After Siegfried struck down the Lord of the Pond: Frog Lord Tuareg, the endless horde of frags vanished as if they had all been an illusion.

“We won!”

“We did it!”

“T-The frogs are gone! They’re gone!”

“Long live the Proatine Empire!”

“Long live His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Siegfried von Proa!”

The battlefield erupted in cheers. Both NPCs and Adventurers alike shouted in joy, savoring their hard-earned victory.

“Kyuuu... You must be hella exhausted, owner punk,” Hamchi murmured.

He was knocked away during the fight and had finally awakened. He came to where the battle took place and saw Siegfried collapsed, fast asleep, on the muddy ground.

Hamchi knew all too well just how hard Siegfried had been working these days.

There were months when Siegfried barely had a single day of rest, as he was always running and battling. He hadn't been able to simply relax and enjoy an adventure for his own enjoyment.

Siegfried’s battles were not for glory or riches. He carried the burden of saving the world on his shoulders.

“Rest well, owner punk. You deserve it more than anyone,” Hamchi muttered. Then, he lifted Siegfried onto his small shoulders with surprising strength and dragged him.

Siegfried’s body flickered faintly, fading in and out, which was something that would happen whenever an Adventurer had fallen asleep inside the VR capsule without logging out.

Step by step, Hamchi carried him away from the blood-soaked muddy pond, back to Vanquish.

***

Knock! Knock!

The sound of someone knocking on the VR capsule’s cover woke Tae-Sung up from his deep, dreamless sleep.

“Ughh...”

His head throbbed. His eyes felt like they were about to pop out, and his whole body felt like it weighed a ton.

Click... Clack!

The VR capsule lid swung open.

“Wake up, oppa. Don’t sleep in here. Go to bed instead,” Yong Seol-Hwa said as she gently helped him sit up.

“Mmm...”

“Come here.”

“...Okay.”

Tae-Sung could barely keep his eyes open, so he just followed wherever Yong Seol-Hwa guided him.

It was no wonder, as he had gone almost thirty hours without rest.

Staying awake for that long was the type of training that special forces soldiers underwent, so it was not surprising that his body couldn’t keep up.

“Here, come here, oppa.”

“Okay...”

At last, Tae-Sung slumped into Yong Seol-Hwa’s embrace and fell asleep in mere seconds.

‘Should I try to convince him to cut back on gaming?’

For a moment, Yong Seol-Hwa considered the thought as she gazed at him, completely out cold and exhausted.

‘No...’

However, she quickly dismissed the idea.

Why?

After all, BNW was not just a mere game for him. For Tae-Sung, BNW was work.

While it was true that Tae-Sung was overworking himself, most jobs required one to overwork at times, too. Of course, any work done in excess was risky, as overworking could bring down even the strongest people.

‘He’s always putting in effort to take care of himself. He can’t work like this later in the future, so I should just let him do as he wants.’

In the end, Yong Seol-Hwa chose to be understanding and supportive.

This was something only Yong Seol-Hwa, who was a gamer herself, could do.

The career of a pro gamer was bright but brief.

Most reached their peak in their late teens to early twenties. By their mid-twenties, their sharpness dulled and their reflexes slowed. Once they hit their late twenties or early thirties, it was impossible to maintain their prime form and compete with the youngsters.

Virtual reality allowed pro gamers to extend their career for a few years, but even with that, most would hit their limits by their thirties.

This meant that Tae-Sung, who was currently in his early thirties, was already past his prime.

In other words, his days at the pinnacle of BNW were numbered.

Besides, no one knew how long BNW would even be around.

Taking various things into consideration, Yong Seol-Hwa resolved to support him no matter what.

She was going to be behind him every step of the way, so he could achieve his full potential during his prime years.

As a girlfriend, she didn't want the man she loved to look back with regret once his career as a pro gamer was finally over.

Thus, Yong Seol-Hwa would stay by his side, supporting him to the best of her abilities.

***

The next morning...

“Ugh... My head... It feels like it’s about to split open...” Tae-Sung groaned as he sat up in bed and clutched his head.

He slept for so long that his head was throbbing as if it was about to burst, and his back was killing him as well.

“Good morning. Are you awake now, oppa?”

Yong Seol-Hwa came into the room after sensing that he had finally woken up.

“How are you feeling? Feeling better?”

“Yeah, I feel better. I just have a bad headache, but that’s all,” Tae-Sung replied.

“Good,” Yong Seol-Hwa smiled with relief. Then, she said, “Then hurry up and wash up. You have to get dressed. We don’t have much time left.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that? Are we going somewhere?”

“Today’s the day you’re meeting my parents, remember?”

“Ah!”

“I was getting worried when you wouldn’t wake up. But I’m glad you’re up now.”

“Oh, right... Today’s the day I was supposed to meet your parents. Sorry, I totally forgot about it and just slept,” Tae-Sung groaned in response, feeling slightly guilty.

“It’s okay. I know that you’ve been busy these days,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a gentle smile.

“But still—”

“Come on now, wash up and get changed. Unless you want to get an earful.”

“R-Right!”

Tae-Sung sprang up to his feet like lightning and bolted for the bathroom door the moment he saw the look in her eyes.

While she might have said that she understood, the faint hint of disappointment on her face told him otherwise.

Tae-Sung knew very well that being obedient was the key to survival in times like these.

A few hours later.

“Good afternoon, ma’am. My name is Han Tae-Sung.”

At a high-class luxury Korean restaurant, Tae-Sung bowed as he greeted Yong Seol-Hwa’s parents.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Tae-Sung.”

Yong Seol-Hwa’s mother was a dazzling beauty, even though she was already in her early fifties. As expected of a former celebrity, she radiated elegance that made her seem far more refined than anyone Tae-Sung knew.

‘You are the true winner in life, father-in-law...’ Tae-Sung thought.

He couldn’t help but think that Yong Tae-Pung had clearly won in life for marrying a woman like her.

Yong Seol-Hwa’s mother continued, “I’ve heard so much about you from Seol-Hwa. She tells me that you’ve been seeing each other, and that it’s quite serious.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Your daughter has been taking very good care of me,” Tae-Sung replied with a smile.

“I’m sure she has. She is a smart girl after all.”

“Haha...”

Then, her tone shifted just slightly as she continued, “To be honest, I was a bit concerned when she told me that she was dating a pro gamer. I’ve lived through it myself, and being the wife of a pro gamer isn’t easy.”

“Ah...”

She glanced sideways at Yong Tae-Pung and added, “But, well, our Seol-Hwa can be quite stubborn, so nothing can stop her once she makes up her mind.”

“I see...”

“And hearing that you’re quite disciplined when it comes to taking care of yourself eased my worries a lot. It is rare for pro gamers to take their health seriously.”

“Thank you for your kind words, ma’am.”

Just then, a loud cough cut through the atmosphere.

“Ahem!”

Yong Tae-Pung cleared his throat, his gaze fixed squarely on Tae-Sung, clearly showing his disapproval.

In the past, Yong Tae-Pung used to frequently joke about wanting Tae-Sung as his son-in-law, but now that things started getting serious between the two, his worry for his daughter slowly turned into hostility toward Tae-Sung.

‘This sneaky little thief! I’m never handing my daughter over to him! Over my dead body!’ Yong Tae-Pung growled inwardly.

“Unc—I mean, Father? Are you feeling unwell? Hahaha...” Tae-Sung stammered. He clearly sensed the hostility Yong Tae-Pung was emitting, causing him to break out into a cold sweat.

Yong Tae-Pung flatly ignored him and declared, “I oppose this marriage.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

“...?”

Tae-Sung, Yong Seol-Hwa, and her mother all looked at him with baffled eyes.

Why?

It was all because they were not meeting to discuss anything remotely close to a marriage.

Yong Seol-Hwa had set up this meeting today to formally introduce him as her boyfriend.

In fact, it was still too early for them to have official talks about getting married.

‘W-What do I say in this situation...?’ Tae-Sung froze, unable to come up with a response.

Yong Seol-Hwa’s mother smiled gently and said, “Please don’t mind him. He’s just sulking and being difficult.”

“No, I’m not—”

Yong Tae-Pung tried to protest, but she lightly shoved him.

“How is your mother doing these days, Tae-Sung?” she asked smoothly, as though Yong Tae-Pung was not in the room with them.

“We’re planning to visit his mom next week,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied instead.

“That’s wonderful! Make sure you leave a good impression, okay?”

“Yes, Mother.”

The two women chatted, completely ignoring the fuming man at the table.

“I said, I oppose this marriage!” Yong Tae-Pung burst out again, bellowing louder this time.

But it was to no avail...

Yong Seol-Hwa’s mother gently whispered into his ear, “Dear.”

“W-What?”

“I see that you’ve secretly bought some stocks last week.”

“H-Hiiik?!”

“And they’re already down by eighty percent, aren’t they?”

“...”

“Stay quiet. Unless you want to humiliate yourself in front of your junior?”

That was the end of it.

“Hahaha... The meat here is really quite good,” Yong Tae-Pung said with an awkward laugh.

He thought he managed to stash some money behind his wife’s back, but it turns out that he was nothing more than a monkey dancing in Buddha’s palm.

‘I should just keep quiet... My survival is more important right now...’

He instinctively knew that pushing the issue any further would incur his wife’s full wrath, one that he would not be getting away with so easily.

***

The following afternoon, Tae-Sung logged into BNW and descended upon the continent as Siegfried von Proa.

“The Marchioni Empire is currently sparing no effort in an attempt to resolve the plagues. They are in no position to turn their focus elsewhere.”

As usual, Michele was waiting for him with a brief update on things the moment he logged in.

“That’s great news,” Siegfried replied with a smile.

“It is all thanks to Your Imperial Majesty’s efforts. I truly admire you, sire.”

“Have fun admiring my ass,” Siegfried grumbled. Then, he slumped on his chair and complained, “Do you think I like living this way? Nothing gets done around here if I don’t personally handle it. I’m dying here, man.”

“Haha...”

“Sometimes I think that I’m more of a slave rather than an emperor, you know?”

“Pardon me...?”

“Whenever there's a problem, it’s me out there fixing it. Maybe being emperor is just another word for being the people’s servant.”

With that, Siegfried sprawled across his desk.

He was utterly exhausted. He had been running nonstop without rest, and the burnout was beginning to show.

‘Your Imperial Majesty... To call yourself a servant of the people... Such words could only come from a true ruler!’ Michele felt a surge of emotion.

Siegfried had only been grumbling out of exhaustion, but in Michele’s ears, it carried the weight of virtue. The fact that an emperor, a being who sat above other people, called himself a servant.

It was proof of a ruler who bore the burden of power with responsibility.

‘Truly, he is a wise and noble ruler...’ Michele thought, gazing at him with admiration.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Siegfried asked, unnerved by the intense gaze he was receiving. Then, he carefully asked, “Do you want something? A raise...? Vacation?”

“No, sire.”

“Then why the hell are you staring at me like that? You’re making me nervous, man.”

“No particular reason.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You really sure? Don’t come whining later.”

“I would not dare.”

“Suit yourself.”

Siegfried was still suspicious, but he decided to drop it.

“Get the communications officer. I want to call Cheon Woo-Jin over.”

“Cheon Woo-Jin? The Guardians?”

“Is there any other Cheon Woo-Jin in this world?”

“...As you command, sire.”

After Michele left, Siegfried leaned back in his chair.

‘Hmm... How do I deal with those damn magicians? I have to find a way to destroy the Magic Tower...’

As he mulled over how to dismantle one of the Marchioni Empire's most powerful factions, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“What did you call me for?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked.

“Holy fucking shit!”

Siegfried nearly leapt to the ceiling, his heart thumping from the sudden appearance.

“Damn it! How many times have I fucking told you to tell me if you’re here?!”

“I did. But you didn’t respond.”

“O-Oh, you did? O-Okay.”

“Anyway, what were you thinking about that you couldn’t even hear me?”

“None of your business.”

“...”

“I need you to share some intel.”

“Intel? What do you need?”

“Find out which Ancient Dungeons are currently going berserk inside the Marchioni Empire.”

“Huh? Why?” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Because...” Siegfried proceeded to explain the quest he had received.

“So you have to personally take down every last one of those demonic monsters?”

“Yeah. I need the quest rewards and the artifacts they drop.”

“Well, it’s not that difficult. I’ll share the info once I have it.”

“Appreciate it.”

“The Ten Calamities...” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered while scanning the quest window shared with him.

“Do you recognize any of them?”

“Well, I’m not really sure, but I think I’ve got a lead on one.”

“Oh? Really?”

“The Destructive Hailstorm,” Cheon Woo-Jin said, tapping the entry with his finger. Then, he continued, “I believe this one is happening right now.”