Chapter 16: Can’t Even Eat Dinner in Peace
"Oh! Oh my!" Irene gasped, her heart hammering as she realized she hadn’t hit the cold floor.
"Be careful. It’s a bit crowded in here today," Donape said calmly, steadying her before handing her smartphone back.
"Wow, Shopkeeper! You’re incredibly agile!" Ga-Eun and Mira chimed in, completely amazed by how smoothly he had intercepted her fall.
But while the girls saw a chivalrous rescue, Ji-Hong and his security team stood frozen, their jaws practically hitting the floor.
Ji-Hong’s eyes were wide with pure awe. To him, Donape’s posture and execution looked impossibly cool—like a legendary main character effortlessly saving a heroine. But his elite bodyguards were staring for a completely different, terrifying reason. They were paralyzed by the sheer fluidity of Donape’s movements.
It didn’t make sense. No matter how skilled a martial artist was, swiping a hand hard and fast enough to create a precise mini-vortex—one capable of catching and rotating a falling smartphone—was unprecedented.
But this was the ultimate difference in stats. While Ji-Hong had blindly focused all his points on raw Strength and Agility, Donape’s Qi Perception was on a completely different level. Because he could actually feel the weight and flow of the natural energy lingering in the air, he could use raw physical speed to weaponize a simple gust of wind with perfect accuracy.
Butler Lee stepped closer to A-Ji and Ji-Ga, keeping his voice low. "Do you think... that was internal energy?"
Ji-Ga shook his head, completely lost for words.
A-Ji swallowed hard, trying to rationalize what he had just witnessed. "Elder Lee, it’s common knowledge that internal energy is just a myth. It isn’t real."
"Yes, I know that," Butler Lee replied, his voice deadpan. "But our young master is living proof that this shop operates on a supernatural foundation."
A-Ji went dead silent. The butler’s words were a harsh slap of reality, leaving him with no room to argue.
Meanwhile, the two remaining guards just exchanged confused glances. From their perspective, the higher-ups were overcomplicating things—they just thought the shopkeeper was a spectacular martial arts master.
On the other side of the room, Jae-Woong and Kennedy approached Ji-Hong.
"Why did you bring a whole army with you? You’re crowding the place," Jae-Woong complained.
"Exactly, Young Master Baek. Look, it feels completely packed now," Kennedy chimed in.
"Shut it, both of you," Ji-Hong snapped back. "If you want to play, wait your turn."
Donape could only watch helplessly. The space he initially thought was spacious now felt incredibly cramped. But his hands were tied; the System held absolute authority over the layout and renovations of the Origins VR Cafe.
As he walked back behind the counter, Irene approached him.
"Shopkeeper, how come you opened so early today? That’s unusual for you."
Donape rolled his eyes and pointed up at the digital screen mounted above the counter.
- Saturday & Sunday: 06:00 AM - 06:00 PM
"Oops! I totally forgot because I was having too much fun playing," Irene giggled, playfully sticking her tongue out.
"Boss, I think it’s time for you to expand the shop," Ga-Eun added. "Looking at the crowd today, if everyone takes a turn, those of us who arrive late won’t even get a chance to use the VR capsules."
"You should add some chairs and a food and drink menu too. It’s brutal making us wait around with nothing to do," Mira suggested.
Mira was Irene and Ga-Eun’s friend, a fellow student from the nearby university where Donape used to study. Previously, she had been baffled as to why her two friends insisted on dragging her down a sketchy little alleyway to visit a shop that looked completely shabby from the outside.
But the moment she had stepped inside back then, her admiration for the sleek interior hadn’t ceased. And it certainly hadn’t stopped once she actually tried the VR capsule itself. Ever since that first visit, she had kept coming back to the shop, completely hooked.
"Though, I do hope you’ll add some games that suit our preferences later on," Mira suggested. "We aren’t really into violent ones."
Donape thought for a moment before replying, "No need to worry. Tomorrow, this place should see a noticeable change—one that caters exactly to what you guys want."
"Oh, so the shop will be closed for a few days for renovations to add everything?" Ga-Eun asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Ah, that’s good news, but also bad news," Irene chimed in.
"Well, the shop won’t actually be closed tomorrow and so on. The renovations happen overnight," Donape clarified. "So, like I said, no need to worry. However, for you three, I do have some genuine bad news."
Hearing the warning, Irene, Ga-Eun, and Mira immediately leaned in, completely all ears.
"You won’t have time to use the VR Capsules today. At most, there are only two hours left before the shop closes," Donape explained.
"What?! Why?!" the three young women exclaimed in unison.
Irene quickly added a desperate plea. "Can’t you just extend the closing time? It’s Saturday, and the night is still young! Don’t you want to line your pockets with more money?"
Donape flashed a strained, awkward smile. Of course he wanted money. But the System’s rules were absolute. Besides, the profits wouldn’t even go into his pocket anyway, thanks to the exploitative, one-sided slave contract he was tied to.
"The shop’s rules are absolute. Please understand, my loyal customers! I promise there won’t be a problem like this tomorrow," Donape tried to coax them, emphasizing the finality of his hours.
Irene pouted, clearly displeased. Yet, having witnessed the shop’s supernatural nature firsthand, she knew arguing was useless.
"In this entire world, only your shop has such convoluted, complicated rules. It’s as if money has no value to you at all," Irene huffed, before motioning for Ga-Eun and Mira to leave.
There was no point in lingering. After all, even though they were completely hooked, they were only playing The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts as a casual life-simulator. Because of that, the real-world benefits they experienced were incredibly limited, yielding an average synchronization rate of only 1%.
Jae-Woong and Kennedy exchanged frustrated glances. Their overall experience wasn’t much better than Irene’s group, even though they were playing The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts the correct, combative way.
They lacked the critical edge. The small tip Donape had given Ji-Hong played a massive role in unlocking what the Origins VR Cafe truly intended for its users.
But Ji-Hong hadn’t shared that secret with his two friends. He had kept it strictly between himself, Butler Lee, A-Ji, and Ji-Ga.
Despite the incredible allure of the VR Capsules—and their revolutionary ability to manifest in-game gains into reality—a double-edged sword governed the entire system.
Synchronization.
On one hand, this metric was what made the experience so profoundly rewarding.
High synchronization allowed a player’s raw attributes and mastered abilities to bleed directly into the real world.
On the other hand, it served as a strict bottleneck. The higher the synchronization rate, the greater the real-world transformation. Conversely, if a player’s rate remained low, the capsule offered nothing more than a hyper-realistic gaming session.
Incredible to the senses, yes, but ultimately leaving them with nothing to show for it in reality.
Once Jae-Woong and Kennedy decided to head home rather than wait out the timer, Ji-Hong approached the counter with a sheepish grin. "Boss, sorry for completely packing your place out today. Hehe."
Ji-Hong’s group consisted of eleven people, including himself. This meant at least one of them wouldn’t get a turn today, as Ji-Hong would absolutely prioritize his own playtime over his subordinates’.
Donape waved his hand, dismissing the apology with an easygoing shrug.
He didn’t mind the situation. In fact, he was thrilled. With these new arrivals, the final requirement for his hidden quest was finally falling into place today.
He opened his window quest;
[Main Quest: The First Solo-Leveling]
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Objective: Upgrade Origins VR Cafe to Level 2 | 15/15 Unique Customers + 51.49/35 Gold Coins earned.
Status: COMPLETED
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Reward:
- Increased to 15 VR Capsules. [5+10 God-Tier VR Capsules]
- Origins Fountain Water [Mortal Liquid: An ultra-pure, crisp bottled water that entirely flushes away bodily toxins and resets an exhausted throat after intense gaming.]
- Spirit-Clearing Dew [Fatigue-Recovery Drink: A refreshing premium beverage that instantly clears mental exhaustion and blocks out drowsiness.]
- Counter-Injustice: Global Retaliation. [A reality-grade tactical FPS matrix where cultivation and inner strength mean nothing, and only absolute firearm discipline and spatial awareness rule.]
Ji-Hong and his subordinates returned home with the results they had hoped for. It was still early days, but the potential was clear. This was a journey taken one step at a time.
Furthermore, Butler Lee, A-Ji, and Ji-Ga were endlessly amazed by the VR Capsule technology. From the cinematic intro to practicing martial arts, the boundary between reality and the virtual world felt as thin as tissue paper.
The real shock came after exiting the pods.
Faintly, they could still feel the physical changes. Their synchronization was below Donape’s, but at an average of 11%–13%, it surpassed Ji-Hong’s—a direct result of their superior physical foundations.
After locking up, Donape headed out for dinner near his former campus. But just as he sat down to order, a familiar, obnoxious face from his college days shattered the peace, flanked by a group of men.
"Oho! Look who it is! The absolute joke of our class! If it isn’t the unemployed loser living out of a literal warehouse. Hahaha!"
Donape frowned, calmly staring down the five people of his age.