Chapter 104: The Future in Focus: Messiah’s AR Device and a Mistaken Identity

By the time the finals of an eSports tournament rolled around, it wasn’t just about playing the match.

The tournament itself started at 5 p.m., but various events were held beforehand to heighten the crowd’s excitement.

“Bunnyrun, look at this.”

I handed Bunnyrun some food I had bought from the food zone.

She recoiled in horror.

“What is this?”

“Well-made, right?”

“It’s too well-made. That’s the problem.”

What I had bought was food shaped like a “Mutant,” an object from Eternal World.

In other words, it looked like a bug.

It wasn’t made with real insects—just made to look like one—but that alone gave it considerable shock value.

“If you try it, it’s just a regular meat dumpling. Actually, it’s well-made. The juice inside reminds me of dim sum.”

“…Let me try one.”

So, we demolished the “Mutant Set Meal” and wandered around the food zone.

“That cake looks good too.”

“Yeah, but what does a chocolate cake have to do with Eternal World?”

“Bunnyrun. Don’t dig too deep into the truth behind collaborations.”

Look too far, and the FBI might show up. Just a heads-up.

I took a bite of the cake and asked,

“Aren’t you going to eat more, Bunnyrun?”

“If I ate like you, I’d burst. Don’t mind me—just eat.”

“Then I’ll gladly help myself.”

Leaving Bunnyrun behind, I bought a variety of foods and stuffed my face.

Then I checked the time.

It was… 12 p.m.

Hmm.

“Bunnyrun.”

“Yeah?”

“Is Chae Narin not coming today?”

“Turtle? She didn’t say anything about not coming.”

In that case, she was still supposed to show up. But what could she possibly be doing to be an hour late?

I had a hunch.

So I gave Chae Narin a call.

Luckily, she picked up right away.

“Chae Narin?”

[…]

“She picked up.”

Beep. The call ended.

“What’d the turtle say?”

“Nothing.”

“Huh? But you said she picked up.”

“Oh. I meant I confirmed that she had just woken up because of the call.”

There was still plenty of time before the match, so I figured she’d show up eventually.

But Bunnyrun shook her head and said,

“How does that girl function in daily life?”

“She probably runs to class every time and takes taxis a lot too.”

“What a rough life.”

All the members of the Asegu team had come to watch Bbangbbang’s match.

But with six people moving together, we would attract too much attention, so we split into two groups:

A girls’ team and a boys’ team.

That’s why we’d been waiting for Chae Narin—but judging by how hoarse her voice had sounded, it looked like Bunnyrun and I would be wandering around on our own for a while.

“Unnie. Make sure your hat and sunglasses are on right.”

“Bunnyrun, you and I both look like stalkers with these hats and sunglasses. Wouldn’t taking them off be less suspicious?”

“Nope.”

Bunnyrun was a well-known streamer, and if someone recognized me walking around with her, they might piece together who I was.

So, we both had to keep our faces covered—or so Bunnyrun insisted.

It made sense, but there was one thing I didn’t quite get.

“Just yesterday, you were crying and begging me to turn on my cam and start streaming.”

“I wasn’t crying. And that was because you said something weird.”

“How is it weird to say I’ll reveal my face once I evolve into a super-ultra developer?”

“Because it is weird.”

Anyway.

That wasn’t the issue right now.

“Why the sudden change in attitude? If someone spots me barefaced, wouldn’t your wish come true?”

“I was talking about you turning on the stream at home. Not walking around like this in a crowded place. That’s dangerous.”

“I doubt it’s that dangerous.”

What about my identity could possibly be such a risk?

The way Bunnyrun talked made it sound like revealing who I was would lead to some kind of witch hunt, but of course that wouldn’t happen.

At most, someone might shout, “It’s Han Yurim!”—but that’s something every celebrity goes through.

“You never know.”

“So you’re one of those people who think an asteroid might hit Earth tomorrow?”

Still, being cautious wouldn’t hurt, so I decided to go along with Bunnyrun’s suggestion.

I walked around the booths near the Olympic Gymnastics Arena with Bunnyrun in tow.

“Unnie, that’s your game.”

Bunnyrun whispered in my ear.

She pointed to a 1-meter tall tower structure standing at the entrance.

It was a booth for Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence.

Well, it was from the same IP.

They were selling plain old cheesecake as “Eternal World Cheesecake” for double the price, so this kind of collab was pretty reasonable.

I stepped into the Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence booth.

“Welcome!”

“What do you do here?”

“This is a demo booth!”

A demo booth?

I tilted my head, confused.

Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence had already been released, so anyone could just play it right now. A demo booth?

Would that even be popular?

“Would you like to try it?”

“Unnie, want to give it a shot?”

“How does it work?”

“Right this way.”

Following the staff’s lead, I stepped into the booth.

It was huge—big enough to play a full game of soccer.

The staff handed me a pair of goggles.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an AR device.”

An AR device? This?

VR and AR devices. At a glance, they seemed similar, but the underlying technology was completely different.

VR devices blocked out the real world completely and immersed you in a virtual environment using a closed display.

On the other hand, AR devices used a transparent display to overlay digital information onto the real world.

It would’ve been weirder if those two were the same device.

That’s why, while VR devices were undergoing rapid and revolutionary evolution, AR devices had only seen moderate improvements.

But the AR device I received was very different.

It was like the upgraded version of modern VR devices—a version that appeared to have resolved many of the problems seen in conventional AR tech.

I put on the AR device.

As soon as I did, my surroundings came clearly into view, as if I were wearing a pair of glasses.

As if I were wearing glasses. That was the key point.

It felt like I was just wearing regular glasses.

What was this wearing comfort? What kind of magic did they pull?

“Where was this made?”

“It was developed by Messia.”

“Is this a released product?”

“It’s about to go commercial.”

“Wow.”

Messia was the company that made the current VR device, Prometheus.

VR devices usually doubled as AR devices as well.

But even Messia—whose tech was so advanced that people half-joked they must have tortured aliens for it—struggled with making a single device that was lightweight, completely immersive, and capable of both full VR and AR functionality.

That’s why they hadn’t even touched the AR side of things until now. Who would’ve thought they had a dagger like this up their sleeve?

Curious, I opened a stock trading app. But Messia’s stock price remained steady.

Unlike VR, AR could be applied to countless industries beyond gaming, giving it far greater market potential.

And yet the stock price was flat despite the creation of something this advanced?

There was only one explanation.

“Is this the first time the AR device is being showcased publicly?”

“That’s right.”

Seriously, what a strange company. Instead of building hype or inviting reporters to show off this groundbreaking product, they just casually let people try it out at some esports finals event booth.

If I remembered right, the first time they unveiled their VR device was at some weird volunteer meetup, too.

Classic Messia.

You could say they were romantic. Or say they were missing a screw.

Either way—I liked it.

I invested all my spare cash in Messia.

Just because I liked something didn’t mean I’d slack off. I still had things to do.

I had more money than I could spend, but more money was always a good thing.

That said, I wasn’t planning to sell even if Messia’s stock skyrocketed.

I bought it with the intention of holding it for ten years.

“How is it?”

“Hm.”

I moved around according to the game installed on the AR device. But honestly? It was… underwhelming.

The AR device itself was revolutionary, but the game inside it didn’t live up to the hardware.

“At this rate, you didn’t need to use Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence. A simple obstacle course game would’ve done the job.”

“Maybe it’s because we’re not exactly a game development company.”

“Well, with this level of performance, I’m sure it’ll be widely used for all sorts of practical purposes even without content.”

“Still, we can’t ignore the importance of games. We’re trying to find a solution to that.”

So they were thinking about it.

I spoke up softly.

“Yuseong?”

“You called, noona?”

“Give him my business card.”

At my words, Yuseong took out his card wallet and handed a card to the man.

“Han Yurim from Yurim Company? No way…”

“If it’s a game commission, we’d be happy to take it.”

I casually left the booth.

Beside me, Bunnyrun mumbled,

“When did your cousin even show up?”

Cousin?

“He’s been following me the whole time.”

“Why?”

“He’s just goofing around.”

“Him?”

“Yup.”

Hard to believe, but Yuseong was technically playing right now.

If you’re wondering how acting like my secretary could possibly count as playtime… I don’t know either. Don’t ask.

Still, Yuseong, do you really have time for this? Aren’t you super busy expanding the Cosmic Ossuary IP business?

“Me? I do this in my free time.”

“You have free time while doing that? Seriously, wouldn’t going overseas be better for your career?”

“What are you talking about? There’s no company with more potential than working with you, noona.”

“Exactly because of things like that…”

Yuseong just laughed and disappeared quietly.

Even an assassin wouldn’t move that fast.

“I think I finally get why you’re so unusual.”

“I’m perfectly normal.”

“That’s the part that’s weird too—wait, hold on.”

In the middle of our conversation, Bunnyrun pulled her smartphone from her pocket and raised it to her ear.

“Where are we? The Olympic Gymnastics Arena. What do you mean you’re lost? Turtle, you can’t even find your way anymore? Where exactly are you right now…? Okay, you’re nearby. I’m coming to get you, so stay put.”

Beep.

Ending the call, Bunnyrun turned to me.

“Unni. I’m going to go grab Turtle. Stay here.”

“Want me to come with?”

“Nah, I’ve got it. Be right back.”

With that, Bunnyrun quickly disappeared.

I was impressed by how fast she moved, then sat down on a nearby chair.

Hot.

Guess it was still early September. The world was still unbearably warm.

Hm. Since Bunnyrun’s not here, maybe I can drop the disguise?

I only needed the disguise when she was around, right?

I took off my hat and brushed out my hair. It felt nice.

While I was at it, I took off my sunglasses too.

The world looked brighter.

I glanced around.

People looked at me in awe, but no one recognized me.

My face had never been made public, so that was only natural.

See? I told you I didn’t need the disguise.

“Found you!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder and shouted.

I blinked and turned my head.

A stranger was standing beside me.

Who?

“What are you doing here? The event’s about to start!”

“…Huh?”

“Hurry, come with me!”

“Wait, what?”

Before I knew it, the man was dragging me somewhere.

As I was pulled along, an announcement echoed in my ear.

[The cosplay event will begin shortly. Interested participants, please gather at the outdoor stage.]

…Cosplay?