Chapter 8 : Dungem

The virtual machine was truly an innovation.

Just as the smartphone, unveiled alongside Jobs, changed the world, the virtual machine also completely transformed it.

Programmers screamed at the terrible miracle of their salaries tripling while their workload increased fivefold.

The media industry pondered how to utilize virtual machines in filming movies or dramas, and using virtual reality in various research and development became commonplace.

The PC industry was given a terminal prognosis.

It was only because the price range of entry-level virtual machines was still ambiguously high that the death certificate had not yet been issued; PC-related businesses were clearly classified as declining industries.

The fact that Microsoft, which had diligently researched AI essential for virtual reality, ended up in a state where they could neither cry nor laugh was now just a stale joke.

Meanwhile, the gaming community’s reaction was explosive.

“Wooooo!”

“NerveGear! NerveGear! NerveGear!”

“Finally, full-dive virtual reality has arrived… I can die without regrets now…”

“This is it. A machine that will truly change the world has arrived!”

From people who enjoyed games to those who made them.

Everyone was driven mad upon facing a new era.

Now, with just a little more waiting, the virtual reality game that all gamers had yearned for over the years would appear!

No one doubted that fact.

However, reality was a bit different.

“There’s, there’s too much work…!”

“Let me go home… Please let me go hooooome…”

“PleaseletmegoHomeIwanttogohomePleaseletmegohomeIhaveabear-likewifeandfox-likechildrenathomePleaseletmeclockout”

“You code monkeys talk too much. Instead of making useless noises, hurry up and write at least one more line!”

“Kyaaaak!! Kyaaaaaak!!!”

Virtual reality games were different from previous games.

There was more to implement than in PC or console games, and many more aspects to pay attention to. Moreover, the working environment itself was unfamiliar, leading to many trials and errors.

As a result, it became easier to get a job in the gaming industry, but those who were hired soon realized that they were similar to slaves carrying stones to build a pyramid.

“Development progress is too slow. At this rate, the expected release date…”

“Damn it. It’ll be a huge hit as soon as it’s released, but we can’t get it? Just getting the ‘first’ title is worth so much…!”

In the end, no game company succeeded in creating the first virtual reality game. It was the limit of the unprepared.

The company that took the title of the first developer was Lockheed Martin.

The largest defense contractor in the United States.

*

Not long after browsing through internet communities, I found the greatest trash game of the current era.

The name of that game was V-BAT. Surprisingly, this one carried the title of being the first virtual reality game.

It was originally developed as a military training program, but as soon as it failed to be adopted by the military, it was just converted into a game and released.

In the early days of virtual reality, this was the only game that existed, so everyone played it—a legendary game.

Of course, it’s a flop now.

The reasons for its failure were obvious even without searching.

‘It was hastily patched up from a boot camp training program and thrown out, so there’s no way it would have any game-friendly conveniences.’

Just reading the reviews, the stench of a trash game wafted strongly.

[A shitty game that shittily shows you how shitty the battlefield is.]

[I truly experienced the absurdity of the battlefield. 😢]

[Can I get a refund for this?]

[This is the first game I’ve ever played that doesn’t have a tutorial, f***.]

[I died instantly as soon as I started. I can’t survive.]

[My son played this game and got PTSD.]

[My grandfather played this game and his PTSD relapsed.]

The review section was filled with the last words of gamers who had stepped into the trash game, exploded, and lost a limb or two before dying. Was this some kind of Wailing Wall?

However, that made it all the more interesting.

The lack of convenience meant it was a realistic game without any adjustments. It’s the perfect game to sharpen my dulled senses while enjoying my vacation.

Moreover, the fact that it was a gun game was also a satisfying point. There were no guns in the other world, so experiencing it would be good.

Of course, it’s been a while since I’ve fired a gun…

Well, is knowing how to shoot a gun that important?

‘Of course. Who do you think I am?’

I immediately pressed the purchase button. Then, as soon as the game title appeared, I pressed the start button.

Then, a list of channels appeared.

Since there were only a few channels anyway, I just clicked on any one.

Then.

[Log On]

Instantly, the view before my eyes changed.

I saw a city filled with stone buildings that had collapsed, revealing hideous steel frames like the bones of a corpse.

Immediately, the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood pricked my nose.

A vibration caused by heavy objects pressing down on the ground was felt from all directions, and my ears throbbed as if my heart were beating.

And the resounding explosions, explosions. And more explosions.

I was in the middle of a battlefield.

[1942/10/09]

[Stalingrad]

[You are a Soviet soldier.]

As soon as I checked the letters that appeared before my eyes, an ominous sensation that swept through my entire body sent a tingling jolt down my spine.

I immediately kicked off the ground. I threw myself sideways, hiding behind a pile of stones that could sufficiently conceal my body.

But, the ominous feeling still hadn’t disappeared…

–Boom!

The next moment, my vision flashed brightly.

[Bot Kill]

[You have died.]

[Survival time: 7 seconds]

[Time remaining until redeployment: 1 minute]

At the same time, as if showing it in a quarter-view, the system showed me the scene of my death from various angles. I chuckled hollowly as I watched my death scene.

Something fell from the sky with a whoosh, then a huge explosion.

“Haha, this is. It’s really a crazy game.”

I died in 7 seconds after starting the game, directly hit by German artillery fire. And that German wasn’t even a user, but a bot.

There’s no absurdity like this.

‘…This is why people curse and say they can’t play it.’

However, precisely because of that.

‘It’ll be fun.’

I glared at the battlefield with my eyes wide open.

It truly felt like the blood in my entire body was boiling.

*

“Huh? The number of people increased by one?”

A veteran V-BAT user.

Steve tilted his head upon seeing the number of people displayed on the death information window. The channel’s population, which had been 33 an hour ago, had increased to 34. Steve opened the ‘user list,’ one of the few convenience options in V-BAT.

And then he immediately doubted his eyes.

“What? It’s a nickname I’ve never seen before?”

[SeongWon]

Among the 33 users, there was one user he had never seen before.

‘A… newbie came to this game?’

V-BAT, the trash game of trash games, absolutely cannot have new players. Its infamy has already spread too far worldwide.

As the first virtual reality game, most gamers have tried V-BAT at least once. And 99.9% of them fled, screaming in agony from the burning pain on their tongues.

After that, the escapees preached the absurdity of V-BAT everywhere, so the number of new users was zero. The game’s rating was converging towards zero, and the reviews had been shattered long ago.

But someone came to try this?

“Haha, this is. A newbie. Haha.”

Steve chuckled and lightly warmed up.

Looking at the death log, it seemed like they had died about 14 times already, so it was about time that even a brainless human would realize that this was a game of pure, unfair bullshit.

So he had to hurry.

‘I must taste the fresh blood of a newbie, right?’

Before that newbie quits the game.

‘I, must, kill…!’

He had to kill and teabag them!

Steve, a very early V-BAT user and one of the oldest of the old guard, clenched his fists, feeling his blood boil.

And.

[2 seconds]

[1 second]

[Redeploying to the battlefield.]

As soon as he entered the battlefield, Steve immediately checked his equipment.

V-BAT doesn’t start with specific weapons like old FPS games. It starts by acquiring the equipment of one of the bots fighting on the battlefield, created by random number generation.

Because of this, the starting equipment in this game is different every time. If you’re unlucky, you might even start without a gun.

When newbies encounter such a situation, they curse and quit the game, but veterans just say, ‘Haha, unlucky,’ and kill themselves to reset their equipment, showing their sense of play.

That’s how this game is supposed to be enjoyed.

‘This… I’m very lucky.’

And sometimes, the best equipment appears.

A Kar98k with a sniper scope.

It was also wrapped with bandages to make it difficult for the enemy to identify, suggesting that this starting bot was likely a sniper.

In fact, the immersive environment was also inside a slightly ruined building.

‘Perfect for giving a newbie a nightmare!’

Steve grinned and quickly scanned the battlefield.

‘Now, where are they?’

He could see Soviet soldiers moving around in the distance. He ignored the users who didn’t move like bots. They were also veterans anyway. There was nothing to gain from messing with them.

At that moment.

He saw something running quickly in the distance.

Steve’s eyes narrowed upon seeing it.

‘A girl?’

An Asian girl, at that.

Steve’s eyes flashed.

‘That’s the one.’

Among the Soviet bots, there are both Asian bots and female bots. However, there are no bots that are simultaneously Asian and female among the randomly generated bots. There are no bots that are girls at all.

In other words, that meant it was a user.

And, there were no female users in this game.

He didn’t know how an Asian girl ended up stepping into this trash game. She might have been scammed by someone, or she might be live-streaming.

However.

‘Suffer the sin of not being stagnant!’

That was none of Steve’s business.

Steve pulled the trigger to sever the newbie.

And.

The newbie dodged the bullet.

“Huh?”

Steve’s eyes widened.

What? I aimed properly and shot?

‘Did the wind cause an error? Haha, unlucky.’

Then I’ll adjust for the wind and aim again…

As he thought that and put his eye to the scope, Steve saw it. An Asian girl wearing a dirty, stained Soviet military uniform, looking directly at him.

Instantly, Steve gasped, taking a sharp breath. It felt as if someone had poured cold water down his spine.

More than that, how did the newbie know he shot from this direction? Unless they’re incredibly stagnant, they wouldn’t be able to immediately identify the direction just by hearing the gunshot?

There was no time to quell his bewildered heart.

“What, where did she go?”

The girl had disappeared from his field of vision.

Steve quickly scanned the surroundings. And soon, he could see the girl running towards him.

“What, hey. That?”

Steve chuckled hollowly at the sight of the girl hiding behind ruined building walls and steel frames to avoid being targeted by the gun, occasionally mowing down bots with a submachine gun, and continuing to approach him.

“Wow, this is.”

I thought she was a newbie, but she was a monster.

“…That doesn’t mean I’ll just let it happen.”

Isn’t it precisely at times like this that a veteran should set an example? Steve completely cleared his mind, which had been full of thoughts of teabagging the newbie, and stood up from his position.

‘You must have made a name for yourself in some other game. This is V-BAT. It will be different from the games you’ve played.’

Jumping out of the building from a blind spot, Steve hid behind a nearby pile of stones and watched the entrance. He planned to shoot the girl in the head the moment she entered the building he had just been hiding in.

‘At this close range, I’ll definitely….’

At that moment, a hail of submachine gun bullets hit him.

–Tatata!

[SeongWon Kill: squo0914]

And, with the kill log being displayed.

All the veterans in the channel noticed Seong Won’s existence.