Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 146

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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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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 146
As I staggered and leaned against the wall, Park Sangha’s eyes narrowed as he studied me.
“What’s wrong? Are you affected by the Resonance Species too?”
“No. My Skill just ended.”
“Ah.”
Park Sangha nodded without much concern.
Now that I thought about it, the students’ injuries, Park Sangha’s grim expression—it all stemmed from the Resonance Species.
The Resonance Species that had entered the building created a gap in our defenses, and Do Sohee had hastily brought Kim Miyeon here.
“Can you move?”
Park Sangha asked, supporting me.
I nodded and replied.
“I’m fine. But what about Kim Hanna?”
“She’s on the other side with Sanghun.”
After hearing Park Sangha’s explanation, I opened the System Message.
[Number of Mutants gathering at the Research Institute: 21.]
The number of Mutants had decreased significantly.
For some reason, I could hear the sound of something being smashed repeatedly from the other side.
It seemed Kim Hanna was engaging the Mutants.
“Hyung, go back to the rooftop with the students.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll hold the line here.”
“What can you do in this condition? There aren’t many left anyway—you should go rest instead.”
Park Sangha spoke casually, pretending everything was fine.
But I knew better.
I knew that impact trauma had accumulated along Park Sangha’s ribs.
“Take off your protective gear, hyung.”
“…”
“Take off your chest protector.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“A scratch? Your protector is torn.”
“…”
Everyone had been dealing with zombies and Mutants from their respective positions for hours.
Especially those in our group who weren’t Shooters—they’d engaged enemies directly in close combat, so there was no way they could be unscathed.
Park Sangha, who had been here from beginning to end, bore wounds equal to or worse than anyone else.
Looking closer, blood was still flowing from his palms.
How many times had blisters formed and burst?
His wounds spoke to how fiercely he had fought.
“So Hee.”
“Yes?”
“Take Park Sangha and Kim Miyeon up to the rooftop.”
“Ah….”
Do Sohee glanced between me and Park Sangha before supporting Kim Miyeon as she spoke.
“We’re heading up first. Uncle Sangha.”
The other Healing Factor members examined Park Sangha’s condition and began fussing over him.
How could he fight in this state?
He needed to be sutured immediately.
The bleeding was severe, and so on.
Eventually, Park Sangha spoke as he climbed the stairs.
“Any grenades left?”
“No.”
Park Sangha opened his inventory and handed me grenades.
“Tell me if you need more.”
“This is enough.”
Five grenades from Park Sangha.
I transferred them into my inventory.
“Kiiik— Kiiik?”
The cry of an Euitaejong echoed from the floor below.
“Go, now!”
I shouted at the students behind me, and they hurried up toward the rooftop.
Twenty-one mutants remained.
Once I dealt with these… this tedious zombie game would finally be over.

* * *
About five minutes had passed.
[Mutants converging on the Research Institute: 0.]
Finally, the count of Mutants reached zero, and we could breathe a sigh of relief.
I climbed to the rooftop to assess the condition of my companions.
The Shooters sat slumped against the railings, their expressions utterly exhausted.
Those with severe injuries lay sprawled across the floor in starfish positions, receiving treatment from the Healing Factor members.
Thanks to the legendary Skill book, a single Healing Factor member could treat ten people simultaneously, making the healing speed almost impossibly fast.
“Doyun.”
Someone approached me from behind.
It was Hong Yeonhui.
“Do you know anything about the Epilogue?”
“Let’s rest for a bit first.”
“Rest? When do we have time for that? The Stage 5 Reinforcement Type is still alive.”
“That Reinforcement Type can’t move anyway, and there are no more Mutants to strengthen.”
“You don’t know that. There might be Mutants that haven’t arrived at the Brain Research Institute yet.”
I understood Hong Yeonhui’s position, but I desperately needed to catch my breath right now.
Nearly five hours had passed since the battle began—enough time for even the Stage 1 Mutant from Seoul to have arrived.
A Stage 1 Mutant could run at speeds close to 100 kilometers per hour, and running in a straight line from Seoul to the Brain Research Institute would have been more than sufficient.
By now, Mutants coming from Uijeongbu and Paju should have arrived as well.
Besides, hadn’t the System Message itself confirmed it?
Zero Mutants converging on the Research Institute.
“It’s over.”
I spoke with calm composure as I sat on a wooden bench nearby.
But Hong Yeonhui still wore an anxious expression.
“Then what’s the current episode? The vaccine development is finished. Why is there something like an Epilogue?”
I had intended to rest before answering, but Hong Yeonhui’s excessive anxiety forced me to speak.
“End credits.”
“What?”
Her expression showed complete bewilderment.
I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes as I explained.
“The Epilogue currently unfolding—it’s the end credits.”
Hong Yeonhui still looked utterly confused.
“You didn’t see it on Yanben?”
“See what?”
“The ending verification post I uploaded.”
“…”
She hadn’t seen it.
Well, not many people would bother watching a video posted on a weekday evening, let alone a late one.
“The night before No Way Home became reality, I uploaded the No Way Home ending credits to Yanben.”
“I didn’t see the details. I only heard that it was cleared.”
Hong Yeonhui scratched her forehead with an embarrassed expression, then glanced around before asking.
“So… is this the end?”
“Yeah. The game ends once the vaccine development is complete. What we’re going through now is the epilogue—content that normally appears in the ending credits.”
“I see…”
“Once that sequence finishes, the game creator’s name will be displayed.”
“The game creator, you mean…?”
“Gaia.”
In that instant.
Ding!
[All Mutants approaching the Research Institute have vanished.]
[Please eliminate the Tier-5 Reinforcement Type before the launch date of the fourth game, ‘Another World’.]
Ding!
[An error has been detected in the episode progression.]
[The image generation function for the Ninth-Tier Mutant has not been activated.]
[Checking error…]
System Messages appeared before me in rapid succession.
Reading the words in the messages, my expression darkened reflexively.
There were words mixed in that unsettled me.
“An error? Doyun, what does this mean?”
My companions, who had been resting, stood up one by one and asked me.
I didn’t answer and kept my eyes fixed on the System Message.
This bastard Gaia… he’s not saying something strange again, is he?
Bzzt—
[Gaia has requested a conversation with player Baek Doyun.]
[Please accept.]
Not “Do you accept?” but “Please accept.” What is this?
It seems the system made another mistake. I might as well hear its excuse.
“Hong Yeonhui, stay with the others.”
“Huh?”
“It would be good to keep about three meters between me and everyone.”
Hong Yeonhui tilted her head in confusion, but instead of asking further questions, she obediently stepped back.
“Accept.”
Bzzt—! Crackle, crackle, crackle—!
{Congratulations.}
The voice said congratulations, but my head spun momentarily as gravity suddenly pressed down on my entire body.
I forced the corners of my mouth upward and asked.
“Could you either congratulate me or torment me—just pick one?”
{What?}
“Do you really have to crush people while you talk?”
{There’s no helping it. I am a god, and you are merely human.}
“….”
{Be grateful you can hear my voice directly. An ordinary human would have had their brain burst and turned to mush long ago.}
“Spare me the unnecessary talk. What’s the issue this time? What error are you referring to?”
{You must have sensed that something was wrong with the Ninth-Tier Mutant’s appearance, yes?}
“That pitch-black thing?”
A deep sigh echoed through my mind.
{The Ninth-Tier Mutant’s original form was not that. The image design hadn’t been completed yet… but because of you, it was released in an unfinished state.}
“….”
{That’s also why there were fewer of them.}
“If there had been more of those things, it would have been a failure in difficulty balancing. That would be admitting your game is garbage.”
{….}
As I spoke with a frown, Gaia continued as if it were no big deal.
{Yet you cleared it anyway, didn’t you? Besides, it was your fault for skipping the main episode entirely instead of completing it properly.}
“….”
{I was planning to adjust the Mutant’s abilities along with its appearance design. You’re the one who didn’t give me time for that.}
“….”
{To be honest, the Ninth-Tier Mutant in its current state was not something an ordinary player could face. Yet you defeated such a creature, so clearly my scenario was flawless. You were the problem.}
Through me, Gaia seemed to have realized she wasn’t wrong, and her voice carried an unmistakable note of satisfaction.
No matter what I complained about, the conversation would just go in circles.
With a sigh, I asked.
“So what are you trying to say? If you’re about to tell me to redo the final episode, I’ll show you what real insanity looks like, so spare me the—”
{I have no such intention, so don’t be anxious.}
A voice that was either calm or mocking—I couldn’t tell which.
As I stared at the sky with a sullen expression, Gaia’s voice came through.
{Originally, you were supposed to find three traces in the twelfth episode, but you came to the Research Institute with only one.}
“….”
{So this error is partly your fault as well.}
“So what.”
{I’m giving you a chance.}
“What chance is there when everything’s already over?!”
I already didn’t want to hear this.
My true feelings were written all over my face.
Then Gaia burst into laughter.
{Puhahahaha! Don’t worry. I’ll give you a trial you can overcome.}
“See? You call it a chance, but it’s a trial.”
{Opportunity and trial are two sides of the same coin.}
“That’s enough. I don’t want to see another zombie or mutant ever again. I’m not accepting whatever chance you’re offering.”
{Didn’t I just say it was a chance?}
“Oh, come on! A trial and a chance, you said?! I said I’m done with this.”
{Very well. Then you and all your companions must move together.}
“What?”
At Gaia’s words, my eyes twitched involuntarily.
Then Gaia spoke in a hushed tone.
{Are you finally willing to listen?}
“….”
{Then I shall consider it accepted. From now on, I will teach you what you must do.}
“Before that.”
{…?}
“Every time you speak, the gravity becomes so intense I can barely hear you.”
{Ah, would this work instead?}
A System Message appeared before my eyes.
The message window’s form had changed slightly, but it wasn’t much different from a typical System Message.
Rather than removing the gravity as I’d complained, Gaia simply made the information visible to me instead.
Either way… I wasn’t satisfied.
{You already know this world is under Battlesteam’s control, don’t you?}
“….”
{Do you remember the moment you chose the game?}
I remember it.
System Messages suddenly appeared across the skies of the entire world, and identical messages displayed on every electronic device.
“We never chose a game in the first place. You picked it on your own.”
{If you had been given a choice, which game would you have selected?}
“Last Odyssey.”
{Why?}
“Because it’s the easiest.”
A world of swords and spears.
Last Odyssey.
If the world was going to become a game, choosing the most manageable one was only natural.
Gaia remained silent for a while, but soon after, showed me a video.
It was a scene of countless people waging war across a vast grassland, bleeding as they fought.
But… at the edge of the grassland, I saw a familiar flag.
{This is what Last Odyssey looks like, as you described it.}
“Wait, is that possibly….”
{Do you recognize where it is?}
The flags of European nations visible at the corner of the video.
I could see the flags of Spain, Portugal, and Germany.
‘Could it be….’
Just before the world fell under Battlesteam’s control, there had been a statement about analyzing each nation’s characteristics and selecting appropriate games.
Then, which nation would be most suited to playing Last Odyssey with its medieval setting?
Obviously, Europe.
Turning all of Europe into the stage for the Last Odyssey.
As I stared blankly at the footage, Gaia’s voice filled with questions.
{If you had been there, how would you have planned to survive?}

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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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