Chapter 261 Beginning of ss!


    It''s been a year since Arcadia revealed itself to the world.


    Jaeyoung, who had just be a sophomore, stood nkly in front of the school with a face of disbelief.


    “Huh..... I can''t believe it''s already started.....”


    The two months passed by in an instant, as if I had been in a time machine. But looking back, a lot happened during that time.


    He stole his precious Dragon Bone andpletely destroyed the Empire and the GM Merchant.


    The World Tree yed a huge role in integrating the entire continent into one.


    Furthermore, even to save one unfortunate and pitiful soul.


    Looking back, it was a vacation full of things to be proud of (?), but even so, a feeling of regret surged up in Jaeyoung''s heart.


    “It''s fun... but this is definitely too dangerous...”


    Arcadia, a virtual reality that boasts a sense of reality so great that you can''t distinguish it from reality.


    That is why Jaeyoung was able to realize that he waspletely entangled in the immersion and addiction that cannot bepared to any other game until the first day of the semester.


    This means that the amount of time he lived in his present life during this vacation was very small.


    “No matter how important things are in the game... this is a bit serious... isn''t it so addictive that it''s iparable to other games?”


    Jaeyoung spent his days as an exemry game junkie.


    Of course, the aftermath was enormous enough to be called a gamer in general, but Jaeyoung walked into the campus feeling a strange contradictory feeling that he shouldn''t spend his 20-year-old flowery youth like this.


    “During the semester... I should do a little less...”


    With a little bit of human determination.


    * * *


    “Huh? Jaeyoung! It''s been a while since you.”


    “I know. how have you been doing? No contact during vacation.”


    I didn''t get along very well, but I still knew my ssmates. He was not very popr, but he was Jae-young, one of the prominent celebrities among his ssmates, so when he entered the ssroom, curious eyes were sent here and there.


    “ah. I went down to my hometown and came back. I wasn’t in Seoul the entire vacation period.”


    “ah. I see?”


    “Still, freshman OTse! It was so much fun...”


    Jaeyoung, who was known to live in a secluded country where only one bus came every two hours. In response to his answer, the motives said one word at a time as if they were sorry. Then, as if they lost interest, they turned their heads and started chatting with each other. Jaeyoung noticed Jaekyun waving his hand from far behind and went to sit next to him.


    “How have you been during vacation?”


    Jae-kyun, whom he only met once in a game. It was a formal question because he didn''t even have time to ask how he was doing during the vacation, but Jaeyoung soon regretted his hasty action.


    “then! I was dying a lot.”


    Jae-kyun, who seemed to have no one to brag about, started talking like a fish in water. Without stopping even for a second, they started talking about what happened during this vacation.


    “You know the design team we worked for? In addition, because of the legendary league we created, there must have been a barrage of proposals from all over the world to promote arge-scale project together. So they contacted me about the matter. Ask for help in the form of technical advice for things that are time-sensitive or difficult to implement.”


    Jae-gyun is still a college student.


    At heart, the design team is like a chimney, wanting to forcefully join Arcadia Co., Ltd. and treat it harshly as an employee. However, because of Jae-gyun, who has a strange belief (?) that he will graduate from college even if an annual sry of 100 million won is offered, they have no choice but to resort to other tricks as ast resort.


    “So... you were called in every now and then like a frencer and helped with a project...?”


    “huh! It was so much fun. But I''m sure Arcadia Co., Ltd.''s welfare for its employees is incredibly good. I went on a business trip to the US once, and all of them were given first ss seats on the ne and the hotel was of the highest quality! The food was also incredibly delicious!”


    The one who sshes saliva and makes a lot of noise with an excited face. In response to Jaegyun''s story, Jaeyoung asked without thinking.


    “So... what did you do when you went all the way to America?”


    “uh....? USA....? Uh... that''s... nothing.”


    Jae-kyun suddenly blurted out his words and panicked. Jaeyoung, who was suspicious of his answer that it was nothing, asked again with a strange expression.


    “What are you so upset about? Like a puppy that wants to poop.”


    “Oh no. What did I panic about.....”


    Jae-Kyun, who tried to deny it, giving off a suspicious look at those words. At his words, Jaeyoung questioned him again.


    “I won’t spread it anywhere, so tell me. What on earth did you do when you went all the way to America?”


    Until recently, Jae-kyun had been impatient because he couldn''t talk about what he had done during vacation. When he suddenly shut his mouth, Jaeyoung felt a strange curiosity. And in response to his question, Jaekyun carefully whispered in Jaeyoung''s ear, looking around the extension.


    “This is the real secret. I can''t tell you where to go I''m really in big trouble...”


    Jae-gyun keeps raising useless expectations. The moment you try to get annoyed by his ludicrous behavior. Jaeyoung shut his mouth at the unbelievable story that flowed out of his mouth.


    “I came to participate in a project jointly promoted by the US and Korean Ministry of Defense.”


    “what....?”


    Jaekyun nodded his head with a spleen face as if what he said was true. Jaeyoung looked at his face as if asking, ‘Am I crazy?''


    “Damn it.”


    “ah! why! Is it real?”


    Seeing Jae-young''s face filled with disbelief, Jae-gyun shouts as if he is wronged. However, Jaeyoung dismissed his words as bullshit in a very firm tone.


    “Even if you y Gura, you have to y it usibly. How do you get involved in a secret project between the US and South Korean Defense Ministry? Don''t you think that''s the kind of ce where neighbors go to drink? And that to you, a foreigner and just a college student?”


    The story of Jae-gyun, who crossed the line too much. It was a story to the point that no matter who heard it, it would be dismissed as the level of delusion of a terminally ill patient, so Jae-young answered Jae-gyun, who was making a sad face all over the world.


    “I don’t believe you man. You have to bluff in moderation. How much MSG did you hit?”


    “That’s... No, it’s real. How hard I work there...”


    However, at that moment, Professor Kim Tae-hoon burst through the ssroom door, and Jae-gyun had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. For the first time, he felt sorry for his friend''s reaction, as if he didn''t believe his words at all.


    * * *


    United States Department of Defense.


    The Pentagon, the generalmand center that oversees the military and security affairs of the United States and oversees the entire U.S. Army.


    This huge building, where tens of thousands of civil servants and military officers work, was busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, carrying out thousands... tens of thousands of ssified information, military operations, and secret projects.


    “Report your progress, Anderson.”


    A secret meeting room located deep in the basement of the Pentagon.


    Those who sat in this meeting, which was convened in top secret, had a position that no one could match. A situation where generals of all armies, regardless of army, navy, and air force, are sitting with cold-eyed eyes, shining stars on their ranks. Anderson, who was staring at them all in one body, felt a cold sweat running down his back and held on tightly to the spirit that was about to leave.


    ‘If I mess up this briefing, I''ll get it right to the director.''


    Anderson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Pentagon''s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. He never dreamed that a project he had conceived and proposed without much thought would be discussed so seriously, so he opened his mouth after holding on to his madly beating heart.


    “First, I will exin the project War-game proposed by the Military Doctrine Development Bureau. The war game being developed by our department aims to implement a real-time battlefield based on virtual reality, and through this, it aims to enable soldiers to experience more realistic and realistic battles. So...”


    The Secret Project Wargame.


    Concepts and merits for that project in one hour. And Anderson, who gives detailed and detailed presentations on anticipated issues and development progress. After finishing the presentation he had prepared, burning his soul, he said with a slightly relieved face.


    “That is all.”


    “.....”


    The presentation was over, but the meeting room fell into silence. The generals were immersed in their own thoughts as they looked at the report in front of them with serious faces. And then, one person opened his mouth.


    “The realization of a real battlefield based on virtual reality... To what level is it possible?”


    “The realization level is aimed at realizing all five senses. With Arcadia''s technical support, aiming at the same highest level of implementation as Arcadia...” The


    army general asked again about what he had said in the presentation earlier. Anderson tried to answer calmly, but the general cut off Anderson as if he hadn''t asked.


    “That is not my question. The pain of the injuries soldiers suffer as they battle through this virtual battlefield. And furthermore, can you make them feel the fear of death?”


    Those who want to implement the battlefield at the same level as the real one. However, Anderson looked embarrassed by the question, but soon replied in a calm tone.


    “That is impossible. Arcadia Co., Ltd. has set safety limits for extreme shocks in consideration of the user''s physical and mental damage and side effects. It can make you feel pain, but it''s likely to be insignificant, 1-10% of those injuries.”


    “That means... no matter how realistic the battlefield looks, it''s just a game, a kid''s joke.”


    The army generalughed at those words with a mocking smile. He looked at Anderson with pitiful eyes and sneered as if scolding him.


    “Technical support from Arcadia? Impossible due to setting of safety limit? Is this the only level of DARPA where the best brains and talents are gathered? I wonder if this, like a children''s toy, will really help the future of the US Army because they couldn''t solve any safety limit settings they put on it and couldn''t even develop it independently, so they made it with technical support.”


    “.....”


    Lieutenant General Bayne of the US Army who has lived in the field for decades. To him, this virtual battlefield was nothing more than an insult to the soldiers fighting between life and death on a fierce battlefield on the other side of the globe.


    But not everyone thought that way.


    “I have a different opinion. In the case of the Air Force, it would be more efficient and superior training if it could implement realisticbat equipment and implement various battlefield situations through it to engage inbat.”


    As little as hundreds of billions of fighters.


    Unlike the Army, each piece of equipment boasted an enormous amount of money, so for the Air Force, who felt a great burden in training even once, the project Anderson presented was like a raindrop from a drought. The air force general, who was flipping through the report, recalling the numerous difficulties that could be solved through this virtual battlefield, asked with suspicion that he could not understand the part written on one side of the report.


    “By the way... why did you decide to do this project jointly with the Korean military? And... Why are civilians involved in this ssified project? The data in the report says that it is a private contractor...” “


    Ah, there was a realistic situation that I couldn''t help with that part. Apparently, the Korean branch of Arcadia Co., Ltd. shows overwhelmingpetence in virtual reality development, so I sought business cooperation there, and the Korean Ministry of National Defense also pushed a spoon when they heard the news.”


    A practitioner from the Pentagon speaking on behalf of Anderson to the question. He replied with a frown on his face as if he was annoyed just thinking about it.


    “I also objected to the private service because of the risk of leaking confidential information... However, the Korean team at Arcadia Co., Ltd. also stubbornly demanded that the person in question participate. They say they can''t implement it on their own. First of all, it was a matter approved by the White House, so I had no choice but to allow it, but I also strictly requested the Korean government to maintain confidentiality.”


    Hearing his words admitting that he did not like that part, all the military generals gathered in the conference room turned their eyes to the part where the personal information was written and flipped through the extension report.


    “That much... Are you a specialist in this field? Who is this friend?”


    An oriental looking man.


    At first nce, everyone was stunned by his appearance as an ‘out sider'' who only lives on aputer, but they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut while looking at Anderson with a serious face.


    “I can vouch for that. From what I have seen while pursuing this project.... He is one of the talented people with overwhelming capabilities in realizing virtual reality than anyone else.”


    Lim Jae-gyun is expanding into the world.


    After all, he really was the forerunner of all ‘real things''.