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“Won Bin!”
A handsome man with loosely styled reddish hair paused in his steps and reluctantly turned to the familiar voice. The dim streetlights shone partially on another man, who soon rushed up and placed an unwelcome hand on Woo Bin’s shoulder. The strings of fate tied him to a persistent pair of siblings.
“Tae Guk... I have no business with you.” He gently slapped away his schoolmate and also neighbor’s hand from his shoulder.
“Don’t be like that. Want to drop by my house?” Tae Guk grabbed Woo Bin’s arm and started pulling him towards home, but Woo Bin firmly rooted his feet by putting all his weight in.
“I know what you are thinking, but ‘no’.”
“C’mon. You rejected poor Mi Ha the other day. You should be nicer to girls.” Tae Guk smiled slyly. His sister tortures him by mentioning Won Bin every day, and in turn he returns his suffering to the source by bringing up Mi Ha.
Won Bin immediately made a painful look, “If you were hospitalized like I was from your sister’s shitty cookies, you’d run too at the sight of them.”
“Hey! It was no better for me. I ended up glued to the toilet for hours!” Tae Guk shuddered at the memory. “Besides, she’s not cooking today. My mom and my girlfriend probably made dinner.”
Tae Guk felt Woo Bin’s resistance let up, and he coolly added, “You might regret missing this dinner. I have a big surprise for you.”
Contrary to what he expected, Woo Bin’s sudden burst of laughter sang through the empty street.
Wary, Tae Guk asked, “W-why are you having that ‘I-know-something-you-don’t’ laugh?"
The laughter became louder yet it broke as suddenly as it came, “Let’s just say… Mi Ha tells me everything, but I don’t tell her everything.”
Won Bin shook off Tae Guk’s hand and waved before heading back home, leaving a confused figure behind.
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As Gem regained her consciousness, she quickly sat up and covered her nose to block out the onslaught of various odors.
‘Ugh… It smells like fart! ...Where am I?’
She raised her head and looked around in vain as darkness clouded her vision. Rubbing her eyes repeatedly, Gem couldn’t believe there was still a place on Earth where light did not shine.
‘Is this the future of Seoul? A city without light?’
A pair of sudden voices startled her, “Ah… If only other cities offered the assassin class, then I wouldn't be stuck in this stink hole.”
“Can’t be helped, harpies laid siege here since a month ago. We can’t go out during the day.”
Their voices indicated she was alone in a room with two males. Gem wasn’t sure if calling attention was a good move, but she remembered her voice didn’t change. Gathering her undertones, Gem chimed in, “Excuse me bros, but where are we?”
Surprised, two distinct curses were muttered before the first male who spoke spat, “Oh great, another dude in this cramp-ass space.”
The second at least answered the question, “Obviously we are in Soul City. You chose this place.”
“I meant this pitch-black room!”
“It’s where new players spawn. Usually you'll be in the town square, but the harpies are looking for prey right now.”
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“When evening comes, an NPC will come let you out. You might as well log off unless you have already learned a craft skill outside.”
‘Log off? I didn’t even get a glimpse of Won Bin oppa! I don’t know what harpies are but that won’t separate us.’
Getting up, Gem felt her way around the small space, occasionally eliciting a few ‘ow’s and ‘watch it’s until her hands landed on what seemed like a wooden door. She tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked.
‘What’s this? Break the prison game?’ She took a back stance and swiftly delivered a heavy kick. The shock wave went back to her leg, and Gem immediately bowed over.
D-ding.
Durability -5
The durability of the door is now 20/50.
‘Why is the pain so real?!’ Gem got up and threw her whole body weight at the door this time. And again.
Durability -7
Durability -7
“Hey!! What are you doing? Do you want to die?!” Both men got up and started feeling their way around.
Gem quickly charged one more time and the door hinges came loose.
D-ding.
You were fined 500 coppers for breaking public property.
Bad karma: +10
Failure to pay within 10 days: Infamy +10 and fine will double
The other two persons in the room screamed no as the door tumbled awkwardly. The daylight poured into the room and Gem shielded her eyes. Through the gaps of her finger, Gem saw big birdlike humans guarding every inch of sky. The rays of light flickered on and off as the harpies fly about each other.
Without warning, Gem quickly tumbled back as a large razor-sharp claw swooped in from the door. She quickly turned around and dashed to the far corner of the room. One of the unlucky guys was caught and died an instant death. The other guy also jumped back to the edges of the wall. The giant claw grabbed persistently at every inch of space all the while screeching at a deafening volume. Gem grabbed her ears but it failed to block anything.
You have been paralyzed by Harpy’s scream.
Your stats have been reduced by 50% due to facing a much stronger opponent.
Gem didn't know what to do, but the harpy wasn't leaving. She looked over to the other person, and he had somehow disappeared.
'Where did he go?!' She never expected an online game to be so intense. Now she was stuck here with a human eating bird-thing while the the other person mysteriously vaporized.
'Oppa...'
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