Episode 217 [Game, experiment, truth]
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‘…This is the end.’
Lee Hyun-wook thought so as he watched the flow of mana gushing out of the gun’s muzzle.
And the moment I saw the human figure hanging at the end of the gun, Gordon Price, being torn to pieces and thrown to the ground, that thought turned into conviction.
[Item Information]
– Name: God Slayer (Master)
– Effect: This attack has the power of Godslaughter, so it ignores all defenses. It will disappear after firing just 5 bullets. (Current number remaining: 4)
This is the first ‘Master’ grade player-made item using the Mythic grade item ‘Mystiltain’ as an ingredient. It can only fire 5 shots, but only 1 shot was enough.
“Kaaaa——”
Sparks were bouncing loudly all over the body of Gordon Price, who had taken that blow squarely.
It was not electricity or anything, but a strange phenomenon in which the barrier was melting and the energy was burning out.
In other words, it meant that he was disappearing
. If something like that happens, even if a saint heals you, you won’t be able to survive.’
Lee Hyun-wook knew this because he had seen his colleagues die like that several times in his past life.
“This is ridiculous! It can’t end like this…”
The guy fell to the floor, writhed, and then took a human shape. After losing his power, he returned to the form of a demon king—that is, with a tentacle-like appearance.
“No, it’s all over now.”
As Lee Hyun-wook approached the guy, he pulled the God Slayer’s pump one more time. He
had already done enough damage, so it seemed like it would eventually disappear if left alone, but he needed to give one more hit just in case.
But the guy had no body . Even though he was falling to pieces and knew that he had lost, he did not stop pouring out harsh words towards Lee Hyun-wook.
“Tsk—don’t get me wrong, you didn’t win!”
“…….”
“In the end, everything happened as they wanted! The reason you defeated me is because they chose you and not me. Just as a result of a more successful experiment…”
He forced a laugh and continued.
“The [World Quest] you are performing at this moment is the final scenario in this dimension. Do you know what that means? “This experiment has achieved all possible results, and the end of the experiment is imminent!”
Lee Hyun-wook slowly became dissatisfied.
“So, is that lame whining the will of His Excellency the Demon King who wants to become a god?”
“Haha—I’m not making fun of you. Think carefully. “What happens to the tools and materials in the laboratory after the poetry experiment is over?”
At those words, Hyunwook Lee realized what Gordon Price was trying to say.
‘I’m trying to say again that this world I tried to protect cannot avoid destruction.’
In other words, he was trying to curse Lee Hyun-wook as a will.
“—The ‘results’ of any experiment are passed on to larger poetry experiments! However, the remaining ‘materials’ or ‘by-products’ are classified according to value and recycled or discarded!”
“So, you, the ‘result’, will be put into the second experiment like me, and the rest will be categorized as useful…”
The tentacle’s eyes went somewhere. It was near Lee Hyun-wook’s right, and there were friendly monster troops gathered there, including the Ancient Red Drake, led by the Dark Elf Agaidica, led by the Second Prince.
“…If those by-products are useful to some extent, they are recycled into monsters like those over there, or if not, they are discarded altogether. This is the fate of us humans. Ugh—”
Lee Hyun-wook’s eyebrows twitched at those words.
“…Are you saying that the monster was once a player?”
One of the questions that could not be solved as much as the identity of this game was where monsters come from.
Therefore, whenever players came into contact with intelligent monsters, the first thing they asked was ‘Where did they come from and why did they come here?
‘ I asked such questions to intelligent monsters… but each time, strangely enough, they gave vague and predetermined answers as if they were robots.’
For example, they were making excuses such as saying that they had fled because their home world was destroyed, or that they had crossed the dimension after receiving a revelation from God, and a warning system message emerged that if they asked in detail, their favorability could decrease. So, when it comes to monsters, they are based on the myths and imagination of mankind
. Until now, I haven’t been able to find out any facts other than the obvious assumption that it is based on .
“Ugh—does this seem like a lie? Or is it that you don’t want to believe it? But in the end, it is the truth you will witness.”
“You will end the world you were trying to protect with your own hands.”
Lee Hyun-wook thought there was no need to listen to him anymore.
‘If all of this is an experiment, Gordon Price is just a rat trapped in the laboratory.’
In other words, I wouldn’t be able to get an answer from him.
‘I have to go to the end myself.’
And in the end, it had to happen.
He aimed the ‘God Slayer’ at the guy.
Then he pulled the trigger again.
With that explosion, the guy’s body turned to dust and scattered in all directions.
Huh
. Woowoo——
This was the end of the enemy he had dealt with in two successive lives…
‘Ah…’
Hyunwook Lee instantly felt an intense sense of emptiness.
– Congratulations! You have become the boss monster of the World Quest, ‘The Demon King’. ‘ has been punished!
The system message appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Then, there was a heavy silence for a moment…
Waaaa——!
Soon, shouts began to erupt from all directions.
Waaaa——!
On this battlefield. The players in the area began to cheer.
No, the whole world was cheering.
From afar, all kinds of magic soared into the sky and exploded.
Boom, boom,
it was like exploding firecrackers to express joy. The
destruction of this world was coming . It’s been quite a while since the feeling of fear spread. In the meantime, humanity has stopped all activities and was just waiting for the outcome of this fight. Finally, humanity has just won, and all the worries and worries have been washed away. “Waaah—we won!
”
“Ha… I really didn’t think I would win…”
“Okay, it’s over! You can get some rest now, right?”
And they chanted the name of the one hero who made it all possible.
Steele Rain—! Steele Rain—!
He who once started out as the savior of Seoul has now become the savior of all mankind.
However, Lee Hyun-wook, and only he, could not feel any relief even at this poignant moment.
“……”
His mind became much more complicated than before dealing with the Demon King. And there was something empty in his heart… It was an inexplicable emptiness that had been eating away at him ever since he killed Gordon Price.
He looked up at the sky with a blank face.
‘Now… what should I do?’
Yes, the name of that emptiness was ‘loss of goal.’
Now that I think about it, he has never lost his goal. Since starting my second life, I have been running fiercely without resting even for a single day to change my failed past.
‘I fought tirelessly just for this moment.’
In the meantime, I didn’t think or worry about anything else.
Of course, I had fundamental doubts – the reason for the regression, the identity of this game, etc. – but rather than worrying about what I couldn’t solve, I focused all my attention on what I could do.
‘Because I thought that if I did that… I could somehow get there in the best way.’
The best was something like victory and peace.
However, if even all the goals he actively pursued in the first place are only part of this game… and if the goal of the game is different from the best he wants… ‘Can I
fight for the best once again?’
No matter how much I thought about it, the answer was that it was impossible.
Isn’t all his power based on this game?
In other words, the system was force majeure for the player.
And his worries came down to one question.
‘Then why on earth did I regress?’
That was the first turning point in this long journey, but the answer was still not found.
As he was looking around for a while, lost in those thoughts, someone approached him from behind.
These were the players who had been with him until now.
Among them, Kim Se-hee came forward and asked.
“Is it really over now?”
However, Lee Hyun-wook could not readily answer.
“…….”
Then Kim Se-hee, who was smiling, slowly turned expressionless as if feeling ominous.
“Oh, no way… is there something more?”
Hyunwook Lee shook his head.
“…it will end when it ends.”
But the problem was that I couldn’t tell which one would end.
This disaster, this game must end.
But if the end is what the Demon King said….
If it is the end of this world, the end of these people, and the end of us….
And then—
Gu—u—u—u—ungh———!
A loud noise began to reverberate through the sky…
“Oh, isn’t this… a foreshadowing of [full notice]?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Huh, then what else is going to happen?”
[Full notice] is not a ‘system message’ visible only to the player’s eyes, but a message floating in ‘real space’ that can be seen by all, even a certain number of civilians, in the form of huge letters projected in the sky. That is the turning point of a very important event
. appears in.
And soon, letters began to appear on one side of the sky.
– Congratulations! The world has reached the ‘ending’.
* Wait for the final winner’s final choice!
“Ending to…?”
Those words were enough to make sighs flow from everyone’s mouths.
It felt like encountering an old truth that everyone had been pursuing but had now forgotten… Along with a strange excitement, I felt a certain fear.
“Wow, now this game. “Are you saying this is over now?”
“So what happens to us now?”
“Could it be… Will all abilities and monsters disappear?”
“Isn’t it a problem if it just ends like that?”
For players who had already adapted to the game for too long, it was embarrassing and their future seemed uncertain.
However, a slightly different system message appeared before Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes.
– congratulations! As the final winner of the world, you qualify for the ‘ending’ selection. Enter the soon-to-open ‘Black Gate’ to begin your final selection.
Also……
– (!) The main quest has been updated
‘Ah, the main quest…’
Gordon Price once said that the main quest is only given to players who appear to be successful test subjects in one dimension.
Hyunwook Lee confirmed the contents.
[Main Quest]
– A second chance at life Duty Destiny….
1) Track down the ‘Black Gate’ that is open somewhere in this world. (Success by satisfying the upper conditions!)
2) Past life—Defeat the ‘dimensional shifter’ who will come from the first world. (Success!)
3) Encounter the ‘Administrator’ who knows the truth of this world.
It was said that in order to track down Black Gate No. 1, you had to collect unidentified black fragments, but after clearing the world quest, it was resolved as the ‘higher condition’ was met.
And number 3 was originally blocked as ■■■, but was finally opened.
‘Hmm, the manager…’
And then—
jijijijiji——
With such a bubbling sound, a dark black gate began to open on top of the nearby ruins.
“Oh, isn’t that the Black Gate?”
Then the players became nervous again and began to raise their weapons.
This is because whenever a black gate has occurred, a dimension shifter has come across it.
‘Yes, the Black Gate is a door that leads to another dimension.’
In other words, it leads to a place that is not Earth.
‘That is, this is where the manager is.’
I heard earlier that after Gordon Price became the winner in the first dimension, he cleared the main quest and then entered the Black Gate and met them.
‘They are the administrators and they are the ones who created this game.’
And this time it was Lee Hyun-wook’s turn.
He looked back at his colleagues for a moment.
They were also looking at Lee Hyun-wook. And they would know it too. This means that the ‘final victor’ who will decide the ‘ending’ floating in the sky is Lee Hyun-wook.
“Then I will come back.”
Lee Hyun-wook imprinted God Slayer on his left wrist and walked into the Black Gate with about a hundred Moglei bags stuck on the floor floating in the air.
***
Lee Hyun-wook was walking in an infinitely wide black space.
‘Where is this place? Is it really space?’
It was a space worth thinking about.
No, it actually seemed that way.
The Milky Way was flowing far away in an indecipherable place, and various nebulae were surrounding it like a painting in the background… It was
clear that he was standing in the middle of the universe.
Soon, voices rang out from all directions.
“Welcome, final winner of one world—” “
And a being who has surpassed the limits of mortality—”
Strangely, the voice rang from all directions at the same time, so I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but the moment I heard that voice, I felt a pressure that felt like my whole body was distorted. I felt it.
Just hearing it made my fingertips and toes tingle, my head and chest throbbed, and I felt dizzy and nauseous.
This was an overwhelming force that I had never felt before.
The pressure was shifting back and forth, as if Lee Hyun-wook was being controlled to a certain extent so that he would not be crushed to death.
He walked forward, barely able to bear the pain pounding his entire body.
Soon, a ripple occurred somewhere far away in outer space, and shapes began to quickly combine… Because it was so large that it was difficult to see at a glance, it was impossible to see it directly and recognize it, but it was something that resembled a human shape. .
They surrounded Lee Hyun-wook and looked down at him.
‘Could it be that the manager… is this the appearance of the gods?’
Lee Hyun-wook looked at them with his head raised, but slowly turned his head as he felt dizzy from the unbearable pressure.
“You passed all the trials we gave you.”
“And you solved all the trials perfectly, better than any other human in the multiverse, and in the end, you even defeated the Demon King, the final trial. That achievement was truly amazing—” Trial Hyunwook
Lee The moment I heard that word, I unconsciously muttered ‘experiment’ to myself. The two meanings are similar but subtly different.
Meanwhile, for some reason, anger began to flow out through the powerful pressure.
“…What is this trial for?”
Those were the first words Lee Hyun-wook uttered.
They did not contain the slightest respect or reverence for those managers—absolute beings. And his expression also showed blatant repulsion.
‘What a shitty situation this is.’
It had to be that way.
Didn’t he fight for the well-being of the human world throughout his two lives? That’s why the game… no matter what the prank that killed countless people was for, he was very lucky to win the game. Even if they gave it to you, they couldn’t obediently accept it.
But was it just a cute antics to them?
“Haha—you’re bold, too—”
“That ordeal can be said to be a task that will lead you humans to a better existence—” “—
” You humans have been primitive beings until now, but now you are on the way to becoming high-dimensional beings that can fit in with us.” “However,
not everyone can be reborn as high-dimensional beings, so you can perform the [Transcendence Quest] through trials. “It’s about selecting those who have qualifications.”
At that moment, a ray of light fell from the universe and struck Lee Hyun-wook.
Oh-oh-oh-oh–!
The moment Lee Hyun-wook was exposed to that light, the status of the absolutes that had been pressing him down faded. He felt that he was losing.
In other words, his status had grown even further.
– Congratulations! You have been recognized by the Absolute. As a reward, you have become a vessel that can embrace the godhead as a ‘quasi-transcendent’.
This is… In the end, Gordon It seemed to be going according to the scenario predicted by Price.
“And there will be a second trial for you.”
“You must not neglect growth and improve your status, so you must attack other ‘worlds’ and absorb the power of those worlds.” ‘
…Even this is the same.’
Lee Hyun-wook raised his head and glared at the Absolutes.
“Then… does this mean I have to walk the same path as the Demon King?”
“Haha—no, it won’t be exactly the same.”
“You will be conquering a dimension conquered by villains.” “
That place is tainted by evil by your standards, so it would fit the barbaric and shallow values that you pursue, such as encouraging good and punishing evil.” As you walk the path of transcendence, your thoughts will soon change.” What
he meant was that there were countless other dimensions and that trials or experiments were being conducted there as well.
And for some reason, it seemed like they were ‘matching’ Lee Hyun-wook to conquer the world that had the opposite tendency… Lee Hyun-wook, of course, was not happy at all.
“…Even if it’s a dimension conquered by villains, it’s ultimately Earth and they’re humans like me, right?”
No matter how evil people rule, the Earth is Earth and humanity is humanity. Not everyone living there could be evil.
And even if that were the case, committing massacre and causing destruction could not have been his preference.
“You were chosen by us.”
“Huh!”
At that one word, Lee Hyun-wook flinched again.
This is because the level has become more intense.
“You cannot reject our choice.”
Then, the pressure went up one level. Lee Hyun-wook could not withstand it and stumbled back…
“You have no choice but to follow our will.”
The pressure went up again. As I went up one level, I ended up kneeling.
“And we can make it like that.”
“Ugh—”
And he ended up coughing up blood.
“Knock—knock—”
He placed his hands on the floor and caught his breath.
“Huh…”
He slowly got up, suppressing the pain that felt like his insides were being torn apart. But suddenly a thought occurred to me.
“But now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange…”
He raised his head stiffly.
“Why did you send me back?”
“What?”
“You were chosen.”
The answer was somewhat vague.
“So, I’m asking why you were chosen.” “I’m so annoying and rebellious, so did you choose me without even knowing it?”
“You must move according to our will.”
“Otherwise, you cannot exist.”
“This is not some kind of ARS…”
He grabbed the Mowlay that had been floating on his back, lifted it into the air, and aimed it. Now, it’s all business. “I don’t like it
, so do whatever you want, kill me or not.”
Then the answer did not come back right away.
At this, Lee Hyun-wook snorted and said.
“Did you not know that I would have this type of personality and let me regress and win? huh?”
「……」
“……Then you are not absolute either?”
At that moment, there was cold silence.
“You… can’t resist us.”
But isn’t that voice somehow stuttering?
‘… What are you panicking about?’
That was not an attitude worthy of the Absolute… It was full of the so-called human feeling.
Lee Hyun-wook didn’t know what kind of intuition he had at that moment, but he gave the Mogley metal control and sent it toward the shapes of the Absolute.
But—
「 Didn’t you know that we gave you that power in the first place?”
Hung—
The Moglei that was being shot into the distance turned into powder in the air and disappeared.
And—
Pajjiji——!
Sparks started flying from Hyunwook Lee’s body. That was the same as a barrier. This evaporation… that is, the process of extinction.
“Tsk, that’s stupid, you’re a defective product, so you’ll have to delete it.”
‘Yes, but this is still better.’
He thought,
‘It is better to die like this than to do the will of those unknown non-gods.’
This wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst.
But then
…
the spark that was wrapped around his body suddenly went out.
And
“Huh?”
“What is this? Hey! Why is this happening?”
“That’s what the system said. There seems to be a problem!”
“What? What at this moment—recover it right now!”
This was the voice of absolute beings who had been exuding solemnity just a moment ago… It was an extremely ordinary, human conversation.
In the end, it means that they are not gods or anything. Lee Hyun-wook laughed at this absurd situation. “…was
it
all a play in the end?”
He slowly raised his left hand, and gray smoke flowed from the wrist engraving.
What was hidden inside was the God Slayer.
He aimed it at the ceiling, towards the image of the Absolute in that universe, and pulled boldly.
Kwa—ang——!
Triggered . — But those bullets didn’t go far.
Kugugugu——
Immediately after, I felt debris pouring down from the ceiling and mana spewing out in all directions.
Then, sparks flew loudly all over the world, and the space background surrounding all directions flickered. It started to go out.
“..Huh?”
I don’t know where this place is, but at least it didn’t seem to be space, and given the circumstances, it seemed to be a mirage space created by magic. ”
This crazy system is turned off, so how does that bastard move?”
“Oh, it looks like the main server has been hacked!”
And At that time—
-Why don’t you come out of that strange place?
A voice flew into Lee Hyun-wook’s ears.
“…….”
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head in the direction where the voice came from.
Go—oh—oh—oh— —
The Black Gate was opening again nearby.
– Now, I will tell you the truth, so come back outside to your world.
