A Veteran in a Dead Game - Chapter 189



Only Noblemtl

189. Post-processing (5)

The primary cause of this incident was clearly Part Schet. It was clearly Part Schet himself who had the will to take advantage of the disaster known as the mechanized factory and carried it out.

However, it is impossible to avoid the criticism that the dragon is one of the culprits of this incident. The one who gave Part Shet the wisdom he had been waiting for was none other than the dragon.

Kyle made that point.

“Negative. Request for entity part sheet. Transfer of knowledge.”

“So, you’re saying that you just granted Partshet’s wish?”

“affirmation.”

“You’re playing with words. You haven’t even properly explained to him what risks he’s taking.”

A dragon cannot lie. However, that does not mean that it only tells the truth.

Yong could have fooled Partshet by explaining the possibilities of the mechanized factory while keeping his mouth shut about the risks.

Parth Chet may have overlooked that point because he was overconfident in his own abilities.

“Question. Holding someone accountable?”

“I don’t intend to hold you responsible for whatever you did to Part Shet.”

I’m not saying that the dragon was not at fault. How many lives were lost in this incident?

As for the percentage of fault, the dragon can never claim his innocence.

but.

‘Even so, it doesn’t mean anything.’

What use is it to hold someone accountable if they don’t feel any guilt no matter what they say? Especially if they can’t be arrested and punished.

The only thing you’ll gain by protesting to him is the self-satisfaction you’ll gain by filling your sense of justice.

So, there was another reason why Kyle summoned the dragon and pointed this out.

“I’m talking about the point where you pass the blame for your failures onto me.”

The work was done by Yong, but in the end, wasn’t it Kyle who had to clean up?

“Judgment. Mobilize appropriate personnel.”

“Human power.”

This was a part where you could see the way Yong-i was looking at Kyle.

To Yong, Kyle is merely a means to achieve his own ends.

To him, it would be just the same tool, whether it be a Parth Chet or a Kyle. There is something to look forward to, but it is not precious. It would be a shame if it were to break and become useless, that is all.

It wasn’t something to feel bad about. Kyle was looking at the dragon like that right now. It was a cooperative relationship that started because they both had something to gain.

But this time, it was far from such cooperation.

Parth Chet was strong. Although he was the type that was difficult to damage users, he had a first-class skill anyway. Even including the old era, he was one of the strongest players you can count on one hand.

If only the state of Part Shet had been a little bit more intact. If only Gruto had not actively cooperated. If only the civilization of the old era had remained a little bit more intact and could have functioned as a target for the Clockwork Craftsman’s skills…

Kyle most likely wouldn’t be standing here.

“It’s ridiculous. I suspect that he was trying to get rid of me along with the Part Shet.”

“Negative. Object Kyle. Highly valuable collaborator.”

“I didn’t know that the cooperation you speak of would be done in the form of unilaterally throwing out work.”

“Counter-argument. The benefits are great.”

It is true. The Parth Chet fortune that Kyle inherited was actually a great help. However, it does not justify the dragon’s actions.

“You’re not going to claim that you intentionally gave me this opportunity, are you?”

Lilia didn’t really make any excuses.

Knock knock!

Instead, her limbs were twisted in bizarre directions.

“…….”

It was such a sudden change that even Kyle was taken aback for a moment. It was to the point where ridiculous thoughts like, “Is he thinking of harming himself as an apology?” came to mind.

anyway.

Fortunately, it was soon determined that it was not self-harm.

The appearance of Lilia, whose limbs had been twisted, began to change. Her body below the neck was torn vertically, and she became elongated as if pulling out cotton.

Below the elegant and beautiful human head, there are several tentacles that seem to have been created by disassembling a human body.

Finally, Lyria took the form of a cephalopod, like an octopus or squid.

It was an extremely unpleasant object, as if it had been created by a madman who had been pondering over how to creatively display the human body.

Just looking at it made Kyle’s mind prickle. It was a kind of mental contamination that the scarecrow had on humans.

Lilia turned her head, the only one that was still intact, towards Kyle.

“Request. Wait.”

Lilia spoke only by moving her lips, without moving her cheeks or jaw.

Immediately afterwards, the tentacles made of human flesh stretched out. The sight of the tentacles forming arms and abdomen growing was almost abstract.

Slurp-

Soon, the tentacles, which I don’t know what to call them, opened a coffin. What was visible inside was the entrance to a dungeon, dark and rippling.

And the moment when Lyria’s tentacles wrapped around the entrance.

The colors and shades of the world are reversed as if they were rippling.

[Oh, it’s still not easy to come out into reality.]

The next moment, the dragon’s will was transmitted through Lilia’s mouth.

[As expected, Kyle, you-]

However, Kyle cut the dragon off and said in an unpleasant tone.

“Turn your eyes around.”

Just seeing the existence of a scarecrow can contaminate your mind. Even right now, don’t you feel the pain as if someone is poking you in the skull?

[I will do so.]

Immediately afterwards, Lilia’s body twisted like a twisted egg-

Kuung!

He slammed his head into the ground. Lyria’s head was half crushed, and shards of her shattered skull slid across the steel serpent’s mantle.

It was an unpleasant sight, but the unpleasantness that seemed to be tugging at my brain was somewhat reduced. If we look at it positively, we could say that it was the dragon’s own consideration.

[You knew the dangers of Part Shet, right?]

With an extremely bizarre appearance, the dragon conveyed its will.

[The power that guy possessed was dangerous in itself… and it was also like a gong that could wake up a mechanized factory at any time.]

“…….”

[I had no choice but to use the most useful means of dealing with the Partshet right then and there.]

That means that none other than Kyle was the most useful tool.

“You’re more shameless than I thought.”

[The dragon said, “It was also an inevitable choice. Remember, you and I are not on the same level.”

In other words, how dare you complain to a transcendent being like yourself? At this, Kyle laughed.

“A being of such a high order that it begs for help from a mere human. How scary.”

However, despite such content, the dragon did not seem to be that upset. On the contrary, a feeling of pleasure was carried through his mind. The words that he knew that they were not of equal rank were a kind of bad joke.

“Let’s stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”

Kyle’s psychic powers, which are being contaminated by the scarecrow in real time, and the dragon’s influence that can send thoughts into reality.

Both were difficult resources to replenish. There was no need to waste any more of their precious resources.

[That’s right. So, what do you want? I don’t think you came here to complain or anything.]

“I know you can tamper with the system to some extent.”

[That’s right.]

“I just want to know how.”

Why does Kyle say this?

To understand why, we need to go back to what happened yesterday when he went to find the coordinates left by Part Shet.

Kyle recalled the memory from that time.

*

The notebook I received from Part Sheet. It pointed to some coordinates.

What Kyle found there was an entrance leading down to an old bunker.

The place, which was built by pouring concrete in a reckless manner, was now quite far removed from its original purpose of providing a place to live and avoid disaster.

Like the warehouse of Partshet, this place was also used as a kind of research site.

The only difference is that the subjects of study are different.

“That’s…”

Kyle’s eyes sank as he descended into the depths of the bunker. Beyond the iron bars thicker than a man’s forearm, a monster was standing.

A bunker where no light came in. In the darkness, a red light flickered.

Kyle had a night vision skill, and could recognize his opponent’s form with just that faint light.

It was a strange entity that looked like a werewolf with silver fur.

Where there should be pointy ears, there is a cylindrical CCTV camera.

Additionally, a black visor was attached to where the forehead and eyes should have been.

Above that visor, you can see equations, letters, and map-like drawings flowing. The red light illuminating the darkness comes from that visor.

The sight of the camera’s aperture being repeatedly opened and closed, growling. It was a strange combination of cold machinery and seething wildness.

A monster that resembled a werewolf made by attaching pieces of iron together. It was something even Kyle had never seen before.

It’s only natural. Werewolves are also a byproduct of the disaster known as the Moon King.

This time, the King of Yue did not appear as one of the five disasters. However, it is clear that the King of Yue is also a disaster that has appeared several times in the history of this world.

That is, that is-

‘A mixture of two disasters.’

Generally, once you become a byproduct of a catastrophe, you are no longer affected by another catastrophe. For example, you cannot be a vampire and a werewolf. For the same reason, you cannot be a demon and a killing machine.

But the monster in front of me was directly denying that perception.

A byproduct of the mechanized factory, and also a byproduct of the Moon King. A killing machine, and also a werewolf. Under the experiments of Part Shet, the byproducts of the two disasters combined to form this hybrid being.

“Kyaaaaah!”

Meanwhile, the mechanized werewolf behind the bars bares its fangs that rotate like a drill toward Kyle, and aims the gun protruding from its wrist at Kyle.

Boom!

However, the mechanized werewolf’s attacks did not reach Kyle. The item installed on the iron bars blocked all of the mechanized werewolf’s attacks.

“Crunch, grug-”

The mechanized werewolf, who had taken the full brunt of the attack he had fired, lay sprawled on the ground, writhing.

All he could send through the bars was a few broken nuts and bolts.

Kyle looked away from the bastard’s sullen appearance and looked around first.

‘The person involved in this experiment is not just Part Shet.’

Soon, Kyle could see that Parth Chet wasn’t the only one who had visited this place.

Some people were directly mentioned in the documents in the bunker, while others left traces indirectly. However, among the people Kyle was able to identify indirectly, there was one person who was particularly unique.

that-

“Werewolf Berko.”

The one and only named werewolf, Berko, a byproduct of this disaster, was participating in this experiment.

‘To be exact, we didn’t meet in person.’

It was closer to loose exchange than joint research.

‘We shared this place and only exchanged experimental results.’

It was inefficient, but it was inevitable. Werewolves were also byproducts of the disaster, so it wouldn’t have been easy to suppress their hatred for humans.

‘I guess the result of this mechanized werewolf was also thanks to Berco’s cooperation.’

It was nothing short of a miracle that humans and the aftermath of the disaster had come together to produce a result. This was only possible because Berko was an exceptionally patient being who had lived for hundreds of years.

‘Because anyone less patient than Berko has died over the years.’

There’s a reason Berko is the only named werewolf.

‘It wasn’t just patience… it might have been a strong desire to live. Even disaster bastards want to survive.’

Even the mighty Demon King kept silent for 100 years to avoid the end of this world, and built a human ranch.

It seems that Berco was also looking for a way.

‘Is this all there is to the remaining records? It doesn’t seem to be anything special, though…’

All that was left was that mechanized werewolf.

However, the moment Kyle picked up the bolt fragments scattered around to examine this.

“……!”

A fleeting glimpse… a cosmic landscape. A flow of information across a dark sea.

It was only for a split second, but Kyle realized what this scene meant. It was a visualization of a system he had witnessed before.

‘I see.’

Only then did Kyle understand exactly what this laboratory was for.

‘Was it a place to escape from the system?’

Kyle was finally able to understand more clearly what Part Shet had originally intended to do.

He wanted to be reborn as a being that the system did not assume.

It was probably for this reason that we accepted the erosion of the mechanized factory. In order to remain human even though we were eroded by the disaster.

In order to avoid the destruction designed by the system… first, we must become beings that are free from the system’s dependence.

For example, beings that the system would never have allowed originally, like mechanized werewolves.

“…….”

Kyle looked down at his hands in silence.

Why did I fall into this world? The reason I had already vaguely guessed became a little more certain.

‘I am already a being outside the system’s expectations.’

Originally, he was a person who did not belong in this world. Wasn’t that the reason why Yong was interested in Kyle in the first place?

In fact, Kyle had already dealt with the system himself.

After defeating the dream-eating earthquake, Kyle was able to access the system by touching the destroyed spirit core, and use some of its power.

Thanks to this, Kyle was able to modify the bizarre skill ticket that Yong had gifted him, and make the skill called Dream Eating completely his own.

‘Part Schet… wanted to find out if there were any rules to such phenomena. To do this, he wanted to become an entity outside the system.’

Ultimately, his attempt ended in failure.

But Kyle’s thoughts didn’t stop there.

‘perhaps…’

Couldn’t it be possible to graft the results left by Part Schet onto Kyle himself? And through this, wouldn’t it be possible to artificially access the system?

‘Even if we conquer all the disasters and achieve victory, we cannot avoid the end of this world.’

This world called Piltos is a world created based on the Earth in the early 2000s. Going beyond that level of development would also be beyond the system’s expectations.

That’s why the system wanted to destroy the world that had reached the end of its intended lifespan and start everything anew.

Because someone forcibly delayed such destruction, the result was the ruined world we live in today.

[The system is just a tool.]

These are the words he conveyed from his previous world when he defeated the dream-eating earthquake.

Even if it is a system with great power that can start and end the world… if you can only use it as a tool, you can twist the structure of this world.

Of course, it is still only a possibility.

*

Turn back time, to the present.

Kyle asked the dragon how to ‘touch the system’.

For Kyle, it’s about assessing the possibilities he saw in the bunker lab back then.

‘It’s also a verification task. If the dragon already knows that I can access the system…’

To match that, you will need to change your attitude.

If this is a method that the dragon has already figured out, it is too risky. How could the dragon leave such a backdoor alone?

however.

[You are wishing for something outrageous.]

The flipped colors swayed. I felt the laughter on my skin, and it felt like I was seeing it with my eyes. It was laughter.

[But… I see. You are the most useful being at this point. It would be a shame to lose you in vain, so I guess I can give you some advice.]

“Listen.”

[Among the members of the Regeneration Society, there was one who made a similar request to you. He was a human named Saladan.]

It’s a familiar name.

Saladan Otto.

He was a big shot from the old days, and a named figure in the game WOU. He was also someone I had a brief conversation with when I was subduing the dream-eating earthquake.

He was a very dangerous person, but it was nothing to worry about now.

[The human asked me if there was any way to access the system.]

Because the following dragon doctor was touching on something Kyle wanted to know.

[It was a foolish question. How could a mortal being dare to tamper with the system?]

“Are you saying it’s impossible?”

[Of course. The only being who can access the system is Yeo, who was originally positioned higher than it.]

The existence of a scarecrow cannot lie. It is because it lives as a parasite in the gaps of records. Therefore, this answer must be true.

However, Kyle had already accessed the system. He had even used it to manipulate the dream-eating skill.

That means… …

‘You don’t know.’

They may know more than the average person walking the earth, but they don’t understand everything.

Even if they are transcendent beings, in the end they are just living off of the imaginary world of dragons.

No matter what his knowledge and wisdom was, in the end, it was nothing more than finding traces of a system that had fallen into a world of illusions.

in other words.

‘The dragon did not lie.’

He really didn’t know.

About Part Schet’s research, and the fact that Kyle had already been in contact with the system.