[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 46: The One Who Opens the Path (1)
"Hey, shouldn’t we start teaching Yura so Korean soon?"
"She’ll learn when she’s interested. She’s still at the age to play."
I should’ve listened to my wife back then.
"Other kids are even learning English…"
"She has a whole life of studying ahead of her. There’s no need to rush."
I thought Yura had a ‘whole life’ where all she needed to do was study.
I naively believed it was guaranteed.
If I hadn’t…
She might have been able to read her father’s final words.
──── ────
ㆍTo: Kim Yura
ㆍFrom: Kim Hanul
ㆍAre you hiding well? I love you, Yura. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you until the end. Please, stay safe.
──── ────
─ Thud!
"Crush the traitors of death!"
"Uwaaaahhh—!"
If I hadn’t…
Even as I was trampled to death by the skeletal soldier’s feet, maybe, just maybe, I would have felt a tiny bit—just the smallest bit—less miserable.
"Argh! My daughter…"
I believed.
─ Thud!
That Yura would enter elentary school.
Make friends.
Wear a school uniform and smile shyly.
─ Thud!
That the ti would co when friends beca more important than her parents.
She’d bury her head in her desk, wrestling with studies.
Facing fierce competition and small failures, she’d grow into an adult.
─ Thud!
And soday.
She’d et a kind, albeit ordinary man, and smile beautifully.
Start a family.
Have children as lovely as herself and beco a parent.
I believed she would live such an ordinary life.
Cough!
"In the… next world…"
If I’m reborn.
If I can still be Yura’s dad in that life, too…
"Please…"
My dry lips moved, but no sound ca out.
My vision blurred.
Was it just aging eyes?
Or perhaps…
‘Is this the end?’
Swish.
A father closed his eyes.
And then.
Clatter.
From the distant shores of the afterlife—
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter…!
A familiar noise echoed.
The sound of those wretched things that had tornted him all this ti.
Yet there was sothing different about this sound.
Thud. Thud. Thud…!
It was a deafening noise—enough to rouse even the dying.
So, he opened his eyes.
He couldn’t not open them.
And what filled his vision was…
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank…!
Feet. Feet.
Feet filling the entire road.
Countless skeletal feet lined up like a net.
"White…?"
Strange.
The troops assigned to him must have been annihilated.
Then where did these co from?
And leading them…
Clatter-!
A skeletal soldier wearing a helt made from a beast’s skull.
No…
"The Demon King…?"
Purple smoke billowed from beneath his feet.
His ominously glowing eyes pierced sharply into the distance.
Behind him, the sunset bled into the horizon.
Its crimson light shone around him like a halo of grim radiance.
"All troops! Halt!"
The mont he stopped, everyone stopped.
Simultaneously, soone pointed this way.
Swoosh!
With great effort, he lifted my dimming eyes and weak head.
And then, the shadow of the figure grew long as he approached with steady strides.
Thud.
The closer he got, the more the oppressive aura pierced his skin, leaving him trembling.
And yet.
Why on earth is his daughter…
"…?!"
Sitting on his shoulder?
It couldn’t be…
"Hanul."
"Dad!"
"……!"
Swish!
The creature extended its bony fingers, with nothing but skeletal remains in place of flesh.
Thus.
"Get up."
Clap!
He grabbed that thin, outstretched hand.
* * *
A space too ssy to be called a museum, yet too grandiose to be called a laboratory.
When soone once referred to this place as a natural history museum, its owner didn’t think they were entirely wrong.
Countless body parts of various creatures, suspended in vividly colored liquids.
Evidence of the endless evolution of countless species in this universe.
Within them was history—nature’s history.
Abundantly so.
[The blood is fine. Hm, the skin… this should do.]
At that mont, when a shaggy-haired researcher was dissecting that sacred nature…
─ Ding!
The system announced the dawn of a new history.
【Simulation complete.】
Finally!
The researcher, who had been burying his nose in reagents, lifted his head abruptly.
【Predicting the victor.】
This was it.
The mont for his crowning achievent to shine.
The mont when the universe would shower him with praise, as he ascended to the realm of gods!
Excited like a child awaiting praise, the researcher urged the system forward.
[Yes! Hurry up and recite it!]
A bold, confident stance born from unshakable belief.
Naturally, BLACK—his creations—were destined for victory.
After all, nothing else stood out at a glance.
Except that guy.
[Even if he is a problem, the rest are dood… Wha—?!]
【BLACK – 1%】
【WHITE - 99%】
[O-One percent?!]
Impossible.
The soldiers may be weak due to evenly distributed resources, but the knights were different.
He had personally crafted their skeletons and endowed them with intelligence!
[Show the backup data!]
The researcher’s angry shout reverberated through the room.
The flask in his hand trembled along with the liquid inside, but he was far too distracted to notice.
【Displaying reasoning data.】
Because the data he trusted so deeply… was lying to him.
【BLACK】
【Skeleton Knight (Lv.1) - Eradicated】
【Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) - 70】
【Remaining Forces - 70】
【WHITE】
【Skeleton Knight (Lv.1) - 17】
【Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) - 1,803】
【Remaining Forces - 1,820】
The researcher’s jaw dropped.
[B-Bug?!]
It must be a bug.
It had to be a bug.
Otherwise, such a lopsided result was impossible.
…Or so he thought, as he scrutinized the backup data.
【BLACK】
【Remaining Forces - 20】
The Black team’s forces had decreased by 50.
【WHITE】
【Remaining Forces - 1,870】
And the White team’s forces had increased by 50.
[!!]
Crash!
The flask he was holding slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
[……Lee Eunho.]
It was him.
It could only be him.
The one capable of causing such absurdity.
The real problem, however, was not who—but how.
[Is it even possible for affiliations to change…? Sure, the attribute field does contain faction data, but… how did he figure that out?!]
The researcher muttered like a madman.
[Even if he figured it out, that’s still the problem. How did he convert them? He wouldn’t have had access to the source code…]
【Updating predictions.】
While the system autonomously rebooted the simulation…
The results, updated with the altered data, were displayed.
【BLACK - 0%】
【WHITE - 100%】
Seeing that screen, the researcher erased how from his mind.
[To this extent…?]
He was curious.
What kind of brain did that guy possess, to think of sothing even the Creator hadn’t considered?
He wanted it.
He wanted to touch that squishy, malleable brain of his.
To bury his nose in it and inhale its sweet, tallic scent.
Sniff!
[Anyone will do… send soone down.]
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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The researcher, clicking his tongue lazily, gave the order.
[Go and bring it back! I don’t care if it’s alive or not!]
He wanted to retrieve the ‘material’.
However—
【Execution not possible!】
【Resources insufficient.】
The stupid system didn’t seem to understand.
[We have the prototype!]
【Execution not possible!】
【Research data insufficient. Stability cannot be secured—】
[Useless trash!]
Biiiiiiiiiiiip—!
He shut off the power, his eyes glinting with twisted desire.
* * *
Clatter! Clack! Clatter—!
Along the Han River Boulevard, leading from Yongsan Station to Samgakji,
the six-lane road was packed with skeletal figures, any one of which would have been terrifying on its own.
A violet mist stretched endlessly over the boulevard.
[You are walking the ‘Path That Defies Death’!]
The dark, heavy air—whether it was mist or smoke—looked more like the ‘Path to Death’ than anything else.
If it weren’t for the buffs lingering at the edge of my vision, I wouldn’t have dared step foot here.
[You are immune to all status effects caused by fear and disease.]
[You will not die unless your head is destroyed.]
[Mind control abilities do not work on you.]
[Wound recovery rate has drastically increased. ( 100%)]
[Defense has increased. ( 50%)]
Seeing this list of texts was enough to make my feel proud.
Unlike the mocking chats of those hiding behind ridiculous usernas, these buffs had actual value.
【‘Night Owl of the Audit Bureau’ asks if that torch-bearing skeleton is really the target, ‘Lee Eunho’.】
【They say they’re a bit taken aback since they ca here on recomndation.】
【‘The Raven of the Administration Bureau’ jokes that the torch is the main body, not the skeleton, while snickering.】
【‘Prince from Investigation Bureau’ suggests that since the skeleton form isn’t so bad after a while, maybe he should just fully transform.】
“Damn punks.”
Muttering that he’d kick them when he saw them, Eunho noticed Jaehyuk flinching, looking guilty.
“S-Sorry, hyung!”
“Huh?”
“I must’ve lost my mind… I didn’t even recognize my savior…”
Jaehyuk scratched his head with one hand, scrunching his face as if in real pain.
Understandably so.
“Th-that sword! Armor! And the torch?! Don’t tell …!”
The mont he saw Eunho, he had charged straight at him.
“Yeah, Jaehyuk—”
“You damned skeleton! How dare you touch my hyung…!! Die!!”
He wailed like a beast, smashing Eunho’s head in an attempt to avenge him.
“What strength you’ve got, Choi Jaehyuk.”
“I-I’m really sorry! I thought the cursed skeletons got you, hyung…!”
“No harm done.”
“But still…”
Fortunately, the defense buff and helt nullified the damage.
It was even a bit touching to see Jaehyuk’s determination to avenge .
Besides—
“You’re the most normal one here.”
“...What?”
From Ichon-dong to Sin-yongsan Station and on to Samgakji, Eunho had been absorbing skeleton soldiers along the way.
“SAMCHOOOON—!”
“W-Watch out!”
Yura suddenly leapt out of nowhere, as if she’d been hiding in the sky itself.
“Wake up.”
“...!”
“I said, wake up!”
Hanul, chanting prayers and refusing to get up, finally joined after a long while.
“It is you, Eunho!”
“Hm? Aren’t you going to ask more questions?”
“Your shoulder line screams Eunho. And that great ratio, too.”
“…Excuse ?”
Jieun, after staring at him intently for a while, spouted so strange nonsense and tagged along.
Ah, and—
“You bitch! Do you even know what kind of sword that is, you fucker?!”
“It’s , Lee Eunho.”
“...What the fuck?!”
The mont he saw the blade in Eunho’s hand, the foul-mouthed man let loose a waterfall of curses.
Regardless—
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 370]
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 512]
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 683]
…
The remaining forces of the group, along with those of the enemy, had been absorbed as they advanced.
[01:00]
Before they knew it, the mission was nearing its end.
─ Bzzt!
"One minute left, boss!"
"Right. Everyone still got their flags?"
─ Bzzt!
"Thanks to the kid, we do!"
"Yes! It's all thanks to you, sir...!"
And so, I thought it was finally... over.
[…… Ergency!]
Suddenly, the announcent broadcast crackled like a walkie-talkie in a movie.
[00:55]
The countdown, which had been fine until now—
[00:&%]
Started to distort and writhe.
[%~$*&]
The numbers turned into strange, incomprehensible symbols.
[Ergency …… broadcasting…… begins!]
Until the abrupt ergency announcent rang out.
[Ergency!]
[By the temporary administrator’s authority, the 'Mock Battle' mission has entered 'Overti'!]
"!!"
Overti?
There wasn’t anything like that ntioned in the proposal!
An icy chill crawled up my spine at the unexpected turn of events.
My eyes snapped wide open, a foreboding feeling gripping my entire body.
"Overti?!"
"What the hell! We already secured the flags! What do you an, overti?!"
Yeji and the foul-mouthed one both shouted in panic, one after the other.
Of course, the system didn’t care.
And a mont later—
BEEEEEP-!
"Ahh!"
"What’s that sound?!"
It started with a chanical tone, like tinnitus.
A nerve-grating warning that seed to pierce not my ears, but my mind.
Sssssssssssss-!
Next, a black hole appeared in the sky.
At first, it could have been mistaken for a small dot, like a bird.
Then it grew to the size of the sun, and finally spread like a cloud.
A literal black hole—pitch-black, ominous, and massive enough to swallow a whole building.
"This is...!"
I’d seen it before.
"Isn’t that the sa thing we saw in the KTX ceiling?!"
"It looks similar... but it’s much bigger this ti!"
I could tell.
Sothing was going to fall from that hole soon.
And it would co straight for us, just like the dozens of demons that had done so before.
Except this ti, it’d be much larger and far more powerful.
"Shit! If it’s this big, even a tank wouldn’t stand a chance!"
The foul-mouthed one shouted, his face pale as a corpse.
At the sa ti—
─ Sssssssssssss-!
The black hole rippled, filled with unease, nace, and dread.
"Get ready."
"Yes!"
"Got it, boss!"
By then, Jieun and Jaehyuk had already stepped up beside , standing firmly.
"You're not seriously thinking of fighting it, are you?! C-Can't we just hide sowhere?"
Unlike Yeji, who was trembling as she pleaded,
"I know you're strong, but this is way too dangerous! Or maybe we should just try to run as far away as we can—"
"No."
"...?!"
It was obvious.
The hole was on a scale we’d never seen before.
It was bound to spawn a massive monster.
Hiding would only lead to getting trampled and dying a pointless death.
Running wasn’t an option either.
The skeleton soldiers’ agility stats ranged from 1 to 4 at best.
We’d be lucky not to get ambushed while fleeing.
It was hopeless unless I abandoned everyone.
Instead—
"All troops!"
I gave the best order I could.
"Surround the hole!"
My loud and commanding voice was filled with conviction.
The skeletons responded imdiately.
"Yes...!"
"Surround... it...!"
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! Clatter...!
Fifteen hundred skeletons began to move.
Like waves of white shattering against the shore.
Though they didn’t march in unison, they moved as one.
Even as shoulders collided and heel bones got stepped on, they reached their designated spots.
Clack—Clack—Clack—
The skeleton soldiers lined up tightly behind .
Reassuring figures: Jaehyuk taking the lead, Jieun standing beside , and the foul-mouthed one approaching hesitantly.
The formation was ready.
['Mock Battle' mission has entered 'Overti'!]
[Eliminate the enemy and survive!]
The enemy we needed to eliminate—
"!!"
"What the hell... is that...!"
Co.
Whether it's ghosts or monsters, I’m not scared of a single one.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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