Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 218
Episode 218 [ Games, Experiments, Truth – 2 ]
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Lee Hyun-wook has no idea what is happening at this moment. I couldn’t guess.
‘But one thing is certain: something happened.’
There was also a crack in the plan of the game’s ‘administrators’ – beings whom Gordon Price firmly believed were ‘God’.
Whether it is an artificial ‘experiment’ or a ‘trial’ given by God, there is no way that the process will go according to the will of the person leading it… Even in many myths, aren’t the trials given to heroes by God always going according to God’s will?
In other words, the variable means inversion.
‘And that voice just now…’
Lee Hyun-wook was just told to come outside because he would tell him the truth. Maybe that someone was trying to help Hyunwook Lee and humanity.
‘…Even if it isn’t, it will at least be friendlier than the managers.’
Feeling a glimmer of hope, Hyunwook Lee followed the voice and went out of the Black Gate.
Huuuu——
He faced the ruined landscape of Seoul again. Since it had been a while since he entered the Black Gate, the scene had not changed much.
And there were a lot of players and airships gathered around the Black Gate, and it seemed like they were surrounding the Black Gate in preparation for an unexpected situation.
“—Ah, Steele Lane is here!”
They were surprised that Lee Hyun-wook had come out earlier than expected and were curious about what he had seen. However, a
strange roaring sound was ringing above their heads, and in the sky when Lee Hyun-wook looked up…
-% @A!$f| f|$! *@$!%#&$#@@%
*$$a%#!$a-tEE%#@@—%
‘Huh?’
Originally, there was a text related to the ending as [Full Notice] in the sky, but now it had been changed to strange characters, and it was like a computer program had an error. “It changed like that about 3 minutes ago.
”
This voice was Kim Se-hee.
She approached Lee Hyun-wook and pointed to the sky.
“So I was debating whether I should go inside to see if something had happened.”
“okay.”
“What… happened in there?”
At that time, the letters in the sky soon changed into unrecognizable letters.
“Oh, look! It’s changed again!”
“…But which country’s script is that?”
“Well, this is really my first time seeing you.”
No player could read it. In other words, it meant that the language and characters were not supported by the system’s automatic translation function.
Hyunwook Lee was also looking at it.
– Lee Hyun-wook It was I who called you.
A voice spread throughout the world.
Everyone followed the voice and raised their heads.
There was a small seal floating there.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at it closely using his ‘clairvoyance’ skill.
A woman, a young girl, was floating in the air.
‘That woman is the one who called me after she broke the administrators’ system.’
But……
“Uh… you’re Nicole, right?”
Isn’t a voice shouting as if it recognizes the girl?
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head in that direction.
There, the Water Spirit King and his servants were gathered. And their eyes turned to a single spirit.
“…Daughter, you. “What does that mean now?”
The Water Spirit King asked his daughter Jane.
Jane nodded her head as if she was certain.
“That boy… is the prophet I told my father about.”
Meanwhile, the players who heard those words couldn’t shake their heads.
“What nonsense is that… the only player with the Prophet trait died a long time ago!”
It was Kang Seo-yoon who said that rather aggressively, and she looked at the Water Spirit King with an expression full of suspicion.
She was the only S-rank player in the history of Ando Suzu who was called a prophet. And because Suzu Ando was a member of the Guardian and knew Kang Seo-yoon well.
But Lee Hyun-wook suddenly remembered one thing.
‘Now that I think about it, back then… the word ‘prophet’ was often mentioned.’
Hyunwook Lee had saved the Spirit King’s daughter in ‘Yggdrasil City’ a few months ago, and he remembered the children he had met at that time, Jack Harrington and Hannah Tate.
‘They mentioned the name Nicole a few times, and each time they said that Nicole had prophesied something.’
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook overheard the children saying that the girl had predicted that the Spirit King’s daughter would be in danger and that she would be saved by someone.
However, as far as Lee Hyun-wook knew, the player with the ‘prophet trait’ never appeared again, so he thought their conversation was just a misunderstanding resulting from a trivial joke and ignored it.
However, if such a being had appeared like this at this very moment… it could not have been a player in the first place.
‘It means that someone who can control this game has been closely watching me for a long time.’
Soon, she slowly came down from the sky and looked at Lee Hyun-wook.
“Hello, this is an absurd situation in many ways, isn’t it?”
“You…”
“Yes, I can also be said to be one of the ‘managers.’”
She interrupted and answered as if she had expected what question Lee Hyun-wook would ask.
“But I don’t get along with those sloppy acting guys, so you don’t have to be too wary. “I need you too, but I won’t deceive you… I will persuade you to take me.”
Lee Hyun-wook frowned openly as he had no idea what context this was going on.
Then she smiled and took a step closer to Lee Hyun-wook.
“Well, I guess you have a lot of questions… There are about fifteen minutes left until the system is restored, so I’m willing to ask twenty questions until then. How about that?”
In that relaxed expression, Lee Hyun-wook sensed a business-like attitude rather than genuine goodwill.
In other words, I could see that it was never a being that pitied humanity and tried to save it.
‘There is another purpose.’
Lee Hyun-wook did not relax his nerves, but rather became tense. And because it was necessary to obtain additional information for the best results, Hyunwook Lee asked one question without hesitation.
“…Who are you?”
The beings who created this game and inflict violence in the name of trials on humanity in multiple dimensions… At least they are not gods. So what exactly is it?
Only by knowing that first would I be able to prepare for the next step.
“As you may have guessed, we are not gods or anything like that. But we want to become gods… and should we say they are people who have discovered the clue? Well, I think this is roughly the correct explanation.”
She scratched her chin and then snapped her fingers.
Hmph——
Then the [All Notice] floating in the sky was revised again.
– Caution! The system’s ‘player potential suppression’ will be downgraded to level 2!
* Some players Suppressed mana is absorbed rapidly, and some players’ nervous systems may collapse due to mana being absorbed beyond the limit.
“Pfft!”
Then, Hyunwook Lee felt his senses expand even further, while his gaze was caught by something sparkling blue all over the world. They were player monster items and everywhere.
Lee Hyun-wook looked at them and muttered briefly.
“Mana—”
Those invisible beings were ‘Mana,’ the operating principle of all mysteries that appeared after the world turned into a game. “Yes, the
name we call it is a little different, but we will use that familiar name in your world. “It was set by .”
“…I want to know not about our world, but where your world is and who you are. That is my question.”
“Okay, okay, don’t be too hasty. “I’ll tell you everything, so um… so… can I just say that we come from another universe in another dimension?”
When she snapped her fingers, the world turned to night, and with another flick, the Milky Way filled the sky.
It had to be some kind of mirage magic.
She opened her hands with the universe in the background.
“This world is so big, and we come from quite far away. Well, in a word, we’re aliens, if you use your words.”
In other words, it meant that an alien race was conducting experiments on humanity.
She told such a shocking story as if it were nothing, but Lee Hyun-wook felt an instinctive hostility boiling inside.
‘The disasters I have experienced so far were caused by aliens. ‘Are you saying it was an experiment?’
Whether or not she knew Lee Hyun-wook’s feelings, she continued,
“Mana is a ‘super substance’ that is placed in the gap between dimensions. “This is quite high-level knowledge that cannot be understood with the basic view of the universe, such as physics, that you humans know.”
“And what it is, as you have already experienced enough, is a medium that makes it possible to manipulate matter through the will of an intelligent being… by intertwining the nervous system of an intelligent being with the material world…” She raised her left hand while speaking
. Raised it.
Then— wh—
wh— Lee Hyun-
wook’s metal weapons scattered around the area began to surface one by one. Then, it oxidized and turned into a hot flame, but at some point it rapidly cooled and froze.
“…This is how miracles can occur without time lag and without limits! “Well, you’ve all experienced it, right?”
Although Lee Hyun-wook couldn’t understand clearly, he was still able to understand to some extent.
That mana….
“…does this mean it is a material that can create a god?”
She smiled and nodded at Lee Hyun-wook’s definition.
“Yes, and we have circumstances so it has to be that way.”
Then, one more question arises.
“Why on earth are you testing that on us?”
Instead of answering, she spread her palms out. Then, a mouse appeared in each of her left and right hands. “
That
’s right, this method of mana manipulation has not yet been fully researched, so it is dangerous to apply it to us right away.” Well, when you develop a new drug, you don’t directly test it on humans, right? Do you know how many animals die when a drug is developed? In other words, clinical trials are needed to confirm safety, but since this is not usually a difficult technology, there are more cases than you can imagine. “I need data.”
“So that’s why we’re subject to clinical trials. As a mere consumable to accumulate that data….” ”
Yes, our researchers wandered around the dimension and found a race with an advanced nervous system in a small star system, and that is you. Well, the point is, I feel sorry in many ways.”
In other words, being consumed as mere experimental material for the aspirations of an alien race… no different from a laboratory rat…
That was the true nature of this game.
Those who heard the story, and perhaps all of humanity, were shocked.
“That’s ridiculous…”
“Is what I’m hearing true?”
“This is crazy, this must be a dream…”
At that time, the rat on her hand exploded with a sound, collapsed, and then disappeared. On the
other hand, the other one gradually grew fur and became huge, and it was not a rat but a suspect. Isn’t it changing into a shape?
She held out the dragon towards Lee Hyun-wook.
“And now we can say that this is you, Lee Hyun-wook.”
That meant you were the most successful test subject in the experiment.
“You are the prototype for godhood and a very valuable experiment result for our species. Your nervous system is now completely fused with mana… Would you be a little happy if you were in fact close to the image of a god? Haha—anyway, you would be able to perform much more powerful miracles if there were no system holding you back.”
Come to think of it, Lee Hyun-wook had been feeling that his senses were constantly expanding ever since he began to see mana.
‘Something that was binding me was released.’
It was much faster and much more powerful than the countless growths I had experienced so far… Now I began to feel all the substances in the area, not just metal but also dirt, red, and water, in detail.
It seemed like I would soon be able to move them.
“So the administrators are trying to complete this experiment by studying you further… but some people, including me, have slightly different ideas from them, so I came to join hands with you like this.”
In other words, there was an infighting between the managers and they were competing with each other to take over Lee Hyun-wook.
“Well, there’s only ten minutes left. Do you have any more questions?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
Now, there was one last question left.
“So, are you the ones who brought me back?”
I wanted to know the reason, the starting point of this entire journey.
“Oh, that? That’s right…”
She giggled and waved her hands as if she was embarrassed.
Then, after taking a breath, she said something rather absurd.
“That was just a bug.”