Chapter 137

There was a boy who led a rather ordinary school life.

His family was harmonious, he had enough wealth to live comfortably for a lifetime, and he had good relationships with friends.

Like others, he graduated from elementary school and middle school.

Now, he was left with only the KGSAT to take before graduating high school, just like any other examinee, when a great trial was bestowed upon him.

[This is the scene of the Bafwadai Bridge bombing incident. In an unprecedented bombing tragedy in South Korea, the current death toll stands at 57, with over 480 injured. The injured are being treated at 38 hospitals across Seoul—]

The boy glanced at the framed photographs of his family with lifeless eyes.

His father, mother, older brother, younger sister.

And between them, there was no photo of himself.

It felt as though he were still dreaming in this unreal situation. Strangely, he could not shed a tear.

There were countless guests and reporters visiting the funeral, yet none of them caught his attention.

In the evening, he headed to the study room as usual.

He picked up a pen and solved a Korean language problem.

Choose the appropriate speaker’s feelings for the situation.

Grief, despair, lamentable. None of the options provided an answer.

So he opened the next workbook. It was math.

Calculate the length of the following secant.

The length of Bafwadai Bridge is 2,559m, and at a speed of 60 km/h, if he had passed 150 seconds earlier or later, the accident could have been avoided. Again, there were no answers in the options.

Frustrated, he threw all the workbooks out the window.

It was then that he realized those workbooks had been freed from their narrow confines.

So, as if entranced, he headed toward the Han River. Any bridge would do.

By coincidence, he found himself at Mapo Bridge, a well-known suicide spot.

He clutched the railing with both hands.

And just as he was about to lift one leg, he heard a cat meow.

“Ahaha… Did I interrupt you…?”

A girl holding a silver cat.

She scratched her head in embarrassment and blurted out any words that came to her mind.

“Uh… um… Do you want to go watch a late-night movie with me?”

At that moment, the boy began to cry sorrowfully like a lost child.

The girl’s hand that patted his back was as gentle as a mother’s.

The boy had many friends.

But it didn’t take long for him to become closer to her than they were.

Going to watch movies together became routine, and they shared a nap feeling the gentle breeze on campus adorned with blooming cherry blossoms.

The cat she raised had now given birth to five kittens.

They spent enjoyable and happy days, crying and laughing together like a family, days that everyone would envy.

And to the boy, who thought this would last forever, the girl confessed, bursting into tears.

“I’m actually terminally ill…”

The girl who had saved the boy at the Han River confessed that she had come there to end her life.

She trembled as she expressed her gratitude for creating unforgettable memories for her, and her apologies for leaving him with an unforgettable wound.

“Remember that I once existed in this world. I hope you continue to be happy even without me.”

Another life extinguished in vain.

As the support beam that barely upheld the tower the boy had built over his entire life collapsed, his life tumbled down as well.

He shut himself in his room and lived like a recluse.

He cried all day and laughed all day.

He tried starving for several days and stuffed himself until he could vomit.

Then, a billboard for a virtual reality game caught his eye.

The girl had truly loved a game called “Woloraa.”

The boy, who hated games, had never understood her hobby.

It was only after she died that he lamented his situation and started playing the game.

There was no special story to clear.

He immediately joined ranked games and killed as many people as he could.

For that moment, his heart felt a little freed, but that was all.

Without caring about victories or defeats, he just killed enemies, yet his rank kept rising.

Before long, feeling limited on his account, he naturally turned to Nightmare.

And there, he was greeted by a cat-human.

I wonder if that would be what the silver cat she raised would look like if it were mixed with her.

With a naive expression, Adella ignited a fire in the boy’s heart.

If he couldn’t save her in reality, he wanted to save her even in the game.

After hundreds of attempts, he thought he would finish the first part with Adella, but what returned once again was Adella’s suicide.

Was it a twist of fate? Adella’s final words were eerily similar to what the girl had said to him while she was alive.

There must be a way to save her. No, he had to save her.

If he couldn’t even save a single game character, his existence wouldn’t mean anything, and he gritted his teeth.

But as he repeated the cycles, he realized that Adella had an inescapable structure that inevitably led to her death, and that suspicion turned to conviction in the VIP reserved seat.

The obsession he had for Adella from his lover reached a point of madness, yet he found himself lacking the strength to express any anger anymore.

Remembering the lover he had lost day by day, the boy was spending time with Adella as usual when one day a savior appeared.

[I want to save Adella.]

There were already many people around the world who had tried to save her.

Thus, at first, he couldn’t believe the streamer’s declaration.

He only knew that thanks to various attempts, if specific conditions were met, he could interact with Adella in various ways, but it was clear that even No Name couldn’t save Adella.

That must have been the case…

[Njangsterol has donated 100,000 won!]

– Adella, can you hear my voice…?

“Eek! Surprise! I… I can hear you? Do you know who I am?”

– Is this a dream or real life?

– Can you interact with the streaming service? NPC?

– Did you really capture an alien and create this? Waresoft!!!!!

– Damn, the technology is insane…

– Look at the donation queue, hahahaha!

└ They’re all donating to try talking to Adella, lolololol!

└ It’s the final boss battle right now!!!!!!!

– The stock will rebound again, huh?

└ You’re impressive, even thinking about stocks at a time like this.

└ There was someone who short-sold earlier; they got what they deserved, lololol!

Njangsterol, exhausted, turned off the capsule and struggled to lift his body from the floor.

Meow—

Before long, the kittens were scratching at the door, begging for food.

He held the silver cats close and smiled faintly.

“I’ve blamed the heavens many times for why the people I love keep leaving my side. I thought to myself that there couldn’t be anyone in this world more unfortunate than me several times a day.”

Although as a viewer he couldn’t physically touch Adella in the broadcast, seeing the cat-eared girl looking anxious while glancing around filled him with overwhelming emotion.

“How could I be happy while holding you in my heart? At that time, I didn’t understand your words at all… but now I think I’m starting to understand a little…”

There was no longer any need to watch No Name’s broadcast.

If it were her, she would surely defeat Mephistopheles and save Adella.

Njangsterol Hyunseo stepped out of the capsule and immediately called his cousin.

He was someone who had rushed over to reassure him when his family had been in an accident. Though there had been recent calls, he had ignored them all and felt sorry.

There had been too many people who hadn’t heard from him because he’d been holed up in his room.

This was his first step back into society.

[Imyr – 010-XXXX-XXXX]

* * *

Although Adella had suddenly become a popular star, now was not the time for fan meetings.

The black fog was gradually lifting, and then Mephistopheles appeared.

“So, it seems you have a mind to wager now?”

Mephisto’s appearance reminded one of a cold-natured northern noble.

His strong, angular jaw and nose stood sharply.

His silver hair flowed down to his waist, and as he brushed one side behind his ear, his softly glowing purple eyes were piercing.

Dressed in black shoes, black dress pants, and black gloves, he loosened the top button of his white dress shirt and murmured in a low voice.

“The history of humanity has been a continuous struggle. Humans fight, seize, and ultimately kill to obtain what they desire. There are no eternal victors nor eternal losers in struggle, and how precious are the wasted lives that cannot cultivate meaning?”

As the ominous fog disappeared, the blue sky shone through.

Yet every time the demon took a step, the flora suffered and finally withered.

“I will become your god. I will grant the world eternal peace and rest. So, give me Wigrasil.”

Mephisto extended his hand politely.

His chilling gaze was directed precisely at the laurel crown on my head, and the ring and necklace made of laurel.

On the other hand, he wore a black, ominous-looking bracelet on the hand he extended.

[Choose the laurel to offer to Mephistopheles:]

[▶ Laurel of Reincarnation – MP +5,000]

[▶ Laurel of Life – HP +10,000]

[▶ Laurel of Diligence – AD +750]

[▶ Laurel of Creation – AP +1,000]

Here, even if one were to give all the laurels, they would not lose the growth stats stored in each laurel. In fact, it was a gimmick to gain bonus stats.

In other words, the system provided additional stat corrections based on the number of laurels given. Naturally, giving them all would result in an immediate game over, so one must be cautious.

When the laurels were handed over, Mephisto’s abilities would increase, but for those who wanted to finish strongly with high combat power, it was a sort of challenge.

However, not being able to use mid-circle magic was extremely devastating for someone who had come this far as a combat-type character rather than a healer.

[You did not hand over the laurel.]

So, instead of offering a gift, I gripped his hand and shook it lightly.

The demon looked dumbfounded, his expression completely blank.

“What is this…?”

Mephisto opened his palm to check the item I had handed through the handshake and frowned.

– What is that?

– What a chunk of rock.

– Is this for me to eat? Hahaha!

– Honestly, I don’t need growth stats; I’m strong enough as it is right now.

What he picked up was not the leafy green leaf he had secretly hoped for, but rather a colorless metal chunk.

As disappointment flickered across his face.

[Cast: Sodium Explosion (Na)]

Fwooom!

“Urgh!”

The demon’s right hand flew off completely, scattering white smoke.

“It’s sodium, but since it’s not ionic, it won’t taste salty.”

Originally, combat starts from the moment each other’s bodies touch; that is a time-honored tradition in the North, isn’t it?

For now, it was always an essential procedure to check whether the enemy could regenerate.