Chapter 32
Almost every game had hacks.
Then, could there be hacks in the Akashic Records?
‘There’s no way hacks exist.’
The capsule’s security was perfect. It was a sort of divine artifact mixed with my magic and the protection of Earth’s Administrator, Codename A-013.
To breach the security of such a capsule and exert abnormal influence in Akare—
You would need to bring at least a dragon or multiple grand mages to even make a slight interference.
In other words, hacks did not exist. They simply couldn’t.
With that in mind, I turned the question back to the suspicious man.
“Hacks? Do hacks exist in Akare?”
When I responded to the question with another question, the man smirked.
“You would know better than I do.”
“So, you have no proof, just baseless suspicions.”
I was expecting some dramatic story about how a vulnerability I wasn’t aware of had been discovered, leading to hacks appearing! But that wasn’t the case.
It was pure nonsense.
That guy just didn’t like the fact that I was solo-clearing the Cradle.
“The average clear time for a standard party is around five minutes, yet you finish it solo in under three minutes. Do you think that’s plausible?”
Annoyed, the man presented what he thought was evidence.
It was somewhat reasonable and certainly suspicious enough.
But that didn’t make non-existent evidence suddenly appear with a ‘pop!’
“Would you like to see for yourself?”
“Pardon?”
I sent the man a party invitation.
He looked surprised for a moment when the party request appeared before him, but he soon accepted it.
“I’m starting now.”
It was faster to show him through actions than to talk endlessly.
With that thought, I led the man into the Cradle of Dark Magic.
The Cradle of Dark Magic was a typical ‘underground labyrinth’ dungeon motif.
It consisted of various rooms, and the room with the boss changed each time.
The key to running the Cradle was identifying the boss room on the minimap, taking the shortest route, defeating the boss quickly, and exiting.
“Stop being stubborn and admit it already…”
“Follow me.”
[Mutated Ghoul Lv. 15]
[Plague Ghoul Lv. 15]
I identified the boss room’s location on the minimap and positioned myself in front of the two ghouls blocking the corridor.
I immediately cast Heal on my ankle and pushed off the ground with all my strength, sprinting forward at full speed.
Creak-!
The sound of joints twisting came from pushing my body past its limits.
But it was fine. Heal was a skill that restored a certain amount of health over five seconds.
I charged straight into the ghouls’ line of fire and swung a small cross to slash the neck of the Mutated Ghoul.
Slash-!
Disgusting green blood spurted like a fountain, and the decapitated head fell to the ground.
Without stopping, I punched straight into the mouth of the Plague Ghoul.
Crunch- crunch-
The Plague Ghoul, now clinging to the wall with my fist in its mouth, was in a defenseless state.
Slash-!
I finished off the remaining Plague Ghoul and used Heal, now off cooldown, to treat my hand.
‘This brings back memories.’
I recalled the time when I was trained by the captain of the Imperial Knights.
Drawing out power beyond one’s limits to train the body.
Even when bones cracked and broke during that process, the training never stopped.
This world had the priest’s ‘Heal,’ an excellent healing method.
This kind of training, where one exhausted their body and recovered, was commonly known as ‘tempering.’
‘This body is already well-tempered.’
Tempering wasn’t a training method just anyone could do.
During the process, one would experience constant excruciating pain.
Not many could keep doing such a crazy thing while sober.
‘For a player, it’s easy training.’
For a player, pain reduction was applied.
As long as they didn’t take fatal or near-fatal damage, they hardly felt any pain.
I had adapted this ‘tempering’ into Akare as a sort of method to build up one’s stats.
Before the full-scale war with the Elder Lich and the Empire began—
Players would be able to train under powerful NPCs.
Warriors would be taught by the captain of the Empire’s knights, mages by the elders of the Magic Tower, and priests by the cardinal of the Church.
‘Daehyeop Kim was closest to this training episode.’
The training was directly linked to the second awakening, a crucial step for powering up.
This was something I absolutely had to watch live.
“Let’s move to the next room.”
I spoke quietly to the man who had finally caught up.
To move to the next room, party member consent was needed.
So I waited, but the man looked at me with a vulgar expression.
“So, you are a hacker, damn it.”
[‘WannaBeRiceCoinMaster’ has left the party.]
[‘WannaBeRiceCoinMaster’ has exited the Cradle of Dark Magic.]
He was lucky not to be a target for sanctions.
“…Swearing is bad.”
Now, he was a target for sanctions.
I reported the man, who had run off, for using ‘swear words.’
***
Choi Hyun-jun. 25 years old. A perpetual civil service exam taker.
He had bought a capsule through his first loan.
A capsule for a civil service exam taker who should be focusing on studying? It might seem strange.
But for Choi Hyun-jun, a community-bound spirit, he had a convincing plan.
“I can pay it back by earning money through games.”
He had already finished gathering information on how the industry worked.
He had never actually tried it, but he was confident that he could do better than anyone else.
After all, Choi Hyun-jun had been someone who consistently earned real money through playing RPGs instead of studying.
Yes, he was confident that he could do better than anyone else.
But that confidence of Choi Hyun-jun, or ‘WannaBeRiceCoinMaster,’ did not last long.
The normalization of the party members he used to run the Cradle with to farm Obsidian Staffs.
Aurora, the Director, who was out for on-site inspection, personally sanctioned them.
Fortunately, Choi Hyun-jun had only just started, so he wasn’t a target for sanctions yet.
But in an instant, he lost his precious comrades who had once bonded with him over earning real money and shared his determination.
There was nothing a lone priest could do.
He tried to find a party, but the image of ‘real-money trading’ had already turned negative long ago.
It didn’t help that his nickname included ‘RiceCoin.’
It didn’t help that Akare did not allow nickname changes.
Choi Hyun-jun’s grand dream had cooled into a harsh reality.
Even so, Choi Hyun-jun did not give up.
He had come too far to give up now.
But thanks to his damned nickname, he was even filtered out by others doing real-money trades.
No one wanted to take him into their party, fearing it would lead to sanctions.
As his endless waiting led him into a state of despair, he saw a woman.
She appeared to be a priest holding a cross, and there were no other party members in sight.
Maybe she was in a similar situation as him.
A sense of camaraderie welled up inside him, but the illusion didn’t last long.
“…What is this?”
The woman was solo-running the Cradle repeatedly.
Entering the dungeon, coming out, and entering again.
He couldn’t believe it. Was he seeing an illusion?
As if to deny it, the woman kept solo-running the Cradle.
Every three minutes, to be exact.
Something had to be wrong.
The dungeon required even a skilled party to clear it in about five minutes.
To think someone was solo-clearing it in three minutes?
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Faced with an incomprehensible situation, Choi Hyun-jun’s brain gave up on rational thought.
Base inferiority. The despair of his situation. Resentment toward the cold reality.
So, Choi Hyun-jun decided she was a hacker.
He had no choice but to decide that she was a hacker. Otherwise, he would be facing his own wretched self.
Choi Hyun-jun approached the alleged hacker, pretending to be friendly.
And then he revealed his hidden true intentions to attack her mentality.
But the so-called hacker’s reaction was lukewarm. Instead, she showed a confident attitude.
What followed was simple.
Choi Hyun-jun was irritated by her attitude. He joined her party and entered the Cradle.
The hacker immediately defeated two ghouls upon entering.
With his inferiority complex flaring, Choi Hyun-jun ran away and logged into InGameGal.
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
―――
[Title] Exposing the RiceCoin Priest Hacker
(Video showing the entire process)
In-game Nickname: Fera
Job: Priest
Details: Solo-runs the Cradle
Judge for yourselves.
Likes 0 Dislikes 0
―――
After venting his inferiority, Choi Hyun-jun resumed his job-seeking efforts.
[Your account has been suspended for 7 days.] [Reason: Swearing]
“Ugh! Damn it!!!”
Crash-!
In a cramped one-room apartment.
Unable to control his anger, Choi Hyun-jun threw everything he could grab.
That day, Choi Hyun-jun received an eviction notice from his landlord, who was annoyed by the noise pollution.
***
Priest, Fera.
In Akare, her recognition was quite significant.
She was the first to discover that praying at the church granted a daily buff.
And she was also the main reason why the image of priests had fallen to being called “RiceCoin Priests.”
To commemorate her actions, InGameGal gave her the nickname “RiceCoin Saint.”
And recently, a post related to the RiceCoin Saint gained traction.
―――
[Title] Exposing the RiceCoin Priest Hacker
(Video showing the entire process)
In-game Nickname: Fera
Class: Priest
Details: Solo-running the Cradle repeatedly
Judge for yourselves.
Likes 2,365 Dislikes 2,005
―――
[Comments 1,029]
Is it true? A high-profile good player versus the RiceCoin Saint?
ㄴIt makes my heart swell.
ㄴThe funny thing is, the poster is also a RiceCoin Priest.
ㄴThe RiceCoin drama is unbelievable, lol.
Breaking news) This guy got suspended for swearing for 7 days
ㄴAmazing, lol.
ㄴThe RiceCoin Saint should be arrested too.
ㄴShe is the root of all evil.
―――
A post titled “Fera, the RiceCoin Saint, is a hacker” was uploaded, targeting the priest player famous as the RiceCoin Saint.
Of course, there was no evidence proving she used hacks, only suspicion.
But it was enough fuel for the fire.
―――
Came from the trending post, she’s definitely a hacker [15]
Fera? Who’s this scandalous woman causing chaos here? [6]
As a 35-level priest in the advance party, that doesn’t make sense [26]
Hilarious) Got three Obsidian Staffs in a row, damn, lol [51]
A priest moving like a full-agility martial artist? [7]
―――
As the controversy caught fire, the gallery’s opinions split into two main camps.
– The RiceCoin Saint, Fera, is indeed a hacker.
– Priests are overpowered, being a crazy versatile class capable of solo-running dungeons.
Whichever opinion dominated InGameGal, the reputation of priests was bound to plummet.
The first RiceCoin class to use hacks versus a versatile overpowered solo-run class.
It was a no-win situation for priest players, who only felt pain.
The controversy kept growing and expanding.
Even those who occasionally lurked in InGameGal came to know about it, and rumors about hacks spread within Akare.
During this time, Suzuka, the sole female member of a major guild’s party, started her broadcast.
[Suzuka’s broadcast has started. – Akashic Records, 1 second ago]
[Broadcast Title: Streaming with Fera, the Person of Interest]
Streaming with the person of interest, Fera.
Those stirring up the controversy in InGameGal flocked to Suzuka’s broadcast.
“Karing-karing~ Hello, everyone! Suzuka is here again today!”
―――
Where’s the RiceCoin Saint?
The Messiah of RiceCoin farmers, my savior, my light.
What’s with the chat?
Karing-karing~
A sudden collaboration? At this timing?
This is blatantly strategic for survival.
―――
“Huh? Suzuka doesn’t really know what you all are talking about~”
After the opening, Suzuka brought out Fera, who was beside her.
“As it says in the broadcast title, today is a collaboration! Since I worked hard to invite her, please don’t say anything bad!”
Fera looked at Suzuka with a face that seemed to be experiencing a moment of clarity.
Then, as if she had resigned herself, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Hello, I’m Fera, the RiceCoin Saint and supposedly confirmed hacker according to InGameGal. Nice to meet you.”
A shout-out to InGameGal. A shout-out to the hacking controversy. A shout-out to the RiceCoin Saint.
No one expected such an introduction, and the chat window couldn’t handle the flood of messages and exploded.
—
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