Mimou
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Chapter 196: DREAD
🕑 Added 2025-02-04 18:26:51 +0000 UTC« Chapter-195 | Index | Chapter-197 »
Having caught his supervisor's attention, the silver-haired and eyed man left the office and spoke.
"Sir Jura, once you'll see the logs, you'll understand what I meant."
A shorter person was quietly following the cheerful Watcher, keeping this thoughts for himself.
Once their reached the room full of Watchers, they headed toward a console.
Noticing the gazes of the other workers, Jura spoke, "Everyone, pretend I'm not here and focus on your work."
Everyone quickly looked away and returned to what they were doing.
The short man watched as his subordinate logged in and accessed his logs.
As soon as he found what he was looking for, he turned to his boss, "Please look here. It started exactly seventeen minutes ago."
To take a closer look, Jura asked his subordinate to step aside.
The man, seeing his supervisor's frown, grinned.
'Boss only shows that expression when he stumbles upon a problem worth his attention. It seems I found a major bug.'
Just as he noticed his boss logging him out to access from his own account, he heard someone call his name.
"Calik, someone is asking after you. They say they're an acquaintance and had an appointment with you."
He recognized his colleague, but was confused by what he heard.
‘I didn’t schedule any appointment… And barely anyone from my family knows I work here. Wait—did I say too much at the club lately while I was drinking? Oh no… Don’t tell me someone’s trying to blackmail me again for insider info on the betting scene!’
Calik forced a smile and nodded at his colleague. “Ah, yes! I completely forgot about that appointment. Thank you for letting me know.”
He quickly stood up and left the room, ignoring the disapproving glances from his coworkers. Calik could feel their eyes on him as he made his way to the main hall, his mind racing.
As he reached the main hall, his eyes scanned the area until they landed on a man waiting near the entrance. The man was dressed in a plain suit and a hat, his appearance utterly unremarkable. He had no memorable traits—average height, average build, and a face that blended into a crowd. But his wide, friendly smile stood out.
“Mister Calik!” the man called out, his voice warm and familiar, as if they were old friends. “I’ve wanted to meet you!”
Calik's stomach churned. The man’s demeanor reminded him of the last time he’d been blackmailed—a memory he’d rather forget. But this time, he was prepared. He forced a polite smile and gestured toward the hallway.
“Ah, yes! Let’s discuss this in one of the meeting rooms. Follow me.”
The man nodded, still smiling, and followed Calik down the corridor. They entered a small, lightly decorated room with a few armchairs, low tables, and a presentation screen on one wall. Calik closed the door behind them and turned to the man, his tone professional but firm.
“Just so you know, everything in this room is recorded starting from now. For security purposes, of course.”
The man’s smile didn’t waver. In fact, it seemed to grow wider. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” he said, his voice calm but laced with something unsettling.
Before Calik could react, the man raised his right arm, extending it toward him. With his other hand, he triggered a mechanism hidden under his sleeve. A blinding light erupted from the tips of his fingers, illuminating the room in an eerie glow.
Calik's heart skipped a beat. His instincts screamed at him to run. He turned and bolted for the door, his hand reaching for the alarm panel just inches away. His mind raced as he moved.
‘That magic trigger system!! It’s them!! The damn Breakers! What did I do to be designated as a target for assassination?!’
Then it hit him.
The missing 33rd orb.
The so-called “bug.”
It wasn’t an accident.
It wasn’t a glitch.
‘It’s an insider’s job!! They have a mole!!’
His fingers shot toward the emergency panel—just a few more centimeters, and—
Blinding white light exploded around him. He had no time to react. No time to think. His body didn’t burn. Didn’t shatter. It simply ceased to exist.
The meeting room remained silent, as if nothing had ever happened.
The man in the suit lowered his fingertips, his smile never fading. With a quiet click, he deactivated the mechanism on his hand.
“Too slow,” he murmured. "But sending me to kill this guy inside of their headquarters... Boss really values the new server..."
Just as he finished speaking, his body turned to smoke as he started disappearing.
-------------------------------------------
As the world update neared completion, Sora watched as the translucent cocoon surrounding his body began to dissolve into particles.
He tensed, knowing this was the moment he had been waiting for. Without hesitation, he moved toward his body.
The instant his astral form made contact, a rush of overwhelming sensation flooded through him. Warmth surged through his limbs, as he fully reconnected with his physical form.
A wave of euphoria washed over him.
‘Finally… I’m back!’
But just as he was about to celebrate, his vision was flooded with cascading notifications, each appearing in rapid succession before his eyes.
[System Update Complete.]
[Welcome to Earth V2.0: Beyond The First Limits.]
[The Beginner Phase is officially over.]
[New Features Unlocked: Streaming Platform Now Accessible.]
[Discussing the taboos is now possible. Information restrictions have been lifted.]
[The world has changed. Adapt, evolve, or be left behind.]
[Read the full details of the update in the Patch Notes.]
Sora was surprised at the content of the update.
'Discussing the taboos is now possible? Does this mean we can mention the real world? And the warning is quite worrying. What will happen to those who are left behind?'
Curious, he quickly opened the Patch Notes to find out about the other changes.
[General Knowledge Update: The Truth About Earth]
Six years ago, the Coalition discovered [Earth].
To determine which race would have the right to occupy [Earth], the planet was designated as the prize for the War for Supremacy.
Under the Holy Treaty, the indigenous population, humans, were granted the opportunity to fight for their homeland. They were given protection during the Beginner Phase and allowed to compete alongside other races in World 69.
The rules are simple:
The race that wins the War for Supremacy will be granted ownership of [Earth].
The defeated races will return to their own worlds.
Only those who hold [Arks] will have a guaranteed safe haven on [Earth], regardless of the war’s outcome.
[The protection period has officially ended. From now on, all players will fight for their place in this world.]
Sora nodded, 'It's good. Now everyone knows what's at stake. Maybe some talented players will take the opportunity to rise.'
[Streaming Platform Unlocked]
Players can now stream their gameplay, battles, and daily lives for all worlds to watch.
Features & Benefits:
Viewers can send [Soul Pearls], rare items, and various resources to their favorite players.
Real-Time Communication: Interact with viewers, form alliances, or intimidate your enemies.
[Warning: Streaming your location may expose you to enemies. Proceed with caution.]
Sora smiled and wondered if he should give it a try or not.
After a while, he shook his head, 'I'll spend a while as a viewer first. There's no rush.'
[World Update: Structural Changes]
The concept of "Regions" has been abolished.
Changes:
The world is now a single, unified battlefield with no regional restrictions. The top thirty cities in the world will be the only remaining safe areas.
Kingdom borders remain, but travel is no longer restricted.
The war zones are fully open, and factions may clash without previous limitations, except for the remaining safe areas.
Each kingdom will be protected for a period of 30 days upon losing ten percent of its population.
A protected kingdom can still engage in wars. Such wars will be similar to wars before the update.
The maximum level has been raised to 300.
‘Adapt quickly, or be left behind.’ Sora read the notifications and quickly remembered one sentence.
‘So that’s what I felt was missing when the Mother Orb rebuilt the planet!! There were no barriers except for dungeon barriers!!’
Looking up, he saw Kara and his parents reading the Patch Notes. He spoke first, his voice tinged with urgency, “It’s been a while... Is everyone alright?”
Puzzled, his father smiled. “What do you mean, ‘it’s been a while’? You left a minute ago to play around with your astral form. Everything’s fine for me.” Turning to look at his wife, he asked, “Are you okay, darling?”
Marie nodded and glanced toward Kara, who also nodded. “I’m alright. I can feel everyone in the school waking up as well, and they seem to be fine...” Pausing for a few seconds, she changed the topic. “Did you read the patch notes? Don’t you think it’s insane? There won’t be many safe places in the kingdom... How will people survive against beast attacks?”
Sora shook his head, his expression grim. “Beasts? You’re worried about beasts? Our enemies can now move across borders and destroy countries...”
He opened the interface showing all safe cities in the world and found that Seoul was ranked 30th on the list of safe cities in the New World Kingdom. His mind raced as he thought of the implications. But just as a sense of dread began to overwhelm him, he received two messages.
[Kro Nel: RUN TO A MAJOR CITY OF YOUR KINGDOM! THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU!!]
[Klunor Sapher: You should get somewhere safe with people important to you. They’re about to wreak havoc...]
Reading the messages from the Demon Prince and the Dark Elf General, Sora understood what was happening.
He immediately interrupted his family, who were still discussing the update, his voice sharp with panic. “Kara!! Extend your [Time Bubble] to include everyone inside the school and hide them in the [Time-Space]!! Then run to Seoul!”
Just as she was about to retort, he shouted, “QUICKLY! WE DON’T HAVE TIME!”
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