Chapter 312
In the History, the outcome changes depending on which possibilities the participants discover.
Those possibilities are divided into the individual's own capabilities and the countless seeds scattered by the development team across the map.
In terms of capability, it means events like the completely unexpected case of Seojun becoming the hidden mastermind.
Who devours whom, who hinders whom, who succeeds—these are things impossible to predict, plant, or design.
However, what they discover, how they discover it, and how much they discover can greatly affect everything from individual stat upgrades to the overall story, and to a certain extent, these numerous possibilities can indeed be designed.
"China's Shenjian is a bit late."
From the perspective of the team leads who had sown these possibilities, the seed currently exerting the greatest influence was Shenjian’s quest.
A quest named Salvation lives up to its name.
"It will be cleared before the 12th day is completely over. Should I call this fortunate or unfortunate?"
The 12th day.
It marks one year since the Rift first opened.
The original plan had been for China's hidden mastermind—before Seojun—to capture a limited number of people each day and grow stronger until this day, staging a sudden shift in circumstances the moment the 12th day arrived.
But that scenario has already been discarded, and now all participants are wholly absorbed in the passageways. It is the latter half.
With this change, countless possibilities have been buried, making Shenjian’s quest crucial.
"The progress was a bit slow, but in the end, he pulled it off. The chance of failing to find the quest at all and the difficulty of carrying it out were the highest among all the seeds we planted."
To summarize the current situation: there are seven passageways that have progressed to Phase 2, so fifteen participants are bound to those passageways.
Still free from Seojun’s interference and able to destroy passageways are ten people.
The remaining two are Shenjian and Yasuo.
The passageways were continuing to be destroyed by those ten free participants.
When the ten participants destroy one passageway, they move to another region, search for the next one, and join the next destruction quest.
"If Shenjian hadn't cleared the Salvation quest, what would have happened?"
From the moment the hidden mastermind's restrictions are lifted, methods to deal with the Phase 2 passageways appear. Those methods and the time required vary from one to another.
That was how they were designed to hold back the participants in the first place.
If, the moment Seojun’s restrictions were lifted, the other participants were also free, then ultimately both the hidden mastermind and the participants would clash, which would put the hidden mastermind at too great a disadvantage.
Thus, the structure makes it so that the more the hidden mastermind succeeds in interfering, the more advantageous it becomes for them.
And the Salvation quest, being so difficult to even discover, let alone clear, correspondingly makes the participants more advantageous.
"Even if Shenjian had failed, the participants would have won without much trouble."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes. Do you disagree, Korean team lead? I mean, he does have the Destroyer set, but there isn't some one-against-many special skill, and he's out of stamina now. Even if a huge number of participants rushed in from all directions and fought chaotically, he'd still lose."
Another team lead chimed in.
"But now that Shenjian succeeded before the 12th day was over, they'll be able to unite a little more effectively. And on top of that, there's the issue we already know about. The fact that he has to leave in the middle. You're a party to it, so you know. Why on earth did it happen? Ha, if only we could hold someone accountable, I really would."
They cannot demand compensation from a participant for ruining the History.
If such a thing existed, who would even participate? It would also run counter to the very purpose of the History content.
"The Salvation quest was just cleared. Sigh. I just hope the game doesn't end too blandly."
The team leads in the conference room let out worried sighs.
The legend of the Mountain of Transcendence.
There exists an avatar of the Transcendent who guards or watches over Pangaea.
And this avatar of the Transcendent is of a level capable of at least interfering with the likes of Pahpyeoni.
Sensitive to humans and the killing intent between them, this being watches over Pangaea even while sleeping. However, Pahpyeoni had been working for a year to dull those senses.
Because later, when his collaborator emerged and helped him create the perfect passageways, if the collaborator killed people while considerable power had been poured into him, the Transcendent would notice.
But that veil has disappeared, and the Transcendent, grasping the situation, has begun to bestow blessings upon the heroes.
And it seals the movements of the collaborator, Seojun.
"Seojun is logging out right after hearing the explanation. Well, I suppose there's nothing more he can do. About 40 minutes were left, right?"
"I'll go and have a word with him."
"Go ahead. Talking probably won't change anything. But honestly, this AI isn't even giving him something like the ability to control Hounds. Now is the time to give the hidden mastermind a strong push!"
Please, don't let it end with the hidden mastermind getting beaten one-sidedly and the whole thing turning into a disaster.
* * *
Even though time remained, Seojun logged out.
It had been the moment he was happily buying the fourth Destroyer item, the bracelet.
His body began to stop moving, and he was engulfed in light.
Then Pahpyeoni let out a sigh and gave him an explanation.
He boasted excessively, saying that if only he’d had one more hour, he could have ignored that kind of opponent completely.
‘But it didn’t turn into a nuisance.’
Of course, this was the kind of interference that could come even if the other side performed well, not just from Seojun’s side.
‘I had accounted for this much.’
For one day, Seojun would be unable to move his body.
After that, Pahpyeoni said he would release him.
[My power will soon surpass that brat! I was discovered before the day was over and restrained, so surpassing him has merely been delayed by a day. Even now, my power is welling up from the passageways, kuhaha! So I will release you then! And then rampage to your heart's content!]
He seemed to be fiercely battling some entity.
And from now on, the participants would be able to track in real time the locations of the passageways and the comrades with them, it said.
Just like Seojun could.
A blessing that dealt additional damage had also been bestowed, but Pahpyeoni said it would be nearly ineffective since Seojun had already drained almost all of his power.
How fortunate.
[Fortunate, my foot! I'd rather have my power even if dozens of those pathetic blessings stacked up! Why! Why do you deny my power?! You stupid collaborator!]
As a matter of fact, it had been Seojun who said it was fortunate.
Anyway.
Seojun decided to simply log out and wait.
‘They can never destroy all the passageways before I’m released.’
He was at ease.
In the end, he only needed to protect one. So Seojun could now just guard a single location.
‘There were fifteen people whose feet were tied, right?’
Interfering further was too bothersome.
He actually thought it was better that they gave him a day to rest.
His preparations were already complete.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door, and Seojun opened it.
"Hello, Team Leader."
"Hello, Participant Kael."
"Why have you come here?"
Was it time for a final inspection?
Or had something gone wrong with his forced day off?
The team leader stepped into the room and took a seat.
"I'd like to ask you directly."
"Go ahead."
"Are you confident?"
So he was worried.
"The situation is becoming quite unusual, you see."
"Public opinion, you mean?"
"Well, yes."
"Riots and the like haven't broken out?"
Seojun chuckled as if amused.
"Hahahaha... It's not quite at the level of a riot. They're just fighting every single day."
"What do the team leads think?"
"Here, there's no cause for fighting. Everyone except me is simply certain of unconditional defeat."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"And what about you, Team Leader?"
"I am the only person who has met Seojun in person, so I'm leaning on that baseless confidence of his. Rationally, though, it does seem difficult."
"Don't worry. And please convey to the other team leads not to worry either."
Strangely, as Team Leader Lee watched the supremely confident Seojun, he realized that his worries were truly flying out of his mind.
Deeply believing in himself...
‘A fanatic...’
Team Leader Lee burst into laughter and left.
* * *
On the 13th day, Seojun was invincible but his movements were sealed.
So he spent the 13th day logging in briefly now and then to assess the situation.
There was no point in staying connected any longer.
He could ponder his strategy just as well outside.
‘Groups of five or more are beginning to gather. They've started destroying the passageways systematically and quickly.’
At this rate, it was almost certain that by the 14th day, nearly all Phase 1 passageways except Seojun’s would be destroyed.
It was an expected result, so he didn't care. Starting on the 14th day, he could just kill them all and end it.
‘Since the Phase 2 passageways will remain, I just need to protect one of them.’
Among the seven, Seojun chose Ashiath.
The place where three participants were bound, having been given a quest to fend off the monsters emerging from the Phase 2 passageway.
And the 13th day ended.
Just as Seojun had predicted, few remained. The participants’ group continued to move, yet whether through diligent communication, they displayed collective movement.
Seojun spent the 4 hours of the 13th day and the 1 hour of the evening entirely alone inside his hotel room.
Quietly.
He closed his eyes and sank into thought.
‘Gain, loss.’
There was something more important than that.
Seojun was keenly aware that doing whatever he wanted while still winning was the secret to his popularity.
And so, he had killed.
‘That’s what I wanted to do. It seemed like it would be okay. That’s all.’
The viewers would have wanted it too. Though they wouldn’t want him to lose.
It wasn't a complete loss in every aspect.
Even while doing that, Seojun took everything he could, and gave his best.
So now.
‘An hour has passed.’
He enters the capsule.
The 14th day has begun.
[Now! Go forth! Slaughter them all and open the prelude to the invasion!]
His body moved.
Seojun immediately took a train from the Train to Ashiath.
Since disasters had struck the continent seven times, the number of NPCs boarding the train had noticeably decreased.
The atmosphere was grim.
The train quietly and swiftly arrived at Ashiath.
On the streets of the capital of Ashiath, there were barely any NPCs either.
Only small children playing with a ball in the back alleys.
Passing through the streets, Seojun entered a building, stepped onto a teleportation magic circle, and headed to the place he had decided on as his final destination.
The metropolis of Brion.
Belied by its title of metropolis, there were far fewer people here than in the capital just moments ago.
Only the soldiers of Ashiath fighting the Hounds could be seen.
Those who were not in a hurry saluted whenever they saw Seojun.
Grrrr!
"I am requesting support!"
Those absorbed in battle didn't even have the leisure for that.
They still did not know that Kael had come here to bring about their destruction.
It was pitiable.
The passageway was in the underground waterways of Brion.
The city would become the battlefield.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Seojun leisurely walked through the half-ruined metropolis toward the location of the passageway.
Since most were predicting his defeat, he acted more like his usual self than ever.
At the entrance to the waterways, the participants appeared.
"We can skip the greetings, right?" Seojun said.
"Yes. But still, it's a pleasure to see you, Kael. Truly."
"I'll be praying that you hold out as long as possible, Kael. Though the longer you hold out, the more reinforcements will arrive."
"It's over."
Their number was six.
Since Seojun had deliberately spread word about the penalty, these participants, like those outside, would be confident of victory.
But.
Would the AI not know that?
The AI, who even knows all of his real-life physical data?
Yet the AI does not help Seojun.
This meant, at the very least.
At least the AI believed in him.
Wasn’t that the case?
Because it was doable.
"Let's start by taking a hit, brothers."
Seojun immediately used his invincibility.
"Wait, right from the start?"
"Run!"
"The duration is at least 10 seconds! Evade for 10 seconds!"
And then.
Three swords of judgment fell from the very beginning.
This was only the start.
A veteran swordsman's game stream
Chapter 313
24.03.18