Closed Beta That Only I Played

Chapter 22: Somebody owns it yet?

“Well, I hear they are actively developing the area of virtual reality. I don’t know.”

“Hey, Daesung is in the same boat anyway. Daesung is doing the same thing that Sungchang is doing.”

‘Daesung?’

Some began to whisper behind me. I’d never heard about the Sungchang Guild, but I was sick and tired of hearing about Daesung because it was one of the top business groups in South Korea, along with Myongjin Group where my father was the chairman.

Of course, they might have only taken the name for their guild because there were so many people who used celebrity names as their IDs.

However, their dialogue clearly referred to Daesung Group in the real world.

So, I was a little surprised that a large company like Daesung Group was running a game workplace.

At that moment, a group of people appeared rapidly with loud voices.

“What are you doing?! You have not cleared the surroundings yet?”

“Get out! The Giant Stone Golem Boss is owned by our Sungchang Guild.”

“Everyone entering a 20-meter radius of the Giant Stone Golem will be regarded as an enemy.”

“Get the fuck out of here instead of hanging around!”

The first three from the Sungchang Guild cleared and controlled the surroundings, using honorific language. But the 20 people who appeared now did not.

They bluffed and treated the other party very roughly.

Strangely enough, those who tried to enter the hunting ground began to retreat as if they were terrified by the bluffing. Obviously they didn’t want to get entangled with the Sungchang Guild.

Anyway, when the surroundings were cleared, the 20 people who appeared got in formation. Four tanks were located in all directions to catch the boss monster’s eyes and ten damage dealers were spread all over the place. Behind them were six more who looked like tank helpers and supporters at a glance.

Since I launched the boss monster raid in the first and second closed betas, their formation with 20 people seemed quite solid.

Indeed, they were tough and very systematic as if they had worked together for a long time.

“My body will be an iron wall!”

“Soar, pillar of fire!”

“The power of the earth!”

“Power Shot!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was not only me who felt reassured about the movement of the 20 who would stage the raid because even those who hurled abuses at the Sungchang Guild were now admiring the guild.

“Wow… It seems that the Sungchang Guild is in the 2nd or 3rd major group, not the 4th or 5th minor.”

“You bet!”

“Well, they give us a clear sense of stability. It seems that the Sungchang Guild has upgraded their boss monster raid team because a big company like Daesung emerged. Obviously, lots of people pay attention to the boss monster raids.”

“That’s not the end of the story, I think. After the raid, I think they will post a raid video on the Sungchang Guild homepage to publicize that they can easily handle boss raids. I think that’s why they have moved to the 2nd and 3rd major, not the 4th and 5th.”

“I agree. If you look at the Sungchang Guild homepage, they even have a banner asking for sponsors or guild allies.”

“I think they’re desperately trying to survive. Now that a large company like Daesung has jumped in a game workplace, they can’t survive by running a small-scale workplace like a local PC room.”

“Sungchang is not small like a local PC room, man.”

“Well, if not, whatever.”

Judging from what they said, the competition between the companies with vested interests seemed to be fierce.

Of course, regardless of that, the boss monster raid proceeded well.

The four tanks faithfully served their roles, which included taunting, while the ten damage dealers constantly attacked the boss monster. And the remaining healers and supporters cast recovery and powerful buffs to all ten DPS and four tanks.

And exactly before 20 minutes passed, there was a big noise.

Thump!

The Giant Stone Golem, whose size was about more than four times the size of a regular stone golem, collapsed without resisting any further. All 20 people who mounted the raid were not wounded much.

“Shit! Let’s go. We’re getting out of here not because we are scared but because this place sucks.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Including me, those who watched Sungchang’s boss monster raid left, swearing at them as if they felt it was a pity that the Sungchang guys emerged unscathed.

However, I did not move and I watched them nervously.

During the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd closed betas of Forgotten Legend, I never punched, let alone used skills, toward other users even in the field of honor as well as the field.

If there was friction, I avoided it first. I didn’t even give them any excuse to cause any trouble.

Accordingly, given my experience, I was supposed to step back without saying anything.

To be honest, it was late even now.

I would have gotten out of there without any regrets when the three Sungchang Guild guys began to clear the surroundings.

Do I have any regrets about my losing the boss monster? Not at all.

It wasn’t mine from the beginning.

‘It’s not theirs either.’

But the Sungchang Guild posed as the owner and became the real owner.

“Haha.”

At that moment, I laughed before I knew it.

For the first time, I had a displeased and annoying feeling. It was like I’d lost something while playing the game. As such, the game had been a haven and a resting place for me. It was also a place of refuge because no matter how much I invested my time and effort in reality, I didn’t see any returns. The game was a reasonable space where I got rewarded for my investment.

When I invested one, I received one or sometimes more.

Therefore, I was not competitive or greedy in the game world.

But this time I felt greedy.

That’s why I felt annoyed and upset because of the feeling that something I prized in advance was stolen by someone else.

But the problem was that this kind of strange feeling, which I first felt, was not necessarily bad.

‘Good. Let me change my goal! Let me try to be the top game addict instead of the type of game addict that just sticks to games for a long time so I can move to a position where I can have everything I am greedy about.’

Of course, I was a little surprised to know why now I felt what I had not felt before.

There were some clues I could recall. In other words, I knew what prompted me to feel this kind of feeling.

Like they say, clothes make a man.

In the past, I used to be one of the numerous game users, just one of them with no special talent. Of course, in the real world, I was special because I was born to a very wealthy family.

But I’m not an ordinary user now.

I have three traits, ‘Iceman,’ ‘Mutual Growth,’ and ‘God of Enhancement’ and two titles, ‘The only closed beta max level achiever’ and ‘Scarecrow Destroyer.’ Just one of the two titles is enough to make the owner be included in the top 30 or even top 10.

In other words, I have a very, very special position in the game world.

Tramp, tramp, tramp.

Soon I also left the place, promising to come back again. Showing my abilities right now would be very, very stupid.

I’m confident that I can be stronger than others, superbly and quickly.

Watching the Sungchang Guild celebrating the successful boss monster raid, I vowed that I would pay back the Sungchang Guild for letting me know that I had this kind of greed. For example, I could pay back by hunting back the boss monster they already had hunted.

***

“Ice Ball! Ice Bolt!”

Puk! Puk!

Ice Balls and Ice Bolts had already pierced through the stone golem’s back, which fell on the ground with its knees smashed. That was it.

[You have leveled up.]

“Good!”