A Champion of Rats

Logout (1)

When I came to my senses, I saw a white ceiling, not the dark walls of the sewer. Then the nausea kicked in.

“Here’s the trashcan.”

I buried my face into the trashcan she held out and started to vomit.

A thick, mushy liquid started pouring out.

"You feeling okay?"

She asked, gently patting my back. I somehow got back enough of my breath back to ask a question of my own.

“Wh-, what happened?”

“You logged out.”

"Logged out?"

“Yes, logged out. How’re you feeling?”

Only then did I understand the situation.

“Everything’s dizzy, and my stomach’s churning.”

“That's rather good. The others had it worse.”

I tried to complain at her words that lit a spark of irritation within me, but had to give up because of another round of vomiting.

"Why on earth… why am I feeling like this?"

“I told you, didn’t I? The game has some side effects. And because it's so realistic, post-usage there’s this kind of rejection reaction. Are you having a hard time?”

"Yeah, –"

“Can't be helped. It's not easy to get somebody else’s money, right? But maybe the sight of your bank balance will comfort you a little.”

She held out my phone. I opened the bank’s app and was about to check the balance when I noticed something odd.

“… That’s odd. What happened? Did my phone break down?”

“What’s odd?”

“The date… it’s showing the wrong date. It’s ahead by almost a month.”

"… Isn’t that because it's actually been a month?"

"Huh? It's been a month? What the hell?!”

She put her hand on my shoulder. It felt very warm and soft.

"Calm down, will you? That's how the game works. First of all, don't worry about your mother. The company’s already assigned her a caregiver, and we’ve also told her about your hiring. She didn't believe us at first, but seeing your bank account managed to convince her. Do you understand?”

At her sudden barrage of words, I could only nod like an idiot.

“A few other relatives apart from your mother have also been in touch, and I’ve given them the same explanation. So don’t worry too much. Okay?”

“Oh… I see.”

I acquiesced like a puppet. Be it at our first meeting, or when we first discussed this game, or this moment, the out-of-the-world air about her made it impossible to argue with her about anything.

“Now, time to properly get up.”

She grabbed my hands like I was a baby and lifted me up. As she put me down till my feet touched the ground, my legs staggered and I almost fell.

“Wh-, what’s happening? Did my muscles atrophy after a month in that chair?”

“Oh, you know some complicated words, I see. But it's not that. Your body was kept under strict maintenance. This is happening because you spent too much time in the game.”

“You sound just like my mother.”

“Thank you for the compliment. But I’m being honest. Because you've been in the game too long, your… mind? Brain? Experienced something like an overload. … You certainly were immersed in the game.”

"… You saw what I did?"

“We do need to gather data, you know.”

"Ah… now I feel a little embarrassed."

“You shouldn’t. Rather, you should be proud. Thanks to you, we got some nice data, so hiring you was a good choice. There’re a lot of people who can’t even finish the tutorial.”

After tottering a few steps with her help, I was able to start walking properly.

“There’s no problem with your body, you can take what happened as your brain freaking out for a while. If you have any doubts, go to the hospital and have a check-up. If there’re any problems, I’ll compensate you right away.”

She wasn't just saying that, she sounded completely sincere. I couldn’t help but wonder if merely being good at playing a game was worth all this. Not that I had the guts to ask.

I checked my bank balance, recalling our previous conversation.

There was an additional 6,000,000 excluding the principal.

“After-tax salary 5 million, performance bonus 1 million. Any problems?”

I shook my head, unable to believe my own eyes. Could somebody really make this much money this way? It was like a dream.

“It’s no dream. And you did a good job, so don't think too much of it.”

She held my hand and gave me something, an employee ID.

“Now, this is your official employee ID. You’ll need this, since you’ll have to come to work here from now on.”

I reflexively checked out the ID. It was something I couldn’t have dared dream of very recently, but such an overabundance of good fortune was really making me more and more apprehensive.

"Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

“Glad to hear it. Now, let's get to the point. You’ll keep playing the game, just like this time, in the future. Once you enter the game, you have to play for a month.

“Although, inside the game, it can feel longer or shorter than that. Some problems may crop up with your sense of time. Of course, you’ll be compensated accordingly.

“Oh, by the way, you can't stop playing before the deadline we set, even if you feel like quitting. Do you understand?”

“Roughly, yeah.”

“And one more thing. You only get one week of vacation. If you don’t log back in on time afterwards, you’ll be fired. No matter the reason. Any problems?"

“No problem, but why?”

“Hmm, call it efficient management?”

I didn't understand, but I nodded.

“So? What’re you going to do now?”

“I have to go see my mother.”

“You’re a good son. I’ll give you a ride.”

◆◆◆

She kindly drove me to the hospital and left immediately.

A month had passed in the meantime, and the hospital felt strange for some reason. Like the sense of displacement you feel when coming back to your home country after living abroad for several years. But it couldn’t be that, right?

I ran straight to my mother's hospital room to show her my employee ID.

She was lying on the bed, alone.

"Son?"

She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“Is that really you, Son?!”

"Mom."

It felt like I hadn't seen her for a long time. It reminded me of coming back home during military leave.

Maybe because of that, she looked older and frailer than I remembered. The guilt was coming back full force. What on earth had I been doing?

“I thought my son was taken away to somewhere… did you really get a job?”

I proudly took out the employee ID from my pocket. I still haven't forgotten that moment. The way her face lit up…

My mother covered her mouth and shed tears, that’s how happy she was.

“Oh, God… thank you. Thank you."

There were many things I wanted to tell her, but seeing her like that left me silent. She’d suffered so much and worried so much, because of whom?

So I hugged my mother and said hackneyed, cliché stuff like I’d do better in the future. Even so, I was very happy at that moment. It was like a dream come true, a fantasy.

My mother, who’d stopped crying and calmed down, suddenly started asking me questions as if she were curious.

“But, Son. I'm so glad you got a job, but how the hell did it happen? I heard from a pretty lady that she got you a job, what’s all this about? Honestly, if the director of the hospital hadn’t vouched for her, I would’ve called the police.”

I couldn't figure out how to explain it. To be honest, I still didn't know why I got the job.

"Uh… Mom, the place I got the job at is a game company. Oh, how do I explain this? As an analogy, think about checking product quality in a factory. Yeah, it's like that. I'm actually testing a game that's currently in development.”

"They’re paying you money to play games? The world’s become such a convenient place.”

“Mom, you probably shouldn’t say that front of your son who just got a job.”

“No, no, Mom’s proud. You were always in your room playing games, so I was worried about your future, but then you got a job like this. The lady even said that she paid you a lot of money in advance… By any chance, is it anything dangerous?”

Was this the so-called mother's intuition? I flinched unconsciously.

“Uh… no. I need to play the game for quite a while, though. Other than that, there’re no problems, no problems at all."

“Then I’m really happy. My son got a job at such a good company. I won’t have any regrets even if I die right now.”

“Mom… Don’t say something like that when you’re in hospital! See, I even got a job. You have to live a long time too, Mom. Oh! My salary’s come in. Here, see."

When I showed her the amount on the salary deposit, my mother's smile was about to reach her ears.

“Oh, God, thank you for your blessing. They even assigned me a free caregiver saying it’s for employee welfare, and now the salary’s this high… my goodness!”

After expressing her relief over and over again, Mom asked me to convey her heartfelt thanks to the one who’d given me my job.

After we finished catching up, I told Mom that I wouldn't be able to visit her often because of work.

"It's fine… but what kind of game is it that you have to play for a whole month straight?"

“They’ve introduced a new technology… well, so they say. Although, I’m grateful that they’re giving me a week’s vacation afterwards each time. Especially with how things are right now.”

Mom's expression was once again filled with worry.

“Yes, that’s true. But the conditions are so good… There’s really no problem, right?"

"Of course!"

It was a true answer as far as I knew, but to be honest I couldn't be sure. Why? Because too much good luck always made me anxious. That was just how I was.

“Any, forget that. Mom. Don't worry about me anymore, just rest and take care of your own health. I’ll take you on an overseas vacation trip later, so you have to get well soon.”

‘A million won bonus from just killing goblins? Making money will be a piece of cake.'

Mom touched my cheek and smiled.

“Mom’s really proud of you, Son. Now, you just came back from work, so you must be tired. Go home and get some rest.”

“I came to see you after a full month; how can I go back already?”

“The caregiver will be here soon, so don’t worry about me and go. You must be bone tired.”

“Not really, Mom. I’m fine.”

“Go home and rest. You managed to get a job, so you can’t make mistakes because you lacked rest, okay?”

I almost said that that was impossible. It was just a game, what mistake could I make?

"Mom…"

“Really, I’m fine. My son even got a job, what could be wrong with me now? You can come back tomorrow, so just go home and rest today. Eat something delicious and get a good night’s sleep.”

“That’s no different from when I was unemployed.”

Mom laughed.

“Oh, and call your uncles and cousins later. They heard that you got a job, but everyone’s worried that you've been kidnapped. Really, they were about to call the police.”

“Ugh, how thoughtful of them.”

“They’re just worried about you. Don’t you remember, your cousins used to give you pocket money?”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember. That was three months ago.”

“So, make sure you get in touch with them.”

"Okay. I’ll do that tomorrow.”

“Alright, go home now. My son’s safe… no. He even got a job. Mom no longer has to worry. Now I really can rest.”

In the end, I nodded to my mother's repeated suggestions. Well, it was true that she even had a dedicated caregiver assigned to her, but I honestly didn't know if being well-rested or working hard would make a difference at my job. In the end, it was just a game.

‘But what if my character dies? Do I have to restart? I'll have to ask.'

I waited a while so I could meet the caregiver and give my thanks for taking care of my mother so far. Then I left the hospital.

I was thinking about going home, but I suddenly started feeling hungry. Come to think of it, I couldn't even remember when I’d last eaten (in the first episode, I’d left with her without eating anything in the cafeteria).

I thought I should fill my stomach first, and a fast-food chain happened to catch my eye. I went straight into the store.

I liked hamburgers, but I’d always hesitated to eat them because they were actually pretty expensive for their weight.

‘This, this… and this! Hmm, I should try this side dish too.'

The bill turned out to be about 30,000 won. My hands would’ve shaken seeing the cost in the past. But it was different now. Was this the power of employment?

I took my food and sat at one of the large tables. The smell was appetizing, making me salivate.

I peeled off the wrapping paper. Melted cheese, browned patties, and gooey sauce spilled out.

Anticipating the taste, I bit into the hamburger, but my brows unconsciously furrowed the moment it touched my tongue.

What the hell did this mean?

◆◆◆

A week later, I went back to work. The week had been busier than expected, but I’d managed to visit all my relatives living nearby and inform them of my survival and employment.

The second part of the news had been a tough sell.

“Why don’t they believe you?”

“Apparently there’s no company in this world crazy enough to give a job to an unemployed man who hasn’t even prepared for it.”

She giggled.

“Crazy… that’s a relative term. How did people react the first time somebody built an airplane?”

“That’s pretty philosophical.”

“I’m just talking casually. Now, let's get right into the game, shall we?"

"Ah! Before we do, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I ate a hamburger on the first day of vacation. I happen to like hamburgers.”

"Ah! Hamburgers. It's rare to find people who don't like hamburgers. I like them too.”

“The burger was completely inedible.”

“That’s amazing. It's harder to make a hamburger not taste good, to be honest."

“No, I don’t mean that… I just didn’t like the taste. So I bought some other food and tried them. Like pork belly, or ramen.”

“I like those too. They’re full of that authentic Korean taste, aren’t they?”

“But none of them tasted very good either. It felt more like… eating dry bread? Whereas while I was a rat, everything tasted delicious, even the bedbugs… is this some kind of a side effect?”

“Well, that's interesting. I'll check it out. Anything else?”

“Not that I… ah! One more question. What if I die while playing the game? What if I meet a strong enemy that kills me?”

She pondered for a long time, as if she hadn't even thought about the issue, before finally answering.

“Then you’re fired.”

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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