Chapter 92 – The Ga Is Real
[You have exceeded the quest objective.]
[You have cleared all monsters on the 13th floor.]
[Title acquired: "Cowardly Butcher."]
[Hamr Goblins dislike you.]
[Reward: "Worn Rag Outfit Set" has been granted.]
Another item appeared in the air.
’This is...’
A set of yellowed, tattered clothing appeared—top and bottom—and dropped onto the floor.
At the sa ti, he felt experience being absorbed into his body.
Now he was sure.
’This really is a ga.’
It was still hard to believe, but he couldn’t argue against what was happening right before his eyes.
His thoughts raced.
’Today’s the official launch day...’
Could this be Exodia2? A ga showing up in the real world? Not even augnted reality could feel this realistic.
Even CG always had noticeable flaws.
’Besides, there’s no way a regular ga could affect reality like this.’
At the sa ti, another thought occurred to him.
’Why am I this calm?’
He had just killed a Hamr Goblin that appeared out of nowhere, and it felt completely natural.
He was surprised at first, sure—but then he found an opening and stabbed. After that, he slaughtered them without hesitation.
He had never even held a sword before.
Suddenly, he rembered the ssage windows that had appeared earlier. Now that he thought about it, he started calming down right around then.
On a hunch, he muttered one word.
’Status window.’
A status window really appeared.
Na: Jhin – Lv.1 Age: 29 Class: Unemployed Stats: [Strength 5], [Agility 5], [Stamina 5], [Magic 5] Unique Skill: [Heavenly Martial Body (S)] * Skill is partially restricted due to low player level. Only a portion of the ability is usable. Current active skill: [Calm (F)]
Jhin ’s eyes lit up.
Heavenly Martial Body.
It was the unique skill he had earned after endless grinding.
A whole month’s worth of effort.
So why was it here?
That was a skill from Exodia1.
’Wait... is this from the shutdown reward?’
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Exodia.
A once wildly popular but now-dead online ga.
Ironically, the rise and fall of that ga ca down to a single thing.
’Its brutal difficulty.’
Even the basic controls required more skill than most RPGs. Every ti you used a skill, you had to input individual commands.
’Even casting a single spell ant typing out the incantation every ti.’
It was an unfamiliar but unique system.
Unlike other gas where pressing one button activated a skill, Exodiamade you work for it.
But the real problem wasn’t that.
’Only three lives.’
You only got three deaths. After that, your entire character data was deleted.
That hardcore chanic was what made it explode in popularity early on—then later earned it the label of "unplayable."
’Veteran players were practically extinct.’
Sure, there were people on the rankings—but the skill gap was huge. The top 12 were so far ahead they were treated like gods.
The difference between rank 12 and 13 was massive.
Sa for 100 versus 101. And 1,000 versus 1,001 was even worse.
Why?
Because one slip and your character was gone. Even popular strears and YouTubers avoided the ga.
So you could imagine how frustrated soone like Jhin must’ve been—soone who had played for five years and even reached rank 1.
Then the service ended.
The entire ga disappeared. Their characters—gone.
It felt like watching the end of the world.
But right before the shutdown, there was an interesting survey.
[Is there anything you’d like to carry over to Exodia2?]
[Pick three.]
It was like one of those "What would you bring to a deserted island?" questions.
Veterans filled it out with cautious hope.
Maybe, just maybe, the developers would show them so respect.
They even coined a term for it—"shutdown reward."
It was their way of finishing Exodia1 with a little hope in their hearts. Maybe they’d at least get a starter pack.
But whether or not they’d actually receive anything...
Nobody knew.
Not until Exodia2 officially launched.
’They actually gave this...’
He regretted what he wrote that day.
If he had known, he would’ve written down broken skills like "Blade God Style," "Thunder God," or myth-tier equipnt like "teor Sword of Calamity."
Jhin shrugged and shook his head.
[Heavenly Martial Body]
Optimizes the player for combat.
Related skills are sealed. They will unlock automatically once conditions are t.
Thinking about it now, this was probably the best thing he could’ve chosen.
Combat optimization. No weapon restrictions.
Now that he’d experienced it in real life, it hit harder than ever.
’Even though I’ve never used a sword before, it felt like I had.’
And Heavenly Martial Body had so unexpected effects in the real world.
Things that didn’t matter at all in the ga now felt essential.
’ntal focus.’
Even if a ga gives you three lives, it’s still just a ga.
But this?
The goblin’s breath, the stench, the pressure—everything was real.
One mistake, and he’d be dead.
But Heavenly Martial Body did exactly what it said: optimized him for combat.
Even if so skills were restricted, he could still use "Calm."
Thanks to that, he was able to assess the situation quickly.
’...That ans two shutdown rewards remain.’
He had selected three. So far, only Heavenly Martial Body had activated.
The other two were late-ga items. They wouldn’t be helpful right now—and even if he summoned them, he probably couldn’t use them yet.
’Forget it. I’ll think about that later.’
Now wasn’t the ti to worry about shutdown rewards.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Heavy pounding sounds began echoing from sowhere.
The regular rhythm could only an one thing.
Right on cue, a quest alert popped up.
[You’ve received a new quest.]
Category: Tutorial
Difficulty: F
Condition: A parasite has appeared in I-Fork Apartnt Building 103.
Once all the hamring is complete, the dungeon "Contaminated Molly’s Tree (F)" will form.
Leave Lines 5–6 of Apartnt 103 before dungeonization completes.
Ti Limit: 10 minutes
Reward: Basic Survival Kit
Failure: Death
Tutorial in progress. Monster levels are adjusted accordingly.
And to top it off, one last annoying ssage appeared:
[Enjoy your play! Good luck!]
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