Chapter 249: Real and Fake (3)
It was a desolate space.
A six-winged serpent scattered venom into the air. The poisonous mist spread thickly, engulfing the area like the descending night, leaving nowhere to escape. Yet, amidst the suffocating fog, the man stood calmly, his attention wandering elsewhere. The venom dispersed before it could even reach him, and the massive serpent, large enough to swallow the moon, merely writhed in the air, hesitant to approach first.
A blue light shimmered, and this time, a wolf with massive, curved metallic horns appeared. It was just as enormous as the serpent in the sky, slowly circling the area. Then, vines tore through the ground, rising up. In comparison, they were small—only about three to four times the size of a human. But the hundreds of venomous insects clicking their sharp mandibles together and shaking the ground with their movements made up for their size. Alongside them, an ice golem let out a ferocious roar.
“What a nuisance.”
The man muttered under his breath.
When the system developed an anomaly, gaps would form, and through those gaps, monsters infused with the power of the Source would appear. The system was designed to regulate the influence of the Source, which sought to consume the world. When cracks emerged in that regulation, the resulting monsters were far stronger than average.
The weakest among them, the venomous insects, were SS-rank. The rest were all SSS-rank—top-tier among their kind.
Even as the monsters gradually closed in around him, the man—Seong Hyunjae—kept his gaze fixed solely on the system interface. Occasionally, his eyebrows twitched in response to the intricate mana flows surrounding him.
Troublesome.
Even if he borrowed the strength of the body he had entered, infiltrating the system itself was impossible. He could only just barely manipulate elements connected to Han Yujin—the singularity that was distorting this world.
“The system’s creator.”
Beyond the fact that they had once been part of the Unfilial Bastard’s faction, there was no other information. How long ago had they existed? Were they a single person or a group?
The one certainty was that they had constructed a system to counteract the Source’s attempt to devour the world.
A system that ensured the world progressed toward destruction slowly and systematically, at a pace its inhabitants could endure.
Like a frog in gradually boiling water—it could be boiled alive, endure to the end, or leap out and escape. But in any case, it was better than being thrown into a pot of boiling water all at once.
[But you messing around like this—it’s definitely related to me again, isn’t it? Am I wrong?]
Han Yujin’s voice rang out from the interface Seong Hyunjae had pulled up. Unlike his voice, which was clear, Han Yuhyun’s was choppy, sometimes cutting out entirely. The voices of others were the same.
At least the video was clear enough that Seong Hyunjae could read their lips and roughly infer the conversation. His gaze settled on the screen displaying the two brothers—more specifically, on Han Yujin.
[Yuhyun, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.]
His voice was both gentle and earnest, filled with deep affection and sincerity. Enough that it was almost hard to believe someone could care that much. Especially for Han Yuhyun.
Han Yujin, who had looked on the verge of tears, smiled brightly again. When the topic of marriage came up, he briefly scrunched his face in disapproval, but there was barely any shadow in his expression.
No matter when he looked, those two had a strong bond. Seong Hyunjae idly considered whether he should pay a viewing fee and checked his points.
“…Damn.”
His balance had hit zero again.
With no other choice, Seong Hyunjae simply set an alert on the previous quest and turned his attention back to his surroundings. His gaze shifted to the monsters that seemed ready to pounce at any moment.
His single hand moved slightly.
A blinding white light gathered, forming a spear with sharp, tapered ends. It had no patterns, no decoration—just a plain, elongated rod. Spinning it lightly, Seong Hyunjae examined the monsters as if scrolling through a shopping cart of available items.
—Grrrrr.
The metallic-horned wolf reacted first. As if signaling the others to attack together, it glanced around at the surrounding monsters before baring its fangs. Its sharp teeth and claws glowed with a dark sheen, its power-enhancing abilities activating. The fur covering its body hardened into armor-like resilience.
The wolf vanished.
Instant teleportation.
At the exact moment it disappeared, Seong Hyunjae casually extended the tip of his spear. A light tap, as if poking the air.
—Kyaaa!
The wolf’s eye was pierced by the spear.
Seong Hyunjae had predicted its teleportation target and struck preemptively.
Light exploded forth.
Boom!
Like an inverted waterfall, a radiant wave of energy surged upward, flooding the battlefield. Even high-rank monsters struggled to keep their eyes open. Their hearing was overwhelmed by the deafening thunderclap, their sense of smell blocked by the stench of the burning wolf. The electrical currents spreading like a finely woven web dulled their entire sensory perception.
With the monsters effectively blinded and disoriented, Seong Hyunjae moved.
The next target was the serpent.
Electric currents disrupted the venomous mist, scattering it. With a flick of his wrist, a wing was torn from the serpent’s body. The beast reared its head in fury, but before it could retaliate, Seong Hyunjae’s shoe pressed down on its skull.
Despite the sheer difference in size—like an ant beneath an elephant—the serpent couldn’t withstand the pressure.
With a loud crash, it was slammed into the ground.
With a sharp slice, the serpent’s head was severed, and the writhing wound that tried to regenerate was scorched black. It all happened in an instant.
The serpent perished without even managing a proper scream, and sensing danger, the ice golem layered defensive skills over itself. Its previously translucent body turned black, and three layers of protective barriers wrapped around it.
But by then, Seong Hyunjae was already standing atop the golem’s head.
—Kiiiik!
Thousands of venomous insects broke free from the web of electricity and began to take flight toward him. Their deafening buzzing filled the sky as the swarm, moving like a single massive black cloud, surged forward. Individually, they were the weakest among the monsters, but their overlapping buff skills made them a formidable force.
At the same time, the golem raised its arm toward its own head. It was trying to grab Seong Hyunjae and hold him in place for the swarm’s attack.
But—thud.
With barely any effort, Seong Hyunjae lifted one foot and blocked the massive hand reaching for him. The impact was almost silent. It looked as if he had merely placed his foot against it.
Crack—
From the point where his shoe touched, cracks rapidly spread across the golem’s blackened fingers. The chunks of ice shattered into pieces, and a blinding white spear plunged into the center of the golem’s head.
The stacked barriers were useless. The spear smoothly pierced through the ice before erupting with light once again.
A deafening boom and a blinding flash.
Amidst the chaos, Seong Hyunjae retrieved his spear and this time pulled out a long thread, twirling it into a loop. Whatever skill he used, the hot pink yarn now clung to the shattered fragments of the golem’s body. Without hesitation, he flung it straight into the approaching swarm of insects.
—Kiiiii!
—Kiriiik!
The pink-thread-wrapped ice fragments cut through the center of the insect swarm. And then—
BOOM! BOOM!
The ice fragments, now brimming with magical energy, exploded mid-air.
Seong Hyunjae had infused them with the remains of the fallen monsters—ice and water—and then electrochemically decomposed them, unleashing a devastating chain reaction.
Even in the face of that violent explosion, nearly half of the insects survived and rushed at him again. But both the pink yarn and the golem’s fragments littered the ground at his feet. More explosions followed in the air, and the remnants of the insects rained down like a torrential downpour.
Blocking the debris with a flicker of electricity, Seong Hyunjae smirked.
“They’re quick to notice.”
His gaze shifted downward. The ground trembled faintly, as if something beneath had sensed his attention. A white spear materialized in his hand once more.
“I’m running low on points from taking care of my partner.”
He couldn’t let this one go.
The spear plunged deep into the ground.
From the hole it created, thick bodily fluids gushed out like a fountain, and massive vines erupted from the earth, splitting the ground apart. The monster flailed desperately, lashing its vines like whips. But Seong Hyunjae anticipated their trajectory and dodged with the bare minimum of movement.
It didn’t take long for the final monster to fall silent.
A hush settled over the battlefield. Seong Hyunjae collected the floating points above the corpses.
In mere moments, tens of millions of points had accumulated. Including the insects’ points, his total easily surpassed a hundred million.
Had Han Yujin seen this, he would have racked his brain trying to find a way to leech off it.
But—
‘The efficiency is terrible.’
Operating the system and sending out quests consumed points. Just awarding a simple ten-thousand-point reward required spending several million points. The same applied to item rewards.
Seong Hyunjae reopened the system window he had temporarily closed.
[If you compare him to that big snake, he definitely looks a lot fresher. Chief Song should have come too!]
[That’s a shame. I wish he had.]
‘I agree.’
If Song Taewon had entered this world, it would have been interesting to see his reaction—especially regarding Achates. Maybe it would have even softened that rigid demeanor of his, if only a little.
Seong Hyunjae perched himself on a suitable rock.
On the screen, Han Yujin and Moon Hyunah were discussing Sigma, but then both abruptly fell silent. Then, they began speaking about this world itself.
—Grumble…
The area had been quiet for a while, but now, something that resembled a clump of mud wriggled forward, glowing faintly with a blue hue. It didn’t dare approach, only circling the outskirts.
[What a waste of a good face. Seriously, you should smile more. Smile~]
Meanwhile, Han Yujin was face-to-face with Sigma.
The screen showed him bound in chains, being dragged onto the table.
“Well, well. The young ones really are rough.”
Considering Sigma’s youth alone, he could have handled things far more smoothly. Clicking his tongue, Seong Hyunjae observed Sigma’s actions.
He was pretending to be calm, but he was impatient and unstable.
It wasn’t hard to understand why.
For Sigma, Solemnise was a narrow cage. A confined world where the same days and the same events repeated endlessly. A place where he was slowly fading away.
And then, in the middle of all that, something completely new had appeared before him.
It wasn’t just Han Yujin’s actions.
Sigma must have instinctively felt that his very existence was something unnatural to this world.
Like a splash of fresh water over a fish slowly dying in a drying pond.
He had no choice but to chase after it.
And if he was chasing, then he had no choice but to seize it. To survive.
To make matters worse—
[To me, Sigma, you’re the only one.]
Han Yujin had said it.
That in this world, Sigma was the only real thing.
And the real one had affirmed it.
With complete sincerity, the one who should be a fake had been declared real.
A massive contradiction had just occurred.
And right after that—
Seong Hyunjae felt the world tremble. And someone else sensed it as well.
—He said it.
A white bird.
Shrunken to about the size of a small falcon, the white bird landed on a fragment of the shattered ice golem, its long tail feathers trailing behind it. Seong Hyunjae gazed at the bird with an unmistakable lack of warmth.
“Yes. Just as you foresaw.”
A Future-Seer species, the Bird that Counts the Stars.
It wasn’t truly real. Just leftover data from this world. But even so, she had already known this future.
—Just because I saw it doesn’t mean it was inevitable. I merely worked to increase the possibility.
Even as she made excuses, Seong Hyunjae’s gaze remained ice-cold. He even began to emit a clear killing intent. His golden eyes narrowed to needle-thin slits. Yet, the white bird paid no mind and fluttered up, perching casually on his shoulder.
—Especially this time, I thought it would be difficult. I didn’t expect him to accept it so easily.
“My partner is kind. Once you cross a certain line, he’ll accept anything—human, monster, or something beyond either.”
Anything.
Perhaps it was because he had raised Han Yuhyun. His limits didn’t exist. At least, not yet.
Seong Hyunjae looked at Han Yujin’s distressed face on the screen.
Even himself.
He had felt it clearly at the convenience store on his birthday. Han Yujin had erased the line that had once separated them.
The man still believed he was keeping his distance, but in reality…
“Because of that, this is rather troublesome.”
Han Yujin already saw Seong Hyunjae as someone like him. That was why he had accepted his partnership request.
And now—what was Seong Hyunjae supposed to do?
Even for him, this was a rare and difficult problem.
Han Yujin was still an F-rank, still weak, still rotting away from the inside.
Yet despite that, Han Yujin liked Seong Hyunjae in an utterly ordinary way.
If he got hurt, Han Yujin would worry. If he was in danger, he would try to save him. He would sincerely celebrate his birthday, chat with him as if it were nothing, and even send him a New Year’s greeting.
And maybe—just maybe—Han Yujin would even change him.
It wouldn’t be fair to say that he hadn’t already.
“…Though I won’t end up like Han Yuhyun.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Seong Hyunjae made his choice: to protect.
At this point, he had no intention of letting go.
Even now, when Han Yujin could barely keep himself together, this was the state of things.
But what would happen if that decayed core fully healed?
That was why Seong Hyunjae had tried to mend him with his own hands.
But he had been rejected.
A faint smile curved his lips.
The world around him was beginning to crack.
The white bird took flight and then vanished. Her role had ended here.
Even if the real had accepted the fake, even if the two had intertwined—changing something as vast as this was impossible. There was a limit to the information she could provide Seong Hyunjae.
Seong Hyunjae rose to his feet, easily dispatching the mud-like creature nearby. Then, he sent out a quest.
[Special Main Quest! Protect Sigma!!]
–TL Notes–
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