Prologue
This place is in Korea….right?
In front of me there was a large western style house, no it was closer to being a mansion to begin with. I got out of the overly decorative vehicle and entered the house guided by several people. I believe they were not there for my safety but my new employer’s.
“Welcome to Korea. I hope that the flight was not too harsh for you” said a middle aged man who was sitting at the lounge.
To the details I got, I don’t know his name, age or occupation since such information was restricted from me naturally as my job requires more….delicate means of information control.
It seems this man was a bit more important than the average person.
“As a precaution I didn’t give my name before but I am called Jeong, a CEO of a moderately successful business. I’m sorry for such a job after you finished your last assignment.”
Moderately successful? Someone on that level couldn’t possibly contact me and make me fly to this country in a day’s notice if he was only on that level. He must have some contacts elsewhere that allowed him to then.
“Not at all, it’s just that I didn’t expect for such a job with such good pay so soon” I replied in English. The man smiled as it was clear that he understood me even though he spoke Korean while I spoke English to him.
“Let me get straight to the point. I want to monitor someone important to me, my daughter” one of the men on the side gave me a folder. Inside it was a photo was a very beautiful woman who was in her early twenties I guess though she seems to look someone who could easily be called younger than that.
“For a simple job like this I suppose there’s a catch” I sighed letting out my speculations on the job itself.
The man…no my new employer laughed at my actions and said, “Naturally, she is going through a new type of therapy and you will observe and protect her from there on in the game.”
Another folder was given to me but this time it was a different woman. Though not as beautiful as the other one, she was someone you can definitely call beautiful.
“This is Dr Cha Eunhee who is a close family friend of mine and someone close to Seoyoon as well. She was the one who recommended this treatment for Seoyoon and I want to make sure nothing bad happens to her in that game.”
So the other one’s name is Seoyoon….but still something of this level shouldn’t be enough to call on someone with my skills.
“As for what you’ll be doing miss….I believe you go by with the Code name Witch in the international world but anyway, you will be observing and protecting her in Royal Road. It doesn’t matter if you protect her from afar or next to her, the most important thing is her safety”
Royal Road.
The revolutionary new VR game that had finally cracked the walls that reality binds us with. Such a thing had only been realised to the Korean market so far and as such someone like me who was a foreigner here would never have access to it.
But mentioning this game would mean I would have to go in there where my skills will be truly tested. I believe the main outline of this game was not to be emperor but the complete freedom this game has. All skills you have are a reflection of oneself and someone like me would inevitably gain skills that would be suited to tracking and observing people down.
As an international spy this was a job quite suited for me however there was a fundamental problem here.
“What if Seoyoon decides to fight? I can’t protect her every time she wants to fight something.”
The man named Jeong pondered and said in reply, “In that case, make sure nothing too bad happens to her. All you need to do is make sure she isn’t scarred for life thanks to this game. If her mental condition gets worse…..”
It seems the life of a person is literally in my hands then and I have to protect it no matter what….this may be a drag but as a profession I can’t complain at all.
“Your contract will last for 2 years in real world time meaning 8 years in the game. The game had only been released for around a month now so not much advance information has been collected. You’re on your own there however you will be supplied with basic housing and a capsule unit along with communication with Dr Cha Eunhee as well. The pay is….I believe it would be around 5 million in U.S dollars per year.”
That kind of money was not that uncommon but it would serve me well for the next couple of years. However 2 years for this contract….in total of 10 million in pay. It’s a bit low but after all the stuff that happened before this, I can consider this as a paid vacation then. How hard could it be to do this job?
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“I accept this job then? Is there a place I can stay for the duration of this job?” I asked, this was one of the most important things since I rather not have to find and pay for a place to live in.
“Of course, that’s part of the contract. You will be living in an apartment near the hospital where my daughter is. Note that your job also extends to not only the game. There were people in the past that tried to stalk her….I want you to also get rid of these people as well though I already have a team working on that. It would be useful if I had another eye in case someone decides to try and find her out of the game.” Jeong was serious when he said this so I suspect this daughter of his had lots of problems with stalkers in the past though I suppose they were gotten rid of by this man as well.
With the interview and me accepting the job, I was sent to an apartment unit that was near the hospital that Seoyoon and Dr Cha Eunchee was. Inside the house was some basic furniture but nothing else. Considering that I will be observing in the game there would be no point in supplying more equipment in the real world. However there was a telescope with infra-red vision on it as well as other tracking devices in here as well.
“It looks like he is prepared for most thing….”
I looked around more and found a high tech computer on a table as well. It was already connected to the Royal Road site with information given in the form of documents that was already known.
I took the time to study it to gain more insight in this game.
Anyway according to the reports I got, Seoyoon already started a day ago so I better get started as well. I got into the capsule and started the game up.
Connect to Royal Road
Yes | No
When I looked around again I was in a white void with nothing but my body in it.
— The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?”
“Yes.”
It seems this game also had the standard character creation system.
— Select the name of your avatar
“Alice I suppose”
I picked the name from one of the childhood stories I remembered.
— Select you gender from Male, Female or Neutral
“Female”
There was really no way I was picking male and I didn’t know what neutral was and I didn’t want to know.
— Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine available
“I suppose human”
I also picked the race that didn’t have any disadvantages and would allow me to bend in the most. Elves and Dwarves had particular styles of playing but humans always were flexible in nature.
— You may alter your appearance
Hmm…..I looked at the current me. It was quite plain if I say so myself but during several times in other jobs when I had to dress up I was often called beautiful. I guess it’s okay to keep my face and body the way it is so it’s easier to adjust to the game.
“Change hair to silver”
The hair on my slightly longer than shoulder length hair turned silver in an instant.
“Add in red strips on some of the edges.”
The hair that was now silver had points of red at the ends. Well you had to look at least interesting to other people but not to the point where everyone will notice you.
— Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road
“Okay then.”
One of the core features of this game was that the character grew as you did certain actions.
— Select a city and kingdom you want to start
“Kingdom of Brent, Citadel of Varhales”
That was the place according to the report given to me that Seoyoon was. As such it would be important to go to the same place as her to begin with.
— Welcome to Royal Road
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Author's Note:
- Word Count: 1500~
- The beginning (well re-beginning) of the series!
- This is just the start so I don't really know the precise direction this will go. But suggestions are welcome.