Chương 90

Lim Cheolho was the core of the team of thirty-three scientists who built the virtual reality system, and the man who led the development of Satisfy by establishing the S. A. Group. He was the creator of the virtual reality system, the father of Satisfy, and the wealthiest person in South Korea. His influence transcended world leaders. Yet in fact, his life wasn't as flashy as the media portrayed. He slept less than four hours a day on average. At 2: 50 AM, his phone rang.

He had only been asleep for twenty minutes. The accumulated fatigue crushed his ability to think, making his voice sharp when he answered.

"What is going on? What?" An urgent voice came through the phone. Lim Cheolho immediately woke up.

"I'm going immediately! Be prepared to give me the report as soon as I arrive!" He got dressed, took the elevator to his underground parking lot, climbed into a limited-edition sports car, and drove to the company at full speed. He ran into Satisfy's Operations Office, asking without recovering his breathing, "What happened?" Yoon Nahee, the head of the operations team, bowed and adjusted her orange horn-rimmed glasses.

"It happened five minutes ago."

"How interesting!" The excited Lim Cheolho sat down and turned his gaze to the huge monitor on the wall. The video showed a Level 73 warrior with messy black hair. The young Asian man was inside a cave at the northern end of an island. He grabbed a dusty book, used it, and was immediately slaughtered by an NPC knight. A staff member handed Lim Cheolho a document.

"Shin Youngwoo. Player name: Grid," Lim Cheolho read, rubbing his chin.

"In reality, as well as in Satisfy, he is a normal person with no outstanding traits. How did this person find the cave at the north end that was concealed by a complex algorithm? Does he have an exploration talent that he doesn't know about?" Morpheus, the supercomputer that controlled all systems to prevent interference, had predicted the cave wouldn't be found for another year and ten months.

"It was merely a product of coincidence and obsession that he discovered the North End Cave," Yoon Nahee stated flatly. Grid had stayed in one city for a year, accumulated 8, 000 reputation, and possessed an intelligence stat lower than 50. He stubbornly explored a high-level zone for three months, dying repeatedly, just to find the item. When he was cornered, he used the legendary book out of pure greed to avoid losing it.

"I see," Lim Cheolho murmured.

"Luck and persistence are also great abilities." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Yoon Nahee tapped her tablet, pointing to Grid's current status on the screen. Because Grid had died and failed an S-rank quest immediately after becoming a Level 1 Legendary Blacksmith, his level had dropped into the negative.

"How does the negative level work?" Nahee asked.

"That is also a cloud of luck," Lim Cheolho laughed.

"Users below level 10 get the beginner bonus, so their experience won't decrease even if they die. But a hidden system exists. Level reduction due to quest failure is enforced regardless of the beginner benefits." He took a sip of coffee.

"He is currently Level -1 and will have to gain two levels to reach Level 1, where he will then have 20 stat points. That young man received a benefit that wouldn't have been possible if he were a player capable of clearing Earl Ashur's quest. He is a really lucky guy." Yoon Nahee frowned, looking at the papers.

"A legendary class has appeared two years sooner than expected. If he has 20 more stat points than others at his level, won't the balance be broken?" Lim Cheolho pointed to a graph of Grid's playtime.

"He was a foolish person who stayed in one city for a year without leaving to find adventures. I don't think he has great talent for the game like the rankers. You don't have to worry."

"If you are not worried about him, Chairman," Nahee sighed, switching the main display on the monitor.

"Then you need to see this. We have a much more immediate balance issue." A new profile popped up on the screen. Lim Cheolho flinched slightly, sitting up straight.

"Player Rudra," Nahee said, her professional composure tightening.

"He has been hunting across the coastal and swamp regions for the last few months. His growth rate is completely terrifying. He is currently Level 248." The operations staff muttered nervously.

"Kraugel is at Level 240," Nahee continued, pulling up the global leaderboards.

"Rudra hasn't just maintained his Rank 1 position. He is actively pulling ahead of the absolute best player in the world."

"And his class quest?" Lim Cheolho asked.

"Phase Four of the Staff Saint path requires him to reach the maximum level of Advanced Staff Mastery," Nahee read the logs.

"Morpheus originally calculated it would take him at least two in-game years of non-stop combat to achieve that. But he sparred relentlessly with NPCs like Elysia and Singuled. He is already at Level 6. He is shattering our projected timeline." Lim Cheolho watched the live feed on the screen. Rudra was standing on a wide, dusty road in the Eternal Kingdom. His black trench coat blew slightly in the dry wind.

Trotting happily by his side was Kratos, the half-gold, half-black divine beast, now the size of a large dog.

"He is moving again," Nahee noted, tracking Rudra's coordinates.

"He just used an AOE sonar skill to map the surrounding five kilometers." On the screen, Rudra looked toward the edge of the rocky canyon in the distance. He grinned, casually resting his heavy, jagged bone staff on his shoulder.

"He found something," Director Yoon Sangmin leaned forward, sweating slightly.

"Is it a local village?"

"No," Nahee paled, checking the map data.

"Right at the edge of his sonar's range is a Yatan Temple. It's an active cult stronghold, heavily guarded by multiple high-level cultists and the Blood Witch, Yura."

"Is he avoiding it?" Sangmin asked hopefully.

"No," Nahee replied, watching Rudra step off the road and head straight into the wilderness.

"He is walking directly toward it." Lim Cheolho burst out laughing. He leaned back in his leather chair, completely thrilled by the sheer momentum of the player on the screen.

"He wiped out one of their rituals in the forest, and now he is walking straight through their front door," Lim Cheolho chuckled, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Should we intervene?" Sangmin asked nervously.

"The Yatan faction already has a massive A-tier bounty on him. If he steps into that temple, the cult leaders will throw everything they have at him to collect it."

"Let them," Lim Cheolho smiled, his eyes locked on the black-coated player disappearing into the canyon shadows.

"The Staff Saint needs to swing his weapon to grow. Let's see how the Yatan Church handles a true brawler."