A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 12. Who are you

As I turned to look at TaejongTaese, a message popped up in front of my eyes.

[Friend request received from HomeProtector.]

[Do you accept?]

This shameless bastard HomeProtector sent me a friend request.

I closed the system window without accepting the friend request.

‘I’ll deal with you later.’

TaejongTaese, who approached me, was wearing clothes that looked like children’s clothes but were similar to what the mansion’s servants would wear.

“They said you weren’t in your room, so I came to escort you.”

TaejongTaese, who came to “escort” me, also told me that he heard from the servant that I could stay here if I wanted to.

“They said if I help you well, I might even get an allowance every month. It seems they want to hire me as your attendant.”

“Hmm.”

From the commander’s point of view, it would have been easier to silence TaejongTaese and kick him out of the mansion.

Maybe it’s because I said I wanted to have meals with other kids yesterday, they decided to keep TaejongTaese, a peer, in the mansion.

‘It’s a good thing for me.’

No matter how much of a former zone conqueror I am, my body is still 10 years old.

I need a helper inside the mansion. The servants will find it difficult to deal with me, the commander’s son.

But orphaned TaejongTaese would quickly become friends with the servants faster than I could.

It was surprising that the commander even assigned TaejongTaese as my attendant…

‘That man must have realized there’s something between me, TaejongTaese, and Safe8.’

Since he saw us conversing in a language he didn’t know, he could easily deduce that the three of us know each other.

And TaejongTaese’s attitude towards me was… more like a subordinate than a peer, calling me ‘brother’ and being deferential.

The commander would have quickly understood that TaejongTaese wasn’t a threat to me.

Still, leaving him as my closest aide means the commander intends to support me discreetly.

“By the way, why were you in the backyard?”

“Meursault called me out.”

“Ah, like yesterday…”

It seemed like Safe8 was called out together with me yesterday morning.

“You’re going to poison that annoying guy, right? You killed him every time during the conquests.”

“…”

When I didn’t answer, TaejongTaese asked, surprised.

“Are you going to let him live?”

“We lack talent. Games and reality are different. We were able to dominate the zones in the game only because it was a game. Managing the zone and running an army is a completely different story.”

“That may be true… but he’s targeting your stepmother!”

“Kids shouldn’t get involved in adults’ affairs.”

“You’re very cold-hearted.”

I knew what TaejongTaese was worried about.

But anyway, Daphne isn’t an easy woman.

She is, after all, the former commander’s daughter and the wife of Commander Hayden.

At least from what I saw of her in the game, Daphne isn’t the type to be swayed by someone like Meursault.

If you’ve only seen my strategies where I poisoned Meursault and Daphne early on, it’s natural not to know what kind of woman Daphne is.

“By the way, you need to decide on a name.”

“Ah, just call me Taejong. My late brother called me Mr. Taejong too.”

I wish he’d stop calling Safe8 his late brother.

It’s a bit disappointing to keep only Taejong from the nickname TaejongTaeseBeyonce, but the name itself isn’t important.

“Anyway… I finished talking with Meursault. He’ll be favorable towards me for the time being. So you don’t need to be hostile to him either. Of course, as my person, you don’t have to bow down to him too much.”

“Understood.”

“Not just Meursault, but at least within the mansion, I don’t want any NPCs to have a problem with me being the commander’s son. We need to identify if there are any of Meursault or Daphne’s people among them.”

“I’ll look into it. It seems they feel more comfortable with me, who’s just staying in the mansion by coincidence, than with you. They even asked me to bring you this morning.”

He knows well what position he should maintain.

Playing multiplayer with a veteran isn’t bad?

“Oh, and the commander made a promise with me.”

“A promise?”

“There will be a gathering for meals with peers every month.”

“Ah, then…”

“Yes. Starting early next month, you’ll meet other players in this zone if there are any. You’ll also greet BangguseokYeoBo, who’s cooperating with me, at that time.”

“Yep! I hope Brother BangguseokYeoBo likes me.”

BangguseokYeoBo… Brother?

What exactly is Taejong’s criteria for calling someone brother?

Given his nickname, he doesn’t seem that young either…

* * *

That afternoon, I heard the news that the commander decided to officially announce me as his son.

Since I had to attend a formal event the next day, I had to receive a crash course on etiquette and essential knowledge from Meursault, including the 100-year history of the Goodman family and the complex military organization.

Of course, as a veteran player, it wasn’t difficult for me.

“You memorized all that? Just by looking once?”

It wasn’t memorizing; it was from experience.

Meursault, probably worn out by the hopeless intelligence of Cola Zone NPCs, seemed genuinely impressed.

Is this why everyone wants experienced newcomers?

“I knew you weren’t an ordinary person, but… you’re much more extraordinary than I expected.”

As I seemed to exceed Meursault’s expectations, he started teaching me other things during the remaining time.

Most of it was useless TMI about Daphne.

But one thing was useful.

At the commander’s shooting range, where he called me out in the morning, Meursault gave me shooting training.

Handling a gun wasn’t that difficult for a South Korean military veteran.

While shooting, I wore the “Sharpshooter” title to increase my accuracy, so my bullets never missed the target, and Meursault couldn’t hide his amazement.

“I can’t believe my eyes… You’ve never held a gun before?”

“Yep.”

I lied through my teeth without blinking.

It’s my first time with this body, so technically it’s not a lie.

“This can only be explained as innate talent.”

After the lesson, Meursault kept mumbling in shock while looking at my target, and he seemed to have reported it directly to the commander.

That night, the commander, who came to see me, immediately brought up the shooting.

It makes sense, as shooting skills are crucial in this world.

To kill alien monsters, you have to destroy a small gem embedded somewhere in their body.

“Did you really hit all the targets?”

“Yes…”

“Have you ever handled a gun before?”

“No.”

Of course, that’s a blatant lie, Father.

To leave a stronger impression, I decided to embellish a bit more.

“Is it really that impressive? Isn’t everyone capable of that? It seemed easy…”

“…”

Father seemed to ponder something seriously while looking at me.

‘He must be considering whether to involve me in the hunt.’

The commander of Cola Zone is a dictator but always leads the hunt from the front.

A failed hunt means the end of the zone.

And even my peers are already joining the hunt as boy soldiers, so I must participate to boost the army’s morale and unity.

Yet, the commander was probably hesitant.

No ruler would want to send their newly found biological child to the battlefield.

But now that he knows I have a talent for shooting, he might take me to the next hunt.

Announcing me as his son and taking me to the hunt right after would surely impress the soldiers.

I aimed to portray myself as exceptionally talented at shooting for this reason.

‘I need to join the hunt as soon as possible.’

There’s something to gain from the hunt event.

“Hey, by the way, Dad.”

“Hmm?”

He responds differently when I call him Dad…

“I heard I have a stepmother. Daphne.”

“Looks like Meursault told you.”

“Yes, I thought it would be polite to introduce myself to her rather than letting others tell her about me.”

Hearing me bring this up first, the commander looked at me with a mix of pride and melancholy.

“Yes… Luna Moon is your mother, but you’ll live with Daphne from now on. However, you can’t meet her right away. I asked if she wanted to meet you, but she said she’s been feeling unwell and is reluctant to meet a child. You’ll meet her when she feels better.”

Daphne is feeling unwell?

‘That can’t be right…’

She is a cautious woman. She probably wants to investigate me thoroughly before meeting me.

The commander likely knew this but seemed reluctant to talk about Daphne, not Luna Moon, and didn’t seem to doubt that Daphne was unwell.

‘This is strange…’

Hayden, the commander, married Daphne without love due to the former commander’s orders and his ambition for power.

At least from what I saw in the game, they didn’t hate each other but were indifferent. Even when I poisoned Daphne, the commander wasn’t sad about her death.

But now, when he talks about Daphne, there’s… a sense of camaraderie, if not affection.

‘Just like the ring of Luna Moon… this world isn’t exactly like the game. Why?’

Actually.

When the commander visited me today, I noticed something strange about Luna Moon’s ring.

As soon as he appeared, the ring felt strangely warm.

I didn’t notice it last night because I was distracted, but

this ring clearly reacted to the commander.

And when he left, the ring quickly lost its warmth.

I oddly felt it was like the ring regretted not being able to stay longer.

This ring had once reacted to the “Friend of Luna Moon” title.

Titles influence various things, including items.

But the “Friend of Luna Moon” title only affects NPCs.

Only items imbued with ego, like Ego Swords, are influenced by such titles.

Therefore, one hypothesis can be made.

‘This ring contains an NPC’s ego.’

Someone who knew both Luna Moon and Hayden.