Chapter 50
Chapter 50
50
DLC [Professor of the Heroic Tale]: Hotfix Ver2.3.1a(1)
"Aren't you nervous?"
It was the middle-aged professor who had boarded the Airship with me who asked. We were currently flying towards Jinxite, who had four arms sticking out, and he looked quite tense.
I didn't answer.
"……."
There wasn't a grand reason.
I'm not good with words. When a person spends too long as a Graduate Student, there comes a time when they gradually don't know what to say. That was my state.
Usually, if I don't answer, the other person loses interest.
But this middle-aged professor had been acting a bit strange since earlier.
He seemed to revere me more than he should.
【 Black Path Professor Ludenbach: 'Amazing… truly remarkable focus….' 】
【 Black Path Professor Ludenbach: 'He wouldn't risk his life out of a sense of duty…. Could it be that this man truly believes he can defeat that giant monster alone…? At such a young age?' 】
【 Black Path Professor Ludenbach: 'Youth is a weakness. But if Professor Dante truly manages to destroy that monster single-handedly…. Perhaps our Assassination Studies department could bet the future of the Hiaka assassination industry on this young professor……(omitted)……' 】
……Why so much?
On the other hand, curiosity arose.
I was full of questions about the 'Hotfix'.
What would happen to the [Error Space] now?
What was Eve's [Giant Error Space]?
These kinds of emergency patches are only found in 'Online Games', aren't they?
From such questions within the realm of common sense.
'A bug.'
Suddenly, the questions I had felt several times during my Hiaka life came to mind.
'Come to think of it, didn't I have a lot of bugs too?'
Thinking about it, I did.
I had benefited from various bugs.
What were they?
1.
Seeing [Stigmata] or [Curse] that shouldn't be visible in situations where I shouldn't have detection abilities.
*Stigmata: I saw the Stigmata even though Liberator was unappraised.
*Curse: I saw three Curses on Rebecca's Veil.
2.
Seeing 'Stealthed individuals' on the [Minimap] etc., when they shouldn't be visible.
*Finding Elise during the first day's assassination.
3.
The [Script]'s Minimap recognition distance exceeding 3,000 meters.
*Discernment of Balmung's snipes.
I was worried about what would happen if I lost the benefits I had been enjoying, but if that were the case, it would have been written in the Hotfix notice.
< 00 minutes 32 seconds until Hotfix……. >
Anyway. While I was thinking about this and that, the time was almost upon us.
From the numerous questions I had.
To the rewards that Systematicity⧉ had promised.
There would be answers to all of it.
< Logging out. >
A comforting energy spread throughout my body, as if I had been given anesthesia.
This was the process of my personality escaping from one world.
The world blurred.
Perhaps my optic nerves were blurring.
Gradually, as all of this faded away like a dream,
A status window popped up.
< ⧉ The "Game System" will be temporarily shut down. >
< ♠ The "Curse of Oblivion" is applied. Direct memories and records of those encountered will be erased or distorted. >
Wait, what?
…I lost consciousness around the time I thought that.
* * *
The world receded.
My consciousness floated somewhere.
The ground I stood on quickly moved away.
At some point, when the continent covering the surface became as small as a dot, I became a comet, traversing a corner of the universe.
If that vast land disappeared in an instant.
Then perhaps I was as fast as light, or even faster.
But even within that dizzying sense of speed, the width of the universe I was traversing was overwhelmingly vast. It was literally astronomical.
What suddenly came to mind was Jamsil Olympic Stadium, which I had visited sometime. The sound of Bruno Mars's singing filled that huge and vast stadium.
If an atom were the size of that stadium, the nucleus would be the size of a soccer ball, and the electrons would be the size of ants walking around the perimeter of the stadium.
So atoms are virtually empty. Since the world is made up of atoms, the entire universe is virtually empty.
Now. Having started from somewhere around the back of some ant, I am feeling that fact with my skin.
The whole world was empty.
If there was one strange thing in that darkness.
It was that there was a window at the top of the empty universe for some reason.
Originally, there shouldn't be any direction in the universe.
For example, this universe was a basement.
Through that process, I escaped some kind of basement.
When I came to my senses, I was standing blankly in a pure white world.
"……."
I raised my hand.
I had a body.
It was still Dante's body.
I turned my head and looked around.
Saying it was a pure white world was truly appropriate.
Was this what the Arctic looked like during the White Nights?
Everything from the floor to the sky and far away was a white space.
Even so, it wasn't a conceptual space. There were white paving stones (?) arranged in a grid pattern on the floor.
For example, this was a desert. A desert made of white paving stones instead of sand.
< ⧉ Entering the location, [Offline]. >
───
Character: Dante Hiacapo
Difficulty: [Hell Difficulty]
Seed: 3340 1414 5592 **** ****
Progress: Main Story
Total Combat Power: 157,440
───
This is…… [Offline]?
I was wondering if I would wake up in reality.
But that wasn't the case.
< Time remaining until Ver.2.3.1a patch completion…… [50 minutes] >
The status window kindly tells me the patch time.
For about an hour. I guess I have to be here.
So what should I do now?
A completely unfamiliar space.
An unfamiliar situation.
A background that doesn't seem to change no matter where I go.
There is no sun-like object above my head either. There is only a white shining sky.
There wasn't a single cloud, so I couldn't feel any sense of distance.
'Should I walk?'
I started walking aimlessly.
But no matter how long I walked, nothing changed.
Usually in places like this.
There are trees and oases in the distance.
There's a suspicious temple somewhere over there….
For some reason, it feels like there should be.
But there's nothing here.
I felt completely alone.
It felt strange.
Since possessing the game, I've hardly ever been alone.
At most, just the time I sleep.
My schedule as a professor is already endless.
And in the midst of that, incidents keep happening, so I'm called here and there.
'Even if I keep walking, it's the same place, so is there any point in walking?'
So I sat down on the floor.
Since I sat down, I lay down.
'I'm glad the patch time is only 50 minutes.'
If it was three days to a week, it would have been a bit painful.
I was thinking about this and that when.
"Awawa…."
I heard the voice of a child from somewhere.
When I got up and turned my head, there was something strange.
It was a child.
Wearing a gray dinosaur costume.
A truly cute child with only his face sticking out around the neck of the dinosaur.
"Who are you?"
I asked.
The child carefully raised his hand and waved.
"H, hello…!"
"Hello."
"The weather is. Very. Goo. Goo. Good…."
His speech was a bit clunky.
Then he took out a piece of paper from his waist and glanced at it.
"The weather is, very good…!"
"……."
What is this kid?
Judging by his height and face, he looked about 5 or 7 years old. A complete child. The kid who was mumbling, "Awawa…," said.
"I am, I am. I am…."
You are?
"…Who am I."
……Philosophical.
"Ah, that's right. I'm Dino!"
"Dino."
"Yes…!"
Then, he took out the paper again, glanced at it, and approached me.
"Ah, anyway. Welcome here…! What's your name, mister…!?"
"Dante Hiacapo."
"I see…! What a cool name…! Uh, from now on, while you're here in [Offline], I'll explain the pa. pa. pa-pa-patch notes…! And…. Uh, and…."
He glances at the paper again.
"…Regarding the compensation plan for the emergency patch and the adjustments related to the damage cases caused by bugs…."
Mumble, mumble….
At the end of that, he hid the paper and said confidently.
"…I'll explain it…!"
What are you doing by yourself?
'Ah.'
This boy seemed to be a follower of Systematicity⧉.
Systematicity⧉, one of the 33 stars, is the star that symbolizes the Game System, so it's a user's helper.
"Good. I'll listen."
"Yes…! So…. The. The. The emergency patch… the compensation… plan includes…."
"Stop."
"Uh, uh…?"
"It seems you haven't memorized the script very well. Why don't you just look at the paper and say it?"
He looked like he was about to cry.
"Ugh…. I prepared a lot…."
I thought it would be better if he just looked at the paper, so I reached out my hand, but Dino quickly hid the paper.
"Give it to me. I'll read it myself."
"No way…!"
"Why."
"If I give you this… I'll be useless…!"
"……."
Then there's no helping it.
Soon Dino started rattling off while looking at the paper.
The contents were roughly as follows.
───
* Hotfix Patch and Adjustment Details
1.
Adjusted the timing error for Jinxite's summoning.
2.
Adjusted the error where three of Jinxite's arms were afflicted with 90-series Curses.
───
I was horrified.
Three 90-series Curses?
If that was true, Zone 0 would have almost been destroyed.
───
* Compensation
1.
Star Fragment × 50
2.
Added helper for [Error Space]
3.
3 [Resurrection Coupon] for the deceased. (1-day expiration)
───
On the other hand, the compensation was quite sweet. They were giving a whopping 50 Star Fragments. That was amazing.
"You have to use the Resurrection Coupon now…!"
Dino shouted, holding up three blue coupons.
Many people had died in this incident.
So, three of them….
Thankfully, no one around me had died.
I recited three names at random.
< [Resurrection Coupon] has been used. >
"But, what does item 2 of the compensation mean?"
"Yes…! That is… until now, the player hasn't been informed of what kind of errors have occurred in the [Error Space]… but now, Systematicity⧉ will send a person who will share the parts that have been identified, as a person nearby…!"
That would be good.
I had fought the Jinxite battle without any information.
And I almost ended up in a very dangerous situation.
"…Th, that's all, I've finished explaining the patch notes!"
"Good work."
"Thank you…! D, do you have any questions?"
"Questions?
This was interesting. He's asking if I have any questions.
"Will you answer anything?"
"Uuum…. Not really…. But if it's something I can explain, then, to some extent…."
Then Dino rolled his eyes.
"…B, but, I can't tell you too much…."
"How much can you tell me?"
"Awawa…."
Dino shook his head.
As if he couldn't even say that.
I already had a lot of questions. I had been keeping them under wraps because I didn't know the answers. I decided to open them up this time.
"……What happened to the real me?"