Error Code 666
"Did you hear? They're saying Ryu Hwi is on Floor 10 right now."
"Ryu Hwi?"
"You know, Ryu7017."
"Ah……."
The Red Lotus Shield party, currently challenging Floor 10 of the Tower, had made 'Ryu7017' the topic of the hour. They were resting up ahead of the boss battle. Since they were about to face what everyone called the Tower's first great barrier, thorough preparation was a must — and so, as they idled and chatted, the conversation had drifted naturally toward the man of the moment.
"Hmph, that guy's nothing special. Same floor, huh? Perfect timing. Maybe we'll take him down before we take on the boss."
That was Agos, the damage dealer and leader of Red Lotus Shield. A gamer who specialized in flashy combo skills, his striking looks had recently sent his popularity soaring. And he did not like the fact that Ryu Hwi had been stealing the spotlight lately — stealing it from him.
"He's supposed to be seriously dangerous, though? The guy who's always going on about how he's going to break World of Phantasm."
Theo, the party's tank, spoke in a flat, careless voice as he maintained his enormous shield. With a frame every bit as massive as the shield itself, he cut an intimidating figure.
"If we take that guy down here, wouldn't we get famous overnight? Should we just kill him?"
Anzu, the party's sub-dealer and support, giggled as she toyed with her daggers.
"It'd make a fine warm-up, at least. He's on Floor 10 anyway, so he'll come this way eventually. And when he does……."
They would kill Ryu Hwi.
If they pulled it off, the fame would dwarf anything they'd earned so far. Agos was confident that with his own skill, killing Ryu Hwi would be more than possible.
"Um…… e-excuse me……."
A timid man who had kept quietly to himself in the corner until now finally spoke up.
"Right now we need to focus on the Floor 10 boss. Fighting Ryu7017 without any preparation is dangerous——"
"Hey. Jangsanbeom."
Agos's voice dropped low.
"Are you saying that if you fought that Ryu Hwi or whoever, you'd be the one to lose?"
"B-but even Linpel lost to Ryu7017…"
Agos kicked Jangsanbeom down without a moment's hesitation.
"Ugh……!"
Jangsanbeom cried out and crumpled to the ground. Not one of the other party members made a move to stop it.
"Save the potions. Take it easy — if things get dangerous, we can always throw you out as bait."
Anzu didn't spare Jangsanbeom so much as a glance, still fiddling with her daggers as she spoke.
"It'd be a mercy if he thought you were even worth a potion."
Theo couldn't have cared less what became of Jangsanbeom either.
Agos seized Jangsanbeom by the hair and yanked his head up.
"Linpel was a hollow shell of Rinzea — all level, no substance. An idiot who couldn't clear this Tower for years on end. You're comparing me to a has-been whose game sense rotted away?"
"U-urk…"
"You want to stay in this party? Then you'd better learn to watch yourself."
Jangsanbeom nodded weakly. Somewhere inside, he knew something was deeply wrong with all of this — but he couldn't bring himself to say a word.
Jangsanbeom and Agos had once been the closest of friends. Since childhood, they'd talked about how, someday, they would become creators who built their own game labyrinth. The dream never changed even after they grew up, and to fund it first, they had both chosen the path of becoming Gamers.
At the start, they'd enjoyed the game labyrinths together, talking about their 'dream.' But once Agos got his hands on vast wealth, he changed. At some point, Agos stopped speaking of the dream altogether.
Gradually, he began treating Jangsanbeom like something beneath him. The longer time passed, the worse it got — until now, he simply ignored Jangsanbeom entirely.
"Tch."
Agos glared down at Jangsanbeom for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
"Everyone, get ready. We hunt the boss. Now."
"Huh? We're just leaving Ryu Hwi alone?"
Anzu asked, sounding surprised.
"For now, the boss comes first."
"Whatever you say. We follow the leader's decision, after all."
Theo hefted his giant shield and rose to his feet.
The Floor 10 boss was famous as the early Tower's great wall, but the Red Lotus Shield party was fully confident they could clear it.
Before opening the door to the boss chamber, Agos glanced back briefly at Jangsanbeom.
Every time Red Lotus Shield posted on Yggtube or the community boards, the comments were flooded with venom aimed at Jangsanbeom. Unlike Agos, who had both the looks and the talent, Jangsanbeom was an utterly ordinary gamer with nothing to his name.
"Tsk."
Agos clicked his tongue once more and pushed the door open.
I have to make something happen this time.
He needed to show results on this Floor 10 run. Jangsanbeom still hadn't given up on his dream of making games. Staying with Agos might be impossible now — but even so, he didn't want to abandon the dream.
Steeling himself, Jangsanbeom shouldered the party's baggage and followed.
Red Lotus Shield entered the boss chamber.
"……?"
The moment he stepped inside, Jangsanbeom felt something off.
Something was different from before. Was it just nerves at facing Giga Minotaur, the barrier known as the Tower's first great trial?
His companions, apparently sensing nothing strange, strode boldly ahead.
"What are you doing? Hurry up!"
When Agos snapped at him, Jangsanbeom scrambled to catch up.
"D-doesn't something feel strange to you? The atmosphere, it's……."
"Strange how? What, did the boss scare you already?"
Agos brushed him off without a second thought.
"How can anyone be that pathetic?"
Anzu openly sneered at Jangsanbeom.
"Fine, you're useless to the party — but at least don't get in the way."
Theo growled his own jab. Faced with his party's reaction, Jangsanbeom had no choice but to fall silent.
But the sense of dread kept deepening. Something, somewhere, had gone very wrong.
Trailing the party, Jangsanbeom scanned his surroundings ceaselessly. In the center of the great plaza prepared for the boss fight, he could see it — Giga Minotaur, bearing a colossal battleaxe on its shoulder.
At over ten meters tall, it was truly overwhelming. Anyone reckless enough to approach carelessly would be flattened by that axe, smashed beyond recognition.
"There it is! Giga Minotaur!"
Agos drew his sword. Even before the giant monster, he showed not a flicker of fear.
Linpel Darius's era is over!
Agos was certain that he would become the next-generation star. First, he would gloriously hunt down Giga Minotaur, the barrier called the Tower's first great wall.
Imagining the days of glory that stretched out before him, he advanced with perfect confidence — and at that very moment, the aberration struck.
[ERROR CODE – 666 OCCURRED.]
[ERROR CODE – 666 OCCURRED.]
"Sh**!!"
The instant he read the notification, Agos spat out a curse.
"RUN!"
The man who, mere seconds ago, had swaggered toward the boss brimming with confidence, fled without so much as a backward glance. Agos wasn't alone — Anzu and Theo bolted the moment the alert appeared too.
Errors occurred in World of Phantasm from time to time. And among them, the most notorious error of all was 666 — the so-called Death Game.
Jangsanbeom, still clutching the party's baggage, ran for his life.
If it's a Death Game, then within the affected zone, forced logout is disabled — and……
The terminal's safety dampeners crash. In other words, if you died while Error Code 666 was active, you might really die.
Every Gamer knew the rule: the moment Error Code 666 triggered, whatever you were doing, you evacuated to safety immediately.
If they could make it back to the boss chamber entrance, they could escape. But——
<UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!>
A roar split the air, loud enough to tear their eardrums apart.
"Damn it! The boss has locked onto us!"
The moment Theo screamed his warning, Giga Minotaur charged after Red Lotus Shield at a speed that defied its enormous bulk.
At this rate, it would catch them.
The instant everyone thought it, Agos shoved Jangsanbeom straight toward Giga Minotaur.
"Huh?"
It happened in a blink. Jangsanbeom had no time to react at all. He stumbled forward from the push and fell sprawling.
"A-Agos?!"
"You've been dead weight this long — time to pull your share, you idiot!"
Only then did Jangsanbeom understand what Agos intended.
Draw the boss's attention with Jangsanbeom, while the rest of them escaped.
"You're going to abandon me?!"
Jangsanbeom reached out toward Agos. But they kept running, paying him no heed at all.
"AGOS!!"
Thud.
A colossal presence loomed at Jangsanbeom's back. The giant monster, Giga Minotaur, glared down at him with murderous, bloodshot eyes.
"Ugh……"
His mind went stark white.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Nothing came out of him but a scream.
Error Code 666. The Death Game.
Within the error's affected zone, dying almost certainly meant dying for real. Even those who survived had the pain transmitted directly to their physical bodies, leaving behind devastating aftereffects.
Jangsanbeom ran for his life. He was already half-destroyed, but he could not stop his feet. The moment he stopped, he died.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
He knew perfectly well that he was dead weight to the party. But to throw him away — in a situation where he might actually die?! Agos hadn't hesitated for even a heartbeat. As if he would have done the exact same thing any time danger came calling.
I have to get out of here. Escape, and then……
Escape, and then what?
The thought came to him out of nowhere. No talent. Dead weight. Abandoned, in the end, even by the friend he'd believed in. Making games was nothing but a distant dream now.
That thought dulled Jangsanbeom's legs. And Giga Minotaur did not miss the opening — its swung axe generated a ferocious shockwave that launched Jangsanbeom clean across the plaza.
"Gahk—!"
Agonizing pain crashed over him. It hurt so badly he could barely draw a proper breath, and for a moment he nearly blacked out. The absolute terror of death invaded Jangsanbeom's mind.
Boom. KABOOM. Boom.
Giga Minotaur strode right up to him and heaved its massive battleaxe skyward.
"Ah……"
In that final moment, what Jangsanbeom thought of was the face of his friend — twisted with pure malice the instant he'd shoved him away.
……?
Time passed, and the pain never came. Bewildered, Jangsanbeom slowly opened the eyes he'd screwed shut.
"Hahk?!"
His breath caught in his throat.
What he saw, upon opening his eyes, was Giga Minotaur's colossal battleaxe rebounding away — as though it had been forced back by sheer, overwhelming power.
At that impossible, absurd sight, Jangsanbeom's jaw fell open all on its own.
"Wh-what……"
A man was standing there.
His outfit was thrown on carelessly, almost sloppily — but the weapon in his hand, something that looked like a sword and a gun fused into one, radiated an unmistakable presence.
Jangsanbeom knew that man. Few gamers playing World of Phantasm wouldn't.
"R-Ryu Hwi?!"
The gamer who had sworn, in front of the whole world, to destroy World of Phantasm — had just appeared here, on this floor.