Global Awakening: This VR System is Tyrannical!

"Good morning," Jong-Kook greeted as he pushed the door open, only to stop dead in his tracks, his cheerful expression morphing into sheer confusion.

"Hey, why’d you stop at the door? Let’s get inside—" Zerke started, but he too froze mid-sentence the instant he caught a glimpse inside Origins VR Cafe.

Sitting behind the counter, Donape looked completely exasperated. He was getting tired of literally everyone having a dramatic existential crisis over the shop’s changes. He hadn’t expected their reactions to be so wildly exaggerated for something fictional brought to life.

’Is it because I used to read NovelPhoenixs and watch anime?’ Donape thought to himself, shaking his head. ’Is that why spatial technology wasn’t a huge "wow" surprise for me? That’s also why I accepted it so quickly? Man, reading and watching fiction really isn’t a bad habit after all, especially considering nobody knows what kind of crazy fate awaits them.’

Still, he knew a change of this scale was bound to catch people off guard. He decided not to make a big fuss about it—after all, this was just a necessary first step, since things like this would probably become common sense in the future anyway.

"Uncles, just come on in. It’s safe inside," Irene called out casually from her table, before turning to Ga-Eun. "What did the Shopkeeper call it again?"

"It’s spatial technology," Ga-Eun explained briefly, repeating the vague description Donape had given her earlier. "It expands the room’s interior without any physical limitations, all while leaving the building’s exterior completely unchanged."

Although Jong-Kook and Zerke’s past interactions with Irene and Mira had been brief, they were familiar with one another. Even with Ga-Eun, they could be considered friendly acquaintances.

Overhearing the girls’ casual banter, Jong-Kook and Zerke glanced forward, only to spot Ji-Woong and Kennedy staring back at them with strange, knowing grins.

"Ahem!" Zerke cleared his throat loudly, awkwardly straightening his jacket—which didn’t actually need straightening at all. "Apologies for our unseemly behavior. We were just... a bit surprised."

"Ah, right! Exactly!" Jong-Kook added awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We were just worried we’d walked into the wrong place! But seeing all of you here, this is definitely the right shop, right?!"

As Zerke and Jong-Kook sat down on the counter stools, Donape spoke up.

"Gentlemen, both of you need to start accepting this new reality. Unless you want to suffer a heart attack every time you visit my shop—or worse, when you witness something bizarre outside this place."

"What do you mean?" Zerke asked, puzzled.

"Didn’t you see how accurate my shooting was and how I handled the recoil issues without any trouble at all before?" Donape said, gesturing toward the digital screen above the counter. "That was all thanks to playing the games here and consuming the commodities on this menu."

"Isn’t that just because the VR Capsules give you an experience like a state-of-the-art training facility?" Jong-Kook chimed in with a question of his own. "Something along those lines?"

"It’s certainly not wrong to view VR games as a training tool. But think about it again—is it really possible for the human body to be pushed past its limits like that? No. That’s impossible. Even the strongest martial artist couldn’t reposition a rifle after recoil in less than a second. The human body isn’t that flexible."

Donape crossed his arms and continued.

"That’s why when you play the game, try your absolute hardest to maximize your synchronization rate. That way, whatever gains you achieve inside the VR world will carry over into the real world as well."

Suddenly, Irene chimed in from her table. "Wow, Shopkeeper! That whole lecture of yours sounds no different from a promotional pitch encouraging customers to spend more money on everything this shop has to offer!"

"Think whatever you want," Donape barked back, before taking the final sip of his Obsidian Roast Coffee. "But that stubborn denial is the exact reason you girls were flabbergasted earlier after seeing the spatial expansion of this shop—after trying so hard to deny reality all this time. All of you have that reaction nonetheless."

As Donape’s words settled over the counter, Ji-Woong, Kennedy, Zerke, Jong-Kook, Irene, Mira, and Ga-Eun all exchanged silent glances.

After a moment, they collectively averted their eyes, thoroughly awkward—his words had struck a raw chord. Accepting fiction as reality was a massive leap for normal people, mainly because common sense wasn’t something easily shattered.

Then, out of nowhere, every single one of them stiffened as a sudden realization hit them like a bucket of cold water.

’Wait... doesn’t that mean the Shopkeeper isn’t a normal human anymore?! He literally just said a normal human body couldn’t pull off those movements due to physical limits... so the fact that he DID means he’s a superhuman now, right?!’

The same thought crossed all of their minds after parsing his explanation.

Yet, not a single one of them dared to ask him directly. They merely cast quick, apprehensive glances toward Donape before awkwardly averting their eyes once more, causing the atmosphere inside the lounge to turn stifling and tense.

Recognizing the heavy silence, Irene quickly offered an icebreaker.

"Ah, right! Did you guys hear about that brutal incident yesterday where a terrorist group attacked the city? People are saying the gunfire sounded like something straight out of a war zone!"

Hearing a viral news story brought up as a topic instantly dissolved the awkward tension.

"Ah, yeah. I heard it was a coordinated hit targeting the Baek family," Jong-Kook added, scratching his chin. "Isn’t that young man who usually comes here with his bodyguards the Young Master of that household?"

Irene immediately turned and pointed across the room at Ji-Woong. "Hey! You—Ji-Woong, right? You’re friends with that Young Master Baek, aren’t you?! Do you know what actually happened?"

"Ugh..." Ji-Woong grimaced, a troubled expression washing over his face. "Look, I am friends with him, but his family matters like that aren’t for outsiders to pry into."

In truth, Ji-Woong had been sick with worry ever since the first attack began on Saturday night. He had tried messaging Ji-Hong, but got no response. By yesterday afternoon, while social media and local news channels were blowing up with reports of the second incident, Ji-Hong’s line was completely unreachable.

It wasn’t until late last night that Ji-Woong finally received a short text from Ji-Hong telling him not to worry.

That message was the primary reason Ji-Woong had come to Origins VR Cafe first thing this morning—hoping that if the dust had settled, Ji-Hong might show up here as usual.

However, instead of meeting Ji-Hong right away, he was so completely shocked by fiction coming to life inside Origins VR Cafe that he temporarily forgot all about Ji-Hong’s situation—until Irene brought it up and dragged his worries back to the surface.

"I don’t think you guys need to worry about that. That brat should be fine," Donape said nonchalantly. "Besides, weren’t all the perpetrators caught already?"

Donape knew for a fact that the first attack had failed, considering he was the one who had single-handedly subdued those thirty-two mercenaries before they could cause the Baek family severe collateral damage.

As for the second assault—while he didn’t know all the messy details—he was fairly confident everything had worked out in the end. On top of that, Ji-Hong sent him a text last night. Aside from expressing his deep gratitude for Donape’s help in taking down the perpetrators during the first attack, Ji-Hong assured him that everything was under control and mentioned he wouldn’t be able to visit the shop in the near future while internal family matters were being sorted out.

From that text alone, Donape comfortably concluded that the situation was largely resolved.

"Why are you telling us to stop worrying?!" Irene huffed, leaning back in her chair. "He’s your customer, and he’s our fellow regular! It’s completely normal to worry about people you know. Geez, Shopkeeper, you really are cold-hearted!"

Even though her words sounded harsh on the surface, her tone was entirely playful and lighthearted.

Donape, well aware that she was just teasing him, merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine. Do whatever you want—chat, gossip, make a news station out of my tables. It doesn’t break any shop rules," Donape replied casually. "But let me ask you this: do any of you actually need to order anything else right now?! Because if not, I’m heading into my VR capsule. I’ve got a new game waiting for me."

"Wait, wait! Can’t we just play another new game instead of The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts 2?!" Ji-Woong pleaded, pointing at the screen.

Both he and Kennedy were painfully aware that neither of them could access the martial arts sequel yet, given that neither had cleared the main storyline of the first game. That was the real reason Donape had flatly rejected their request to party up.

However, after scanning the menu screen once more, they spotted a brand-new title that carried no prerequisite conditions at all:

Magic Academy: First Semester

"Ugh. As much as I’d like to try that one, I can’t just pick things up at random," Donape replied, shaking his head. "My priority is still Season 2, since I need to complete my cultivation and martial arts foundation first. If I delay it to learn magic now, mixing the two could cause the energy in my body to clash and crumble. It’s my principle to master one path at a time unless I know they won’t clash."

"Um... what’s the difference?" Zerke asked, genuinely curious as he chimed in from his stool.

"The fundamental nature is completely different," Donape said, his tone taking on a surprisingly profound weight. "Qi belongs to the Dantian, while Mana belongs to the Heart. I don’t have absolute, simultaneous control over two distinct internal energies yet."

He said it with complete nonchalance, but those listening could only stare back at him, utterly dumbfounded—unable to comprehend a single word of what he had just dropped on them.

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