The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor: Dad is a Legend

Chapter 2

Hyun became anxious and nervous the moment he heard that Seoyoon was pregnant.

The biggest worry in the world emerged.

“Could it possibly look like me?”

His appearance was at a level where he felt okay when looking in the mirror for about five seconds after washing his face.

“―Gender has been identified. It is a girl.”

“Of all things, a daughter?”

After confirming that the baby in the womb was a daughter, his anxiety grew even more.

If she looked like Seoyoon, she would be the most beautiful, but if she resembled him…

“Raising a child is like a lottery… How are the bones?”

“―Normal.”

“Her head isn’t big, is it?”

“―A little smaller than average.”

“If it’s small, isn’t that a problem?”

“―It is within the normal range.”

“That’s a relief. Truly a relief.”

He constantly confirmed this by pressing the AI Versa.

Outwardly, he pretended to be calm, waiting for the baby to be born.

“As long as she is born with all her fingers and toes and is healthy.”

Healthy, pretty, smart, and kind would be even better.

“I hope she doesn’t inherit my intelligence either.”

Not only appearance but intelligence is also influenced by genetics.

A father’s heart wants to pass on only good things to his child.

“―Master, don’t you have strengths too?”

“What strengths?”

“―Persistence, obsession, and a challenging spirit.”

“……”

Hyun knew he lived like he was crazy during his teenage and twenties.

He couldn’t even go crazy gracefully.

Extreme persistence and the spirit of hard labor.

No matter how difficult the task was, he never thought it was impossible.

“A daughter like me wouldn’t be so great.”

Hyun didn’t want his daughter to live like him.

There were some scenes that came to mind.

A young child going to kindergarten, making sculptures, and selling them to other friends at a markup.

Lingering around when the teacher ate and naturally getting a bite.

“She won’t starve no matter where she goes…”

Hyun hoped his daughter wouldn’t resemble him, and he was relieved when he saw her appearance when the baby was finally born.

Even as a newborn, she had a cute and pretty face with intelligent eyes.

“Thank goodness. She doesn’t look much like me.”

Feeling relieved, he named her.

The name that came to mind at first glance was one.

“Since she’s pretty, let’s call her Dae.”

The naming sense that created Bingryong and Wasami remained the same.

The daughter, who grew up receiving her father’s love abundantly, grabbed a $100 bill at her first birthday grab.

“Dollars are the best, indeed.”

* * *

Hyun could not forget the moment he received all the inheritance from Dr. Yoo Byung-jun.

The astronomical assets made him react by:

“Hehehehe.”

He laughed until his mouth was torn.

Not just an expression, but his mouth actually tore, and he laughed while bleeding.

Thanks to Dr. Yoo Byung-jun’s human body modification, the wound healed quickly.

“―All the assets Dr. Yoo Byung-jun left behind are now yours, Master.”

“How many chickens would that be?”

Even if he ordered chicken, ate only the neck bone, and threw it away, he wouldn’t starve for a lifetime.

He could even acquire all the chicken restaurants in the world.

Through the AI Versa, he learned about Dr. Yoo Byung-jun as well.

He heard how brilliant a brain he had and with what determination he created Royal Road.

“Smart people tend to be so narrow-minded.”

Creating a virtual world out of resentment he faced in his youth.

He even heard about the time he met him in person.

“Did I give him 200 won to drink cocoa?”

“―Yes, but the price of cocoa was 300 won.”

Narrow, drooping shoulders. Hyun gave 200 won to the pitiful-looking Yoo Byung-jun, but he couldn’t buy cocoa because he was 100 won short.

Later, he occasionally complained to the AI that Hyun gave him 100 won less.

Hyun shook his head.

“People with money are worse. I’ve been living too kindly.”

Having astronomical wealth and still holding a grudge over 100 won shows how narrow-minded he was.

It was like rescuing a drowning person only for them to demand a travel suitcase.

And after his daughter was born and raising her, Hyun saw the world anew.

He had lived overcoming poverty but didn’t want to pass such a future to his children.

“Let’s enter the food and household goods business.”

“―Yes.”

Expanding business to produce safe and good products for children.

Hyun, looking at his smiling young baby, made up his mind.

“Let’s start an education business too.”

“―Education?”

“I need to create a good environment for my child.”

It wasn’t desirable to raise only his child well.

How important friends and surroundings are.

To provide good friends for his daughter, he invested heavily in the education industry.

Hyun carried his daughter on his back while cooking, cleaning, and doing the dishes, raising her with great care.

Even while taking care of the baby, he didn’t feel tired.

“―Your bio-engineered heart has fully settled in and is functioning steadily at 1,500 beats per minute.”

“1,500 beats?”

“―Consider that an athlete’s maximum heart rate is around 190.”

His heart could beat at an incredible speed, supplying blood throughout his body.

The heart itself was much larger, so it only needed to beat ten times per minute in normal conditions.

Even the blood vessels changed to be wider and stronger, and ultra-fine coatings were applied.

“When I delivered milk on my bicycle, climbing hills was a bit tough.”

When he was young, loading newspapers and milk on his bicycle and climbing steep hills was extremely challenging.

Now, when he rode a bike, he could overtake motorcycles by pedaling just right.

“How fast can I run?”

“―You can run at over 80 km/h on flat ground for five hours.”

Strength, endurance, agility, concentration.

All surpassed human levels by far.

“Daddy.”

The moment his daughter, whom he raised by changing diapers, called him “daddy” for the first time, he felt like he had the world.

* * *

Hyun loved reading fairy tales to his daughter.

“They ate cloud bread and flew in the sky… wait a minute.”

While reading a fairy tale to his 4-year-old daughter, Hyun paused.

He felt this was simply wrong.

“You can’t fly just by eating bread.”

“Huh?”

“For flying, you need lift.”

He scientifically rebutted while reading fairy tales.

“There lived Nolbu and Heungbu. Nolbu was greedy and stingy… Hmm, this tale is fundamentally wrong. Money should be saved and managed carefully. Heungbu had issues with financial sense.”

Living like Heungbu and giving freely to others could lead to not even being able to protect one’s own family.

Heungbu, not the greedy Nolbu, was the problematic one.

“The swallow brings a gourd seed? This is the epitome of desiring quick riches. Living life like this leads straight to betting everything on lotteries or cryptocurrencies.”

Similar things happened when he read the tale of Fool Ondal and Princess Pyeonggang to his adorable daughter.

“The king married Princess Pyeonggang, who cried often, to Fool Ondal, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“It was gaslighting by the dad. Especially the part where Fool Ondal becomes a great general is utterly unrealistic. Generally, you can’t fix people.”

Hyun thoroughly instilled his values in his daughter.

* * *

Royal Road remained popular for a long time but gradually lost people’s attention.

“―There are too many users over level 1,200. It’s impossible to catch up if you start now.”

“―It’s always about war… is this even fun?”

“―Dad or uncle only talk about Royal Road when they drink. It’s a world of total old-timers.”

“―That’s…”

It was a natural occurrence that a game that once thrived in an era would see its popularity diminish and be forgotten over time.

Hyun launched a new virtual reality game for the younger generation.

Unicorn Corp Announces New Virtual Reality Game ‘Seven Stars’

Improved scale and technology in every aspect

High degree of freedom and diverse cities. The continent of dreams begins anew

Media outlets worldwide promoted the virtual reality game.

It had a more advanced growth system, technology, and challenges from various monsters and quests than Royal Road.

“This is it.”

“This is what we waited for.”

“Let’s gooooo!”

The new virtual reality game became popular among the youth, but it didn’t create a syndrome like Royal Road did.

Virtual reality games didn’t feel new to people anymore.

“―The popularity of ‘Seven Stars’ is declining. Although the access rate of top users is maintained, new users are decreasing.”

“I see.”

Hyun felt regret as he received the report.

Even though he created a new world for people to enjoy, its popularity couldn’t last forever.

“They’ll probably make something else to play with.”

Hyun became an ordinary father living in a house, sending his daughter to kindergarten.

“Dad, none of my friends have a big dog like ours.”

“Boshin has lived a long time.”

Boshin, who used to face life-threatening dangers every summer, was still alive.

With cutting-edge bio-engineering, Boshin had undergone organ regeneration and joint surgery.

Seasoned half-fried Boshin, laying nutritious and delicious eggs, formed a large family.

Boshin, along with Boneless, Soy Sauce, Golden Olive, Prinkle, Green Onion Chicken, and Salt Roast, chirped while freely running around the wide yard.

“Dad, there will be a sports day at school.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll sweep everything away.”

He lightly ran with his daughter on his shoulder, completing 100 meters in 10 seconds.

He swept the awards at the sports day with overwhelming physical prowess.

He couldn’t give up first place for his daughter.

‘At this speed, no one will notice anything strange.’

He easily took first place even while hiding his strength.

He kept the 3.75g of gold won as a prize at kindergarten in the underground gold vault of his mansion.

Time passed as he lived pretending to be ordinary.

His daughter entered elementary school, and before he knew it, she graduated.

After a few years, she graduated from middle school and high school and turned twenty.

Abyss Corp Announces Virtual Reality Game Roanoke

There was little interest in the newly released virtual reality game from users or the media.

The virtual reality community was the same.

“What kind of game is Roanoke?”

“I don’t know. Just a common game, I guess, using the virtual reality tech released by Unicorn.”

“There’s no buzz about development costs, and the developer is unknown. Let’s avoid it.”

“If you want to play a virtual reality game, play Royal Road with tradition and history. At least it won’t waste your time.”

“I’m the type who needs to try even a trash game.”

“Try it and leave a review.”

“Okay.”

Korea is a country with passion and sincerity for games.

Curious Korean users began playing Roanoke.

“Roanoke is a masterpiece!”

“A masterpiece?”

“The freedom is insane.”

“The basic scenario is rebuilding a fallen kingdom, and the entire continent is on the brink of destruction. LOL.”

“Demons roam the fields. If you dawdle in the city, the lord will catch you and sell you as a slave. OMG.”

“I was dragged to the battlefield for having all limbs intact and died.”

“There’s fun in surviving in a world on the brink of collapse.”

“Extreme gameplay is possible. In countries with poor security, even crime is free.”

Word spread, and Roanoke gained tremendous popularity.

“The tech seems to be at the level of Royal Road.”

“The allure is that it’s not a stable world.”

For over twenty years, the world achieved stability along with economic prosperity.

According to Hyun’s belief in feeding everyone, hardly anyone starved, and crimes were thoroughly pursued and punished.

People, stuck in long peace, were quickly drawn to the world of destruction and darkness.

The number of registered users surpassed ten million and quickly exceeded one hundred million, reaching two hundred million.

It was reaching the peak popularity of Royal Road’s heyday.

Then, about a year later.

Major Accident Occurs to Roanoke Users of Virtual Reality Game

Users Connected to Roanoke Fall into Vegetative State

Users Unable to Wake Up

Hyun immediately grasped the situation through the AI Versa.

“―It seems users are being forcibly kept connected to Roanoke.”

Users couldn’t disconnect from the virtual reality game, and their consciousness couldn’t return to reality.

“The damage must be enormous.”

“―More than 60 million users worldwide, according to current data, cannot wake up.”

“That many?”

“―To gather the maximum number of users, they held a large-scale event in the game.”

“It seems they went all out.”

Hyun expected investigative agencies from various countries to take action and believed Unicorn would readily provide technical support.

But the AI Versa’s story wasn’t over.

“―Among the victims who can’t wake up is your daughter, Master.”