Chapter 73 073

BunnyRabbit was glaring at the community screen with a pounding heart.

'I really hope that he contacts me soon!'

She instinctively knew that Seojin had scored another one when she saw the message announcing the completion of the World Quest.

'He even said himself that he'd do the World Quest, so I'm sure he's done a clean job!'

The trust and favor she put into Seojin were almost at the level of religion. She still thought that he was a huge nerd when it came to being serious about companions and stuff, but even that felt like a kind of likable innocence.

'He makes money by doing what he loves, and he's still passionate even after it became his job… who wouldn't like that kind of guy?'

It was the same admiration that one felt when seeing someone make a living through hard, honest work. He inspired her too.

-Bunny, are you there?

"Of course I am! I'm on standby twenty-four-seven!"

-I finished the world quest.

Indeed, he didn't disappoint her.

-Tell them that… (omitted) … and that's it. Can you do that?

"Not at all! I'll take care of it for sure!"

BunnyRabbit disconnected, feeling grateful for Seojin.

'…He also wanted me to emphasize the contribution that his party members made.'

Seojin did not complete the quest alone this time, he did it with three other party members.

Judging by what he said, he quite literally piggy-backed all three of them, but Seojin wanted her to report that they were each quite capable in their own way.

'The company wants me to spill everything, and that they'll make the decision, but Seojin wants me to keep quiet about it…'

Bunny soon made up her mind.

'Companions come first. Seojin's not the type to screw me over, so…'

Bunny was confident that Seojin would take care of her, so it wasn't difficult for her to make up her mind. Now all she had to do was go and drink the coffee that her supervisor made for her.

* * *

"So, it was him again."

Merhen grinned as he read a brief summary of what happened, which Seojin had sent him just a few moments ago. One could say that it was unfairly easy for him, but Merhen didn't think so.

'I should improve myself first before discrediting others' achievements.'

He was returning to his former mindset, back from when he played Asgard. At that time, Seojin cleared all the quests like it was easier for him compared to others. Merhen couldn't have been close with Seojin if he got jealous over such things.

'Following him was really beneficial too. I learned a lot from him.'

However, it turned out that Seojin had never changed at all during the past five years, while Merhen himself had deteriorated quite a bit, which should've led to this outcome.

"I won't tell him…"

He wasn't planning to say that he was progressing with the same quest. The reason was simple: he felt ashamed!

He'd rather cut his own tongue out before admitting that he, who pretended to be Seojin's Patreon and also a bus driver, had actually lost against Seojin.

'I'll win next time.'

Instead, he bolstered his enthusiasm. Seojin always emphasized positive competition, saying that the more competitors one had, the better his skill would become. Now, Seojin was a competitor to him, and he would have to play the game more passionately to at least trail behind him.

'We'll see. Next time… actually, I don't think next time will be all that different… I bet I'll be super happy I beat him in the competition someday.'

Just thinking about it made him laugh, and to make his dream come true…

'Gotta build up my loot collection fast and start looking for clues as soon as next month's quest starts…'

Merhen clenched his jaw with a new sense of resolve, he had to stick to a tight schedule.

* * *

Information about Seojin's World Quest was released first on the website secretly operated by Hailstorm's Strategic Planning Department. They freely released clickbait about friction between him and Ironblood, but this time, the info was restricted to only VIP-grade members, almost as if to match its importance.

It wasn't about making money. It was about making everyone understand just how valuable Seojin was.

Soon enough, the general communities began to burn as players found out that the fire covering half of the Churai Islands had disappeared as if it had never been there, only weak flames in other areas remained. What that meant was simple.

Doesn't that mean the World Quest was completed on the Churai Islands?

They had already seen a system message, so, players who would normally have passed over it lightly were overcome with interest.

-All the other areas are the same, except for the Churai Islands…

-Wow, that means it was completed there! So, did Ironblood lose the race again?

-The Churai Islands are in the southern part of Valaran, near Erzebet.

That meant there was a high possibility that Seojin was still there, considering the geographical factors. Public opinion naturally collected to form one central idea.

-It has to be Anti-Mainstream. He lied about quitting the game.

-No way. I know him personally, he's taking a break from the game because he's sick of it.

Amid the flow of rumors, everyone took Seojin's involvement as a solid fact. Seojin finally confirmed it himself.

Anti-Mainstream here

He simply told the truth, from how he had met the trio to how they cleared the World Quest, with some slight exaggerations.

Seojin deliberately understated his role in the matter.

-So, four of them cleared a raid-level difficulty quest?

-Who were the other three?

-Tell me right now or I'll die of curiosity!

It was almost like a fairytale. The four protagonists watched each other's backs, wielding their swords and staffs before the enemy. After hell and high water, they finally defeated the evil mastermind, a powerful level 100 monster!

The intriguing story imprinted the name "Anti-Mainstream" deep into everyone's minds

My character name is Seojin. Beware of impersonators, I would never try to take advantage of someone using my name.

People went wild as they saw that he'd even revealed his name. Everyone had thought that the mysterious rookie had quit the game after the incident.

Of course, Seojin's intentions were beyond such trivial issues.

* * *

"I don't know how many new Seojins there will be."

Midgard had around a hundred million players, so banning duplicate nicknames wasn't really an option as players would feel suffocated by the process of creating a nickname.

In order to prevent such a situation, Hailstorm allowed them to use the same character names, but they could only add each other as friends if they knew each other's codes.

What Seojin aimed for was to use numerous impersonators as his camouflage, and make people think he was one of the impersonators, too.

'I'll have to finish this before people head to the Southern Island.'

Chain Quest: Faded Memories.

* Citizens of the Southern Island of the Churai Islands, which almost served as the devil's bridgehead, are suffering from heavy mental distress.

* They didn't feel strange even though the precious things disappeared before their very eyes, and without the adventurers, they might have continued to feel that way.

* Support the residents who groan in deep fear. so that they can shake off their trauma.

* Basic Reward: Undetermined.

Seojin was the only one who received this quest when he completed the World Quest.

Maybe it was because he was the one who expelled Vales with his tongue.

'It doesn't seem like I'll be able to finish things up before people start to notice.'

It was a quest chain from a goddamn World Quest, so it was inevitable that he would have to invest quite some time in order to do it properly.

'…Perhaps it's better to just reveal myself.'

Appearance Changed.

He rolled back to the appearance he had first used in Erzebet. NPCs would overreact to Seojin's presence either way, so there was no use in hiding it.

'If I can't hide, I'll draw their attention instead.'

That was Seojin's plan, but once he returned, he found that the reaction was much bigger than he expected.

"Anti-Mainstream here!"

"It's Seojin! Wait! Everyone take a step back! I'll kill anyone who bothers him!"

"You shut up then!"

"I'm your biggest fan! Seojin!"

The snowball he had started rolling down the hills of the communities grew out of control.

* * *

"Oh, he sat down! Is there something hidden in that restaurant?"

"He's eating! Seojin is lifting a spoon!"

"There's no way he's just taking an ordinary walk. I'm sure there must be something around here!"

'It's not like that…'

Seojin was speechless upon learning what it felt like to be in the spotlight. It wasn't like he had no idea what he was signing up for, as he was always popular whenever he played Midgard or any other older games.

Nevertheless, drawing attention over a screen and in online communities couldn't even begin to match the realistic feeling of a VRMMO.

'They even put a meaning on my damn breathing…'

The coastal town on the Southern Island of the Churai Islands.

It was true that Seojin had received a quest there right after completing the World Quest.

Chain Quest: Faded Memories.

* Citizens of the Southern Island of the Churai Islands, which almost served as the devil's bridgehead, are suffering heavy mental distress.

* Support the residents who groan in deep fear. so that they can shake off their trauma.

* Basic Reward: Undetermined.

Ordinary folks found the fact that they were on the brink of being erased by demons without even knowing it was too much to handle. So basically, the quest wasn't a big deal, it was a moral responsibility rather than an obligation.

It was quite a corporate-level customer service that they were asking for.

'At least it's not volunteer work…'

The reward must be scaled along with the level of care he provided.

However, Seojin couldn't just carry the quest out normally while tons of people were staring at him.

"There are too many adventurers… is something else going to happen…?"

"I'm so scared. Is this even real…? Argh!"

The residents of the island were suffering from a kind of post-traumatic stress disorder, and a crowd of players easily stimulated their fear.

'Maybe things would be better if they just straight ran up to me, but I'm sure they're just watching from a distance because of the post I uploaded in the community.'

He had once written a post stating that he was sick of stalkers, and most of the comments in the post were condemning such players. His current situation must have been the result of that.

"Looking at me while maintaining a safe distance… eh? It's amazing that no one has even talked to me."

He guessed they were afraid of getting bashed online, which meant they could only come closer and chat with him if he allowed it.

'I'll allow them then.'

Seojin stoop up and looked at the wavering crowd, which was a free labor in his eyes.