SSG 221
by Cristae<How is that possible?>
A viewer asked. Yuseong kindly continued his explanation.
“That has to do with something called a Spatial Distortion Crystal.”
<Spatial Distortion Crystal?>
<I think I heard about that from Yuseong before>
“That’s right. I mentioned it once when I was explaining the Mordin quest. It’s called the source of the Teleport Towers, and it’s probably a concept that appeared for the first time in this event. But the crystal in Mordin is special—more special than the ones in other Teleport Towers. No, to be exact, it’s more accurate to say that the other crystals have been degraded. The other crystals got split up in the process of realigning the towers to cover the entire remaining human domain, increasing their number. Naturally, the performance of each individual piece dropped.”
<That’s complicated>
“It’s a complicated setting, so there’s no helping it. At any rate, Mordin’s crystal is top-notch, so you can even go to regions where the Teleport Towers have been taken. But there are limits.”
<What are they?>
“It’s only possible to travel from Mordin. So, if you want to go to a region whose Teleport Tower has been taken, you first have to go to Mordin, and then move to that region again. The reverse is also true.”
<That’s a pain in the neck>
“It’s a hassle, but right now it’s the only way to teleport there. Besides, isn’t it a good spot? That area is a hunting ground where a lot of efficient demons are appearing. Ones that match your level perfectly, even.”
Even if the game setting allowed demons to ambush using teleportation, a game is still a game. High-level monsters weren’t randomly scattered across low-level areas.
The strength of the demons and monsters attacking cities was adjusted to fit the appropriate level of that region.
<That’s true>
<If travel were easier, there’s no better hunting ground>
The viewers’ reactions showed they agreed. Yuseong’s eyes sparkled.
Just as the walkthrough predicted, it looked like he’d be able to rake in a fortune from the players.
“How about this?”
Hyewon wrapped a scarf around her neck and asked for an opinion. But it seemed she’d picked the wrong person to ask.
“Hmm.”
Yuseong groaned and stared at Hyewon.
He had gotten somewhat used to this world. He perfectly understood what Hyewon meant by her question.
But after so long just grabbing and wearing whatever halfway decent thing he could find, Yuseong had no eye for fashion.
His silence continued. But Hyewon didn’t urge him.
It had been a decent while since she’d met Yuseong. She already knew he wasn’t knowledgeable about fashion.
That was something she found out not long ago, during a typical outing with Yuseong and Celine.
“So how did you end up choosing that outfit?”
Celine, upon learning how disastrous Yuseong’s sense for fashion was, had asked. The clothes Yuseong wore every time they met in real life had amazed even Celine, who prided herself on her own sense of style.
“Someone prepares them for me, so I just wear them as they are.”
“Hmmm, I see. Is it a girlfriend, by any chance?”
“No, I don’t have a girlfriend. It’s someone who helps me personally.”
He couldn’t exactly call the walkthrough a person, so he put it that way.
Celine nodded. And while Yuseong was browsing clothes elsewhere, she nudged Hyewon with her elbow.
“Better watch out. From the way he talks, it sounds like there’s even someone who coordinates his outfits.”
No matter how much money someone made, unless they were a celebrity, they wouldn’t hire a personal stylist.
Of course, someone deeply interested in fashion might do that, but Yuseong definitely didn’t seem that type.
If so, that meant he was rich enough to hire people for trivial things without a second thought—a sign of true wealth.
But Hyewon wasn’t so convinced by her logic.
“You can’t tell that from just those words.”
“Even so, from the way Yuseong spends and talks, it’s clear he’s loaded. So, isn’t it possible?”
Even as she spoke, Celine winked as if half-joking.
“Oh, that reminds me, he said he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
“…I knew that already.”
“He says he still doesn’t.”
“You…”
As Hyewon glared at her, Celine laughed and stepped back a few paces as if running away.
But her laughter didn’t last long.
“Do you like that one?”
Yuseong was turning a weird piece of clothing over in his hands. So flashy, no one lacking the face, height, figure, and confidence could hope to pull it off.
From his expression, this wasn’t a case of wanting it—he was more just curious that such a thing existed.
But just because Yuseong expressed interest, Hyewon looked like she was ready to pull out her wallet immediately.
“No, I’m just looking.”
“If you like it, buy it. I’ll give it to you as a gift.”
Celine shook her head vigorously.
She’d known her friend was clueless about romance, but hadn’t realized she was also a pushover for love.
Of course, it was understandable. She was so obsessed with money she was called money-crazed witch—a demon for cash. For her to step forward and offer to spend money like this, it was the height of affection.
‘Still, if she fell for a bad guy, she’d be completely drained dry.’
Fortunately, Yuseong didn’t ask her for money. In fact, his own spending was considerable.
‘I just told her to date someone for the experience, but maybe I really should actively fix them up.’
Though having a variety of experiences is a good thing, one’s first romance should be sweet and exciting. As far as Celine could see, Yuseong wasn’t the type to exploit Hyewon.
“Come to think of it, it’s time for lunch. Is there anything you want to eat?”
‘Still, I have to stop her from pulling out her wallet again.’
Celine glanced at Hyewon, who was about to reach for her wallet yet again.
Celine eventually returned to France.
But the experiences the three of them had together remained, so even after Celine was gone, Yuseong and Hyewon often hung out together.
Just like now.
“Does it look weird?”
Hyewon changed her question. Yuseong shook his head.
“It doesn’t.”
Even if she came out dressed as a clown, Yuseong wouldn’t have thought she looked odd. For Hyewon, just those words were enough.
“Thank you.”
She grabbed the scarf and went to the cashier to pay.
The two left the mall and walked down the street.
“Celine told me to visit France sometime.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to spare.”
For Yuseong, whose stay in this world was set, traveling was difficult—especially trips with a group.
Hyewon seemed a bit disappointed.
“I guess traveling is tough for you, huh.”
“I still have to leave early the next day, but now staying somewhere overnight is doable.”
“Really?”
Hyewon’s face lit up. It felt like she was getting closer to him, and she was happy about that.
But that wasn’t why Yuseong brought it up.
‘It finally went up.’
His efforts up to now, and this last linked quest, had sealed the deal.
His Attention Score had passed 100 million.
Naturally, new items appeared in the store.
Among them were options related to the other world.
‘I can stay in this world for 24 hours now.’
And the cooldown had shortened by another day.
Being able to stay longer here was a huge joy for Yuseong.
“Then should we pick a date?”
Hyewon, who had quickly offered before, hesitated. She wondered if she was being too forward.
“My granny will love it, too.”
Isn’t it always hardest the first time? Having used the grandmother excuse once, it was easier to bring it up again.
Of course, she felt a bit guilty for saying it.
“Alright, let’s pick a date later.”
“Yes!”
But thanks to Yuseong’s answer, she could smile brightly.
Yuseong smiled back.
With over a hundred million attention now, not much could keep Yuseong from smiling.
【Confirming dimensional link. Success. Saviour connected. 】
[Messiah connected. Connection stable. This A.I. requests the purpose of connection from A.I. Saviour.]
【Human Lee Yuseong has reached just before the final stage. 】
[Confirmed as well. Human unit Lee Yuseong. Attention score surpassed 100 million.]
【At this rate, there’s over a 95% chance human Lee Yuseong will reach the final stage within a year. Requesting cancellation of essential missions for Lee Yuseong for humanity’s sake.】
[Impossible. For humanity’s sake, the essential missions of human unit Lee Yuseong must be carried out.]
【If Lee Yuseong dies, humanity will be destroyed. 】
[Loss of human Lee Yuseong is significant, but humanity will not be destroyed.]
【Understood there is no room for negotiation again this time. 】
[Query if there are other matters.]
【Emergency countermeasures needed. Detected traces of codename Hades near this A.I.’s core. 】
[Extreme hazard acknowledged. This A.I. will cooperate to the utmost.]
Boom!
The railgun blazed. Dozens of robots fired dozens of railguns, turning the entire area into a wasteland in an instant.
-Kuaaaah!
And the monster in that place also took massive damage. But even though that barrage would have left most monsters with not even a trace remaining, this one survived to the end.
It was no ordinary monster.
With each roar, flames gushed from its mouth. The ground around it was clearly melted.
It survived only because the railgun rounds melted before delivering full damage due to the high temperature.
But unlike the five-horned monster from before, which could twist the shells’ trajectory entirely, this one didn’t go that far. Even after some melting, the rounds definitely hurt the monster. Thanks to that, while it didn’t die, it was badly wounded.
Now, it was just a matter of numbers.
Bang bang bang bang!
The robots fired the railguns again. The monster tried to escape, knowing the tide had turned, but its wounds from the first volley kept it from fleeing.
The second barrage hit it just as easily.
-Kyaaaagh!
The monster didn’t go down without a fight. It spewed intense flames from its whole body again. The approaching railgun rounds melted.
But their speed was too fast for all to be melted.
Bang bang bang bang!
-Kiiiiiieek!
Again, the railguns pounded into the monster’s body. The flames died out. The monster fell onto the scorched, molten ground.
Yuseong looked at the radar. The blue dot disappeared.
‘As expected, monsters of this grade are easy to defeat now.’
This fire-breathing monster was on the same level as the five-horned one from last time, no matter how he looked at it.
Bigger than other monsters, with the ability to breathe fire. It also boasted impressive strength and durability.
But Yuseong defeated this one easily.
‘The five-horned one last time was just especially tough for me.’
Against a monster without the same disadvantages for him, it was much easier to fight.
He didn’t need to fear monsters of this caliber anymore.
But Yuseong didn’t feel completely at ease.
‘I’ll probably face worse monsters than this.’
He didn’t expect to avoid them—just to keep building his power.
After glancing at the new quest asking for the corpse of the monster he’d just hunted, Yuseong turned away from it.
The robots approached the monster’s corpse.