I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts

What is a “Gold farming”? It’s short for earning in-game currency.

More precisely, it means earning money through a game to get real-world money.

Gamers who sustain their lives by selling in-game items.

These people are called “Gold farmers.”

So, how profitable is this game for “Gold farming”?

I logged into the Lost Soul Fantasy community.

The first thing I clicked on was the trading board.

“Whoa. A game that’s been open for barely a week has this kind of profit potential?”

<Clock of Blazing Flame - Flame-type Shaman/Spirit Master level 20 bracelet, semi-rare item>

A virtual clock more expensive than most luxury watches.

Just this alone showed how lucrative this game could be. And the item was already marked as sold.

“This is insane. There are items worth hundreds of millions of won here.”

<Socks of Eternity - Ultimate socks for all Sorcerer classes, all levels>

<Starting bid: 200 million KRW>

Wow, 200 million won?

Even with 200 million KRW, a 3% savings interest would bring in how much?

You could easily earn 4 million won a month without lifting a finger.

“…Forget about making 1 billion or 10 billion KRW to turn my life around.”

No, honestly, even thinking about earning 100 million or 200 million KRW through gaming is ridiculous. The very idea of making money through games is absurd.

As an older brother, I should set a good example for my little sister.

Jamsuni is diligently attending school, so how could someone like me spend all day glued to a gaming console, calling it “Gold farming”?

I turned off my computer and got up.

The house was a mess today because of the VR console installation.

I should clean this up before I go to sleep.

But the first thing that caught my eye was Jamsuni’s socks.

“I told her so many times to put her socks directly into the laundry. Wait, what’s this? She’s still using socks with holes in them? Does she think I can’t even afford new socks for her? Ugh… geez.”

Maybe… just a little bit of “Gold farming.”

Just enough so Jamsuni wouldn’t notice.

“No, that’s ridiculous.”

After some hesitation, I threw the hole-ridden socks into the trash and cleaned up the rest of the mess.

***

“Nayu, are you okay?”

“Na… Nayu okay… lie.”

What does she mean by “okay… lie”?

I silently stared at Nayu.

Hollow eyes, slightly greasy blue hair, tear streaks beneath her eyes, and a faint odor that suggested she hadn’t showered in days. It was clear that Nayu was on her way to becoming a full-fledged gaming recluse.

It was hard to believe that Nayu could still look so ridiculously pretty, even in this state. But that wasn’t the point right now.

“Hey!!! Nayu!!! At least take a shower!!! You’re addicted to VR!!!”

“Nayu… level up… urgent…”

“Leveling up is urgent? Are you telling me you can’t even sleep at that level?”

I carefully stepped into Nayu’s room.

To my surprise, it was surprisingly clean.

Not at all what I had expected.

But there it was, sitting ominously in the middle of the room—the VR console glowing faintly.

“This… important to Nayu.”

Nayu gestured toward the VR console.

“Nayu… family made it.”

Wait, what? Her family made that VR console?

Does that mean someone in her family is a game developer?

“Nayu… want to find family.”

“You want to find your family?”

For a moment, her words struck me.

I, too, was searching for family.

Suppressing the surge of emotions, I looked into Nayu’s eyes. On closer inspection, her hollow gaze wasn’t hollow at all—it was desperate.

When my grandmother and mother, both spirit shamans, went missing in the mountains, I had scoured the wilderness like a madman. At that time, the reflection in the mirror had carried the same desperate look as hers.

“Honestly, I don’t really get it, but Nayu… you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

I couldn’t understand how she planned to find her family through gaming, but then again, I couldn’t see ghosts. Perhaps someone who could see spirits would find meaning in her words.

“Wait here.”

I ran home and quickly whipped up some food.

I chopped bell peppers and onions, stir-frying them with sausage, ketchup, and a bit of oyster sauce—sausage vegetable stir-fry. I reheated some instant sari gomtang soup I’d bought to make warm meals for Jamsuni during busy mornings. And I added a variety of pickled side dishes I’d bought.

I packed everything up and handed it all to Nayu.

“At least eat while you’re playing.”

“Nayu… so touched…”

Suddenly, Nayu leapt up and hugged me tightly.

“Nayu sneak snuggle!”

“W-wait, Nayu!”

I couldn’t tell her to back off because of the smell.

Why on earth do cute girls still smell nice even after days without showering?

After devouring lunch in record time, Nayu put her VR glasses back on.

I watched as she dived back into the virtual world. On the monitor, pixelated graphics played an opening sequence before showing Nayu’s character awkwardly loitering at the entrance of a hunting zone.

<zxPaegeonBloodzx: Who are you? Don’t you know this area is controlled by our Paegeon Clan?>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu… tilts head?>

What the heck? This game’s only just been released, and there’s already a hunting zone monopoly?

As I kept watching the screen, the chat continued to flood.

<zxPaegeonBloodzx: What the… Haa. But damn, check out the model on that character. Is this an NPC?>

<zxPaegeonIronCagezx: No way. We cleared all the nearby NPCs ages ago when we were farming for that group gear last time.>

<zxPaegeonBloodzx: Then it’s a player. She probably looks similar in real life, right? Damn, a girl like this… Hey, VR murder isn’t punished, is it? Then maybe…>

Something about the chat was starting to feel very off.

What are those bastards trying to do?

<zxPaegeonIronCagezx: What exactly are you trying to say?>

<zxPaegeonBloodzx: Violence in games is okay, but sexual violence is bad? I don’t see it that way. Hey, grab her. Let’s do it.>

<zxPaegeonIronCagezx: What the hell are you talking about, you psycho?>

The one called PaegeonIronCage used an ice-breathing skill to attack Nayu. Nayu’s character frantically fled and barely managed to return to a nearby respawn area.

Flinch—Nayu trembled, visibly shaken.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, pale and quivering, as if she were truly in pain.

Holy crap, is this even a safe game?

Yet despite all that, Nayu still set her sights on that hunting zone. It baffled me. Why would someone who seemed so incapable of playing the game properly, and who was clearly in pain, be so obsessed with leveling up?

Her face was hidden behind her VR glasses, so I couldn’t read her expression, but her reluctance to head back into that hunting zone was obvious. Still, she tried.

“There really must be something about this game connected to your family.”

That was when I made up my mind.

Leaving Nayu like this was dangerous.

“What’s this area called? Suwolhyang?”

It looked like it was right next to the tutorial region I’d cleared, Haneum Valley. If I logged in right now, I could probably reach her location quickly.

Without hesitation, I ran back home and turned on my OBE (Out-of-Body Experience) gaming console.

***

Nayu lay on her back, staring up at the sky.

A sky so alien and unyielding, refusing to resonate with her.

A sky she could never forget stretched endlessly across the horizon.

‘Nayu, be a good girl and wait for me. Mom’s going to the mountain and will be back after you’ve slept ten times.’

As Nayu stared into the sky, she recalled someone’s voice.

‘One day, you’ll be free from this sky…’

A voice she could never forget.

A warm touch she didn’t want to let go of.

“Nayu… sobbing.”

And so, Nayu stood up once more.

She never thought she’d see this sky again.

Perhaps her family was still here, somewhere in this world.

At that moment, as Nayu steeled herself and rose to her feet—

“There you are.”

It was PaegeonBlood, the one who had been controlling the hunting zone earlier. He stood before Nayu. Even as she cautiously stepped back, PaegeonBlood silently drew his sword.

Nayu attempted to connect with the sky.

But the sky here remained silent.

The blade in the man’s hand gleamed coldly.

Nayu tried to log out, but disconnecting from the game and returning her spirit to her body took time.

Moreover, she couldn’t disconnect while experiencing pain. The only way was for someone to neutralize her out-of-body state and remove her VR glasses for her.

Alternatively, she could reveal her true soul, not just a fragment of it, and completely shatter this spiritual realm. But Nayu couldn’t bring herself to do that.

Perhaps traces of her family remained here.

As Nayu hesitated, the man grinned wickedly and pointed his blade at her.

“Stay still. That way, it won’t hurt.”

What should she do?

Tears welled up in Nayu’s eyes.

And then, it happened.

“Who do you think you’re messing with?”

A familiar voice echoed from behind the man. Appearing from the shadows was a man who resembled Yoo Hajin, his in-game name glowing above him: Heavenly Demon Descends.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Just a guy in a party with that unwashed girl over there.”

“Nayu… shocked!”

“…That chat was typed by Myeong-Myeong. Anyway, leave peacefully while I’m being nice.”

The man from the Paegeon Clan sneered and pointed his blade at Yoo Hajin.

“You look like you just crawled out of the tutorial zone. What are you going to do about it?”

“What do you think? Come at me if you’re so confident.”

“Hah, so you think you’ve got something up your sleeve?”

Without hesitation, the man lunged toward Nayu with his blade. But the blade never reached her.

Yoo Hajin had stepped in front of Nayu, taking the hit himself.

Nayu stared in horror at the blade piercing Yoo Hajin’s body.

Should she shatter this spiritual realm?

But if she did, then—

However, Yoo Hajin simply smiled at Nayu.

Despite the pain he must have been in, he smiled to reassure her.

Tears filled Nayu’s eyes again.

Of course, Yoo Hajin wasn’t smiling out of kindness; he was using an emote to taunt the enemy.

“It’s fine, Nayu. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

In reality, Yoo Hajin wasn’t feeling any pain.

He was casually typing away on his keyboard, yawning as he played.

Meanwhile, with his other hand, he scrolled through a Lost Soul community forum on his phone, skimming through PvP guides.

“Okay. Got it.”

And thus began the PvP battle between Lv. 1 Heavenly Demon Descends and Lv. 6 PaegeonBlood.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

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