Game 16: The Museum Heist No One Asked For
If you ever want to measure the value of human greed, don't look at gold, don't look at diamonds, look at the National Museum of Korea.
A week ago it was just a tourist spot, where kids yawned on school trips and ajummas complained about overpriced bottled water. But now? Now it was a vault of miracles, a holy candy store, the new Mecca for hunters, thieves, and lunatics.
The system had rewired the world, sprinkling magic across random antiques like Oprah handing out cars. You get mana! You get relics! Everybody gets a scam version of something valuable!
Han Tae-yang (한태양) knew one thing: he wasn't the only guy with this idea.
The greedy Dupe Tree only popped up in seven spots across Seoul, and already hunters were camping under it like K-pop stans before a BTS concert. The National Museum though? It was singular. One place. One chance. Which meant every scavenger, hunter, and would-be relic hoarder would sooner or later come knocking.
That was the problem.
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System Notification
The moment he pushed through the glass doors, the world dimmed.
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🛎️ [Event Area Entered]
Warning: Player has stepped into a contested relic zone.
Combat, betrayal, and stupid decisions are now statistically guaranteed.
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"Statistically guaranteed," Tae-yang muttered, rolling his eyes. "Bro, I am the stupid decision."
He expected chaos inside. Screaming hunters. Boots stomping marble. Somebody throwing chairs. But instead, the lobby was quiet. Too quiet.
His sneakers squeaked across the polished tiles. Each step echoed like a gunshot.
"…Hello?" he whispered.
Silence answered.
His eyes narrowed. His fingers twitched, brushing the pendant in his pocket out of habit.
No way I'm first. Someone had to be dumber than me.
Then he saw it, scattered across the entrance floor like broken glass. Blackened shards of quartz, charred and smoking.
Tae-yang crouched down, sniffed. The acrid scent of burnt flesh hit his nose. He gagged.
"Oh, oh hell no. Someone already got barbecue'd in here?"
He straightened, wiping his nose sleeve-first.
The system hadn't been lying. The times really had changed overnight. Yesterday, normal people would've run from danger. Today? They were dying face-first for a shiny rock.
He didn't need to guess what brought them. It was obvious.
Somewhere in this museum, tucked in the medieval wing, lay the Great Map of the Eastern Lands.
And not the boring middle-school geography kind.
This map had drunk mana straight from the Tower itself. Which meant it now held information: hidden maze locations, ruins, rare items, boss drop notes, shortcuts. Basically, it was a walkthrough guide for the game of survival.
Sure, it only revealed up to the 10th floor, but that was more than enough to drive hunters insane.
One map. Hundreds of lunatics. And a whole lot of greed.
Tae-yang smirked. "Everyone wants the GPS. I'll just take the car."
The deeper he walked, the louder it became.
Shouts. Crashes. Steel against steel. The sharp twang of a bowstring. The crackle of mana.
And insults. Oh, the insults.
"Cheeky bastard! Let go, that's mine!"
"You greedy pig, I saw it first!"
"If you don't take your sweaty fingers off my map, I'll feed you to a goblin!"
Tae-yang peeked around a marble column. A cluster of hunters were brawling in the gallery ahead, their shadows dancing across medieval armor displays.
A knight's helmet rolled across the floor. A spear clattered. Someone screamed as lightning crackled up their leg.
Tae-yang's grin widened. Ah, music to my ears. Free entertainment.
He slipped along the wall, moving catlike. Well, catlike if the cat was drunk and wearing squeaky sneakers.
Then, all at once, silence.
A new voice cut through the hall. Deep. Rough. Commanding.
"Let. Go."
Everyone froze.
The relic tug-of-war stopped mid-yank. Fists unclenched. Mouths snapped shut.
And Han Tae-yang, crouched behind an ancient vase that definitely wasn't built to hide grown men, peeked over the rim and saw him.
A mountain of a man, muscles stacked like bricks, standing in the doorway, eyes burning with the kind of arrogance only someone with too many protein shakes and a shiny system rank could afford.
He had just arrived. And he wanted the map.