The Monster of the Deep Forest (5)

"That's building up faster than I expected."

"Isn't that a good thing? Pandemonium is a game created solely to grant salvation and miracles to those who take part in it."

It had been about two days since I started moving the Great Lord and Lena through the surrounding forest, devouring everything in sight and turning it into minions. Looking at how much Mythic Essence I’d accumulated in that time, I couldn’t help being a little impressed.

The biggest chunk had come from a chance encounter with a purification quest, but that wasn’t all. I’d also completed an achievement when my minion count passed fifty and then a hundred, destroyed an entire goblin tribe, and even taken on a quest to hunt down a man-eating bear.

If you kept moving diligently, the events and quests would keep dropping into your lap. It was a reminder of one of the most basic rules of the game.

"Anyway, you’ve now gathered as many as one hundred minions. Will you continue hunting beyond this point?"

"No... I think this is enough."

At Agares’s words, I glanced at the unit window packed full to the brim and gave a faint snort.

One hundred had been the number I’d originally planned for. Most of them were beasts, monsters, or demonic creatures with a bit of bulk to them. Naturally, none of them had Compatibility above 50 percent.

That meant Lena was still the only unit with a self, and therefore the only one capable of growth.

"A pity. You’ve gathered as many minions as you need, but your avatar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠has now spent all of its activity points."

"Doesn't matter, does it? It’s not like there’s a time limit."

"You may very well think there isn’t one. But think carefully. There are seventy-two players like you. They’ve all begun leading their own avatars and factions. What changes they’ll bring, and what impact that will have on this world, which is already in such chaos... I’ll stop there."

"...You say all that and then act mysterious."

I frowned, feeling vaguely irritated. The more I listened to Agares, the harder it was to tell whether he was honestly trying to keep to some pure guide concept or just enjoying himself at my expense.

"Besides, there’s nothing I can do right now anyway."

I activated auto mode and ordered a rest. Of course, the only one who absolutely needed the rest was my avatar, the Great Lord, but the troops under the other factions weren’t machines either. In the end, they needed a break too.

If I wanted real combat strength, I needed to move together with the Great Lord, so there was no point in sending the army out separately for now.

"Very well. Then will you be ending the game as well?"

In the nest that had begun in a mere natural cave and was now spreading outward, covered in the Great Lord’s web and steadily growing more solid, with everyone else frozen in place like dolls with their strings cut and no longer moving, Agares asked whether I intended to log out.

Of course I was going to turn the game off. But before that, there was something I still needed to do. Now that I’d stacked up this much Mythic Essence, it was time to spend it.

"What should I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buy?"

My chest fluttered for no reason at all. The effects I’d already seen made me all the more eager. If a single dose could produce such a palpable result, then what if I repeated it several times?

After some deliberation, I spent all my Mythic Essence on those three items. Glass bottles popped into existence one after another. I’d been ready for them already, so I aimed the phone screen at the bed and thumped them out onto the soft blanket.

"How dull."

"You should just give up on the guide act already. Stop pretending you can't understand me."

I let out a dry laugh at Agares’s absurd remark and picked up the bottles that had fallen onto the blanket.

"The character mastery potion will select the first character you use after drinking it."

"Good."

Without hesitation, I emptied all three bottles. There was no doubt left in me now. At the same time, my stomach began to burn hot. That sticky, nauseating heat from before had already become something I almost looked forward to.

Was it always like this?

For a moment, Lena’s face flashed through my head. That ecstatic expression of hers as she hung from the Great Lord’s fangs and drank in its essence.

It wasn’t quite that intense, but I thought I understood why she’d become so obsessed with essence. Just swallowing it made me feel as if my body itself were growing stronger. The sensation was vivid and electric, and damn if it wasn’t addictive.

"See you tomorrow."

I turned the game off. Then, as naturally as breathing, I sat down in front of the computer.

On the main screen of the client I’d left open, the brand-new character released just yesterday was already displayed in giant letters.

I hadn’t chosen the mastery potion on a whim. I intended to raise the mastery of this character, one that every player—from the lowest-tier beginner to the active top-tier pro—had to start from zero with.

Broadening the pool of characters a player could use confidently was one of a pro’s most important jobs. But with more than a hundred characters in the game, total, creating a weapon that fit your own hands perfectly was no easy task.

Even I couldn’t claim confidence with more than a few characters, so in the end I had to drill them into my hands through massive amounts of practice if I wanted to bring them into a tournament.

Nice concept.

The character concept was a melee fighter who used twin swords. Conveniently, that also matched my own position. It seemed like a pretty well-designed character, one that so many people would probably flock to simply because it looked too cool to ignore.

The game started quickly.

The only practice I’d done was a single match against bots that only ever fought fresh beginners, just to test each skill once. Under normal circumstances, if I were up against ranker-level opponents, I’d naturally be stumbling all over the place.

"Damn, this is rough. This old bastard..."

"Why are you cursing while you're playing, punk?"

"Because you’re so damn annoying when you're good at the game."

He let out a sigh and lifted the glass beside him, sucking on the straw. On the big screen, everything had already turned gray, meaning his character was dead and waiting to respawn.

"You know him?"

At his reaction, the man beside him leaned in, stroking his neatly trimmed beard as he stuck his head over.

"What the hell, ERT Hajin? Lee Hajin in Division Two?"

"I think it’s him."

The two of them recognized the identity behind the nickname. They worked in the same industry, so there was no way they wouldn’t know who it was.

"...He’s good. Bladen was only released yesterday. And I heard this guy’s practically retired."

"How would you even know that, hyung?"

"If you’re a scout, you have to keep track of the broader trends. You know this is the kind of scene where anything can happen at any time, for any reason."

The man was already looking intrigued. Even when the other guy told him to leave, he kept watching the match until it ended, focusing on one player in particular.

"Strange. The biggest issue is usually that your physical execution gets worse over time, so once you start hearing that you need to change roles or you’re done, things are usually bad."

"This isn’t even a tournament. If I’d actually been trying instead of just playing for fun..."

"Hmm."

As he got up from his seat, the man ignored everything he said and left with a thoughtful look on his face.

...

"You logged in early this morning. Thanks to that, you’ve only got ten minutes left now."

When the morning sun had fully risen, flooding the narrow one-room apartment with bright light through the window outside.

He silently picked up his phone. On the computer that was still on, the last game he’d just played displayed a huge Victory across the screen.

He’d stayed up all night playing.

"It seems you obtained quite satisfying results after buying those items yesterday. Judging by how hurriedly you came in, despite still having time left, I’d say your usual composure was nowhere to be found."

"Of course."

Looking down at his units, frozen like stone statues in a nest tangled with spiderwebs, he answered in a hoarse voice.

The eyes that stared at the screen now gleamed with a heat they hadn’t had before.

"I ran off thirteen straight wins. Enough to force seven Bladen target bans. I’ve never had a streak like this in all my years playing."

He’d been murmuring to himself, and now the corner of his mouth slowly lifted. His voice trembled slightly, too.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"This is the peak of my skill right now. And it means I can still get better. A lot better."

"You seem very satisfied with the miracle Pandemonium has shown you. Then that’s all the better. Now do you understand? If you learn to play this game well, you can achieve your desire."

Along with Agares’s smiling words, an alert appeared saying the avatar could move again. He immediately began moving all of his forces, including the avatar.

As if reading his mind, several choices appeared.

After a brief hesitation, he chose number one.

It meant he would attack the village he’d already scouted out.

"No hesitation at all. Are you serious? You’re talking about attacking people, not monsters or beasts. Isn’t that what you were reluctant to do in the first place?"

"You said it yourself. It’s just a game. So I’m just... just going to think of it that way. A game. This is a game."

Agares spoke in a tone that sounded almost mocking, and he bristled, snapping at the phone.

At that instant, Lena flinched and looked up at the sky. The movement felt as though she were looking straight at him, and he stiffened in place.

"Don't misunderstand me. It's simply because that was so admirable. Yes, exactly. This is nothing but a game! All you need to think about is victory."

Seeing that, Agares snapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his fingers and nodded. At the same time, the synchronization rate displayed in the corner surged sharply upward.

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