บท 13: Chapter 13

"I am here because of that," Cha Hye-Mi said. She pointed behind Tae-Sung and added, "That thing is too old, you see."

"Oh… that one…" Tae-Sung nodded in agreement when he saw what she was pointing at.

Cha Hye-Mi was pointing at none other than Tae-Sung's VR capsule—Virtual Sports 3. The VR capsule Tae-Sung was using was an old model that came out nearly ten years ago, and Cha Hye-Mi was right when she said that his capsule was too dated.

"It is quite old like you said, but it is still—" Tae-Sung started.

However, Cha Hye-Mi cut him off. "It's trash."

"Who uses a 3rd generation capsule these days? I have never imagined someone is still using that piece of junk in this day and age. It has already been a year since the 6th generation capsule was released," she added.

"It's still usable… it's not really broken as well. I'm aware that it is an old model. I'm just using it because I cannot afford to buy a new one," Tae-Sung explained with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

It was exactly as he said. Tae-Sung did not have the luxury of purchasing a new capsule.

"But what business do you have with my capsule? Is there something wrong with it by any chance?" he asked.

"Of course, there is," Cha Hye-Mi replied.

"Huh? What is the issue with it? It's still running and lets me connect to the game." Tae-Sung grumbled.

Cha Hye-Mi shook her head and said, "When you obtained the Epic Code 007, we, Hive, decided that we cannot let you use such an old VR capsule any longer."

"Huh…?" Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

"Let us go together," Cha Hye-Mi said.

"Where…?" he asked in response while tilting his head.

"Our company, Hive, will sponsor you with a new VR capsule," she explained before dragging him out of the house.

***

"Get in," Cha Hye-Mi said while pointing at the Benz S-Class parked in front of Tae-Sung's house.

"What do you mean, get in?" Tae-Sung asked.

"Please hurry up," Cha Hye-Mi urged.

"Ah, yes," Tae-Sung obediently replied and hopped into the car.

Cha Hye-Mi hopped into the backseat of the car along with Tae-Sung.

The car had no driver. Instead, it was being driven by the AI navigation system equipped in the car.

「Welcome, Manager Cha Hye-Mi-nim. Where is your destination?」

"To V-Lounge, Gangnam branch," she replied.

「We will depart at once. Please fasten your seatbelt.」

The car started moving as soon as Cha Hye-Mi gave the destination.

"Are we going to V-Lounge?" Tae-Sung asked, seemingly surprised.

His surprise was understandable since the Gangnam branch of V-Lounge was where the latest VR capsules were displayed.

"That is correct," Cha Hye-Mi replied.

"But that place is…" he muttered, seemingly burdened.

"Are you going to say that we cannot enter without a reservation?" Cha Hye-Mi asked.

"Yes…" Tae-Sung replied with a nod.

"Do you know who owns and operates V-Lounge?" Cha Hye-Mi asked in return.

"Ah…!" Tae-Sung exclaimed. He finally understood why they were going there.

V-Lounge was the flagship store of Hive Games Entertainment, which was also the developer of Brave New World. As such, Cha Hye-Mi, who was a manager at Hive, would not need a reservation to enter the shop.

"But… Why does Hive want to sponsor me with a VR capsule…?" Tae-Sung asked cautiously.

"I told you a while ago…" Cha Hye-Mi paused. She smiled before continuing, "You inherited the codename 007 after becoming the disciple of the Hidden NPC, Deus."

"So, what exactly is 007?" Tae-Sung asked.

"A player that has the potential to become the protagonist," Cha Hye-Mi replied.

"The protagonist…?" Tae-Sung mumbled in confusion.

"Yes." Cha Hye-Mi nodded and said, "The players who have inherited the 00 codenames have the potential to become the protagonist of the main storyline of BNW, the Nürburg Saga."

A thought suddenly flashed across Tae-Sung's head upon hearing that.

'The players who have inherited the 00 codenames…? Doesn't that mean I'm not the only one?'

He realized from Cha Hye-Mi's words that there were other players who had inherited the 00 codenames.

"The Nürburg Saga, which is the main storyline of BNW, is an event that with the potential to impact the entire progression of the game greatly. With that said, isn't it just natural for us to gift a new VR capsule to someone with the potential to become the protagonist of such a grand event? It is in Hive's desire to let the inheritors of codenames play in a good environment if it were possible," Cha Hye-Mi explained.

"I see…" Tae-Sung muttered in response, seemingly trying to process her words.

"We were able to confirm that the VR capsule you have been using is an old model—a very old one at that. Our head office sent a memo asking us to sponsor you with a new VR capsule," Cha Hye-Mi said.

This was the reason Cha Hye-Mi visited Tae-Sung.

「You have arrived at your destination.」

The AI navigation announced their arrival at their destination.

"Let's go." Cha Hye-Mi urged.

"Alright," Tae-Sung replied and followed her out of the car.

***

"Welcome, Manager Cha Hye-Mi-nim," a man greeted.

A middle-aged man wearing formal attire greeted Cha Hye-Mi the moment she stepped into the store.

"Hello, Branch Manager-nim," Cha Hye-Mi replied.

Surprisingly, the middle-aged man turned out to be the branch manager of V-Lounge's Gangnam branch.

"What brings you here?" asked the middle-aged man.

"We received a memo from head office to sponsor this person with a VR capsule," Cha Hye-Mi replied before pointing at Tae-Sung.

"F-From the head office?" the branch manager muttered in surprise.

"Yes," Cha Hye-Mi replied.

"Oh my god…" the branch manager gasped in surprise and looked at Tae-Sung. "N-Nice to meet you. My name is Oh Jun-Hwan, and I am the branch manager of V-Lounge's Gangnam branch."

He bowed toward Tae-Sung and extended his business card with both hands as if Tae-Sung were a VIP customer.

"Nice to meet you, too. My name is Han Tae-Sung," Tae-Sung replied.

"Ah! Han Tae-Sung-nim! It is my honor to meet you!" Oh Jun-Hwan exclaimed.

"I don't think it's an honor…" Tae-Sung muttered.

"No! Please don't say that. It is truly an honor to meet you! It is rare for the head office to sponsor an individual with a VR capsule!" Oh Jun-Hwan excitedly added.

"Haha…" Tae-Sung let out an awkward laugh.

"Please, come this way. I will show you only the best capsules we have!" Oh Jun-Hwan said while politely guiding Tae-Sung.

"Don't mind me. Feel free to take your time. I'll stay here in the meantime and enjoy a cup of coffee. Don't feel too pressured and just choose whichever you like," Cha Hye-Mi said before sitting down on an expensive leather sofa in the shop.

'How can I not feel pressured?! These things are worth a fortune!'?Tae-Sung inwardly exclaimed.

Tae-Sung could feel himself shrinking back from the luxurious interior of the V-Lounge.

V-Lounge's Gangnam branch boasted a modern, antique, and luxurious interior design befitting of their title as a flagship store, and Tae-Sung could tell that more than a billion won had to have been spent in the interior alone. However, what really intimidated him were the rows and rows of premium VR capsules lining up the shop.

It was inevitable for Tae-Sung to be intimidated by the premium atmosphere since he had been living a life that was anything but premium.

At that moment, Deus' words flashed through his mind.

"My disciple…"

"I might have taught you how to walk like a strong person, but you are still lacking in many ways. However, you will be able to compensate for it as long as you keep your composure. Do you understand?"

Tae-Sung's movement slowly changed when he remembered Deus' teachings. His steps became lighter, his eyes no longer darted around nervously, and his face relaxed.

'I'm not here to beg for a capsule. I'm here to be served. Let's not shrink back. I should take my time to look around and find the VR capsule that suits me the best…' Tae-Sung thought as he calmed down.

Tae-Sung was initially unable to properly check the specifications of the premium VR capsules because he was intimidated by the expensive machines. But after calming down, he could finally gauge the VR capsules properly.

"What model is this?" Tae-Sung asked while pointing at a red VR capsule.

***

"That is the V-Iron 6th Generation Model," Oh Jun-Hwan replied before he politely explained the capsule's specification, "The interior seat is made out of Napa Leather so your body will be less burdened despite sitting for an extended period of time inside. It is also pretty good at regulating its temperature as well. Would you like to take a seat and test it out?"

"Sure, why not," Tae-Sung nonchalantly replied.

After Oh Jun-Hwan opened the unit for him, Tae-Sung stepped into the V-Iron 6th Generation Model capsule and ran a simple VR game.

However, a problem occurred.

Beep!

A warning suddenly flashed when Tae-Sung was about to log in to the VR game.

[The compatibility of the user and the capsule is low.]

[It is advised to use another capsule.]

[Compatibility: 67%]

The compatibility showed how much the players would synchronize and adapt to virtual reality, and the average figure for most players was 74% to 78%. A premium capsule provided 80% compatibility to the player even if they had absolutely atrocious talent.

However, Tae-Sung's compatibility was at 67%, which meant that his compatibility with the V-Iron 6th Generation Model was terrible, even when compared to his VR capsule, the old Virtual Sports 3, as he had 77% compatibility with it.

"Oh…" Oh Jun-Hwan muttered with an awkward look on his face before politely saying, "It seems that your compatibility with the V-Iron range of products is not that good, customer-nim."

This was a frequent occurrence since VR capsules worked by analyzing the brain waves of their users, and people's brains had a different affinity with different models.

"Let us try a different model," Oh Jun-Hwan said and politely showed the way.

"Sure," Tae-Sung calmly replied.

It did not really bother Tae-Sung that much since he was aware of the compatibility issues players had with certain models.

"What do you think of this? This is the model that I usually recommend to the customers who are not compatible with the V-Iron model," Oh Jun-Hwan said while showing another capsule.

"Ooh…" Tae-Sung was in awe at the capsule the branch manager had shown him.

"This looks cool," Tae-Sung remarked.

"This capsule was built with the concept of a stone casket, and each and every one of these engravings that you can see here was engraved by hand by Italian master craftsmen. In addition to being a VR capsule, it is also a work of art," Oh Jun-Hwan explained.

"What about its specifications?" Tae-Sung asked.

"All our premium models have pretty high specs, so there is not that much difference between them. Any differences will be a minuscule one percent difference. However—" Oh Jun-Hwan paused.

Tae-Sung finished the branch manager's sentence. "I only have to consider the exterior design and the comfort it offers. Is that what you were going to say?"

"You are correct," Oh Jun-Hwan replied with a smile.

He opened the VR capsule and said, "Then, shall we give it a test?"

Tae-Sung stepped into the stone casket-like VR capsule.

***

"What's taking so long…?" Cha Hye-Mi grumbled.

She grimaced after checking the time and grumbled once again. "He just has to choose a design that he likes…"

Cha Hye-Mi was aware that the difference in specs among premium VR capsule models was less than one percent, so Tae-Sung only had to choose a capsule with a design he liked.

However, it had already been two hours since he left to see the VR capsules.

"Hmm… did a problem occur?" Cha Hye-Mi wondered.

She decided to put down the coffee cup she had been fiddling with for the past two hours and stood up. She felt nervous that an unexpected issue might have occurred, so she made her way into the shop to look for Tae-Sung and Oh Jun-Hwan.

It was then…

"W-What the hell…?" Cha Hye-Mi was stupefied.

Cha Hye-Mi was looking at a sight she would never expect to see, even at the V-Lounge's Platinum Boutique, which was a place where only the best models were displayed.

"M-Mr. Tae-Sung!" she exclaimed.

Cha Hye-Mi was stupefied because Tae-Sung and another guy, more specifically, the scoundrel grandson of a large corporation's chairman, were glaring at each other with their hands on each other's collars.