Chapter 110 - Episode 16. Metaverse (2)
Chapter 110: Episode 16. Metaverse (2)
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From the Root, the Tower of Nightmares, to the Branch, the Abyss, Jaehwan had experienced all kinds of missions. There had been floors of burning hell and gates of frozen frost. He had hunted horned beasts and fought terrifyingly powerful foes.
Yet none of the worlds Jaehwan had experienced resembled the first floor of the Metaverse now spread before him.
“Surprised?”
Rene, watching Jaehwan’s reaction, spoke to him.
“Have you ever seen buildings like that? They’re pointlessly tall and spiky. Strange, right?”
It was strange.
This world resembled a city Jaehwan knew very well. Familiar statues stood in the wide-open plaza. Huge billboards bore familiar writing.
Rene looked at the scene with an odd expression.
“I’ve come here a few times myself, but it always feels strange. They say it’s a planet on the outskirts of the Peripheral Worlds, but Dream Demons especially love this place.”
Jaehwan did not bother telling her that the name of that Peripheral Worlds planet was Earth.
Runald, tense beside him, grabbed Jaehwan and muttered, “Jaehwan-nim. I’ve seen this place too.”
“You’ve seen it?”
“Yes. I looked through some other Worldviews while visiting an alley workshop before. This is the world where you become a Hunter and hunt lots of monsters, right?”
Jaehwan did not know what to say. If the Earth he knew was that Earth, then becoming Hunters to hunt monsters...
[Welcome to ‘Metaverse Floor 1’.]
[The base Worldview of this floor is 『Hunter Fiction』.]
...should have been impossible.
“Hunter Fiction?”
A conversation he had once had with Yoonhwan came to mind.
“What was your hobby before you came here, Jaehwan?”
When had that been? Around the time they reached the tenth floor of the 《Tower of Nightmares》, perhaps. Jaehwan could not remember what he had answered. One thing was certain, he had asked Yoonhwan the same question. Yoonhwan had probably answered like this.
“Hmm... I don’t know. Watching movies or dramas?”
“That’s a quiet hobby.”
“That quiet hobby helps quite a bit here. This tower is similar to a movie I watched once. Stories where people are trapped and given survival missions are popular these days.”
“Really? I don’t think I’ve seen many.”
“They’re more common in novels. If I had to classify this genre... ‘Hunter Fiction’? Or maybe ‘tower climbing fiction.’”
They had definitely talked about that. Hunter Fiction. Would things have been different if he had asked what kind of genre it was?
Sighs rose all around him.
“What, Hunter Fiction again?”
“That Driver really has no creativity.”
“They never stop talking about new patches, but none of them are fresh.”
Having roughly grasped the Worldview, Rene nodded and added, “You’re lucky. Worlds like this usually focus on subjugating monsters. Gates will probably open and monsters will emerge. Taking them out will likely be the first floor’s Task. Ah, I wish we’d gotten something more interesting.”
Watching Rene hum to herself and the others prepare for the Task as though it bored them, Jaehwan felt deeply unsettled.
What did “interesting” even mean in this world?
[Some gods are greatly disappointed by the Worldview of Metaverse Floor 1!]
Was it the same kind of fun Yoonhwan found in movies?
“Over there.”
One passenger pointed to the edge of the plaza.
Since when had they been there? A group of creatures stood between the forest of buildings, watching them. Purple skin. Pointed ears and hideous teeth. Small monsters with threatening muscles.
Jaehwan knew them too. He had hunted those monsters throughout his climb up the Tower of Nightmares.
“Goblins.”
The instant someone muttered that, the passengers around them changed.
“What? This’ll be ridiculously easy.”
“Move. The First Kill is mine!”
Passengers who had already closed the distance drew their weapons.
The first to move was one of the people who had pipes tucked into their belts earlier. A man pulled something like a blade from his elbow and beheaded the nearest goblin, unleashing powerful World Force.
[Someone has achieved the ‘First Kill’ achievement!]
[A Token has been acquired.]
+
<Token Acquisition Rankings>
1. Aime Beast - 1 Token
+
The moment they saw the rankings page, chaos erupted.
“Kill them fast! There might be a mass slaughter achievement.”
“Where’s the boss? Find it, now!”
Token counts climbed without pause. The head of a screaming goblin rolled across the ground.
So this was an ordinary Hunter Fiction world, and hunting goblins was the Task. At this difficulty, it was no different from the first floor of the 《Tower of Nightmares》.
But was that really all there was to it?
“Jaehwan-nim! There isn’t even one left nearby!”
Runald looked up at him anxiously. Starting late in a mission like this put someone at a disadvantage. Jaehwan showed no sign of moving.
Without looking back, he asked, “You’re not going?”
Rene shrugged.
“What about you, Mr. Beginner?”
“Same reason as you.”
Rene smiled in satisfaction.
“Veteran Rene’s second piece of advice. Don’t act carelessly before the floor’s ‘Task’ has been announced.”
As in the 《Tower of Nightmares》, finding out the Task of a floor was one of the most basic requirements for clearing it.
Of course, that strategy did not always work.
[Floor 1 passenger ‘Dynas’ has reclaimed first place in Area Points!]
“What? Who took first place?”
Amid startled shouts, the competition to seize first place in points grew increasingly fierce. The plaza was soon filled with heat as messages announcing the passengers’ rising points appeared without pause.
Even then, package sales meant to fuel the competition continued.
[‘Basic Attack Power Enhancement Scroll’ is currently for sale. Would you like to purchase it?]
[The ‘Floor 1-exclusive Combat Power Increase Part Set’ is currently for sale. Would you like to purchase it?]
Passengers continuously pressed purchase buttons in midair. They had gathered an astonishing amount of trust somewhere, and none of them hesitated.
Some even treated the massacre itself as content.
“Alright, everyone. I’m going to fry this goblin with electricity now.”
Most of them had broadcast-related Settings, like Rene.
“Experiment one. How many minutes can a goblin survive in fire?”
“They say anything tastes good sous vide. So what happens if you sous vide a goblin?”
From torturing goblins to cooking them, it was madness, as though they intended to try every experiment possible with goblins.
Jaehwan pressed his throbbing temple and muttered, “Why go that far?”
“Because the gods find it entertaining.”
Rene watched the passengers with indifferent eyes. Goblins were fried by electricity and roasted in flames. It was enough to make him sick, yet the gods cheered and sent messages.
“Everyone hates goblins. Even if you beat a passing goblin to death, the gods will applaud. Everyone has had trouble with goblins at least once.”
Goblins were filthy monsters that spread disease and lived by sucking the lifeblood of other beings. Jaehwan knew their habits well.
But could that justify such cruelty?
“What about you?”
“I don’t want to earn money by going that far. Ah, I’m not saying those passengers are wrong, of course. They have to make a living too.”
Watching the goblins die without pause, even Runald looked away in discomfort.
[A limited event has been activated!]
[The ‘Metaverse’ has received a request from the high-floor ‘Alliance’.]
[The high-grade gods of the ‘Alliance’ declare that they will award 3,000 trust to those who demonstrate more first forms of goblin torture.]
“Three thousand?” Rene muttered.
“Will you do it?”
“No. It’s tempting, but no.”
Seeing her shake her head, even though she seemed as though she would offer anything for trust crystals, Jaehwan revised his assessment of Rene slightly.
Then a message appeared before him.
[The Task for ‘Metaverse Floor 1’ has arrived!]
+
<Metaverse Floor 1>
Task: Hunt goblins for 30 minutes and acquire ten Tokens.
Reward: Entry to Floor 2 and 500 trust.
+
The passengers who saw the first floor’s objective paused and looked at one another.
“I figured it would be goblin hunting. Let’s go.”
Only then did passengers who had been waiting like Jaehwan and Rene start moving quickly.
Rene loosened up and looked at Jaehwan.
“Hmm, this is different from what I expected. There’s usually a trap in missions like this. At this rate, it’ll be faster to hunt separately.”
“Do what you want.”
“Then see you later. Mr. Beginner, don’t die!”
Rene leaped lightly and vanished between the buildings in an instant. Judging by her footwork, she was certainly no ordinary fighter.
“Jaehwan-nim, I’ll take a look around too!”
Runald, who had already cracked his ankles and warmed up, took off running. Before Jaehwan could ask anything, Runald’s retreating figure had already disappeared into the distance.
Andersen said, [That one has always been excellent at running away. You don’t need to worry too much if the opponent is a goblin. But will you be okay? There isn’t even one left nearby.]
He needed a total of ten goblin Tokens. The problem was how few goblins remained.
“What? Where did all the goblins go?”
Passengers searching nearby wore dumbfounded expressions. Inside the buildings and out, the goblins had already been completely wiped out.
“Metaverse, spawn more goblins!”
“Spawn them!”
There was no sign of any new goblins appearing. The reason soon became clear.
[You may purchase a ‘Floor 1 New Item’.]
[Would you like to purchase the ‘Goblin Spawn Location Map’?]
Complaints poured from the passengers. Even Jaehwan found it absurd. Did they have to buy something like this too?
Passengers who had grabbed maps ran off amid the constant chiming of purchase notifications.
[Do you have any trust left?]
‘No.’
[Then what will you do?]
Jaehwan had no intention of paying for a map. This was a matter of pride.
He slowly closed his eyes and focused.
As he expanded the range of 「Doubt」 and 「Understanding」, he soon sensed goblins and passengers in the distance.
Andersen muttered in admiration. [Awakened Ones really are ridiculous. But you’re something else too.]
‘Can’t gods do this?’
[There are probably gods capable of something similar.]
‘Looks like you can’t.’
[Did you really want to say that so badly?]
While Andersen fumed, Jaehwan headed toward the goblins he sensed.
After walking for some time, he heard weapons clashing nearby. Human and goblin screams rang out now and then.
Then he heard someone shout.
“I’m first, ten!”
Someone had finally gathered all ten Tokens. It was one of the men who had rushed ahead earlier for the First Kill.
“Huh?”
Something was wrong with the man.
Several passengers tilted their heads and approached him.
“Hey.”
The trembling man stared at his reflection in a building’s glass window.
“What is this? What the hell is this?”
His reflection in the clear glass was strange. He should have looked human, but his appearance had changed somehow.
A hunched back. Green skin and a hideous face. Fangs protruding grotesquely.
“A goblin?”
A red arrow appeared above the man’s head.
[A ‘Goblin’ with ten or more Tokens has appeared!]
[If you hunt the relevant goblin, you may acquire all Tokens collected by that goblin.]
[Additional Tokens acquired may be exchanged for trust crystals after the stage ends.]
At the message, the passengers around him grinned.
“Ah, so that’s how it works.”
Weapons were drawn all around him at once. The terrified man trembled and backed away.
“W-wait! Just wait!”
The first floor’s Task was to hunt goblins and gather ten Tokens. And those who gathered all ten Tokens and completed the Task...
“Aaaah!”
They all became goblins.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion