Chapter 59

‘Huh? That person…’

I didn’t know him. I didn’t know his name or surname, his job, or what kind of life he had lived. Nevertheless, I had seen him dozens of times before. It was a very familiar ‘face’.

“Sky Mountain.”

“Huh?”

“Blue soda, pine sausage, honey chocolate balls, BomBom cream…”

“Eh? Wait a minute. I think I know… Ah! Correct! These are products you advertised?”

It was a face that I saw countless times at convenience stores. A blend between boy and man, possessing innocence and naivety alongside wildness and allure. His appearance alone would draw attention on the street, with talent agencies swarming to hand him business cards like a mountain pile.

I hesitated for a moment before extending my right hand, “Han Jae-yeon.”

“I am Lee Seong-jae! Among those who have attended the meetings so far, there haven’t been many people around your age. I’m glad to meet you!”

As he smiled brightly, I heard a gasp from behind me. Turning back, I saw the hotel staff member who guided me here staring at him with awe-stricken eyes.

“Are all the people entering here attending the meetings?”

“Yes. Floors 126 to 140 are exclusively for invited meeting attendees, and this hall serves as a teleportation hub connecting to their respective rooms. It also offers unlimited high-quality beverages and snacks, making it a popular spot for socializing among attendees.”

“But you’re here alone?”

“Hahaha! Everyone here is busy. There aren’t many people as idle as me. More people usually come around dinner time. I’ve been coming here for five years, so feel free to ask if you have any questions!”

Seeing Sungjae’s friendly smile, I looked back at the staff member behind me.

“Can I sit down for a moment? I will find my room myself.”

The staff member shook their head vigorously, “No! It is my job to guide you to your room. Please wait.”

Indeed, this level of service was expected from a six-star hotel. Nodding, I headed towards one of the tables set up on the side.

“Is it okay if I take some?”

A slender employee setting up the tables smiled warmly in response.

“Of course, sir. How about this walnut pie? It is our bakery’s number one product, made with various nuts and cinnamon for added flavor. The apple pie next to it is made from white apples imported from the Leonhardt Empire, providing both freshness and sweetness. Over there is…”

She picked up each snack and explained them to me. Following her guidance, I took several snacks before sitting down next to Sungjae.

“By the way, why is this meeting being held? The invitation only contained obvious words.”

“It usually takes place regularly at the end of the year. They announce the direction of future updates or the company’s vision. However, this time, I expect there will be a particularly big update.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Gifts. So far, they have only given out one legendary pet. However, this time, it is a legendary gatekeeper! Moreover, it includes the rare awakened Thunderbird! It’s a signal that they want as many VVIP customers to attend!”

Sungjae was truly sociable and could talk for hours. When I realized what had happened, we had been chatting for 30 minutes already.

“Ah! Since fate brought us together, shall we exchange numbers? Cheeda!” Sungjae suggested while riding the momentum of our conversation.

“Meow!”

“Oh.”

I paused at the sight of a brown cat standing behind Sungjae. He looked at me.

“Cheeda.”

“Meow.”

“Huh? Hahaha! Seems like great minds think alike. This name suits a cat with this color, right?”

The two chubby cats touched noses before parting. As Cheeda returned, I tapped her belly, revealing Sungjae’s social media ID: ‘Daichun Handsome Guy’.

‘Wow, is this his ID?’

I was amazed but still saved his number and social media link. As characters from reality were gradually joining guilds, I thought it would be good to establish connections with potential future allies.

After finishing my work, I turned around and witnessed a strange scene unfolding.

“I-I… It’s two hours until closing time… Today isn’t too busy…”

Sungjae smiled gently at the shy voice.

“Since I’m here alone and feeling bored, that sounds great. You know my room number, right? Would you like to come over after your shift?”

”…Oh! I have some really fine wine! I’ll bring it along!”

Unexpectedly, the relationship between the staff member who guided me earlier and Sungjae seemed to rapidly develop.

‘No…what is this?’

While I was bewildered, Sungjae got up from his seat.

“I will go first! The dinner here is quite delicious so please enjoy it!”

“Ah, yes.”

Sungjae left me behind with an awkward expression on my face. Then once again, the staff member approached me. Her flushed face was bright like a flower.

“I’ll guide you to your room!”

“Ah, okay.”

I moved towards the room following her guidance. Once inside, the staff member continued explaining:

“This is the room number and if you activate this function, a teleportation gate can be operated. Currently, the smart pet has fixed orders, so once you enter the gate, you will automatically move. Here are the times for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. And…”

After finishing her explanation with an oddly excited face, she left and I entered the room.

“Ah!”

I threw myself onto the bed without changing my clothes. The bed gently vibrated, emitting strange waves that calmed both my body and mind.

“I see why it is a six-star hotel. Even the bed uses magic… Is this Druid magic?”

It felt like my whole body was melting away. It seemed as if I were being sucked into the bed itself.

Turning my head, I took in the luxurious view of the spacious room. There were wooden furnishings crafted from artificial World Tree branches, along with high-tech appliances infused with psychic energy. The bedding had an incredibly soft texture, making it impossible to discern its material.

This opulence was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

I never thought I’d see this day…

On Earth, he spent most of his waking hours working. In Ardenia, he slept more often, but even then, it was only possible due to compressing his sleep time with chakra manipulation techniques. Despite having a robust physique, Songpyeon’s regenerative abilities, and extraordinary mental fortitude, it seems his accumulated fatigue had taken its toll. Even someone like him…

Blink.

“Meow!”

“Huh…?”

When he opened his eyes again, it was already evening.

“Wow, I passed out.” He groggily sat up on the bed, feeling quite bewildered. It appeared that room service was available, but he had no intention of using it.

Buffet!

I received a diet appropriate for a feudal lord, but the food level in Ardenia was abysmal. Forget about various seasonings; even salt was scarce, and fresh vegetables and fruits were difficult to obtain even for nobles. Currently, we could eat much meat thanks to wild boar legs, but there were limits to its taste.

“Hey! Are you really going to do this?” As I moved from my room towards the dining hall, I heard a familiar voice from afar. Using Perception subtly, I picked up on two women whispering quietly.

“What can I do? The brave one got the handsome man, so let’s quietly leave?”

“Aww, what is friendship for? Don’t go alone, come with me, okay?”

“Ah, get lost.”

“You are trying to betray me without honor? I’ll give you snacks every day, okay? How about some tarts?”

I recognized both of them. One was the employee who guided me to my room, and the other was the one who helped me choose snacks. As expected from employees working at a 6-star hotel, they were exceptionally beautiful. They had changed out of their uniforms and now wore vibrant casual clothes.

“Aww! You cheeky girl. I’m letting this slide just once.”

“Sis, loyalty forever!”

“What makes you think I am your younger sister?!”

The two whispering women disappeared using a teleportation gate. There was no need to explain where they went.

“Wah… What is this?”

The rigid and old fashioned man (42 years old), was struck by cultural shock but he quickly shook it off and headed towards the restaurant. Whether Sungjae played table tennis or games with those two women didn’t matter to me. My meal was more important.

“Welcome customer. I will guide you to your seat.”

I arrived at the restaurant without sitting down immediately. Holding a plate, I moved like a hyena between various menus. Then using my incredible sense of balance, I filled the plate with food before returning to my seat.

‘This is delicious!’

The sensation of chewing fresh salad was beyond impressive! I enjoyed the meal frantically. The amount I ate greatly increased due to my improved physical abilities. I consumed fried foods, dumplings, soup, spaghetti, pizza, tonkatsu, seafood and king crab.

Then when I filled another plate with food and sat down…

“You’re eating well.”

A woman sat across from me at the table.

‘What?’

She looked to be in her late twenties. With a height nearing 170 centimeters, she had a sturdy physique that seemed regularly exercised. Her neatly styled black hair framed her face, which featured sharp and defined facial features. It was evident that her eyebrows and skin were meticulously maintained… The beauty wore a well-fitted suit, making her seem familiar yet somehow distant.

‘Is she another celebrity?’

“Your name is…”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Killian. I am Bae Sarang, the chairwoman of Nemesis.”

”…!!”

I almost screamed in surprise but managed to compose myself just barely. This was because I had simulated this scenario dozens, if not hundreds, of times before.

It was obvious that I had reviewed this simulation again before attending the user meeting hosted by Nemesis Soft. Why wouldn’t I when I could use the abilities from their game ‘Revenge’ in reality?

However, there was no choice but to attend.

How can I not go with a legendary pet and gatekeeper?!

Moreover, it was something I eventually had to face. As long as I possessed these powers, ignoring Nemesis forever wasn’t feasible.

Ahn? Shouldn’t you know? Indeed, do you understand now?

I had ample time to investigate Nemesis Soft and even considered reaching out to them directly, but I chose neither option. The reason was fear.

–No! This ability was created for us to use, so why are you using it? We will reclaim it!

If this situation occurred, I wouldn’t be the castle lord of Ardenia but just a pathetic part-time worker again. Maybe all the abilities and chakras that I obtained would also be locked away. It might’ve been better if I never had these powers, but could I live without them now?

Seeing my apprehensive expression, Bae Sarang, the representative of Nemesis, smiled kindly.

“Ah! You must be surprised by my sudden visit. My apologies. I was having dinner here when I heard about you and impulsively decided to meet you.”

“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. What brings you here?”

“Heh-heh. It’s nothing serious; I’m just curious about something…” She leaned closer to him, and his thoughts raced as he anticipated her question.

-“Hey, how did you access Ardenia?”

-“You’ve been exploiting abilities we created without permission.”

-“Obviously, you realize these powers were bestowed upon you by us, right?”

Various lines popped into jae-yeon’s head, but it was her enigmatic expression that caught his attention.

Finally, she asked, “Why have you been deleting cash items?”

“Ha… So you knew… Right?” Her unexpected question threw off his simulation of their conversation.

“My employees are beside themselves with worry. You’ve already deleted over one hundred million items… Are you aiming for the ceiling?”

jae-yeon felt utterly confused.

‘No way… She doesn’t know?’

“Ah, um.” In my confusion, nonsense naturally came out of my mouth. “I-I feel pleasure when deleting items…”

”…Huh?” Sung Sangmoon’s calm expression crumbled, and she looked at me with disbelief.

“D-Do you delete items for that reason? That’s why you don’t apply for item recovery?”

“You can recover deleted items?!?” I was startled and asked in surprise.

Sung Sangmoon responded with bewilderment, “What? Of course. However, no matter how many items you delete, you can only make three recovery requests per month.”

“Hold on. I’ll be back after using the restroom.”

I immediately got up from my seat, my body trembling with excitement.

What?! What do you mean?

The roar of a drake was being duplicated!?

“What…?” Sung Sangmoon watched Jae-yeon rapidly distancing herself from him with bewilderment on his face.

“What is she talking about? Does deleting items give her pleasure?”

Her unexpected response caused the simulation to falter. This was not one of the countless scenarios she had envisioned.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

“What’s wrong?” He responded to the sudden message magic communication from Carlton, his secretary.

“As you requested earlier, I deleted both the Roaring Drake and Awakening Thunderbird Summoning Cards from Killian’s account.”

“You actually deleted legendary cards? And limited edition ones at that? Each card costs tens of millions won!”

**“Huh? The customer just filed for restoration through Customer Service. It appears the system restored them… Oh? The drake has been deleted again! Huh? Another restoration request…?”

Sung Sangmoon cut off the messaging magic and thought about Jae-yeon’s face.

Meeting him at the restaurant had been coincidental, and sitting next to him was on impulse.

I sensed he wasn’t an ordinary person.

At first glance, it seemed like he was simply enjoying his meal, but she felt something unique emanating from him. His soul radiated immense power, hardened through countless trials like tempered steel. The twinkle in his eyes showcased the strength of his spirit.

He was destined for greatness, so her curiosity got the better of her as she decided to sit beside him.

But why does being with him feel… exhilarating?

His extraordinary responses and actions left her breathless.

“Is he crazy…?”