Chapter 85

Chapter 85
I completely understood Meursault’s perspective. It made no sense to hand over an unborn daughter to an aspiring dictator who was a decade older. Regardless, it made no difference to me. I had zero intention of repeating the mistake my mother made by tying myself down to a marriage in this realm. My immediate priority was organizing the players residing in my territory and evaluating the current situation. Leaving the Commander and Meursault behind, I headed back to my quarters and asked Tae-jung to summon CornerHoney and Shin Eun-jo.

CornerHoney sauntered into the room dressed in a military uniform, his confident stride clashing heavily with his youthful features. “Hey. Congrats on the divorce.” Anyone overhearing would assume I was the one who had split from my spouse.

“Meursault claims he will do anything for you now.”

“That is not the impression I got.”

“What do you mean?”

“More importantly, you two haven’t met yet, right? This is Shin, from the Love Area. You can call her Shin Eun-jo.”

Unlike Tae-jung, Shin Eun-jo and CornerHoney were strangers to one another, so a formal introduction felt necessary. Oddly enough, both avoided looking at each other and acted as though they had zero desire to exchange a single word.

“Anyway, Shin Eun-jo… are you not heading back?”

“There is a favor I need to ask before I depart.”

“A favor?”

She had previously assisted me with Daphne, so if it was a minor request, I figured I could grant it. I nodded. “Let’s hear it.”

“Let me take the entrance exam.”

“You want to take the entrance exam?”

Even after Daphne’s divorce proceedings had concluded, she had shown no signs of leaving. So she had been lingering solely to take the test? I had no clue why she would want to study in our territory of all places. “That is a rather odd request for someone about to return home. The military academy is a six-year program.”

“I am aware. I will stay for six years and then leave.”

“Do not be absurd. Attend school in your own territory.”

“Just think of me as an exchange student.” As if that strategy would work. “You aren’t planning to dig your heels in and live here permanently, are you?”

“That wouldn’t be the worst idea. My objective is staying alive, not turning into some territory’s dictator.” Coming from an individual whose actual aim was becoming a territory’s dictator, that statement was difficult to process. Even so, judging by her tone, she probably did not intend to settle here permanently.

Although I remained suspicious of whatever scheme she was hatching, I ultimately decided to let her take the entrance exam. Just as Shin Eun-jo was lingering in this territory to keep tabs on me, I needed an opportunity to assess her capabilities as well. Even so, allowing someone who walked around with a moniker like Pseudo-cult Leader to roam freely across my territory was far too risky. I needed to establish a few precautions.

“On one condition. While you are here, you stay close to Luna.”

[What?! I refuse! I want to go back already!!]

I had already forced Luna to babysit Shin Eun-jo while I went through hell to secure Daphne’s divorce, leaving Luna completely fed up. Yet, no better candidate existed for the assignment. Appointing anyone else as a chaperone would only spark rumors.

“I am relying on you, hyung.”

[Grr…! You only address me as hyung when you need a favor…! This is precisely why I chose to stay hidden inside the jewel!!]

Ah. So that explained why he had refused to show his face until I was nearly gasping for air. Despite some initial hesitation, Luna quickly accepted his fate and resigned himself to the task.

“You truly are a frightening individual. Using a messenger of the gods as a security camera…” Shin Eun-jo muttered, interpreting the situation through her own lens.

“Furthermore, letting an unlocked player from an outside territory wander around unsupervised would leave both of you uneasy as well. Therefore, I plan to implement one additional safeguard.”

“A safeguard? Are you going to hand us personal safety alarms?”

“Something along those lines.” I glanced at CornerHoney, who looked completely unimpressed, and at Tae-jung, who stared back with wide-eyed curiosity. “I am going to unlock both of your systems.”

“…What?”

“Pardon?”

While the two of them sat there stunned, Shin Eun-jo caught on immediately and shoved her face close to mine. “You are capable of unlocking systems?”

“You cannot?”

“Naturally, I cannot!” She did not appear to be lying, implying that Shin Eun-jo still lacked any additional system unlocks. She even possessed knowledge about the Cthulhu Games representative, so why hadn’t she triggered an extra unlock? I still lacked a clear understanding of the “secret of the end,” but since my own unlock had occurred after learning about Cthulhu Games, it had to be tied to that representative somehow. Judging by her lack of denial regarding the Love Area, Shin Eun-jo had anticipated being possessed from the very beginning, ever since her encounter with the Cthulhu Games representative.

So why could I perform this feat while she could not? The sole distinct variable in our background knowledge was the existence of my mother. Then again, she might have already unlocked it and chosen to conceal the fact from me. The real complication was that I remained unaware of the exact prerequisites for an additional unlock, leaving me no way to probe further.

Still, she did not seem to be hiding anything. Shin Eun-jo abruptly clutched her forehead in dismay and collapsed onto the bed. “That authority as well… did you obtain it from a deity? We were possessed at the exact same moment. Why is the chasm between us this vast…” She appeared to despair over realizing the gap separating us was much wider than she had anticipated.

“Wait a minute. What does that even imply?” While Shin Eun-jo wallowed in self-pity, CornerHoney turned his attention back to me. “Are you telling us that you, Dopamine Addict, can activate our systems?”

“Yes. It has been feasible for a little while now.”

“Holy crap!!”

“That was possible, sir?”

“Open it right now! I want to scream ‘Status Window’ as well!” Status Window wasn’t even the correct activation command. There was no point in delaying any further. I deployed the System Unlock Rights on both CornerHoney and Tae-jung.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Using System Unlock Right on player TaeJung TaeSeBeyonce. Using System Unlock Right on player Corner Honey.

The points I had acquired as a reward totaled only fifty, so I ground down titles I already possessed to make up the deficit. Abilities like Magic Marksman—titles that functioned like ticking time clocks if retained—were pulverized without a second thought. Since ranks two through nine all yielded identical rewards anyway, dropping down to ninth place seemed inconsequential, so I crushed them ruthlessly. Even as my three-digit title count dwindled into the double digits, my ranking held steady. The remaining titles numbered ninety-nine, meaning everyone from third place onward still had not crossed into the triple digits. Just how many titles did that Unicorn Area player in first place possess? Well, investigating that individual was impossible for the moment, so I pushed the thought aside.

“Status Window!” Shin Eun-jo, still lying face-down on the mattress, glanced up at CornerHoney—who had immediately started shouting for his status window—with a look bordering on pity. “Right… the disparity was between you and Dopamine Addict. Not the rest of you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Check your Character Info first.”

“Character Info?” The moment CornerHoney spoke the words while staring at Shin, a system window materialized before his eyes.

CHARACTER INFO X: Name: Shin, Title: Pseudo-cult Leader, Zone: Love. *Master’s permission required to send friend requests.

…Wait a second. Why could I view CornerHoney’s system window as well? And what was the deal with needing the Master’s permission for friend requests?

“What, your handle is just Shin? So Shin Eun-jo is your actual name?”

“You are inspecting my Character Info right now? I did not intend for you to open mine.” Based on her reaction… meaning Shin Eun-jo could not see CornerHoney’s system window?

At that instant, a second system window popped up right beside it.

CHARACTER INFO &: Name: Dopamine Addict, Title: Friend of Luna Moon, Zone: Cola, Relation: Master. It had hovered into view above Tae-jung’s head, meaning Tae-jung must have accessed my Character Info. Furthermore, a specific term caught my attention. …Relation: Master? These individuals were not my subordinates. Why did the interface display Master?

Ah. Do not tell me…

Sensing that something was deeply amiss, I pulled up the Character Info for both CornerHoney and Tae-jung.

CHARACTER INFO X: Name: CornerHoney, Title: B-rank Soldier, Zone: Cola. *System bound to player Dopamine Addict.

CHARACTER INFO &: Name: Tae Jung TaeSeBeyonce, Title: A-rank Butler, Zone: Cola. *System bound to player Dopamine Addict.

Damn it. Apparently, unlocking a system utilizing the shop’s System Unlock Right automatically bound that system to the person who executed the unlock. Observing the restriction on Shin Eun-jo’s Character Info regarding blocked friend requests, it became evident that all system interactions with anyone other than me—the designated Master—were restricted. I had never intended to shackle them to myself. Shop items consistently came with minimal descriptions, so this consequence only became apparent after their systems were unlocked. Well, nothing could be done about it now.

“Send me a message in chat.”

“A chat?” Even with that directive, CornerHoney fumbled through various menus before finally transmitting a single line.

CORNERHONEY: Dopamine Addict is a dummy.

DOPAMINE ADDICT: Are you attending elementary school?

CornerHoney, reading my response, flared up and yelled, “Who is in elementary school?! I am twenty years old, alright?!” I found it harder to swallow that he was twenty than accepting the fact that Shin Eun-jo had never received an auxiliary unlock.

Regardless, this confirmed my theory. Once a system was anchored to me, messages could be transmitted without establishing a separate friendship link. Based on the earlier notification, the system was deliberately programmed to prevent chatting with anyone else unless authorized by the Master. Not only could I view their system windows, but I could also inspect their detailed stats. Naturally, the first metric I checked was the title count of CornerHoney, who had previously occupied ninth place.

What? Seven? Having entered the game less than a year prior, holding seven titles was not a terrible milestone by any metric. However, if a player holding seven titles sat in ninth place, it implied that other participants were barely scratching into double digits. Next, I checked Tae-jung’s title count: three. So the dentist who ranked tenth likely possessed somewhere between four and seven titles? Not bad for novices.

Suddenly, another of my own Character Info windows floated into my field of vision. CornerHoney must have closed Shin Eun-jo’s interface and opened mine.

“Oh. You really are Dopamine Addict.”

“Obviously, I am Dopamine Addict.”

“I kept suspecting the person acting as your decoy might be the genuine Dopamine Addict. Guess I do not have to wonder anymore.” He had still harbored doubts until now?

“But why does your Relation field display ‘Master’?”

“It is nothing of consequence. Simply because I unlocked your system. It will display Master for Tae-jung as well.”

“Tae-jung, is that accurate?”

“Pardon? Ah—yes, it does display Master… I mean, yes, it does.”

“So if I want to send you a friend request, Dopamine Addict has to approve it first? Like borrowing someone else’s Wi-Fi network.” Unlike CornerHoney—who had read the notice about needing the Master’s authorization and remained completely oblivious—Tae-jung seemed to grasp the actual implications of my status as “Master.” He clamped his mouth shut shortly thereafter, likely realizing that if CornerHoney discovered I owned his system, he would completely lose his composure.

“Hold on a second.” Shin Eun-jo, who had been listening in silence, abruptly intervened. “Something just passed by that I cannot possibly ignore…” She stared at me with a bewildered expression. “What do you mean by the person acting as your decoy? Do not tell me you ran into another Dopamine Addict?”

Hmm. I had anticipated that Shin Eun-jo might piece things together the moment CornerHoney began running his mouth unfiltered, and sure enough, she had. I hesitated for a fraction of a second. When it came to the Unicorn Area player, sharing complete details with other participants was something I genuinely wished to avoid, especially since I barely understood anything about him myself.

However, Shin Eun-jo was unique. She might be the sole person among us who had actually interacted with the Cthulhu Games representative. Judging by her previous remarks regarding email addresses, she had even secured contact details. If we ever managed to achieve Logout, Shin Eun-jo might represent our only viable bridge to that representative. Furthermore, her analytical instincts appeared sharper than the others. Ideally, I wanted to exchange information and get her perspective.

The complication was that she proved to be an aggressive player—the Pseudo-cult Leader of the Love Area who had even confiscated Home Protector’s meteor item. …Very well. Let’s try this approach. I had no certainty whether Shin Eun-jo would accept the proposition. Yet, based on her prior words and actions, she clearly preferred not to be my adversary. If anything, her stubborn refusal to vacate this territory implied she desired to remain under my sphere of influence. Under those circumstances, only one method existed to disclose everything while ensuring she could never betray us down the line.

“You wish to hear about the other Dopamine Addict?”

“What? Obviously, I—” She started to affirm her interest, then her brow furrowed slightly. “But you refuse to tell me. You would not even clarify why Daphne is a player.” I had assumed she simply lacked curiosity since she never inquired why Daphne functioned as a player, but it turned out she had simply been waiting for me to volunteer the explanation.

“If you fulfill a single condition of mine, I will tell you everything.”

“Everything…?”

“Everything? Hey—!” CornerHoney interjected from the side as if the idea was entirely out of the question, but I raised a hand to signal him to remain silent.

“Indeed. Everything—from the reason Daphne was a player, down to the account of meeting the duplicate Dopamine Addict. At the very least, you will discover everything these two already know.”

Shin Eun-jo studied me skeptically for an extended moment before speaking in a subdued tone. “What… am I required to do?”

“Surrender your claim to the meteor item.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at me in disbelief. “Are you stating I must relinquish my system just to hear the truth?”

“I will unlock your system for you once more myself.”

“…What?”

A system unlocked through my own hands would remain bound to me, restricting her communication channels exclusively to myself. In short, I would no longer need to fret over information leaking via the system network. Moreover, by binding her system to mine and subsequently assisting her in triggering an auxiliary unlock, I would gain direct access to her system interface—allowing me to observe the exact conditions required for that unlock to manifest.

“Hand over the meteor item and entrust your system to me. Do that, and I will disclose everything. Once you are tethered to me, I will have no grounds to treat you as a foe either.”

Shin Eun-jo watched me with an inscrutable expression, turning over thoughts I could not decipher. “What is your decision?”

The moment the question left my lips, Shin Eun-jo—who had been gazing at me unflinchingly—reached inside her coat, pulled out a pistol, and aimed it directly at my face.