Chapter 164

The dot character’s long hair fluttered.

The deep green high-slit dress, open up to the upper thigh, swayed slightly with the character’s movements.

Mo Hae-in stood frozen, staring at the woman opposite her.

It would have been better if she’d been given even a moment to calm down, but Round 1 began before she could even catch her breath.

I grit my teeth and first attempted to control Mo Hae-in.

However, no matter how many times I mashed the buttons or moved the joystick, Mo Hae-in didn’t budge.

[Mo Hae-in rejects the touch of a god. She does not wish to attack.]

I felt my heart sink.

I stared at the screen anxiously.

The opponent should be nothing more than a created character.

Her sister should be sleeping inside the meteorite.

Even knowing this, Mo Hae-in seemed unable to regain her composure.

It was nearly impossible to think rationally while seeing her sister moving right before her eyes.

While Mo Hae-in remained motionless, an attack came immediately.

A straight leg struck Mo Hae-in precisely, and with a sound effect, Mo Hae-in’s body was sent flying backward.

A one-sided assault continued.

The controls still didn’t work.

I could only watch helplessly as the Mo Hae-in on the screen took hits without even raising a guard.

The younger sister’s attack skills were identical to Mo Hae-in’s.

Even the special moves were the same, as if they were the same character.

Mo Hae-in suffered the exact same fate she had dealt to ■ in the previous match.

Her health bar vanished in the blink of an eye, and Mo Hae-in collapsed weakly to the ground.

And she did not get up.

The round was lost before I could do anything.

The victorious sister character spun around once on the spot and flashed a V-sign toward the audience.

Enthusiastic cheers poured toward the rejoicing girl.

Conversely, a chilly atmosphere began to form around Mo Hae-in.

Since she had just taken hits without a single attempt to dodge, it had been a boring match.

Round 2 began shortly after, but Mo Hae-in’s state remained the same.

Once again, she only took hits.

If she lost Round 2 as well... she would be trapped in the game forever.

That wasn’t all.

The audience might boo her for such a powerless defeat. The giant hand had appeared in response to the audience’s jeers.

This time, Mo Hae-in would be crushed into a bloody pulp.

’No.’

I mashed the buttons to force her to move.

[Mo Hae-in rejects the touch of a god.]

[Mo Hae-in rejects the touch of a god.]

[Mo Hae-in rejects the touch of a god.]

But the same notification kept popping up.

I gripped the joystick tightly and stared at the screen.

Her body, lifted into the air, was repeatedly attacked and slammed into the ground.

Even knowing she would meet a miserable end at this rate, Mo Hae-in did not move.

I knew her sister was important to her.

I knew she was a precious existence she would give her life to protect.

But to me, Mo Hae-in came first.

I cannot tolerate my kin sacrificing themselves for another, or valuing someone else more than me.

Besides, this wasn’t even the real thing.

Before I knew it, the color of my eyes had changed, but I felt no need to suppress it.

’How could I make Mo Hae-in snap out of it?’

Neither Protection nor a Message would work in this state.

I needed another way.

My kin coughed up red blood.

I didn’t want to see this anymore.

I moved my hand from the control panel to the screen.

I felt the sensation of hard glass and heat beneath my palm.

The golden light flowing from my eyes flickered.

I slowly pushed my hand in.

I saw my hand appearing inside the screen.

It was a hand so massive it seemed capable of covering the entire arena, like a hand wearing a white glove.

I barely suppressed the urge to crush everything.

Instead, I slowly caressed the sky.

So that Mo Hae-in could regain her senses.

So that she could feel that all of this was a world created virtually...

Following my gesture, the bright daylight sky was dyed with a sunset.

Red light covered everything, but it wasn’t enough.

I swept the sky with my hand once more.

This time, night fell.

The audience in the arena trembled in fear at the sudden darkness.

Checking on Mo Hae-in, I saw her staring up at the sky with a stiff expression.

I should show her something pretty, too.

For Mo Hae-in, I created countless stars in the night sky and let them fall.

A golden meteor shower embroidered the sky. It was quite a beautiful sight.

Watching with satisfaction, I returned the sky to its original state once Mo Hae-in had seen enough.

The daylight sun cast over the arena once again.

[Mo Hae-in sees the touch of a god. She awakens from the fear that gripped her.]

I smiled as soon as I saw the notification.

Good kin.

As expected of my kin. She overcame it immediately with just a little help.

Before withdrawing my hand, I extended my index finger and pointed at the audience.

Then, I slid my finger over to point at Mo Hae-in.

It was a signal that if they didn’t cheer properly for Mo Hae-in, I would crush them.

A simple gesture should be enough for them to understand my intent.

The audience, who had been frozen without a single breath, let out strained cheers.

I took my hand out of the screen and placed it back on the control panel.

Mo Hae-in, who had been looking at the sky, slowly lowered her head and looked forward.

The situation was still not good.

Though she had finally regained her senses, Mo Hae-in’s health bar was empty.

The remaining health was so minuscule it was barely visible. A single graze would mean death.

Mo Hae-in took a deep breath in and out. She clenched her fists and took a combat stance.

Though she was already battered, she did not give up.

Even knowing that despair was much closer, she clung to hope.

And her god did not give up either.

I had discovered something during the match with ■ earlier.

Even if you defend when the opponent attacks, some damage still gets through.

In the current situation, with health remaining like a single-pixel hairline crack, defending alone would lead to death.

However, there was a way to make the damage zero.

If you pushed the joystick forward in sync with the opponent’s attack timing, a "blocking" was possible that completely neutralized the damage.

However, it was difficult to succeed because one had to react within approximately 0.25 seconds.

Still, it was a gamble worth taking.

The sister character used a multi-hit special move.

A 15-hit sequence of kicks lunging forward poured out at dozens of frames per second.

From now on, I had to succeed in 15 consecutive blocks.

I pushed the joystick at the exact timing.

Every time Mo Hae-in’s arm blocked a kick, a flashing effect repeatedly burst across the screen.

Hit, hit, hit... and finally, the 15th.

I jumped and successfully blocked the final strike coming from the air.

And then, I immediately went on the counterattack.

I chained jump attacks while floating in the air. unleashed every combo technique, including the special move.

Not a single attack missed; every one hit home.

The sister character’s full health bar was depleted in an instant.

Mo Hae-in’s fist struck the sister’s solar plexus, launching her body into the air.

And when she slammed into the ground.

[КО!]

Mo Hae-in’s victory was declared.

The audience, who hadn’t made a sound, exploded in a collective roar.

It was a thrilling comeback victory.

Even amidst the frenzied cheering that shook the arena, Mo Hae-in remained calm.

She stared at her sister lying collapsed before her for a moment, then looked up at the sky.

[Mo Hae-in gains faith.]

From that moment on, Mo Hae-in feared nothing. She continued her winning streak without hesitation.

She won Round 3 as well, eliminating the sister character.

Fortunately, the sister character was not crushed by the giant hand.

However, in the subsequent matches, because of Mo Hae-in’s overwhelming perfect victories, there were several instances where opponents were booed by the audience and died as bloody pulps.

Of course, it was important to me that my precious kin didn’t take a single hit.

Therefore, I chose to continue achieving perfect victories and turn the opponents into bloody pulps.

Ten matches ended.

As I knocked down the final opponent, pixel fireworks exploded across the screen and a cheerful electronic fanfare rang out.

Following a message celebrating the clear, my score appeared.

[FINAL SCORE: 9,998,630]

[NEW RECORD!]

It was a new record.

The records of other players were listed below.

The gap between my rank and the one immediately below was substantial.

The second place started with a 6, so it seemed unlikely the record would ever be overturned.

The Pudding Slime, who had been watching the game from above my head, admired purely.

"Roasted Chestnut... that is truly amazing."

I thanked him for the praise regarding my immense skill and stood up from the chair.

Clink.

A fluorescent light-blue coin rolled out of the coin return slot.

I picked up the coin.

Mo Hae-in’s dot character face was drawn on the front, and ’CLEAR’ was written on the back.

A system window appeared.

[Clear Coins can be exchanged for prizes! Try obtaining a prize you like at the exchange center!]

I scanned the surroundings for a moment.

I saw a large exchange center sign hanging in one corner.

I read the prize guide attached next to it.

[Prize Exchange]

[3 Clear Coins: Custom Terraforming Planet]

[2 Clear Coins: Ship-class Spaceship]

[1 Clear Coin: Dark Star Remnants]

[Participation Prize: 1 bag of popping candy]

They weren’t things I wanted. I wanted my kin back.

Only after scanning the prize guide carefully once more did I find the small text written under the participation prize.

[If you wish to exchange for other prizes, please inquire at the exchange center.

I figured I should make as many Clear Coins as possible first and then visit the exchange center.]

I looked through the arcade machines, searching for Je Hyeon-oh and Kwak Han-mook.

Because there were so many arcade machines, I couldn’t find them as easily as I had with Dominic or Mo Hae-in.

While wandering among the machines for a while, a racing cabinet caught my eye.

The machine, equipped with a heavy steering wheel and foot pedals, was the most cutting-edge piece of equipment in this arcade.

I approached the racing cabinet and checked the screen.

The scenery on the screen was dot graphics.

Usually, a machine of this caliber would implement 3D at least in low polygon.

As I looked closely at the game screen, my eyes widened.

The Pudding Slime also recognized him

"Kwak Han-mook, Roasted Chestnut’s red haired kin, is there."

I commented that he was a kin who acted his part quite diligently and told him I was glad to see him again.

Immediately sat in the racing cabinet’s seat.

A rough wilderness stretched across the screen.

In front of several rally cars lined up on the off-road, Kwak Han-mook’s dot-graphic character was moving around.

He seemed to be looking for a way out.

I gripped the steering wheel and turned it lightly. Consequently, Kwak Han-mook’s character moved to the left.

A question mark appeared above his character.

[Kwak Han-mook is on guard.]

Just as I had done for Mo Hae-in, I cast Protection over him.

As I draped the dot-graphic veil, the question mark above Kwak Han-mook’s head disappeared.

[Kwak Han-mook perceives the touch of a god moving him.]

[He lowers his guard. He is in a state ready to accept the touch of a god.]

Then, Kwak Han-mook gave a salute.

A speech bubble appearing above his head contained a dot-graphic of a chestnut.

I laughed while holding the steering wheel.

How can my kin be so kind and docile?

I wanted to clear this game quickly as well and get Kwak Han-mook out.

The racing game was a bit unusual.

It was a Best of 5 (BO5), but he had to race against a single vehicle rather than multiple cars.

Unlike Kwak Han-mook, who wore a worn-out shirt and ripped jeans, the opposing driver was fully equipped in proper racing gear.

He even had a helmet tucked by his side and possessed a vehicle that looked incredibly high-end.

’Isn’t this too unfair?’

I was dissatisfied because the rally cars I could choose looked much older compared to the opponents vehicle.

I wanted my kin to ride in a cool car, too.

In my heart, I wanted to steal the opponent’s car.

I frowned for a moment, then turned the wheel to move Kwak Han-mook.

Every time he stopped in front of a rally car, a description of that car appeared.

It was while I was carefully checking the vehicles.

When I stopped in front of an old, clunky rally car with an angular hatchback, two exclamation marks appeared above Kwak Han-mook’s head.

[Kwak Han-mook wants to choose this car. He hopes the god will grant his wish.]

Due to his enthusiastic reaction, I read the description carefully.

I saw red letters displayed as a warning at the very top.

[FOR EXPERT]

It was a warning that it was for advanced users.

I finished reading the description.

Though it looked ordinary on the outside, it was a vehicle equipped with a high-output engine and four-wheel drive on the inside.

’Not bad.’

The driving difficulty would be that much trickier, but the acceleration was excellent, making it suitable for racing.

I selected the vehicle Kwak Han-mook wanted.

It was just as the notification appeared that the selection was complete.

The door of a building, positioned as if hanging on the corner of the screen, slammed open.

Mafiosi dressed in pitch-black suits poured out of a makeshift temporary building constructed haphazardly with planks.

They all had guns in their hands.

The last ones to come out were each bringing a person tied with rope.

As soon as he saw the woman and two children tied up, the racing opponent screamed.

They were likely his family, but the opposing driver had to shut his mouth immediately.

Because a mafioso had pressed a gun muzzle against the head of the weeping woman.

Seeing that, I realized what the price of defeat was.

It was the lives of the hostages.

The moment he lost the race, a hole would be made in the hostage’s head.

And then, the hostages being dragged out for Kwak Han-mook were...

They consisted of two men and one woman.

Because it was dot graphics, I wasn’t certain, but they seemed to be wearing blue uniforms similar to those of the Era Administration.

A speech bubble containing a curse, ’FXXK’, appeared above Kwak Han-mook’s head.

However, unlike the opposing driver, he was calm.

[Kwak Han-mook knows the beings before him are fake. He maintains his composure.]

’Are they people from the Era Administration? They don’t seem to be from the Special Task Team...’

I didn’t know what meaning they held for him, but I was glad he maintained his composure.

Just as I was feeling relieved that I only had to race well, the final hostage was dragged out.

It was a young child.

A small boy, tied with rope, barely moved his steps, stumbling.

And he looked at Kwak Han-mook with eyes full of fear.

Kwak Han-mook lunging forward happened almost simultaneously.

He rushed frantically toward the child, but the mafiosi immediately blocked him.

To calm the agitated Kwak Han-mook, I forcibly moved him backward.

Kwak Han-mook, who resisted at first, stumbled back as the gun muzzle pointed toward the child’s head.

I couldn’t tell who it was that made Kwak Han-mook react so violently.

Text appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[Kwak Han-mook does not wish to be left alone again.]