The Supporting Characters in the Game Have Become Obsessed Chapter 16

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 16: Classic Ga Enthusiasts (3)

Illegal rcenaries.

As the na suggests, they refer to rcenaries who mainly undertake illegal missions.

In fact, if you look at it from a broader perspective, even in the vicinity of ordinary people, there were quite a few people who could be described as illegal rcenaries.

Whether it was in the lower streets like Chinatown or Little Shinjuku,

or even just going to Redwood, it was overflowing with gangs composed of illegal rcenaries.

When you think about it, being a rcenary itself was like that.

Unlike other professional fields where certification is required for undertaking tasks, being a rcenary doesn’t necessarily require a license.

All that’s needed is skill and a track record.

In a world where countless bandits dive into the rcenary industry and perish every day, the difference between illegal rcenaries and regular rcenaries wasn’t as significant as one might think.

So, what exactly are illegal contracts?

This was simpler to explain than before.

Illegal contracts are those that could be considered harmful to the city.

Simply put, if you don’t abide by the city’s laws, it could be terd as an “illegal contract.”

If you undertake a task and fail to pay the prescribed taxes, that too would be considered an illegal contract.

Perhaps because of this, the status of illegal contracts in Neon City was relatively low and narrow.

There were other reasons as well.

Ever since ‘No Answer’ took over the rcenary industry in Neon City, they strictly prohibited taking on illegal contracts.

In fact, as far as I know, there were quite a few people who secretly undertook contracts under the radar.

However, if caught even once, they would be expelled from No Answer, and they wouldn’t be able to receive contracts from any other interdiaries influenced by them.

Because of such risks, the number of people willing to undertake illegal contracts was definitely lower than before.

But humans (including all races) are a certain kind of creature.

If their desired path is blocked, finding a way back or discovering a new path is the way humans (including all races) live.

Since I’ve never taken on illegal contracts myself,

I don’t really know much about it.

Roughly speaking, it’s said to be divided into various factions.

There are those who suggest creating secret sites through the Net Space for exchanging contracts.

And there were many who said they would only undertake contracts with people they could trust by eting them in person, as tasks involving high risks required direct contact.

Eventually, with ti passing by, only one thod remained.

In the end, that’s how it ca to be.

It was inconvenient to use outdated input/output devices like monitors and keyboards.

It had graphics and gaplay that weren’t enjoyable for those interested in it.

Since it wasn’t a virtual reality ga, it was difficult to see actual damage from hacking, so the risk was low.

Moreover, the operators physically separated the servers, ensuring security.

Thus, a single “ga” was born.

It was even nominally an ordinary (or strange) ga, making it easy to avoid suspicion.

Since there were no data logs left on the servers, it was perfect for having secretive conversations and engaging in illegal activities.

If this story is true, it wouldn’t be surprising that the ga lacked endga content and had poor gaplay.

…Hmm.

So.

“Do you expect to believe all this?”

“…It’s true.”

I was baffled.

* * *

I’ve ntioned it once before, but there’s a ‘setting’ that has changed since the ga beca reality.

It’s normal for even the NPCs you pass by on the street to have specific ‘stories’.

But this was a part I hadn’t thought of before.

I don’t rember hearing about it while playing the ga in the past.

Well, maybe I did, but I just can’t recall.

After all, about ten years have passed since I played the ga.

Except for the main characters and main storylines, the rest didn’t co to mind easily.

It was unavoidable.

But on the flip side, it ans that I rember parts about the main characters.

Hostile NPCs in the ga.

A villain and a wanted criminal who loved rabbit dolls.

Julia took a big bite of the tomato spaghetti she ordered. By the way, the nu stated that it contained 0.0% tomato.

With her cheeks full and food in her mouth, she looked like an ordinary girl of her age.

But that was not the reality.

“…Um, so what you’re saying is…”

It’s a ‘ga’ primarily used for trading illegal contracts.

She said she had never seen soone actually ‘hunting’ while playing that ga, so she was curious to et them to see what they looked like.

“Is that so?”

“…Yes.”

It was surprising that the ga I enjoyed casually playing had a hidden secret that rivaled that of the Deep Net.

But it was even more surprising to find out the true identity of the user who played that ga with was actually a famous wanted criminal.

I just played that ga since it suited my taste, but I had no idea it would leave such a deep impression on a well-known wanted criminal.

I wanted to prove my innocence and let them know that I’m a law-abiding individual.

“That’s, as I ntioned before, I’m not an illegal rcenary, you know?”

“…I know.”

Huh?

“…You’re the ‘Sole Mage,’ aren’t you?”

“I don’t really like that nickna.”

It sounded kind of edgy.

In fact, the sensibilities of people in this world were like that.

“…Shooting Star, Red Hound, Tech Master. They’re also your colleagues.”

…Well.

Listening to the nicknas of my other colleagues, being called the Sole Mage didn’t sound too bad.

From the top, these were the nicknas of Catherine, Andrea, and Drake. Frankly, they felt a bit childish.

If we’re talking about proper nicknas, sothing like Golden Hand or Smasher would be better.

That sounds cooler, doesn’t it?

Although there probably isn’t anyone with such a nickna.

“…It’s famous in our circles.”

“The others are indeed pretty famous.”

“…That’s not it. Um, I an, you too, the Sole Mage.”

“?!”

Why ?

I don’t think I had anything that would make famous.

“…Even if I try to kill you, you won’t die.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t a good reason.

Nor was it a good evaluation.

Maybe it’s because they’re from the underworld, but their judgnts seed harsher than those of people from above.

I intended to change the subject and spoke to Julia.

“Ms. Julia—”

“Just Julia.”

“Julia.”

Yeah, titles aren’t that important.

Not like I corrected it right away because I was scared.

“…I’ve heard that you’re wanted. Is it okay for you to be here?”

This wasn’t trying to avoid being with a wanted criminal.

It was out of genuine concern.

Julia raised the doll she was holding to my eye level.

A white rabbit doll.

Its glass eyes glead red, staring at .

“…This is.”

With her other hand, Julia stretched and contracted the rabbit’s neck and body.

Whether it was made of cotton or not, the doll stretched and contracted according to her hand movents.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“It distorts the surrounding signals… blocks facial recognition. And I was careful when coming here.”

[Information.]

Surprised.

Eve continued.

[After hacking the caras, I confirm that there is a significant decrease in image quality around the doll due to generated noise.]

Really?

It’s just because it’s easy to get such things in the underworld.

Now that I think about it, there were many similar products.

So, she carries the rabbit doll around for that reason.

“…I just like the design.”

And she giggled slightly, indicating she liked the rabbit.

It was a sight that I wouldn’t have suspected if I hadn’t played the ga.

This little kid, a wanted criminal listed by the NCPD? Ridiculous.

I would have scoffed and dismissed it.

I was glad that she didn’t seem in the mood to fight .

I hoped today would end peacefully like this.

“But, um, rather than ”

“What?”

“ImARealMage is—”

“…Would you like to call by my real na?”

It felt quite burdenso to hear my in ga ID in real life.

Julia suddenly lowered the fork she was holding.

Perhaps she choked, she stopped eating the spaghetti and quickly drank from the glass of water beside her.

She really didn’t look like a villain.

“…Your, um, na.”

“Siwoon, it’s Siwoon. For your information, it’s my last na.”

“Um, Siwoon-nim.”

It felt strange to be addressed as “nim” by a wanted criminal.

“…I’ve heard that Siwoon-nim also has a bounty now?”

“Huh?”

It was natural for to pause at Julia’s words.

She continued.

“…Siwoon-nim, you’ve beco famous among the rcenaries in the underworld recently. It’s only been a few days, but… is your bounty higher than mine?”

Why would I be?

This is crazy talk.

There’s no reason for to have a bounty on from the rcenaries in the underworld.

I wanted to hear more detailed explanations.

But then.

The inside of the restaurant beca noisy.

It seed like a bunch of people were rushing into the restaurant at once.

The voices of the people around murmured.

Sothing had definitely happened.

Their destination was none other than .

“Found you, Golden Hands! We’ve been looking for you for so long!”

The timing was a bit amusing.

I had just found out about the bounty on my head, but before I could say anything, people ard with knives and guns stord into the restaurant.

“You’ve been a pain to find, huh? What. Julia, why are you here?”

The gaze of the commanding man shifted from to Julia sitting in front of .

“…Hey.”

“Why are you here? I ignored my mission and left because I had work to do.”

The identity of the commanding man was unclear to , but it seed like he knew Julia.

“Aha. Having fun, huh. I guess you didn’t even know that the money bag was right in front of you.”

The commanding man scratched his throat with the gun he was holding.

Was that scar on his head from that?

It was obvious at a glance that his entire body had been modified with combat implants.

It was like the chromo psychos I’ve seen in past assignnts or news.

Unlike , who was speechless in the bewildering situation, Julia confidently spoke her mind.

She stuttered a bit when we were having a conversation earlier, but now that was nowhere to be found.

“It’s not like that.”

“What?”

“I didn’t not recognize him.”

The tense atmosphere inside the restaurant, which had started to relax slightly, tightened again like a stretched rubber band.

“…Then why aren’t you capturing him?”

“Because he’s my party mber.”

“Then move aside.”

“That’s not possible either.”

The commanding man’s irritation seed to spread to the tip of his head.

“…Hey. I can overlook you pointing a knife at my throat as a joke. But what’s this? This situation cannot be overlooked as a joke.”

“I’m not joking though?”

The commanding man gritted his teeth.

Julia’s hand was already moving toward the rabbit doll in her lap.

I just sat there quietly.

I didn’t understand what was going on.

In the anti, I took a sip of the cola in front of .

In any case, the cola was quite refreshing.

[Translator – Peptobismol]