Chapter 70: The Price of Ignorance

Inside the shop, the trio remained frozen, their faces completely blank.

"Is that reaction really necessary?" Donape asked, taking a casual sip of his Obsidian Roast Coffee. "You’ve already seen the shop’s spatial expansion. Surely swatting someone from a distance isn’t that big of a deal."

Hearing his deadpan remark, Zerke and Jong-Kook instantly snapped out of their daze and barked back in unison.

"It’s not normal, kid!" Jong-Kook blurted out. "When something that only exists in movies and NovelPhoenixs suddenly happens right in front of your face, how else are we supposed to react?! Shock and confusion are the normal reactions! How can anyone just act like it’s no big deal?!"

"Sigh... things like this need to be introduced carefully, step by step," Zerke added, shaking his head. "If you suddenly pull off moves like that in public, how do you expect ordinary people to process it?!"

"Well, I think it’s fine," Donape replied, attempting to justify his actions. "The neighbors won’t bother trying to figure out what happened because it was over so fast. Besides, you two only understood what you saw because of your prior experience with the shop."

Zerke and Jong-Kook exchanged a subtle, heavy glance. Both came to the same quiet realization: the world was going to change, and Origins VR Cafe would be at the dead center of it. If ordinary people who craved strength—just as Donape once had—began taking these VR games seriously, that shift would unfold at an uncontrollable pace.

Of course, that shift wouldn’t happen overnight. The biggest hurdle holding back mass adoption in this era was the price tag.

Ever since Origins VR Cafe opened its doors, customer growth had moved at a surprisingly sluggish pace, despite the revolutionary technology and its ability to bring fiction into reality. Even after a famous influencer like Irene promoted the shop on her social media channels, the customer base didn’t explode overnight.

At most, only twenty VR Capsules were occupied at peak hours, leaving thirty sitting empty on standby.

Donape glanced over at Si-Yeon, who was still sitting there rooted to the spot, completely lost in her own thoughts.

"Miss? Hey," Donape called out with a sigh, tapping his knuckles against the wooden counter to grab her attention. "What can I get for you? The menu is right up there." He pointed toward the digital screen mounted above the counter.

Si-Yeon snapped out of her daze, blinking rapidly. "Huh? What did you say?"

Instead of repeating himself, Donape simply pointed back toward the overhead display.

"Ah," Si-Yeon let out a soft sound of realization, turning her eyes toward the menu board.

’There are way more items listed now than during my last visit,’ she thought, scanning the names with a puzzled expression. ’But these names are ridiculous. What are any of these even supposed to do?’

"Um... I’ll take a Celestial Sparkle Sprite and a Spicy Meat Bun, then," she ordered.

Donape shook his head. "The meat bun is fine, but I don’t recommend ordering the Sprite right now."

"Huh? Why not?" Si-Yeon frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Is there a limit on how much a customer can buy?"

Zerke and Jong-Kook chimed in from the side.

"You really should pick a different drink, young miss," Zerke warned gently. "That Sprite is a bit... special."

"He’s right," Jong-Kook agreed, nodding. "You’d be wise to take the shopkeeper’s advice on this one. He means no harm."

Si-Yeon’s eyes narrowed as her gaze darted between the three of them. "Are you three teaming up to scam your own customers?"

Hearing her deadpan accusation, Zerke and Jong-Kook couldn’t hold back their laughter, clutching their stomachs.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Kid, this one’s on you!" Zerke wheezed. "We tried to help, but our words clearly didn’t have any weight on it!"

"Hahaha, right! You handle this, kid," Jong-Kook added, draining the last of his Obsidian Roast Coffee. "We’ve got games to play. I need to go buy those weapon skins that caught my eye yesterday."

Chuckling, the two middle-aged regulars walked toward VR Capsules 17 and 18 and slid inside.

Donape let out a long, weary breath. Cosmetic item skins in games like Counter-Injustice were purely pay-to-flex visual upgrades that offered zero mechanical advantage. But since those two played strictly for casual entertainment, he didn’t bother lecturing them on spending money on digital paint.

It was a completely different story for narrative-heavy LitRPG and Wuxia titles like The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts or Magic Academy, where items directly impacted stats and combat performance—meaning those in-game advantages indirectly influenced real-life physical growth through consciousness synchronization.

Bringing his focus back to the counter, Donape met Si-Yeon’s sharp, glaring eyes.

’Why on earth would I need to scam her when the menu prices here are already sky-high?’ he thought, exasperated. ’There’s literally nothing for me to gain. How the hell did her brain jump to such a ridiculous conclusion?’

Realizing she wasn’t going to back down, Donape gave up. He didn’t have the energy to stand here arguing or explaining the drink’s intense physiological cleansing process. If she wanted it that badly, he would serve her the Celestial Sparkle Sprite and the Spicy Meat Bun together and let her experience the consequences firsthand.

Donape set the two items on the counter in front of Si-Yeon.

Picking up the Spicy Meat Bun, she hesitated. The aroma wafting from the soft, steamed dough was surprisingly rich—savory, slightly sweet, with a subtle kick of spice that made her mouth water despite her lingering skepticism.

’Is this really worth nearly ten times the cost of a standard meat bun?’ she wondered.

Taking a small, cautious bite, her eyes widened instantly.

The outer dough was impossibly light, giving way to a rich, juicy meat filling bursting with flavor. But far beyond the extraordinary taste, the moment she swallowed, a sudden, surging wave of heat erupted directly in the center of her chest.

It wasn’t a burning sensation, but a deep, penetrating warmth that spread rapidly through her bloodstream, flowing outward to her limbs and fingertips.

Si-Yeon’s breath hitched. She could feel her muscle stiffness—tight and aching from rigorous family combat drills and the lingering stress of the recent estate attacks—instantly easing. Her depleted stamina surged back in a single heartbeat, replaced by a sudden influx of pure vitality.

’What is this?!’ she thought, staring at the half-eaten bun in utter disbelief. ’This isn’t just delicious food... this is...!’ She couldn’t even finish the thought in her own head.

The effect was extraordinary, completely defying logic.

On her previous visit alongside Elder Si-Jin, they had arrived with open hostility and focused entirely on testing the VR Capsules to play The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts. She had never bothered to try the shop’s food or drinks, completely unaware that they possessed such miraculous properties.

She took another eager bite, unable to contain her astonishment, feeling the rich filling satisfy her hunger in seconds.

Her eyes then landed on the bottle of Celestial Sparkle Sprite.

’Does this have the same kind of effect if I drink it?!’

Overwhelmed by intense curiosity, Donape’s earlier warning completely vanished from her mind.

Steeling her heart, Si-Yeon stared down at the heavy, ice-frosted glass of Celestial Sparkle Sprite.

The liquid was blindingly clear, packed with dense, swirling clusters of hyper-active effervescent bubbles. Upon closer inspection, each rising bubble flashed with microscopic specs of prismatic light—resembling a bottled night sky filled with miniature supernovas.

To her untrained eye, however, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary carbonated drink.

She took a careful, unhurried sip, trying to savor the flavor in anticipation of a physical boost similar to the Spicy Meat Bun.

The moment it touched her lips, a cooling sensation washed over her, making her breath feel instantly lighter and completely clear.

A hyper-intense, ultra-crisp burst of lemon-lime citrus hit her palate like a lightning strike. The carbonation didn’t just fizz—it snapped with a lively, thrilling sensation across her tongue. As the icy liquid glided down her throat, it triggered an immediate "flush" throughout her entire nervous system.

In milliseconds, her entire body felt impossibly cool and refreshed.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide as faint, icy vapor began venting from various pores across her skin. It was the physical manifestation of her body flushing out latent impurities.

Donape, witnessing the process begin, didn’t hesitate for a single second. He immediately retreated into his VR Capsule behind the counter.

It might have seemed rude, but he did it out of pure consideration—and self-preservation. By making himself scarce, Si-Yeon could suffer through the inevitable foul stench in total privacy, without any witnesses to record her embarrassment.

Meanwhile, panic seized Si-Yeon as her mind struggled to comprehend what was happening to her. Her eyes darted frantically around the empty shop, but Donape was nowhere in sight.

Just as she was about to let out a panicked scream, a thick, black substance oozed from her pores, soaking directly into her clothes.

A drastic, miraculous shift swept through her entire frame. She felt weightless, brimming with raw physical vitality and completely unhindered meridian flow. But before she could even register her newly cleansed body, the pungent, foul stench of the expelled impurities hit her nose like a sledgehammer.

Si-Yeon froze, her face turning pale as she sniffed her sleeve.

"Ah... does my body really smell this bad?" she whispered in horror, her eyes welling with tears. "I... I was wearing expensive perfume today..."