Nano Machine (Web Novel KR) - Chapter 412: North Sea Ice Palace (2)

Some exist with pride, others struggle with pride, some compete with pride, and there are those who fail with pride, but very few can walk away with pride.Congratulations, for as you read these lines, you have witnessed the whole lives of many great basketball players.This pronunciation was embodied when Stephen Curry, after facing defeat in 2021, claimed that no one would want to face them the following season; When Tim Duncan was convinced before the start of the 2014 Finals that they would not mess up; When Kobe Bryant promised at Old Buss's memorial to take the Lakers to the playoffs; When Nowitzki, shedding his label as a soft player, retreated to the locker room in tears at night; When Kevin Garnett let out a skyward howl after holding the championship trophy; When the 2004 Detroit Pistons won and the F4 Lakers lost…Our story begins in an era when pride still mattered.

“Pretend to be my lover and join the social circle.”

Selena, the top star that had the entire world’s attention, was suddenly warped to Northern Duke’s land during an accident while filming. Kalcion, the Northern Duke that saved her from the infernal beasts, offers Selena a chance to go back home in return for collecting information in various social circles by pretending to be his lover. Selena quickly accepts Kalcion’s offer, but…

“Why in the world can’t you do this!?”
“Don’t you think that the answer to that should be obvious to you, the actress, not to me, the duke?”

There was a critical problem. The Northern Duke’s acting skills are horrible!

“…Let’s change the plan. I’ll seduce you instead.”

And thus the contractual relationship between the two started. Will Kalcion’s acting skill improve first, or will he start to have true feelings for Selena instead?

It all started when the protagonist downloaded a game called “The Fool (Beta Version),” marking a pivotal shift in the style of his life. This was no ordinary game; it lacked visuals and music, composed solely of lines of text and a multitude of choices. Yet, each decision within the game had the power to alter the player's destiny, for on the other side of the game lay a real, unknown world.Players were unable to physically enter this otherworld or see its landscapes, experiencing the alternate realm solely through text, vicariously living each step of their character's journey.As the game progressed, not only could rewards from the game materialize in the real world, but creatures from the game began to appear in reality as well.Then came the day the game was released for global public testing.An era quietly unfolded, where the masses embarked on explorations and treasure hunts in an alternate universe through 'textual adventure,' heralding a new chapter of engagement and discovery.

'Kill monsters, eat meat''I mean, Kill monsters, save lives. Got it.''Tut, I could've sworn that the first one sounded better.'She wasn't a girl looking for freedom or self-righteous liberation by a hero, or whatever shit a girl who suffered for almost all her life would crave.-the shit of a life she was living was horrible, but it was bearable, and so she got used to it.Rather, instead of freedom, what this little missy wanted was money. Lots and lots of them so she never has to worry about the next day.Money - bountiful enough that when she has to spend, she doesn't need to look back or calculate her assets to see how much she has left.Money - bountiful enough to get all the fried chicken she could ever dream of. Yeah, you heard it, fried chicken.For those who did not have money to spare leisurely, getting fried chicken was like a pipe dream to them and she had been one of those unfortunate souls.A comfortable roof above her head and no worries as to when she would get ordered around to steal. No worries about when she would get her next meal--That was her liberation.And she got it. Just that, she got it most absurdly.Awakened!Those were the people ruling the world, alongside beastly and deadly monsters who threatened the safety of average human beings.And those awakened call the shots.Alice never dreamed she would one day be awakened, and compared to others with their game-like system displaying their attributes and strength; she had a full-grown man whom only she could hear, watching her back at every turn and telling her what to do.He was kinda a pain in the ass but she couldn't complain.It was this gift he had bestowed on her that made her the most powerful Awakened there was with stats that even S-class awakeneds couldn't compare to.She was the boss, now. Mwa-hahahahaha.But life didn't go as easy and leisurely as she planned. With great power comes great responsibility, right?Well, in her case with great power comes great hunger. She couldn't go a moment without getting hungry and her stomach had become a bottomless pit.And to get food, she needed money, and to get money, she had to hunt monsters. The monsters plagued humanity, causing catastrophes and taking lives mercilessly.Those monsters, as scary as they may be, were her target and she had to face them head-on.The bigger the monsters the more money she would gain.Yeah, that was the plan, but... This guy acting as her system seemed to have other plans, putting her at the forefront of 'justice' and having her clean the mess he somewhat created.'Ugh, I can already sense a shadow of foreboding. Someone, please tell me I'm not acting the main character role. I just want to eat, okay?'