HACKED 72

I have already experienced a merging once, so neither Chirpy, the Incarnations, nor I were particularly surprised. We were mentally prepared. It was just the physical preparation—meaning the securing of combat power—that wasn’t quite there…

<DriedPollackKimchiStew> — Level Private

Currently Applied Title: (No content) One-line self-introduction: (No content)

As soon as the merging notification popped up, I checked the opponent’s profile. I thought I might be able to find clues through their level or title like last time, but this opponent had everything set to private.

‘Then again, <IsItPresbyopiaCrap> was just too careless. Was that beginner’s luck?’

Last time, there was at least one map with only monsters included… but this time, it’s a complete fight to the death where one hit from me or one hit from you settles it.

There are two choices. Do I invade first, or do I wait for the opponent to invade?

Unfortunately, I cannot choose the first option. Due to an anomaly of unknown cause, the Hyper-Dimensional Gate is not functioning. Well, even if the gate were normal, there’s no particular benefit to being the one who invades first.

Like other games of a similar genre, <No Lifer> also limits the player’s role during battle. You cannot change the composition or order of the deck, and it is impossible to retrieve or replenish items you sent them with.

At the movement branching points between battles, you can give instructions like “continue advancing” or “retreat.” However, once a battle begins, you have to just take your hands off and watch. Even if my Incarnation is severely injured or, in the worst case, completely wiped out… the only thing I can do is press the “Confirm” button.

Of course, this general theory isn’t always correct. If there is an Incarnation specialized in surprise attacks and ambushes, or if you receive a related formation bonus, striking first might be advantageous. It’s just that none of that applies to us.

“Mr. Myeong. Are you going to send a message to the enemy Compiler?”

Chirpy asked from beside me. I kept my eyes fixed on the terminal screen and replied half-heartedly.

“Shouldn’t I? Why?”

“Are you going to say ‘Woong’ or ‘Annyang’ again?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

I turned my head to look at him. He shuddered once as if struck by lightning, then flapped his wings up and down, making excuses desperately.

“A-ah, no! Whatever way you speak is your freedom, Mr. Myeong! Yes, it’s freedom. Of course it is.”

“Lately, you seem to look at me somewhat pitifully.”

“That is unthinkable. How could I ever.”

“There is a meaning to this way of speaking. It’s a strategic way of speaking to lower the enemy’s guard and make them careless. Did you get that? Persia. Or was it Petunia?”

“It’s neither!”

“Then what was it? Face-off?”

“Now you’re not even keeping the syllable count… I think I’ve told you about two hundred times that it’s Fabley.”

“I see. Got it, Paisley.”

“…”

He made a deeply sorrowful expression. His chin… because his body is tiny and round, it’s hard to distinguish where the chin is, but anyway, a “walnut shape” formed on the part assumed to be the chin.

‘Stay strong, Penalty Kick. There’s also me, who has lived my whole life with the name of a hangover cure.’

<UserMyeong808> : Annyang

I sent a message roughly like that and waited for a reply.

“…”

I waited.

“…”

I waited…

“No answer.”

“Could they have forgotten?”

“Isn’t the probability of that low? If the other side received the notification just like me, all their attention should be focused here by now.”

It could be that they are busy with other things. Of course, those “other things” would be preparations for a battle with me. Or maybe they intentionally didn’t reply. Either way, there’s no need to worry much.

“Forget it. It’s not like I’m at a disadvantage in battle just because I didn’t get a reply. I have to do what I have to do.”

I haven’t just been playing around until now either. I did do something by squeezing out my meager resources.

First, I repaired the recovery room, and then I installed an intruder alert system at the entrance of the Pantheon. It was a basic facility whose only function was to sound an alarm if it detected an intruder.

Besides this, there were several other types of facilities that could be built. Like turret-type units that automatically attack intruders.

However, even the lowest-grade units that just fire a few bullets consumed an enormous amount of resources. For high-performance facilities, the cost increased exponentially.

Among them, defensive facilities were much more expensive than offensive ones. In particular, the wide-area shield system that prevents damage to the Pantheon itself completely tanked the cost-effectiveness. It was on the level of plastering the walls and floors with gold.

If I were in a state where I had filled all the slots with max-level, high-rarity Incarnations and finished all reinforcements so that wealth and resources were overflowing, that would be one thing, but right now I don’t have the spare capacity.

‘If the power system is damaged… I’ll just tank it with my body like last time. It’s not a big deal to cough up some blood and faint a bit.’

Even so, I don’t intend to settle things with my body every time. I’m doing all this so that I can live. I don’t want to die from excessive bleeding while firing blood lasers like the monsters in a certain roguelike game featuring a boy named Isaac.

‘Is there a way for me to hurt a bit less, and for the Incarnations to get hurt less while winning?’

In that sense, I am contemplating how to use the “Pantheon of <IsItPresbyopiaCrap>” that I incorporated during the last merging.

In <No Lifer>, level doesn’t have such a huge meaning. I don’t mean that the level itself is meaningless. To be precise, it’s closer to “everything below max level is about the same.”

Until max level, you just work hard catching monsters to level up. Then, after hitting max level, the reinforcement battle of honing traits and skills to the limit begins; it’s no exaggeration to say that the true essence of <No Lifer> as a “luck-driven shitty game” starts from here.

In that sense, <IsItPresbyopiaCrap>, whose player level was 427, was ambiguous. Not a newbie, but not in a position to be called a veteran either. It’s the period when one has just finished the main story and starts looking toward ranking, achievement hunting, or affinity building.

Similarly, the dimension that was the Pantheon of <IsItPresbyopiaCrap> but is now part of our Pantheon… let’s call it the “Library Area” for convenience. This “Library Area” was also ambiguous in many ways.

‘The interior is decorated very prettily, but the substance… well.’

Places like the recovery room were so much lower in upgrade level than our Pantheon that they might as well not exist. It means the recovery efficiency is significantly lower even when the same resources are invested.

However, in the Library Area, there are facilities for dimensional merging that we don’t have here. The intruder alert system installed at the entrance became meaningless because the entire library came inside our Pantheon during the merging process, but other facilities remained. Of course, those facilities aren’t that high in grade either, but they are much better than our side which doesn’t even have that.

Then I could just pack my bags and move to the Library Area, so why don’t I do that? Now, whether it’s this side or that side, it’s all our territory, and in terms of the comfort of living, that Library Area would be much better.

I haven’t NOT thought about that. However, after agonizing for about 30 seconds, I gave up. It’s because the Central Command Room is in this area.

To put it in the style of a certain SF strategy game dealing with the war of three races, the Central Command Room can be called the Command Center, the Hatchery, and the Nexus.

‘Then does that make me something like the Overmind? Oh. That’s really unappealing.’

The place that performed this role in the Library Area was the Librarian’s Office. However, the power that was concentrated in the Librarian’s Office was absorbed into our system and disappeared as I overlaid new authority during my first visit.

Now, the Librarian’s Office is just an ordinary space like any other. It’s also physically empty because I burned all the bookshelves last time.

“Chirpy, a question. Dried Anchovy… Dried Pollack… what was it? Anyway, he would obviously know the importance of the power system, right?”

“Yes. As a Compiler, there’s no way he wouldn’t know.”

“If an enemy invades our Pantheon, what would be the priority destination?”

“They would naturally head for the Central Command Room. Because destroying that place can quickly neutralize the entire Pantheon.”

“What if we happen to be in the Library Area at that time?”

“We’d be sitting ducks and get defeated hollowly…”

“Correct. 10 points to Gryffindor.”

“What is Gryffindor again? Since you only say nonsensical things every day, Mr. Myeong, for me… No, it’s nothing. Please continue.”

“Personnel to protect the Central Command Room are absolutely necessary. I’m sorry to say, but since I have no combat ability, personnel to protect me are also necessary. If we had enough people, dividing those two fields might be a way. But not right now.”

We did divide the forces during the last merging too. Of course, back then it was just different floors within the same building, so we could join the other side quickly after passing a few stairs and hallways. There was also a guess, close to a certainty, that <IsItPresbyopiaCrap> would be weaker than me.

But this time was different. This area and the Library Area were definitely not a distance that could be traveled easily, and I couldn’t predict what the opponent’s strength would be like. I don’t feel any merit inわざと dispersing the few troops we have.

“I understand the point that we all must stay here. Last time, it was very fortunate that the enemy was completely wiped out before they could come up to the floor above… but we don’t know how it will go this time.”

“By the way.”

While talking, a question occurred to me. I crossed my arms solemnly and changed the subject.

“Let’s say our squad invaded the opponent’s Pantheon. How do we know where their Central Command Room… that is, the source of the power system, is?”