Chapter 452
Davey didn't particularly care about the situation at hand. However, he was a hardcore gamer who had a deep passion for playing games in his previous life. Stuck inside a hospital room, he had played all the games available on the internet and watched all the movies.
"W-What?! This is im..."
"What do you mean impossible? It's possible, punk."
Stab!
In that manner, another human, whose will to fight had been shattered, disintegrated into fragments and vanished.
Davey followed a straightforward system: he would eliminate anyone who found and attacked him. He already understood that conversation was futile since this was merely a game to them.
"Davey. If this is truly a game, as you mentioned earlier, then that means there are people operating this place, right?" Perserque asked anxiously.
"That should be the case."
"If it's indeed like that, it could be dangerous, couldn't it? Those people must possess power comparable to gods in this world."
Davey shook his head in response to Perserque's concerns. "Probably. But it shouldn't be a problem."
Perserque looked puzzled. The number of people following them had been steadily increasing for a while now.
"I'm not entirely sure about the system here, but there's a good chance that those are the people who brought me here."
It was a mysterious and enigmatic company, unknown even to the world, with a CEO and employees shrouded in secrecy. Based on common sense, such a company couldn't exist on Earth. In other words, someone had used their power to erase any sense of incongruity and establish such an enterprise. Ordinary humans didn't typically possess that level of power.
"Regardless, that's why we're going to investigate. Are they going to be helpful or hostile? In any case, I didn't come here on my own. They invited me."
The difference was undoubtedly significant.
“Hiyaaa! Finally found someone to devour! The first to make a move will surely win! First, let’s… Keuaaaaaack!!!”
A woman suddenly emerged out of nowhere and fired an arrow at Davey. However, Davey effortlessly snatched the arrow from the air and dispatched her by engulfing her in black flames. Unable to endure the intense heat, she disintegrated into fragments of data and swiftly vanished.
"Davey. I've noticed that only humans have been appearing," Perserque remarked.
"At this point, I have no idea who the villain is."
Why had they brought him here? Davey could already feel the gaze of humans who had gathered around him. Any humans who mindlessly attacked Davey were crushed and transformed into data fragments. Those who did not engage him were simply ignored.
At this point, anything unusual in this world should have already revealed itself. Yet, nothing of the sort had occurred. So, why? Davey continued to ponder this until he finally found the answer after overhearing a conversation between two players who were observing him and Perserque from a distance.
"This insane game company. They said they'd increase the game's difficulty, and they really did. They even brought a monstrous neutral mob. What in the world is that? What kind of reaction speed is that? Is it even possible?"
"Did you hear? Woo Jong-Seok retired right at the beginning of the event. Isn't this more than just a basic physical issue?"
"It's probably a mob we couldn't defeat from the start. Otherwise, he couldn't have taken us down with his bare hands even with all the effects of our items turned on."
"We might be able to defeat him if we fight together..."
"To be honest, I've never heard of a neutral mob in human form. And from what we can see, he won't attack us and will just ignore us unless we attack him first. He's probably a gimmick-type neutral mob..."
As the two conversed, some individuals quietly slipped away. Davey spread a wave of mana as he roamed the area for a long time. He gradually realized that he didn't have much time left in this world. Even though he had been using his powers sparingly to deal with the people from Earth, he had still consumed a significant amount of his time.
However, Davey also noticed a significant difference in the efficiency of his abilities. The one that consumed the least time was undoubtedly sorcery. Ancient stories and myths about the four divine beasts might have contributed to this reduced time consumption.
"I should make more use of sorcery here."
With only around ten minutes remaining, Davey spent his time wandering through this data-made city, pausing briefly. During this process, he turned dozens of humans who dared to challenge him into data fragments.
Davey's impatience grew as time continued to dwindle without any significant discoveries. Amid this fruitless search, a loud roar echoed from somewhere. Without hesitation, Davey picked up Perserque and headed in the direction of the sound.
“Kyaack!!! Davey? What are you doing?!”
“Let’s go.”
Most of the power had dissipated, blending with the shockwave generated by other forces. However, there was no doubt that Davey could recognize this particular power.
Baaang!!! Bang!!!
"Ha!" Davey took a deep breath as another deafening explosion reverberated in the distance. He attempted to reassure Perserque, who was visibly distressed and trembling with fear, gently whispering to her, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"D... Davey..."
Perserque's fear of the Abyss beings bordered on instinctual. Her trembling intensified as they drew closer to the source of the roaring sounds.
"Are you alright?" Davey asked Perserque, his words filled with tenderness as he tried to comfort her and ease her excessive fear.
Perserque took a deep breath, briefly closed her eyes, and then slowly reopened them. Gradually, the trembling that had gripped her body began to subside. "I'm sorry. It's just that I felt an overwhelming sense of kinship that sent shivers down my spine."
Davey silently nodded in response to Perserque’s explanation.
Undoubtedly, the entity emanating that power, as if anticipating their arrival, was one of the Abyss beings. However, it dwarfed the one Davey had previously encountered on the Yurgian Continent. This monstrosity was hundreds of meters in size, adorned with dozens of eyes and tentacles, each several tens of meters long.
[We are…]
[One.]
‘They’re starting with that again.’
The voice, which seemed as if someone's thoughts were being vocalized in their minds, resounded once more.
"Damn it! What's wrong with the neutral mobs this time?! What on earth is this difficulty level?"
Davey observed players either fleeing in fear or attempting to mount a counterattack. He watched this scene unfold from the rooftop of a distant building.
Davey was well aware that this was a battle royale-style game. However, the unexpected appearance of the rampaging neutral mobs forced them to change their plans. Instead of turning against each other, they formed alliances and began battling the colossal Abyss monster.
Despite its soft body, the monster could withstand and deflect all of the players' attacks while delivering powerful counterattacks. It displayed its grandeur and magnificence perfectly.
"Shit! It can deal damage too?"
"What kind of insane defensive power is that?"
The players' cries were a mixture of frustration, amazement, anger, and even helplessness. Surprisingly, they continued to battle fiercely and valiantly despite the monster's seemingly unfair abilities. Why? Because even if they died here, they wouldn't experience true death. However, for Davey, who observed from a distance, it hardly seemed like a real battle at all.
Davey effortlessly activated his status window. Normally, Goddess Freyja would record the details of their transactions, allowing him to access them through the status window. However, this time, Goddess Freyja remained silent. Perhaps Davey's arrival in this world was not orchestrated by Goddess Freyja, and she had no involvement in it.
Regardless, Davey had no intention of leaving the Abyss monster unchecked. Although this world was created from fragments of data and resembled a virtual reality game, the underlying technology should not have originally existed in this realm. Even though it might be a world resembling a game, it was still unwise to allow an Abyss monster to rampage unchecked and disrupt the balance of this alternate reality.
"Davey, there's not much time left," Perserque, still trembling with a mix of fear and revulsion as she gazed at the Abyss monster, cautiously warned.
Davey nodded silently and retrieved an item from his pocket plane—a beautifully curved shortbow, the Divine Bow Brunaak. The Divine Bow Brunaak had once belonged to the God of Archery Apollo and was now Davey's weapon of choice.
Clack.
"Since we don't have much time left..." Davey murmured to himself, his hands moving swiftly to manipulate the shape of the shortbow until it transformed. When Davey had finished, the shortbow had grown into a massive longbow.
Vwoong...
Then, he began to gather the power of sorcery, the force that consumed the least amount of time in this world. In other words, he started harnessing all of the qi within his body. Davey felt a twinge of disappointment that he couldn't summon his divine beasts in this place. However, he had to work with what he had at his disposal.
Bzzt... bzzt, bzzt, bzzt!!!
"Damn it! He's incredibly strong!"
The humans, who were attempting to divert the Abyss monster's attention, shouted in frustration as they continued their battle without hesitation. There was a high likelihood that they would be caught in Davey's attack, but that was essentially none of his concern.
[God of Archery’s Sniping]
[Instant Flash]
Shwaaaaaaaa!!!
The ground beneath Davey's feet cracked and sank as he forcefully drew the bowstring.
Bzzt… bzzt, bzzt, bzzt!!!
The gathered power's aftermath began to engulf everything around him as a luminous arrow materialized on the tightly drawn bowstring.
Since the bow could employ any type of arrow, it could also function without one. Why? Because it could simply create the arrow. Davey used his sorcery's mana to activate the arrow on the bow.
Then, without any hesitation, he released the bowstring at the precise moment when the Abyss monster was distracted by the players.
Riiiiiiip!!!
The sound of space tearing apart resonated loudly in their ears as the arrow transformed into the shape of a gigantic tiger, ferociously devouring and tearing the monster apart.
***
"Oh my god... What the hell? What in the world is going on?" A stunned and speechless blonde young man, named Michael, muttered to himself.
Michael, a 22-year-old gamer, held the impressive rank of sixth in Alf Online. Alf Online was a game devoid of cash-based elements; success in the game depended on luck, adaptability, and hard work.
Michael considered himself lucky. He had narrowly avoided a deadly confrontation with the couple they had initially mistaken for neutral mobs. His first instinct had been to use others as shields while trying to land the final blow. However, he missed his chance to attack due to a mistimed shot and ended up surviving because of it.
There had been another shooter who moved at the same time as he had planned. But the shooter had disintegrated into fragments of data, unable to make a sound, the moment the boy unleashed a flash of something toward him.
There was no chance for retaliation; the man possessed everything from lightning-fast reaction speed to adaptability and counter-attacking skills. In simple terms, he was a monstrous entity not to be trifled with.
Surviving by pure luck, Michael began to ponder the motives of the game company responsible for creating this overpowered and seemingly cheat-like neutral mob. The idea that this was a mere bug or a player hacking the game didn't even cross his mind.
Why? Because the game company had boldly claimed that no one in the world could hack into their virtual reality technology now. They were also extremely confident that there were no bugs in the game.
In fact, Alf Online's quality was so impeccable that no one had ever discovered a single bug since its creation. Consequently, Michael could only conclude that the man was a top-ranking AI created by the game company, given his superhuman reaction speed and combat senses.
Michael cautiously trailed behind the couple, ensuring he left no trace. Suddenly, another neutral mob materialized seemingly out of thin air. Michael remained vigilant as he watched the grotesque monster engage in combat with other players.
Everyone expected that defeating the neutral monster would yield a significantly higher score than battling each other. In other words, taking down a neutral monster was more lucrative than fighting fiercely against fellow players.
People naturally tended to follow this pattern. In fact, during last year's tournament, there had been instances where players had briefly halted their conflicts to deal with neutral monsters and earn points. Afterward, they had gone their separate ways to resume their clashes.
Initially, Michael considered doing the same. Although the couple, whom they believed to be neutral mobs, posed a grave threat, the monstrous creature that appeared did not seem to have been randomly sent. Michael thought that despite the vast difference in size and power, there might be a chance of victory.
However, Michael held back from engaging in the fray and attacking the monster, a course of action he would typically pursue. Why? Because an inexplicable sense of intuition restrained him.
As if endorsing his thoughts and intuitions, the two neutral mobs, the man and the woman who dispatched anyone attacking them to Valhalla in a single shot, began to move.
Neutral monsters typically didn't fight other neutral monsters. However, the man produced a bow from an unknown source and aimed it at the grotesque creature. When Michael noticed something gathering around the man's body, he instinctively concealed himself further while recording the scene.
No one paid much attention to the two. Michael observed with bated breath as an astounding amount of power converged, forming an arrow in the man's hands. Was he planning to attack the human players, or was he targeting the monster?
Then, the silver-haired woman, positioned behind the man, slowly raised her head. Michael's eyes widened, taken aback by the astonishing beauty of the woman. Although Michael was momentarily captivated by her beauty, the video recording function continued to document the actions of the two individuals.
The woman forcefully struck the ground with her staff, releasing a massive burst of magic. Simultaneously, black chains materialized and ensnared the gigantic, hideous tentacle monster. The man's arrow followed suit, tearing through space and obliterating the monstrous tentacle creature. Michael had the entire footage stored in his capsule.
Even though Michael met his demise at the hands of another player shortly after, he felt no frustration or vexation. In fact, he viewed this as a golden opportunity. Another idea filled his mind.
It was an established fact that neutral monsters refrained from attacking each other. However, the couple had targeted the tentacle monster. This implied that the two were participants.
Unbelievable? No, there was only one plausible explanation: the two were unofficial rankers. Moreover, they were unofficial rankers wielding an overwhelmingly powerful force that dwarfed the might of the world's known powerhouses.
‘Amazing! This will definitely go viral!’ Michael thought to himself, eager to upload the video of the enigmatic man and woman and garner attention for himself.
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