Closed Beta That Only I Played

Chapter 55: Meeting (2)

My sister replied to my question as if it was no big deal.

“That’s why Dad told you to come early. He wanted to tell you why because you should know it too. Today’s meeting is a special meeting disguised as an executive meeting. It’s about Revival Legend to boot.”

“Huh? Revival Legend?”

I opened my eyes wide at her mention of the special meeting about Revival Legend, not an executive meeting.

“Yes. You know what it means if Mirae doesn’t make a presence in the special meeting, right?”

“I wonder if Mirae Group isn’t involved in the game business.”

I could not think of any other reason at this point. Then my sister smiled without answering my question and said, “Well, actually they do, and very hurriedly at that. But it’s too late. Of course Mirae Group knows about today’s meeting. I heard they want to attend the meeting, but Myongjin, Daesung and Kusan have been duped by Mirae a lot, so they don’t want to invite Mirae to this meeting. In a way, they are getting even with Mirae. Well, this is the sorry state of the business world anyway.”

My sister mentioned the regrettable position of Mirae Group as if it was not a big deal.

She continued, resting her chin on her hands, “By the way, I just don’t understand why Mirae is ignoring it when there is a rumor in the business circles that Mirae is stealing technology with alien traps. Arrogance? Or complacency? Anyway, Mirae must be very busy now, weighing which one they have to give away.”

“What about Daeyu?”

“Well, Daeyu Group is behind the other top business groups anyway. Anyway, the management at Daesung, Kusan, and Myongjin decided to have today’s meeting to coordinate their business interests because of the growing overlap and friction due to their business expansion. Of course, it’s a superficial reason for the meeting. The thing is they want to join hands to dominate the game business among themselves.”

“…”

My sister was very good at marshalling out complicated things and then getting to the point clearly. So, although I didn’t talk much with her, I grasped the picture of what’s going on. As if she was not finished yet, she continued, chewing an apple on the table, “Wouldn’t it only exist in imagination that everyone shares the limited goods fairly? Moreover, everybody is fighting with each other in their own country now, but when the world is integrated in the not so distant future, all countries will fight to claim the limited goods. Well, I think Myongjin, Kusan, and Daesung want to enhance their solidarity before such intense fighting begins. If they can really work together well, they can be integrated into a great force.”

She explained to me in passing, but obviously there was something I should not ignore lightly. “Integration?”

“Huh?”

“You just mentioned integration, right? I mean, the integration at the world level.”

I had never thought about international integration.

Shrugging, she responded, “You didn’t notice it yet when you already heard from Daddy about it?”

When she pointed it out, I reflected on my conversation with my father last week.

He told me that a company called Vten in the United States, which possessed original technology for virtual reality, disappeared, and that the 4th generation VR will be realized in the real world. He also said that many foreign governments and giant companies, led by the United States, were putting everything in the game called “Revival Legend.”

In other words, it was not only South Korea but also the world that Revival Legend has been open to the public. However, I never met any foreigner in this game.

Sitting a bit slanted against the chair, my sister said, staring at me, “Listen carefully, brother. This ‘Revival Legend’ is… Um… yes. In short, it has only one server. One server that covers everything. And there are a number of channels that depend on that server. Just like a game.”

Since I knew the type of game she was referring to, I just listened to her quietly.

“And if it’s an original game, you can move in and out that channel freely, but Revival Legend doesn’t allow it. But do you think they can maintain it forever? No. Absolutely no way. Of course, I’m only guessing. But one day, the channel that currently serves as the boundary will disappear. What will happen then? Of course it will be integrated in one place.”

“Well… what about the language? What are you going to do with the language?”

Communication. Communication was essential in all games. In that respect, hundreds of languages around the world, not just one or two, would block the necessary communication.

But she said with a smile, as if she didn’t care about my question, “Do you think something so trivial would matter in this game?”

“…”

At the moment, I just stayed silent because I could not think of anything to refute her statement.

<hr />

A banquet hall on the 19th floor of the Kilton Hotel in Youido, Seoul was crowded with business celebrities…

I was the son of the chairman of the top business groups in South Korea, so I attended a lot of these kinds of meetings and parties since I was a child.

Like other countries, the connections involving blood ties, hometowns, and alumni are very important in South Korea, and especially so in the business world. So, I didn’t feel awkward or get cold feet when I attended these meetings or parties. All I had to do was just follow my father, mother, brother and sister, shake hands with the chairman of Daesung or Kusan, and smile at them for their pleasantries or jokes with a nod.

I could realize at a glance that this special meeting was not for a business purpose as intended, for I could not see the presidents of their important subsidiaries and professional CEOs as well as famous economists and scholars who usually delivered a congratulatory message or offered the vision insights on their business.

Instead, the banquet was attended by those I saw for the first time. They were obviously each group’s general managers of Revival Legend. Anyway, the banquet proceeded for about 30 minutes with the attendants exchanging pleasantries and other casual conversation. After that, a group of people began to move separately. On our side, my dad, brother, and Chief Secretary Dongyoung Ahn, who I knew well, moved together. Even Insu Suk, Myongjin’s general manager of “Revival Legend,” also joined them, whom I got acquainted with before coming to this place.

And it was the same with Daesung and Kusan. Each group’s chairman and their closest aides left the banquet, but it went on. My mom was chatting with the wives of other business groups’ chairmen in a place reserved for them on one side of the banquet hall. My sister chatted with her peers, laughing cheerfully. Of course, I mingled with those my age.

“Hey, brother. Isn’t it funny? Can you believe those who got stuck at home playing games are now treated so highly by large business groups?”

“Yeah, since the world is going crazy, all sort of crazy things are happening every day.”

“Lol. Well, who knows? Will a game addict be the most popular bridegroom candidate if the current trend continues?”

“Uh? That can really happen.”

“I agree. That’s really possible. Lol.”

“Hey, we can hunt and level up comfortably thanks to them, man. You know, they are driving monsters steadily like slaves. Besides, they collect golden rings every day to pay a certain amount to the guild headquarters, right? Where can you find such good workers? So, be nice to them. If they run away, it’s no use crying over spilt milk.”

“I don’t think so, brother. Think of this. These gamers, who get stuck at home, only playing games like hikikomoris are paid regular salaries and issued the name cards of large business groups, right? It’s only natural they should work hard as the loyal servants of large companies.”

“You bet, I think Minsok is right.”

“Enough. I don’t need it anyway. I’m so annoyed these days. You know in virtual reality you can’t proxy, right? So I have to take time out to do it myself. Damn it! I don’t even remember when I had a great time with horny girls in the club last time.”