Chapter 27

Isaac glanced at Nina, who had turned into an ice statue.

Although he wore a lonely smile, his eyes were cold enough to make it hard to believe they had shared many years together.

“I thought she was a somewhat useful and rare NPC… but what can you do? I can’t let my plans be ruined, so I have to take action first.”

Despite harming his companion with his own hands, there was not a shred of guilt in him.

His demeanor gave off an unsettling vibe, simply mourning the loss of a valuable piece.

“I wonder how she figured this place out… Well, it’s not surprising since she’s sharp. It wouldn’t be odd for her to notice at some point, but for her to realize it now… Sigh~ That’s why I always said, keep your curiosity in check.”

It’s not easy to recruit an NPC with both excellent skills and good character. Especially in this cruel world that sees death as a normal occurrence.

As much as he wanted to keep her as an ally, he couldn’t leave any unstable factors that might ruin his plans.

If Nina had been a heroine or a crucial NPC, he would have captured her, wiped her memories of everything she had seen here through brainwashing.

But Nina was just an ordinary NPC.

Even if it was a shame, he had to discard her for the sake of safety.

Isaac lightly patted Nina’s shoulder.

Cracks began to form on the ice statue.

“Well, don’t blame me too much. This is all for the sake of the world. If anyone asks where you went, I’ll say you lost your life during a quest.”

Waving his hand in a farewell gesture, Isaac walked past Nina toward the giant glass container.

The ice statue shattered into countless pieces.

His steps were light.

Isaac pressed his face against the glass container and looked down.

It was dark, with no light.

But Isaac knew precisely what lay below. His eyes sparkled like those of a child.

A satisfied smile crept onto his lips as he looked at the successful creation sleeping at the very bottom.

“It’s been a long journey. Really long. I can’t let it end in failure.”

Before Isaac became who he is, he was an ordinary man in South Korea.

He had been playing a game.

The game’s name was “Apocalypse World.”

As the name suggests, it was set in a fantasy-infused future city, depicting a world in decline due to excessive technological advancements and conflicts among people.

The game’s difficulty was quite high.

It was so difficult that he found himself slamming the keyboard, screaming outside, and feeling the urge to quit several times.

But he didn’t give up.

It was out of pride.

Only after he had played for over 500 hours could he finally witness the true ending.

“No!! What is this!! Is this the end of such a crummy ending!? Really?!! How much time have I spent!? Ughhh!!!”

He was engulfed in fury.

He couldn’t accept it. He didn’t want to admit it.

The ending wasn’t bad.

But he thought it wasn’t rewarding enough for everything he had gone through.

His mind consumed by rage, he fervently moved his fingers. More than ever before.

He poured all the emotions he had felt while playing the game into it.

Thus was born a review of 11,400 characters.

Of course, it wasn’t an objective, rational, or logical evaluation; it was purely an emotional piece.

Feeling relieved, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he had become Isaac, the protagonist of the game.

“What the?! What is this?! Why am I Isaac? Could it be that this world is…!”

He quickly understood the situation he was in.

The world he opened his eyes to was “Apocalypse World,” and he had become Isaac.

It was incredibly bewildering.

To have something that happens in a work of fiction occur to him was hard to believe.

Still, he accepted the situation promptly.

“It’s fine. There’s no need to worry. I have the original knowledge. Besides, I’m the protagonist, Isaac. It’s not a problem at all.”

Rather, he found himself with a new goal in this new world.

Using the knowledge from the original work, he aimed to achieve a much better ending than in the game.

In other words, he decided to aim for world peace.

He firmly believed he had awakened as Isaac to save this world, which was heading toward destruction. The thought filled him with a sense of joy.

He resolved to abandon his past for the dream and live as Isaac.

“Who is that rookie? Impressive skills.”

“I’ve heard he was the most active in this joint quest.”

“To have such extraordinary skills at such a young age. Talent is truly remarkable.”

“I’ll become like that person someday.”

The admiration of countless Solvers.

Even though he lived in a peaceful world, the work of a Solver was surprisingly not that difficult.

Some quests were far more successful than during the original, as he already knew the settings of the original story.

Defeating villains was easy as well.

Isaac’s power was astonishing, and with the status window and knowledge from the original work, he was able to utilize his abilities far more efficiently than during the game.

“Thank you, Solver. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

“Wahh. I’m really glad there’s a Solver like you.”

“Big brother, thank you.”

Gaining the trust of the citizens was easy.

His plans for the future led to Isaac achieving a good reputation.

“You are…?”

“I’m Isaac. I’ve heard the rumors. Mr. Red. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“Really? Hmm, I’ve heard you also run an orphanage. Quite an unusual thing.”

“Ahaha, I just do it because I like the kids.”

“Why are you being so stiff? Speak comfortably. I feel like we’ll get along nicely.”

He quickly made a connection with the heroine.

With the knowledge of the original work, it was easy to build rapport with the heroine.

Just like a ship sailing smoothly, Isaac’s life in this other world was going smoothly.

The knowledge from the original work and Isaac’s talent.

Everything Isaac did seemed to flow seamlessly.

He had not a single doubt.

He thought that it was only natural for things to unfold in his favor.

After all, he was the protagonist of this game.

The protagonist could never go wrong. All stories flow to cater to the protagonist. He thought of it as a sort of fate.

He was convinced that if things continued this way, he might achieve a far more perfect ending than in the game.

If there were no variables.

“Grim Reaper…? Cult of the Grim Reaper…? What are these guys? There was nothing like this in the original.”

From the moment he first opened his eyes in this world.

Isaac’s face twisted in serious contemplation.

Grim Reaper.

One of the Four Great Organizations that ruled the underworld.

And the Cult of the Grim Reaper that worships him.

They were mysterious figures and groups that did not exist in the original work.

Little is known about the Grim Reaper. Both its identity and purpose remain unclear.

What is certain is that the Grim Reaper is powerful, and each time he appears, the city falls into chaos.

“Where the hell did such a monster come from?!”

He fell deep into thought, wondering if his actions had twisted the story of the original.

Isaac concluded it was not so.

Because in the first place, such a formidable being as the Grim Reaper did not exist in the original.

If it had existed in the original, it would have appeared at least once.

Isaac was frustrated.

Above all, he was anxious.

He feared that his ideally planned flow might be disrupted by the Grim Reaper.

Isaac’s thoughts and heart rang alarm bells.

Unless he confronted the Grim Reaper, his ideal story could never be realized.

To defeat the Grim Reaper, Isaac approached the Cult of the Grim Reaper first.

He needed information to identify the Grim Reaper’s identity and devise a strategy.

He quickly built a friendly relationship with the Cult of the Grim Reaper.

They easily opened their hearts when he shared some knowledge from the original work to assist them.

Additionally, the Cult of the Grim Reaper was rather foolish, allowing him to utilize them quite effectively.

But a strategy was not in sight.

He lacked sufficient information about the Grim Reaper.

“Useless fools… How can you know nothing about the Grim Reaper when you are the Cult of the Grim Reaper?”

Using the knowledge from the original, Isaac devised a plan.

It involved significant risks.

If he utilized characters from the original work to capture the Grim Reaper, should something go wrong, all the efforts he had made until now would be in vain.

Regardless of the outcome, the loss could be enormous.

“Got it! Why didn’t I think of that?!”

As he delved deeper into thought, a brilliant idea struck Isaac.

A way to eliminate the entity known as the Grim Reaper without harming characters from the original work.

To use poison against poison, an entity should be removed by another entity.

Isaac decided to create a very powerful creature.

Fortunately, he had the perfect candidate in mind.

A monster that had caused him countless frustrations and failures during the game.

It wasn’t difficult to create.

He had already eliminated all the mad scientists from the original who had given birth to the boss and made off with all the data, and with the support of the Cult of the Grim Reaper and the status window along with knowledge from the original work, everything was proceeding smoothly.

However, he hit one wall.

The most essential material needed to complete the monster.

The pure magic power and bodies of children.

The children in this world were special.

Quite a few children seemed to be born with unique powers, perhaps as an adaptation to the dying world.

Such children were essential for the monster’s birth.

“The mad doctors from the original must have recognized this point, proceeding with their research to create that monster.”

However, he had to sacrifice children for research.

Naturally, their lives couldn’t be guaranteed.

His contemplation was brief, and the decision was straightforward.

As long as he could eliminate the Grim Reaper with the lives of the children, it was a calculated bargain, and their deaths could lead to sympathy and comfort from people, especially a chance to strengthen bonds with the heroine.

Isaac abandoned the children.

He felt no remorse for that action.

He didn’t even think he had committed an error.

After all, they weren’t important NPCs.

They were merely children brought in to gain favor. Their role had ended.

“Those lives would have died long ago if it weren’t for me. Thanks to me, they lived longer and happier, so using their lives for myself and the world shouldn’t be a problem. They’ll be less wronged this way.”

After the children went missing, people did not suspect Isaac.

It went according to Isaac’s calculations.

However, a variable arose when Red held the children’s funeral, causing people to distance themselves.

But Isaac thought it would be resolved easily and wasn’t too concerned. With the knowledge of the original work, it should be easy enough to win the characters’ hearts.

Isaac pressed forward with the research.

He brought in more outside materials to fill the gaps. As a result of the research,

The monster was almost completed.

And with the capabilities granted by the status window, it would be much stronger than the original monster.

“Still not enough. It’s insufficient, but with a little more research, it can be perfect. Once it’s finished, the Grim Reaper won’t stand a chance!”

Isaac envisioned the future he had dreamed of.

A hero who saved the world.

A happy life with the heroines.

Everything he had ever wished for was within his grasp.

Isaac’s expression was intoxicated with joy and happiness.

Beep—!

“…?”

Beep—!

A strange sound suddenly broke his happy reverie. It was like an alarm.

Isaac frowned at the interruption.

He slowly walked towards the source of the sound.

The noise echoed from the remnants of what had once been Nina, the ice fragment.

Beep—!

Isaac paused, moving the ice aside, then suddenly stopped.

His expression hardened.

A small device glowing with a red light.

Isaac knew exactly what it was. He knew whose device it was.

“Why do you have this…?”

Of course, there was no response forthcoming.

What was certain was that information about this place had leaked.

To someone who absolutely should not find out.

Nina had activated the device she received from Red, anticipating what might happen to her.

The device recorded the scene and data of this place, and at the moment Nina lost her life, all the information and location were sent to Red.

Isaac felt dizzy as confusion filled his mind.

“It’s fine. It’ll be okay. There’s no problem. If I explain it well, she’ll understand. Who wouldn’t understand that I’m trying to save the world?”

His plans had completely unraveled. He had to expedite the previously laid plans.

Isaac immediately smashed the device and then called the Cult of the Grim Reaper.

After giving orders, he hurriedly left the scene.

He was headed towards the orphanage where there was another foreign entity, aside from the Grim Reaper.