Chapter 106

Candy (2) The coin flew toward the jaguar’s forehead. Naturally, a monster would feel threatened by a bullet flying at high speed and try to dodge it. But when a coin came flying slowly, most monsters tried to knock it away instead. The One-Horned Jaguar likewise jerked its head to swat the coin aside, as though finding it laughable. However, the instant the coin struck the surface of its half-shattered horn and bounced away with a sharp clink— Crackle! The lightning energy circling the area converged on the coin in an instant. As the coin glowed red-hot, electricity began sparking from the jewel as well, causing it to shine golden. The jewel glimmered beautifully for a brief moment. Then, with a brittle crack, it shattered helplessly. Thud. The One-Horned Jaguar collapsed onto the snowy plain as though someone had switched off its power, without even managing to let out a final scream. Whenever I used this technique, Han Yeoreum usually made an absurd fuss, shouting, “Wow! Thousand-Heaven Thunder Strike!” Now that I did not hear it, things felt strangely empty. I could have struck the One-Horned Jaguar directly with lightning, but then it would have been burned to a crisp, making it impossible to use as food. These people from the Candy Zone seemed to have gotten into danger while searching for food, after all. With the firearm resting against my shoulder, I approached Dentist, who was inexplicably feeling around the snowy ground. Upon examining his condition, the bite wound on his shoulder was the most severe injury. His leather clothes had also been torn in several places, likely from being scratched by the jaguar’s claws. However, through the gaps in his torn clothing, I caught glimpses of countless other minor wounds across his body. The scar on his arm looked as though the limb had once been severed and then reattached. ‘Just how badly has he been worked over in this place…?’ Thinking that, I approached Dentist, held out my hand for him to grab, and asked, “Are you all right?” “W-Who are you…?” Dentist, who was lying on the snow while clutching his shoulder, looked at me in bewilderment when an unfamiliar person approached and examined his condition. I naturally expected him to immediately inspect my character information and ask whether I was Dopamine Addict. Instead, Dentist looked away from me. It seemed he was trying to check whether the NPCs were safe, so I spoke in a reassuring tone. “You don’t need to worry about them. I left them to my friend.” As I said that and turned his head so he could see the NPCs, Dentist spotted Han Yeoreum protecting them and visibly relaxed. “Thank goodness…” As I watched him calm down, I noticed a pair of round, thin-framed glasses lying on the ground. Had he been feeling around because he was looking for those? ‘Players were transported into the bodies of their ten-year-old selves… Yet he needs glasses? Did his eyesight deteriorate over the past six years?’ Well, even in reality, plenty of children who had good eyesight at ten developed poor vision by the time they were seventeen. Players could heal themselves by eating, but that seemed to apply only to injuries. It apparently did not restore parts of the body that had aged or deteriorated through ordinary use. When I bent down to pick up the glasses, Dentist flinched and curled inward. ‘Judging from that reaction, he is wary of me.’ I picked up the glasses and held them out to him. Perhaps embarrassed that such an insignificant movement had frightened him, Dentist accepted them quickly with an awkward expression and put them on. Only after wearing them did he seem able to see properly. He blinked several times and stared at me. “Th-Thank you… Huh?” ‘Hmm?’ What was that expression? It was definitely not the face of someone who had inspected my character information and realized that I was Dopamine Addict. It looked more like he had unexpectedly encountered an old acquaintance in a strange place. “Haydam?” An unexpected name escaped Dentist’s lips. Then, his face filled with certainty, and he suddenly grabbed my hand. “You’re Senior Haydam, aren’t you?” It was strange enough that he called me by my real name, but he even called me “Senior”? At this point, I was the one growing bewildered. Dentist had been transported here with his original face, so if he were someone I knew, I should have remembered him. But I did not recognize his face at all. Even the face I had seen in the highlight footage had been completely unfamiliar to me. Thoroughly confused, I asked Dentist, “Who are you?” Dentist looked deeply hurt. “You don’t remember me? I’m On Chiyeol from the Korea University rock-band club.” ‘On… Chiyeol?’ It was certainly a fitting name for a dentist, but I genuinely did not remember him. It was true that I had attended Korea University and had joined the rock-band club, but I had barely participated in club activities in the first place. I had also dropped out of Korea University around my third year. “You really don’t remember me? My name isn’t exactly easy to forget.” That was true, but I truly did not remember him. Wait, wasn’t I a loner during university? I barely interacted with people in my own year, let alone juniors. How did this guy know me? He even seemed genuinely pleased to see me, yet I had no recollection of him whatsoever. ‘University was the period when I was especially indifferent to other people, but…’ More importantly, this guy had looked to be in his mid-thirties in the convenience-store footage, yet he was apparently my junior. He must have suffered tremendously while becoming a doctor. “Senior Haydam, do you really not remember me? I even took attendance for you…!” My junior had taken attendance in my place…? Ah. I vaguely remembered grabbing someone and asking for help on a day when I had urgent business elsewhere. “More importantly, I think you should do something about the blood pouring from your shoulder.” “You don’t have to worry about this. I’m apparently a player here, and my wounds heal when I eat food. Wait, but…” Dentist had been speaking to me with a slightly excited expression, but then his face stiffened as though he had realized something. “If you’re here, Senior… that means you’re a player too, doesn’t it?” He caught on quickly. “But how old are you, Senior? You look younger than me…” I simply had not grown as tall yet. “You still haven’t used Character Inspection?” “Excuse me?” Dentist tilted his head and gave an answer that defied all common sense. “What’s that?” …Ah. Whether he was a newbie or my junior, it seemed there was a great deal I needed to teach him. After overhearing Dentist tell the NPCs that I was his university senior, Han Yeoreum whispered in amazement, “Wow. How did you manage to run into your university junior here?” “I told you, I don’t remember him.” “And holy crap, Korea University?” “I dropped out…” “You went to Korea University… I like you even more now.” I was not a Korea University graduate. Could she not hear me saying that I had dropped out? More importantly, I thought she would find it irritating. Why did she like me more? “Why does that make you like me more?” “It means even a Korea University graduate can become a gaming addict.” This bastard… And I did not graduate from Korea University. I told you I dropped out. Fortunately, Dentist had introduced me to Han Yeoreum only as his “university senior.” Had he called me “Senior Haydam,” even someone as oblivious as Han Yeoreum might have noticed a connection to the Dopamine Addict in the Unicorn Zone. Of course, as long as we remained with Dentist, it seemed only a matter of time before Han Yeoreum discovered that my real name was Haydam. “Saint, are you truly all right?” The NPCs, who were supporting Dentist after he had partially recovered using the star candy I had given them, looked at him worriedly. They had been the ones to invite us to the Candy Zone first. They appeared apologetic about leaving Han Yeoreum and me to transport the One-Horned Jaguar’s corpse because they had to support Dentist. However, thanks to them, we could approach the zone without looking suspicious. I was grateful, if anything. “You were injured again while trying to save us…” “It’s all right. I can heal it quickly anyway.” “Just because you can heal it doesn’t mean it’s fine for you to get hurt!” As expected of residents from a low-level zone, they were good people. They looked at Dentist with genuine remorse. Han Yeoreum watched them and asked, “By the way, how did a large-class monster get this close to the zone? Creatures that difficult to hunt shouldn’t normally come this far, right?” After seeing me speak casually to Dentist, Han Yeoreum had also started addressing everyone informally without hesitation. I had not spoken informally to the NPCs. Nevertheless, the NPCs of the Candy Zone did not seem uncomfortable with Han Yeoreum’s manner of speaking at all. “We were wondering the same thing. The area near the forest is relatively safe, so we normally hunt only small creatures around here… Then that enormous monster we had never seen before suddenly appeared.” “It was fleeing as though something were chasing it, and then it ran into us, right?” “That’s right. It looked terrified of something, but the moment it saw us, its behavior suddenly changed.” “Still, I can’t believe you dealt with such a massive creature so easily…” “Come to think of it, what was that lightning that struck earlier? We only managed to defeat it thanks to that.” Perhaps because they were residents of a low-level zone, it did not even occur to them that the lightning might have been a power wielded by a human. Dentist, who had been lying face-down on the snow and had not seen me hunt the monster, looked confused, as though he had no idea what they were discussing. It did not matter if they discovered my ability, but Dentist currently viewed me favorably as a senior he knew. I thought it might create a sense of incongruity, so I changed the subject. “Come to think of it, you were calling my junior a saint earlier. What exactly do you mean by ‘saint’?” When I referred to him as my junior, Dentist looked at me happily. “Senior! So you do remember me after all?” No. “A saint is exactly what the word implies—someone worthy of reverence and emulation. There isn’t a single person in our zone who hasn’t received the Saint’s help. He always gives away his food, saying he doesn’t need to eat…” “I really don’t need to eat.” “And he steps forward to stop monsters because he says his wounds heal quickly…” “They really do heal quickly.” “See? Humans need to eat, and there’s no way they don’t feel pain. Yet he keeps acting like this, so how could we call him anything other than a saint?” Dentist looked frustrated. Hmm. I see. It did not appear intentional, but he had followed the saint-route strategy remarkably well. I was not sure about the food, but judging from the injuries covering his body, he had sacrificed himself to help these people enough to deserve being called a saint. Yet he himself looked as though he could not understand why anyone called him that. “Ah, we’re almost there. That’s our zone.” In the direction one of the NPCs pointed, two-story log houses stood in picturesque rows. Beyond the end of the road, I could see a bluntly shaped boulder resembling a piece of candy. ‘The Candy Zone’s meteorite.’ The log houses here had been constructed in a circle around that meteorite, and every road in the zone led toward it. That was why the meteorite was already visible even though we had not yet entered the zone. Out of courtesy, I asked the NPCs, “But we’re outsiders… Is it really all right for us to enter?” “Of course! If it hadn’t been for you two, not only us but the Saint would have been in serious danger!” “We only obtained food thanks to both of you as well.” “You both look almost as young as the Saint… We don’t know how you ended up all the way in our zone, but since you’re acquaintances of the Saint, you should feel free to stay as long as you like.” “We’ll explain everything to the chief. For now, you can wait at the Saint’s house.” What excellent and innocent residents. As I watched the NPCs drag away the One-Horned Jaguar’s corpse, Luna muttered from inside my pocket. [You really don’t need to scam them.] ‘I told you I wasn’t going to.’ Well, to be honest, I had intended to embellish things ever so slightly. But because Dentist recognized me, even that tiny bit of seasoning was no longer necessary. He was practically more delighted to see me than I was to see him. What reason was there to deceive him? Still, I was curious about how he would react once he discovered that I was Dopamine Addict. Would he remain friendly after learning that I had ignored his friend request and that the other players called me a hedonist? “Please sit here for a moment. I’ll bring tea shortly. I need to change my clothes first.” After bringing us inside, Dentist changed out of his bloodstained clothes and began boiling water. A wooden house, a rocking chair, and warm air. Verdant trees could be seen through the wide-open windows, and a leather rug covered the floor. Han Yeoreum looked around the interior and muttered, “It definitely feels different from our zone. It’s warm.” “Aside from the monsters wandering outside the forest, it’s certainly a cozy place.” Having overheard Han Yeoreum’s comment, Dentist eagerly began explaining. “Do you know why snow doesn’t accumulate in this forest even though we’re surrounded by a snowy plain? The trees you saw on the way here are called Christmas trees. Strangely enough, the temperature rises around them. A meteorite fell on this land long ago, and apparently its influence changed the nature of the trees here. Did you see the huge stone on your way in? That’s the meteorite. It’s both the source of the power that grows the trees and the energy source for this entire place. I don’t mean to boast, but every time I touch the meteorite, it glows, and the residual heat it produces can generate electricity for the village. And also…” Han Yeoreum and I listened to the newbie’s story for quite some time with smiles on our faces. This newbie made me want to throw him into a higher-difficulty zone immediately. What should I do? If we successfully logged out, I absolutely had to make Dentist attempt other zones. ‘It’s about time I brought up logging out…’ Once the water had finished boiling, Dentist returned carrying two mugs that gave off a sweet aroma. Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “Come to think of it, which zone did the two of you come from?” “We’re from—” I immediately covered Han Yeoreum’s mouth before she could answer. “Before I answer that question… there’s something I want to ask you.” “Something you want to ask? What is it?” I voiced the question that had been bothering me for a while. “You don’t even know what Character Inspection is. Why?” Then I continued, “You received messages from players in other zones, didn’t you?”