Chapter 146

‘I do need a researcher to see the True Ending anyway.’

Since I’ve already entered, I intended to clear it with the True Ending and shut it down.

And looking at the message from the system window, it seemed that failing to shut this down would be a blow to my reputation.

‘Alright, I get it.’

It seemed quite dissatisfied with me entering a one-star trial.

It’s not like I entered because I wanted to, either.

I pushed aside the system window and quickly sent a message to Je Hyun-oh.

Time flows quickly in PTB, so the time spent waiting outside will be short.

After roughly estimating how long it would take, I sent another message.

I sent the message with a bit of exaggeration, but I was anxious.

Because he was wearing an item that transforms him into a human form, Je Hyun-oh’s reaction was a little slower than usual, and that caused him to miss me.

My subordinate must be worried.

He will surely come looking for me.

…For now, it seemed he wouldn’t be worried.

And since it was a trial limited to two people, he wouldn’t be able to enter, but it was certain he was looking for me.

I resolved to shut down the trial at top speed before Je Hyun-oh could cut through the entire fortress.

Quickly formulating a strategy in my head, I looked at the button CEO Cha had destroyed.

To prevent the Researcher from appearing during the thirty-question sequence, one person had to keep getting the answers right while the other got them wrong.

We couldn’t both get the answer right, nor could we both get it wrong.

But CEO Cha had gone and destroyed every single one of his buttons.

From now on, he couldn’t press any buttons, so the system would automatically mark it as incorrect.

All I had to do was keep getting the answers right.

Of course, there was a way to restore the buttons.

A panel to reset the cage environment was hidden in the corner of the laboratory.

It was there because the test subjects would sometimes get stressed and wreck the place.

CEO Cha probably knew this when he destroyed the buttons.

‘Let’s just let him handle the restoration on his own.’

I looked at CEO Cha through the glass window.

Having committed such an insane act, he was nonchalantly sheathing the Daeil Yeorae.

If it weren’t for the glass window, I felt like going over and punching him.

We’ve fought several times before because of such unilateral behavior…

While I was furious, my mind was conflicted.

“Do you still think this is a game?”

“Because you didn’t want to regret it—even trembling in fear that just one NPC might die.”

Back in Cell-X, when CEO Cha had flatly contradicted my desire for the True Ending…

I… seemed to have been shocked.

Subconciously, I had assumed that CEO Cha would trust and follow me completely.

It was the moment I clearly realized that the real CEO Cha was a different being, not the character from the game I had liked.

Even though it was, in fact, only natural.

I recognized and accepted that I had become someone of no consequence to CEO Cha.

However, since then, CEO Cha became even stranger, drifting further and further away from the ‘CEO Cha’ I knew.

Eventually, he even committed an act that caused immense damage to himself.

He had become a complete stranger.

“…….”

The glass window separating CEO Cha and me was clear enough to be transparent.

It would have been better if the other person were barely visible.

I glared at CEO Cha and opened my mouth.

“I came to visit you in the hospital to have a conversation. Not so you could act however you pleased like this.”

“We would have had quite a conversation in front of Je Hyun-oh. While carrying a box of cup noodles, no less.”

“Since Lieutenant Colonel Je knows everything anyway…”

“Am I the only one who doesn’t know?”

As CEO Cha cut me off and retorted sharply, the floor lit up and a video began to play.

It was a format where we had to answer questions while watching a video on a floor made of monitor panels.

A vast universe unfolded, and stars gathered to form letters.

I checked the question formed on the floor.

I pressed the X button without hesitation.

Then, fireworks exploded on the screen, and a message appeared.

Electricity surged through CEO Cha, who had failed to answer correctly.

“…….”

His fingertips trembled briefly.

If the answer is incorrect, electricity flows through the necklaces worn by the test subjects.

It was a penalty similar to the electric shock given to laboratory rats.

At first, it was just a stinging static shock, but the electric shock grew stronger the more he failed to answer correctly.

If he answered correctly even once in the middle, the shock would drop to level zero.

However, CEO Cha smashed the button.

As a penalty for that, a strong current began to flow from the start.

Furthermore, he was slated to get 30 questions wrong in a row.

The pain would be considerable once about ten questions piled up.

He must have braced himself for that, which is why he committed such an act.

“Explain what a young god is.”

The cosmic imagery on the floor scattered to display the next question.

I answered while still staring at the floor.

“It is exactly as it sounds. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, CEO.”

The second question appeared.

On the floor, eyes of various colors and sizes swarmed together.

The scene reminded me of Cell-X.

I pressed the X button again.

CEO Cha was standing right in front of the window, watching me get the answer right.

“Do you remember that time?”

I turned to look at him. A white mask of cognitive supression was staring at me.

“…Yes, I do.”

The problem was that it was too vivid. I remembered every single detail of what I had done.

“It was my doing, yes, but it wasn’t something I wanted to happen. I intend to be careful to ensure that such a thing does not happen again in the future.”

It sounded like a pathetic excuse, but it was sincere.

Then, the next question appeared. As I answered the question, I could feel his gaze on me.

Since leaving Cell-X, CEO Cha must have looked into the phenomena he had experienced in his own way.

Both the entity known as ■■■, the boss of Cell-X, and the abilities I had demonstrated.

After all, these were completely different from the Trials and entities CEO Cha had faced until now.

I intended to answer as sincerely as possible, no matter what he asked.

After all, I had to enter into trials with CEO Cha because of the dispatch contract.

Furthermore, CEO Cha would be an important figure in future affairs.

There was no point in hiding it any further.

However, instead of letting it slide, CEO Cha spoke with a sneer.

“Playing god seems to suit you. You haven’t even bothered to look for a way to return to being human.”

I replied while concentrating on answering the question.

“I can’t go back, and I don’t want to.”

This was sincere. If I were to suddenly revert back to being human right now, who would deal with the meteorites that would rain down on Earth?

CEO Cha’s silence grew long.

He watched me press the O and X buttons before finally speaking.

“Je Hyun-oh is your subordinate, isn’t he?”

“…Yes.”

I had previously given him a quest to assist the young god’s subordinate.

Since I had even registered CEO Cha as a temporary possession and used my abilities on him, he must have known what subordinate meant.

CEO Cha remained silent for a long time again. Then, he slowly broke his silence.

“What if he dies?”

I immediately snapped my head to look at CEO Cha.

That would never happen.

Never.

CEO Cha met my gaze and let out a hollow laugh.

It was a laugh that seemed to confirm something.

I felt my pupils turn gold.

CEO Cha looked straight at me and sneered.

“What, are you planning to die with him?”

I clenched my teeth tightly at the persistent provocations.

I strode forward. I pressed myself against the windowpane and glared at the other person.

“…Why on earth are you doing this?”

This was not the kind of thing a man of efficiency would do.

Moreover, this was happening right in front of my subordiante.

My subordinate must be waiting.

All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, mixed with worry for Je Hyun-oh.

Breaking down the TRA as he pleased, dragging someone into a trial right in front of Je Hyun-oh…

And yet, trying to save me while sacrificing his own life force.

And now… he was provoking me while enduring pain he didn’t need to suffer at all.

I could not possibly understand the being standing before me.

“Why do you act this way toward me? I mean, why you are doing such inefficient things?”

The moment I asked the question, the time to submit the answer expired. A strong electric current flowed through CEO Cha, who had been marked as having answered incorrectly.

It must have been quite strong this time, as he even staggered slightly.

He gripped the hilt of the Daeil Yeorae’s sword with his hand. A voice filled with mockery echoed.

“The inefficient one is you, looking out for those subordinate bastards. Even risking your life.”

I tried to react rationally, but I simply couldn’t.

The moment I saw CEO Cha enduring the pain, everything I had been suppressing finally burst out.

I slammed my hand against the windowpane.

“I’m asking why you keep acting like this!”

With a thud, the windowpane shook. Although I struck with all my might, I felt no pain whatsoever.

To my astonishment, CEO Cha seemed relieved to see me shouting and acting aggressively.

He stood close to the windowpane, just as I had.

If he were truly Daeil Yeorae¹, he would surely be able to smash a window like that without a second thought.

But CEO Cha did not.

“Then what about you?”

Standing beyond the glass, with his face hidden beneath the cognitive suppression mask.

He asked, fixing his gaze on my face.

“Why do you act like you know me?”

In the end, we were back to square one.

Neither CEO Cha nor I answered each other’s questions.

“Han Goyo. This is as far as I’ll let it slide.”

He looked down at me. He unilaterally stated only his own demands.

“Don’t change any further. Stop right here.”

How foolish.

To think a human would try to define God.

But I did not tell him the truth.

Instead, I countered with my own demands.

“Don’t ever do this again. I’m letting you off the hook, too.”

It would be fun to tame a self-centered human.

I ignored the social misfit’s mindset.

Silence continued across the glass window.

In the stillness, I gradually regained my reason.

It was enough time to realize once again that clearing the trial was more urgent than anything else right now.

Just as my anger began to subside, the screen on the floor began to change.

I had left the previous question unanswered because of CEO Cha.

Even though I hadn’t selected an answer yet, it suddenly skipped to the next question.

I managed to calm my emotions and stepped away from the glass.

Then I checked the screen.

An image displaying an iridescent spectrum with a metallic sheen appeared.

A question appeared over the constantly changing, colorful holographic colors.

This… was related to the world outside of the trial.

I don’t know why a question about Samra suddenly appeared, but if I gave the wrong answer, I would have to answer 30 consecutive questions correctly starting over from the beginning.

Since I had to clear it in the shortest time possible, that would be a problem.

After careful consideration, I pressed the O button.

Samra was originally an NPC, but he escaped the Trial by turning a part of himself into an item.

I didn’t understand what it meant that NPCs referred to themselves as "us" at every ending, but since I assumed Samra wasn’t an NPC, I chose O.

Fortunately, I got the answer right, but the explanation was vague.

The holographic image scattered.

I was watching with narrowed eyes, wondering if the next problem might also be abnormal.

A voice came from the speaker.

“What? Why are the subjects’ data values ​​like this? Pause for a moment.”

The front wall opened with a buzzing sound.

A shaggy-haired researcher appeared, holding a small machine.

It was a device that controlled the electricity flowing through the subjects’ necklaces.

The researcher approached nervously, holding means to subdue the subjects in one hand and a tablet in the other.

He turned toward me from where the glass window divided the area.

‘A researcher is appearing already?’

I had only answered about 10 questions correctly so far. The remark the researcher made upon his appearance was also slightly different.

Just then, our eyes met.

The researcher, who had been approaching without hesitation, stopped in his tracks.

His eyes and mouth slowly widened in shock.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Just as I was momentarily puzzled by his peculiar reaction, my eyes fell on the name tag attached to the researcher’s lab coat.

It was blocked out.

But… I thought I could at least see that much.

I peered into the researcher.

As I studied him, I heard a low groan.

"Ugh… ugh…"

A sound filled with fear hissed out from between his lips.

"Aaaaaaaah!!!!"

The researcher suddenly clutched his head with both hands and let out a scream.

CEO Cha immediately smashed the window and came over to me.

At the same time, the block covering my vision was removed.

It was a familiar name.

Amidst the scattering glass shards, I immediately recalled DeZonDeal’s old diary.

[Paranoid Researcher’s Journal]

I didn’t think much of it while clearing DeZonDeal.

I simply regarded it as a diary full of nonsense, containing mentions of a cure.

But now I knew.

The contents of the Paranoid Researcher’s journal was praise of the Outer Gods.

After entering CallOVo, I had speculated that the Paranoid Researcher must have worshipped Dominic as a god.

Given that Dominic was such a formidable Outer God, it had seemed plausible enough.

‘How is a DeZonDeal NPC here?’

This made no sense. DeZonDeal was shut down…

Even if he had left before the shutdown, the logic didn’t add up.

Because that would mean the NPC had moved to another trial.

I stared at the researcher, who was now shaking his head wildly up and down, screaming, and bursting into maniacal laughter.

“Aaaaaaaah! Kak? Aha, ahahaha! Why! Here! Ah, ah, aaaaah!”

He was rolling his eyes back while spitting out incomprehensible words.

I felt I needed to dig some information out of the researcher, but seeing him in that state, it seemed unlikely he would ever return to normal.

I had looked too deeply.

Humans are weak, so one must be careful.

But since he is already broken, wouldn’t it be okay to look a little deeper?

I might be able to find out what I am curious about.

The tempting thought wouldn’t easily go away.

I glanced at CEO Cha.

He was watching the researcher while holding the Daeil Yeorae, but his wariness was also directed toward the young god.

Even though I knew I was displaying a strange behavior in front of CEO Cha…

I unconsciously curled the corners of my mouth.

No matter what I do, he’ll still like me.

‘But if I look deeper, is a True Ending possible?’

It was when I was staring blankly at the researcher in a slightly dazed state.

Suddenly, I had a strange feeling.

I felt my subordinate.

Knowing it shouldn’t be possible, I cast my eyes toward the ceiling.

“…!!”

I saw black metal smoothly cutting through the space.

A metal hand reached out from the darkness, and soon a black figure slowly emerged.

With its wings spread, it appeared and moved silently.

A line was drawn across the researcher’s neck.

“…It’s gone? Why? Is it the same? Is it the same? Is it the same? Hehe, khihihi, stop, please, hehehehe! Impossible!”

As the researcher screamed incoherently, his head dropped to the floor with a thud.

The head, rolling over and over, screamed incessantly, oblivious to its own impending death.

“Impossible! Impossible! Impossible….”

The shouting ceased after a short while.

Leaving the gushing fountain of blood behind, the man in black stepped onto the ground pooling with blood.

The figure, covered in pitch black from head to toe, looked at me.

“Goyo.”

My face was reflected in the unlit goggles. A rough, low warning was delivered.

“I hate waiting.”

¹I’m no expert, but bascially his sword is named after the Buddha Vairocana, or 대일여래 (Daeil Yeorae).

sorry again to everyone for the late updates, i just moved back to school two days ago.

this chapter was fun, everyone…stop fighting…