A Deal with the All-Seeing

Before I could even answer, he questioned me again.

"How much do you know?"

And then, another question followed immediately after.

"How do you know it?"

He fired the questions in rapid succession, but he didn't wait for an answer.

The walls collapsed.

Collapsing like a wave of video feeds, the walls reshaped themselves, forming a massive dome that enclosed me.

Before I knew it, I was freed from the chair and standing on a circular platform.

The surrounding dome no longer displayed the world, but me. My face and body were projected from multiple angles across various screens.

"As Samra, the observer of all creation, there should be nothing I do not know."

Keeping me in the center, Samra walked along the perimeter of the circle.

"Why is that? Your existence is an anomaly—an unknown."

His holographic eyes remained locked onto me.

"And yet, you are undeniably human."

He tilted his head back. Where Samra's gaze landed, the screens rippled like water, shifting to show new images.

Following his gaze, I saw my past self displayed across countless screens.

Me during my orphanage days.

Me in elementary, middle, and high school.

And... me as a professional gamer.

I saw myself smiling, one hand wrapped in athletic tape, the other holding a championship trophy.

My mind went completely blank.

I couldn't comprehend what was happening.

If I had been sucked into a game—into the world of Archive—then the characters shouldn't know anything about my past, right?

There was no way they could know I grew up in an orphanage, or that I was a former pro gamer.

A new, staggering truth struck me.

Don't tell me... the place I am in right now...

...isn't some virtual South Korea inside Archive, but the actual world I lived in?

This is the real South Korea?

My head throbbed.

The sense of detachment I had maintained, thinking this was just a game, vanished in an instant.

Before I could even digest this truth, a sharp ding echoed, and a system window popped up.

What... on earth is this?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I took a moment to steady my breathing and opened them again, but the system window remained unchanged.

Clear three Trials with a True Ending within a month.

Amputation of my limbs if I fail...?

I couldn't just dismiss it as a joke; Park Seong-gyeon's head exploding into gold dust was still vividly burned into my memory.

Besides, the threat of amputation was absurd enough, but the reward for success was literally just keeping my limbs.

Even as a deluge of overwhelming facts threw my mind into chaos, I couldn't help but feel utterly dumbfounded.

This is basically no reward at all.

As if responding to my silent protest against this sheer malice, another system window belatedly flickered into view.

So there is something.

I read the words on the system window.

And then I read them again.

A faint tremor ran through my hand.

I forced myself not to look down at it, clenching my fist to hide the spasm.

"……."

Samra tilted his head, studying me closely.

I barely managed to pull myself together. Then, I asked the most urgent question first.

"...What is today's date?"

"It is March 8th."

"The year 20XX?"

"Yes."

"And the date Captain Mo Hae-in entered HasPack?"

"March 7th."

Samra's pupils dilated and contracted repeatedly, like the aperture of a camera lens.

It was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mechanism to gather my physiological data.

"It was also the day Captain Mo Hae-in discovered you, Han Goyo."

Since this year was a leap year, the day I watched the Creator's live stream was February 29th.

There was a seven-day gap from then until March 6th.

I had absolutely no memory of what I was doing or where I was during that time.

"When did... the Trials first begin?"

"Four years ago, on February 29th."

Right around the time I retired from my pro-gaming career and became unemployed.

I started playing the Creator's games two years ago...

I tried to piece together the scattered, tantalizingly close clues, but nothing clicked.

"Han Goyo."

Seeing that I was not in a good state, Samra shifted his demeanor.

The oppressive screen panels surrounding me vanished instantly.

In their place appeared a pleasant outdoor cafe bathed in afternoon sunlight.

On an empty terrace table sat two glasses of iced Americano and some desserts.

The straitjacket I was wearing had seamlessly transformed into casual, everyday clothes.

Samra pulled out a chair, gesturing for me to sit, and took the seat opposite me.

I halted my racing thoughts and took a long draft of the iced Americano.

The sensation of the cold liquid sliding down my throat was brutally realistic.

But this was an illusion, not reality. I was currently inside Samra's virtual space.

Samra was created based on an android item obtained from a sci-fi themed Trial.

Perhaps because his essence was an item, Samra possessed the ability to generate virtual spaces similar to Trials.

In this space, Samra was akin to a god, capable of creating and deleting anything at will.

In any case, thanks to the fake iced coffee, I regained my composure and calmed down.

I still didn't understand why I had to become the System.

I wasn't some grand figure capable of carrying out a monumental duty like being the System of Earth.

I was closer to an ordinary citizen whose top priority was simply keeping himself alive.

There must be plenty of extraordinary people capable of noble sacrifices, so why me?

They really should swap me out while they still can.

I waited for a system window to pop up in response to my wish, but it remained silent.

I swallowed a long sigh. Then, like the ordinary citizen I was, I set the most practical, immediate goal.

Keeping my limbs intact.

Completing all the Epic Quests... that's a problem for the distant future. I'll worry about it later.

After all, there was no telling how many quests would be thrown my way.

I looked at the android sitting across from me.

From the very moment I mistakenly believed I had fallen into the Archive universe, I knew I had to go to the Sidae Agency and meet Samra.

If there was a single entity I could confide in and seek cooperation from regarding what had happened to me, it was Samra.

The android, who was undoubtedly recording data on me in real-time even now, was a massive repository of big data containing everything related to the Trials.

Built with technology from a world far more advanced than Earth, Samra collected information that humans couldn't even perceive.

The machine, sipping coffee like a human, offered a slow smile.

"It seems you require my assistance."

His tone suggested he believed he held the upper hand.

But I didn't need "assistance."

"No, I don't need that."

Samra raised an eyebrow in surprise. I made him an offer.

"I'd like to make a deal. Interested?"

"I am. What are you offering?"

"Information on the Trials."

"Clear conditions for True Endings, or items?"

"Neither."

At first, I had considered offering that kind of information.

After all, what Samra needed most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right now was learning data on the Trials.

Samra could not enter the Trials himself. He could only obtain information through Adaptors.

However, there were far too many cases where Adaptors who entered the Trials died, or became infected even if they survived.

The ones who cleared them safely usually stuck to Trials with established strategies; Adaptors rarely took unnecessary risks in unmapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Trials.

Because of this, Samra struggled to gather data to analyze.

Even though he hacked and scraped data from other nations, there was a fundamental shortage of raw data regarding the Trials.

But trading my clearing methods felt a bit risky, especially after what had happened in HasPack.

The progression and items were strange, and I cleared it using the colored blocks instead of the standard ending.

I also worried that showing my entire hand too early might leave me vulnerable.

Since I had no idea how things would unfold, I needed to keep some leverage.

So, the information I chose to trade instead was...

"There is someone who knows about the Trials... someone who knows everything."

The Creator.

Having reached this point, I couldn't help but wonder.

What kind of entity was he to make games based on the Trials?

And why did he choose me?

He probably selected me as a candidate to stop the Trials and trained me through the games in Archive...

I could vaguely guess his intentions for making me the System, but I couldn't be absolutely sure. Not after the last thing I saw.

He had said something bizarre to me with an excited look on his face.

To entrust someone with a grand mission like being the System of Earth, he felt a bit...

...unhinged, to say the least.

In any case, I needed to track this Creator down, but the problem was my memory.

I remembered the games he gave me vividly. The conversations we had during the streams, too.

But I couldn't recall his face at all. It was completely pitch-black, as if someone had scribbled over it with ink.

As if it had been intentionally erased.

But if it was Samra, he might be able to track the Creator down using the clues I provided.

"...Intriguing."

Samra leaned in closer.

"And what is it that you want, Han Goyo?"

"Your unconditional cooperation."

Along with tracking the Creator, I planned to use Samra to secure a safe position within the Sidae Agency.

Within the Agency, Samra's judgment carried absolute authority.

If he vouched for me, I could clear myself of any suspicion of being a national disaster.

And of course, if there were other ways to utilize Samra, I fully intended to exploit them.

"Unconditional..."

Trailing off, Samra tapped the Sidae Agency uniform he was wearing.

"I cannot perform any action that harms humanity."

"I know."

"Know what?"

"Even without your contract with the Sidae Agency, you were originally an entity that sought to save the world."

He had fought desperately to save the world of the Trial he originally belonged to.

Samra's already flickering eyes began to flash intensely.

Just as I was debating whether to ask him to turn down the headlights, Samra covered his eyes with his hand.

When he lowered his hand, his eyes had returned to normal, and he offered a bright smile.

"I look forward to the information you will bring me, Han Goyo. As long as it does not harm humanity, very well. Let us make a deal."

Hey, I'm on humanity's side too.

For starters, I'm literally the System of Earth.

It was a bit sad being treated like a villain. Keeping my unspoken thoughts to myself, I extended my hand to Samra.

"Then, I look forward to working with you."

As Samra lightly shook my hand, his pupils rapidly dilated and contracted.

It felt like he was zooming in to inspect every inch of me.

There shouldn't be any valuable data to record from a simple handshake, though.

Regardless, I had secured a powerful ally.

Not a bad start.

I explained the Creator's existence to Samra in detail.

Omitting the fact that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had become the System, I only shared that I had played his games for two years and was ultimately dragged into HasPack against my will.

I also mentioned the seven-day gap in my memory.

As he listened, Samra searched global networks in real-time for any information on the Creator.

"There are a few mentions, but nothing of use... It would be ideal if we could access the Creator's stream directly."

But I couldn't remember his face or his name.

The very first game I played, Happy Smile Factory, had been purchased through an online client that sold game software.

Yet, on that client, there was no record of my play history—let alone HasPack itself.

Samra remotely booted up my computer to inspect the files, but everything—including HasPack and the other games—was completely clean, without a single scrap of residual data.

There weren't even traces of deletion, as if they had never been installed in the first place.

Having finished his search, Samra reached a conclusion.

"The Creator is highly likely an extraterrestrial entity."

Since the Trials were disasters from outer space, it was a logical deduction.

"I will look into this further and let you know. Why don't you head back out for now? There are people waiting for you."

People waiting for me.

I already felt exhausted, but playing my cards right now would ensure a smooth path ahead. I nodded obediently.

My surroundings began to melt.

In normal Trials, the space would warp and melt into mottled, neon fluorescent colors, but the virtual space Samra created was different.

It shimmered with the same holographic hue as Samra, washing my vision in pure white.

Unable to bear the glare, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was back in reality.

Though it came with a slightly more aggressive welcome than I had anticipated.

"...Oh."

A short exclamation escaped my lips.

Dozens of sniper rifle laser sights were pointed directly at me.