good at the game and has great controls, but his tyranny is too much.

I didn’t initiate PK or start a fight, but how can he just beat me up because I happened to be in his line of sight?

When I was a newbie, I wondered why people went so far when Sephiroth’s coordinates popped up in the world chat, but now I know why.

I think there are more people who were killed by Sephiroth’s PK, so please raise your hand.

[Comments] DoochiAndPukku: If we start a victims association, it’ll just be a gathering for all the max-level players, so that won’t work.

GoneWithTheWeight: Tsk tsk, you must have just reached max level…. Just think of it as a welcoming ceremony.

183cm: Don’t you know the 50m no-approach zone around the fanatic? └ DepressedMan: I’m saying that’s unreasonable. └ 183cm: So what if it’s unreasonable? LOL. If you’re weaker than the fanatic, you have no choice but to lay low. └ DepressedMan: The management team should take some measures. └ 183cm: TT… Sephiroth is the one the management gave up on after getting destroyed while trying to take measures…