Chapter 130 : Reverse Otherworld
Chapter 130: Reverse Otherworld
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the worst garbage by current situation standards had formed a team. Trash that wouldn’t be wasted even if taken and incinerated wholesale.
The synergy effect that would occur between them was something even Baek Woohyun didn’t want to think about.
‘Such a thing was unimaginable “over there.”‘
Why did such a huge difference arise between ‘over there’ and ‘Reverse Planet’?
Baek Woohyun’s expression darkened as he handled the bracelet. Cold and ruthless, just like when he worked as a contract worker back then.
It meant he was taking the current situation that seriously, and for him, there was no choice but to do so.
The change that started from the small trigger of TL-01 had now grown uncontrollably, singing of an alliance between research facility, corporations, and otherworld.
‘I need to speed up more than I initially thought.’
If careless, he’d be swept away by the flow of change.
To prevent this, he had to strike out more strongly from this side.
If he could grasp where the change started from, he could get a bit closer to the secret this game was hiding.
‘For now…’
Just do the best possible thing available now.
Just as he always had, both ‘over there’ and here.
“……”
Having made his decision, Baek Woohyun gestured lightly, and “Eueheok?!” a scream echoed from the forest.
But unlike when dealing with the hunting dogs, the sound of bodies twisting didn’t follow. Only increasingly panicked shouts grew closer.
This meant he was grabbing and pulling someone with telekinesis, and sure enough, a man in Manmulsang security guard uniform soon popped out.
The man flailed desperately, then froze like he’d been struck by lightning when Baek Woohyun entered his view. From his pale face, he seemed frightened.
‘Not a security guard.’
“…Did the ‘Owner’ send you?”
Baek Woohyun asked calmly while examining the man.
“Yes, yes! That’s right! ‘Avenger’ customer! I’m an employee sent from Manmulsang!”
Perhaps feeling the fear that if he didn’t answer properly, his body might twist and he’d die.
The Manmulsang employee answered in a voice filled with energy. It was loud enough to make the forest, quiet after the hunting dogs and Hellhound died, ring loudly.
Perhaps still suffering from the tinnitus, Baek Woohyun frowned at the Manmulsang employee’s shout-like answer.
“Too loud.”
“—!”
“Lower your voice.”
“Ah, understood…”
“What business did the ‘Owner’ send you on?”
The Manmulsang employee who heard Baek Woohyun’s question cleared his throat and composed himself.
Perhaps having gained confidence that he at least wouldn’t be killed for no reason, his expression was relatively calm.
“First, I apologize for providing incorrect information that there would be no additional support troops. We plan to properly compensate you for this later.”
“……”
“Additionally, there’s an additional contract request. Of course, this is absolutely not a forced demand, and refusing won’t cause any problems whatsoever.”
“What’s the contract about?”
“‘Exterminate the research facility established inside a Reverse World.'”
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh burst from Baek Woohyun’s mouth.
Because he was dumbfounded by the story that they had now even boldly established a research facility inside a Reverse World.
Given that even an Otherworld Lord was involved, he thought it was quite an unusual situation, but to think they were not just cooperating but even sharing Reverse Worlds.
‘Crazy bastards.’
The reasons to destroy the research facility and Corporate Alliance in ‘Reverse Planet’ kept increasing.
Of course, it wasn’t bad for Baek Woohyun at all.
After all, he wanted to do just that from the start.
Even now, at this very moment.
“Will you accept the contract request?”
“…I’ll accept.”
“Ah! Thank you! The detailed location of the Reverse World where the research facility is located is organized in this document!”
The brightened Manmulsang employee rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a document to hand over. It was a document with the contract details well organized.
It was formatted the same as the document he saw at Manmulsang, so Baek Woohyun perfectly grasped the contents just by skimming through it.
The Reverse World where the research facility was located was quite close to his current location, so he could guess why they wanted to commission it.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“……”
When Baek Woohyun waved his handismissively, the Manmulsang employee bowed his waist deeply then hurried off. He looked like he wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Well, it was natural to feel uneasy next to someone who could kill you with a glance. Especially if he had actually massacred dozens of people.
Though Baek Woohyun himself had already completely withdrawn his attention from the Manmulsang employee.
‘Let’s finish it.’
Goooo—
Transparent flames rose from Baek Woohyun’s body as he stared at the half-collapsed research facility entrance.
The supernatural ability power wielded by one who was once a Transcendent easily dominated the vicinity, then soon shook the ground with a kugugung! sound.
Due to the earthquake-like trembling, the entrance that had already been on the verge of losing its function completely collapsed.
So that no one could enter or exit, perfectly.
It was truly persistent and thorough sealing.
-Ahahahaha!
-Die miserably in there!
“……”
The presence that had been faintly felt in Baek Woohyun’s sense moved busily. Surely they were desperately seeking countermeasures after realizing what had happened.
But he could confidently say that the research facility personnel who barely survived by avoiding him would never come back to the surface to see sunlight.
He had meticulously blocked even the emergency exits before leaving the research facility, and like this, he ground up and cut off even the entrance.
Essentially, their future was already decided.
They would all starve to death inside the research facility hidden by collapsed debris, with no one coming to find them.
Surely a very terrible end.
As he had wished, and as the vengeful spirits had desired.
‘Shall I go now?’
Baek Woohyun, glancing at the research facility with cold eyes, flew straight up into the sky.
***
While Baek Woohyun in the video flew toward the research facility said to be established inside a Reverse World.
“Um, first it’s certain that the research facility and Corporate Alliance joined hands with the otherworld. The problem is which side has the initiative.”
“If the Otherworld Lord is the next raid boss, wouldn’t it be reasonable to see it as the otherworld side using the research facility and Corporate Alliance?”
“But to see it that way, the research facility’s aspects of using the otherworld have been revealed too blatantly.”
-ㄹㅇ; To the point of making doping drugs and even equipment
-That might also have been deliberately handed over by the otherworldㅇㅇ
-It’s a common development. Hand over power then devour from the inside
-But for that, the research facility even ate up the Reverse World?
In the studio, they were chattering about the story progress so far. Because there was so much to discuss since it had swept through like a storm.
From the Tempest-L estimated to be the next raid bait, or the Otherworld Lord’s specimen, to the bracelet containing otherworld power – A Type, and even the research facility inside a Reverse World.
Elements that had never appeared in any other player’s story all poured out entangled together, naturally causing much talk.
‘ㅇㅇ’ donated ‘1000 won’!
[But why is the specimen next raid bait in the first place? It only appeared in Hackphysical’s story]
“Ahaha. It’s not confirmed, we’re just speculating. That there’s a possibility it could be a raid boss?”
Jeong Nayeon calmly answered the question that came via donation—though it was highly likely trolling disguised as a question.
She preemptively blocked any talk about updates by saying this was only speculation and it was unknown what would actually happen.
It was Jeong Nayeon’s wise handling to avoid repeating the controversy that arose in the community regarding the pet system update in the past.
-???: Hackphysical updated the pet system!
-How can a single user update anything
-Ugh, the Hackphysical haters swarmed again already
-Trolling bait prohibited
‘ㅇㅇ’ donated ‘1000 won’!
[I’m a troll~ I’m gonna troll~ I’m a troll~ I’m gonna troll~]
‘Oh no.’
But unfortunately, it wasn’t very effective.
The chat was already a mess, beyond whether it was raid bait or not, debating whether updates could be made from one person’s story or not.
The Hackphysical antis who had been quiet for a while sneakily appeared and busily mocked, ‘What update from a single user’s story!’
Vicious viewers who just liked trolling were also running wild along with them.
“Wait, hold on.”
It was around then that Chloe stepped in.
She scanned the rapidly rising chat, then smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
“First, let me correct one misconception. It’s true the specimen only appeared in Mr. Cheater’s story, but Otherworld Lords are occasionally mentioned in other stories too. Otherwise, how would I know about them?”
-Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s rightㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Now that I think about it, that’s trueㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The fact is that it hasn’t even been revealed yet what the Tempest-L specimen is in Hackphysical’s story
-Haters have low intelligence so they don’t know that stuff!
“And why do you think of Hackphysical’s story as a single user’s story? Story isn’t just one person’s thing. Other people can fully progress the same story as Hackphysical too!”
Certainly Chloe’s words were correct.
The reason it was called Hackphysical’s story was simply because Baek Woohyun was the only person progressing that story route.
If they wanted, anyone could progress the same story line as him. If they made the same choices under the same conditions as him.
-Progressing the same story is possible
-It’s not wrong. It’s not, butㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The minimum condition for Hackphysical’s story is no support
-Single user story update = X, update according to originally set story (only Hackphysical progressing) = O
But who on earth could do that?
As evidenced by Baek Woohyun becoming a hot topic as Hackphysical with just one broadcast, he was a true Special One.
It was an achievement impossible even for pro players called world class.
“You’re absolutely right. Haha.”
“That’s what I wanted to say too! Ah, looks like we’ve arrived!”
***
‘This is…’
Baek Woohyun’s expression stiffened upon arriving at the destination.
Not because the dimensional gate serving as the Reverse World entrance was cunningly hidden. He expected that when told a research facility was established inside.
What made him react was that the dimensional gate’s color was dyed a vivid purple.
That very color symbolizing the otherworld’s power.
‘It became a Reverse Otherworld.’
When the otherworld power trapped inside a Reverse World exceeded a certain threshold, the most common phenomenon was berserk.
However, berserk didn’t always occur in all situations. Rarely, there were cases where the otherworld power reversely eroded the Reverse World itself.
A phenomenon called ‘otherworldification,’ and such Reverse Worlds that lost initiative to the otherworld were separately called ‘Reverse Otherworlds.’
‘This got troublesome.’
A Reverse Otherworld was essentially a place no different from the otherworld, so contrary to Reverse Worlds where otherworld power was suppressed, otherworld power was actually maximized there.
If TL series doping drugs or equipment that drew out otherworld power were used there, extermination would become considerably tricky.
That’s why Baek Woohyun’s expression looking at the Reverse Otherworld had to stiffen.
Of course, he had no intention of retreating.
Reverse Otherworld combat was certainly tricky, but that was merely the annoyance of having to kill enemies twice instead of once.
As he thought, merely ‘troublesome,’ not to the point of needing to choose retreat.
“Huuu.”
Baek Woohyun, who briefly controlled his breathing, stepped toward the Reverse Otherworld dimensional gate.
Unlike Reverse Worlds where passages existed after the dimensional gate, in Reverse Otherworlds, another space appeared immediately upon crossing the dimensional gate.
A sky full of purple light, blue-tinted earth, twisted ash-gray trees filling the space—a grotesquely bizarre place.
“……?”
‘No one’s here?’
Baek Woohyun, who first spread his sense wide to check if there were enemies around, tilted his head.
Because though the range where he could detect presences was absolutely not small, not a single living being was felt within it.
Considering this was a Reverse Otherworld, it was very strange. It meant they hadn’t even posted sentries at the entrance.
***