Ch. 85 - Interlude - Benefits Summarization

[2019, April 28th | Sunday, 23:37 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 647]

[Causality Rate: 14%]

“Hmm… That’s about it.”

The next day, after solving two exciting ghost stories with the club members at the neighborhood internet cafe, it was Sunday.

It was evening outside, I was lying face down on my bed, quietly looking at the messy information written in my diary.

The weekend already passed like this, with me lazing around.

The diary at hand was something I bought a long time ago, when I was young. I don't remember where I had bought it from but it had been sitting on the bookshelf all this time, never being used by me.

I needed to organize a lot of information in my head.

Writing in a notebook or diary makes it easier to organize things rather than typing on a computer.

That was why I would sometimes take it out and use it like today.

I had written down various notes and events, questions, and information related to the system in the diary.

Information that I was able to gather so far was organized there.

Currently, I was looking at a title written at the top middle spot of a blank page.

[April 27, List of Benefits for Solving MineCraft Ghost Stories on Saturday.]

After fighting with countless strange beings and encountering various life and death situations the past few months, I realized one thing for sure.

‘There must be extraordinary rewards for working hard.’

“There must be, there must be.”

I muttered to myself as if I was making a promise.

Certainly, it was given that reality is different from my expectations and things wouldn't always work out in my favor.

However, with this phrase, I wanted to remind myself to never lose determination. Even if things didn't work out like the way I expected, I would force myself to make it happen.

I had to reward myself after working hard.

And if the system didn't reward me, then I'd spend the points to indulge myself, the only way I can be rewarded for my hard work.

This thought had been wandering in my mind desperately these days.

Just as some people relieve stress by consuming food, I believe my current psychology has become similar to that.

I must gain some kind of benefit from every strange incident that I encounter.

I must.

I wasn't someone who could keep his interest in a particular thing for a long time to begin with, nor did I like to be persistent over something.

I could get out of the predicament even if I wanted to, however, I couldn't continue this fight without being rewarded either.

Why?

‘Because it’s hard.’

This was the only reason I promised 4 billion won to the members.

Fighting this way was hard.

After our last discussion about sharing the points, we reached a conclusion that I'd give them a huge reward at the end of the 3 years after defeating the Demon King.

But I believe I should also reward them with small gifts every once in a while to keep them motivated.

The thing about regression that Gyeongwon mentioned yesterday.

I realized for the first time the difference between the death of a body and the death of consciousness.

‘It’s true that I can regress as many times as I want even if I die. But will my mind last until then?’

Although the chances of entering into another game and my consciousness dying was extremely rare, it couldn't be ignored completely.

And even if I didn't become a vegetative person because of that, there was a high chance that my mind could lose all reason at any moment.

What if the continuous regression breaks my sanity and I end up being depressed?

What if I can’t stand the extreme stress and become schizophrenic or mad?

Can the problem of losing one's mind be resolved through regression?

I shook my head.

No.

If one loses his sanity, that’s the end.

In order to prevent that, it was imperative to discover various measures to keep my sanity at bay.

From now on, protecting my mental health is the first and foremost duty in my list of properly compensating for my efforts.

‘Mental health!’

I nodded with strong resolve.

In other words, I needed to protect my mental health.

There was nothing more important to me than it now.

Before, I have never given any thoughts for such things in my life, so it felt a bit strange to consciously try to protect my mental health like this.

‘I should eat a lot of delicious food and have breaks for myself often.’

After deciding what to do to keep my mind less stressful, I finally started writing down yesterday’s earnings in my diary.

Fortunately, the reward for this time's ghost stories was as heavy as they were dangerous, so I was very happy.

[April 27, List of Benefits After Solving MineCraft Ghost Stories on Saturday.]

‘Whatever the reason is, points come first, right?’

Yesterday, I solved two ghost stories, one A-rank and another B-rank, both at the same time.

Thanks to that, I was able to earn 383 points this weekend.

On top of that, I didn't need to die and turn back time. And everyone was also safe and sound.

‘… A-rank. Hmm…’

This was the second time I had encountered an A-rank ghost story after the Song of Resentment.

The difficulty level was undeniable for sure, but was it necessary for it to be rated A-rank?

I pondered about it deeply.

Compared to the last time with the incident of Fourincess, this A-rank ghost story wasn't actually that dangerous or influential.

The huge towers created by our replicas that looked no better than monsters, and that huge creature that was an amalgamation of our replicas were definitely terror-stricken.

Moreover, the raging storm and pouring rain along with the sinking mud, and the tremendous nuclear explosions, were nothing but exaggeration of real-life incidents which was only possible because we were in a game.

At most, it was an exciting adventure that happened inside the local internet cafe, I'd give it that credit.

However, when I compared it to the grudge-possessed idol and the song that infected people, almost destroying the country of Korea itself, it could be considered rather trivial.

‘But that was possible because the developers of Clover Corporation blocked the strange force coming from beyond the edge of the world.’

If the transparent wall hadn't existed and this game had the ability to really pull the consciousness of the players into the game because there weren't any preventive measures, it certainly would have led to a huge incident that would have involved the whole world.

‘What was it exactly that I had to resolve? The message that popped up at that time must have been…’

I searched through my memories and wrote down the message that popped up after I solved the ghost stories in my diary.

[You have explored the world beyond the edge of the game world and used your wits and skill to successfully discover its origin!]

‘....So I only needed to uncover its origin. Hmm.’

I was lucky.

The monstrous creature was a collation of our replicas and had the consciousness of Herobrine, the first person to be pulled inside the game and trapped there, combined with them.

And the fact was discovered by the meaningless chattering of the replicas in the creature.

‘Herobrine.’

B-rank ghost story - Legend of Herobrine.

Even during that time and now, I realized that there was no message saying that I defeated that being.

But in a way, it was understandable.

Because truthfully, that person had long died in the game world, and his consciousness has merged into the game system.

Unless we deleted all the files that carried the illegal version of MineCraft installed in hundreds of millions of computers around the world, it was completely impossible to get rid of Herobrine.

‘Anyway, combined with the 383 points, I earned a lot this time.’

I finished pondering on the points and moved on to the next topic.

‘The next important thing is, how do I motivate the members?’

We were just 17-year-old minors living our ordinary lives.

Suddenly dumping the huge responsibility of saving the world and defeating countless strange beings, while encountering bizarre phenomena onto our shoulders, even an adult would rather run away than take such a heavy burden.

‘4 billion for their hard work. And I also have to distribute the points.’

After 3 years of hard work, we would be getting 4 billion.

The proposal of such a huge sum of money was not because they were highschool students and needed money for motivation.

It was because they knew anyone with common sense would snatch such an opportunity away in a heartbeat.

‘Although I promised to give them 4 billion after 3 years, I have to make at least 10 billion for myself.’

Because we deserved it.

Certainly, there was also the problem that one single person can't win that many lotteries.

However, since I had the ability to turn back time, there were various other ways to earn money besides winning lotteries.

‘With 10 billion, I can buy a big house… and open an internet cafe near the house with all the amazing specs…’

Hehe.

The corners of my mouth rose at my own imagination.

4 billion. That much money was more than enough to motivate them.

Now I wouldn't have to feel guilty for dragging my members into this dangerous adventure or pushing them into a corner anymore.

In fact, there would be some people who would like this kind of deal, right?

‘They would definitely be motivated right now.’

If I somehow manage to survive until I turn 20 and reach the happy ending, then only a smooth life awaits me.

Now I needed to level-up my members that I promised to do on Monday.

‘I was thinking about experimenting with them to see how it functions. I’m glad I was able to offer it first as a favor.’

Hmmhmmm.

With a smile, I moved on to the next topic.

‘The next benefit I gained. My understanding of the members suddenly increased all at once.’

As soon as I woke up after logging out of the game and returned to reality, messages flashed before my eyes.

[Your understanding of the character Yoon Sunah has increased by 10.]

[Your understanding of the character Ahn Gyeongwon has increased by 20.]

[Your understanding of the character Oh Dukhun has increased by 20.]

[Your understanding of the character In Hayoon has increased by 5.]

‘I wonder why? Maybe because we went through difficult events together…’

It was true that we went through tough times in the game world together, and we also fell into such situations before, but the understanding didn't increase that much at that time.

Then why did the understanding suddenly increase this time?

‘… Is it because of those replicas?'

The replicas of the members created by the computer's random variables generation program.

Those replicas might not be able to act or communicate properly, but they didn't act out of their characters either.

The way they rushed towards us, their movements, speech patterns, and words that they said, although delivered in a strange way but those were obviously what we would do.

'I wonder if it was because the program extracted the behaviours from the depths of the members' consciousness.'

Whatever the reason might be, I was grateful that my replica didn't go around spouting nonsense.

"Anyway, this is roughly what I gained from this incident."

1. A lot of points.

2. Perfect motivation for the members.

3. Increase of understanding.

"Understanding, hmm."

Now that I remember it, it had been such a hectic week that I forgot to pay attention, but I think I received a quest to increase the understanding of at least one of my members.

"Let's check now, quest window."

Pop.

《Quest - CAMARADERIE》

『Congratulations! You have finally managed to share your secret with your teammates! Your journey to prevent the resurrection of the Demon King has finally started. Therefore, strong camaraderie in the party is essential. Starting today, you begin to try to understand more about your members.』

《Raise the understanding of one member of your club from 0 to 100.

Reward: Education Competency Ability.》

'School’s Education Competency Ability…’

I had only seen the word ability used in the Club Status Window.

The three abilities of the Ghost Story Club which I unlocked were, Space Expansion, Ghost Story Acquisition Skill, and Manpower Capacity.

'Would a new ability called Education Competency be added in the club?'

Education Competency Ability.

What could it be?

If the ability meant I could directly intervene in the school's overall activity, I decided that I should try shortening the school time and decrease the number of classes to 4 periods every day.

'To do that, I have to raise the understanding level of one of my members to 100? Hmm. Let's see who's understanding is the highest.'

I was lying on my chest, with my face buried in the pillow. I opened the Status Windows of the members in that position, and started writing down the understanding level of each of them in the diary.

Ahn Gyeongwon: 85

Yoon Sunah: 65

Oh Dukhun: 50

Jang Hwaeun: 50

Lee Jinhee: 35

In Hayoon: 15

“...What a surprise, Gyeongwon's understanding is the highest?”

I muttered to myself while looking at the number I had written in the diary.

I couldn't help but check the Status Window again to see if I saw right, but the unexpected result remained unchanged.

‘I thought Sunah's understanding would be the highest…’

She was the only person who spent most of her time with me.

If there was one person with whom I communicated daily and had emotional exchanges, it would undoubtedly be Sunah.

Then why was Ahn Gyeongwon’s understanding the highest?

As I wondered about it quietly, I soon realized that I knew nothing about Sunah’s past.

All I knew was that she was poor and had an introverted personality.

I had no idea why her parents weren’t around, why she only lived with her grandmother, and how she developed that kind of personality.

“I really… I need to reflect on myself.”

I felt guilty.

Sunah always paid her utmost attention to me and tried to help me to the best of her ability.

While she was being such a wonderful friend, I was being a scumbag for not making any effort to learn about her.

“I’ll definitely ask her next time we have a meal together… Ahem…”

My mind soon wandered off to how I should delve into this sensitive topic and try to know about her so that wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable.

While thinking so, I had almost forgotten that I was thinking why Gyeongwon's understanding level was so high.

“This kid. He grew up like a greenhouse plant.”

This time, I was unlucky.

Gyeongwon grew up in a family where they value education and reputation over anything. He grew up only studying and didn't have any particular background or trauma to dig into.

His past was as clear as water, so there was no need to dig further.

“I wondered why such a brat who always acts so smart becomes so anxious when it comes to real activities in solving cases. Good thing he wasn't a victim of any major trauma. Tsk tsk.”

[Your understanding of the character Ahn Gyeongwon has increased by 5.]

“Wow.”

Understanding about him had increased again.

This time, I opened Gyeongwon’s Status Window.

Pop.

《STATUS WINDOW

Name: Ahn Gyeongwon LV.1 [0/100]

Age: 17

Title: Pro Wiki-Warrior

Disposition: Explanation Character

Special Ability: None

Quirk: Denial of reality

Understanding: 90/100》

‘… What'll happen when I reach the understanding level to 100?'

All the question marks that indicated my lack of knowledge about his character disappeared from Ahn Gyeongwon's Status Window.

And the description of his Disposition that explains his personality when I clicked on it also became longer.

That was why I suddenly couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I raise my understanding of him to 100.

‘Since it’s just that my understanding of his personality is increasing, it’s more like I'm being more aware of his character, which is unknowingly affecting me rather than his personality changing, right?’

Will I get additional points?

Or will I suddenly gain the ability to read his true feelings?

I racked my brain, but I couldn’t figure out what exactly would happen if the understanding level reached 100.

Keeping aside the quest reward I would be getting, I was more curious what would happen if the understanding reached 100.

The quest was a one-time task and it would disappear once I successfully completed it.

But I wanted to know the consequences of the character itself if I did manage to raise the understanding of one or all the other members to 100.

‘I don’t expect anything great, but I hope I can get a useful reward.’

I closed Gyeongwon’s window then finally opened Hayoon’s Status Window.

The most curious and mysterious girl among our club members.

‘She is also so damn beautiful… How can she be so pretty? That's crazy, really.'

Pop.

《STATUS WINDOW

Name: In Hayoon LV.1 [0/100]

Age: 17

Title: Wife Material

Disposition: ??? NEW! Click to expand

Special Ability: None

Quirk: ???

Understanding: 15/100》

‘NEW in Disposition? Let’s see what’s written.’

Pop.

[Disposition: ???

- She likes to read books. She's also very smart. Her family is very well-off. She has witnessed many horrible things that even couldn't be compared to hell.]

The disposition of her character matched to what her replicas had said to some extent.

“She is still a mysterious person.”

After staring at the Status Window for a while, I shook my head and closed the diary.

‘Since this quest only told me to raise the understanding level of one of the members, I think it would be faster if I target Gyeongwon.’

Gyeongwon’s understanding level had already reached 90. I needed to increase only 10 more and the quest would be complete.

Night had approached by the time I finished thinking about this and that.

I put down the diary and turned off the lights before lying down on the bed. Now my mind was busy making strategies on various ways to increase Gyeongwon’s understanding.

‘How do I raise it? Is there something about him that I don't know yet… Hmm…’

Perhaps I should try slapping him in the face and asking?

Or should we all go to visit his house together?

My eyes closed on their own as my mind was thinking about various ways to raise his understanding.

Sleep greeted me in this state before I knew it.

* * *

“Don’t do this please.”

A boy with a sporty haircut and a scarred face was looking earnestly at me as he pleaded.

“Please….”

I looked around.

A ruined city.

The rubble of collapsed buildings and asphalt was strewn everywhere.

The sky was dyed an ominous red, as if rain of blood was about to pour down at any moment.

Amidst the piles of destroyed buildings, a creature so huge that I had to crane my neck upward but still couldn't see its face was standing motionlessly.

I squinted my eyes to see more clearly, but instead of the creature’s face, words hovering in the air blocked my vision.

[The Demon King proposes a truce. Do you accept?]

‘This dream again. What is this?’

My eyes landed back again on the male student with a sporty haircut.

He had a face I had never seen before.

His attire was tattered, with holes and ripped off edges here and there.

It was hard to recognize the origin of the clothes on his body, but it appeared to be a school uniform.

Beads of cold sweat ran down the side of the boy's cheek. He was desperately shaking his head while looking at me with a pleading gaze.

“Don’t do this, please…”

I opened my mouth, thinking I should ask about his identity first.

But the words that left my mouth weren't something I wanted to say, and they poured out regardless of my will.

“I’m sorry. I guess I have always been this kind of b*stard.”

“Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!”

Click.

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