Everyone Except Me is a Newbie - Chapter 16

The Best Play

“Wow, what was that earlier? I never expected the goddess  to do that!”

On the way back to the city from the temple, Choi Seo-yeon chatted excitedly as if she were watching a romance drama.

“Did Jannelet kiss the team leader?”

Ji Ho-tae looked devastated like he had lost his favorite idol.

“No, it was just a peck on the lips.”

“Heh… Ise-kuun? What’s your secret?”

Heo Won-moo pestered him, asking to learn the trick to winning over NPCs.

“Face.”

“Tch… Is that a barrier?”

Kim Iseo pushed Heo Won-moo away, checking his affection level again.

[Current Affection Level: 100 (+40)]

The affection level had surpassed the limit of 100, making Kim Iseo suspect that this was the cause of the error.

“Hey, the prologue is over. The cutscene will start soon, right?”

“Ah… come to think of it, doesn’t the Dragon Tribe appear and threaten us in the cutscene?”

The cutscene wasn’t anything special.

Just one of the Dragon Tribe, Kargarus, appears to intimidate the humans.

It was more about giving an exposition, like in many games.

He would declare how they would kill the players in various ways.

Compared to the prologue, where buildings were collapsing, this was nothing.

‘The difficulty is far from nothing, though.’

At the start of Episode 1, powerful monsters would begin to appear in droves.

Thinking about actually facing those monsters made him shudder a bit.

‘But I can handle this.’

Kim Iseo looked at his sword, steeling his resolve. Embedded in the hilt was a black gem.

‘As long as I have a black constellation, it’s totally doable.’

He had just formed a contract with the Black constellation on the way back from the temple.

Now, if he could just evolve his sword, he would ascend to 2-star.

‘I can use the heroic achievement from Jannelet to evolve the sword.’

The higher the achievement rank, the better the sword. It would still be at a 2-star level, but higher was always better.

Kim Iseo eagerly brought the evolution stone to his sword.

“…What the?”

There was no reaction. Although the power of the Mana Sword had been unlocked, the evolution stone was not working.

[You can only evolve after the prologue ends.]

It seemed this was due to the cutscene not being over and the episode was not officially ended. A kind of error due to the game’s loading time.

‘When will this transition happen…’

[Loading…]

[Downloading game data…]

The transition to a new episode involved significant changes, requiring some patching time.

‘Why was something like this implemented… or maybe it had to be implemented?’

Kim Iseo decided that there was no benefit to be gained during this time.

“Let’s rest here. We’re loading right now. No need to waste our energy.”

“Ah, there’s some shade over there.”

Choi Seo-yeon pointed to a small cave-like area under a cliff.

“Yeah, that looks good.”

With that, the WePlug members decided to take a full rest for the first time in a while.

* * *

The WePlug members felt a sense of relief.

They had been running for two days solely for survival and to complete the quest. But they had succeeded.

“Wow… didn’t we just save Earth from destruction?”

“Haha, that’s true!”

The boisterous mood didn’t last long.

After handling the immediate tasks, other thoughts began to surface. Things that had been important in their original world.

Soon, only the sound of sighs and the occasional murmur could be heard. Eventually, Heo Won-moo got up and nudged Ji Ho-tae. He wanted to get away from the group for a bit.

“Ha… I’ll go have a smoke with Ho-tae over there.”

“Ah, sure.”

Ji Ho-tae and Heo Won-moo went to a corner to smoke. They seemed to be having a serious conversation.

Kim Iseo looked at Choi Seo-yeon and Lee Hae-won and asked.

“Has it really only been two days since the game started?”

“Yes, I think so.”

So much had happened in those two days. Choi Seo-yeon buried her head in her knees for a moment.

“…My parents are probably dead… right?”

Her voice was mixed with tears. Lee Hae-won leaned against the wall with a somber expression upon hearing this.

Kim Iseo felt that this moment had finally come. The tension was easing, and things that had been important in their everyday lives were resurfacing.

“Your parents might still be alive. We don’t know. The game system is fair. Even the elderly can become strong.”

Of course, Kim Iseo was sure that most people in their 50s and 60s, including his parents, wouldn’t have survived.

Even in Pangyo, where game companies were concentrated, less than 10% of the population had survived.

People who only played online could have adapted.

“Aren’t you going to look for your parents, team leader? You live in Seoul. I’m from Daejeon…”

“I don’t get along with my parents. Not at all.”

Kim-seo had cut ties with his parents a long time ago, back when he said he was going into game development. Their relationship had never been good, but when they tried to interfere with his future, he exploded.

However, things were different with the other developers. He wanted to talk to them with as much hope as possible.

“For now, since communication and everything else is down, our priority is to survive as long as possible. If you want to go look for your parents from here, I won’t stop you. You could steal a car and go if you want. I can help you with that much.”

Lee Hae-won shook his head at her words.

“I’ll stay here.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t get along with my parents either… I have no friends, and I was actually planning to quit because I couldn’t adapt to this company… I don’t even like games.”

Despite knowing her for quite a long time, it was the first time hearing about Lee Hae-won’s personal life.

“What? You don’t like games?”

More surprising than anything was the fact that she didn’t like games. It was no wonder she couldn’t adapt among game addicts.

“Yes… I thought I did. But I realized I only played them in school because there was nothing else to do. I only figured it out after coming this far.”

“Then why did you work here for so long?”

Lee Hae-won was in her fourth year. It was a long time to work if you didn’t like games, especially with the relentless schedule.

“I like WePlug.”

Lee Hae-won’s eyes looked at the floor. He felt like he had been caught out.

“I was going to quit in my second year. But then the team leader put me on a project team… and I liked this team. To me, this place feels more familiar than family.”

Although Lee Hae-won didn’t lay out all her family affairs, Kim Iseo could roughly understand. She had always been quiet and unapproachable, and dhe had gotten better since joining WePlug.

“I’ll stay too.”

Choi Seo-yeon also declared she would stay.

“I know. They’re probably gone.”

She faced reality. All employees of Donson, except for those in WePlug, had perished. In a place filled with game experts, only five had survived. So, thinking her parents were alive was an unrealistic hope.

At that moment, Heo Won-moo and Ji Ho-tae returned. Heo Won-moo put his hand on Kim Iseo’s shoulder and said cheerfully,

“Rested enough? Let’s go. We need to take down Episode 1’s boss. Right?”

“You talk like you did it all with me.”

“Hahaha! Oh, come on! That’s why being a tank is thankless. No one recognizes your achievements.”

“Idiot…”

Kim I-seo didn’t bother to ask Heo Won-moo and Ji Ho-tae if they would stay. Their wide smiles already declared their decision.

“Let’s go then. We need to grab the best side quests.”

The five of them stood up and walked back toward the city.

Ding.

At that moment, the notification Kim I-seo had been waiting for chimed.

[The prologue has ended.]

[Loading…….]

The text floated before his eyes. At the same time, a massive dragon’s shadow appeared in the sky.

* * *

Boom-! Boom-!

Familiar BGM started to echo throughout the city. Coupled with the dragon’s roar, it created an overwhelmingly terrifying atmosphere.

Text appeared in the players’ view.

[Episode 1: Lord of the Burning City]

The text heralded the official start of the episode. At the same time, the massive dragon began to break through the clouds, revealing itself.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!”

“A d-dragon!!”

The city was in utter chaos. Some people were running around and falling, while others fainted with foam in their mouths.

It was because of Kargars.

Kargars was as large as a major city. People were naturally overwhelmed by his sheer size.

[Humans of planet Earth, listen!]

Kargars opened his mouth, his thunderous voice reverberating so loudly that some people had to cover their ears.

[Our dragon clan is the master of this universe. It is the order of all things for an inferior being to be ruled by a supreme existence.]

Even though the presence of the dragon was intimidating, everything was going according to the game’s design. This was nothing unexpected for the WePlug members.

That was until something appeared.

‘Huh…? What’s that?’

Kim I-seo saw a fairy hovering on the dragon’s head. A fairy she had seen before, just before the city crumbled. A fairy she had never designed in Mana Sword, resembling Tinkerbell.

What was strange was how clearly she could see the fairy, despite its small size and distance. Even stranger was the fact that Kargars froze the moment the fairy appeared.

「Hello? I’m Pam, the administrator of Dimension Sector D-554!」

Pam spoke, her voice surprisingly loud and clear as if she was right next to their ears.

「Dimension Sector D-554. In other words, this timeline’s Earth. We’ve purchased it. I’m the administrator of the KOR server. Nice to meet you!」

They had purchased a dimension.

That was what the fairy, who was acting all cute, said. Her cheerful words carried a rather grim meaning.

If buying a human meant they were slaves, what did buying a dimension mean?

「This place will now be used as one of the ‘storyboards’ for the celestial beings. You just need to do whatever it takes to please them. Anything.」

Pam laughed as if she found the situation amusing.

「You’ve probably wanted to do a lot of things, right? There are no rules here. Just act on your desires. That’s the most entertaining for the viewers.」

Behind the fairy was the still motionless Kargars. It was a truly bizarre sight.

The fairy then seemed to remember Kargars and glanced back at him.

「Oh, right… Since the episode is officially starting, I’m here because…」

Snap.

As the fairy snapped her fingers, Kargars’ form disappeared. A black screen appeared.

「You’ll be more motivated to work hard if you see who’s the best, right? I heard you love competition.」

The large screen displayed in huge, straightforward font, ‘Best Play.’

Then a video began to play.

「This is the scene with the highest viewer rating in the prologue episode! Enjoy!」

It was a battle scene between Kim I-seo and the Queen. Her giant figure was broadcast on enormous screens visible throughout the nation. Fortunately, his face was blurred out.

While Kim I-seo stared blankly at it, a message appeared in her view.

[You have achieved a great feat!]

[Achievement ‘Best Play’ (Legendary Grade) acquired!]

[Best Play: Increases viewership rating adjustment ratio by 10%.]

* * *

[Beginner Tip: When evolving Mana Sword, apply one achievement. The higher the grade of the achievement, the stronger the Mana Sword’s evolution. Since the Mana Sword is the only weapon in Mana Sword Online, choose your evolution wisely.]