Capsule (3)
How much time had passed?
At some point, feeling that the pain had vanished, Gaon suddenly came to his senses.
The inside of the capsule was as tranquil as when he had first lain down.
‘Wh-what?’
It felt as if he had dreamed it all, but the pain he had experienced was far too vivid.
He first touched his head to check if it was okay, and it was perfectly fine.
‘Could I have experienced some kind of hallucination?’
It was an absurd thought, but having already experienced the mysterious phenomenon of a precognitive dream, he couldn't help but think that.
Then, the moment he recalled the painful ordeal he had endured, his heart pounded as if it would burst.
With trembling hands, Gaon turned off the power switch, lifted the cover, and hurriedly climbed out of the capsule.
“What? What on earth is going on?”
He cautiously scanned the capsule with uneasy eyes.
The powered-off capsule simply sat there, as if nothing had happened.
It felt like something monumental had occurred, yet there was no visible change whatsoever, leaving him both bewildered and anxious.
Gaon’s face, which had been staring at the capsule, suddenly contorted.
“Sniff! Sniff! What the hell is this smell?”
An indescribable stench filled the room.
As Gaon looked around, his gaze fixed on his reflection in the mirror; an earthquake seemed to occur in his pupils.
‘Why did my hoodie turn so black?’
It wasn't just the thick hoodie. His light gray sweatpants had also turned black in large areas, and his exposed skin was covered in unidentifiable substances that could have been grime or hardened stains.
“Is there something wrong with my body?”
Ever since the day of his precognitive dream, he had occasionally excreted foul-smelling waste like this; seeing it happen again, it seemed like something was wrong with his body.
Gaon flung open the window that overlooked the street and hurried to the bathroom.
Only after spending over thirty minutes showering in warm water, scrubbing his entire body raw and washing his hair repeatedly, did the black grime lodged between his hair follicles disappear and the stench finally fade.
Then, while drying himself with a towel, he suddenly recalled the guidance voice he had heard right before fully regaining consciousness.
‘What was it? What’s going on?’
The contents of the guidance voice he remembered were simply incomprehensible.
-...The absorption rate of Lutein is 7.9%.
-The current Master’s Lutein manifestation rate is 1.4%. Each time a certain standard is met in the future, the Lutein manifestation rate will sequentially increase.
-Originally, this capsule's artificial intelligence was designed as a backdoor for the Transcendence System; however, the total amount of Lutein existing within this capsule far exceeds the maximum amount that a Transcendent candidate's body can absorb, so it will begin self-improvement operations using surplus Lutein. Until the upgrade of the semi-supercomputer-grade artificial intelligence fused with this capsule is complete, the assistant system will operate only at minimum capacity.
-This Prius Capsule remains free from Seiviewer's surveillance and interference even when connected to the Transcendence System, and blocks the system's information access.
-For the time being, the assimilation rate between the physical body in reality and the avatar in Another Mundus will be maintained at a maximum of 40%, and as the capsule's upgrade progresses, that rate may increase to a maximum of 90%.
The guidance voice he had heard ended there.
‘If what I heard is true, that pain happened while I was absorbing something called Lutein.’
The problem was that the content was utterly incomprehensible.
What on earth was Lutein?
Did I absorb that Lutein?
Or did the capsule absorb it?
Could it be true that a semi-supercomputer-grade artificial intelligence was installed in the capsule?
No matter how common supercomputers had become, it was hard to believe that a semi-supercomputer—an extravagance beyond Gaon's wildest imagination—was built into this capsule.
He had never heard the word Lutein, nor of such strange phenomena occurring upon entering a capsule, even in his precognitive dream.
However, he already knew about Seiviewer and the capsule.
For one, Seiviewer was not only the name of a consortium composed of military and economic superpowers spanning sixteen nations, but also the name of the main computer among the supercomputers that administered Another Mundus.
And as for the Prius Capsule, he had heard rumors about it.
‘There was a rumor that the capsules used by Super Rankers were special capsules called Prius.’
"Super Ranker" was a term referring to rankers within the top ten thousand of the level rankings.
Whether it had been verified was unknown, but according to the rumors, Seiviewer Company had developed a special capsule with functionality several tiers above standard or premium-grade models and sold them to an extremely small number of players.
The gist of the rumor was that these players, aided by the highest-grade functions of the capsules named Prius, could raise their levels at a speed on a completely different dimension from ordinary players.
The contents were so detailed for a rumor that he remembered them.
The Prius-grade capsule possessed many functions, but the most famous was that while standard and premium-grade capsules had an assimilation rate between the physical body in reality and the in-game avatar averaging 5% to a maximum of 20%, the Prius-grade capsule could reach a maximum of 40%.
Come to think of it, in his precognitive dream, the activities of Super Rankers were almost entirely unknown to the general public.
The few known among them, such as guild masters and executives of famous guilds, moved along completely different paths from ordinary players and rarely operated publicly.
Thus, the players who rose to stardom through fame and recognition in Another Mundus were mostly High Rankers between ranks ten thousand and twenty thousand.
Judging by the abilities of such High Rankers, everyone believed that the abilities of Super Rankers must truly be transcendence itself, but until the very end of Gaon's precognitive dream, they never revealed themselves to the public.
If the contents of the guidance voice were true, it seemed he had obtained not a Premium-grade capsule, but one presumed to be Prius-grade.
‘The capsule's grade isn't what's important, though.’
What he had checked while showering was that his body had changed dramatically in that short time—so much so that it was obvious at a glance.
The most noticeable change was his physique.
Even before the strange incident in the capsule, he had exercised intensely over a short period and developed an impressive, muscular build; but overall, he had merely been on the robust side.
But now, rather than robust, he had become lean yet filled with hard muscles like gravel. If before he had built a relatively solid body through exercise, now firm muscles of different forms had taken root in each area.
It wasn't only women's bodies that had curves. Men could also achieve a sculpted physique through exercise and diet, but Gaon previously hadn't been at that level.
Though it had been a short period, through intense exercise he had become robust, but overall his physique had been like a log, lacking major definition.
But now his belly fat had completely disappeared, his waist had become slender, and other areas were filled with muscles as hard as beef brisket, transforming him into an ideal form.
It wasn't just his physique. His face had changed too.
Originally, Gaon's face had been rather chubby compared to his rapidly changed body. Though he had started exercising and his fat turned to muscle, the fat on his face hadn't decreased much.
But now his face seemed more slender as well, and the bridge of his nose and jawline had sharpened.
There were slight changes to the point that his features seemed more balanced.
For example, his left eyelid, which had sometimes developed an awkward double eyelid due to swelling, was now settled like his right one, making his appearance much more satisfactory.
To confirm the change in his physique, Gaon stepped onto the scale, and his eyes widened.
‘The same?’
With such a noticeable change in physique, he should have lost at least four to five kilograms, but his weight had barely changed.
Getting off the scale and looking in the mirror while bending his arm into an L-shape revealed impressive muscles that felt powerfully strong.
‘It seems my actual physical abilities have improved too.’
He would know for sure once he worked out, but the light, almost floating sensation and the vitality overflowing from his body were enough to confirm it to some extent.
The final noticeable change was his hair. Perhaps taking after his father, whose hair loss had progressed rapidly in his forties, Gaon's hair too had been thin and sparse; but now it had not only thickened but also grown fuller, making the change in his appearance even more pronounced.
It wasn't on the level of changing one's facial features like the shedding of the mortal shell and transmuting of the bones, or a Body Change, frequently seen in fantasy novels including wuxia, but even this degree of change was wondrous.
‘Come to think of it, my skin has gotten better too.’
The condition of his skin, which had noticeably improved ever since the precognitive dream and starting exercise, had changed even further.
Not only had the acne scars left by poorly popping pimples disappeared, but the three large pores around his nose were no longer visible, and his skin tone was pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun in years.
‘What on earth happened inside the capsule? Could this be the effect of that thing called Lutein that I supposedly absorbed?’
No matter how he examined the capsule, he couldn't find anything particularly strange. The exterior and functions of the capsule were nearly identical to the Premium-grade capsules on the sales page of Seiviewer's homepage—not to mention what he had seen in his precognitive dream.
Gaon, having come out of the bathroom, scrunched up his face. Although the foul smell in the room had largely dissipated, some of it still remained.
The source of the stench was precisely the thick hoodie, gray sweatpants, underwear, and socks he had been wearing when he entered the capsule.
Only after stuffing them into a garbage bag and tying it tightly did the stench diminish greatly. If he ventilated the room like this for just a couple more hours, the smell would probably disappear completely.
Just to be sure, he opened the capsule and checked, but strangely enough, no smell whatsoever came from inside.
‘Well, the pain was terrible, but judging by my current state, the changes that happened to me are for the better.’
He had absolutely no intention of informing Seiviewer Company about what had happened with this capsule or to himself.
‘Anyway, the exterior is the same as an ordinary Premium-grade capsule, but the contents definitely seem to be special.’
If they were to replace the capsule, it would be his loss. Moreover, he could potentially become a subject for human experimentation.
‘I heard in my precognitive dream that Seiviewer Company wields such powerful influence that even the Korean government can't touch them recklessly.’
When Another Mundus began rapidly gaining popularity, it was said that world-renowned media outlets and broadcasters that had continuously churned out malicious articles at the request of competing game companies collapsed to near bankruptcy shortly after, for that very reason.
‘First, let's go buy the necessary items.’
The Premium-grade capsule dedicated to Another Mundus required quite a few items.
First, he had to fill the dedicated tanks with food supplies for the automated nutrition supply device designed to handle the user's meals—things like bottled water and grains, vegetables, and meat processed into powdered form.
Only then could he, when eating in-game, hold in his mouth like a mouthpiece a valve attached inside the helmet, through which nourishment was delivered into his oral cavity, allowing him to feel satiety as well as artificial taste and flavor.
This was the biggest difference between Another Mundus and other virtual reality games released until now.
Of course, the dedicated capsule also handled the excretion process naturally. You simply had to connect and secure the hose linked to dedicated containers for urine and feces to the toilet.
‘But what do I need?’
He had never used a Premium-grade capsule before, so he was at a loss, but a booklet was tucked into the inner wall of the capsule.
It was an instruction manual, and inside it was listed the food supplies needed for the automated nutrition supply device.
But when he went to a large mart and bought items according to the list, there were some strange things.
‘But I don't know why they even need alcohol.’
If he drank it, would he actually get drunk?
In his precognitive dream he had only heard about it and had never used or actually seen a Premium-grade capsule, so he simply prepared everything as listed in the manual.
The process of making it into powder was a bit of a hassle, but since it said they could be mixed together, he went to a rice cake shop and asked them to grind the whole things at once.
Gaon decided to spend today and tomorrow busily running around to prepare for the launch that would begin at 9 a.m. two days later, and immediately moved into action.