Finally, all my preparations are complete. After meticulously researching everything about Royal Road – I am confident of the path I need to take. If you are wondering what is Royal Road – it is a virtual reality game that boasts of the best artificial intelligence game management system. If my analysis is not incorrect, starting off early in this game would reap significant benefits.

I have been playing the game for little close to a week (6 six days) and am on the verge of completing the beginner 4 weeks. However, unlike other players who have been haphazardly completing quests, I have been more focused on researching more about the Versailles continent and looking out for Easter eggs. There were a few parts of the game that really stood apart for me – the training hall for example. I am not sure if anyone has discovered but relentlessly hitting the scarecrow results in gain of stats. Not that I am convinced that one should hit the scarecrow for 4 weeks, but I my instincts tell me that I might be on to something. Similarly, there is the Haven Kingdom’s grand library – I have never seen anyone visit it but it has tons of material possibly useful for solving quests.

Today is the last day of the 4 weeks in Royal Road. After this, I can finally explore outside the city. Just before I could enter the capsule my phone began to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hyung, Jae-sun on this side. I needed your help.”

Before I could turn this pesky brat down, he continued on and on with his story….

“Hyung, can you please look into this? It’s been six days since we last heard from Bong-Chol.” A pleading voice of a young man rang out of my phone. It belongs to my junior from college – the kid would always latch on to me for everything.

“So, let me understand the situation again…you can’t get in touch in touch with your friend Bong-Chol and instead of calling the cops, you need me to look into it?”

“…” Silence greeted me on the other side.

“Kid, have I spoon fed you till your brains rotted?” Honestly, I don’t think that he is that stupid to ask me for help without reaching out to the cops. If it is a missing persons case then the cops would do a better job than me. I am an investigative journalist not a missing person finder.

“***” I could hear some indistinct voices in the background. I am not sure who he is talking to but it seems he is not alone.

“Hyung, I am going to pass the phone to my friend. It is her brother who went missing.”

“Yeoboseyo Oppa, I am sorry for not speaking to you directly.” A female voice clearly rang out in the phone. “I went to the cops, however, they said there was nothing wrong or out of place.”

I took a deep breath – this sounds really tiresome. Honestly, I don’t care. If the cops don’t see anything out of place then it’s none of my damn business. Nonetheless, out of pure courtesy of my junior, I am willing to entertain this call. “I am not too sure what Jae-sun told you, miss. But I am not a private investigator. Nothing even close to it….”

“Oppa, I know you are a researcher and even the pyramid scam everyone is talking about these days was uncovered by you…” the girl chimed in.

“It was purely luck…” I tried to butt in.

However, the girl was persistent. “Oppa, Jae-sun told me you have a bachelors in linguistics.”

“eh?” That caught me totally unaware. “What does that have to do with anything?”

The girl was quiet for a moment but then spoke up again. “Oppa, the police found some strange writings scribbled in my brother’s room. I think it might be a clue…”

I am holding my forehead with the hand. I am going to kill this brat, Jae-sun, the next time I see him. I want nothing more than to play Royal Road and here I am being dragged into a search for a missing person.

*Bzzzz* my phone vibrated – I received a message. I take a look and see a photo of – what I believe to be - Bong-Chol’s room. Aside from the weird posters hanging on the wall, I see a gaming capsule in the centre of the room – it’s a strange design, shaped like a coffin with a blue stone on the top as decoration. Surrounding the capsule on the floor are strange symbols. I can’t recognize what’s been carved into the floor but the spacing and repetition of the symbols would be consistent with that at least of a code or at most of a language. What caught my eye is, however, the strange manner in which the words have been written – they are written in a concentric circle like some sort of pagan sorcery or a magic circle.

“Oppa?” The girl’s voice broke me out of my stupor.

“I’m sorry. I have never seen such symbols before. I think they might be a code and I am sure I cannot help.” The case is interesting but once again, let me iterate, I have other interests. I know I sound like douche bag, but investigating about a ponzi scheme and finding a missing person are world’s apart on investigative spectrum.

“…” I could tell the girl was disappointed. However, it is better to break her heart now than to promise something and have nothing come of it.

“Oh ok…” came back a soft voice.

She dropped the call after I didn’t add anything else.

Returning back to the main event for tonight – Royal Road! I put away my phone…

*Ring* *Ring*

Now what!!!! Who is calling me now!! It’s not like I am popular. I had one foot in the capsule and one out side…

“Hello?”

“Hello, would you like a loan?”

“F*ck you.” I slammed the phone. What the hell – do these people have no sense of shame. How can they just randomly call people and expect them to be in need of a loan.

*Ring* *Ring* My phone rang again. I am pretty sure a vein of mine is about to pop.

“I SAID I DON’T WANT A..” I began screaming into the phone.

“Stan, Choong-Hoon here.” A crisp voice interrupted me.

“Oh hello, boss!” I embarrassedly squeak like a mouse. Damn, that’s my boss from the media house – the one where I work (if it wasn’t obvious). I should have seen who was calling me before answering the call like that.

“I need you to look into something.” Choong-Hoon continued, completely ignoring my earlier outburst.

“Right now?” I ask with a desperate tone. I really just want to play my one day of Royal Road. I am so close to finishing my 4 weeks….

“Right now. See your email. I have sent you a few photographs and a police file. Call me back once you have read it.”

I put the phone down and dragged my legs to my computer. I hate my boss – this is against my civil rights. How can you expect a temporary employee to work on weekends? This better be covered by my contract.

I open the email and attached files…this got to be a joke. It’s a photograph of a game capsule, shaped like a coffin, with a blue stone on the top. The kicker - surrounding the capsule on the floor are strange symbols exactly identical to the one Jae-sun shared with me. No this isn’t the same photo; the rooms are completely different but the theme is the same.

I turn my attention to the police report. I bet I can even guess what’s written inside without reading it– missing person.

I open the file – yup, another missing person. This just became a whole lot more interesting. Two people missing and both go missing the same way….too strange to be a coincidence.

I reach back for my phone and quickly text Jae-sun. “I’ll look into it.”