Chapter 112 - Episode 16. Metaverse (4)
Chapter 112: Episode 16. Metaverse (4)
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[10 minutes remain.]
Belkain’s Vicegerent, ‘Dynas,’ had exceptionally sharp eyes. Wherever his gaze fell in the 《Tower of Nightmares》, hidden items were sure to be concealed. Even when he had barely failed to clear the 《Tower of Nightmares》, he had found the path to the 《Abyss》’s Fishing Spot.
His keen eye was also why he had been able to join Belkain’s ranks, despite the god already wielding considerable influence among the intermediate gods.
Yet today, Dynas doubted his own eyes.
What the hell was that guy?
They were not Apostles of some lowest-grade or low-grade god. They were five Apostles of Belkain, an intermediate god.
And those five Apostles...
“Gaaah!”
“A-Vicegerent-nim.”
Were sent flying by a single blow.
It was not even an impressive Setting. The man had simply gripped the hilt of his sword and stabbed forward with it.
Stab.
No matter how he looked at it, it was Stab.
Dynas wondered if it was some new Setting he did not know, but he had never heard of a Setting like that anywhere in the 《Abyss》.
[Some gods are taking interest in the disturbance occurring on the first floor of 〈Metaverse〉!]
[Some gods doubt your victory.]
The gods on 《Little Brother》 chattered nonstop. They spoke of a new powerhouse, of a “hidden-strength Follower on the first floor.”
“Move.”
Dynas kicked aside the fallen Apostles and stepped forward.
His instincts warned him. If he backed down now, Belkain would never forgive him.
[A considerable number of gods are taking interest in this battle!]
[The God of Scythes ‘Belkain’ expresses displeasure.]
After all, every god on the first floor had begun watching this place.
In other words, his defeat here would be no different from Belkain’s defeat.
Try taking this too.
Formidable World Force rose from Dynas’s body. Concentrated World Force gathered at his elbow, and his scythe instantly extended over five meters before slashing horizontally through the space ahead.
「Severance」
Belkain’s Scythe enhanced not only the Apostle-grade 「Melting」, but also its cutting ability. It was a Setting that even other intermediate gods’ Vicegerents hesitated to face one-on-one.
Yet...
Clang.
The scythe infused with that Setting was effortlessly stopped by a single blackened sword.
A sword unaffected by Melting or Severance.
It stopped that?
His opponent was even muttering with an odd expression.
“So intermediate gods can withstand at least Normal Stab.”
His scythe carried a Setting that even the Lords of the 《Great Realm》 feared. There was no way it could be stopped by some beginner.
Dynas bit down hard on his lip and asked, “Who are you? Which Alliance are you with? Did you receive promotion support in this round?”
He had a strange feeling. No matter how closely he looked, he could not sense any extraordinary World Pressure. The man was naked, without a single Part.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Someone with your skill would not suddenly appear on the first floor. Answer honestly, and I might let you live.”
The fact that the man answered back meant they could communicate. In that case, perhaps he could intimidate him into backing off without having to fight.
[Some gods are curious about Vicegerent ‘Jaehwan’s’ promotion details.]
[Some gods are curious which Alliance Vicegerent ‘Jaehwan’ belongs to.]
If that man called Jaehwan belonged to an Alliance, that could be a relief in its own way. If this became a conflict between Alliances, both sides would have an excuse to avoid a fight.
Then...
“How many floors do you think you can reach in this tower?”
Something was strange about that guy.
“What?”
“I asked how many floors you think you can reach in this tower.”
Was that some kind of provocation, or was he asking seriously? Dynas could not tell, so he answered honestly without thinking.
“I’m confident I can reach the sixth floor alone.”
Some words became confidence the moment they were spoken.
A powerhouse capable of climbing as high as the sixth floor alone. Dynas felt his heart settle. That was right. No matter what anyone said, he was a sixth-floor-level powerhouse. There was no way someone like this could shake him.
“I’m tired of this.”
“What?”
“Are the ones up through the sixth floor all roughly this level?”
Roughly this level?
World Force exploded from Dynas’s body. As its flow accelerated, his Worldview became sturdier. That strengthened Worldview led to even greater overconfidence.
“Consider your grave dug.”
If he were a Vicegerent of a famous god, Dynas would have known. It would already have been widely reported on 《Little Brother》.
“Graaah!”
The ground before him was devastated and split apart by his massive swing. Dynas chased after Jaehwan as he leaped high into the air, showing off his most spectacular techniques.
This was not the time to consider the possibility of defeat. He had to win.
More spectacularly than anyone else here.
[Few gods look forward to your performance.]
Dynas had entered 〈Metaverse〉 in this round with promotional support from the Alliance Mogi.
He had not received a “High Pass” like the Vicegerents of high-grade gods, nor had he hosted a “gacha draw broadcast” using huge amounts of trust. Still, he was an elite making his way up with support of his own.
[Some gods are watching your battle.]
All the gods of the lower floors were watching him. How well he performed here would determine the course of his future promotions.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
His attacks came one after another. Dynas still held the initiative. On the surface, Jaehwan was completely on the defensive.
“You only run away. Are you planning to hold out until the time limit runs out?”
“...”
“Sorry, but that strategy will fail.”
Dynas smiled triumphantly and pressed the small button attached to his necklace.
“Skin on.”
In this Metaverse, the ultimate display of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, there was a Part that maximized the difference in financial power.
The so-called Metaverse Skin.
“Oh, don’t tell me that’s...!”
Several passengers watching their fight from nearby gasped.
A Metaverse Skin. An overpowered Part that increased a passenger’s attack power, defense, and attack speed within the Metaverse by a fixed percentage.
“A new Skin! Damn it!”
“As expected of someone getting promotion support...”
Amid those admiring gazes, Jaehwan finally showed an odd reaction.
“Why do you have that appearance?”
“You seem to recognize this Skin. Then you must know you have no chance of winning.”
Anyone who spent money would know this Skin. A noble black cloak, black flames enveloping his surroundings.
A rare-grade Skin, ‘Dark Fragrance Lord Samyeong Garam.’
It was an outrageous new Skin based on the appearance of a Lord, an enemy of the gods. Still, the gods of the Metaverse thought that as long as it looked good and performed well, nothing else mattered.
[Attack speed has increased by 20% due to the Skin effect!]
[Attack power has increased by 20% due to the Skin effect!]
[Defense has increased by 20% due to the Skin effect!]
His enhanced scythe moved without restraint.
Jaehwan’s expression changed slightly as well. He was still on the defensive, but the weight behind the sword blocking the scythe was different.
Perhaps sensing that shift, Dynas’s expression brightened.
It was working. With this, he could win.
He did not know which god had sent this hidden card, but the man was no match for him now.
“You really show what kind of place the Metaverse is.”
Jaehwan, who had only retreated until then, stopped for the first time.
“You are worse than the Lords.”
Jaehwan’s stance changed, from defense to offense. Dokbul, drawn taut, aimed at Dynas like a bowstring set against its target.
Jaehwan’s World Force steadily rose. Even to Dynas, the World Force gathered at the tip of his sword was no ordinary amount.
“You bastard...”
An intermediate god... a high-grade god? No, perhaps...
Cold sweat formed on his brow. Trying to shake off that anxiety, Dynas swung an even stronger blow.
Kagagagak!
The scythe he swung in panic collided with the tip of Jaehwan’s sword.
Enhancement-type 「Strength Enhancement」 and 「Physical Damage Enhancement」. On top of that, control-type 「Melting」 and 「Corrosion」. It was a Setting that applied four supplementary Settings.
Yet it did not work.
Even his “scythe,” empowered by the Skin, could not break through the World Pressure gathered at the sword’s tip. He could not understand it. The World Force was impressive, but its total volume was not threatening enough to explain this.
What kind of Setting was that?
Perhaps realizing that things were taking a turn for the worse, his god reacted.
[The God of Scythes ‘Belkain’ is providing full support to his Vicegerent.]
Full support from an intermediate god.
Dynas had not seen that message in a while, and confidence returned to him.
He could win.
No matter how strong a Vicegerent was, they could not stand against him with his synchronization rate raised to its limit.
Then Jaehwan spoke.
“The Warlords of the Great Realm withstood this about four times.”
A chilling vortex swept through the area, and Jaehwan’s sword tip trembled. Something was about to begin.
“I wonder how many times you can withstand it.”
“He’s no ordinary opponent. Kill him with everything you have!”
Belkain’s Followers attacked Jaehwan all at once in formation.
A Worldview formed around them as they linked their World Force. It was Belkain’s Sanctuary, faintly outlined by the gathering of countless Followers. In the thick jungle, enormous mantises seemed to charge at their prey.
At their center stood the Vicegerent of a god, wearing stolen clothes from a Lord.
Dark Fragrance Lord Samyeong Garam.
The Lord who had opened the path to Creation for Jaehwan.
Jaehwan stabbed with his sword.
Something burst, and brilliant rays of light colored the area. Within that light, Dynas, Belkain’s Vicegerent, blinked helplessly.
A path of light shot into the sky, erasing the Followers. Only then did Dynas understand why he and his god had feared that man so much.
From the beginning, what that man had been looking at was...
Crack, crack, crack!
A massive rift formed where the Stab passed. Space crushed by the power of a Unique World. Fragments of a pitch-black universe flowed through the space-time that had been 〈Metaverse〉 only moments before.
[The God of Scythes ‘Belkain’ is astonished by rage and fear!]
[The God of Scythes ‘Belkain’ falls asleep after suffering a great shock.]
As he watched the bizarre scene revealed beyond it, Dynas’s figure shattered like a mantis with its neck snapped.
[Some gods cannot contain their astonishment.]
[The God of Flash, ‘Rayray,’ opens their mouth wide at the unbelievable sight.]
[New gods have entered the channel.]
[‘Anonymous God 32’ asks if the Metaverse has finally been destroyed.]
...
[The God of Flames, ‘Ignis,’ smugly says he knew it would happen.]
A rift was opening in the gods’ world.
* * *
Jaehwan shook out his wrist and looked at the sky. Above the ruined first floor, he could see the torn ceiling of the Metaverse. Darkness seeped through the deep rifts. Jaehwan looked beyond that distant darkness.
Was that as far as he could reach in one go?
He could not climb to the seventh floor, where Yoonhwan might or might not be, by dealing with people like them one at a time. That was why he had chosen this.
If this Tower was also a world, he could destroy it.
So Jaehwan stabbed at the sky. First floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, then fifth floor. His Stab soared through the sky without knowing its limit, and everything had been fine until then.
The moment it reached the sixth floor, he felt something catch on the sword’s tip.
A powerful force blocked his sword.
That meant there was something on at least the sixth floor capable of stopping his Stab.
Jaehwan flexed his wrist for a moment, then bent down and picked up the tokens scattered across the ground.
[You have acquired 106 tokens.]
[You have achieved first place in the Token Acquisition Ranking.]
[The tokens you acquired will be converted into points.]
[Your record will be registered in the Metaverse All-Time Score Ranking.]
[You have fulfilled the Clear Conditions for the Task.]
Yet the atmosphere around him was strange.
[What the hell are you doing?]
Andersen muttered as if she could not believe it, or as if she had lost her mind.
[You’re insane. No, this makes no sense. What the hell is...]
It was not just Andersen. The passengers trembled as if they had witnessed something blasphemous, or something they had never known was possible.
“Th-This is impossible.”
Jaehwan looked up at the sky. The rift left in the sky after the blade of his soaring Stab had vanished. Fragments of the ceiling poured through it like snow.
The sight seemed to tell everyone something.
That this was not a proper world.
That it was no more than a daytime dream made by a Dream Demon.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ is taking interest in you.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ wishes to make you their Vicegerent.]
[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ admires your pride.]
[The God of Destruction ‘Destroyer’ wishes to make you their Follower.]
[The God of Wisdom ‘Hikmatun’ condemns your reckless actions...]
...
Messages from the gods covered the sky far above him. Jaehwan frowned as he looked up at them.
This was the Metaverse, the playground of all gods.
Even a destroyed world was a game to them.
[The time limit for the first floor of 〈Metaverse〉 has ended.]
[You have survived.]
The passengers shouted something, but Jaehwan had no time to listen.
Beyond the rift in the world he had split apart, an ominous shadow was descending.
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