#136
“Guess how many times this has happened?”
A sarcastic voice, a gaze full of intense contempt for Ki Baek-woo.
“Anyway, you’ll forget everything by the next round. You’re just the lead actor, so you can relax.”
“Don’t think about blaming the system.”
“He’s the only one who can destroy this damn world and give everyone freedom.”
Jung Yi-dam’s eyes, like a burning wasteland, as he spoke of Lee Han-sol being the god of love. Ki Baek-woo didn’t care whether he listened or not, pouring out words filled with hatred, like a husband who had lost his wife. It was torture to think of Jung Yi-dam, who talked as if Lee Han-sol belonged to him. Ki Baek-woo barely suppressed the rising nausea. He desperately pondered.
“He’s the god of love that wasn’t given to me, so why can’t I touch him? Why? Because I’m a damn protagonist with no private life?”
System, protagonist, lead actor… The words Jung Yi-dam used were unfamiliar and detached from everyday life. This round, the ending, after the ending. A series of mechanical expressions that didn’t fit the life of a living human. At the moment he heard those words, Ki Baek-woo didn’t have the mind to question the normality of each word. Looking back now, everything seemed strange.
“This time, please try to overcome the damn system. If you’re human, try to make an effort to go beyond the input value.”
Again, system. Input value. Repeated words. Were they just a simple metaphor, or the truth? If it was the truth, how should he interpret it? Ki Baek-woo thought obsessively.
System, input value. System, input value. System, input value.
The disappearance of himself in front of Jung Yi-dam was the input value, and the one who gave that input value was the system. Thinking like that, it seemed to make sense… but for that, this world had to be a programmed virtual reality.
There had to be a limit to what didn’t make sense. Surely that couldn’t be the case.
Ki Baek-woo, who had such thoughts, sneered and dragged his rag-like body towards the dungeon. His broken body didn’t heal properly, making him feel like a rag. Dying and coming back to life, yet the body didn’t heal. It felt ridiculous. The body of an S-class awakened one was excellent, and the recovery was also better than others. Even with such a body, Ki Baek-woo continued to torture himself beyond what he could endure. He just wanted to see Lee Han-sol.
Ki Baek-woo faced his fourth, fifth death. And the sixth.
“Ki Hunter, wake up! Damn it, open your eyes! Don’t die in a raid where I’m the leader!”
“That… thing…”
“What? What are you saying! Damn it, don’t just stand there and watch! Didn’t anyone bring an emergency kit for rampage? The raid is almost over, so hold on, Ki Baek-woo Hunter, you bastard! If you’re going to rampage, why now in my raid…! You can’t die here! I’ll be in trouble…!”
Blood, dark red, flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Ki Baek-woo’s face, ruined like a wreck, was covered in blood and looked pitiful. As always, in bad condition, Ki Baek-woo rushed into the raid and, as always, drove himself into pain.
His body was covered with the remnants of five deaths that hadn’t healed properly. His left eye, broken long ago, could barely see, his repeatedly fractured leg limped, and the stitched wound on his abdomen had opened again, bleeding.
With every step, no, even just breathing, the pain spread from his heels to the top of his head. Nevertheless, Ki Baek-woo somehow crawled out of the hospital room, ignored the opposing hunters, pushed his body into the gate as he pleased, and poured out his strength.
Every time he used his ability, he felt like he was killing himself. The survival instinct engraved in his body made Ki Baek-woo fearful. Pretending not to know, Ki Baek-woo staggered forward. Then, at some point, he felt his ears ringing, at some point, he felt his right vision shattering like a puzzle, and at some point, he felt his legs losing strength. Ki Baek-woo collapsed.
“From now on, ignore the formation and keep pushing forward! We have to get him to the center while he’s still alive…! Damn it, Ki Hunter, open your eyes quickly!”
Ki Baek-woo, who was devoured by his ability and eventually self-destructed, gathered his last strength and muttered.
“…Only… me, can… see…”
The question of whether only he could see that was swept away below his throat before it was completed. Ki Baek-woo closed his eyes, breathing shallowly. The last thought of Ki Baek-woo, who had reached his sixth death, was this.
SYSTE!!!M ALE!RT: Code!!Err!r(3, 53, 4, 24, 68, 26, 78, 34, 79, 79, 79, 79, 79, 79797▢7979▢□□9797979797▢79799393939▢1111000033▢3▢▢)))))))))))))111110000333379797999999!!!999!99))))))))
Character 4 ‘Baekwoo’ State: Scenario Deviation – Route [J…m] Interrupted.
– Route!Exit▢Recovery))▢▢Kwon!02Unlimited▢ – Ignored_!In▢accessible▢▢_
[ERROR_Unusual_Loop_Unusual_Loop_Unusual_LoopUnusualloop_Nu!alsuupoloUnusualLoopNualsuupoloUUUUUU!UUUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!NNUUUUUsssua!!!!!u!a!uauauauaLLLLlLLlLLL!L!]
A glitch phenomenon occurring in the darkening vision. Strange square boxes were continuously being created in the cracked void like a scattered computer screen. He had seen it once before. Whether in reality or in a dream, he didn’t know, but… he had definitely seen a similar error window.
The only difference was that the error window he saw at that time was dim and glowing blue, but now the messages that were opening in succession were blinking in bright red. An ominous color. The letters were broken and unreadable. The red box was visible even with his eyes closed and did not disappear.
Ki Baek-woo felt a chilling sensation as to why his name was written in that strange notification window.
‘Scenario Deviation1)…?’
Character, scenario, route. And what Jung Yi-dam repeated. System, input value. Lead actor, protagonist, character, scenario, route, system input value scenario route character input value lead actor system protagonist character scenario lead actor system protagonist scenario error code. He didn’t want to believe it.
‘So, is all this just a game…’
Ki Baek-woo died again with that thought. It was a blackout.
***
Ki Baek-woo opened his eyes in a familiar place. The cold and bitter smell, dry air. It was the recovery team’s hospital room. It wasn’t new to him. His vision was hazy. He remembered that his right eye had become almost blind just before his self-destruction.
If he’s this broken… his brother will probably pity him. Because he’s kind.
Regardless of the pain that felt like his whole body was torn apart, Ki Baek-woo thought without agitation. He had spent his whole life pretending to be weak. Pretending to be something fragile that couldn’t survive without Lee Han-sol’s care, desperately acting pitiful to stay by his side. Rather, if he really became a mess, he wouldn’t have to pretend to be pitiful in front of his brother anymore, so it might be a good thing. No matter how he looked now, Lee Han-sol was a kind person who couldn’t ignore it, so he wouldn’t leave him alone, even if it was troublesome.
Ki Baek-woo, who had known that fact for a long time, sometimes thought that it would be okay to cut off an arm or a leg. So, it was really okay that his body was gradually breaking down. Ki Baek-woo just needed to be by Lee Han-sol’s side, no matter what. And now was not the time to worry about such things.
System Recovery… 100% Complete
In Ki Baek-woo’s hazy vision, only that blue system window was clearly visible.
SYSTEM ALERT: Error detected and recovered
Error: Scenario Deviation (Scenario Deviation) / E_SCN_DVT_CHARACTER_STATE_ERR
Target: [N4 / Baekwoo]
Action: State Normalization (State Normalization)
Status: Completed Successfully / SYS_STATE_RESTORED_OK
The notification window flickered and disappeared repeatedly like a broken signal. He recalled the last thought he had before he died.
“…Game.”
It was all just a game. An indescribable confusion and emptiness rushed in. Ki Baek-woo became calm in the face of a reality he couldn’t handle.
“Haha… that was just…”
A game story. It was futile. He felt an unknown sense of betrayal. He couldn’t tell whether it was directed at the world or at his own existence, which was nothing.
But if this was just a story within a game, everything became clear. All the contradictory actions Ki Baek-woo had committed against Lee Han-sol. Losing his self like a manipulated machine in front of Jung Yi-dam, whom he wasn’t curious about at all. All the foolish acts of ruining his own destiny without knowing what he was doing… It was all because of the scenario set by the system.
“System, input value.”
Ah. Ki Baek-woo laughed sadly. Jung Yi-dam’s words finally made sense. He said he was the protagonist. Then…
Critical System Warning
(CRITICAL SYSTEM WARNING)
! Warning: Possible forced program termination
Due to continuous character shutdown and unusual route execution caused by an unknown bug, data has been corrupted and system stability has been compromised.
Important: The program may automatically terminate to protect data and prevent further damage. Please stop all operations immediately and back up any savable data.
Code: SYS_UNSTABLE_RT_SHUTDOWN_IMMINENT
‘Then, am I just a non-existent being created for the protagonist?’
Is that why strange things happened when Jung Yi-dam appeared? Betraying his brother and repeating the foolish act of suicide. He didn’t care. It was miserable that Lee Han-sol became so wretched for Jung Yi-dam. The fact that Ki Baek-woo was abandoned by Lee Han-sol was all for Jung Yi-dam. Ki Baek-woo felt sick. Everything felt false. No, the truth was that everything was false. Scenario, system, all that nonsense.
It was just a made-up fake. He didn’t want to believe that such a thing had trampled on all his sincerity and soul.
Ki Baek-woo, who had desperately clung to Lee Han-sol’s life, the time he had built up, Lee Han-sol’s heart that had been the most dazzling in the world, the confession he had made with the resolve to die that day. All those desperate things were buried in the mud by someone’s mere amusement.
He was angry. Thinking that Lee Han-sol had felt this futility and powerlessness alone all this time, Ki Baek-woo felt like he was going to die. He wanted to pay back this pain. To himself, who had been foolishly swayed without knowing anything until now, and to the system that had led such a dirty and sordid story. For Lee Han-sol, Ki Baek-woo could do anything, even if it meant disappearing forever with the system.
If only someone would tell him how.
And then, the hospital room door burst open.
“Hello, long time no see.”
“…You.”
“Why, did you miss me?”
It was Jung Yi-dam.
[Footnotes]
1) Deviation
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
