The next survival quest for users was decided in an executive meeting.
“We’ve chosen ‘Ride the Rainbow’ as the survival quest for next week.”
The upcoming survival quest is <Ride the Rainbow>.
Jung Da-hoon and I looked uncertain after seeing the announcement.
“Was that one even there when we picked our quest? I don’t remember it.”
“I didn’t see it either. Maybe the available options are different now.”
“Guess so. Well, it doesn’t seem weird or anything. …I’m sure they picked something good.”
PeeledGarlicUnpeeledGarlic was the type to make rational decisions.
Even though he survived almost to the end during the alpha test, I don’t remember him ever doing a quest like this.
“Wow! It’s so pretty…”
The moment the quest was chosen, a rainbow appeared above the castle’s sky. It was a scene of rare beauty against a backdrop so dull it had been painful to look at.
“They picked a good one.”
“It’s a rainbow slide! You know how they say there’s treasure at the end of a rainbow? Looks like you get money or something if you slide down it.”
“Wow… that’s a total score. Is it like one of those flags that gives you coins?”
“It’s the luxury version!! You get rewards just by sliding down!”
Once the rumor spread, players started lining up in droves, eager to ride the rainbow.
“Knew it—GodGarlic pulled an event-tier move!”
“Good timing too, with Kessler still MIA. We get a chill week before things ramp up again.”
Before we knew it, Bori noona had changed into a swimsuit and was standing on the cloud stairs with a duck floatie around her waist. She waved toward Jung Da-hoon and me.
“Bori’s calling us. Let’s go take a ride, Pro.”
“I’m fine. I just rode a really fun tower sled earlier. Enjoy it to the fullest, Da-hoon.”
“Alright then. You take a break for now.”
I gave him a short nod of encouragement and sat in the shade with an iced Americano.
This really made me feel like one of those guardians at a kids’ café, tagging along with children.
“Waaaaah!”
After riding the slide and collecting a handful of coins, Bori noona splashed into the water and walked over to me, patting her face as if she had just washed it.
“Woo-rim, why didn’t you ride! It’s so much fun! You even get 2,600 won!”
Tugging along her squeaky duck float, Bori noona sat next to me, waiting for Jung Da-hoon to come down next.
“As long as you had fun, that’s enough.”
“Oh, right. Woo-rim, are you free this evening?”
“I’ve got nothing but time. Why?”
“We’re drinking in Bundang tonight. Wanna come? Some of the players who died earlier will be there too… Oh, where are you based again?”
She probably meant Haru and Beardie when she said players who had died earlier. I took a long sip of my slowly melting iced coffee.
‘Did she completely forget that I told her I was trapped in the game?’
A bitter smile crept across his face.
“Probably Seoul.”
“Which part of Seoul? If it’s Gangnam, that’s easy.”
“Invite me next time you have drinks. I’ll come then. I make a mean soju-beer mix.”
“Absolutely. You’re always welcome. Oh, look—it’s Da-hoon.”
Jung Da-hoon came charging over like Mangoo in a holey life vest.
“That was fun! I even got 1,900 won!”
“Fun, right? Wanna go again?”
Watching the Bori-Da-hoon couple head off to take another ride, I got up from my seat.
The rooftop café, which usually had a calm crowd, was completely empty today. It actually felt nice that way.
Listening to the excited voices of users playing on the rainbow, I just stared down at the stained table.
I wasn’t in a great mood. I’d felt like this ever since parting ways with Kessler.
It wasn’t something worth overthinking, but my mind kept spinning anyway. I was someone meant to return to reality, while Kessler was someone who could only live within the game.
Our paths were too clearly different. That’s what made it so melancholic.
I kept chewing on the straw I habitually held in my mouth. Then I drew my legs up and gently rocked my chair.
I couldn’t deny that I’d grown fond of Kessler.
I loved games. That’s why I made it my profession.
But falling in love with a game character was something else entirely. …A very different matter. An utterly ridiculous one.
“This sucks.”
The words slipped out before I even realized it. I rested my cheek on my drawn-up knees and closed my eyes.
It was a useless emotion. I needed to overcome it.
So… just for today, can I let myself be sad?
***
I fell asleep in Kessler’s room again out of habit and had a deep, restful sleep. After waking up, I sat at the table, peeled the lid off a pudding, and mixed it into my cereal.
That was when my eyes landed on the potted plant in front of me.
[System]: !!! The sprout flowerpot is thirsty. Please water it quickly.
The Sprout Pot I had left there a while ago had drooping leaves, and at their tips, shadows of death were slowly gathering.
I fetched some water from the fountain and sprinkled it over the pot. I even stuck in some plant nutrients, and it shook its leaves happily in response.
[System]: The sprout flowerpot is bearing fruit for you.
[System]: Estimated harvest time (unknown)
Having escaped the brink of death, the sprout flowerpot had started bearing fruit.
“When is this rascal going to ripen?”
In the early afternoon, I brought some butter beer from the Ice Storage Room and sipped it while watching the pot like it was a dish for my eyes.
“What kind of fruit will it grow?”
There was no way to tell yet. Every time I poked it, it just wobbled as if it were ticklish.
***
Another week passed, and on a day just before the end of <Ride the Rainbow>, I was meeting with Jung Da-hoon, as usual.
“Jung Da-hoon.”
“Oh—Pro!”
When I called his name like I was snapping him out of a trance, he flinched and looked up at me, as if deep in thought.
“What were you thinking about so seriously?”
“The next quest.”
“And? Come to any conclusions?”
“No. Just… suddenly started wondering whether I made the right choice. I even got the Noble status, but maybe I played it too safe. I wonder if I avoided things unnecessarily.”
“Making good use of the Noble status is one way to go, but just not handing the class over to someone else is already valuable in itself.”
Besides, once Jung Da-hoon learned the jobs of the special occupation users, he’d been able to clearly organize priority targets.
“You always put my mind at ease, Pro.”
“That was never my intention. I mean it—you’re doing well.”
Amid the warm exchange of encouragement, I casually brought up something I had kept to myself.
“Jung Da-hoon, back during the alpha test, the Bat Catcher quest—did you ever enter the treasure room?”
“No, never. Did you?”
“I did. I got into Treasure Room No. 1 back then. Same method got me in this time too.”
“As expected of you, Pro.”
“But… there was something this time I didn’t see before.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. The Golden Hour Hand. Did you see anything like a Golden Minute Hand in Treasure Room No. 2?”
“No… I looked closely since everything seemed so cool, but nothing like that.”
“What it does is control the flow of time. I gave it to Kessler for his birthday.”
“…Could it be an elevator item that greatly enhances the Time Traveler class?”
“That’s one possibility, but…”
I remembered searching the corpse of the Time Traveler Jung Da-hoon had killed—and finding an “Unknown Second Hand Fragment” and a “Dented Minute Hand Fragment.”
“My conclusion is that it’s not. For a class item, it’s too overpowered and too temperamental. It’s high-maintenance, and even complains when I change the clock face.”
I calmly laid out my thoughts.
“I keep having this strong feeling… that it’s the key to getting me out of this game.”
It was a feeling born from hope. Jung Da-hoon gave me a sympathetic look, then placed his hand gently over the back of mine.
“Don’t worry, Pro. It’ll happen. I’m sure of it.”
“That’s reassuring.”
By this point, I felt like I was holding him up for too long. Jung Da-hoon had a relationship to maintain, had probably gone to that Bundang drinking party in real life, and needed to recover from a hangover… he had a busy life.
“Time for you to go. Isn’t it around when Bori logs in?”
“You really won’t try the rainbow ride? It’s genuinely fun.”
“I told you—I already went on something even more thrilling.”
I told Jung Da-hoon about the exhilarating sled ride that spiraled down the Shadow Tower, like a proud adventurer sharing a tale of valor.
“That sounds like an amazing expe—”
[The survival quest, <Ride the Rainbow> , will now officially begin.
Please assemble at the cloud zone!
– Time remaining to gather: 59 minutes
– Failure to assemble will result in -10 Energy per 10 seconds.]
Jung Da-hoon didn’t get to finish his sentence. A pop-up appeared before our eyes, announcing the beginning of the next survival quest.
We read it almost at the same time. A dry chuckle escaped us.
“Looks like your hunch was right, Da-hoon. It’s a linked quest.”
“…Then it was my mistake.”
“I never said it was a mistake.”
Guilt lingered in Da-hoon’s eyes.
‘Ride the Rainbow,’ which gave players money with every slide, had just been an appetizer before the main dish arrived.
“Garlic-nim is going to catch some flak for this. Anyway, let’s go see what it is.”
It could end up being nothing at all. But this was a quest we had never experienced before.
“Pro, do you remember the Mole Burrow quest from the alpha test?”
“Yeah. Hitting the moles raised your skill points. Total score fest.”
“You remember the follow-up quest, too?”
“I do.”
Because of that, we could roughly imagine what Ride the Rainbow would be like. Probably similar to the molehill case.
“I’m really sorry. My poor decision dragged you into this.”
I smiled and replied.
“Did you know this would happen?”
Expedition leader PeeledGarlicUnpeeledGarlic—who always wore a kind face and gave his all for the players— had just betrayed the users for the first time.
