Chapter 238
ActivationofYama’sJudge’sammer.
Aftertheadministrator’shologramwasrestrained,akarmicsin-recordvideoappearedbehindhim.
Startingfromthebeginning—
Aworldverysimilartoarthappearedfirst.
twasprobablyartho.675beforeitsdestruction.
hen,suddenly,Blackowersbegantoriseeverywhere.
tshowedwhattheBlackowersactuallywere.
heyoccupiedacertainvolumeofspace,butcouldnotbetouchedorapproached—structureslikethat.
ikebackgroundgraphicsplacedinsideagamespace.
nactiveobjects.
hatwaswhytheycouldnotbedestroyed.
Missilespassedrightthroughthem,andevennuclearexplosionsleftthemunharmed.
Whywasthat?
BecauseBlackowersexistedinfour-dimensionalspace.
heso-calledhiddenworld.
heBlackowersobservedinthree-dimensionalrealitywerenothingmorethanshadows.
Playersenteredthefour-dimensionalBlackowers.
hatwaswhyenteringaowerwasnotaphysicalaction—
theydisappearedwithaSP!asifshiftingdimensions.
ntheotherhand,therewasatimewhenthefour-dimensionaltowershiddeninthereverseworldmanifestedinthree-dimensionalreality.
hatmomentwasowercollapse.
faBlackowerclearfailed,thetowergainedmass,becamephysical,andcollapsedintotheground.
o—callingitcollapsewasnotaccurate.
hecorrecttermwasinsertion.
ikeplungingablood-drawneedleintoarth.
Piercingthroughthesurfaceallthewaydowntothemantle.
“Sodimensionalenergyisinsidearth?”
“hatseemslikely,mylord.”
“SoBlackowersareblood-extractiondevices.”
“heystoretheextractedenergyinreservoirs.”
“Andthensendittoheadquarters.”
eadquarters.
Whetheritwastheartho.675administrator,theartho.1,001administrator,orthesection-chief-leveladministratorencounteredatthedimensionalenergystoragefacility—
theyallcamefromasingleworld,aplacetheycalledheadquarters.
“hesebastardsarerunningmultiboxonotherworldstosecureresourcesforQ.Blackowersarejustworkers.Sameasminingmineralsandgas.”
eadquartersandexpansions.
Suddenly,acertaingamecametomind.
Butthelocationofheadquarterswasnotshown.
hatpartwasnotrevealed.
*****
Scenetransition.
Asmallroom.
hreepeoplesatonchairsresemblingmassagechairs,talking.
achwaslabeled:Designer,ngineer,Maker.
–ookslikeourdispatchperiodiscomingtoanend.
–otyet.Collapseneedstoprogressfurther,andifyoufactorinmining,westillneedabout100years.
–Ahundredyearsisnothing.fthissucceedsandwereturntoQ,that’sapromotion.
–Finallyescapingfrombottom-tieroweradministrator?
herewashierarchyheretoo.
heDesignerwasthemostsenior.
“Soit’sacompany-likehierarchy.”
“Didn’tthatguyatthedimensionalenergystoragefacilitysaythat?oweradminsareassistantmanagers,andhewassectionchief.”
“henit’sabureaucracy.heyseemtodividelabor—Blackowers,dimensionalenergymining,management—basedonrank.”
odswerefrequentlymentionedintheirconversations.
“Forthesakeofod,”
“Byod’swill,”
“Allthingsforod,”
“Byod’scommand.”
tseemedtobethesameodpeoplenormallyimagined.
mniscience,divinepower,creation,authority,dominion,destruction.
“Doesodneeddimensionalenergy?”
“hatappearstobethecase.ConsideringBlackowersaresaidtobeod’swill.”
“Soanoutergodissuckingourarth’sdimensionalenergydrythroughBlackowers.”
“Arealbastard.”
*****
Anotherscenetransition.
Blackowerswerecollapsingoneafteranother.
achcollapsecreatedanothertower,whichwastheninserteddeepintoarth.
extstage.
artho.675.
Fromthesinkholescreatedbycollapsedtowers,monsterscrawledout.
oblins,orcs,trolls,minotaurs,ogres,wyverns—andundead.
hemonsterarmybegandestroyinghumancivilization.
fcourse,survivinghumanityresisted.
Armiesdeployed.
Fighterjets,missiles,evennuclearweapons.
Andplayerstoo.
Withboundarieserased,theymanifestedowerabilitiesdirectlyintherealworld.
Butitwasalosingbattlefromthestart.
heywereoutmatchedinsheernumbers.
ventually,dragonsandgreatdemonsappeared.
hesewerethefinishingblow.
heprimarycauseofhumanity’sextinction.
“Didwekillthosegreatdemonbastardstooeasily?Weshould’veharvestedtheirinternalorganstoo,notjustthehearts.”
“Dragonsarerealbastardstoo.”
Cossackglancedsideways.
Crackerstwitchedslightly.
“Uh,wasn’ttherebackthen,okay?onlysignedthecontractrecently.”
“fyouwere,it’dbethesame.”
“o,itwouldn’t!wouldn’tdothat!”
“Yeahright!”
“Doyoutakemeforawildbeast?lovehumancivilization.”
“Acivilizationthatdestroysnatureandcausespollution?”
“Sowhatifalittlenaturegetsdestroyed?”
Ah,right.
alf-dragonCrackers.
Despitebeingagreendragon,heburnedandtrampledforests.
nvironmentalconcernswereprobablymeaninglesstohim.
“amaconverteddefectorentrustedwiththemissionofprotectingartho.1,001.”
“Yes,yes,’msure.”
*****
heconversationcontinued—likelyrecent.
–Fuck,becauseofthatsummoner,’mfacingannihilationinsteadofpromotion.
–herandArchangelwilldefinitelybedispatchedtoartho.1,001.ransfercompletesin90days.
–itherway,oncetherandArchangelarrives,thatsummonerisfinished.
randArchangel.
Sentfromheadquartersbyod’scommand.
Destination:artho.1,001.
bjective?
liminateplayerBongJuhyeok.
“randArchangelmyass.heyreallyslap‘angel’ontoanything.”
“odistherealculprit.”
“hey’reallbastards.”
“’llkillthemall.”
“Mannyeon’sangrytoo.t’ssuddenlygettingcold.”
“Kyaa!”
“WAA!”
SotherandArchangelwasanassassin?
hatwascomforting.
fthat’sthecase,whyawakenusatall?
hinkingaboutitmademefurious.
hadneverevenwantedtoawaken.
fod’sgoalwasdimensionalenergymining,
whynotjustinserttowersdirectly?
Whyinvolveplayersatall?
hekarmicsin-recordvideogavethehint.
–heardtherewasananomalyinthedimensionallinkonthe91stflooroftheartho.1,001Blackower.
–Anomalymeaningthesummonerdidn’tgototheDemonRealm?
–Right.heplayerapproachedthedimensionalenergymanagementfacility.
–nsane.ow?
–here’sahighchancetheWhiteowerintervened.
–Damnit!verysingletime!Whatisodevendoing?eshould’veeradicatedtheWhiteower.
–venodhastroublewiththeWhiteower...it’salwaysbeenthatway.SamewithPlayerAwakening.
–heywereinseparablefromthestart.Basicallyoneandthesame.
“sthisaproxywar?”
“ardtosay,buttheyaren’tallies.”
“heyseemhostiletoeachother.”
“Butnotindependententitieseither.ftheywereoriginallyone.”
“heymightstillbeone.”
“itherway,thewhiteone’sonourside.”
BlackowerandWhiteower.
nseparable.
neentitywithtwodifferentpurposes?
heBlackowerdestroyedworldstoextractdimensionalenergy.
heWhiteowerseemedtosavecollapsingworlds.
hatmadesense.
Wasn’ttheWhiteoweressentiallyarefuge?
Aworldthatcouldrecreatearth’senvironment.
AndtheWhiteowerdidnotexistonlyonartho.1,001.
texistedonartho.675andotherruineddimensions,connectedbyelevators.
“PlayerAwakeningisprobablytiedtotheWhiteower.”
“tmayevenbeinvolvedwiththeworldofsouls—ussummonedentities.”
Moreconversation.
–WhatifhecompletelyclearsourBlackowerbeforetherandArchangelarrives?
–hat’slikely.nlyfivefloorsleft.
–Shouldn’tweprotectourtowerfirst?fevenoneBlackowerfails,theWhiteower’sinfluencewillgrowevenstronger.
–odmust’vejudgedthatkillingthesummonerwasworththerisk.
–Wherewillthe96thto99thfloorsconnect?
–oidea.WeknewabouttheDemonRealmbecauseofcontractswithgreatdemons.
–Probablyoneoftheighlands.Arealmabovethehumanworld,whereimmortalsexist.
–itherway,thatplacewillgetlootedtoo—liketheDemonRealm.
–fwecanstophimforjust100days...
–Shouldwemeethimonce?
–sthatokay?t’saself-reflectionperiod.
–Fuckthat.We’refacingannihilation.snowthetimetoworryaboutrules?
CRACK.
hescreenvanished.
ndoftheadministrator’skarmicsinrecord.
hen—
SP!
headministrator’shologramdisappeared.
“Sojudgmentdoesn’tapply.”
“Yeah.Weneededthefullsentence—‘hedefendantissentencedtodeath.’”
Still,welearnedseveralthingsfromthefinalconversation.
Fivemorefloors.
hatwasallittooktocompletelycleartheBlackower.
Fromthe96thto99thfloors,missionswouldoccurinaspecificdimension.
ventheadministratorsdidnotknowwhere.
heycouldonlyguessitwasaighland,arealmofimmortalsliketheDemonRealm.
Clearthe100thfloor,andtheBlackowerfailed.
Administratorswereannihilated.
heWhiteower’sinfluenceincreased.
Butinformationwasstilllacking.
hetrueidentityofheadquartersandod.
Whythetowershadtwoidentities.
owdowefindout?
Byclimbingtheunexploredupperfloors.
“urobjectiveisfullclearoftheBlackower’s100thfloor.et’sstartwithartho.675.”
“Yes,sir!”
“hiswillbetheirfirstfailure.”
“oooh!hatsoundedcool!”
tdid.
helinefeltprettycool.
“Areyouplanningtogostraighttothe100thfloornow?”
“Whynot?We’llfinishitbeforethatrandArchangelarrives.”
“Kyaa!ManlyBongJuhyeok!”
“...otthatmanly.”
Atleastamid-levelmanlyman?
“Shallwego?”
“Yes,sir!”
“AstheSummonerwills.”
“ight!”
“Certainvictory!”
“WAA!”
owardthemissionareaconnectedtothe96thfloor.
[96thFloorMission:reatJourneyowardCompletion–Sixth.]
[DoyouacceptthesixthstageofthereatJourneyowardCompletionmission?]
“Accept!”
SP!
Juhyeokandthesummonedentitiesmoved.
Andthen—
SP!
heyappearedagain.
“uh?”
“Mmm.”
“hisplace?”
“...t’sthe96thfloor.”
What?
Whatwasgoingon?
twastheoriginallocation.
he96th-floorwaitingroom,nottheconnectedarea.
Didsayitwrong?
definitelysaidaccept.
“...Anerror?”
[DoyouacceptthesixthstageofthereatJourneyowardCompletionmission?]
hemissionpoppedupagain.
histime,pronounceditclearly.
“Accept!”
SP!
heyvanished—
SP!
Again?
“...We’restillhere.”
“Wehavenotbeentransported.”
“t’slooping.”
[DoyouacceptthesixthstageofthereatJourneyowardCompletionmission?]
hirdtime.
“Accept!”
SP!SP!
Stillthe96thfloor.
Fourthtime.
“Accept!”
SP!SP!
“Fuck?”
Whatthehell!
Fivetimes,sixtimes—
omovement.
Samespot.
Don’ttellme—
“...Whoa!Didtheyblockentryentirely?”
“heyblockedit.”
“tisclearlyblocked.”
“Blocked.”
“Blocked,indeed.”
“WAA!”
Unbelievable.
heymadeitsowecouldnotevenenteratall.
heypreventedmovementtothemissionarealinkedtothe96thfloor.
fthiswasintentional—
“Petty.Sodamnpetty.”
owtheywerejustbeingshameless.
“Doyouthinktheadministratorsdidthis?”
“Morelikelytheso-calledgod—therootcausebehindtheBlackower.”
venyeonDallaecalledhimabastard.
“Whatdowedo?”
fitwasblocked,therewasnorealworkaround.
“et’sgobacktoourarth.We’llcheckiftheBlackowerthereisthesame.”
WhatabouttheBlackoweronartho.1,001?
fitwasthesamethere—
Juhyeokreturnedtohisownarth.
otheBlackoweronartho.1,001.
ere,theupperfloorsstartedatthe92ndfloor.
[nteringRepublicofKoreaBlackower(.1),Floor92.]
Arrivalatthewaitingroom.
[92ndFloorMission:reatJourneyowardCompletion–Second.]
[DoyouacceptthesecondstageofthereatJourneyowardCompletionmission?]
“Accept!”
SP!
SP!
Sameplace.
“oddamnit!”
“Youbastards!!!”
“’llkillyouall!!!”
“rulycowardly.”
“WAA!!!”
hiswasreallycrossingtheline.
akingtheballawaybecauseyouwerelosing?
twasnodifferentfromsmashingtheopponent’smouseandkeyboardtowinagame.
hatwasatotalviolationofcool.
omatterwhat,youdidnotbreaktherules.
*****
WhiteowerFloor17.
Agenda:discussingcountermeasuresagainstthedeliberateblockingofupper-floorprogression.
“mm.”
“rm.”
“aa.”
“Sigh.”
“WAA.”
onestly,therewasnogoodsolution.
Cossacksaidhewouldbriefus,butwithnoclearplan,hejustkeptsighing.
BoththeBlackoweronartho.675andartho.1,001wereblocked.
fyoucouldnotenter,howwereyousupposedtocleartheupperfloors?
MaybemeetingYamawouldhelp?
fwestayedintheDemonRealmlongenough,wemightmeethim.
fwewerelucky,wemightevenseetheSwordmmortalelder.
o.heDemonRealmisprobablyblockedtoo.
“...”
Sincerepeatedclearspastthe91stfloorwereimpossible.
owayforward,nowayback.
Frustrating.
heonesrunningthegamehadflippedtheboardentirely.
Werewejustsupposedtotakeitlyingdown?
Cossackfumed.
“WhatthehellisWhiteydoing?shereallyjustgonnawatchBlackiepullthiscrap?”
rue.
tsoundedabitraciallycharged,buthewasnottalkingaboutpeople—hewastalkingabouttowers.
“et’sthinkcalmlyfornow.tmightbeatemporaryphenomenon.”
thadbetterbe.
fupper-floorprogressionstayedblocked,wemighthavetowatchtheowercollapsewithourowneyes.
hiswasserious.
Afterwitnessingartho.675’sdestructionfirsthandthroughtheadministrator’ssin-recordvideo,theanxietyhitharder.
Worstcase,wemayhavetoevacuateallofarth’speople.
otheWhiteowershelter.
Assumingtheevacuationofall7billionhumans,
therequiredtop-gradeMagicStoneswouldbeabout7billionkg.
nthepast,thatwouldhavebeenanunimaginableamount.
ow?
otimpossible.
Sevenbillion?
hatwasnothing—sellafewtabletsandelectronicdevicesattheauctionhouse,anditwasdone.
Wasthiswhytheyletususetheauctionhouseinthefirstplace?
ftheybroketherulesandblockedowerclimbingentirely,arth’sfuturewasnothingbutextinction.
henevacuationwastheonlyoption.
AslongastherewereenoughMagicStones,theWhiteowercouldbemadejustlikearth.
Whichremindedme—
owdidtheauctiongo?
heelectriccarshouldhavesoldbynow.
Juhyeokopenedtheauctionstatusboardtocheck.
–ehicle:Z900lectricff-roadSU.
–Winningbid:2,502,225kgoftop-gradeMagicStones.
Afull2.5million.
nsane.
twasbasicallyfreemoney.
ConvertedintoResidencyRights?
Sellonecar,grantResidencyRightsto2.5millionpeople.
Addeverythingcollectedsofar—overtenmillionpeople.
...Wait.Whatifthosebastardsblockedtheauctionhousetoo?
Bettercheck.
Juhyeokwenttotheelevator,
openedthedoors,andcheckedwhetherthebuttonforthe5thfloorstillworked.
“Phew.”
hebuttonwasfine.
he5thfloorwasoperational.
hatwaswhenJuhyeoknoticedsomethingontheelevatorpanel.
“...uh?”
herewasanewbuttonhehadneverseenbefore.
Rightabovethe17th-floorbutton.
henumberwas—
“96thfloor?”
Atthatmoment—
Ding!
[Anemergencytemporaryelevatordestinationhasbeencreated.]
[Destination:helinkeddimensionoftheBlackoweronartho.675,Floor96.]
“ooooooh!!!”
AtJuhyeok’sshout,thesummonedentitiesrushedover.
“Whatisit?”
“WAA?”
“W-whathappened?Anaccident?”
“sthereaproblemwiththeelevator?”
Juhyeokpointedatthepanelandsaid,
“heelevatoropenedthebackdoor.”
“uh?”
“h!”
“Yes!”
“Asexpected!”
“xcellent.”
“Whiteyisdefinitelyonourside.”
Abackdoor.
fyoucouldnotenterthroughthefrontdoor,youwentinthroughtheback.
hatwashowitshouldbe.
Whyplayniceandgetscrewed?
urWhiteower—Whitey.
oodjob.
Rulebreakersdeservedrulebreakersinreturn.