The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 218
218fury.
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Hyunwook Lee couldn't figure out what was happening at this moment..
‘But one thing is certain: something happened..’
There was also a crack in the plans of the game's 'administrators' - beings whom Gordon Price firmly believed were 'God'..
Whether it is an artificial 'experiment' or a 'trial' given by God, there is no way that the process will proceed according to the will of the person leading it... … Even in many myths, aren't the trials given to heroes by God not always going according to God's will??
In other words, the variable means inversion.
'And that voice just now…….'
Lee Hyun-wook was just told to come out because he would tell him the truth. That someone could have been trying to help Hyunwook Lee and humanity..
'……Even if it doesn't, at least it'll be friendlier than the managers..’
Feeling a glimmer of hope, Lee Hyun-wook followed the voice and went out of the Black Gate..
Whoa whoa——
He faced the ruined landscape of Seoul again. It wasn't long after he entered the Black Gate, so the scene didn't change much..
And there were a lot of players and airships gathered around the Black Gate, and it seemed like they were surrounding the Black Gate in preparation for an unexpected situation..
"—Uh, Steele Rain is here.!”
They were surprised that Lee Hyun-wook came out earlier than expected, but also looked curious about what he saw..
However, a strange roaring noise was ringing above his head, and the sky Hyun-wook Lee looked up at was…….
-%@A!$f| f|$! *@$!%#&$#@@%
*$$a%#!$a-tEE%#@@—%
'huh?'
Originally, there was a phrase related to the ending floating in the sky, but now it has been changed to strange characters, as if a computer program had gone wrong..
“It changed like that about 3 minutes ago.”
This voice was Kim Se-hee.
She approached Lee Hyun-wook and pointed to the sky..
"So I was wondering if something had happened and debating whether I should go inside..”
"okay.”
"In there... … What happened??”
At that time, the letters in the sky soon turned into unrecognizable letters..
"Hey, look over there! It changed again!”
“……But, what country's script is that??”
"Well, this is really my first time seeing it..”
No player could read it. In other words, it meant that the language and characters were not supported by the system's automatic translation function..
Hyunwook Lee was also looking at it..
- Lee Hyun-wook, it was I who called you..
A voice spread all over the world.
Everyone followed the voice and raised their heads..
There was a small seal floating there..
Lee Hyun-wook looked at it closely with his ‘clairvoyant’ skill..
A woman, a young girl at that, was floating in the air..
‘That woman is the one who called me after crashing the administrators' system..’
however.......
"uh… … You're Nicole.?”
A voice is shouting as if it recognizes the girl.?
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head in that direction..
The Water Spirit King and his subjects were gathered there. And their eyes turned to just one spirit..
“……Daughter, what do you mean by that??”
The Water Spirit King asked his daughter, Jane..
Then Jane nodded as if she was sure..
"That kid... … He's the prophet I told my father about.”
Meanwhile, the players who heard those words couldn't shake their heads..
“What nonsense is that... … The only player with the Prophet trait died a long time ago.!”
It was Kang Seo-yoon who said that rather aggressively, and she looked at the Water Spirit King with an expression full of doubt..
That's right, Suzu Ando was the only S-rank player in history who was called a prophet. And because Suzu Ando was a member of the Guardian, she was well acquainted with Kang Seo-yoon..
However, Lee Hyun-wook suddenly remembered one thing..
‘Now that I think about it, back then... … The word prophet was often mentioned.’
Lee Hyun-wook had saved the Spirit King's daughter in 'Yggdrasil City' a few months ago, and he remembered the children he had met at that time, Jack Harrington and Hannah Tate..
‘They mentioned the name Nicole a few times, and each time they said that Nicole had predicted something..’
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook overheard the children saying that the girl had predicted that the Spirit King's daughter would be in danger and that she would be saved by someone..
However, as far as Lee Hyun-wook knew, the player with the 'prophet trait' never appeared again, so he thought their conversation was just a misunderstanding caused by a trivial joke and ignored it..
But if such a being had appeared like this at this very moment... … In the first place, his identity could not be said to be a player..
‘This means that the entity that can influence this game has been closely watching me for a long time..’
Soon, she slowly came down from the sky and looked at Lee Hyun-wook..
"Hello, this is an absurd situation in many ways, isn't it??”
"you……."
"Yes, I can say that I am one of the ‘administrators’..”
As if she had expected what question Lee Hyun-wook would ask, she interrupted and answered..
“But I don’t have a good relationship with those guys who are acting clumsy, so you don’t have to be too wary. I need you too, but without deceiving you... … I will persuade you and take you there..”
Lee Hyun-wook frowned openly as he had no idea what the heck this was going on..
Then she smiled and took a step towards Lee Hyun-wook..
"Well, you probably have a lot of questions... … There's about fifteen minutes left until the system is restored, so I'm willing to give twenty questions until then, so what do you think??"
In that relaxed expression, Lee Hyun-wook sensed a business-like attitude rather than genuine goodwill..
In other words, I was able to see that he was by no means a being who pitied humanity and wanted to save it..
‘There is another purpose..’
Lee Hyun-wook did not relax his nerves, but rather became tense. And since it was necessary to obtain additional information for the best results, Hyunwook Lee asked one question without hesitation:.
“……Who are you??”
An entity that creates this game and commits violence in the name of trials on humanity in multiple dimensions... … At least they are not gods. So what exactly is it??
Only by knowing that first would I be able to prepare for the next step..
"As you may have guessed, we are not gods or anything. But I want to become a god... … And should we say that they are the ones who discovered the clue? Hmm, I think this is roughly the right explanation..”
She scratched her chin and then snapped her fingers..
yes——
Then the floating in the sky was revised again.
- caution! The system's 'player potential suppression' is downgraded to level 2!
* Some players experience a rapid progression of suppressed mana production, and some players may experience nervous system breakdown due to excessive mana production..
"Pfft!”
Then, Hyunwook Lee felt his senses expand even further, while his gaze was caught by something sparkling blue all over the world. They were on players, monsters, items and everywhere..
Lee Hyun-wook looked at them and muttered briefly..
"mana—”
Those invisible beings were ‘mana’, the operating principle of all mysteries that appeared after the world turned into a game..
"Yes, the name we call it is a little different, but we have set it so that it will be used as a familiar name in your world..”
“……I want to know not about our world, but where your world is and who you are. that's my question.”
“Okay, don't be too hasty. I'll tell you everything, um... … therefore… … Can we say we come from another universe in another dimension??”
She snapped her fingers, and the world turned to night, and with another flick, the Milky Way filled the sky..
It had to be some kind of mirage magic..
She spread out her hands with the universe in the background.
"This world is so big, and we come from quite far away. Well, in a word, an alien, if you say so..”
In other words, it meant that an alien race was conducting experiments on humanity..
She told such a shocking story as if it were nothing, but Lee Hyun-wook felt an instinctive hostility boiling up inside him..
‘Are you saying that the disasters I've experienced so far were experiments by aliens??’
Whether she knew Lee Hyun-wook's feelings or not, she continued talking..
"Mana, it is a ‘super substance’ spread out in the gaps between dimensions. This is quite high-level knowledge that cannot be understood with the basic view of the universe such as physics that you humans know..”
"And what it is, as you have already experienced enough, is a medium that makes it possible to manipulate matter through the will of an intelligent being... … By intertwining the nervous system of the intelligent being with the material world,……."
She raised her left hand while speaking.
OK—
Huh—huh—
Lee Hyun-wook's metal weapons that were scattered around the area began to surface one by one. Then he oxidized and turned into a hot flame, and at some point he rapidly cooled and froze..
“……This is how miracles can occur without time lag and without limitations! Well, you all have experienced it too.?”
As Lee Hyun-wook, he couldn't understand clearly, but he could still understand to some extent..
That mana thing…….
“……It means that it is the material that can create a god.?”
She smiled and nodded at Lee Hyun-wook’s definition..
“Yeah, and we have to do that for a reason..”
Then one more question arises.
"Why on earth are they experimenting on us? … Are you going??”
Instead of answering, she spread her palms out. Then, a rat was created in each of her left and right hands..
Snap—snap—
“That said, this method of mana handling has not yet been thoroughly researched, so it is dangerous to apply it to us right away. Well, when you develop a new drug, you don't directly test it on humans, right? Do you know how many animals die when a drug is developed? In other words, clinical trials are needed to confirm safety, and since this is not usually a difficult technology, it requires more data than you can imagine..”
"So, we're the subject of a clinical trial. As a mere consumable to accumulate that data……."
"Yes, our researchers wandered through the dimensions and found a race with an advanced nervous system in a small star system, and that is you. Well, I feel sorry about this in many ways..”
In other words, it is consumed as mere experimental material for the aspirations of an alien race... … No different from a lab rat…….
That's what this game was really like.
Those who heard the story together, perhaps the entire human race, could not help but be shocked..
"No, that's ridiculous.……."
"What I'm hearing is real?”
"Crazy, this must be a dream……."
At that moment, the mouse on her hand exploded with a sound, collapsed, and then disappeared..
And on the other hand, the other one gradually grows fur and becomes huge, turning into a dragon instead of a rat.?
She held out the dragon towards Lee Hyun-wook..
“And now, we can say that this is you, Lee Hyun-wook..”
That meant it was the most successful test subject in the experiment..
"You are the prototype for godhood and a very valuable experiment for our species. Your nervous system is now fully fused with mana... … Would you be a little happy if you were actually close to the image of God? Haha—anyway, you'd be able to perform much more powerful miracles if you didn't have a system holding you back..”
Now that I think about it, Lee Hyun-wook has been feeling that his senses have been constantly expanding ever since he started seeing mana..
‘Something that was binding me was released..’
It was much faster and much more powerful than the growth we had experienced so far... … Now, not only metal, but also all substances in the area, including soil, red, and water, have begun to be felt in detail..
Soon, it seemed like I could move them..
"So the managers want to study you further and complete this experiment... … Some people, including me, think a little differently from them, so I came here to hold hands with you..”
In other words, there was infighting between managers and they were competing with each other to take over Hyunwook Lee..
“Well, we have about ten minutes left, and I have another question.?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded..
Now there was one last question left..
"Then are you the ones who brought me back??”
I wanted to know the starting point of this whole journey and the reason..
“Oh, that? That's right……."
She giggled and waved her hands in embarrassment..
And the one thing I said while taking a breath was somewhat absurd..
"That was purely a bug.”
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