Praise the Orc!

"So what you’re telling me is you don’t know any further details."

"That’s right."

"That could be an issue. I'll try my best to check on your brother's character."

"Thank you."

The silver lining was that many users had logged out of Elder Lord to watch the war between the expedition force and the orcs. Had the number of users been as high as usual, the situation would have been several times more serious.

Governments around the world were thankful for Crockta's popularity.

"Broadcasters who can still communicate with the real world are also cooperating actively. Please do not worry too much. Experts from around the world have already gathered to analyze the system of Elder Lord. It will be resolved soon."

However, for the families of the victims, it was a tragedy that came without warning. Most could not contain their emotions due to the sudden crisis, the number of those who clung to the capsules and wept was big. This made it even more emotionally draining for those dealing with them.

Thus, Kang Jung-Man couldn't help but admire the calm response of this young woman.

"Here's my business card. Please contact me if anything comes up."

"Okay, I will."

Kang Jung-Man checked the connection capsule one last time. Inside the capsule, Jung Yi-An was connected to life support devices, including an IV. His status was normal.

In the early stages of the incident, those forcibly detached from the capsules fell into a brain-dead state. According to the doctors, everything was normal but they wouldn't move, as if their soul had left their body.

Therefore, the government focused on inputting resources to maintain the lives of the connected users, allowing them to survive in the world of Elder Lord. The situation had now been somewhat stabilized.

The Elder Lord users wouldn’t die as long as they stayed alive in the game.

"Hmm..."

Kang Jung-Man hesitated for a moment as he was about to turn around.

He had visited all the families he was supposed to visit today. Perhaps because he had some time left, he offered a piece of advice he wouldn't normally give to the families.

"The government is also dispatching counselors for the families of the connected users. Miss Jung, if you are feeling distressed, please don't hesitate to contact us. It will help."

Yi-Yoo smiled faintly.

"Yes, I will. Thank you for your consideration."

"Very well. I’ll be on my way."

Kang Jung-Man bowed and left the house.

* * *

The government agent left and the door closed behind him.

Yi-Yoo sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the door to Yi-An's room.

Her head was heavy with mixed thoughts. She tilted her head, trying to recall what had just crossed her mind. Memories from the past, both from her childhood and her grown-up years came to her. Strangely, and rather unfittingly, those memories did not feature her brother Yi-An; they were moments when he was absent.

Her first big fight with a friend. The silent ostracism she faced from her cousins after being left in the care of relatives when her parents passed away. The first time she was so drunk she couldn't walk properly and was vomiting on the side of the street, or the disappointment of scoring lower than expected on the college entrance exam. Situations where she found herself in trouble.

Yet, she always had this strange conviction that things would eventually pass, that things would work out in the end.

It was an odd belief, but it felt like nothing could harm her.

That's why she had never been truly disheartened. novelbuddy. com

Now, even in this surreal situation where her brother was trapped in a video game, deep down, she felt a calm tranquility.

Why was that?

She pondered.

When Yi-Yoo looked deep into her own heart, she always eventually reached the source of her emotions. After being lost in thought for a bit, she finally realized.

It was all because of her brother in the end.

He was always there behind her.

Her brother, Jung Yi-An, had never let her down. Whenever she faced trouble, Yi-An always had a solution. Her faith might have been irrational, but Yi-An had always lived up to that blind trust, making it seem justified. He had always given her faith in the future.

Even now, things were no different.

In this unfathomable situation, she believed, deep down, that Yi-An would return as if nothing had happened.

How?

"How does he do it?"

How did Jung Yi-An do it?

Yi-Yoo rose from her seat and walked to Yi-An's room.

Yi-An was breathing softly as if he was fast asleep. How was he dealing with this situation in the world of Elder Lord?

She couldn't imagine him panicking.

Looking around the room, it was as simple and boring as that of a soldier ready to up and leave at any moment.

She ran her hand over the desk and impulsively opened a drawer.

Inside were a few letters lying there.

They were from overseas. The address and sender were all in English. She took them out and read them.

They were from old comrades.

The letters were filled with inside stories that only they would understand. Raven—that's what they called Yi-An.

Amid their disjointed contexts, some messages were repeated.

「Thank you.」

「Because of you, I am alive today.」

「I will repay this debt.」

Even when he was throwing himself into the line of fire for her, he managed to save others. How could her brother, Jung Yi-An, do that? It wasn't just because he was strong from the martial arts training. Not everyone who is strong sacrificed themselves for others.

She recalled a fact she had unconsciously ignored until now.

She and her brother were not related by blood.

Yi-An probably didn’t know that she knew this fact. She had overheard it by chance back when she was living off the begrudging care of their relatives.

Why was her brother, Jung Yi-An, so devoted to her, despite not being related by blood?

And why had she taken it for granted all her life?

"I don't know..."

Yi-Yoo sighed.

She looked up at the ceiling. It was plain white. Staring at it, the confusion in her mind seemed to settle into clarity.

Thinking further didn't provide any answers.

She decided to just ask Yi-An when he returned.

* * *

Baek Han-Ho typed the word "Crockta" into the search bar.

Among the myriad of information, he found the latest activities of Crockta. It was mentioned that he, along with his companions, was heading toward the temple of the Ashen God in the north.

"This kid..."

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, recalling the first time he met Jung Yi-An.

* * *

"Hey kid, can you fight?"

Baek Han-Ho approached him with that question, but the real reason he spoke to Yi-An was different.

At that time, the young Jung Yi-An was dragging the lifeless body of a puppy that had died near the playground. He was headed toward a flower bed, seemingly intending to bury the body somewhere in it. Despite Baek Han-Ho calling out to him, Yi-An merely glanced over and continued without stopping.

"I said can you fight?"

“...”

Possibly offended by the question, Yi-An gave Baek Han-Ho a look and then turned his head sharply. Baek Han-Ho followed the kid with a smirk.

"Whatcha doing, kid?"

Finally, Yi-An responded.

"I'm trying to bury this dog."

"Did you kill it?"

"No. It was already dead."

"Then why are you burying it?"

It wasn't a child's responsibility to deal with a dead animal.

Yi-An's answer was unexpected.

"Someone’s gotta do it."

But there was no need for that someone to be him. Yet, this kid had taken it upon himself to do what he believed needed to be done.

When Yi-An dropped the dog and started digging the ground with a rock to bury it, Baek Han-Ho became curious about what kind of mindset this kid had. So, he decided to watch him.

After burying the dog's body in the flower bed and dusting off his hands, Yi-An stood up as if it were nothing unusual.

"Kid."

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" Baek Han-Ho asked.

"Jung Yi-An."

"Yi-An, huh..."

It was a good name.

"What's your biggest worry right now?"

"Worry?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you the solution."

"It’s not something you can help with."

"Try me. I'll help."

Yi-An looked Baek Han-Ho over suspiciously before opening his mouth.

"I just got a baby sister..."

"And?"

"I'm wondering how I can protect her well."

"..."

"Apparently, I have to protect my sister for my whole life because I'm the older brother."

Baek Han-Ho was momentarily speechless.

He was trained in the art of killing, a martial skill passed down in secrecy. His master always said that the successor of this martial art must have a righteous heart and understand the weight of the responsibilities they bear. He also added that such a heart was so rare, that it was like a gem.

"Kid. You said your name is Yi-An?"

"Yes."

"I'll teach you. I’ll teach you how you can protect your sister."

Yi-An had a skeptical look on his face.

Baek Han-Ho ignored his side-eyeing and smirked, examining the face of the kid who would become his disciple.

"Well. He’s not really shiny."

That day, he found the gem his master spoke of.

Though young, his character was already fully formed. Therefore, all he could do was teach martial arts to the best of his ability, ensuring that his upright heart was never broken. And his disciple, Jung Yi-An, always lived up to his expectations.

* * *

Things were no different now.

"Are you really going to fight...”

Baek Han-Ho was well-informed about the current situation's progress. He too had traveled the world when he was younger. Through connections from that time, he had learned the truth about this incident, which various governments wanted to hide.

The Albino had already been disassembled.

They managed to cut it open with a laser cutter to reveal its interior.

But inside, it was empty.

The Albino, which they had believed to be the core system, was nothing more than an empty sphere.

No one could understand how Elder Lord was maintained, how it continues to be sustained, or why people still couldn't wake up from it. With no subject to study, even the best experts gathered together could do nothing. This incident was close to a supernatural phenomenon.

There was only one unofficial solution they spoke of.

To defeat the Ashen God, as the system itself suggested.

It was unclear what the Albino's true identity was, or what kind of thoughts this formless AI had to start such madness, but the Albino never once lied. Therefore, this last quest that had emerged also had to be true.

That was the only solution they could think of.

"Just like before."

And Yi-An was moving toward that only solution as Elder Lord's strongest warrior, Crockta.

Baek Han-Ho closed his eyes.

When Yi-An became a mercenary in the conflict zone through his referral, he was not overly worried. Looking back, it was strange. No matter how talented Yi-An was, in the end, he was still a person who would die from getting stabbed or shot. Yet, he believed that his disciple, Yi-An, would return unscathed. That was the kind of person Yi-An was.

Always inspiring confidence and living up to it.

"I have no intention of training a new disciple at my age, Yi-An..."

Baek Han-Ho muttered as he closed the internet window.

Thinking he should nag and urge Yi-An to make his own disciple once he returns.

* * *

Han Ye-Ri felt unsettled.

She didn't know much about games. But lately, with all the talk of the Elder Lord Crisis, the whole world seemed to be in chaos.

On top of that, her boss hadn't come in for a while.

According to a message from Yi-An's younger sister, Yi-Yoo, he had to leave Korea suddenly for urgent matters. But the Yi-An she knew wasn't someone to disappear without a word.

She had heard that Yi-An had been playing Elder Lord diligently recently and wondered if he might be caught up in this situation but shook her head. She comforted herself with the thought that surely it couldn't be.

"Ye-Ri, it’s nice not having customers."

Yoo Soo-Yeon laughed heartily, and Han Ye-Ri chuckled in response.

"Right?"

"I wish it was like this every day."

Then, the door opened. The two, who had been chatting in the empty cafe, straightened up and greeted the customer.

"Welcome to Cafe Reason."

The man who entered had tanned skin and sunglasses on his head. He looked around the cafe and walked toward the counter.

"This is a nice cafe, very pretty."

"Haha, thank youu."

"No need to force it. You’re not even the boss, haha. Where's the owner?"

"Ah... The boss is temporarily out..."

"Ah, I shouldn't have asked."

He seemed to know Yi-An well.

"Your boss..."

He glanced at Han Ye-Ri's name tag and continued.

"Did you know he speaks highly of you? Says you make good coffee."

"Really?"

"Of course. So, could you make me a coffee? Something tasty."

"What would you like from the menu?"

"Surprise me! I don't know much about coffee."

Saying that he sat down in the middle of the cafe and seemed to soak in the atmosphere, leaning back in his chair and looking around.

When the coffee was ready and he came to pick it up, he smelled the coffee on the spot and then asked Han Ye-Ri.

"Miss, what kind of person is your boss?"

"Excuse me?"

"What kind of person is he?"

"Don’t you two know each other well?"

"We do, that's why I'm asking."

"Uh..."

She was taken aback, having never encountered someone like him before.

And then she thought about it.

What kind of person was Yi-An?

She reminisced about the first time she met him.

* * *

Cafe Reason had not even bothered with the usual online job postings. It simply had a "Help Wanted" poster attached to the cafe's main entrance.

At that time, she was going through a particularly tough period. So, with a sense of resignation, she immediately opened the cafe door and entered. She was in plain, unadorned clothes, carrying an attitude as if it wouldn't matter even if she were turned away on the spot.

Inside the cafe was a man, smiling kindly.

When she mentioned she was there for the part-time position, he immediately asked her to sit down. For a while, they sat opposite each other, silently looking at one another.

After their moment of silence, he asked.

"Do you smile easily?"

It was an unexpected question. Han Ye-Ri answered right away.

"I do!"

And then she showed him the broadest smile she could muster.

It was the biggest smile she was capable of making.

Yi-An, having looked intently at her face, smiled slightly and responded.

"You got the job."

That was all.

Han Ye-Ri remained frozen in place for a while, unable to respond to the words that she got the job. It wasn't that she was overwhelmed by the unexpected approval.

It was just that Yi-An's face, smiling as he said that the job was hers, was dazzling.

That was their first meeting.

* * *

Snapping out of her reverie, Han Ye-Ri looked again at the customer smiling in front of her.

"Our boss is..."

When she hesitated to continue, the man answered for her.

"A good person, right?"

"Yes, that's right. He is."

There couldn't have been a more appropriate response. Han Ye-Ri nodded with a smile.

"He's a good person."

"I think so too."

The man took a sip of his coffee and said,

"The coffee's good. Thank you. I hope your boss comes back soon."

"Right..."

Han Ye-Ri paused for a moment and thought about Yi-An. What could he be doing now?

Somehow, Yi-An's gruff expression came to mind. She chuckled.

"I really hope he comes back soon."

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