Chapter 9: The Damsel in Distress
Donape stopped interacting with them entirely, leaving Butler Lee and the two bodyguards marooned in an awkward, heavy silence.
Instead of entertaining them, he was completely absorbed in devising a survival strategy. He cross-referenced the technical data from the shop manual with the System’s rigid quest reward parameters.
The Origins VR Cafe might have been a divine blessing, but the location was logistically awful. It sat far outside any major commercial zone, meaning that despite the decent foot traffic outside, drawing in entirely new foot traffic would be an uphill battle.
Regulars would keep coming back, sure, but their financial value couldn’t match the influx of fresh blood.
Once a user activated a game, their daily playtime maxed out at a meager 100 BC.
While that was a solid chunk of change for a basic retail transaction, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with his rising overhead. He was constantly pressured by a mountain of trivial things completely unrelated to System quests, but no less mandatory than they were.
And every single one of them demanded cold, hard cash.
’Whoever said money can’t buy happiness or time deserves to be torn apart limb from limb,’ Donape thought helplessly. ’In this world, ninety-nine percent of your problems vanish if you’re rich enough. Even dealing with this shitty System requires wealth.’
But with no immediate shortcut in sight, he had no choice but to take it one step at a time while silently cursing the goddamn crushing weight of capitalism.
Meanwhile, Butler Lee and the two bodyguards were completely at a loss while waiting for their young master to finish his session. Left with no other options, they exchanged uneasy glances.
The bodyguard named A-Ji finally took the initiative, dragging three chairs over from the large window by the entrance and lining them up in front of the counter. They begrudgingly decided to watch Irene’s gameplay, even if a slice-of-life logging simulator wasn’t remotely their cup of tea.
Inside the virtual realm, Young Master Baek was no longer wandering around haphazardly.
The trauma of his previous encounter—getting thoroughly thrashed by a random, drunken NPC elder in the starting village—was still painfully fresh in his mind.
Yet, without a proper tutorial to guide him, he felt like a child left completely without direction. He still had no idea what The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts actually entailed, beyond a vague certainty that it had something to do with martial arts.
Even so, his burning enthusiasm didn’t wane in the slightest. The virtual reality technology powering this place was nothing short of miraculous, making the Murim feel entirely real.
The gentle breeze brushing against his skin and the rich scent of damp earth, wild grass, and pine needles assaulting his nostrils were things the premium VR headsets manufactured by global tech giants like Rotten-Apple, Zeta, and Gamzung could never hope to replicate.
"Perhaps... with this level of realism, I can actually replicate that punch? The one that killed me in a single motion?"
In the real world, he had been strictly forbidden from ever learning martial arts. His physical constitution was simply too weak, rendering his body entirely unsuitable for rigorous physical training.
But this Murim was a different story.
This was a virtual world, a perfect distortion of reality where physical limitations could be rewritten.
Was it truly possible? It just might be.
Young Master Baek’s eyes blazed with a renewed fire at the thought of learning martial arts here. If he could achieve it, it would be the ultimate atonement for his deepest regret—being born into the prestigious Baek family as nothing more than a useless wastrel.
While pondering his next move, he suddenly noticed a group of kids his own age sprinting toward a nearby hill.
Among the running children, one girl slowed her pace, turned on her heel, and marched straight toward him.
"Hey, Baek Ji-Hong! Do you have a death wish?!"
This fiery girl was Cheon So-So, the player’s childhood friend according to the game’s background lore.
"Huh? How do you know my real name?" Young Master Baek blurted out, utterly baffled.
Because he had bypassed the tutorial, the System had automatically synchronized his character’s name and appearance with his real-world identity. But as a consequence of his impatience, he was completely blind to the game’s storyline—and had absolutely no idea who this So-So girl was.
"Does that even matter right now?!" So-So yelled, her face turning bright red with anger. "Today is the absolute final day to register as a disciple for the Heavenly Cloud Sect! If you fail to get in, what are you going to say to your deceased parents?! You promised them you would study at the sect!"
Young Master Baek froze. Initially, a thrill of excitement shot through him at the mention of a martial arts sect. But as the part about his "deceased parents" dropped, cold reality set in: he was in deep shit for skipping that tutorial.
For what he thought was just a simple game, the narrative depth was insane.
Left with no other choice, Young Master Baek forced a solemn, dramatic expression onto his face. "You... you’re right. I cannot allow myself to disappoint my late parents. I must fulfill their final wishes."
So-So narrowed her eyes, shooting him a look of pure skepticism. "Are you a fraud?!"
Young Master Baek nearly tripped over his own feet. In his entire life as a wealthy heir, this was the absolute first time anyone had ever dared to call him a fraud.
Panic flashed across Young Master Baek’s face as he scrambled to invent a plausible excuse.
Seeing his frantic expression, So-So suddenly burst into a bright chuckle. "I was just kidding! Baek Ji-Hong is Baek Ji-Hong—there’s no one else who could look that silly."
Her fierce attitude completely melted away, replaced by a gentle, reassuring smile that caught him completely off guard. She extended her hand toward him. "Come on, let’s go together, or we’re going to be late for the entrance ceremony."
Young Master Baek stared at her, completely captivated by the NPC’s seamless, fluid response.
Without even thinking, his hand reached out and wrapped around hers. Her palm was warm, dry, and slightly calloused—a detail so impossibly realistic that it sent a strange, unfamiliar jolt straight to his chest.
In the real world, people only looked at his status as a wealthy heir. But looking into So-So’s eyes, he saw a girl who genuinely cared about him.
Somewhere in between, a quiet spark was flickering.
As the two of them sprinted up the path hand-in-hand under the open sky, the boundaries of reality blurred entirely.
The wind whipping past his face, the steady warmth of her grip, and the frantic beating of his own heart made him forget a vital truth—that this was all just a game.
When So-So and Young Master Baek reached the crest of the hill, a massive, majestic gate loomed before them, blocking the path. Carved deeply above the entrance were the grand words: Heavenly Cloud Sect.
Before long, the heavy gates slowly ground open. The waiting children immediately grew impatient, jostling and shoving one another to force their way inside.
So-So’s brow furrowed in irritation after a passing kid rudely clipped her shoulder.
"Move. Aside," she muttered, her voice dropping to a heavy, ominous tone.
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed and forcefully shoved aside anyone blocking her or trying to overtake her and Young Master Baek.
The other children hit the dirt instantly, looking completely helpless.
It wasn’t just a fluke; it was the sheer difference in raw strength. So-So was the granddaughter of Cheon Di-Ma, an advisory elder of the Heavenly Cloud Sect who hailed directly from the lineage of the first patriarch, Cheon Di-Mun.
Yet, she clearly hadn’t inherited a single ounce of the Cheon clan’s famed gentleness. Her brute, unyielding strength was something ordinary kids couldn’t hope to match unless they had already attained a solid foundation in martial arts.
After bulldozing their way through the crowd, So-So and Young Master Baek finally arrived at the sect’s main training ground, where over a hundred applicants were spreading out as directed.
So-So turned to him, her fierce expression instantly melting into a smile. "Baek Ji-Hong, wait here. I’ll go talk to Grandpa so we can bypass this and go straight to the main ceremony."
She hurried off, leaving behind a faint, lingering scent.
Young Master Baek stood frozen for a moment before snapping out of it. "Get a grip! She’s just a game character," he muttered, gently slapping his own forehead.
Before he could even lower his hand, a heavy shove caught him from behind, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
"What the f*ck?!" he barked, glaring up.
"Hey, brat. You better keep your distance from Young Lady Cheon," a stocky boy sneered, flanking a well-dressed, arrogant youth.
Young Master Baek bristled. "What’s it to you?!"
"You snotty bastard!" another lackey chimed in. "How dare you speak like that in front of Young Master Namgoong!"
Young Master Namgoong narrowed his eyes. "Beat him."
Within seconds, the lackeys swarmed him, raining down fists and kicks. It was a terrifyingly familiar situation—except back in the real world, Young Master Baek was always the one ordering the beatdowns. Now, in this hyper-realistic virtual world, he was the one eating dirt.
"Stop!!! What do you think you’re doing to my Ji-Hong?!!"
A furious roar shattered the chaos. The bullies flinched instantly, their faces draining of color as they turned to face a downright demonic Cheon So-So.