Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Outer God's 'Simon Says' Game (1)
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[Yeah! That's right! Simon says clap five times.]
Temarun's Incarnation spoke out of the blue.
Since the mission window was already open and Dokgo Hyun had accepted it, this wasn't against the rules.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Dokgo Hyun clapped quickly.
Whoosh!
Dokgo Hyun swung his greatsword at Temarun's Incarnation.
He hadn't said "Simon says," so attacks were fair game until then.
Crang!
It hit, but the greatsword shattered.
A red line appeared on the snow-white neck of Temarun's Incarnation.
"That was a full swing..."
Dokgo Hyun clicked his tongue, and Temarun's Incarnation added excitedly, as if thrilled.
Dokgo Hyun had the Venom Knife, but he couldn't test it right away.
There were too many uncertainties to experiment recklessly, and Temarun's Incarnation had already started chanting "Simon says."
"Tch, jumps again."
Dokgo Hyun jumped with obvious annoyance.
One, two, three...
...62, 63, 64... he handled them smoothly.
Around then, Temarun's Incarnation spoke up.
"Kuh!"
In mid-leap, Dokgo Hyun cast [Instant Deceleration] on himself.
More precisely, on the gravitational acceleration around him.
Sloooowly...
His descent slowed, extending his hang time.
Temarun giggled as he watched Dokgo Hyun fall in slow motion.
"......"
"You know it's crazy, huh?"
Dokgo Hyun landed after filling the ten seconds.
He glared at Temarun, who clapped in delight.
"......"
Temarun dragged it out deliberately.
In that gap, Dokgo Hyun thought.
'It's a gamble.'
Squish! Squish!
Dokgo Hyun stabbed both his ears with the Venom Knife, shredding his eardrums.
Temarun's Incarnation let out a surprised noise.
But.
'I can't hear.'
The mission specified that Temarun's Incarnation had to say "Simon says."
And issue a command that could be performed.
But Dokgo Hyun couldn't hear "Simon says," making compliance impossible.
"......"
He truly couldn't hear it.
Temarun's Incarnation panicked.
Even as an Outer God's Incarnation, it couldn't forcibly heal Dokgo Hyun without a skill contract.
It could interfere if Dokgo Hyun manipulated time first, but...
"Kuh."
Dokgo Hyun staggered but didn't stay still—he kept moving.
Temarun's Incarnation showed curiosity.
Bleeding and stumbling from inner ear damage, Dokgo Hyun fiddled with this car and that.
He pried open several doors, then blasted every car stereo he could reach.
"O sole mio~!"
"Nothing made me happier~! Whoa~oh~!"
"Ppa-pa, red flavor! So curious, honey!"
Dokgo Hyun's [Object Rewind] had grown vastly in range and precision.
He'd rewound the car doors to open them, rewound to the engine start point to turn it on, and activated the stereos.
Temarun's Incarnation was impressed.
Not content with just rupturing his own eardrums, he'd cranked every car stereo to drown out any potential hearing recovery—turning the parking lot into a cacophony zone.
To block the Incarnation's "Simon says" with even louder noise.
"Phew, this should do it. I've done everything I can. I'm dizzy, so I'll sit and rest."
Dokgo Hyun announced to thin air, unable even to hear his own voice.
Temarun's Incarnation cackled.
Temarun's Incarnation shouted into the void.
A system message replied.
Even Outer Gods couldn't meddle freely in the Apocalypse Game.
They had to convert their divine power to coins or trade via lifespan from contracted players.
Outer Gods were, after all, mere 'observers.'
For one minute, Temarun's Incarnation studied human hearing.
He figured out how to beam sound directly to the brainstem and auditory nerves.
Zzzing...!
Dokgo Hyun felt a sting in his auditory nerves.
"Hoo, sending your voice straight to my auditory nerves, huh."
Dokgo Hyun grumbled and pulled out a Healing Potion.
He drank it.
Temarun's Incarnation smirked at the sight.
"Noisy as hell."
The underground parking lot was deafening from the car stereos.
"Simon says off yourself in the ugliest way possible~ or something."
Temarun's Incarnation said gleefully.
In an Outer God's eyes, Dokgo Hyun was an S-grade skill holder who could reach the end of the Apocalypse Game.
To the Control Bureau's twisted view, he was a bona fide 'hero.'
Killing such a big shot would be a grand thrill for an Outer God.
For a lower-tier one like Temarun, it was a shot at greater fame.
"One question?"
"Who's stronger—you or the Total Administrator?"
Temarun's Incarnation seemed genuinely fascinated.
The question itself was interesting, but Dokgo Hyun asking it now was even more so.
'Does he want to die informed? Or does he not plan to die at all?'
Even an Outer God's Incarnation couldn't read minds.
They could observe actions from higher dimensions, but thoughts remained hidden.
That made Dokgo Hyun fascinating.
Temarun's Incarnation answered while checking the remaining time.
Over two minutes left.
"Hard to grasp."
"[Object Rewind]!!"
Vroooom!!
A van parked behind Temarun's Incarnation suddenly lit up its lights and lurched forward.
Temarun's Incarnation realized.
While talking, Dokgo Hyun had focused mana on the car behind him.
And earlier, fiddling with the stereos, he'd already planned and prepped to control the vehicle.
The noise was secondary; the real effort went into setting up the sudden acceleration.
'Rewind in reverse!'
Reversing the sequence of the van parking.
Making it burst forward.
Temarun's Incarnation dodged sideways, but.
"[Object Rewind]![Object Rewind]!"
This was a parking lot—cars everywhere, even where he dodged.
Especially a black sedan blaring a catchy tune—it surged forward.
"Black limousine~ dreaming as I gazed..."
Bam!!
It smashed into Temarun's Incarnation.
The Incarnation staggered.
No actual damage, but the impact was unavoidable.
Dokgo Hyun seized the moment, charging with the Venom Knife.
'Die!!!'
Was his resolve that obvious?
Temarun's Incarnation yelled in alarm.
Whoosh!!
Dokgo Hyun took "drop the weapon" literally—but forward.
He hurled it like a throw.
Whirrr!
The Venom Knife spun like a menacing boomerang straight at Temarun's face.
The Incarnation twisted away dramatically.
It barely missed.
Because he'd thrown it hastily without proper spin.
"I dropped the weapon like you said—my hand slipped."
"Yes. I threw it to kill you. Now ask why."
"You look pushover-ish."
Dokgo Hyun grinned.
"Scary at first sight, but less so in a 'mission.' In other words, missions bind players, supervisors, even Outer God Incarnations to the rules. Right?"
"......!"
"Meaning during a mission, anything goes within the rules—even killing an Outer God's Incarnation. In death, we're equals."
Temarun's Incarnation was furious.
And angry at himself for raging at a mere mortal crawling on a planet's surface.
To Outer Gods, humans were bugs.
Getting seriously mad at a twitching bug tarnished an Outer God's honor.
Bam!!
Something exploded behind Temarun's Incarnation.
Clang!
A red metal shard smacked the back of its head, and white powder engulfed the staggering Incarnation.
'Gotcha!'
Dokgo Hyun's Venom Knife hadn't just missed.
It had lodged into a fire extinguisher mounted on a parking pillar behind Temarun.
'Old pressurized powder extinguisher.'
Old ones could explode.
Modern ones shifted away from pressurized powder... but not all places updated.
Outdated ports, big warehouses, and spots like this gym parking lot still had them.
The activated [Venom Mode] Venom Knife produced not just poison but potent acid, which hit the extinguisher's gas, causing a violent reaction.
Boom.
The red shards from the blast nailed Temarun's head.
Like the car crash, impact didn't equal damage.
But it staggered him, and the unexpected rear explosion left him dizzy.
Vision blurred by white powder, something lunged at the Incarnation.
"Die!!"
Dokgo Hyun.
The Incarnation tried to evade, but.
"[Time Stop]!"
Fwoosh!
Everything froze.
Not three seconds, but a tenth—0.3 seconds.
But that instant was enough.
Dokgo Hyun tackled barehanded.
Thud!!
"Graaah!"
Dokgo Hyun screamed in agony.
Tackling an Outer God's Incarnation was insane to begin with.
'Aaaaaaah!!!'
His brain felt like it would burst as he screamed internally.
For a mortal to touch an Outer God's Incarnation was like hugging a high-voltage line.
Aside from his fingers and mouth, Dokgo Hyun convulsed too hard to move.
But he'd done what he wanted.
Using his body as a brace.
"Urgh! Come on! Venom Knife!!"