I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 129: Arcade

There was no time to understand what was happening.

She had used up all her energy running from monsters disguised as humans.

'What the hell is that!'

They looked familiar, like the creatures from the drawings Gyeoul made.

They were the monsters known as zombies.

These monsters, masquerading as humans, were chasing after Yeoreum.

Although the beast-kin were swift enough to evade capture, the problem was that Gyeoul had never been fast.

If it were her body before the transformation, the zombies would have easily caught her.

It was almost incomprehensible how she had managed to survive in this world.

What exactly is this world, and what are these zombies?

Was Gyeoul not a personality created by Saebyeok?

As Yeoreum ran endlessly, she recalled something Sophia had mentioned.

She had suggested that Saebyeok might be hiding something, manipulating things so Gyeoul could receive more affection.

'Is she not a fabricated personality but someone from another world?'

There had been many beings who crossed dimensions to Earth.

There was no reason for Saebyeok to hide Gyeoul's origins.

"Ha..."

Her head was a mess.

The only thing she knew was that Gyeoul had endured horrific events beyond the imagination of an ordinary person.

Even Saebyeok, who had endured human experiments, felt sympathy for her.

This was no ordinary trauma.

Yeoreum wanted to feel sorrow but seeing the hundreds of zombies chasing her, decided to put it off.

It was a world where you can't afford to feel emotions casually.

Where could she possibly go to escape these monsters?

As Yeoreum ran breathlessly, a black portal shimmered in front of her.

'What is that...?'

It was a portal connected to another world.

For some reason, the thought that she had to enter the portal took over her mind.

Let's just go in.

Yeoreum plunged into the portal.

At the end of a blinding beam of light, she was able to return to the real world.

"Ah..."

A red mana stone filled with memories of the past crumbled to dust.

In the end, she only discovered which world Gyeoul came from, not what she had experienced.

Knowing there was an even more terrible past, she felt a pang of regret.

'But it's not entirely without gain.'

She could roughly guess what Gyeoul had been through.

Blood trickled from the tightly bitten lips of Yeoreum.

Seeing her like this, Jung Yu-na and Chae Juyeon's faces turned pale.

What on earth had she been through to end up like this?

---

---

That afternoon.

I roamed the city with Saebyeok and Levinas.

It was a normal city to any outsider, but not to us.

Because of our unique situations, the city felt foreign.

Thanks to that, a simple stroll gave us quite a bit of pleasure.

"King! King!"

"Huh?"

Levinas, who had rushed over to me, bit into the ice cream she had bought at the mart.

After finishing her ice cream, she spoke again.

"It's popping over there!"

"Popping?"

"Yeah!"

Levinas grabbed the hands of both Saebyeok and me, pulling us along.

She led us to a large arcade.

"Wow."

The clacking of buttons and the groans emanating from around the room could be heard.

Some were there to enjoy the games casually, while others were serious gamers.

"It's a game! SupremeMasterKwonArin plays it a lot!"

Levinas dashed towards a particular game.

A crowd had gathered around one game machine, which was her target.

'That's...'

It was a fighting game.

Above it hung a sign proclaiming it the 'Mecca of Fighting Games.'

"Ah..."

So this is the Mecca of fighting games.

But why is this particular game machine drawing such a crowd?

As we approached the arcade machine, we noticed a row of coins lined up on top.

"King! Someone left money here!"

Levinas picked up the coins one by one from atop the machine.

The nearby people twitched nervously.

"Those coins have an owner."

Someone else conveyed the truth to Levinas on my behalf.

It was Kwon Arin, who was rapidly pressing the buttons.

"SupremeMasterKwonArin!"

"Can we leave off the 'SupremeMaster' when we're in public?"

Her fighting game nickname was SupremeMasterKwonArin, and she was currently defeating her opponent in real time.

"Kwon Arin, do these coins belong to someone?"

"Yes. They're used to mark your turn in line. When your coin reaches the front, it's your turn."

"Oh! Looks like everyone's been collecting a lot of empty bottles!"

Levinas put the coins back down in the order she had picked them up.

"Well done, but what are you guys doing here?"

Kwon Arin glanced at me as she spoke.

I knew she was addressing me.

"We're just looking around."

"Really? Want to play a game? I'll just beat a few more people."

Kwon Arin defeated her opponent without taking a single hit.

Perhaps all these people were here to try their luck against Kwon Arin.

"Yes. We'll keep walking around."

"Okay."

I led Levinas and Saebyeok around the arcade.

Levinas stopped at a game where a horned rabbit was shooting and running around.

"Wow...!"

Her eyes lit up, and she sat down at the game machine.

Saebyeok curled up like a cat in the adjacent chair and closed her eyes.

"Wake me up when it's over..."

"Okay! But King, how do I play this?"

Levinas asked as she pressed the buttons.

"You need to put money in."

"Money...? The money we just put back?"

"Yes. You can't play for free."

"Is that so...?"

Levinas rummaged through her pockets.

The four hundred won left after buying ice cream was all she had.

The cost to play one game was five hundred won.

Seeing that Levinas was short on money, I decided to put a coin in for her.

"I'll put the money in. Does Saebyeok want to play too?"

"Wow! Thanks!"

Once the money was inserted, the game started.

Levinas chose the horned rabbit character and started pressing buttons.

Pop, pop, pop—

She shot something resembling a water gun but wasn't very good.

She got hit by every attack and quickly lost all her lives.

Her three lives were gone in just a minute.

"......"

Levinas stared blankly at the game screen.

Her complexion was quite downcast.

"Wow, King, I'm sorry... Levinas lost money here..."

"It's okay, it's your first time."

I pulled out another five hundred won coin.

I offered her another try, but Levinas waved her hands, refusing.

"It's okay. I'm just wasting money anyway."

"Ah..."

She immediately refused, likely because she felt the money was wasted.

If only I had more money, none of this would have happened.

Feeling sorry, my ears and tail drooped.

It was all my fault for being so poor.

---

---

If no coins are inserted, the arcade game moves to the next screen.

It shows gameplay scenes, tempting you to play.

Though meant to entice visitors, the video also provided vicarious satisfaction for some children.

"King! Look at this! I can play the game like this!"

Levinas manipulated the joystick while watching the promotional video.

She wasn't actually controlling anything, but her face was full of smiles.

"Wow, Levinas fights well."

"Right?"

"Yeah. Let's play together."

Ahem.

Gyeoul sat next to the joyful Levinas and started manipulating the joystick.

Click, click—

The two kids pressed the buttons aimlessly.

"......"

People nearby held their breath, moved by the pitiable sight of the children.

One young man kept stealing glances at the kids, oblivious that his own character had died.

They couldn't play because they had no money.

They were just pretending to play.

For gamers, there could be no worse situation.

They wanted to see the children genuinely enjoying the game.

Couldn't someone simply provide them with unlimited money?

At that moment, as if deciding to do just that, Gyeoul patted her thigh.

"Levinas, come sit here."

"Here?"

Levinas sat on Gyeoul's thigh.

To provide comfort, Gyeoul wrapped her tail around Levinas's stomach.

"We're going to play the game together."

"How do we do that?"

"I'll only help when it looks like you're about to die."

"Huh?"

What does that mean?

Confused, Levinas tilted her head.

Instead of explaining further, Gyeoul decided to demonstrate by playing.

She inserted a coin into the arcade machine and selected the horned rabbit character.

Immediately, she activated her senses, and the enemies' movements, as well as Levinas's hand movements, began to appear in slow motion.

Startled by the sudden start of the game, Levinas still managed to move her hands steadily.

Just as she was about to be hit by an enemy's water gun, Gyeoul quickly pressed the jump button to save her.

They were controlling one character together.

"Wow! I survived!"

"Yes. This is how we play together."

"Wow! Now Levinas is invincible!"

Levinas bounced excitedly on Gyeoul's thigh.

Gyeoul was thrilled to be able to use her abilities to help someone precious to her.

She planned to focus all her senses on the game and beat the final boss without dying even once.

With her reflexes, it was entirely possible.

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