-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Reality Bug
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#1 Reality Bug
That day was the VFA 99th Siege War.
The more accustomed I got to the sensation of wielding power in the game, the more boring and dull real life felt.
Because you couldn't use superpowers like these in reality.
I selected a skill from my skill window.
[Lightning lv99]
The true charm of VFA was brainpower.
Even basic skills with low attack power got amplified when infused with brainpower.
An intangible force you could never understand without experiencing it yourself. Mysterious and realistic because each user started with different initial values—a third transcendent sense.
Crackle—
As I focused my nerves on my fingertips, electricity sparked.
Soon, ultra-high-voltage lightning capable of scorching even the dungeon cave walls struck forward.
KABOOM—!
"Whoa."
"The Guild Master is pulling off another civilian massacre—no, mob massacre."
The monsters ahead were annihilated.
Right before the siege war, I'd come to the southern dungeon with the first-string guild members to gear them up.
Truth be told, Rankers usually found dungeons boring. The main content of this game wasn't monster hunting—it was siege wars.
As expected, fighting other users was way more fun and thrilling than catching mobs.
Mino and Enker.
I turned to our guild's first-string maknaes and asked.
"Items?"
"Eek! It finally dropped!!"
Even as Rankers, the maknaes could clear dungeons on their own, but with the siege war right around the corner, I stepped in to save time.
Mino and Enker chattered away.
"By the way, VFA hasn't been running events lately."
"Maybe 'cause the siege wars are wrapping up?"
"That's part of it, but they tell the veterans to head to Lowguard if they've got time. It's top-tier there, so the exp is the best."
"That makes sense. They're subtly pushing you there for story consistency."
"Ugh, Lowguard is such a pain. Demon beasts and demons packed into their home turf."
"The demon beast density is no joke."
"And the reward items suck. Are they telling us to clear it or not?"
They were both college students.
Our guild did have an even younger true maknae, but their personal info was top secret, so I couldn't spill.
I told Mino and Enker.
"All set? Let's go."
"Yep."
Enker scanned the dungeon interior.
"No matter how easy the dungeon is, only the Guild Master would sweep the lowest floor with basic skills."
I replied.
"Well, not the only one, but as a top Ranker, it's the least I can do."
"Not just top—VFA's number one."
"If we're talking pure brainpower, our Guild Master's ranking beats that Dart guy's."
I admitted it readily.
"That's true."
"Everything's beneath the Guild Master's feet."
"We respect you, Guild Master-nim."
Cute kids.
They weren't just random grunts who lucked into Fullminak, one of VFA's twin peaks, and ended up as my close aides for nothing.
Skilled, diligent, great at socializing.
I gave extra points for that last one and slotted them into the siege team once. They learned diligently, leveled up their skills, and satisfied me completely.
Thus, those promising flower-crown college boys became game addicts alongside me.
Just then, the chat lit up.
Our sub-guild master Kali hit me with a one-on-one voice chat.
["Got the loot?"]
"Just now."
["Don't log out. Head straight to Deferonta Imperial Palace."]
"Mind if I swing by the guild first?"
["Yeah, sure."]
* * *
VFA.
This game's realism was insane.
Like dimension-shifting to another world via a game console.
Some users felt repulsed by the sense of living another reality, but Rankers just laughed it off.
VFA was an addiction to power.
Once you tasted that thrill, you could never let go.
The ecstasy of wielding magic and superpowers impossible in real life, lording over NPCs like gods, and toying with the world.
Top-tier game for producing crazies.
To those obsessed with gaming, it was a tantalizingly stimulating reputation that sparked curiosity.
"Guild Master-nim, check the free board when you're bored. It's hilarious."
"Today's board is flooded with psychos again."
I'd stopped by the guild to stash items we didn't need right away, and now we were heading to the frontlines—De feronta Empire—with the maknaes.
I glanced over; they'd opened several forum windows side by side.
"Reality bug?"
A topic that popped up periodically on VFA's free board.
"Yeah. Seems like more people are seeing status windows in real life lately. But other users are embarrassed 'cause they're fellow players, so they're flaming them hard."
"Reading the posts makes you wonder if there's really something wrong with this game."
"Why? You seeing something too?"
"Nah, but it's too common."
"Hey, the world's wide and full of weirdos."
Mino and Enker kept chatting.
Were the devs messing with our brains for ultra-realism or something?
There were quite a few cases where inexplicable brain issues caused VFA hallucinations even in real life.
They called it 'reality bugs.'
Fortunately, none of our Fullminak members had it yet.
I said.
"Common sense says if gaming messes with your head, quit the game. You gonna take responsibility if it gets legally banned?"
"Exactly!"
Mino and Enker laughed, agreeing.
That was the players' consensus.
Even as prime examples of over-immersion, I didn't see status windows in reality.
Hallucinating game elements meant you were seriously messed up.
"VFA reality bug controversy for the one-two punch? Tell 'em it's brain damage, and the game junkies still won't quit."
We all burst out laughing at Mino's words.
By the way, we were all included in those crazy game junkies who ignored advice.
A self-deprecating joke half in jest, half serious among VFA players.
Mid-laugh, I casually said.
"But I am kinda curious what it feels like to see status or skill windows in reality. Even as a hallucination, it'd be a trip."
Enker and Mino jumped in immediately.
"Oh, that'd be so fun."
"Like the game becoming reality, and turns out Midgard's an isekai."
"Right? The Midgard isekai tale's famous."
Look at them switch gears.
Social skills maxed out, for real.
"If the game turned real, our Guild Master would reign supreme."
"Of course. Brainpower over ten million all hits infinite output. What good's Dart's number one spot?"
Honestly, not quite.
VFA rankings factored comprehensive stats, personal combat win rates, max and average skill output, etc.
No clue how the data accumulated exactly, but it was a pretty meaningful metric.
Exceptions and loopholes existed, though.
"It's 'cause our guild's a latecomer and Guild Master's a pacifist. Especially this siege—we're dropping Spaceking with our hidden card."
"Time to flip the rankings big time."
"Naturally."
I replied cheerfully, walking on.
Of course, Dart and Spaceking still firmly held ranks one and one—for player and guild.
VFA Korea server rank one player Dart, and his guild Spaceking at guild rank one.
Our Fullminak was their sole rival right now.
We all stood before the gate.
"Deferonta."
Naming the nation activated the warp gate's glow.
The three of us stepped onto the massive light, a brief loading later, and the scene shifted.
A colossal castle loomed before us.
As our shadows fell on the ground, NPC guards far below startled and saluted.
The central entrance, like an airfield, was exclusively for players.
Tap. Tap.
The three of us landed lightly atop it.
[Alert!]
[Kaisha-nim has entered the palace.]
[Mino-nim has entered the palace.]
[Enker-nim has entered the palace.]
[Fullminak's vassal realm, Great Empire Deferonta. Announce the descent of the gods? (Range selectable)]
A basic info window for Great Empire Deferonta popped up in the air, but I dismissed it.
Off to the war room.
Deferonta Imperial Palace buzzed with pre-siege frenzy.
Every NPC we passed bowed in respect.
Fullminak banners and symbols adorned the palace interiors everywhere.
Signs that they served Fullminak—precisely, us Fullminak members—as gods of this empire.
VFA's game system was roughly like this.
A world where players were gods and NPCs humans. Gods ruled human civilization.
Haigard was the land where player-gods mainly resided and acted.
Midgard was the humans'—NPCs'—land.
Beyond the eastern ocean lay the demon beasts' homeland, Lowguard.
High. Middle. Low.
Continents of gods, humans, and demon beasts.
Players formed guilds and claimed Midgard land via siege wars.
They protected and ruled those territories from external invaders and demon beasts, reviving human civilization.
In the war room waited Kali.
"You're here?"
Fullminak's sub-guild master Kali.
[Name] Kali (lv99)
—Korea server ranking 14th
Affiliation: Fullminak
Position: Sub-guild master
<
Long purple hair tied high, sharp golden eyes.
'Kali' was a Hindu goddess symbolizing death and destruction—fiercely militant and powerful.
True to her name, Kali was a warrior-type female character with an intensely aggressive aura, but her real gender was male.
For reference, back in the guild's early days, Kali, Maya, and I—same-age friends—met, and Kali was the only guy among us three.
He'd tricked us into thinking he was a girl at first, nearly got disowned when the truth came out, but eventually overtook Maya to become my best buddy.
Probably because unlike Maya, who played casually but diligently, Kali and I practically lived in the game.
Kali said.
"Shit hit the fan while you were gone."
"Right before siege?"
VFA's flower, Midgard siege wars, were down to the last land grab.
Only one territory left.
It had become almost a sport and festival in VFA, with players betting huge stakes.
"Prince Hiron defected to Calba. Dug into it, and turns out he'd been colluding for months."
"!"
Prince Hiron was an NPC of our ruled Deferonta Empire.
Calba was enemy guild Spaceking's territory, so Hiron's defection was outright betrayal.
"Witnesses say he was with Serentia."
Whistle continued as he appeared.
A curtain to the planning room passage lifted, and a male NPC strode out.
[Pyun Whistle]
Rank: SSS+
Affiliation: Deferonta/Fullminak
Position: Grand General
Primary Loyalty: Kaisha (Fullminak)
Secondary Loyalty: Enker (Fullminak)
[Raise?]
>>[[View Skills]]<<
My loyal hero.
VFA had a system where you ruled NPCs and could bind specific ones as supporters to raise.
An S-rank NPC hero matched average players.
But you needed Triple S+ to even attempt blocking siege war veteran Rankers.
NPC heroes needed max level for siege participation.
With only one unclaimed territory left in Midgard, VFA sieges weren't for casual veteran parties anymore.
It was full-on Ranker wars.