Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mercenary Registration (2)

I didn't even know what state of mind I had been in when I finished bathing.

I only realized clean clothes had been prepared after I had already gotten fully dressed.

It must have been James's consideration.

Red red little red goes Hwaaaaaa.

Blue blue little blue goes Kuaaaaaa.

Yellow yellow little yellow goes Uuuuuuuu.

Thanks to that, Theo, now all fresh and clean, looked extremely happy.

He hummed a tune and gently swung our clasped hands back and forth.

The anxious, restless figure from before was nowhere to be seen.

Rather

“Go away! Ho, ho, scolding!”

He pointed at empty air or shouted at it.

It seemed he no longer had any intention of hiding it.

‘I'd really appreciate it if you'd hide it.’

I glanced at Theo with complicated feelings.

What exactly was this kid's ability again? I was reproaching myself for not looking into it more before starting when—

‘Ah.’

I finally remembered.

A certain scene flashed through my mind.

It had been a video Min-gyu had shared with me. The video contained a certain player's war. According to Min-gyu, the player had been a ranker. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the nickname.

‘Theo definitely used an area-wide debuff back then.’

Theo's ability was debuffing.

He possessed the power to drastically lower an enemy's stats.

I recalled the curse Theo had cast over an entire enemy force numbering in the thousands.

‘It definitely left an impression.’

It began with the enemy vanguard.

Starting with the frontline soldiers collapsing while screaming, the entire enemy formation crumbled one after another.

‘It was incredible.’

After the curse, the war ended absurdly quickly and easily thanks to the ranker's mercenaries charging in.

I had wondered what principle his ability used, but it seemed to involve 'ghosts.'

‘Is he some kind of necromancer?’

I discreetly looked around.

‘There's really nothing there…’

And yet, it felt as though someone was watching me.

I thought I could hear strange noises as well, and with an inexplicable chill running through me, I quickened my pace.

“Please sit over there.”

When we came down to the first floor, Jenny—James's daughter—pointed toward a table.

After seating Theo across from me and sitting down myself, food was immediately brought out. Vegetable soup came first, and the main dish was a chicken dish that reminded me of braised chicken, so I was enjoying it when

“I, Iseo-nim, ge, get off my sh, shoulder!”

“…Kuh.”

Hey, Kim Theo.

Are you doing this on purpose?

I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and let out a deep sigh.

“Theo.”

“Yes!”

“…Enjoy your meal.”

“Yes!”

After finishing the meal, we went back up to the room.

It was still early to sleep, but today had felt incredibly long to me.

After all, I had become trapped inside a game.

The strange bug that let me see reviews was just an added bonus.

The mental exhaustion was tremendous. If I closed my eyes, I felt like I would pass out immediately.

Forcing my drooping eyelids open, I prepared Theo's bedding, then climbed onto the bed I would sleep in and closed my eyes.

‘I'm tired.’

Whether it was future plans or anything else, I didn't have the mental energy to think about it.

I just needed sleep right now. I wanted to sleep.

If only all of this would turn out to be a dream when I woke up.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the bed shook slightly and something slipped into the bedding.

Half-asleep, I barely managed to open my eyes and lifted the blanket a little.

“…Theo. What are you doing?”

“I, I, I'm scared. I, Iseo-nim. C, can I s, sleep with you?”

…I'm scared too, you brat.

Still, since this child could see ghosts, he was probably even more frightened, so I made room for him.

“Come here.”

“Yes!”

Before I could even finish speaking, he slipped over and hugged me.

I patted his back.

“Let's get some sleep.”

“Th, thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

After that, we exchanged a few more sleepy words.

Eventually, I couldn't resist the deep pull of sleep and drifted off.

*

“Hyung!”

Theo called out.

In my dazed state, I merely blinked.

I looked around, but only Theo and I were in the room.

His silver-gray eyes sparkled brightly.

I met the gaze of Theo, who was staring at me so intently that it felt burdensome.

“What?”

“H, hyung! D, did you s, sleep well?”

Why?

Why was he calling me hyung?

Was there some context I didn't know about?

I thought about it carefully.

Then, the conversation we had while half-asleep before going to bed vaguely resurfaced in my mind.

‘It's warm. It feels l, like family.’

‘Go to sleep, Theo.’

‘I, I miss my m, mom.’

‘Me too.’

‘I, Iseo-nim, do you h, have a mom?’

‘…You little brat.’

‘S, s, sorry. I, I d, don't have one.’

‘I had one, but she's gone now.’

‘I, Iseo-nim d, doesn't have one either…’

‘It's okay. I've got you, don't I?’

After fidgeting around for quite a while, I think he quietly asked me:

‘I, Iseo-nim.’

‘…’

‘M, maybe, could I…’

‘…’

‘C, call you h, hyung?’

‘…’

‘I, Iseo-nim?’

‘…Sure. Do that. Sleep well too.’

In the end, I had given him permission.

A thirteen-year-old younger brother at the age of thirty-one.

Our parents must have had quite the loving marriage.

Grumbling to myself, I ruffled Theo's hair.

“Good morning, little brother.”

Looking out the window, the sun was already high in the sky.

Was it because I had been so exhausted?

I had ended up sleeping in.

My appointment with Cream had been at ten in the morning, so I was already late.

Though she had told me to add two more hours, so was this actually the proper time?

Anyway.

“Hungry?”

“Yes!”

“Let's have lunch.”

“Yes! Hyung!”

Since I was already late anyway, even if I got scolded, I might as well eat first and get scolded afterward.

*

Emerald-green eyes peeked out from between wheat-colored strands of hair.

Under other circumstances, I might have admired the beautiful color.

But I couldn't.

“You know? This is the first time I've ever been stood up like this.”

“I'm sorry.”

I glanced at the wall clock.

The hour hand had passed two, and the minute hand pointed at six.

Two thirty.

I had gone far beyond the appointed time.

“If the people at headquarters find out about this, imagine how much they'll laugh at me.”

“……”

“Ah, this hurts my pride. Did I really look that easy to ignore?”

“It wasn't like that. There were circumstances. I'm sorry.”

“Circumstances? Not that you overslept?”

“……”

“You even made sure to eat a hearty meal. I thought you were heading off to war.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you think there's anything in this village that I don't know about?”

“No.”

I hunched my shoulders and lowered my head deeply.

Following my lead, Theo also bowed his head.

Part of it was because we were overwhelmed by Cream's presence, but more than anything, what made me shrink back was that round badge.

Clack. Clack.

Swallowing nervously, I glanced at the round badge Cream was rolling around.

That golden badge she was deliberately toying with for me to see.

‘Seriously! Why is a Gold Badge Mercenary in a backwater village like this?’

Min-gyu had said that Gold Badge Mercenaries received treatment equivalent to at least a knight, regardless of the size of the nation.

Depending on their achievements, some were even granted actual noble titles.

There was only one reason they received that level of treatment.

Martial power.

Gold Badge Mercenaries were individuals who received noble-level treatment solely through their martial prowess.

And this didn't apply only to players.

NPCs were the same.

Which meant that Cream wasn't someone who should have been in a rural place like this either

“Oh? You're only half-listening right now, aren't you?”

“I was listening attentively.”

“What did I just say, then?”

“……”

“I got ignored again. Ignored again.”

“That isn't the case, sunbae-nim.”

“Sunbae-nim? Aha.”

Cream flicked the golden badge into the air with her finger and caught it.

“So you do know what this is.”

“…Yes.”

Cream was known as one of the NPCs in Beginning Village with the highest recruitment difficulty.

The conclusion had practically been that recruiting her was impossible.

Even Min-gyu had given up early.

His opinion had been that there was no value in investing that much into someone in nothing more than Beginning Village.

‘But if he'd known Cream was a Gold Badge Mercenary, it would've been different.’

In that case, he would have devoted himself to recruiting Cream no matter what.

There might even have been successful recruitment cases.

In any event, it was information that had never been publicly revealed.

Why had information that never appeared for others been handed to me so easily?

I wasn't even sure whether I should view this phenomenon positively.

It was especially unfortunate that the reviews had stopped working right now.

‘Ah, the coins.’

I had forgotten about them for a moment.

[You have exhausted all of your coins.]

It seemed I needed something called coins to view reviews.

I also needed to figure out where coins could be obtained

Everything was frustrating.

“Had you been my direct subordinate, you'd be dead. Remember that.”

“Yes, I'll remember.”

Still, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I had at least gotten through the crisis.

“You are registering as a mercenary, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Name.”

“Kim Iseo.”

“Iseo? That's an unusual name. Are you from the East?”

It was the same question James had asked.

Once again, thinking of Korea, I nodded.

“You came from far away. You don't look like a magical beast hunter. Are you traveling?”

“I'm also hunting magical beasts.”

“You don't look like it. Have you ever hunted one before?”

“No.”

“And you're a magical beast hunter?”

“…An aspiring one.”

“You don't look like you could even catch a deer.”

“……”

“Well, if you say so. Anyway, be careful.”

Taking out a wooden badge, Cream continued.

“The number of magical beasts has increased drastically lately, so the atmosphere is pretty grim. Quite a few veterans have died.”

“Yes.”

This was the basic background setting of [Mercenary Company Management].

When the game began, the background exposition started.

There wasn't even a skip option, so players were forced to watch it.

‘Anyway.’

It was an era in which demons had begun extending their influence across the continent in earnest.

The setting was that their demonic energy overflowed and polluted the continent.

This phenomenon was called “Erosion.”

The higher the Erosion rate, the greater the number of magical beasts that appeared.

In addition, the demons' influence over the continent increased, and the magical beasts became even stronger.

‘And it's the player's job to solve that.’

The player's role was to enter the Tower, hunt demons, and sever the connection between the field and the Tower.

Naturally, there were also forces that interfered with the player.

Some demons wore human skin, while others were servants devoted to the demons.

‘This is also why I'm so sensitive to variables.’

'Gold Badge Mercenary Cream' was one of the biggest variables among the elements I currently possessed.

That was why I couldn't draw any conclusions.

Whether she was an ally or an enemy.

“All done.”

Cream held up a wooden badge and waved it.

Perhaps Cream's true identity would not be revealed until the late stages of the game.

After all, when the final chapter of the game was reached, all the famous figures scattered across the world finally emerged.

Whether they were servants of demons or stars of the continent.

Whatever she turned out to be, it was beyond my ability to handle right now.

That was the conclusion I had reached.

‘For now, stay still.’

Even if Cream was hiding a secret, I had no way of uncovering it.

Not unless she revealed her identity herself.

If I acted recklessly, things could become complicated.

“Spacing out again. Seriously, I want to smack you.”

“No, that's not it.”

I lowered my head and organized my thoughts.

Clicking her tongue with a displeased expression, Cream held out the wooden badge.

“You start with a Wooden Badge . You know that, right?”

I knew the basic mercenary ranking system.

Wooden Badge.

The symbol of apprentice mercenaries.

It was essentially the basic identification that marked the beginning of a mercenary's life.

After that, based on achievements and merits, one advanced through Copper,Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Since Platinum Badges were only awarded to those who had received the title of “King,” the true powers were the Gold Badge Mercenaries.

“Wooden Badge Mercenary Kim Iseo. Congratulations on becoming a mercenary.”

“That's it?”

Cream smirked.

“A Wooden Badge Mercenary's life is worth less than a military-issued weapon. A name is enough for personal information. If you want human rights as a mercenary, earn at least a Copper Badge.”

“…Yes.”

“And from now on, I'm your senior, so I'll speak casually. If you don't like it, say so now.”

“It's fine.”

“Take it. Theo, want one too?”

“Yes!”

“For reference, the registration fee is one copper coin per person.”

I examined the wooden badge that fit neatly in my palm.

There were no markings on the back, but when I turned it over, I saw a name.

[Kim Iseo]

My name, written exactly in Hangul.

The moment I took in those three characters, a bright flash appeared before my eyes.

[Mercenary Registration Complete]

[Mercenary Point +1]

=============

Name: Kim Iseo

Rank: Wood

Affiliation: –

[Strength: 9] [Speed: 9]

[Stamina: 8] [Durability: 8]

[Mana: 5] [Mental Strength: 8]

Bonus Points: 0

Mercenary Points: 1

▶ Unique Ability

???

=============

…What the heck?