Sub-Stream (3)
The finale. The climax of Chapter 2.
The World Boss raid.
Whoever seized control of this battle would naturally receive the Storyboard’s favor.
In truth, this role should have belonged to the protagonist. But an anomaly occurred.
The masked man moved one step ahead of everyone else and took the lead. All the Constellations began to recognize him as the center of the incident.
Even the Constellations who had been completely indifferent and lazy, the ones who still didn’t know who Sagosul was, had now become aware of his existence.
Ding!
And so, even if only temporarily, the Storyboard granted him significant authority.
Sub-Stream Activated!
Sub-Stream.
Even if it wasn’t the main story, it was an opportunity to draw the exclusive attention of wandering Constellations.
Launching Promotion Applied
New Algorithm Established
He had been given the right to create his own story.
It was as if a slave had been granted freedom in a world of slaves.
And this particular slave had even severed his own chains with his own hands.
A fascinating being.
No wonder he drew the gaze of higher beings.
Ding.
==== ====
[Anonymous VIP Evaluation Summary]
It’s a little painful, but interesting.
Kang Hae-il may not be the protagonist of this era, but I’m curious how he’ll overcome this.
The supporting characters are especially good. The character called Sagosul stands out. He’s quite a strong villain, yet surprisingly three-dimensional.
He keeps throwing tantrums next to the protagonist. I’m curious what his intention is.
It’s still ongoing, but I’ll give it three and a half stars.
==== ====
VIP evaluation.
Once a Storyboard reached a certain scale, these evaluations would occasionally appear.
They came from influential upper-tier Constellations who operated on a higher dimensional level.
Their evaluations carried immense influence over countless other Constellations.
Ram’s mouth fell open as she read the reactions.
“……N-no way.”
It was the first VIP evaluation.
Not only had the protagonist Kang Hae-il been mentioned, but Sagosul as well.
They even said the character was charming.
Tap tap tap tap.
She hurriedly typed on her keyboard and checked the movement trends of the viewing Constellations.
Kang Hae-il’s viewer count had dropped below seventy thousand.
The story was heading toward its climax, and the total number of Constellations watching the Storyboard had increased.
Yet Kang Hae-il’s audience was shrinking.
On the other hand, Julian’s numbers kept climbing.
“So that’s why the Sub-Stream opened,” Sam muttered beside her, hanging his head.
“W-what do we do…… What the hell are we supposed to do? This…… this is the worst-case scenario! The Storyboard could collapse! Doesn’t this mean the narrative is shifting to that bastard!?”
Ram looked like she was on the verge of losing her mind.
“Ram! Get a hold of yourself! There’s still a massive gap!”
“Kang Hae-il is losing it and you want me to stay calm!?”
Bang!
Ram exploded at Sam instead.
Oddly enough, Sam felt relieved. At least she still had the energy to get angry.
Grab.
Ram seized Sam by the collar and roared.
“Hey! You said Kang Hae-il would never waver!”
“W-well, he was supposed to…… but he wavered?”
Sigh.
Might as well just take the hit.
Sam squeezed his eyes shut.
“……Huh?”
Ram’s fist had simply stopped in mid-air.
“Ram……?”
Her eyes were trembling violently.
She bit her lip hard.
“What are we going to do about our Hae-il…… I…… I…… now……”
Because Kang Hae-il was shaking, Ram was shaking too.
Someone once said that Story Fairies projected themselves onto their protagonists.
Maybe…… Ram never wanted to waver again.
It was then.
Ding.
Storyboard 3.0 System Message
Another message had arrived.
“Huh? R-Ram…… there’s a system message?”
“?”
Ding.
An entity from another dimension has taken interest in a character from this world.
It wasn’t just one message.
Ding.
Storyboard 3.0 proposes a change to the Main Story.
“M-Main Story change……?”
Storyboard 3.0 had begun making its own judgments.
Ding.
Sufficient Constellations have gathered. Manager authority will be reduced and Administrator authority will be elevated.
It said it was making a proposal, yet it adjusted the permissions without waiting for a reply.
“W-what are you saying! Hey! Hey!”
Ram slammed her keyboard, but the Storyboard system was absolute.
Change in progress……
A story could not remain forever in the hands of its creator.
Eventually, it would begin to seek its own path.
Wherever that path might lead.
* * *
Thud thud thud thud……!
Inside the broadcasting station’s helicopter.
The cameraman zoomed in on the lull atop the rooftop and captured it on film.
“Uh…… it looks like the conflict has ended?”
The camera caught Grozya kneeling and Kang Hae-il standing quietly.
“Yes. It appears Kang Hae-il has yielded his will.”
“Ah……!”
“We don’t know what method Sagosul used, but he has completely subdued the World Boss. It’s like he’s whipping a slave into obedience. The moment that whip cracked, the boss became docile.”
“What on earth could that item be, Professor?”
“Speaking as a former item crafter, I would guess it is at least a Legendary-grade item.”
“Legendary?”
“Yes. Legendary is the highest grade among items. It’s an irregular whose abilities cannot be predicted……”
“Ah…… s-so Sagosul is carrying a Legendary item?”
“That seems to be the case.”
The professor’s guess was fairly accurate.
At least the part about the power originating from an item.
But the Legendary guess was wrong.
It was the limit of his experience.
He had never seen a ‘Mythic’ grade before.
“For now, this incident appears to have reached the best possible conclusion.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. There were no casualties, and the World Boss has been suppressed. From here, the Awakened just need to work hard to reach level 30. We now have the breathing room to prepare for the next chapter.”
“But where are we going to keep that giant thing? We can’t just leave it here……”
A natural question arose.
What to do with Grozya.
This was something ordinary people could not know.
“That…… perhaps the Gosul Girl who came with him will handle it? I think there must be something. So far, Sagosul has been carrying out his plans flawlessly, hasn’t he?”
“Ah, that’s right. Gosul Girl! She hasn’t done anything yet. She definitely didn’t come just to watch.”
It was a decent guess.
It was then.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
Sudden cheers erupted.
“Ah…… the Awakened who were gathered are cheering?”
“Ah! According to the latest report! The Kang Hae-il party has announced their intention to withdraw! Yu Jihun is speaking on their behalf right now!”
The camera zoomed in on Yu Jihun.
As the drone drew closer, his voice gradually began to be picked up by the microphone.
“……If Grozya does not cause any casualties, we believe it is only natural that we work together with all of you to build a greater future.”
Unlike Kang Hae-il, Yu Jihun was good with words and knew how to handle people.
The viewers trusted him, yet remained wary.
“No one gets hurt! And we will continue to create a world where no one gets hurt! We will build that in the next chapter! We leave Grozya to Sagosul and will go find our own tasks to complete!”
Though he phrased it politely, it was a declaration of withdrawal.
The professor nodded.
“With this, it really seems to be over.”
The Awakened clapped and chanted Sagosul’s name.
“Sagosul! Sagosul! Sagosul!”
Some even struck Sagosul’s signature pose.
This scene, like the ending of a disaster movie, made everyone believe the incident had been resolved.
“Thank you for your hard work, Professor.”
“Not at all. Call me anytime.”
* * *
Just as Yu Jihun had said, the Kang Hae-il party stepped back from the World Boss raid.
But they didn’t leave immediately.
Thud.
Yu Jihun sat down at the edge of the rooftop.
“I should stick around and see how they handle Grozya.”
It could be seen as a responsible attitude.
In reality, he wasn’t looking at Grozya at all.
His gaze was fixed on Sagosul.
‘There’s something familiar about him.’
Honestly, how Grozya was dealt with wasn’t Yu Jihun’s concern.
He was curious about Sagosul’s identity.
Until now, no rank higher than S had ever appeared.
So how could he be that strong?
Yu Jihun wanted to become stronger, and he knew the fastest way was to emulate the strong.
That was why Sagosul intrigued him.
Yet the feeling wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.
‘It’s like…… I’ve seen him somewhere……’
Especially from behind.
Right now he had his back turned, talking to the Gosul Girl about something.
That silhouette…… felt strangely familiar.