Chapter 10: Even a Deity Follows the Rules
Cheon So-So rolled up her sleeves and strode forward, her gaze razor-sharp and radiating a downright deadly aura.
Young Master Namgoong and his two lackeys instantly shrank back. Cornered and desperate, Namgoong Min-Soo stammered out a panicked warning. "D-Don’t come any closer! So-So, s-stop right there! I-If you hit me, I’ll tell my grandfather!"
So-So didn’t even pause. Instead, she brought her right foot down in a heavy, deliberate stomp. The ground groaned under the impact, spiderweb cracks spreading across the dirt around her boot.
The surrounding crowd immediately locked onto the commotion, whispering excitedly as they watched the spectacle unfold—none of them having the slightest intention of intervening. Even several second- and third-grade disciples could only watch helplessly before quickly glancing away. They knew So-So’s face far too well to meddle in her business.
The Namgoong clan might be famous throughout the land, but within the walls of the Heavenly Cloud Sect, the Cheon clan was the ultimate authority. Knowing this, the senior disciples chose to mind their own business, silently agreeing to wait until the situation turned completely disastrous before even thinking about stepping in.
With the two lackeys completely paralyzed by fear, So-So closed the distance without a hassle.
She yanked the first kid forward with her right hand, launching a devastating left jab without hesitation.
Kaboom!
The boy went down instantly, biting the dirt and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Seeing his friend flattened, the second lackey charged forward blindly, his face twisted in pure terror. So-So casually tilted her head to dodge his clumsy strike. In the same fluid motion, she drew her right arm back and unleashed a brutal counterattack.
Boom!
The heavy punch buried itself straight into the lackey’s stomach, sending a small shockwave ripping through his torso. The boy gasped, crashing to the ground and skittering across the dirt like a skipping stone until a third-grade disciple suddenly stepped in to catch his sliding body.
Now, only Young Master Namgoong remained, trembling violently with a face as pale as a sheet.
So-So gritted her teeth and leaped forward to close the gap. Her clenched fist surged with raw, unbridled power, practically shattering the air in its path.
But before the impact could connect, two second-grade disciples blurred into motion, stepping between them and safely catching her arm.
"Young Miss, please calm down. This is too dangerous," one warned anxiously. "The Elder won’t be pleased if he hears of this."
"Yes, Young Miss," the other added, gesturing behind him. "Young Master Namgoong has already fainted and is foaming at the mouth from sheer fright. We believe this is more than enough."
"Let go of me! This isn’t enough! This bastard needs to pay the consequences!" So-So roared, twisting violently to break free from her restraints.
But no matter how much strength she exerted, her efforts were futile; the two second-grade disciples didn’t budge an inch.
Pushing himself up from the ground, Young Master Baek completely ignored the throbbing pain racking his body. His face twisted as he struggled to process the chaotic spectacle that had just unfolded before his eyes. He lowered his head, a familiar wave of uselessness washing over him.
Whether in the real world or this virtual one, nothing had changed—he was still pathetic, relying on others to protect him while he could do absolutely nothing on his own.
Steeling his resolve, he forced his battered body up, knelt, and heavily slammed his forehead straight onto the ground.
"This is all my fault!" he shouted into the dirt. "I am willing to accept any punishment! So please... seniors, allow me to join the sect!"
It was an entirely absurd, desperate request, but many hidden factors gave it weight.
One of the second-grade disciples gave a subtle nod, signaling with his chin. At the same time, the other disciple flicked his wrist, tossing a wooden disciple identification token through the air. It landed with a dull thud right in front of Young Master Baek.
Seeing the childhood friend stoop so low just to defuse the situation, the fire in So-So’s eyes finally died down.
Before long, the crowd dispersed.
The Heavenly Cloud Sect disciples dragged away the unconscious Young Master Namgoong and his groaning lackeys, leaving the training grounds quiet once more.
Finally, only So-So and Young Master Baek remained.
Young Master Baek stood frozen, his eyes hollow as he stared down at his trembling hands.
’No! I will prove that everything here is different from the outside world. I won’t be that same useless wastrel anymore!’
Suddenly, a soft hand entered his field of vision. So-So stepped closer, gently brushing away the stray hairs that had fallen across his dirt-stained forehead.
"Don’t make such a gloomy, heavy face," she murmured, slipping her hands behind her back and offering him a soft, reassuring smile. "Unclasp your fists and smile a little."
Young Master Baek’s eyes widened in utter shock. Before he could even process her words, a fierce blush burned across his cheeks, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs.
He had certainly found a new purpose within this VR game—but at that exact same moment, he realized he was in deep, absolute trouble.
’Ah, damn it. I’ve actually fallen for a literal NPC! This is completely insane!’
Meanwhile, Donape sat relaxed behind the counter, casually monitoring the status of the VR capsules on his PC.
For Irene, the data were mild as expected. Her vitals were completely stable, and her synchronization rate fluctuated between 0% and 1%. It was an unusual, almost wasteful way to use the capsule, failing to maximize its true potential.
Young Master Baek, however, was proving to be a fascinating subject. While his vitals fluctuated wildly in tandem with his emotional ups and downs inside the game, his synchronization rate was what truly caught Donape’s attention.
At the start of the session, his synchronization averaged a meager 1–3%. Midway through, it spiked to 7%. And just now, during that emotional outburst, it peaked at an impressive 11%.
This meant that whatever Young Master Baek achieved inside the game would directly bleed into the real world.
The math was simple: if a player accumulated 10 points in Strength inside the game, an average synchronization rate of 10% would grant them 1 additional point of raw Strength in reality.
This seemingly small detail was undeniable proof that the supernatural had begun to penetrate the modern world of Blue Star—a faint flicker of a global awakening in the making.
If Young Master Baek kept accumulating these stats, his frail, sickly real-world body would transform drastically into a constitution perfectly suited for martial arts.
Not long after, the hiss of hydraulic pressure echoed as the lid of VR Capsule 2 slid open, revealing Irene with a deeply annoyed, dissatisfied pout.
She marched straight to the counter, subconsciously touching her lips with a glare.
"If you run a business like this, you’ll go bankrupt sooner or later! How can you kick customers out the exact second their time is up? Can’t you just bend the rules and let me play a bit longer? The shop is empty anyway, it’s a total waste! Also, lower the price!"
"Haha, I’d love to," Donape replied with a casual shrug, completely unfazed. "But as a mere shopkeeper, I don’t have that kind of authority."
Inwardly, though, Donape had to admit the system’s rules could be frustrating. When the shop was dead, no other customers were waiting, yet he still couldn’t extend a session.
Furthermore, while the current prices were justified by the god-tier technology, they were undeniably steep for the area.
It wasn’t an issue for the wealthy, but for regular locals, the price barrier would inevitably scare them off before they even got a chance to try it. It was a bottleneck he would have to address later.
"Seriously, who even owns this place?" Irene grumbled, crossing her arms defensively as she looked around the high-tech interior. "What kind of crazy company builds a high-end place like this in a neighborhood like yours?"
Instead of giving a straight answer, Donape merely offered a faint, enigmatic smile.
Irene clicked her tongue in frustration, realizing she wouldn’t get a word out of him, and turned on her heel to leave the shop before she was tempted to drain her wallet any further.
An hour after Irene left, the hydraulic lid of Capsule 3 slid open, revealing Young Master Baek. He stumbled out, his face completely flushed and slick with sweat.
The sight immediately triggered a massive, deep misunderstanding from Butler Lee and the two bodyguards. Even Donape shot him a judgmental look, treating him like a pervert caught red-handed.
"W-What are you looking at?!" Young Master Baek stammered, his panic rising.
"Just what exactly were you doing in that game to end up that red and sweaty?" Donape struck a direct blow.
"Ahem." Butler Lee quickly cleared his throat to halt the dangerous conversation, while the bodyguards stepped forward to ensure their young master was physically intact.
Refusing to leave, Young Master Baek shouted desperately as the bodyguards began dragging him toward the exit. "Boss! Let me play again! I’ll pay thirty times the listed price to stay until closing! How about it?!"
The entourage froze, completely shocked by the absurd offer. They glared at Donape, silently begging him to refuse.
Donape swallowed hard. It was an astronomical sum. Managing a converted warehouse and paying the monthly utility bills certainly made him want to break the rules just this once.
But the strict guidelines of the shop manual snapped into his mind, reminding him of the Tyrannical System. The consequences of a violation were unimaginable.
Forcing a polite smile, Donape sighed inwardly. "I must apologize. Rules are rules."