ALL NOVEL Episode 153
“Breaking news! Player Grave Keeper succeeded in reaching the top of Tier 14 for the first time in the season!”
“Hmm, I just said that, but that breaking news isn’t very sexy.”
Yooseong answered calmly
amid the sudden news .
“The season’s first tier 14 conqueror achievement was lost to another player! “Do you have anything to say about this?”
“Now that I think about it, even in the Plague Lord season, to the
player’s tomb keeper… The reporters continued to speak as if to incite competition between the Hero King and the tomb keeper, and Yooseong fell silent for a moment amidst their barrage of questions.
“No, you could attack it faster than me. Why are you making such a fuss about being a government official? Should I just live my life being number one?
“Sometimes it gets taken away.”
Yoosung shrugged his shoulders, leaving behind the barrage of reporters.
“And to begin with, we’re not just seven-year-olds, aren’t we sick of fighting and fighting over who is first? Players who are working together to protect world peace... Home.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“No, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, so I thought I must have eaten something wrong last night.”
Saying that, Yooseong grabbed his stomach again.
“Ugh, I suddenly felt pain... I guess my stomach hurts, so I guess I’ll have to stop talking nonsense. We were dirty together and we will never see each other again.”
Some time after the reporters left.
The guild headquarters of the International Players Guild Circus, to which the King of Heroes belongs.
And the house where the player Maria, the Meteor Saint and the King of Heroes live together.
“Aren’t you really tired of living like that?”
“What are you living as a married man? “It’s more worth staying than I thought.”
Maria, dressed in a blood-red suit, asked as if she was tired of it, and Yoosung shrugged his shoulders. Likewise, after finishing speaking in front of reporters, she also took something out of her pocket as soon as the reporters in the building left.
It was a cigarette.
“You live in front of reporters like that, get tired, get criticized, and go through a hard time.”
“Still, when I want to smoke, I don’t stop smoking because I’m worried about what people think.”
“...That’s what makes me tired.”
Maria shrugged her shoulders as if she was dumbfounded and put a cigarette in her mouth.
“Sometimes it is easier to lie than to reveal the uncomfortable truth.”
“Home philosophical.”
A flame lit up at the end of the cigarette, and Maria took a soft breath. Looking at that, Yoosung smiled bitterly.
“It was said that the Gravekeeper conquered Tier 14 for the first time in the season.”
“is it so.”
“Yoosung’s expression didn’t look good after hearing that story.”
Maria said.
“One of the proud proverbs of our country is that if your cousin buys land, you will get a stomach ache. “Do you think my stomach won’t hurt because I lost the first place and first title that I should have eaten?”
“Well, I know very well that Yoosung is acting like an elementary school student.”
“No, you know that?”
For a moment, Maria took a deep breath, but the silence did not last long. Maria continued speaking amidst the dancing cigarette smoke.
“What happened at the Tower of Power War that day?”
A very blatant question. That's why Yoosung shrugged his shoulders without changing his expression.
“Oh, I forgot.”
“There is no need for you to tell me the whole truth that Yoosung is carrying.” Maria answered.
“I just think Yoosung’s appearance has changed since that day.”
It has changed. what? After thinking about it, I smiled bitterly.
“Are these things you can’t even tell me?”
“Oh well, it’s not that big of a deal. In fact, I remember sending a tomb keeper to the United States with my own hands in the midst of a power war.”
Yooseong answered.
“But he came back to life. At least it will be clear that he is no longer acting for humans or players.”
“...As expected, I remembered what happened in the tower.”
Yoosung fell silent at Maria's words, and Maria also continued speaking quietly.
“are you okay. “I won’t ask any more questions than that.”
As if there was no need to say anything more than that0].
That's why Yooseong kept his mouth shut instead of trying to inadvertently tell the truth. As Maria said, sometimes there is a better choice than the uncomfortable truth.
[Tier 14 Post-apocalyptic tower calls player Kang Yu-seong...J
The tower called him again and he looked up from the darkness.
“Mr. Lee Zhou...
The muttering voice finally became human language.
The girl from the example was there. However, the girl was no longer the human Yoosung knew.
Amid the writhing pitch-black tentacles, a human-shaped upper body was barely able to emit a human voice.
And I was able to realize it. Little by little, she is losing her human form and becoming closer to the monster the hunters spoke of.
There was no fierce war or anything in this tower. It was a ruin where everything had already collapsed, and the human struggle that took place there would literally have no meaning.
There was just one girl there. She was a girl who could only watch as she helplessly turned into a monster.
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
That's why Yooseong asked. The girl didn't answer. I just smile weakly.
“Uh...
the voice came out again. It's like muttering in a very slurred voice, but it clearly conveys the meaning.
“I am a human…
“Human’?”
Nod.
The girl nodded and answered Yoosung’s words.
“It’s not a monster?”
Nod.
Again the girl nodded.
“I hate monsters...
A human voice came out. It was a voice that was both desperate and full of her will.
“Kill me...
And Yooseong took a deep breath at those words.
［The tower's strategy goal has been updated!］
［Strategy goal: Make the girl's wish come true】
Next, a message came to mind. Yooseong took a deep breath in front of that ridiculous message.
Following the highest level of tier 12 during the 5th season, a whopping four levels of top were added, ranging from 13, 14, 15, and 16. However, that did not necessarily mean that the battle was fierce.
“What are you hesitating about?”]
Just then, a voice was heard. Another person appeared behind him without even a trace.
The graves of countless heroes.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be a hero, child?”]
[The Clown Lord mocks the ‘King of Heroes.’]
Then a message came to mind.
That's why Yooseong was so dumbfounded that he asked back.
“What is this?”
[“It’s a game where you have to make a decision.”]
The Jester Lord replied, giggling.
“Ha, is this a game?”
That's why Yooseong was dumbfounded when he answered.
“Do you know what I hate most in the world? It's a game that forces people to make crappy decisions without any context, makes people feel bad and uncomfortable, and then gives a nonsensical sermon and then falls for itself. What should we call it if we shorten it to 8 letters?”
Yooseong asked back, and the Clown Lord burst into laughter.
“The Last of OS 2.”
After muttering, Yoosung raised his voice without any hesitation.
“As a player, I will challenge the Lord of the Game.”
『Say.”]
[The Lord of the Game responds to the player’s request.]
Immediately after, the entire landscape stopped. Color disappeared from the world.
In a world where color has disappeared, another being has appeared along with the Clown Lord, who still has the appearance of a shooting star.
It was a man wearing a jet black robe. The darkness beneath the robe was very deep.
“I will demand that I have a choice to save this child.”
Yooseong spoke, and the shadow under his robe coldly asked back.
“On what basis are you asking for that?”]
“You don’t call something where you have no choice a game. Is this a game? “It’s a pseudo-movie that only makes people feel bad.”
Yooseong calmly spat out the image of the girl being swallowed up by the monster's body.
“What a foolish thing. I have already given you a choice.”]
[The Lord of the End sneers.]
“I think you are mistaken about the home selection. “If I stick a knife in your head and tell you to make a decision, that doesn’t make it a choice.”
Yooseong answered.
“Do you want that child to die? “Then I will gladly fight for a monarch who does not want that child to die.”
quarrels between monarchs. It was no longer anyone else's business to Yoosung.
“That is our choice. Home Now that I think about it, I wonder if everyone knows the news that the Shadow Lord who bet on me has taken the place of Grand Empress. Do you know anything? “I wonder if it will be his turn next time.”
It was right then.
For an instant, the air froze. “
Do you even know
who you are fighting against ?”]
Then, a very cold voice came from the freezing air.
[The Lord of the Apocalypse descends, exerting influence...
The message that followed was not even the easily understandable form of the Clown Lord or the Lord of the Game.
Advent.
The monarch reigning on the throne at the end was unfolding his power and existence without hesitation.
「Player Kang Yoo-seong and the King of Heroes. I accept your objection.”]
[The Lord of the Game accepts the objection!]
“At the same time, you will have to pay the price for your ‘choice.’”]
“We are all paying the price for our choices. “Isn’t that right?”
The Lord of the Game said and Yooseong laughed as if it was nothing new.
[Countless monarchs are watching you...]
[“Interesting child. I will support your choice.”]
[The Machine Lord supports player Kang Yoo-seong’s decision!]
[Blessing: You have acquired the God of Machinery (Ex)!]
[The aptitude for your machine skills is phenomenal. I’m rising!]
That’s why Yooseong answered calmly as he faced the Lord of the End who was distributing his power there.
If we cannot choose anything of our own will in the life we believe is ours, then it is not our life. The same goes for games.
“This is a game.”
The game is a series of choices. And choices always come with a price.
If it is a choice worth making, the price will also be worth paying.
[“A fool who doesn’t know his subject is laughable...!”]
[The monarch of the end exercises the influence of a great prince...]
Even if the price is the end. Even if you have to face it.
“Anyway, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Heavenly Demon Legion.”
At the same time, a new landscape began to form around the area beneath the shooting star's feet.
A Mythic-level skill bestowed by the Machine Lord. Moreover, through the blessing of ‘God of Machinery (Ex)’, even its efficiency has increased phenomenally.
《Mecca Cheonma Factory Operation》.
And what Yooseong had was by no means a heavenly demon of machinery.
“You black man, come out quickly.”
There were imitators there who had already become the shadows of the Heavenly Demon.
Finally, there was an opponent perfectly suited to test Yoosung's new abilities.