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#15 Chapter Start of the Death Game

As expected, there were few who took Lunara’s ‘broadcast’ seriously.

> “Wow, Kainix. You’re pulling all sorts of stunts just to turn public opinion around.”

> “The guy who planned this event must have his brain fried from web novels. If you’re gonna lie, at least do it properly.”

> “But isn’t noise marketing sweet? The whole world’s flipping out over this?”

All kinds of rumors were swirling, with talk of fakes, manipulations, and 3D holograms flooding in.

But.

[The red pill is real? I had a sip just like a drink, and all the pain from wrist and shoulder arthritis vanished.]

> “Yeah, next fabrication.”

> “I tried it too, and suddenly I can draw a sword. Seems like a major win.”

> “No way that’s real, damn.”

> “But what if the contents are something weird? I wouldn’t eat that, it sounds too sketchy.”

[Hey, the blue pill is real. There’s a video. (A streamer’s face rapidly rejuvenating.)]

> “Wow, these compositing skills are amazing nowadays.”

> “I’ve never seen that streamer like this. Is this how you scam people? Disappointing.”

> “I saw some dude selling that blue pill on the street with a megaphone.”

[Guys, I think everyone thinks this is fake, but it’s not. I was definitely alone at home when a pill bottle just popped up in front of me. Out of thin air. Don’t take this lightly; it’s really dangerous.]

> “If it’s not real, what are you throwing burgers at?”

> “You be careful too. It’s dangerous doing drug-like stuff alone at home.”

> “Hey, something similar happened to me, a pill just appeared out of nowhere. This is a real situation. Not a joke.”

[To those with pills: never disclose that you have drugs carelessly. There are a lot of posts online saying the pills are fake, but in reality, people are swarming to buy them from those who actually have them. Absolutely, NEVER disclose.]

> “This guy has no activity history, and this is the first post of a throwaway account. Just ignore it.”

> “The guy who commented above is also a throwaway account, right?”

> “Is this what they call self-reliance?”

[Hey, what if the streamer I was watching suddenly vanished while filming? (Video link)

– Yes, there are various rumors circulating about Beyond Elysion right now, and I’m here to fact-check for you. So, keep your eyes peeled. You see me raising my right hand? In this state, I’m going to participate in the game. Alright, did you see that? Nothing happens (the person in the video suddenly disappears)-

Is this fake? It’s just a production, right? Please tell me it’s staged.]

For the sake of views or to respond to super chats, streamers who playfully shouted their ‘participation declaration’ vanished during their broadcasts.

Students who were shouting “Chicken?” for courage in the classroom found themselves shocked as the first friend to shout the ‘participation declaration’ disappeared right before their eyes.

The guards at the prison and the officers conducting roll call fell into disarray upon seeing prisoners and soldiers suddenly ‘missing.’

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the government promptly announced through special broadcasts, disaster texts, and social media to refrain from shouting the declaration, and only then did people understand that this wasn’t just a surprise show or joke. But within just half an hour, the number of missing people had already exceeded tens of thousands.

And in the midst of this madness, Ryu Yerin…

*

“I have to participate in the game.”

The reaction I received right after expressing my will to my parents was truly dramatic.

“No way, absolutely not! What nonsense are you talking about!!”

The intense cries and screams reverberated painfully in one ear.

Our Mrs. Kang was not someone who raised her voice like this unless it was absolutely necessary, especially not to me.

Even when I treated college as a mere stepping stone toward gaming, when I built a company with my older brother, and when I suggested moving to escape threats from journalists and criminals, Mrs. Kang always believed and supported me.

But it seemed this time, even she couldn’t accept it; it exceeded her threshold.

My stepfather beside her continued with a serious expression.

“Yerin, people are causing a ruckus outside. They’re saying people have gone missing, that the game is eating people. Although it’s possible that the work you’ve all worked hard on is being criticized, we still need to remain calm.”

“Dad, I’m not acting this way out of panic or loss of reason.”

Of course, I was infuriated by what Lunara or whatever foolish thing she was doing with someone else’s work.

But no matter how upset I got, I wouldn’t act on base emotions like ‘I’m pissed off, so let’s destroy it.’

“Is it dangerous to participate in the game? Sure, it can be. But if I don’t participate, it becomes even more dangerous.”

“What do you mean by that? More dangerous?”

“Right now, everyone is in chaos, but once this situation calms down, people’s resentment will be directed towards Kainix or Nebula.”

Thinking coolheadedly, it’s nonsensical. If a thief kills someone with a sword stolen from a museum, then the thief is at fault, not the museum staff or the sword’s donor.

Yet, when has the world ever operated solely on logic and reason?

“Of course, the ones who did wrong are that Lunara or whatever her name is, and those behind her. But if we can’t catch those, people will blame the game we made and those associated with it.”

“Kainix is a big company, right? If those people protect us—or better yet, hide overseas…”

“Legally, we won’t be able to take revenge. Few would even manage to breach their guards and cause harm. Yet, limits will exist. There’s no guarantee that Kainix will always act as an invincible shield.”

To overcome this situation, I needed to turn the tables.

Rather than claiming how wronged and innocent we were, we had to work hard to solve the incident and assert how much we contributed to its resolution.

Even if some would still belittle us, there’s nothing we can do about that. Rather than sitting back and waiting for doom to approach, we had to squirm and fight as best we could.

If my brother’s plan goes successfully, we could gain immense power to handle even any counter-opinions.

“And what if things go south from there? If something happens to you, Yerin, how am I supposed to live? Yerin, please, can we just stay quiet? Okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom. When have I ever failed at something I said I would accomplish? So don’t worry—”

The following persuasion work was… long and challenging.

At least my stepfather was somewhat easy to persuade logically, but with Mrs. Kang, it was cumbersome since I had to face her emotions head-on.

After 10 hours of continuous persuasion on the same topic, no matter how strong and resilient my body was, fatigue crept in.

Still, somehow, I managed to get their approval.

“…So we should just go along with a half-hearted deception or sneaking in? That would have been a lot smoother.”

Just as my brother suggested, if we claimed we were temporarily abroad at Kainix’s request, we could hide or connect to the game and report back after everything was done.

That would have been far more efficient.

But I shook my head at my brother’s idea.

“This guy has no understanding of the situation. This isn’t about efficiency; it’s about sincerity and respect.”

“Sincerity and respect?”

“I absolutely don’t plan to fail, but you can never know how things will turn out. What if I participated in the game under some haphazard excuse and ended up dead? How would you both feel then?”

Of course, someone could argue this way, saying if you talk about it and then go along, you’re basically giving your daughter regret for not stopping her later.

Isn’t it better to let the other party resolve things without worry, rather than piling on concerns with unnecessary information?

I did not agree at all.

“Hiding secrets from someone for their sake feels like a dismissive act, and I despise it.”

…….

My brother inside the smartphone went silent.

Given the situation was already chaotic, maybe hiding the fact that he found himself in this mess until after things resolved was weighing on him.

Well, this isn’t about right or wrong; it’s more about personal preference, so I wouldn’t think of imposing my way on my brother.

“Anyway, are we ready?”

“I’ve talked with Bae Byeongjin, the CTO. If we send the play data from our side, they’ll analyze it. I’ve also asked them to handle things with your parents left back in reality.”

“What about your side? Joining the game as you are now is impossible, right?”

“I’ve inserted codes into the random companion acquisition box, a level 10 automatic reward item. When you draw, you can put my data into the companion that appears.”

“So, you mean if I pull the pet gacha, you’ll pop out?”

“It’s not a pet; it’s a companion. Besides, companions can include humanoid NPCs, so saying it’s a pet is inappropriate—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I won’t press you further about it. Just let it go, it’s just the game settings referring to it as a pet.”

…….

From that point, I prepared until the very last moment.

I piled up as much information as I could about both the virtual reality game version Beyond and the mobile game version.

Even if those bandits made various modifications, that foundation still remained our game. I couldn’t be blindly confident in game knowledge, but I could use it for reference.

Then, with just one hour left before the player recruitment ended.

After leaving my final goodbyes to my parents, I quietly laid down in the game capsule.

It might seem like a meaningless action since my physical form would vanish the moment I declared my participation, but it was an essential ritual for me.

By doing this, I could assertively declare that I was entering the game created by me and my brother.

“I’m participating in the game.”

*

A brief sense of floating, and then a dizziness.

When I regained my senses, I found myself standing in a familiar white space.

“Welcome to the world of Beyond Elysion.”

A mechanical yet rather familiar voice politely greeted me.

I almost wanted to call out “Nebula” out of joy, but it’d probably be best to avoid any noticeable actions until I hit level 10 and reunited with my brother.

“Character creation will begin now.”

“Please choose a name.”

“Erin.”

“‘Erin’ is an available name. Would you like to register this name?”

“Sure.”

One of the many disputes I had with my brother while plotting was regarding this ID.

He had already used the name Erin while feeding intel to them, saying we should go with something else. I argued that since I would inevitably attract their attention while playing, it might be beneficial to keep the name and use it in negotiations with other players.

“Name registration complete. We will now proceed to customize your appearance. Please be advised that excessive body shape changes may result in discomfort.”

I configured my appearance to match the character I used before the reset.

The physique remained as it was in reality, while the hair and eye colors were altered, changing the overall facial impression.

If my true self in reality was the straight-laced honor student or a bright and earnest newcomer, this one would lean a bit more lethargic yet fierce.

Then came the awaited job selection.

My brother had foolishly tried to inflate the number of classes with various upper-tier and hidden class nonsense, but I swiftly crushed that misguided ambition with an iron fist.

“‘Warrior.’ A class specializing in physical combat, able to utilize a diverse range of weapons.”

“‘Mage.’ A class that wields a variety of offensive magic and can exhibit formidable firepower.”

“‘Priest.’ A class that supports allies and can use healing and auxiliary magic.”

“‘Paladin.’ A class combining the physical combat of a warrior with the support capabilities of a priest. Good survivability, but slow-moving and lacking in firepower.”

“‘Black Knight.’ A class combining the physical combat of a warrior with the magical abilities of a mage. High firepower but weak defense.”

“‘Bard.’ A class that blends the attack magic of a mage and the support abilities of a priest. Can learn any magic, but each’s effectiveness is diminished.”

At the appealing sight of the six classes neatly showcasing their uniqueness, I let out a satisfied smile.

“‘Warrior.’ An outsider who crossed over from a continent filled with the energy of dragons. Uses ‘Qi’ to unleash powerful combat capabilities.”

“‘Hunter.’ An outsider from a continent filled with the aura of death. Skilled in long-range combat and wields a specialized weapon known as a gun.”

“What the!? I just balanced it out, and now you’re throwing in DLC!?”