HACKED 41

‘It went from a simple mess to a total clusterfuck.’

That is my one-line summary of this situation.

Immediately after I rejected the suggestion from the <Nameless Star>, he unexpectedly showed no sign of agitation.

‘Is that so? That is what you think for now. I understand, for the time being.’

That single sentence was the extent of what he said. I honestly thought he would try to recruit me by laying out all sorts of sweet talk again, so it was a surprise. Since the opponent backed off so easily, it felt even more suspicious.

With those words, the <Nameless Star> returned to where he originally stood. That is to say, behind the monster with the hideous form.

Thus, the free-for-all broke out in the corridor once again. However, this time the scale had grown larger. From a 1:1 deathmatch between San Gun and the monster, it became a soul-baring team fight with the <Nameless Star> and the Gumiho joining in.

The <Nameless Star> hid behind the monster and manipulated it with his skills, and the Gumiho… seemed to have been caught up in it by chance. Seeing as he harbored strong hostility toward San Gun, it wouldn’t have been strange if he joined that side, but for now, they had formed something like a temporary alliance. I guess he has at least a minimum of a conscience.

“These annoying pests are such a nuisance…. I must be the one to kill husband. I can’t let the opportunity be stolen.”

I caught a faint sound of him muttering through clenched teeth. I promptly changed my mind.

‘Yeah, never mind. No conscience at all. He was just filled with the thought of wanting to kill me.’

Still, it’s a relief that he’s a consistent nutcase, making him easy to read. …Is it a relief?

Returning to the main point…. To say it again, the current situation is a total clusterfuck.

It was already a shambles all around when one monster and one Incarnation were going head-to-head, but now that two more Incarnations have been added, it has become even more of a chaotic mess.

Attacks and skills that I couldn’t even see properly flew back and forth. Notifications rang incessantly from the terminal I had hurriedly picked up, but I had no leisure to check them. My only priority was to stay far away from the range of the attacks and look after the unconscious Hwarang and Chirpy, as well as my own body.

A deafening noise rose continuously. Walls crumbled, floors were gouged, and dust billowed. Each time, with a notification saying something like ‘The power system has been damaged,’ the internal injuries were entirely mine to bear.

‘The moment I go through the trouble of charging the power system, the Incarnations show off their personal skill, “Smashing the Pantheon”….’

Taking advantage of the gap while those bastards were fighting like crazy, I moved as well. I took refuge, dragging the unconscious Hwarang and bringing Chirpy along as a bonus. That alone drained all the energy from my body. The blood that periodically rose up my esophagus and the pain that felt like my internal organs were being ripped to shreds were added bonuses.

Hwarang, who looked about the same height and build as me and seemed like he would be nothing but slender, was surprisingly heavy. Is this guy made of combat-compressed muscle or something? I’m envious and pissed off.

“Huff, gasp, huff.”

I somehow managed to drag Hwarang to a place where the aftereffects of the attacks wouldn’t reach. My breath reached the tip of my throat. When I wiped my mouth, blood from who-knows-when stained my wrist.

I left Hwarang leaning against the wall in a half-sitting, half-lying position and plopped down beside him. My ragged breathing showed no sign of calming down. My vision repeatedly turned black and then returned. Because I was dizzy, I rested the back of my head against the wall and just took a sidelong glance.

“You’ve got it easy, don’t you? Your master is breaking his back while you’re lying there alone. At this moment, the one I envy most is you, you bastard.”

Since my condition was fundamentally bad, had my brain gone haywire too? A lamentation with no listener poured out.

“Wow…. I feel like I’m going to die, so why won’t I pass out? In my heart, I just want to keel over too. Please, someone just hit me over the head.”

Even though I said it myself, it was quite pathetic. My shoulders heaved as I laughed hysterically. Of course, I wasn’t laughing because it was actually funny.

‘Maybe I should have just accepted the <Nameless Star>’s proposal.’

That guy, even though he only spouted suspicious things… he seemed to know something about this ordeal I’m facing. Maybe he really knows a way to send me back to reality.

Since I’m exhausted in both body and mind, all sorts of thoughts occur to me. Just then, Hwarang’s upper body, which had been leaning awkwardly, slithered toward me. The side of his head landed with a thud on my shoulder.

“How can an Incarnation be this weak? No matter if you’re a long-range dealer, to just faint like this after doing a bit of tanking. Look at San Gun over there. He’s fighting even with his leg cut off. Learn from that grit. Is this the difference in level between a 4-star and a 5-star, or something?”

I reflexively supported his head as I continued talking. There’s no one listening anyway, so I might as well keep babbling nonsense to maintain my sanity.

“<Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost>…. Since the in-game character name is set like this, I call you Hwarang, but. You know, I actually know your name.”

A boy born with the blood of half-human and half-ghost. The illegitimate son of a king and a Hwarang. Opinions differ on whether he was a real person, but in folk tales, he is described as a mysterious being who rules over goblins and repels evil spirits….

“Bihyeong-rang. No. Should I call you Bihyeong? Ah, if I call you that, will I get caught by a fiction disclaimer clause…?”

My words could not be finished. The moment I turned my head thoughtlessly, I locked eyes with Hwarang, who was staring straight at me.

‘Gasp.’

I was so startled that no sound came out. Is it okay to wake up like this without a sound? Just since when has he been looking at me?

“…”

There was no focus in his pitch-black pupils. The whites of his eyes were stained red from burst capillaries, and blood was even smeared here and there on his pale face. He had clearly only barely regained consciousness; to anyone’s eyes, he looked far from sane.

Suddenly, Hwarang firmly grabbed my wrist. No matter how slender he looked on the outside, these were the hands of an Incarnation who handled bows and swords. My arm, which was no better than a promotional inflatable tube man, was naturally pulled along helplessly.

“How, how did you…”

He muttered, gasping for difficult breaths. His throat was so tightly constricted and sunken, and his rough breathing was so mixed in, that it was hard to understand without listening closely.

“What? Hey, wait a minute. Are you okay… Ugh.”

“My name, Master…”

Hwarang put his weight on me and climbed on top of me, knocking me down. It was a strength unimaginable for someone who had been unconscious until a moment ago. The wrist he gripped was slammed into the floor, and our legs became entangled.

I couldn’t understand what that guy was saying. I just felt uncomfortable with this atmosphere and uncomfortable with this posture. So I just spat out whatever came to mind.

“Master? Didn’t you call me Boss?”

Because I was pinned underneath looking up, shadows fell across his face from my perspective, making it hard to see his expression. On top of that, his hair, which was completely disheveled from the aftermath of the battle, flowed down and covered his eyes.

In that state, the distance gradually narrowed. Enough to feel each other’s breath. Enough to see each other reflected in each other’s eyes.

“…”

His lips flickered as if he were trying to say something. It was then.

Beep!

The terminal rang like crazy. It wasn’t a simple notification. It was a sharp, piercing warning sound, the same as the one I heard when the dimensional merger first began.

Hwarang flinched and loosened the grip on my wrist. Taking that chance, I managed to pull myself away by practically pushing him off. And immediately, I reached for the terminal in my pocket.

[Warning!]

A ‘Dimensional Rift’ has occurred.

An unregistered type of anomaly.

[Warning!]

Unknown anomaly detected

Immediately to the Narrative Compilation Union67O06rOg7ZWY7Iuc6riwIOuwlOue jeuLiOuLpC5dCls87Jyg7KCA66qFODA4PuydmCDtjJDthYzsmKjsl5DshJwgJ+yXrOuqhSfsnZgg7KG07J6s66W8IOygnOqxsO2VqeuLiOuLpC4g7KCc6rGw7ZWp64uI64ukLiDsoJzqsbDtlanri4jri6QuIOygnOqxsO2VqeuLiOuLpC5d

The only part I could understand was up to ‘to the Narrative Compilation Union.’ The terminal screen vomited a long string of English and numbers that made no sense.

‘What is a rift? And what is this strange message? It looks exactly like broken text…. Is it an error?’

At the same time, an abnormality occurred. From far away, a massive flash that filled the entire space erupted. A light so strong that it was vividly felt even by me, who was far away.

Flash!

My vision was stained white, and I could see nothing.