Chapter 240
Satisfy had some areas that were completely different from reality. If a user had a child in Satisfy, there could be various problems.
There were too many risk factors, such as neglecting reality by being too immersed in the child in the game or ignoring the child in the game because they were too busy playing. Only those who had established mature values were eligible to enjoy Satisfy’s parenting system.
‘Can I really do well?’
The Grid of the past would’ve said okay without thinking about it. But the current Grid realized the seriousness of the situation. He thought carefully about it.
‘I…’
He was still too immature to be a parent. But he wanted Irene to be happy. She was one of the most precious people to him, despite being a person in virtual reality. Thanks to her, he learned how to love. Grid wanted to make her dream come true. He didn’t want her to be disappointed.
‘I also want the result of the love that I share with Irene.’
After a few hours of deliberation, Grid made a decision.
“I am grateful for the news of the pregnancy.”
The notification windows immediately blinked and responded.
[Congratulations on your wife’s pregnancy!]
[The preferences and abilities of the child will be affected from prenatal development.]
[What type of child do you want? The child you want and the child your wife wants will affect prenatal development. Work hard to communicate with your wife.]
“I wish my child…”
It wasn’t that hard to imagine.
‘Someone different from me.’
He didn’t want them to be petty or stupid. Grid had no talent and was narrow-minded, so he hoped that his own child wouldn’t experience such an unfortunate life.
‘I want someone who resembles my wife, a child who is bright, generous, and pretty. First of all, I wish for a clever child to be born. Congratulations on your pregnancy. And thank you.’
Grid wrote it in the letter to Irene. It was difficult to find traces of his childhood in his careful expression. Grid would turn 28 years old in five months in real time. He was becoming a true adult with this pregnancy.
“Taemyeong means ‘fortune’ in the sense of a jackpot…”
There was no question that he still had no naming sense. Even so, it was fortunate that he only thought about Taemyeong.
***
A regular board meeting held at the head office of the S.A. Group.
The main agenda of the meeting was to set the budget for the Second National Competition to be held in Paris next year. At the end of the meeting, one member was brought up. Grid.
“It’s actually Grid again!”
“Isn’t the parenting system only activated for mature players?”
The executives heard the report from the operations team leader and expressed their anxiety. Recently, Grid was conducting himself as a legendary class, but the prejudice didn’t easily disappear.
The executives had been watching Grid from the beginning and still saw him as that. Now he would have a child with an NPC? Just imagining it was terrible. They were worried about the worst situation.
“He will raise a child? This is ridiculous!”
Games had implemented a parenting system many times in the past. There was even a separate child raising simulation game. A typical example was Princess Mama. Such games didn’t make users feel any responsibility. Users could delete their child or neglect them. Such an act didn’t cause any moral issues either. The characters in a typical game were nothing more than 2D characters that acted and talked according to a given scenario.
Then what about the characters in Satisfy? The supercomputer Morpheus gave all Satisfy NPCs the perfect artificial intelligence. As a result, NPCs had thoughts and emotions. They were no different from humans.
It was only a matter of time until an immature user experienced the parenting system. If the users neglected or abused their children in the game, the creators couldn’t rule out the possibility of social problems.
The parenting system was a double-edged sword. Satisfy’s game would be better if used well, but public opinion would take a hit if it was exploited.
The development team arranged the parenting system so that only a very small number of users could experience it. It was based on the fact that the married couple’s liking was at the maximum, and the parenting system was designed to be activated only for users who had maximum respect for NPCs.
But Grid? The person who sent malicious emails to the group when he couldn’t make legendary items was selected for the parenting system! The executives were convinced that there was clearly an error. They couldn’t tolerate it.
A surprising figure emerged to defend Grid. It was Director Yoon Sangmin. In the past, he had a tendency to hate Grid more than anyone else.
“Don’t you know about the recent Grid? He has grown. He’s different form the past. So don’t worry.”
“We all know that his abilities have grown. Didn’t he win three gold medals and save the kingdom from the golem army? What we are pointing out is a personality matter.”
“He has grown up personally.”
It was Director Yoon Sangmin.
The executives frowned.
“How do you know that?”
“You will quickly notice if you show a little interest and watch him.” Grid’s inner growth was something that could be seen just from his actions. “In the first place, the system chooses. This means that Grid is qualified, so there is no room to negotiate.”
“Cough…”
The executives stared dumbly. Director Yoon Sangmin, who calmed the turmoil, was very interested in Grid.
‘A human who learns and develops through the game.’
A typical human became an adult by learning and experiencing society. Then they had a tendency to spill out all their stress in games. There were many reasons why good humans in society would become notorious villains in games.
But Grid was a special case. He lacked social skills, but was growing through the game. He was a good example of a Satisfy user and could be used as a means of publicity. Of course, that was under the assumption that Grid accepted.
***
“Shit!”
The atmosphere of the White Wolf guild wasn’t great. They failed their quest because of an unexpected person, and their pride was hurt because one person wiped out the whole guild. Veradin encouraged the resentful and frustrated guild members.
“Don’t mind it. Grid is the best. It isn’t a shame to be defeated by him.”
That’s right. As the first ranked Kraugel maintained an air of mystery around him, Grid had to be rated as the strongest for the moment. He was underestimated by the public because of his lacking control, but that wasn’t necessarily true. No, it was great.
As Veradin said, it wasn’t shameful for their small guild to be defeated by Grid, who was at the top. This was the obvious result.
However, the guild members were worried about Veradin. A month ago, Veradin had cleared a S+ grade quest and acquired the bones of the high ranking demonkin, Dantalian. In the battle against Grid, he had summoned the undead Dantalian using the bones.
It was his trump card. Even Grid showed worry.
Veradin was strong as long as he had Dantalian. It was amazing that he managed to annoy Grid for a while, despite not reaching level 300 yet. Veradin clearly demonstrated his abilities that were above his ranking.
The problem was that the guild members were weak. They weren’t a help to Veradin at all. They were sorry to see Veradin dragged down because of useless subordinates. They couldn’t lift their heads.
In this sober atmosphere, Kiki threw out a question.
“But Veradin, why didn’t you report Grid to Earl Zebra?”
Grid was a duke of the Eternal Kingdom. It was a big problem if he was in the territory of the empire. If this was reported to the upper ranks, Grid would surely experience large problems. Veradin held a key for revenge, so Kiki wondered why he didn’t use it.
“It isn’t time yet.”
Veradin answered vaguely and Kiki realized that he was thinking about a bigger picture.
***
The last time that Kraugel visited the western part of the Eternal Kingdom was eight months ago.
At that time, the west was completely a desert and it was infested with monsters. If he took a step, he would be confronted with monsters. If he moved a little bit, he would be completely isolated.
But now the situation had changed. The scale of the desert was reduced and there were less monsters than before. It had turned into more ideal hunting grounds. Kraugel speculated that Grid had destroyed several giant worm nests after becoming lord of Reidan.
Kraugel had to admire it.
‘Grid is greater than the rumors say. After absorbing the Tzedakah Guild, he’s quickly growing his power.’
Kraugel also knew about Grid. He was a celebrity that most people in the world knew. However, he hadn’t paid Grid any special attention. Kraugel devoted himself entirely to adventuring and hunting, while Grid participated in external events and was judged to be a completely different style of user.
He didn’t care because he didn’t think he would become involved with Grid in Satisfy.
‘My inventory weight is at its limit. Is Reidan the only well-equipped city or village near here?’
In the last 10 days, Kraugel had killed the western monsters while heading for Reidan. It wasn’t to meet Grid, but to dispose of his loot.
“It’s an agricultural city.” Kraugel arrived at REidan and admired the cast fields of wheat stretching out. He never imagined that a city in the middle of the desert would’ve developed agriculture. ‘He was successful in clearing the desert and has an excellent ability in managing affairs.’
Grid showed great strength in the National Competition and in the golem army, but he was skilled in other areas as well. He was a legendary blacksmith, had top rankers as subordinates and even had great skills as a lord? He was truly a near-perfect figure.
‘Zibal isn’t equipped with things like this. The first user to become king might be Grid, not Zibal.’
Did Kraugel have any regrets? No. Kraugel was the type of person who enjoyed playing the game alone. He perceived that his areas of activities were completely different from Grid’s. Therefore, he didn’t have a sense of crisis or competitiveness towards Grid.
Step, step.
Kraugel was crossing the fields to enter Reidan. At that time, an NPC holding a rake in one hand and a hoe in the other appeared and asked him.
“Who are you?”
“…?”
