Synthesis Unlocked

"Synthesis..."

[There are currently unopened systems. Most are tied to achievements, so I kindly ask Master to work hard at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unlocking them.]

"I see... Then why did you laugh at me earlier?"

If the Synthesis achievement was unlocked by SR-tier duplicates, there should have been no reason to sneer at him.

[I felt a warm glow of joy watching Master despair.]

That damned vacuum cleaner!

Suppressing, with great effort, the urge to stomp the thing flat at full power, Ryu Hwi checked the newly created <Synthesis> menu.

Ryu Hwi decided to test Synthesis right away.

First, he merged the duplicated Rush skill.

"So about 2,000 RP per duplicate skill, huh?"

Ryu Hwi immediately leveled Rush up.

Rush was now Lv4; the experience needed for the next level came to 8,400 RP — the same amount it had cost to raise Sword Mastery to Lv5.

"Creating new skills requires (Ygg) skills, I see... I'll put skill creation on the back burner and test item synthesis for now."

The moment he initiated the synthesis, the items rose into the air, unfolding a visual sequence in which they fused together around the base Gunsword.

Before long, a new Gunsword appeared.

But it wasn't over yet.

One more Gunsword still remained from his Random Box pulls.

After the same sequence played out as when he'd created Gunsword+, a weapon appeared, transformed into a design far flashier than the original.

Ryu Hwi drew the Gunsword(ygg) and smiled with satisfaction. Pulling duplicates had been worth it after all.

Then, as if to dump cold water over him, YggON said flatly:

[Master, someone is hacking Master's information. An external access attempt is underway. There is an unauthorized contact attempt.]

Hacking? His body wasn't even made of data — how could it be hacked?

[UR YggON's system is hardly so flimsy that current-generation technology could breach it. However, I have discovered a backdoor hiding in Master's body.]

"In my body?!"

[There is a backdoor hidden inside the newly installed mod, 'Mind's Eye'. It was concealed rather cleverly, which is why detection was delayed.]

So there really was a backdoor tucked inside the mod.

[This is a golden opportunity to show a foolish human just how magnificent UR is. I shall trace the intruder in reverse and erase every last byte of dat—]

"Hold on."

Ryu Hwi stopped YggON just as it was about to obliterate the hacker.

"Could you connect me to that hacker, by any chance?"

[That is possible.]

"Do it."

A speaker icon appeared above YggON.

And the connection to the 'invader' was established.

<> A woman's voice — young, judging by the sound of it, probably early-to-mid twenties.

"What about your screen? I can't see you."

[Blocked by a firewall. It's a firewall built thoroughly on top of Yggdrasil's system — a tedious one to break through.]

This thing, I swear...

Ryu Hwi ground his teeth, mentally drafting ways to stomp YggON into the floor.

<>

"Bold of you to open your mouth at all, when you're the one who tried to hack me without permission."

<> The hacker's breath caught.

"I installed the mod exactly as you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demanded, just to satisfy your petty little conditions — and this is how you stab me in the back?"

<> "So you just admitted to installing the backdoor."

<> "And you? What exactly is your purpose? Did Linzea send you?"

<> "5555?"

<> A Unique Number?

People whose final four digits form a specific repeating sequence — like 5555 — were known as Unique Numbers. It meant their parents had registered it after birth, at an exorbitant price.

In other words, this hacker was quite possibly a person of considerable standing.

<> "Whatever your intentions were, the fact remains that you tried to use me without permission."

<>

For a moment, 5555 fell silent.

[The target attempted to log out. I blocked it. The duration I can restrict logouts is 10 minutes.]

It can even do that?

Ryu Hwi was genuinely startled, but he let none of it show.

<> "Where do you think you're running? Even if you do slip away, I'll find you. I've already pinpointed your location. You understand what that means, don't you?"

<> 5555's voice rose, trembling with excitement rather than fear.

<> "Trade secret."

Ryu Hwi brushed it off in a single phrase.

5555 let out a low groan, then finally sighed.

<> "Is that really a position for you to be demanding things of me? In one week, bring every mod you own to Jucheongwang. If you ever want to log out again, you'll do exactly as I say."

<> "I'm in the advantageous position, that's why. And don't fool yourself into thinking you can simply wriggle out of this. Your information is already in the palm of my hand."

Above Ryu Hwi's head, YggON blinked the display [???]. It seemed to be saying, 'I don't have that information, though?'

<> 5555 was only half-convinced by the bluff. But the blocked logout was an undeniable fact — which meant, in the end, she had no choice but to believe it.

<> "I believe I told you that's not a position for you to be making demands from."

<>

5555's indifference to losing her logout was more than enough to pique Ryu Hwi's interest.

"State your condition."

Ryu Hwi decided to hear her terms before settling anything.

<> "You're willing to risk never logging out again for the rest of your life... over just that?"

<> 5555's passion for 'mods' was nothing short of ferocious. Ryu Hwi glanced sidelong at YggON.

[The UI, including my main body, can only be seen by Master. The same holds true even when I share Master's vision.]

No risk of YggON being spotted, then. Ryu Hwi deliberated for a moment before giving a small nod.

"I'll accept that condition. But don't even think about peeking at any other data. Not that you'd be able to anyway."

He had no need to accept 5555's terms — and yet, he chose to grant them.

[Sharing Master's vision means I cannot see Master's face. I have, however, learned what a 'smirk' is.]

Just as YggON observed, Ryu Hwi was, at that very moment, wearing a distinctly villainous grin.

He had no intention of doing anything to 5555 right now. It was simply that...

an audience would make the 'show' about to begin all the more entertaining.

Ryu Hwi finished the work that 5555's intrusion had interrupted.

Skill enhancement.

Parrying Lv4→Lv5 (8,400 RP).

+ Parrying Lv5 grade promotion available.

He executed the grade promotion.

With an animation of a golden egg swallowing a leaf, the newly enhanced Parrying emerged.

"Now I have all the materials I need for skill synthesis."

Ryu Hwi ran the skill synthesis immediately.

"Why is even synthesis random?! Why! WHY!"

Everything he tried came back to random, random, random — this UR was absolutely deranged with gambling fever!

[What else would you expect from a Random Box?]

"Then at the very least, tell me what's going to come out!"

It was like a system addicted to the dice. Ryu Hwi ground his teeth.

[Skills created through skill synthesis may retain the strengths of their component skills, or transform into entirely new forms. Furthermore, there exists a chance to draw a skill of the 'transcendent' ++ grade — surely that alone makes it worth a challenge?]

"What are the odds, roughly?"

[Roughly 2%. No need to worry. Simply leave everything to chance.]

Ryu Hwi deliberated. Deliberated, deliberated, and deliberated still more — until at last...

"Screw it! Spin it!"

He threw himself into the gamble.

The result...

SR+ Sword Saint Lv1.

As expected, no dreamlike SR++ appeared.

"Come on, come on...!"

Praying desperately for a good skill, Ryu Hwi checked what he'd actually gotten.

Fortunately, it inherited his existing skills, Sword Mastery and Parrying. But there was a problem.

"Each of the component skill levels dropped?!"

[That, too, is random.]

"Oh, come on!"

The thought that all his carefully raised levels had been knocked back down stung worse than he could describe.

But as he frowned, Ryu Hwi tilted his head at the text written beneath Parrying.

"Sword Gang?"

[Shall I display the detailed information?]

Ryu Hwi manipulated the UI to view Sword Gang's details.

"So it's essentially an upgraded Aura Blade?"

SR+ Sword Saint.

A single skill fusing the effects of three.

The drop in Sword Mastery and Parrying levels was a critical blow, but the addition of Sword Gang was what, more than anything, kept the skill worthy of its SR+ rating.

Exactly how impressive it was, he'd only know by using it himself.

"Either way, the preparations are complete."

Everything he could do, he had done.

All that remained was to wait for the 'trash' to take the bait on his fishing hook.

For three years, he had thought, and thought again.

How can I take my revenge?

Ryu Hwi had collected anything and everything related to Linzea and Linpel. With that collected information, he had imagined ways of making them pay, over and over.

Back then it had been nothing but delusion. Now, it was different.

Ryu Hwi sat on a bench at the edge of the village, waiting for the appointed hour. A few people nearby were sneaking glances at him.

By now, word that 'Ryu Hwi' was in this backwater village would be spreading. Fame draws notoriety along with it — and that, too, was exactly what he had aimed for.

He killed time by testing MOD – Mind's Eye. Every time he checked the mod's status, 5555 shouted something excitedly in his ear, but he let it flow in one ear and out the other, ignoring her entirely.

[Master.]

YggON reacted, sensing something.

The very next instant, the cold kiss of a blade touched the nape of his neck.

"Are you Ryu7017?"

A man in black, appearing out of nowhere behind him, whispered the question.

"And you'd be a Linzea gamer?"

"I'm the one asking questions here."

The attacker had shrouded his entire body in black to make his identity impossible to trace.

"Drawing a weapon in the dead center of a village, no less. Last I checked, this is a PK-prohibited zone?"

Without a flicker of hesitation, the attacker slashed open Ryu Hwi's back.

"Ugh—?!"

"Such meaningless game settings. If anything, 'as long as you can't die' — well, that just means we can make you suffer for it."

Just as the attacker said, World of Phantasm's 'PK' settings amounted to nothing more than a protective measure that meant 'you cannot kill them'. No matter how agonizing the pain, death was impossible. The Linzea Guild had exploited exactly this mechanic to torment gamer after gamer over the years.

The sudden commotion set the surroundings buzzing, but the man paid it no mind whatsoever.

Suppressing the pain, Ryu Hwi forced a smile onto his face.

"You people never change. You can't cover the sky with your palm. The moment I declared war on Linzea, I get ambushed — your identity is obvious. Isn't that r— Ugh!!"

The man drove his sword into Ryu Hwi's back.

"Don't think you'll be living comfortably in World of Phantasm from now on. Wherever you go, we will be right behind you."

A desperate, cornered crisis. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet, Ryu Hwi burst out laughing.

"Have you lost your mind? Laughing?"

"Isn't this hilarious?"

Ryu Hwi deliberately raised his voice so the other gamers nearby could hear.

"Linzea has all but seized total control of World of Phantasm, right? That's why they can act this lawless. Am I wrong?"

"Linzea has nothing to do—"

"Who's stupid enough to believe that?"

Ryu Hwi hammered on the word 'Linzea', again and again. The other gamers around them would surely have heard every word.

"You little bastard—"

"Twice."

"What?"

This time, Ryu Hwi dropped his voice to a register only the attacker could hear.

"The number of times you've attacked me. That should be more than enough to stage 'a gamer brutalized by a vicious guild', don't you think?"

"What the hell are you babbling about—"

"It means that from here on out, it's my turn to hit back."