italicized words : Thoughts/Flashbacks
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Chapter 1: Preparations for Royal Road, the Training
‘…my head,’ Hyuna slowly rubbed her temple with one hand while the other continued surfing through the web for more information on Royal Road.
It had been less than 12 hours since the loan sharks confronted her at the hospital. Most of the money that she had earned from the sale of Weed was also gone as a result.
On one hand, it is a good thing that they will no longer have to worry about being chased because of the inherited debt. But on the flip side, it also meant that most of the plans for newly gotten money had to be scrapped.
‘The money that I planned to set aside for Hyuna’s education is almost all gone. Minus the 50,000,000 won used as the down payment for our house, we would only have 40,000,000 won left.’
To be honest, it wasn’t enough. 40,000,000 won would barely last them two years in their current state. On top of the monthly installment payments that were needed for the new house, there were also hospital bills to pay. To top it off, Hayan is slated to start university in a year.
‘And everyone knows that university education doesn’t come cheap.'
Even though their circumstances can be said to be better than how they were two days ago, Hyuna knew that in order to not fall back into that pit of debt, the only way was to continue earning even more money.
“I am Han Jinsup of Myongdong. Do you really your boldness will work in this poisonous world? If you think it’s unfair, make 3,000,000,000 in 5 years and look for me.”
The only viable route left to her was now displayed on the computer screen.
Royal Road
It has only been three months since the game was launched, but no one seemed to have a single bad word on the latest virtual reality game in the market.
‘I will wait, and I will train. One year, if the game is still growing then… Then, it shall be my platform to earn more money.’ Hyuna decided. Her hands were trembling from the decision, yet her eyes were stone-cold.
The capsule that was needed for the users to play that game costs a whopping 15,000,000 won. The price of one capsule is enough to feed the three of them for at least a year!
‘Who the hell would price a gaming console for 15,000,000 won?’ Hyuna grumbled internally.
By joining the game a year later, Hyuna would not only have more time to train herself for the game… Also, she was betting on the fact that the capsule would receive a price-cut in the coming year.
‘In order to attract more casual users and keep the game afloat, the company has to reduce the price of the consoles to make it more affordable.’
Looking at the clock, Hyuna quickly grabbed a few items before rushing out of the house. ‘I would have barely enough time to drop by the hospital to visit grandma before going off to work.’
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Hyuna felt a body slam into her, sending her tumbling forward just as she was about to enter her grandmother’s room.
She winced when she hit the floor. Opening her eyes, she barely caught a glimpse of the man who knocked her down before he turned into a corner.
Narrowing her eyes at where she last saw him, Hyuna was about to stand when a hand appeared right in front of her.
“I apologize for my brother’s actions. Are you injured?” A man in his twenties pulled her to her feet and smiled sheepishly.
For a moment, Hyuna was tempted to reply yes. But that was before she realized the room door leading to her grandmother’s hospital bed was open and she could probably hear everything that was being said.
“No, I’m alright. Please excuse me.” She stepped to a side and was prepared to enter the room when she felt her arm grabbed by the guy.
“I hope that you don’t think badly of my brother, he is usually a nice guy. It’s just that he received some really bad news a while back…” The guy’s eyes were shadowed, and his other fist clenched tightly. It was obvious that the bad news his brother received had hit him hard as well.
‘I don’t care.’ “I see. Please excuse me. I have a person to visit in that room.” Hyuna’s reply was unfailingly polite. She has more things to do than to pity a guy who can’t pick himself up and move on.
Prying his hand off her arm, Hyuna was stopped once again by him when he placed a name card on her palm.
‘Kang Min, Manager of Scarlet Corporation for Computer Solutions
Head of Sales and Marketing
Telephone Number: xxxx xxxx xx ’
“Please call if there’s anything that I can help you with. It’s the least I can do after everything.” With a bow, the man, Kang Min quickly left.
‘What.’
“Sister!” A pair of arms was suddenly wrapped around her waist, “what are you doing standing outside the room?”
“…Hayan?”
“Yes?”
“Here.” Hyuna dropped the card on to her sister’s hand. “His brother bumped into me and he gave me this as an apology. Do what you want with it. Give grandma my regards will you? I need to rush to work now.”
With that, Hyuna hugged her sister before heading towards the exit. Because of that guy and his brother, she failed to go through with her plans to visit her grandmother.
‘I guess I'll have to go visit grandma after work instead…’
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“Goodbye grandma, sleep well,” Hyuna smiled and quietly shut the door.
“So you’ve been in this room all along?”
Turning around, Hyuna stared at the stranger in front of her. He had his arms crossed and a frown on his face.
“Who are you?”
Staring hard at her, the guy moved forward, as if to intimidate her, before speaking. “My brother said I knocked you over this morning and insisted that I apologise. So there, I’m sorry.”
Raising an eyebrow, Hyuna seriously wondered if that was all he had to say. Nodding absently, she walked around him and headed for the exit. ‘I wonder if Hayan ate dinner yet.’
“Hey! Wait!” The guy from just now appeared before her again. “So, you are just going to walk away?”
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‘What else do you expect? I was almost late for work today because of you and your brother. Thank goodness the boss did not decide to cut my pay because of it.’
“Yes,” she continued walking.
“I told you to wait!” The guy grabbed onto her arm tightly to stop her from leaving.
‘Is this supposed to be painful? The splattered oil coming from the fryers hurt more than this.’
“Are you going to compensate me?” Hyuna asked, looking the guy in the eye.
“Huh, what?” he seemed shocked from the question. “W-why should I!”
“Then excuse me, I have better things to do than to cater to your needs.” Hyuna jerked her arms out of his grip and left, “time is money after all.”
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Sneak Peek (Approx 1 year 2 months into the future): How Hayan got her Royal Road Capsule
“I’m home!” Hayan entered the house and quickly removed her shoes.
Placing her bag on the ground, she wandered into the various rooms looking for her sister. “Sister?”
“Oh…” Hayan stopped, gazing at the capsule that is placed against the room’s wall. “…You’re playing Royal Road again…”
Hayan pouted.
She knew that her sister was working hard in game in order to provide for the entire family. But that did not mean that she would not miss the presence of her sister, hovering over her as she checked that she was getting enough nutrition for her growth.
She wanted to help too.
Eyes suddenly lighting up, Hayan ran to her room and rummaged through one of the side cabinets by her bed. “Ah-ha! Found it!”
What was in her hand was the name card that her sister gave to her one day at the hospital.
“Kang Min… Head of Sales and Marketing…” ‘That means that he should have control over the stocks in the company’s inventory, doesn’t it? …Royal Road Capsules…’
Hayan grinned.
Let it never be said that Hayan was not as crafty as her sister. The only difference between both of them, was probably the fact that Hyuna had more experience with the darker side of human nature, while Hayan still chose to believe in the good within all… well, most people.
But that belief would not stop her from using every means to get the things that she wants. ‘As long as it does not affect my family…’
Dialing the number on the card, Hayan waited as the ring tone continued to echo out of the receiver.
“Hello, this is Kang Min. Who is this?”
“Hello, I’m Lee Hayan, the sister of the girl that your younger brother bumped into at the hospital. You...mentioned that she could call if she needed help...?” Hayan sounded really hopeful, her fingers curled tightly around the phone. ‘Please let it work!’
“… Ah yes, Lee Hyuna, right? I remember my brother mentioning her. Is she alright?” A concerned voice came over the speaker.
“…that… She is fine, for now. But our family situation isn’t good. You see, the two of us inherited a huge debt... And my sister has only just managed to clear it. But coupled with the hospital bills... Sister has been working herself to the bone just to keep us from falling back into debt again. At this rate, I'm afraid... she may just collapse…” Hayan’s voice became weaker the longer she spoke.
“!! That… Is there I can do to help?”
‘…He really is gullible.’ Hayan blinked when she heard his reply. “Well, I suppose you have heard of the game Royal Road?”
“Yes, I have. It’s currently ranked as the most popular game in the past decade. Why?”
“My sister… She has been using the money she received from trading off items to provide for the family… But, the length of time she stayed in the capsule has been increasing recently—”
“And you wish to spend more time with her?” Kang Min’s voice cut her off in the middle of the sentence, somehow, he seemed…amused?
“Ah… yes.” Hayan whispered.
“Well, Hayan, usually I would just hang up if I receive calls like this.” There, he paused, seemingly trying to find the right words, “but… considering the favor your sister did for that stubborn brother of mine, I supposed I can indulge in this request of yours.”
“Really?”
“Under one condition, you are never to call someone you don’t know with the intention of guilting him into getting something for you. Got it?”
‘Shoot. He realized?’ Hayan winced even as she agreed to his condition.
“Very well then, a Royal Road Capsule will arrive at your house tomorrow morning. Just sign it off under your name and it’s yours.”
“…Thank you Kang Min-nim!”
A sigh was heard over the phone, before the guy started chuckling. “It’s no problem. Do me a favor and tell your sister that I would appreciate it if the two of you would drop by to visit my brother, would you?”
“Okay! Thank you again!” Hayan chirped into the phone happily before a short ‘bye’ was heard and the call ended.
“Yes!” Hayan pumped her fist into the air. “I can finally play Royal Road with my sister!”
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A/N: Chapter 1, posted earlier than expected. As you can tell from this chapter, I will be setting aside 2-3 chapters just to cover the 1 year time-skip that the novel glossed over. I've no idea how you guys would react to this tbh. Hopefully... not badly.
A couple of points that I would like to clarify with you guys.
1) I know that from the description alone, most of you would assume that I would copy scenes from the main novel, or that things would remain more or less the same. But that isn't true. I'm just taking the given description of the LMS class and Weed's personality (and his friends) and running off with it. Hyuna may complete it with different people, she may even fail the quests, or she could have just skipped it altogether because of some other event... or something else may just happen. *shrugs* Who knows.
2) The people appearing in this and the coming few chapters aren't just for show. Most of them do play RR. What is their in-game name on the other hand... is for me to know and you to guess.
3) (This isn't exactly a point) But... I hate writing the Geomchis. :/ So if you don't see them in the coming chapter... Then it's likely that their first meeting with Hyuna will only be shown when she starts playing RR.