Chapter 217
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Game, Experiment, Truth
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‘...This is the end.’
Lee Hyun-wook thought as he watched the flow of mana rising from the muzzle of the gun.
And the moment he saw the figure at the end of that muzzle—Gordon Price—torn to shreds and slammed into the ground, that thought turned into certainty.
[Item Information]
- Name: God Slayer (Masterpiece)
- Effect: This attack contains the power of deicide (神殺) and ignores all defenses. It will be destroyed after firing 5 rounds. (Remaining shots: 4)
This was the first 'Masterpiece' grade Player-made item, crafted using the Mythic-grade item 'Mistletoe' as a material. Though it could only be fired five times, a single shot was enough.
"Kuaaaaargh—"
Sparks flew violently from Gordon Price's body after taking the direct hit.
It wasn't electricity; it was a strange phenomenon where his barrier melted away and his very being burned out.
In other words, he was being annihilated.
‘When that happens, not even the Saintess's healing can save you.’
Lee Hyun-wook knew this because he had seen his comrades die in the same way several times in his past life.
"Th-this is impossible! It can't end like this..."
The man writhed on the ground, his body twisting until he lost his human form and reverted to his appearance as the Demon King—that is, a tentacled creature.
"No, it's all over now."
Lee Hyun-wook approached him and racked the pump of the God Slayer once more.
He had already dealt enough damage, and it seemed the man would eventually perish even if left alone, but just in case, he needed to deliver one more definitive blow.
But even as his body crumbled and he sensed his defeat, the man didn't stop spewing vitriol at Lee Hyun-wook.
"Kuh— D-don't be mistaken. You haven't won!"
"......."
"In the end, it all went according to th-their will! You defeated me only because they chose you over me. Simply as a more successful experimental result..."
He forced a laugh and continued.
"This <World Quest> you're all undertaking right now... it's this dimension's final scenario. Do you even kn-know what that means? It means they've gotten all the results they can from this experiment, and its conclusion is imminent!"
Lee Hyun-wook was starting to get annoyed.
"So, is that pathetic whining the last will and testament of His Excellency, the Demon King who wished to become a god?"
"Haha— I'm not trying to mock you. Think carefully. Wh-what happens to the tools and materials in a laboratory after an experiment is over!"
At those words, Lee Hyun-wook realized what Gordon Price was trying to say.
‘He's trying to tell me again that this world I've tried to protect cannot escape its destruction.’
In essence, the man was trying to curse Lee Hyun-wook with his dying words.
"—The 'results' of an experiment move on to a bigger e-experiment! But the remaining 'materials' and 'byproducts' are sorted by value and either recycled or discarded!"
"So a 'result' like you gets thrown into the second experiment, like me, and the rest are sorted by th-their usefulness..."
The tentacle's eyes turned somewhere. It was to Lee Hyun-wook's right, where allied monster units like the Dark Elves led by the Second Prince and the Ancient Red Drakes led by Agaidika were gathered.
"...Those byproducts, if they're somewhat useful, are recycled into monsters like those over there. If not, they're completely discarded. That is the fate of us humans. Uhuhuhu—"
Lee Hyun-wook's eyebrow twitched at his words.
"...Are you saying monsters were once Players?"
One of the questions as unsolvable as the true nature of this game was the origin of monsters.
That was why, whenever Players encountered intelligent monsters, the first thing they asked was, 'Where did you come from, and why are you here?'
‘I've asked intelligent monsters that question several times myself... but each time, they would give a predetermined, vague answer as if they were robots.’
For instance, they would hedge by saying their homeworld was destroyed and they were refugees, or that they crossed dimensions after receiving a divine revelation. If pressed for details, a system warning would pop up, stating that affinity might decrease.
Therefore, regarding monsters, nothing more than the clichéd assumption that they were beings based on human myths and imagination had ever been discovered.
"Uhuhuhu— Does this sound like a lie? Or is it that you don't want to believe it? But it's the truth you will eventually witness."
"You will bring about the end of the world you tried to protect with your own hands."
Lee Hyun-wook decided he didn't need to listen anymore.
‘If this is all an experiment, then Gordon Price is just another rat trapped in a lab.’
In other words, he wouldn't get any answers from this man.
‘I have to go to the end myself.’
And in the end, that was the only way.
He aimed the 'God Slayer' at him.
And pulled the trigger once more.
KABOOOM—!
With the explosion, the man's body futilely turned to dust and scattered in all directions.
Fwoooosh—
This was the end of the enemy he had faced across two lifetimes...
'Ah...'
Lee Hyun-wook felt a sudden, intense emptiness for reasons he couldn't explain.
- Congratulations! You have defeated the World Quest's boss monster, the 'Demon King'!
That system message appeared before everyone's eyes.
A heavy silence fell for a brief moment, and then...
Waaaaaah—!
Cheers began to erupt from all sides.
Waaaaaah—!
The Players on the battlefield began to celebrate.
No, the entire world must have been celebrating.
In the distance, all sorts of magic spells shot up into the sky and exploded.
Bang— Bang—
It was an expression of joy, like setting off fireworks.
It had been a long time since the fear of the world's end had spread. Humanity had halted all activity, waiting solely for the outcome of this battle. And just now, with humanity's victory, all those worries and anxieties were washed away.
"Waaaaah— We won!"
"Ha... I really didn't think we'd win..."
"Alright, it's all over! We can finally get some rest, right?"
And they chanted the name of the one hero who had made it all possible.
Steelrain—! Steelrain—!
Once the savior of Seoul, he was now the savior of all mankind.
But Lee Hyun-wook himself, and only he, felt no sense of triumph in this poignant moment.
"......."
His mind was even more complicated than before he faced the Demon King. And his heart felt strangely empty... an unexplainable void that had been consuming him since he killed Gordon Price.
He stared blankly up at the sky.
‘Now... what am I supposed to do?’
Yes, the name of that emptiness was 'loss of purpose'.
Come to think of it, he had never been without a goal. Since starting his second life, he had run relentlessly, not resting for a single day, to change his failed past.
‘I fought without rest, solely for this moment.’
During that time, he didn't think or worry about anything else.
Of course, he had fundamental doubts—questions about the reason for his regression or the true nature of this game—but rather than dwell on what he couldn't solve, he focused all his attention on what he could do.
‘Because I thought that if I did that... I could somehow achieve the best possible outcome.’
The best outcome (最善), something like victory and peace.
But what if all the goals he had actively pursued were nothing more than a part of this game... and what if the game's purpose was different from the best outcome he desired...
‘Can I fight for the best outcome once again?’
No matter how he thought about it, the answer was that it was impossible.
Weren't all his powers based on this game?
In other words, for a Player, the system was an irresistible force.
And his worries boiled down to a single question.
‘Then why on earth did I regress?’
That was the first turning point that started this long journey, but he still hadn't found the answer.
As he was lost in such thoughts, observing his surroundings, he sensed someone approaching from behind.
It was the Players who had been with him all this time.
Among them, Kim Se-hee stepped forward and asked.
"Is it really, completely over now?"
But Lee Hyun-wook couldn't readily answer.
"......."
At that, Kim Se-hee, who had been smiling, slowly turned expressionless as if sensing something ominous.
"Uh, don't tell me... there's more?"
Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.
"...It will end."
The problem was, he didn't know what would end.
This disaster, this game, had to end.
But if that end was as the Demon King described...
The end of this world, their end, our end...
And then—
Gu-u-u-u-ung—!
A great roar began to shake the heavens...
"Uh, isn't this... a precursor to a <World Announcement>?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"Gasp, then is something else about to happen?"
A <World Announcement> was not a 'system message' visible only to Players, but a message that appeared in 'real space' for many civilians to see as well, in the form of giant letters projected onto the sky.
Such announcements appeared at critical junctures of important events.
And soon, letters began to appear in a corner of the sky.
- Congratulations! This world has reached the 'Ending'.
* Awaiting the final choice of the ultimate victor!
"...E-Ending?"
That word was enough to make everyone gasp.
It was something everyone had once pursued but had since forgotten, like confronting an ancient truth... a strange excitement mixed with an inexplicable fear.
"Wow, does this mean the game is ending now?"
"Then what happens to us?"
"Don't tell me... will all our abilities and the monsters disappear?"
"Wouldn't it be a problem if it just ended like that?"
For the Players, who had long since adapted to the game, it was both bewildering and daunting to think about the future.
However, a slightly different system message appeared before Lee Hyun-wook.
- Congratulations! As the ultimate victor of this world, you have earned the right to choose the 'Ending'. Please enter the 'Black Gate' that will soon open to begin your final choice.
Also...
- (!) Main Quest has been updated
‘Ah, the Main Quest...’
Gordon Price had once said that the Main Quest was only given to Players who were deemed successful test subjects in a dimension.
Lee Hyun-wook checked its contents.
[Main Quest]
- A second chance at life, a duty, a destiny...
1) Track down the 'Black Gate' open somewhere in this world. (Success! Higher conditions met!)
2) Defeat the 'Dimensional Traveler' who will come from your past life—the first world. (Success!)
3) Encounter the 'Administrator' who knows the truth of this world.
For number 1, he had needed to collect unknown black fragments to track the Black Gate, but upon clearing the World Quest, it was resolved, stating that 'higher conditions' had been met.
And number 3, which had originally been blocked out with ■■■, was finally revealed.
'Hmm, an Administrator...'
And then—
Jijijiji—
With that sizzling sound, a deep black gate began to open above the nearby ruins.
"Hey, isn't that a Black Gate?"
The Players tensed up again and raised their weapons.
It was understandable, as every time a Black Gate had appeared before, a Dimensional Traveler had come through.
‘Right, a Black Gate is a door connecting to another dimension.’
Meaning, that place leads somewhere that isn't Earth.
‘Which means it's where the Administrator is.’
He had heard before that Gordon Price, after becoming the victor of the first dimension and clearing the Main Quest, had entered a Black Gate and met 'them'.
‘They are the Administrators, the beings who created this game.’
And now, it was Lee Hyun-wook's turn.
He glanced back at his comrades.
They were looking back at him. And they surely knew as well. That the 'ultimate victor' who would decide the 'Ending' displayed in the sky was Lee Hyun-wook.
"Well then, I'll be going."
Lee Hyun-wook imprinted the God Slayer onto his left wrist, levitated one of the hundred or so Mogeuleys stuck in the ground, and walked into the Black Gate.
***
Lee Hyun-wook was walking through an endlessly vast black space.
‘Where is this place? Could it be outer space?’
It was a space that would make one think so.
No, it actually looked that way.
In the unfathomable distance, the Milky Way flowed, and nebulas of various colors surrounded him like a painted backdrop...
He was clearly standing in the middle of space.
Soon, voices echoed from all directions.
「Welcome, ultimate victor of a mere world—」
「And the one who has surpassed the limits of mortality—」
The voices strangely echoed from all sides at once, making it impossible to tell their origin. The moment he heard them, he felt a crushing pressure, as if his entire body were being distorted.
Just hearing them made his fingertips and toes tingle, his head and chest pound, and he felt dizzy and nauseous.
It was an overwhelming 'presence' he had never felt before.
Moreover, the pressure seemed to be controlled to a degree, fluctuating so as not to crush him to death.
He barely endured the pain hammering his body and walked forward.
Soon, in the far, distant reaches of space, a shimmering began, and some kind of forms started to assemble rapidly... They were so colossal that he couldn't take them in at a glance or perceive them clearly, but they were something resembling a human form.
They surrounded Lee Hyun-wook and looked down at him.
'Are those the Administrators... the forms of gods?’
Lee Hyun-wook raised his head to face them, but feeling dizzy from the unbearable pressure, he slowly turned his head away.
「You have passed all the trials we have given.」
「More brilliantly than any human in the multiverse, you have perfectly overcome every ordeal and even defeated the final trial, the Demon King. Your achievement is truly astonishing—」
Trials. The moment Lee Hyun-wook heard that word, he unconsciously muttered 'experiments' to himself. The two words had similar meanings but were subtly different.
Meanwhile, an inexplicable anger began to seep out, piercing through the immense pressure.
"...Trials? Trials for what?"
That was the first thing Lee Hyun-wook said.
His words contained not a shred of reverence or courtesy for these Administrators—these absolute beings. And his expression was also openly defiant.
'What kind of screwed-up situation is this.'
He couldn't help it.
Hadn't he struggled through two lifetimes for the sake of humanity's well-being? Therefore, regardless of the purpose of this game... this charade that had killed countless humans, he couldn't meekly accept it, even if victory brought him great fortune.
But to them, was it just a cute tantrum?
「Haha— As audacious as ever—」
「Those trials are a task to guide you humans to become better beings—」
「—You humans have been primitive beings until now, but you are on the path to becoming higher-dimensional beings worthy of associating with us.」
「However, not everyone can be reborn as a higher-dimensional being, so the trials are to select those qualified to undertake the <Transcendence Quest>.」
At that moment, a beam of light shot down from space and struck Lee Hyun-wook.
Gooooo—!
The moment the light hit him, Lee Hyun-wook felt the presence of the absolute beings pressing down on him weaken.
In other words, his own presence had grown a level stronger.
- Congratulations! You have received the acknowledgment of the absolute beings. As a reward, you have become a 'Quasi-Transcendental,' a vessel capable of holding divinity.
This... seemed to be proceeding exactly as Gordon Price had predicted.
「And for you, there will be a second trial.」
「You must not neglect your growth and must develop your presence. To do so, you must conquer other 'worlds' and absorb their power.」
'...Even this is the same.’
Lee Hyun-wook lifted his head and glared at the absolute beings.
"Then, does that mean... I have to walk the same path as the Demon King?"
「Haha— No, it won't be exactly the same.」
「You will be conquering dimensions that have been taken over by Villains.」
「By your standards, those places are steeped in evil, so it should suit your primitive and shallow values of promoting good and punishing evil. But as you walk the path of transcendence, that thinking will soon change.」
Those words meant that countless other dimensions existed, and trials, or experiments, were being conducted there as well.
And out of consideration or something, they were 'matching' him to conquer a world with an opposing disposition... but of course, Lee Hyun-wook wasn't happy about it at all.
"...Even if it's a dimension conquered by Villains, it's still Earth, and they are still human, just like me, aren't they?"
No matter how evil its rulers were, Earth was still Earth, and humanity was still humanity. Not everyone living there could be evil.
And even if they were, committing genocide to bring about its destruction was not his style.
「You have been chosen by us.」
"Kuh!"
With that one sentence, Lee Hyun-wook flinched again.
The presence had grown even more intense.
「You cannot refuse our choice.」
The pressure of their presence rose another level. Unable to withstand it, Lee Hyun-wook staggered back...
「You have no choice but to follow our will.」
As their presence rose yet another level, he was finally forced to his knees.
「And we can make it so.」
"Cough—"
And finally, he even coughed up blood.
"Cough— Cough—"
He braced his hands on the floor and caught his breath.
"Huu..."
Suppressing the gut-wrenching pain, he slowly pushed himself up. But then, a thought occurred to him.
"But now that I think about it, something's strange..."
He lifted his head stiffly.
"Why... did you make me regress?"
「What?」
「You were chosen.」
The answer was somewhat vague.
"I'm asking *why* you chose me. I'm troublesome and defiant. Did you pick me without knowing that?"
「You must move according to our will.」
「Otherwise, you cannot exist.」
"What is this, an automated response system...?"
He snatched the Mogeuley floating behind him, raised it, and aimed. It was now or never.
"I refuse. So do what you want, kill me or not."
This time, an answer didn't come back immediately.
Lee Hyun-wook scoffed and said.
"You made me regress and achieve victory without knowing this was my personality? Huh?"
「.......」
"...Then you're not so absolute after all, are you?"
A cold silence fell at that moment.
「You... c-cannot resist us.」
But for some reason, wasn't that voice... stuttering a little?
‘...What? Are they flustered?’
It wasn't the attitude one would expect from an absolute being... it reeked of what you would call 'human'.
In that instant, on some kind of instinct, Lee Hyun-wook imbued the Mogeuley with Metal Control—and shot it toward the forms of the absolute beings.
However—
「Do you not know that even that power was originally given by us?」
Hng—
The Mogeuley flying through the air disintegrated into dust and vanished.
And—
Pajijiji—!
Sparks began to fly from Lee Hyun-wook's body. It was his barrier and presence evaporating... the process of annihilation.
「Tsk— Foolish thing. You are a defective product, and therefore, you will be deleted.」
‘Yes, this is still better.’
He thought.
‘Better to die like this than to be at the mercy of those unknown, non-godlike beings.’
It might not be the best outcome, but it wasn't the worst either.
But then—
Chiiii...
The sparks enveloping his body suddenly vanished.
And
「Huh?」
「Wh-what is this? Hey! Why is this happening?」
「It seems there's a problem with the system!」
「What? At a time like this— Restore it right now!」
These were the voices of the absolute beings who had just been exuding solemnity... but it was an extremely mundane, human conversation.
In the end, it meant they weren't gods.
Lee Hyun-wook let out a hollow laugh at the absurd situation.
"...So, was it all just an act?"
He slowly raised his left hand, and gray smoke flowed from the imprint on his wrist.
Hidden within was the God Slayer.
He aimed it toward the ceiling, toward the forms of the absolute beings in the cosmos, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
KABOOOM—!
Fired— But the bullets didn't go far.
Kugugugu—
Immediately after, fragments rained down from the ceiling, and he could feel mana erupting in all directions.
Sparks flew violently throughout the world, and the cosmic background surrounding him began to flicker and go dark.
"..Huh?"
He didn't know where this place was, but it certainly wasn't space. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a mirage space created by magic.
「Damn it, the system is down, how is that bastard still moving?」
「Ah, it seems the main server has been hacked!」
And then—
- How about you come out of that pathetic place?
A voice flew into Lee Hyun-wook's ear.
"......."
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head in the direction of the voice.
Gooooo—
A Black Gate was opening again nearby.
- Come on, I'll tell you the truth, so come back outside, back to your world.