Clearing the Game at the End of the World - Chapter 66

Chapter 66 – In the Name of Honor (1)

Click. Click. Click.

A pitch-dark marble hallway. A man in a neat white suit was walking through the hallway with just a tiny lamp in his hand.

Click. Click.

Clank—

The man stopped in a large room filled with burnt-out candles and added a new candle to the collection, lighting it. After doing so, he bowed towards the girl sleeping inside the border of candles.

“I have returned. Collector.”

The girl, who wore something bordering on a dress and a hospital gown, slowly opened her eyes at his call. Her long eyelashes shuddered, as if rejecting the light surrounding her.

“W. You’re late.”

“To my shame, yes.”

“You, who can reach any part of this dry, sandy world in an instant, only have difficulty returning. It’s very strange, don’t you think?”

W only bowed his head lower at the girl’s gentle criticism.

When the girl stretched and let out a cute yawn, the countless numbers of wires connected to her back clattered around and made noise. In the eyes of W, who had served her for a long time, she seemed much more lively than usual.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes. I’ve had a lot of special dreams this time.”

Rustle—

When she raised her hand, the empty space in front of her started to fill up with large screens.

A small shelter in the Wasteland.

The three men inside the shelter were cheering out loud in joy over their new source of wealth.

Area 43.

A sign on the floor, covered with bullet marks, read ‘Woojin Urology,’ and an army of people wearing black military uniforms were surrounding the place. And a man with nearly half his face covered in burns stood in front of them, smiling contentedly.

The Dome.

An investigator with a crooked hat looked between the contents of the document with the words ‘Level 2 Classified’ written on it. And the sketch of the man with a metal jaw on his face with a serious expression.

Area 32.

An old woman with frigidly blue eyes was making a passionate speech in front of countless believers with thin clothes covering their eyes.

Area 7.

Rumble. Rumble.

Beyond the dense fog, where bright lights flickered intermittently, the footsteps of a massive creature shook the earth.

And in a marble building without a single light to brighten it up are a man in a suit and a girl conversing in an area lit only by candlelight and machinery.

W, who took in every single screen into his eye, slowly opened his mouth to break this silence that was as heavy as their reality.

“The winds… are blowing.”

“Yes. Again. Without tiring out.”

As if agreeing with their statement, a breeze entered the marble hallway and passed through where they stood.

The delicate candlelight blew out because of the strong wind, and in the hallway, without the man in a white suit and the girl in sight, the only thing left were the flickering lights of the machinery.

+Player ‘professor’ has entered the chatroom.

-Jokasss: Well, well, well, look who it is? It’s our all-mighty professor!

-Numb3rtree: I’ve heard you started a business! Congratulations! If you ever have a chance to go by the clock tower intersection in the southern part of Area 47, please come visit this Numb3rtree right here!

-Noru_is_druig: Is this the boss of BDSM I see here? LMAOOOOO. The first ever group to use a perverted name like that as their title.

-takealook: The manliest of mans. I have decided to respect you starting that day professor.

A row of messages greeted him the moment he entered the chatroom of Area 47. Everyone congratulated him with open arms, but the annoying name continued to pop up in the messages.

-professor: It isn’t BDSM everyone. Who would be crazy enough to use a name like that. I’ve officially entered it in as ‘Big Dream,’ so that’s that.

He flinched a bit even as he sent the message. It was obvious how they would react. The traitor of democracy, how communism has taken over, and all kinds of backlash for what he did.

-cooligan: ?

-Holli: Huh?

-Speedwagon: ?

-Jokasss: ?

-Noru_is_druig: Wat dis guy sayin.

But their reactions were a bit weird. What? This isn’t what I was expecting.

-professor: What? What’s the problem this time?

-Jokasss: Hey, prof. Isn’t BDSM the group that you made?

-professor: What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I made it. And it’s Big Dream, not BDSM.

-takealook: Is this guy okay? Your name officially got posted on ‘D–times’ on the Community this morning. It said BDSM.

-professor: Don’t go talking bullsh*t now. There’s no way that happened. Oi! I went through the entire process. I called the Dome people, and I met with the investigator. I did—

.
.
.

…Wait. An incredibly unpleasant speculation just popped up in my mind.

.
.
.

‘Hm? Ezel, why are you sweating so much again? Ah, right. You said you had hyperhidrosis.’

‘Y-Yeahhhhh! R-Right!’

The guy jumped in surprise every time I called out to him. I just thought he was jumpy because we scared him a bit. But what if it was because there was still something he was hiding?

-professor: Hey. Where’s soybar?

-Holli: Uh….. I don’t know. He was just talking in here a few moments ago….

-Soygaybar: Holli shit!

+Player ‘Soygaybar’ has left the chatroom.

“Hah! Hahahahahahahahahaha.”

His reaction confirmed my suspicions. I see. Right. Now that I think about it, our friend Soybar works at the Inspection Bureau. Since the Inspection Bureau deals with any external connections or information, the Del Mar guy whom I called must also be from the Bureau. That man definitely understood it as Big Dream. And our vile Soybar friend added a very bad word to what he had said. ‘Those people aren’t Big Dream, they’re called BDSM! They’re the biggest perverts in the entire Wasteland!’ is probably what he said.

“Hahahahahahahahahah.”

A dejected laugh, like that of an old man who has seen one too many things in his life, came out of his mouth.

It was over. The ‘D–Times’ was like a newspaper company from the Dome. Because it contained almost any information that would commonly be found in that area, not only Area 47 but all of the other Areas made sure to read it. In other words, we have already introduced ourselves with the name BDSM to the entire Wasteland, and no matter what I do now, I am unable to escape that name.

‘Hyde.’

[Hm? What?]

‘Last time, you said that I have a big list, in my head, of people I need to take revenge on in the Dome, right?’

[Ahh. Yeah. It has every single name from the file your old colleague handed to you.]

‘I see. Then can you add one more name to that list?’

[That isn’t too hard to do. Who do you want to add?]

“Ezel. Grrrit! Raiden.”

Gyosu swore to himself as he lied in the game pod, grinding his teeth together.

I will kill him the next time I see him. Kill! Kill!!! Soygaybar! Ezel! Ezel Raiden!!!! You bastard son of a bitch!!!!

Gyosu’s stress levels had already reached their peak for the day.

Whooosh—!

With a blinding light, Gyosu once again stepped into the world of GG.

Tweet tweet—

Wshhhh—

The warm morning sunlight seeping through the windows, the sound of a cool breeze sweeping through the trees, and the sounds of small birds twittering, as if emphasizing the peaceful state of this moment—he could feel his anger simmer down to an extent thanks to this peaceful start.

‘Ahh, this is so nice. Right. This is how it should be. This is what I want when I play a game!’

He must have suffered too much all this time, seeing how he was thankful for these little things. Wooden walls and a little worn down, but a clean white bed. He didn’t need to think hard to figure it out. This was the normal background noise and normal scene he saw every time in the past when he had a normal character. This was an inn.

‘Everything continued to happen in Turan because I got knocked out in the middle of the battle, but it was different in Tobrune. I dealt with all of the troublesome things, and I saved the game in a safe place like this without needing to walk here myself because I asked my trustworthy ally to help me!’

Normally, a safe logout point in GG included an inn, an ally’s bedroom, a campground, or a proper campsite with a campfire, tent, and blanket (with a chance of a surprise attack). When a player is able to log out in a safe environment like this, their character stays in a sleeping state, the time in the game stops, and when the player logs in again, a bright and nice morning like this is waiting to greet them.

‘This system works if you ask an ally to move you too. That’s why, back in my fighter days, I always had a carriage that headed towards an inn when I needed to travel long distances, then logged out whenever I wanted to.’

It’s still a game that’s been out for eleven years. A lot of veteran players had all sorts of tricks and loopholes to make the gameplay easier.

“Now then, everything outside has been dealt with, and since Tobrune’s mage tower is completely gone, I need to start cleaning u—”

Squish—

“…..Huh?”

He placed his hand to the side to get off the bed, but his hands grabbed onto something oddly soft and squishy.

He had an instinctive attraction to the feeling the moment he touched it. But who is this slender figure that’s lying under the sheets of the bed where it should have only been him and himself only?

Professor, who used every last bit of his will to pull back his hand, tried to organize his racing mind as chaotic as a mall on Black Friday.

Thump— Thump—

‘N-No. There’s no way something so stupid happened. That such a cringy movie cliché is happening to—!’

Rustle—

“Oh, darling? You’re up early. Good~ morning~”

Ahh, why have the gods done this to me?

Like some monster from his nightmares, the blankets slowly slipped down to reveal Rakshasha, who was wearing a very, very thin silk nightgown. Her bright eyes curved like the crescent moon, and the gentle smile that followed, with her nightgown shifting around with every small move….. No! H-Her outline..! I-I need to close my eyes…..

Stare!

His eyes opened wider instead, as if he were a colorblind person who had seen color for the first time. It wasn’t Gyosu nor Hyde, but a supernatural strength that was refusing to let this body close its eyes.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

‘I-I need to escape. To where? I lost consciousness and fell asleep, and the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes on a bed next to a beautiful woman. How do I run away from a situation like this?’

Y-You have to keep your cool. I’m Gyosu Park, a man who has gone through countless battle situations. Even when I was isolated in the middle of enemy troops, even after running through hundreds of mutants, I managed to escape! This is just another one of those dangerous situations. Think, think! Of all those times, I made it out! I can do it! I will proudly get out of this place alive! This is my escape rou—

“Last night….. you must have been really tired. You really are cute sometimes.”

Stabbb—!

“Cough!”

Every single time a word left Rakshasha’s soft lips as she gently swept her hand over his tanned arms, each and every word became a deadly dagger and pierced his heart. She was definitely a skilled assassin. Each attack she sent his way was a lethal one.

‘Last night? Tired? What did I do? What exactly happened? A new responsibility? What did I-I do to that beautiful woman?! What… what did I dooooooo!!!!’

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump—pop!

Beeeeeeeeeep—

Game over. Keeping calm—impossible.

‘H-Hyde! Switch with me! I-I can’t handle this anymore!’

[O-Ohhhhh! L-Leave it to me, vessel! An independent conscious like me has a completely different level of mental stability compared to a human weakling—]

Snap—

The moment he took over all of the senses of his body, the pace in his mind started to come back.

‘Hahh, hahh, I-I’m alive. I survived(?) thanks to that guy.’

He doesn’t know what he would have done if he had been there any longer. He was still a youthful man with a healthy body. Of course, it seemed like their emotions were mutual, but it was still a little, you know. She’s a game character, after all, and Rakshasha might even be an NPC created off a person’s data, so it’s a little……iffy. And more than anything—

-takealook: Don’t run away! Fight back like a man!

-Holli: Kyaaak! This is too much! W-What are you showing to a growing teenager like me?

-Speedwagon: Fact – you just need to turn it off if you don’t want to see it.

-Noru_is_druig: Uhyyo~! Super luc ★ky! I woke up and there’s an exotic beauty lying next to me? Oi, oi, oi, omae, you were a popular guy after all~

-Highwaynachoman: Prof, y-you said you needed money, right? I-I’m actually rich. How much? Tell me how much you need?!!

-Soygaybar: W

-Udnam_undam: Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!

Look at that crazy chatroom. I wouldn’t be in my right mind to start a strip show in front of those guys.

In this place where time flowed much slower, Professor decided to calmly assess the situation while Hyde held her off outside.

‘I definitely lost consciousness, and Rakshasha brought me here. These are solid facts. From the outskirts of Tobrune to here. It means that the story was on autopilot for that period of time. It might have even been extended a little more if I had woken up in the middle.’

But I was knocked out because of both mental and physical exhaustion. It’s highly unlikely that I actually woke up, so even if Rakshasha tried to do something, the character wouldn’t have woken up. So even though she woke up almost half naked next to me, nothing should have—

Whooosh—

Just then, a white light started to seep into the dark space of consciousness.

‘W-What? Already? It hasn’t even been 10 seconds, though.’

[Aghhhhhhhhh-!]

With Hyde’s loud scream, Professor’s consciousness was kicked back outside.

“Oh, you’re back.”

The first thing he saw when he came back was Rakshasha, who was holding his face with her two hands and leaning right up to his face.

“What a rare trait… Two souls in one body. Ahh….. I want it so much….”

“I-I’m back? What…..”

“Don’t act dumb with me. Hyde. That cute soul just ran back into your body.”

“How did you…?”

“Hmm…. You can call it a woman’s intuition.”

With a blinding smile on her face, Rakshasha swept her hand over Professor’s face with sparkling eyes.

“Your eyes are different. Hyde’s eyes are like a fierce comet, but yours…. Yours are like…..”

After Rakshasha pushed his dark hair to the side and stared into his eyes for a while, she turned away and flashed another smile at him.

“Hmm, I don’t want to tell you.”

“H-Haaaahhhhhhhh—”

As Professor let out a deep sigh of relief as she got off the bed, she walked around gracefully and silently giggled to herself.

“Ahh. I really want to play with you all day, but even though it hasn’t even been a full day since the mage tower collapsed, both of us already have something to do.”

“S-Something to do, miss?”

Pppttt!

Rakshasha blocked Professor’s mouth with her index finger as she took out a slightly wet piece of paper from her pouch.

“Those formalities again! When are you going to stop calling me that? Try it right now. Say my name. Say Rakshasha~, hurry! Rakshasha~”

Desperately trying to ignore Rakshasha’s seduction, Professor took the paper that she gave him.

“This is…. a wanted poster?”

“Yes. It’s a wanted poster for the ‘human escapee Professor.’ But can you check on the bottom who’s paying for the bounty?”

Professor’s eyes shifted down to the bottom of the paper. It was vaguely smeared from the water, but he could still make out the words.

“The Tobrune Lord, Rodrick Kingdom, and……they all look norm— ah?!!”

Scrunch!

When he saw the last name on the list of the groups that were added to the bounty, Professor unconsciously crumpled the paper inside his hands.

“The Light’s Order?!”

His mind jumped back into reality. He rubbed his eyes just in case he was hallucinating, but it was definitely the religion of the Rodrick Kingdom that worshipped Ro-Haram, the God of Light, Light’s Order.

“Why are these guys….. looking for ‘escapee Professor?’”

Rakshasha could only shrug at Professor’s question.