Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 179
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Editor’s Survival Manual Episode 179
ep25. Unlock (5)
“Creation of Heaven and Earth…….”
“Creation of Heaven and Earth?”
Jae-gyeom reacted as if he’d misheard the words I’d murmured absently.
I felt exactly the same way.
Creation of Heaven and Earth? Did that mean being able to make the world?
It was absurd to begin with, and there was the deeper question of whether humans should be doing such a thing at all.
“What does Creation of Heaven and Earth even mean…….”
Jae-gyeom was muttering the question when he went to type again.
-Jae-gyeom, wait. Stop for a moment.
“Yes?”
-Don’t ask just anything. Check the penalties first.
Baek Sa-ra stopped him and spoke.
Penalties.
Right. We’d put one safety measure in place earlier, but we needed to be more careful.
In response, Jae-gyeom changed his question.
「If we keep asking you questions and receive answers, could we suffer disadvantages or losses, or unexpected consequences?」
「Since there is an Authority Holder, no payment is charged.」
「What happens if payment is charged?」
「Information and your body are exchanged in kind. If there is no body to exchange, Nebuchadnezzar Syndrome manifests in thirteen people close to the information beneficiary.」
“So you’re saying you’ll take an eyeball and a kidney for every question we ask?”
“And anyway… what in the world is Nebuchadnezzar Syndrome?”
“Hmm…….”
“Ask who has what kind of authority.”
Tap-tap-tap—
Jae-gyeom typed my words exactly as I’d said them.
Immediately, an answer appeared on the monitor.
「Authority Holder: Seo Do-un. One who purchased spirit with spirit, one who touched Origin through death, one who became one beneath the charred corpses, one beloved by fragmented lights, one who ■ by the bird that transfers spirits, ■, and one who spans the world by ■ and ■■, thereby gaining qualification to access ■■■ ■■■.」
“What does all that mean?”
“I don’t know either. Some letters are broken and we can’t see them…….”
But was all of that referring to me?
If they’re listed in chronological order, “one who purchased spirit with spirit” means saving Lee Sol.
“One who touched Origin through death” is me dying and coming back to life.
“One who became one beneath the charred corpses” is me being crushed to death under those burned bodies.
“Beloved by fragmented lights” seems to refer to those gleaming beings that sparkled behind Big Cat’s sister.
I can make sense of things up to here, but I can’t even read what comes next.
One who ■ by the bird that transfers spirits.
One who spans the world by ■ and ■■.
What in the world is this…….
-Anyway, since Otter has authority, we can ask questions freely, right?
“Yes.”
-Then add the condition ‘if an answer to a question is dangerous, warn us of the danger before answering’ and keep asking questions.
“Understood.”
Jae-gyeom typed the requirement just as Baek Sa-ra told him to.
Then he continued with the next question.
「How do you construct a space?」
「Transformation within the Ordinance is possible only in territories gained by the Authority Holder.」
「What is an Ordinance?」
「An immutable absolute value bestowed by the Origin.」
「What is the Origin?」
「Light that limits the universe’s infinity.」
“Brother, do you understand what it’s saying?”
“No…….”
I shook my head in response to Jae-gyeom’s question.
It was definitely Korean, but I couldn’t understand what it was saying at all.
Frustrated, Jae-gyeom tapped the table with his index finger for a moment, then typed a long command into the chat window.
「From now on, answer like a human-friendly AI. Be considerate so that humans can easily understand your words and actively continue asking questions.」
「Great! Let’s have a friendly conversation now!」
「Speak politely and call me Master.」
“Yes. I’m so happy, Master. ……Jae-gyeom, why did you have to make it say things like that to me…….”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to…… but isn’t this better than friendly conversation?”
“From the perspective of someone actually saying these words out loud, they’re both the same.”
「Explain how to construct a space again.」
「Yes, Master! To construct a space, you first need two things. One is your owned territory, and the other is materials. The place you’re in right now is exactly your owned territory. The materials are the memories accumulated in this space. Shall we proceed with space construction by bringing the memories of this space?」
The memories of a space.
Right, the Special Zone had imitated those memories of the space before.
I was mulling over the laptop’s answer when—
「Use the most common memory accumulated in this space.」
I was still thinking when Jae-gyeom quickly typed the command.
The moment he did, a blue sky appeared.
“……?”
Just as the refreshing air wrapped around my entire body—
My body suddenly dropped downward.
A fall.
“……!”
Suddenly plummeting from the sky, I shouted urgently at Jae-gyeom, who was falling right beside me.
“Jae-gyeom, cancel! Cancel!”
“Aaaaah, cancel! Cancel……!”
I barely grabbed the flying laptop.
In the meantime, Jae-gyeom typed.
Thud-crash—!
My knees hit the hard floor with a sharp blow.
Coming to my senses, both of us were sitting crumpled on the living room floor.
“Whew, gasp…….”
“Wow, oh wow, that was close.”
That bastard Jae-gyeom…….
-What happened?
-What happened?
Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra asked about the situation.
In response, Jae-gyeom looked at me pleadingly.
As if begging me to cover for him.
So I watched Jae-gyeom for a moment, then made an excuse.
“It’s nothing serious. The space just changed for a moment.”
「Even if I command it, if our safety cannot be guaranteed, suspend execution and warn of the danger in advance.」
We, who’d almost fallen to our deaths, added one more condition.
“It was probably the sky that appeared because this is the 12th floor, right?”
“Oh, right. The most common memory.”
Before this high-rise building was built, this place must have been empty sky for a very long time.
It seemed we’d fallen when that memory was suddenly summoned.
We quietly accepted this and entered the question again.
「Is the Special Zone made this way too?」
「Wow, Master! You just hit the core! You asked whether the abnormal phenomenon you call the ‘Special Zone’ and the space construction we’re currently undertaking are identical, and you’re exactly right! The methods differ, but the essence is the same!」
-Are we approaching the principles behind creating the Special Zone?
Cha Si-eon asked with a mixture of doubt and certainty.
I too answered with confusion in my voice.
“If everything in these answers is true.”
「But why is my territory so small? Other Special Zones are much larger than this.」
「That’s right, your territory is actually smaller than other ‘Special Zones’. But that’s not because you’re lacking, Master! You’re human, but the owners of other ‘Special Zones’ are beings who possess the names of the Origin. If this space feels cramped, you can expand it further. Would you like me to tell you how?」
「Tell me.」
「Accumulate memories! When enough memories pile up, the space will expand of its own accord to release those memories.」
「How do you accumulate memories?」
「Just as humans and living things learn through experience, this space can also experience and remember various activities that occur within it! Spend time in this space. If you continue this kind of activity for about 120 years, you can expand the space by 3.3 square meters!」
“120 years for one square meter…….”
“Real estate really is formidable.”
「Is there another way?」
「If you want faster growth, feed the space. You can achieve brilliant growth that wouldn’t be possible from your experience alone.」
Feed?
「If living beings, especially humans with complex consciousness, experience joy and sorrow within the space and then die, the space can drink their blood and souls and grow much faster. The more experiences the human accumulated, the deeper their soul’s richness, the higher quality the growth.」
“……This is what you’d call the Awakening of the Special Zone, isn’t it?”
After reading the message on the monitor in full, I paused and murmured.
Jae-gyeom became more serious and nodded.
A Special Zone that has consumed enough humans enters a reformation period for Awakening.
Just as a caterpillar enters a cocoon before becoming a butterfly.
The message on the monitor now was saying exactly that.
“I’ll ask about how to create entities too.”
Jae-gyeom typed again.
「Can we also create entities that live in this space?」
「Unfortunately, materials are insufficient.」
“It says materials are insufficient?”
“That means it’s possible if we just have the materials.”
「How do we obtain materials?」
「We can secure them right now. Would you like us to?」
Suddenly it said materials could be secured.
Jae-gyeom hesitated for a moment, then looked at me and spoke.
“We have the safety measure in place, so it should be fine.”
「Secure them.」
「Yes, Master. I’ll secure them right away!」
Immediately after, Jae-gyeom and I jumped at the sound of someone’s presence and turned around.
There stood Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su in casual clothes.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“Oh my…….”
Jae-gyeom let out a low groan when he saw Baek Sa-ra.
And Baek Sa-ra, having grasped the situation, smiled brightly at Jae-gyeom.
“How could you just use anything carelessly, Jae-gyeom?”
“Ah ah ah, it hurts, sister!”
Baek Sa-ra pressed down hard on Jae-gyeom’s shoulder with her hand, making him writhe.
Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su had been dragged into this place.
It was a major accident with no excuse, but I pressed my forehead and tried to stop them.
“Wait. It’s not the time for that. We asked it to bring materials to create entities for this space, and it brought people. And of all people, it brought Baek Sa-ra and Han Ji-su.”
How in the world did this happen?
We asked again.
「Did you bring the two people who just appeared?」
「Yes, Master. You wanted materials for entities, so I secured them. With these materials, we can create superior entities.」
「Are all entities in the Special Zone originally human?」
「Not all of them! They can be composed of human souls, divine breath, space consciousness, sacred waves of light and sound, and more! However, since you’re human, Master, you can only use human souls and space consciousness. Shall we generate entities with the secured materials?」
「Absolutely not. Don’t touch the people.」
「I was moved by your humanitarian spirit!」
My head throbbed from whatever it was in the laptop speaking with such cheerful tone.
This house had become a Special Zone, and it seemed I was the owner of that Special Zone.
And two additional rules were revealed.
To expand the space, kill people.
To create entities, mix human souls.
「Why do we expand the space?」
「Because when you expand the space, it gets bigger!」
「If the space gets bigger?」
「The space becomes stronger!」
「If the space becomes stronger?」
「It won’t easily crumble to external threats and will be maintained for a long time!」
「What benefit does the space’s owner get if this space is maintained for a long time?」
「How owners use their space is up to them!」
A space is just a space—whether you use it as a slaughterhouse or an execution ground is each owner’s own affair.
「What is the identity of the owners of this space?」
「I cannot answer! Expected damage to you from hearing their names: First place, arterial rupture; Second place, eye extraction; Third place, brain death.」
“What is this…….”
As Baek Sa-ra and I sighed together at the stream of incomprehensible statements—
「If you want more information, meet a newly born god.」
A sentence I hadn’t even asked for appeared on the monitor.
「Would you like me to tell you how to meet a newly born god?」
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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