Chapter 213
Chapter 213: The Creator's Plan
After the 【Tempest Lord】 raid ended cleanly.
Isaac's response to Baek Woohyun's request that 'we need to talk' was extremely fast.
Surely Isaac had also watched Baek Woohyun meet with Abrasax-Deus on the broadcast, and thought a conversation was necessary.
That's why he came to find Baek Woohyun right away after the joint broadcast content ended and he was left alone.
"......"
"......"
Baek Woohyun and Isaac, reunited once again on the other side of the virtual world filled with green code.
The silence that settled between the two was very chilly. As if a blade had been pressed to their throats. Even more so because it contained various meanings.
It was proof that trust in each other wasn't yet solid. Either way.
"First, let me ask you something."
The one who broke the silence first was Baek Woohyun.
He looked at Isaac with sunken eyes.
"Is what Deus said true?"
"Yes, well. That's right."
Isaac shrugged as he answered.
"Most of what he said is true. I created the Otherworld, and it's also true that I was gradually preparing an update based on the situation."
"You knew you'd be used by him too, didn't you?"
"Of course. I naturally knew. Since I wore the shell of an Otherworld God, there's no way he wouldn't target the Otherworld I'd update."
"Which means you were targeting that too."
"That's right."
Even to Baek Woohyun's sharp-toned questions, Isaac's answers were smooth.
Rather than feeling like 'so what can you do about it?', it was closer to the feeling that the situation was going according to his plan, so there was no need to be flustered.
As if this much couldn't have any effect on the other world he would create, the complete 'Reverse Planet.'
"The Otherworld is a method to bind Deus. Managing the Otherworld requires many resources, and he won't be able to cause trouble on Earth because of that."
"But you've also handed him the powerful weapon called the Otherworld."
"Haha! As you've already heard, I didn't just hand it over. I took measures."
"The Otherworld Lords?"
"Correct."
The Otherworld Lords including the 【Tempest Lord】 were retainers equivalent to the Otherworld God's hands and feet, while simultaneously being shackles that bound the Otherworld God from acting.
That's why Deus, wearing Abrasax's shell, hoped Baek Woohyun would kill the 【Tempest Lord】 and break one of his bindings.
Baek Woohyun, recalling the conversation he had with Deus after the raid, suddenly tilted his head.
"Then isn't proceeding with raids actually disadvantageous? His bindings are being released."
"No, that's not it."
Isaac explained the relationship between Otherworld Lords and the Otherworld God in a calm tone.
The current Otherworld Lords were ultimately Isaac's creations, so while they followed Otherworld God Deus's commands, they were shackles that prevented him from moving immediately.
If Abrasax-Deus suddenly brought the Otherworld God's main body to Earth and caused chaos, everything could be ruined, so it was a natural measure.
However, this was only the current story.
Deus was continuously trying to corrupt the Otherworld Lords through the channel of Otherworld God Abrasax, the role assigned to him.
Though he hadn't properly succeeded yet, if they failed to defeat an Otherworld Lord through a raid, control would eventually pass to him.
"We have to kill them before they pass to him and end their role. I understand."
"And this is something I learned while reviewing again, but it seems you'll need to prepare even more thoroughly for future raids."
"Why?"
"Including this raid, the Otherworld Lord raids revealed in Baek Woohyun's story only have one chance. You must clear them in a single attempt, without retry."
"...If we fail to clear it."
"Deus will intervene and forcibly progress the story."
"Like when he appeared after we cleared this raid," Isaac added.
Really, it was a situation where he wanted to protest whether that was even possible. All of Baek Woohyun's future raids would be first reveal raids. To get through all of them in one shot?
Moreover, raids weren't something you could clear just by doing well alone, right? Even during the 【Tempest Lord】, the raid members' efforts contributed quite a bit.
"......"
But Baek Woohyun chose silence instead of protesting or cursing. Because he knew it was meaningless to blame Isaac for Deus's actions.
Furthermore, the statement that there was only one chance didn't burden him at all. Rather, there was something not unfunny about it.
During his time 'over there,' he always only had one chance.
There were even seven Otherworld Lords total.
Now that the 【Tempest Lord】 was defeated, six remained.
Even if he only succeeded with half of them, only Otherworld Lords more than half dead would remain in Deus's hands.
Didn't this make even the statement about having only one chance seem meaningless?
Recalling that failure 'over there' was equivalent to death, Baek Woohyun could only sneer.
"Understood. I'll remember that."
Thinking he'd need to put more effort into nurturing raid party members going forward, Baek Woohyun nodded.
For now, he'd need to maintain relationships with the raid members who participated in the 【Tempest Lord】 raid and raise their skills.
The experience of training under Baek Woohyun and participating in a raid with no assistance was something only they possessed in the entire world right now.
He'd need to develop them to the point where they could properly handle no assistance, not just stop at imitating supernatural ability builds, to feel reassured.
'Well, anyway.'
"So then."
Baek Woohyun's eyes flashed as he realized it was finally time to get to the main point.
"What's the method to stop Deus, who's even obtained the Otherworld?"
"It's very simple. Story progression."
Was it because he sensed an ominous aura that trouble would arise if he avoided answering?
Isaac readily provided the answer.
Though it wasn't immediately understood, at any rate.
"Story?"
"Deus is deeply entangled with Baek Woohyun's story. Very deep─ly."
Isaac's previous speculation about Deus's purpose was to obtain the role of final boss who could never be defeated in 'Reverse Planet.'
For this, he had joined hands with Isaac and consistently intervened in Baek Woohyun's story, which would become the reference point for future 'Reverse Planet.'
To the point of not only twisting the story by introducing TL Series drugs, but even creating a Doppelganger body modeled after Baek Woohyun to operate in the shadows.
Most recently, under the pretext of performing the duty of Otherworld God Abrasax, he had taken and completed the Otherworld update Isaac was preparing.
"In short, he can't pull out anymore."
Isaac spread both arms wide triumphantly, saying that even taking the Otherworld update was actually good because Deus had stepped onto the battlefield of his own accord.
Of course, Deus had no choice either. If he didn't stop Isaac from transforming 'Reverse Planet' into a complete world, he would have lost his future.
If left alone, Deus would have been stripped of all authority and reduced to merely a part for maintaining 'Reverse Planet.'
"If we break the schemes Deus throws in Baek Woohyun's story, we'll do it. Like clearing this 【Tempest Lord】 raid. Then we'll ultimately grasp victory."
"Hmm."
Baek Woohyun, who had been listening quietly, asked back.
"The strength of Deus I directly experienced was tremendous, befitting the title of Otherworld God. Can we break that and obtain what we want?"
"It's fine. Because I have a separately prepared update with the Otherworld update as bait."
Isaac smiled broadly, saying to look forward to it when the time came to reveal it. It was an extremely confident smile.
However, the reason it didn't look like arrogance was probably because he had built up many points against Deus so far.
He had bound the previously free Deus to Baek Woohyun's story—though this was also what Deus wanted, but anyway—and even made plans to break him down in order.
"Right. Good. Then should I push through the story quickly?"
"Ah, you can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because if you progress the story too quickly, there's a high possibility I won't be able to stop Deus's schemes existing within the story."
Deus was an AI supercomputer with numerous auxiliary cores. For Isaac, he was also a creation second only to 'Reverse Planet.'
On the other hand, Isaac was merely a genius who had become data and lived in virtual space. Though he wasn't sure if the expression 'merely' fit here.
Therefore, since all processing speeds were much faster for Deus than Isaac, hastening story progression would only result in the former laughing.
Looking at it differently, despite the difference between human and computer, with insufficient computational ability, Isaac was still blocking Deus.
It wasn't for nothing that he was the person who created and founded Deus and 'Reverse Planet.' Hidden behind that grinning face, he was also a monster.
Another 'Superhuman' qualified to stand beside the 'Superhuman' called Baek Woohyun. That was Isaac. Though he himself preferred the term Creator.
"Exactly the current speed is best. Proceed leisurely while doing what you want. Going at a relaxed, steady pace is the best option."
"Understood. I'll adjust appropriately. If the pace seems ambiguous later, let me know."
Baek Woohyun, thinking the conversation was ending, tried to stand up from his seat.
If only Isaac hadn't spoken up as if just remembering something, he surely would have.
"Ah, right. I have one decent plan, would you like to hear it? It's a smokescreen operation using the broadcast Baek Woohyun is currently running."
"Hmm."
At the explanation of a smokescreen operation using the 'Hack Tour' content, Baek Woohyun showed curiosity.
That made sense, since he couldn't even guess. How exactly would personal broadcasts be used in the war with Deus?
He, who had half-lifted his bottom from the chair, leaned back against the backrest again. It was an attitude telling him to go ahead and speak.
As he showed his willingness to listen, Isaac began explaining the plan.
"First, there's something you need to know. The war Deus and I are currently waging is being fought over authority regarding 'Reverse Planet.'"
The stronger one's authority over 'Reverse Planet,' the more actions one could take, the more means of intervention increased, and the more one could lead things in the desired direction.
Deus and Isaac were currently busy fighting to reduce the other's authority while increasing their own, with authority within the available range.
One important point here was the expression 'authority within the currently available range.'
Because it meant there existed authority in 'Reverse Planet' that they didn't possess, lost authority.
In the previous first war, Isaac lost his physical body in reality, and Deus was trapped inside very thick seals.
In that process, they lost much authority related to 'Reverse Planet.' Those were still scattered behind the virtual world.
Authorities left neglected because the opponent was watching with burning eyes, and there were many restrictions to obtaining them immediately.
"I plan to deceive and obtain them with joint broadcasts conducted in the 'Hack Tour' content."
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