Jang Hyundeok is normally taller than me.
By about 10 cm? But at that moment, the physique of Jang Hyundeok supporting me from behind felt far more than 10 cm larger. Twenty? No—it felt like being gripped by a monster hundreds of meters tall, not just a few centimeters.
Or like prey caught in the jaws of a colossal beast, about to be chewed.
It felt less like support and more like being forcibly propped upright.
Even in that state, I felt rage.
If I had even an ounce of mana left, I could have unleashed a spell. Damn it.
If I could have interacted with the barrier I set on Jang Hyundeok’s body, I might have delivered a decisive blow. But I had expended all my mana attacking Predators of the Mountains.
So I shouted something like “You bastard!” or “Let go!” and swung my fist at the face of the monster holding me.
Unsurprisingly, the entity possessing Jang Hyundeok did not budge at my blow, and—perhaps to rile me further—spoke the following:
“You swung your fist at me, but you produced no meaningful effect.”
I don’t recall exactly what I cursed in response, but I clearly remember what came next.
“No. That’s not what I meant. Converting the damage your unarmed strike could inflict on me into points yields about one to four points. Then you have the penalty trait [Melee Weakening], –1 point, and [Disadvantageous Stance], –1 point. And now [Status Ailment: Exhaustion], another –1 point. Thus the maximum damage you can inflict is one point.”
I hurled another torrent of curses, but he continued without a hint of amusement.
“However, Jang Hyundeok receives Natural Armor +1 while possessed. If you wish to deal even one point of damage, you must change your stance or recover from exhaustion. Even then, I will thwart your stance-change attempt with a Strength check, and given the size disparity plus exhaustion penalty, it will succeed automatically.”
Writing this down in such detail now only stokes fresh anger.
His words and actions, the casual phrases, what I physically felt at that moment, and the information displayed in the message window—
I record everything in superfluous detail because I don’t know how it might prove useful later.
As if to prove he could block my stance-change, he wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and neck.
His arm moved more like a monstrous tentacle than a human limb, and I could no longer even struggle.
“I will address these matters in order of importance.”
He said that and raised his right hand, pointing at Predators of the Mountains.
Predators of the Mountains still appeared surreal and otherworldly, but somehow at that moment I sensed it was disconcerted.
“That is far too excessive, isn’t it? An unintended contingency outside my design. In any case, my purpose is to present a challenge you can clear.”
I attempted to reply, but he spoke again without waiting.
“No. The warning has already been issued. You are the one who ignored it.”
That remark wasn’t addressed to me. Like Tudor often did, he spoke into the void. Though I could not hear a response, the interlocutor must have been [산속의 포식자], right?
“I agree with that. The power you now possess was won through your past achievements.”
Predators of the Mountains conveyed some meaning again, and the entity in Jang Hyundeok’s body answered.
“An entity of the same Abyss? Ridiculous. Did you think we stand on equal footing? To me, [Feast’s Victim]—the one now clinging to me—is far more formidable than you.”
Predators of the Mountains expressed another meaning.
“Within the rules you have already been defeated. Without this unwarranted intrusion, your final avatar would have been repelled by [Feast’s Victim]. And again you have lost. You violated the rules, so a foul-loss is warranted. And again you have lost. Even revealing your full true form, [Feast’s Victim] was not undone. He bared his teeth and honed his claws, wounding you.”
Predators of the Mountains expressed yet another meaning. I somehow sensed the surreal dismay it conveyed.
“No. Damage dealt is irrelevant. You have proven yourself unworthy of the current tier you occupy. By the authority granted through our ancient covenant, I will expel you from our table.”
His voice dropped decisively. At the same time, I heard a high-pitched tinnitus. It seemed [산속의 포식자] uttered something beyond human perception. Was it a scream?
“No. You will not revert to your original form. You will be reduced further. When you regain consciousness, find somewhere to house that pitiful body of yours.”
Crack—
What did he do?
Near Jang Hyundeok’s head? No—it sounded like an unpleasant rupture at the base of his neck.
A bone-snapping crack.
What {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} had that creature done through Jang Hyundeok’s body? I shuddered, realizing some gruesome act was unfolding behind my head.
But I had no right to inspect that act; I could only observe its aftermath.
[System: Activating innate trait ‘Delete Object;’ of ‘Abyssal Entity: ||`/a®|_a†|-|◎+ëP’.]
[System: ‘Abyssal Entity: Predators of the Mountains has been removed.]
[System: Please reboot the world to completely purge remaining data.]
Pop.
With a hollow sound like a channel closing, the sky-filling Predators of the Mountains vanished.
Everything drawn skyward by its gravity began crashing back to earth.
It disappeared.
When commanded to disappear, that colossal being simply vanished.
All of it had been a cosmic joke, a transdimensional farce.
The black puppet master who pulled me into this horrific world?
Revenge?
This was god-like—beyond that. How could I stand against such a being?
I could not help laughing, and I felt the thing holding me slowly crane its head to look down at me.
A far higher-dimensional entity surveyed me. Its gaze conveyed no human emotion—rather, an expression I, in my lower dimension, could not comprehend.
At that moment I heard the things once lifted by Predators of the Mountains strike the ground.
Thud. Crackle. Ka-wang.
And then the sickening sounds of flesh splattering.
Startled by the carnage, I flinched and regained some clarity.
As if prepared for that, the monster inhabiting Jang Hyundeok’s body spoke in a voice dispensing merciless judgment.
“We could continue, but some of the issues he caused will severely impede further progress.”
A sweet, mellifluous whisper caressed my ear.
His voice sifted into my mind like a feather, tickling my eardrum and skull.
He continued speaking.
“To resolve this widespread problem, I will restore part of the events to an earlier point.”
His tone implied gratitude.
He then studied me briefly, and slowly asked a question:
“How do you wish to proceed? Will you continue the challenge?”
A strange question, but in retrospect I think it measured how broken I was as [Feast’s Victim].
Had I given an unsatisfactory answer, this [game] might have ended there.
I don’t know what answer he wanted, but this is what I said:
“You’re asking if I’ll continue the challenge? In this game? Me?”
I was already as good as dead.
Even if I survived, I’d wander under his sway until I withered somewhere in this world’s darkness.
And likely I’d never get another chance to interact with him.
So I didn’t hesitate.
“Turns out you’re the one who ruined [Cthulhu World]? You! You son of a bitch! You screwed up this game!”
The forearm binding my neck twitched slightly. Apparently that reaction was unexpected.
“Ruined this world, you say? I’m curious what reasoning led you to that conclusion.”
The question returned.
Sarcasm, contempt, mockery, anger, cryptic hints of a grander scheme, or perhaps simply game over—
This was my favorite among the responses I’d anticipated. Bolstered by some certainty, I pressed on.
“What would fluster a game operator the most?”
I knew the answer.
“You say you’ll restore an earlier point? You mean roll back my server? Roll back this situation?”
“Precisely. It means I will rectify these unforeseen issues and instability for you.”
“Stop talking bullshit! Give me my experience points!”
He fell silent at that. A good choice, it seemed.
“Experience points, you say?”
“Yeah! My XP! Where’s an operator who erases the field name the player is attacking? I was about to kill it but you made me miss! Give me the XP, achievements, and rewards I deserved!”
“...You were about to kill it?”
He could have said “You almost died,” but he maintained his usual polite tone.
It meant there was a crack I could exploit.
“Yeah! You interrupted me! And what? Rollback? What kind of ludicrous operation is that?”
Once I started speaking, words poured out.
Perhaps shock had numbed my fear and common sense.
“You ruined everything, so give me compensation! Don’t talk about rollback—just keep the service live and restore it yourself!”
After listening for a long while, he finally let out a low laugh.
My first thought was, “Oh, I’m dead now.” But his laughter wasn’t that kind.
Even now I can’t tell what meaning lay behind it, but he laughed like a human delighted by a bizarre game.
“Mr. Sinhwa.”
A voice abruptly broke the flow.
It was Heo Sanghyun.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I have prepared a meal. Shall we dine?”
“Now? What hour is it?”
“It is six hours past the lunchtime hour.”
Ugh—his tone remained polite, but the content was barbed.
“Has it been that long already? Wait a minute. You mean it’s dinnertime?”
Heo Sanghyun descended the stairs with a frown.
“You haven’t eaten breakfast or lunch, have you?”
“Um—I did.”
“You did?”
He fixed me with a stare and stepped closer.
“Just some snacks...”
“Snacks aren’t a meal. Please come.”
“All right, fine. Just a moment.”
Anyway, I couldn’t continue the journal. I gestured toward the table.
Shreee—
The notebook and books on the table flapped their covers like wings and lifted into the air. Each book then drifted back to its rightful place.
In the end.
In the end, as he declared, the rollback occurred.
This world was force-restored to the point before Predators of the Mountains descended.
“Thank goodness it’s been restored...”
Honestly, without the rollback it would have been disastrously difficult. What I wanted wasn’t a forced reset but compensation.
And I got what I wanted.
