Chapter 220
Chapter 220: Pain
'Even though Isaac said he'd try to block as much as possible, it's still this bad. It's definitely different from the raid.'
Baek Woohyun guessed there was likely a difference due to the number of people involved.
Raids conducted with multiple people required more administrator privileges, so intervention couldn't reach this level—they could only set up the board to achieve what they wanted.
On the other hand, the PVE main story he was conducting alone was a different story. There was no problem even if they intervened directly to raise the difficulty and try to kill him.
And if he actually died?
—"What do you think is the reason Deus left the Fully Responsive Story System update alone?"
—"Because he could use it to his advantage too."
—"Just like the Otherworld update and the Otherworld Lord raid."
"······."
The conversation he'd had with Isaac after successfully completing the raid flashed through Baek Woohyun's mind.
Just as Isaac had turned the raid itself to his own advantage, Abrasax-Deus would also use death in the story, he had warned.
Now that the Fully Responsive Story System was applied, he must absolutely not die, not just in Otherworld Lord raids but also while conducting story missions.
If Abrasax-Deus, who was constantly watching for Baek Woohyun who sided with Isaac, found an opportunity in his death, there was a high possibility he would reduce his power.
Therefore, he had earnestly warned him to be careful since he didn't have the right to retry after losing and dying like ordinary users.
He had said to consider it as having only one life. That must mean the penalty Abrasax-Deus would impose upon death would be tremendous.
'Only one life.'
Throb.
Baek Woohyun looked down at his side where he'd finished emergency treatment. He felt a rather stinging pain. It was a tingling sensation that didn't seem to have pain limitation applied.
This too must be Deus's intervention. Pain limitation removal. A small but effective move. Because nothing breaks a person down like pain.
Unless one suffers a major accident, the pain a modern person feels in their lifetime is ultimately all the same. It's obvious they couldn't endure a fight where supernatural abilities kill and are killed.
"······."
But he dared to assert that Abrasax-Deus's schemes would not break down Baek Woohyun.
He was someone who had suddenly crossed over to 'that side' and experienced hell-like pain under the pretext of Project: Transcendence.
Therefore, the pain with pain limitation removed posed no obstacle to him. ──It only made him recall the deeply sunken past.
—"It hurts."
A whisper suddenly reached Baek Woohyun's ears.
The resigned voice became a scream that couldn't be released and echoed.
However, he couldn't distinguish whose wail it was. Too many people, including himself, had suffered pain and screamed.
—"Woohyun. I hurt."
—"How long do we have to do this, oppa?"
—"Can we only escape this pain through death?"
—"Those bastards need to know too! This pain!"
Throb.
The real pain he felt after so long became a kind of trigger that summoned the past.
Emotions flowing over stealthily dyed his mind distantly, and specters shedding bloody tears revealed themselves from the dark shadows of the laboratory.
Baek Woohyun met eyes with the specter staring at him with pitch-black dead eyes. The dead and the living faced each other.
Surprisingly, their gazes were exactly alike. As if asserting that the presence or absence of life wasn't such a big difference.
"······."
Throb.
The dead who had just not yet abandoned life moved forward quietly in silence. Only with pain awakening him as his companion.
And behind him, countless specters followed, entrusting and accumulating their wishes, so dark shadows wrapped around him like a cloak.
Sometimes people regarded Baek Woohyun like a grim reaper, and seeing this, it was truly natural.
What else could you call an existence that walks between life and death, leading specters while delivering death?
***
"···No, what is this."
"You made this to clear this mission, right?"
"No. This is difficulty adjustment failure."
The existence of tentacles containing Otherworld power, supernatural abilities of four ability users, and even a Hunting Dog Fusion Monster that used all this in one body delivered a huge shock to the studio.
Jeong Nayeon was at a loss for words, Cha Seongcheol was dumbfounded, and even Chloe, who had watched various story missions, shook her head.
It meant the Hunting Dog Fusion Monster was so strong that even the panelists who had joked about the sudden horror game atmosphere and disgusting appearance could no longer make jokes.
'ㅇㅇ' donated '1000 won'!
[At this difficulty here, it's brain-dead lol]
—Tentacles plus four people's abilities fucking lol
—Just tell him to die, you bad bastards!!
—Even if he were a pro, he'd 100% die here
—For real; excluding raids, this is the first time Hackphysical took that much damage
The viewers' sentiments were similar. Well, of course they were, since a monster even Baek Woohyun struggled against appeared like a common mob.
At least it was fortunate that Baek Woohyun won, otherwise there would have been an even bigger uproar. It was clear from how they were still buzzing now.
A Hackphysical difficulty that even Hackphysical can't clear. That meant they created a route that couldn't be cleared from the start and deceived everyone.
What gamers liked was ultimately the sense of achievement felt while overcoming hardship. They watched 'Nuclear Tourism' content to satisfy that vicariously.
In other words, they didn't want trials that absolutely couldn't be overcome. But right now, the mission Baek Woohyun was conducting was positioned right around that line.
No, considering what came after, this was already close to brain-dead like a throw. The difficulty would get harder as it went on, and if it went up further from here, it would be absolutely impossible to clear.
—Is no-correction difficulty originally this hard?
—Don't know? No one's done it so nobody knows
—That's why the story Hackphysical is doing became famous lol
—From what I see, it's just a bug; if a few more of those fusion monsters appear, it's harder than raids
"Then Hellhounds, which are stronger than Hunting Dogs..."
"...Hmm. If things go wrong, it looks like Hackphysical might meet his first death in 'Reverse Planet'."
—If that happens, it'd really be ridiculous
—This is real forced hate lol
—Still, if he twists his body while dying a few times, he'll probably clear it
—Yeah, he'll clear it, but the problem is what comes next
***
"Heard a sound."
"Enemy intrusion?"
"Won't hurt to be careful."
"It's obviously overreacting."
"······."
Rustle!
Even amid the stinging pain, the memories of the past that rose because of it, and the specters entrusting their wishes, Baek Woohyun's steps didn't stop.
As he advanced deep into the research facility, he fought Hunting Dog Fusion Monsters that appeared sporadically, and each time, though he was somewhat injured, he seized victory.
Since he shed blood even while catching fusion monsters close to common mobs, it was hard to see it as a clean and neat victory.
The fortunate point was that there were no cases of multiple fusion monsters appearing together. They were always separated at regular distances.
Seeing that his attempt to lure them was also thwarted, there seemed to be some constraint. Probably something like if they met each other, they'd combine and then burst, unable to withstand it.
Abrasax-Deus wouldn't bother placing such constraints on monsters meant to kill Baek Woohyun, so Isaac must have also done something somehow.
"Can't believe I'm dying like this—"
"No no no!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Ku-ah-ah-···."
"Phew."
Throb!
Baek Woohyun, covered in blood, exhaled long. Sharp pain was felt from wounds accumulated here and there on his body following his side.
For ordinary 'Reverse Planet' users, such wounds would have ended with just slight tingling, but it was different for him with pain limitation removed.
The screams his body let out from torn skin, crushed muscles, and cracked bones were clearly transmitted to his brain.
But he wasn't swayed by his body that wanted to collapse and rest immediately. He just gritted his teeth and endured the pain while carving his footsteps with sticky blood.
Because he had already learned clearly on 'that side' that he must not stop just because it hurt.
With his own blood, and with his comrades' blood.
'It feels like I've returned to the past.'
A situation where he had to keep moving forward, treating rest as a luxury despite endlessly increasing wounds.
It was too familiar to Baek Woohyun who had experienced 'that side.' Because his daily life had been largely like this since escaping from the research facility.
It had to be that way to survive while being chased by the research facility, the Corporate Alliance, and the Otherworld Management Bureau. He always had to act desperately, tenaciously.
Though he finally reached the realm of transcendence and ruled as an absolute powerhouse, an invincible monster, finally obtaining peace, even that wasn't very long.
At most about a year, and excluding that time, he was just an extremely strong ability user. And because he was strong, he bore that much more.
So now he felt like he'd returned to the past. To when he was a mad dog who bit anyone first─
"Die, intruder!" "[Flame Spear]!"
"[Rock Fragment]!" "[Wave Cannon]!"
Kwagagagak!
"...Ha."
Perhaps because of that.
Now, with blood dripping from wounds all over his body, and having faced several monsters he'd never seen even on 'that side' in succession.
Baek Woohyun's senses were in their sharpest state since returning from 'that side.' To the point where all attacks the monster attempted seemed to be standing still.
The tentacles swung simultaneously targeting here and there, the blazing [Flame Spear], even the [Rock Fragment] and [Wave Cannon] flying between them—all of it.
Endlessly heightened concentration raised synchronization rate to the extreme, and the sensory amplification close to rampage achieved through it. This was called the 'Slowed World.'
However, if someone who knew the 'Slowed World' shared the view Baek Woohyun was seeing now, they would shout decisively. This is absolutely not at that level.
Indeed it was so. The spectacle where the world itself seemed not just slowed but rather stopped was closer to the name 'Stopped World.'
=It's been quite a while since I've seen this world too=
In the gap between split instants, Baek Woohyun avoided all the attacks the Hunting Dog Fusion Monster unleashed.
It wasn't particularly difficult. Because the world itself had stopped completely while only he could move freely.
What good was it if the entity combining four into one attacked with seamless coordination? When he could stroll between them.
Of course, separate from perception, since he had to move at a speed matching it, his body that showed perfect evasion was engulfed in harsh pain.
It was a natural result since he had moved more swiftly than super high-speed movement while already in a state covered in wounds.
Unfortunately, his supernatural ability on the verge of completion had no pain relief effect.
=Is this the limit without reaching transcendence?=
Baek Woohyun reached before the Hunting Dog Fusion Monster trapped in stopped time.
Though he sighed briefly, his hand gripping the military dagger didn't stop. Because there was no leisure to leisurely take it easy.
Sliiice—sliiice—sliiice—
Thus the military dagger Baek Woohyun swung dismantled the Hunting Dog Fusion Monster all too easily. Its body felt like tofu.
This was a slash at ordinary speed in his perception, but beyond it was like a flash of light.
Finally, the moment everything returned to normal.
""—!""
With a terrible death cry, the Hunting Dog Fusion Monster dismantled and collapsed.
Blue blood scattering like a bomb exploding and severed body parts tumbling between it!
In an instant, death that descended in 10 to the -18th power of time so cruelly trampled Baek Woohyun's enemy.
***
""...?!""
"What, just now!"
"Wow. What on earth just happened?"
—What was that just now
—Did only my stream lag?
—No no, everyone's lagged
—Is it because there are too many viewers