[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 46: The One Who Opens the Path (1)
"Hey, shouldnât we start teaching Yura some Korean soon?"
"Sheâll learn when sheâs interested. Sheâs still at the age to play."
I shouldâve listened to my wife back then.
"Other kids are even learning Englishâ¦"
"She has a whole life of studying ahead of her. Thereâs no need to rush."
I thought Yura had a âwhole lifeâ where all she needed to do was study.
I naively believed it was guaranteed.
If I hadnâtâ¦
She might have been able to read her fatherâs final words.
ââââ ââââ
ãTo: Kim Yura
ãFrom: Kim Hanul
ãAre you hiding well? I love you, Yura. Iâm sorry I couldnât protect you until the end. Please, stay safe.
ââââ ââââ
â Thud!
"Crush the traitors of death!"
"Uwaaaahhhâ!"
If I hadnâtâ¦
Even as I was trampled to death by the skeletal soldierâs feet, maybe, just maybe, I would have felt a tiny bitâjust the smallest bitâless miserable.
"Argh! My daughterâ¦"
I believed.
â Thud!
That Yura would enter elementary school.
Make friends.
Wear a school uniform and smile shyly.
â Thud!
That the time would come when friends became more important than her parents.
Sheâd bury her head in her desk, wrestling with studies.
Facing fierce competition and small failures, sheâd grow into an adult.
â Thud!
And someday.
Sheâd meet a kind, albeit ordinary man, and smile beautifully.
Start a family.
Have children as lovely as herself and become a parent.
I believed she would live such an ordinary life.
Cough!
"In the⦠next worldâ¦"
If Iâm reborn.
If I can still be Yuraâs dad in that life, tooâ¦
"Pleaseâ¦"
My dry lips moved, but no sound came out.
My vision blurred.
Was it just aging eyes?
Or perhapsâ¦
âIs this the end?â
Swish.
A father closed his eyes.
And then.
Clatter.
From the distant shores of the afterlifeâ
Clatter! Clatter! Clatterâ¦!
A familiar noise echoed.
The sound of those wretched things that had tormented him all this time.
Yet there was something different about this sound.
Thud. Thud. Thudâ¦!
It was a deafening noiseâenough to rouse even the dying.
So, he opened his eyes.
He couldnât not open them.
And what filled his vision wasâ¦
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clankâ¦!
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 come from?
And leading themâ¦
Clatter-!
A skeletal soldier wearing a helmet made from a beastâs skull.
Noâ¦
"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 moment he stopped, everyone stopped.
Simultaneously, someone 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 daughterâ¦
"�!"
Sitting on his shoulder?
It couldnât beâ¦
"Hanul."
"Dad!"
"â¦â¦!"
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 messy to be called a museum, yet too grandiose to be called a laboratory.
When someone once referred to this place as a natural history museum, its owner didnât 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 historyânatureâs history.
Abundantly so.
[The blood is fine. Hm, the skin⦠this should do.]
At that moment, when a shaggy-haired researcher was dissecting that sacred natureâ¦
â Ding!
The system announced the dawn of a new history.
ãSimulation complete.ã
Finally!
The researcher, who had been burying his nose in reagents, lifted his head abruptly.
ãPredicting the victor.ã
This was it.
The moment for his crowning achievement to shine.
The moment 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, BLACKâhis creationsâwere destined for victory.
After all, nothing else stood out at a glance.
Except that guy.
[Even if he is a problem, the rest are doomed⦠Whaâ?!]
ãBLACK â 1%ã
ãWHITE - 99%ã
[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 me the backup data!]
The researcherâs 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.
ãDisplaying reasoning data.ã
Because the data he trusted so deeply⦠was lying to him.
ãBLACKã
ãSkeleton Knight (Lv.1) - Eradicatedã
ãSkeleton Soldier (Lv.1) - 70ã
ãRemaining Forces - 70ã
ãWHITEã
ãSkeleton Knight (Lv.1) - 17ã
ãSkeleton Soldier (Lv.1) - 1,803ã
ãRemaining Forces - 1,820ã
The researcherâs jaw dropped.
[B-Bug?!]
It must be a bug.
It had to be a bug.
Otherwise, such a lopsided result was impossible.
â¦Or so he thought, as he scrutinized the backup data.
ãBLACKã
ãRemaining Forces - 20ã
The Black teamâs forces had decreased by 50.
ãWHITEã
ãRemaining Forces - 1,870ã
And the White teamâs forces had increased by 50.
[!!]
Crash!
The flask he was holding slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
[â¦â¦Lee Eunho.]
It was him.
It could only be him.
The one capable of causing such absurdity.
The real problem, however, was not whoâbut 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, thatâs still the problem. How did he convert them? He wouldnât have had access to the source codeâ¦]
ãUpdating predictions.ã
While the system autonomously rebooted the simulationâ¦
The results, updated with the altered data, were displayed.
ãBLACK - 0%ãn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãWHITE - 100%ã
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 something even the Creator hadnât considered?
He wanted it.
He wanted to touch that squishy, malleable brain of his.
To bury his nose in it and inhale its sweet, metallic scent.
Sniff!
[Anyone will do⦠send someone down.]
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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The researcher, clicking his tongue lazily, gave the order.
[Go and bring it back! I donât care if itâs alive or not!]
He wanted to retrieve the âmaterialâ.
Howeverâ
ãExecution not possible!ã
ãResources insufficient.ã
The stupid system didnât seem to understand.
[We have the prototype!]
ãExecution not possible!ã
ãResearch data insufficient. Stability cannot be securedâã
[Useless trash!]
Biiiiiiiiiiiipâ!
He shut off the power, his eyes glinting with twisted desire.
* * *
Clatter! Clack! Clatterâ!
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 âPath That Defies Deathâ!]
The dark, heavy airâwhether it was mist or smokeâlooked more like the âPath to Deathâ than anything else.
If it werenât for the buffs lingering at the edge of my vision, I wouldnât 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 usernames, these buffs had actual value.
ãâNight Owl of the Audit Bureauâ asks if that torch-bearing skeleton is really the target, âLee Eunhoâ.ã
ãThey say theyâre a bit taken aback since they came here on recommendation.ã
ãâThe Raven of the Administration Bureauâ jokes that the torch is the main body, not the skeleton, while snickering.ã
ãâPrince from Investigation Bureauâ suggests that since the skeleton form isnât so bad after a while, maybe he should just fully transform.ã
âDamn punks.â
Muttering that heâd kick them when he saw them, Eunho noticed Jaehyuk flinching, looking guilty.
âS-Sorry, hyung!â
âHuh?â
âI mustâve lost my mind⦠I didnât even recognize my saviorâ¦â
Jaehyuk scratched his head with one hand, scrunching his face as if in real pain.
Understandably so.
âTh-that sword! Armor! And the torch?! Donât tell meâ¦!â
The moment he saw Eunho, he had charged straight at him.
âYeah, Jaehyukââ
âYou damned skeleton! How dare you touch my hyungâ¦!! Die!!â
He wailed like a beast, smashing Eunhoâs head in an attempt to avenge him.
âWhat strength youâve got, Choi Jaehyuk.â
âI-Iâm really sorry! I thought the cursed skeletons got you, hyungâ¦!â
âNo harm done.â
âBut stillâ¦â
Fortunately, the defense buff and helmet nullified the damage.
It was even a bit touching to see Jaehyukâs determination to avenge me.
Besidesâ
âYouâre the most normal one here.â
â...What?â
From Ichon-dong to Sin-yongsan Station and on to Samgakji, Eunho had been absorbing skeleton soldiers along the way.
âSAMCHOOOONâ!â
âW-Watch out!â
Yura suddenly leapt out of nowhere, as if sheâd been hiding in the sky itself.
âWake up.â
â...!â
âI said, wake up!â
Hanul, chanting prayers and refusing to get up, finally joined after a long while.
âIt is you, Eunho!â
âHm? Arenât you going to ask more questions?â
âYour shoulder line screams Eunho. And that great ratio, too.â
ââ¦Excuse me?â
Jieun, after staring at him intently for a while, spouted some strange nonsense and tagged along.
Ah, andâ
âYou bitch! Do you even know what kind of sword that is, you fucker?!â
âItâs me, Lee Eunho.â
â...What the fuck?!â
The moment he saw the blade in Eunhoâs hand, the foul-mouthed man let loose a waterfall of curses.
Regardlessâ
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 370]
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 512]
[Skeleton Soldier (Lv.1) acquired!]
[Remaining troops: 683]
â¦
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.
â Bzzt!
"One minute left, boss!"
"Right. Everyone still got their flags?"
â Bzzt!
"Thanks to the kid, we do!"
"Yes! It's all thanks to you, sir...!"
And so, I thought it was finally... over.
[â¦â¦ Emergency!]
Suddenly, the announcement broadcast crackled like a walkie-talkie in a movie.
[00:55]
The countdown, which had been fine until nowâ
[00:&%]
Started to distort and writhe.
[%~$*&]
The numbers turned into strange, incomprehensible symbols.
[Emergency â¦â¦ broadcastingâ¦â¦ begins!]
Until the abrupt emergency announcement rang out.
[Emergency!]
[By the temporary administratorâs authority, the 'Mock Battle' mission has entered 'Overtime'!]
"!!"
Overtime?
There wasnât anything like that mentioned 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.
"Overtime?!"
"What the hell! We already secured the flags! What do you mean, overtime?!"
Yeji and the foul-mouthed one both shouted in panic, one after the other.
Of course, the system didnât care.
And a moment laterâ
BEEEEEP-!
"Ahh!"
"Whatâs that sound?!"
It started with a mechanical tone, like tinnitus.
A nerve-grating warning that seemed 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 holeâpitch-black, ominous, and massive enough to swallow a whole building.
"This is...!"
Iâd seen it before.
"Isnât that the same thing we saw in the KTX ceiling?!"
"It looks similar... but itâs much bigger this time!"
I could tell.
Something was going to fall from that hole soon.
And it would come straight for us, just like the dozens of demons that had done so before.
Except this time, itâd be much larger and far more powerful.
"Shit! If itâs this big, even a tank wouldnât stand a chance!"
The foul-mouthed one shouted, his face pale as a corpse.
At the same timeâ
â Sssssssssssss-!
The black hole rippled, filled with unease, menace, and dread.
"Get ready."
"Yes!"
"Got it, boss!"
By then, Jieun and Jaehyuk had already stepped up beside me, standing firmly.
"You're not seriously thinking of fighting it, are you?! C-Can't we just hide somewhere?"
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 canâ"
"No."
"...?!"
It was obvious.
The hole was on a scale weâd never seen before.
It was bound to spawn a massive monster.
Hiding would only lead to getting trampled and dying a pointless death.
Running wasnât an option either.
The skeleton soldiersâ agility stats ranged from 1 to 4 at best.
Weâd be lucky not to get ambushed while fleeing.
It was hopeless unless I abandoned everyone.
Insteadâ
"All troops!"
I gave the best order I could.
"Surround the hole!"
My loud and commanding voice was filled with conviction.
The skeletons responded immediately.
"Yes...!"
"Surround... it...!"
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! Clatter...!
Fifteen hundred skeletons began to move.
Like waves of white shattering against the shore.
Though they didnât march in unison, they moved as one.
Even as shoulders collided and heel bones got stepped on, they reached their designated spots.
ClackâClackâClackâ
The skeleton soldiers lined up tightly behind me.
Reassuring figures: Jaehyuk taking the lead, Jieun standing beside me, and the foul-mouthed one approaching hesitantly.
The formation was ready.
['Mock Battle' mission has entered 'Overtime'!]
[Eliminate the enemy and survive!]
The enemy we needed to eliminateâ
"!!"
"What the hell... is that...!"
Come.
Whether it's ghosts or monsters, Iâm not scared of a single one.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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