Chapter 225 Questions (3)
There was more to the content.
Sang-hyun calmly read through the continuing text. His heart was pounding, but he did not show it.
“More than ten had to rush in to kill one, yet it was ten who ended up dying.”
The memo indicated that despite their numerical superiority, their combat power was woefully at a disadvantage.
Sang-hyun meticulously took the memo's contents into his mind once again.
For some reason, he felt he had to ask the Goddess of Fortune—that is, Lee Si-yeon—about this part.
Throughout his past and present lives, there was one premise Sang-hyun firmly believed in.
It was that the Player System, which had transformed the current Earth into a 'New World,' belonged solely to Earth.
To be more precise, it was that Earth was, at the very least, never connected to other worlds.
The monsters appearing in spaces represented by dungeons, gates, and rifts were strictly products of the system.
He had never once sensed the energy of another civilization in them, nor had he ever suspected they might share the same fate.
But this place was different.
There was more information than was necessary for what was to be called a monster world.
It was also the first time he had seen such detailed records or storage facilities.
It felt a bit excessive to view it as something created simply to enhance the dungeon's detail. Had
players really never encountered a space like this even once in their past lives? Or had they, only to have it intentionally concealed?
Thoughts spiraled one after another.
On the other hand, he wondered if entering the Break Spot had led him to confront an uncomfortable truth.
Had it been left as it was, a rift in the Dark Realm would have occurred, and the Break Spot might have vanished in reverse.
'Let's not try to judge.'
Sanghyun simplified his complex thoughts as much as possible. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't arrive at the 'correct answer.'
He decided to accept things as they were for now and investigate. Deliberation and analysis would come later.
* * *
Afterwards.
Moving through the morgue, which was divided into several sections, Sanghyun and his party were able to identify numerous corpses and notes.
All the preserved bodies belonged to beings that appeared to be aliens.
Each note contained the time of their appearance, the number of victims sacrificed as a result, and the characteristics of the aliens.
Of the contents the three of them examined, there were two points that they paid the most attention to.
First, there were beings similar to the Player even among the Vashunat people—that is, the rulers of this world.
Second, these unidentified aliens tormented them using methods far more advanced than skills.
For instance, it is said that merely raising a finger to point at an opponent was enough to cause them to explode to death.
If we were to compare it to skills, would it be accurate to call it an instant death or explosion skill? The level of lethality was entirely different.
Furthermore, it is said that if one made eye contact with an alien, their body would invariably freeze.
Approaching with a status effect would likely result in paralysis. It must have been just like the reaction after seeing Medusa.
'I did hear news occasionally in my past life, too. Groups of players being massacred or going missing without knowing why.'
Looking back, it is not as if there were absolutely no suspicious situations.
These were incidents that the World Player Association personally stepped in to investigate and resolve.
Although they were all wrapped up with plausible reasons, it is also true that they spawned numerous conspiracy theories.
If one encountered an enemy resembling an alien inside a rift or break spot, the reason for the massacre would also be explained.
“…An indescribable fear wells up inside me. I’ve never felt this way in my life.”
Shin Tae-ri, who was standing beside him, was trembling at the fingertips that had stopped moving at some point.
It was due to the learned fear and dread she had developed while looking at the countless memos here.
Sang-hyun and Jo Jin-ho were also trying their best to act okay, but they were just pretending; they weren't really okay.
“Let’s think of it this way. It might have been even more shocking if we had found out later. A worse situation, one that had progressed further than it is now, could have arisen.”
Jo Jin-ho patted Shin Tae-ri’s shoulder. Sang-hyun shared the same sentiment.
“I think not knowing is the worst thing. For now, I think the most important thing is that we know.”
Now that they had made up their minds, it seemed more important to actively gather information.
Furthermore, having entered the Break Spot to prevent the formation of a rift, they also had to proceed with the assault.
To stabilize the interior, they usually had to destroy the boss monsters or power facilities located within the Break Spot.
They still had no idea how the assault on this place would be concluded. It was truly uncharted territory.
* * *
Two hours passed.
Despite the feeling that I had traveled from one end of the city to the other, there had been no contact with any living creature.
If a being capable of conversing in the Vashunat language were to appear, it would surely be a local.
Then I would be able to hear many clues and stories from them. But not a single person was in sight.
The only things that greeted Sang-hyun and his party across the land were corpses, their bodies gradually turning into skeletons over the passage of time.
I am not sure if this expression is appropriate, but the dead had all died "cleanly."
They breathed their last with only a single small wound on their chest or head.
They must have been attacked specifically on vital spots, the parts that could lead to instant death.
To explore more of the area, Sang-hyun, Jo Jin-ho, and Shin Tae-ri moved one block apart.
"Why is there no word?"
Sang-hyun wondered about the unusually quiet reaction of the Constellations and Divine Thrones since entering this place.
This was a dungeon where Sang-hyun, who hadn't been flustered or nervous in a long time, was walking with the most serious expression on his face.
If so, one would expect a few meddling Constellations or the God of Storms to step forward and say a word or two.
As if the mute button had been pressed, there was not a single short comment or welcome message.
It was impossible to know if this was an intentional silence or if there was some external force or condition that forced them to remain silent.
Sang-hyun decided to approach this matter with caution. There must be a reason for the silence.
When three hours had passed since the quiet exploration began—where he simply admired the desolate city to his heart's content—
Sang-hyun spotted a 'creature' located about three blocks north of the road where he was standing.
"No way."
Although it wasn't very clear, he knew who it was
just by looking at the silhouette. It was the very alien he had seen every time he opened a locker in the morgue. He considered
calling Shin Tae-ri and Jo Jin-ho, but kept his mouth shut.
They might rush over in a panic and suffer an unexpected blow.
Click. Click.
Slither.
Unlike Sang-hyun, who was walking closer to the alien step by step,
the alien moved across Mari Road as if gliding.
Sang-hyun did not let his guard down. After all, that alien was the one who had killed the people of Vashunat.
He didn't know why it didn't attack first the moment it saw him, but that didn't mean peace.
Just as the distance between them had narrowed to about one block,
the alien stopped.
Sanghyun stopped, too.
He was intentionally looking not at the alien's eyes, but at what lay beneath them. To the philtrum, somewhere around there. The
more he tried not to look, the more the urge to see surged, but he held back. Their eyes were weapons, after all.
Just then.
“Nerzrat. Nugrrat.”
“…….”
He couldn’t interpret the content, but it was similar to the language used by the monster trio he had sent to the afterlife earlier.
A structure where they emphasized the last syllable. The tone of the voice was different, but the texture was the same.
“Phew.”
Sanghyun gripped his Nameless Sword tighter.
Judging by the alien’s half-crushed expression, those words didn’t seem like good news.
“Gusorzrat!”
The next moment.
A red glow exploded from the alien’s eyes, strongly stimulating somewhere inside Sanghyun’s head.
At that instant, he could feel it. That the creature was attempting mind control.
And so.
『Pure Soul』
■ Skill Level: Tier 2 (11.2%)
■ Skill Introduction: (……omitted)
Against mental attacks, gain variable resistance that adds a minimum of 1% to a maximum of 50% of your existing resistance.
However, to obtain the maximum variable resistance, activate the 'Pure White' option, which consumes 10 mana per second.
I immediately activated the Pure White option on the base of the Pure Soul skill, which I hadn't had much use for lately.
By doing so, I would possess a mechanism capable of 100% defense against any mental attack.
Sure enough.
As Sanghyeon forcefully pushed away the unpleasant stimuli in his head and immediately launched an offensive.
“Huh?”
The alien was flustered.
However, as if that wasn't his only tactic, he broke the Pure White option this time and applied control again.
'He's a scary guy.'
Mental control capable of breaking a 100% defense structure implies a higher concept of control.
A concept far superior to 100% defense. For instance, there would be many examples of the concept of complete mind control.
However, Sanghyeon did not panic and used his Swift Purification skill the moment the mind control was about to begin. Although
the cooldown was long, it was a useful skill capable of removing any negative elements.
“……!”
As Sanghyeon blocked it twice, the alien’s expression contorted violently.
It was unprecedented.
How could such a lowly creature, usually neutralized by a single attempt, remain unharmed after two attempts?
So.
Drawing on his strength once more, he attempted mind control over Sanghyeon.
It was the ultimate concept of mind control, far more powerful and consuming a significant amount of mental energy.
Control that no one had ever withstood.
In about three seconds, this human would become a loyal minion obeying every command. Surely, that is how it should be…
"…What are you doing, you bastard!"
"Kwat!"
As if the mind control failed, the alien was caught in Upper Rank's Death Touch skill.
Since he had used 500 mana and activated Full Summon, he was helplessly dragged away by Upper Rank.
The alien didn't know it, though.
Upper Rank had just used Skill Reset and then used Swift Purification again. He had improvised.
'He probably didn't know this, either.'
It was the trump card Upper Rank had pulled out.
Skill Reset is a rare skill that can only be used once a day, but in a situation like this, it was the best.
"Waaah!"
The alien, dragged in by Upper Rank in an instant, began to be instantly reduced to a bloody mess by the ensuing attack.
He tried to raise his right hand to trigger Upper Rank's instant death and explosion, but it was useless.
Swoosh!
This was because the first thing Sanghyun had blown away was the alien's hands.
The cleanly severed hands flew through the air, and the alien had to watch his own hands in utter despair.
And then.
“Die, you bastard!”
Without hesitation, Sanghyun used the Sword of Destruction to blow off the alien’s head.
Although it was protected by a special helmet, it was not strong enough to withstand the Sword of Destruction.
Whoosh!
The head fell, having lost its master. The alien’s life came to an end right there.
Just then.
“……New World?”
Simultaneously with the alien’s death, another buff was superimposed on Sanghyun.
A buff bearing the strange name of “New World.” Just what kind of thing was this?
Sanghyun’s gaze naturally shifted to the description written at the bottom.
