Chapter 82: S2. Star Plateau Emergency Response Committee
Connection of the Assistant Administrator confirmed. Welcome, ‘Yuna The Greatmage’.
Sleep order for the Administrator confirmed. Would you like to proceed? => Yes.
Sleep process completed.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
An attempt to upload unauthorized information about ID_013 (#Outer God) has been confirmed.
Warning(!): The following information might be a malicious program such as a Succubus. Would you still like to proceed? => Yes.
Processing⋯⋯.
Upload completed.
※
Blink. Blink.
The cursor blinked on the last line of the command input panel.
There was no turning back now. She had successfully cut that out and transplanted it into an NPC. Now, Yuna was responsible for dealing with all the side effects that would ensue. Yuna crouched down, staring intensely at the screen.
Her reflection on the screen was filled with anxiety and nervousness. She asked herself once again, Did it really have to be this way?
He was holding up better than she expected. Sometimes, she worried something might go terribly wrong, but she kept a firm grip on the important parts, making sure not to lose them. Perhaps it might be a time bomb that would go off after a long time… maybe in 50 years.
“⋯⋯If only he had been a little dumber or less competent.”
She remember him happily laughing while reading things like the “Internet” and “comics” together in a simulation world modeled after his own—discussing weird topics like resources and modeling.
If only he were a fool who could simply laugh and chat innocently. If he had spent a century just studying simulations, living a quiet life with Yuna.
If that were the case… maybe she could’ve waited and seen what happened.
His talent shone like a star. That’s why her face paled at the thought of him possibly using that talent for evil. Right now, Yuna could stop him if he ever entertained dark thoughts.
No, in fact, Yuna could kill him.
But what if he had a little more time? What if he deceived people, expanded his territory, and ultimately engulfed the entire world?
No one would be able to stop him if he decided to turn the world into a living hell. The world within the session had shown her this; a horrifying future where evil beings towering above them cast shadows across the night sky.
Killing a few to save many. It was something she had done before. It was easier this time. After all, the Academy students wouldn’t die. Yuna felt both hesitant and determined as she pushed the students into hell with trembling hands.
Hoping for a future where everyone could smile at the end of this hell.
===============================================================
An attempt to share resources with ID_127 (#Niolle) by ID_013 confirmed.
Yuna: So this means we’re talking to Niolle?
Yuna: Can I see what’s being shared?
ID_127: You enjoy tearing yourself apart and sharing the pieces, don’t you? Keep doing this going forward. Hmm, you might end up living a miserable life as a madwoman, but at least Bennett and Tara, who benefit from it, will be happy… (Omitted).
Yuna: ⋯⋯Block it!
Blocked by the Assistant Administrator.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
Date change confirmed by ID_013.
Settings value change confirmed by ID_013.
Messages have been sent repeatedly from ID_013 to the Assistant Administrator. (14319 messages / 347 images)
Yuna: Uh, uh?
Yuna: Why did the time change? Why is the sun spinning around?
Yuna: Wait, the authority… “It looks cool when the sun disappears and the stars go out when the Outer God descends, so the authority to change the map background is built-in.”… Did he use this?
Yuna: Why is there so much popping up? Is this all stuff sent to me? What’s this about an omelet recipe? Photos, eww, aah, w-what’s this weird stuff being sent to me…? Wait, the command line is… please block! Block all communications from him!
Would you like to block notifications related to ID_013?
Yuna: Yes.
Yuna: Aah…!
Yuna: ⋯⋯N-no! Just stop it from sending messages for now. Did something happen while it was blocked?
Some resource values assigned by ID_013 have been shared with ID_098 (#Blackguard Man). Strong hostility towards ID_128 (#Tara) has been granted.
Yuna: Wait, Tara is defenseless right now…!
Yuna: Are there no friendly NPCs around?! Sally! Give Sally superpowers right now…! W-wait, is there not enough storage?
Yuna: BENNETT!!!
Yuna: Ask Bennett for help! Tell him Tara is in danger! Make him feel a sense of urgency and…! Shorten his way back.
Commands from the Assistant Administrator confirmed. Executed.
Yuna: Is it fixed now…?
※
Bennett arrived just in time to save Tara. Yuna relaxed and slid off her chair, tension flooding out of her body. Something terrible almost happened.
The NPC who was harboring the Evil God acted with utmost malice. It whispered wicked words to Niolle and manipulated people to attack Tara. It moved in a way that made the players experience the maximum amount of suffering.
At first, it was slow and cumbersome…
But after Yuna blocked it from talking to Niolle, it seemed to realize that there was a disturbance from the outside. It used every tool at its disposal to blind Yuna and stab into her vulnerabilities.
She had assumed that the Evil God imbued with that would become self-aware. She also considered that it would try to sabotage her, but never had she imagined it would adapt this quickly, even using the System to fend off her attacks.
She thought it might be preparing to descend only to kill the students.
“Did I misjudge?⋯⋯? No, no, you can do this, Yuna. It’s only 7%. It’s just stuck in a simulation. After all, I’m the administrator, so I just need to drag it out and hit it.”
Deploying NPCs is within the GM’s authority. The Outer God might be rampaging now, but there’s a clear distinction in authority between them. It wouldn’t be able to resist.
Tara was being comforted by her team. Her face, typically filled with confidence and spirit, was now shrouded in dark shadows. How shocked she must’ve been when caught off guard…
What if I stopped now?
“Sorry, I’m sorry, Tara…! Sorry, Niolle…!”
With a moment’s hesitation, Yuna chose to move forward.
===============================================================
Yuna: Alright, since I handed them the Goddess’ Crystal, they just need to keep going and hit it! Once Bennett proceeds with the ritual, something will surely feel amiss, and the Outer God will descend…
Yuna: ⋯⋯But why does it feel so eerily quiet?
Some resource values assigned by ID_013 have been shared with ID_099 (#Passerby Man). Strong hostility towards ID_128 (#Tara) has been granted.
Some resource values assigned by ID_013 have been shared with ID_101 (#Young Girl). Strong hostility towards ID_128 (#Tara) has been granted.
Unidentified data has been shared by ID_013 with ID_037 (#Cult Leader).
Some resource values assigned by ID_013 have been shared with ID_103 (#Stern Gramps). Strong hostility towards ID_128 (#Tara) has been granted.
Yuna: Is there a way to take away its authority?!
Yuna: “I was only planning to use obedient AI, so I didn’t implement a feature to remove authority.”… Wouldn’t it have been better to have done this together? No, I can do it alone. Yup.
Yuna: Okay fine, so you’re still targeting Tara, huh? That’s fine. If needed, I can just shoot a beam. What can you do if I wipe out your entire data!
Yuna: Let’s delete the Passerby Man, no, let’s send him underground so he can’t do anything. Move all the corrupted NPCs here, to the basement!
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
Yuna: What’s up with the Cult Leader? Why did he suddenly bulk up…?
Yuna: Did I perhaps miss… something?
Yuna: About 2%? Are you suggesting that it disconnected itself and merged with the Cult Leader? Why? N-no, if I can cut it and dispose of it, that’d be best for me… right?
Yuna: Yeah! Bennett, Niolle, wipe it out! Replenish his soul with a backup so it doesn’t get damaged by Black Magic… done!
Yuna: YOU DID IT-!! BENNETT-!!
Map migration command entered by ID_013. #Niolle and #Bennett moved to S3.
Warning(!) This map is currently empty. Empty spaces may cause psychological trauma for players. Please place objects.
Yuna: ACK!!
Yuna: It’s alright, it’s okay. Just load any map. Let’s make it Pero’s homeland! From there… hmm, I’m not entirely sure what to do though.
An abnormal reaction has been detected from Player #Tara.
ERROR CODE 017: “Metamorphosis Occurrence.”
Yuna: ⋯⋯⋯⋯.
Yuna: No, n-no. Tara, they’re all alive. It’s a misunderstanding. Don’t suffer so much. That, that’s not Bennett’s corpse!
Yuna: I didn’t mean to inflict this much pain.
Yuna: I-I’ll stop. I’ll stop now. I’m really sorry…!
Attempt to forcibly terminate by the Assistant Administrator => Pending.
Warning(!) The session is currently in progress. Abrupt forced termination can cause unexpected side effects. Please calm the consciousness of all players and attempt again.
Yuna: ⋯⋯⋯⋯.
It has been determined that a defect has occurred in the ongoing scenario. Emergency call has been sent to the Administrator.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
===============================================================
Have you ever seen the void?
Usually, it’s said that it is just emptiness. A feeling of hollowness. Yet, such expressions may arise, but as long as people are alive, they would never experience true void. After all, humans stand tall in the space between the sky and the earth.
Even when being chased by hunting dogs in the mountains, or hiding in a pot to dodge a robber intruding at home, there’s always something there. The scratchy soil, the smooth surface of the pot, the world perceived through one’s own body and five senses.
Even if a knife were to stab straight through one’s heart, wouldn’t Mother Earth embrace them warmly until that last moment when blood drains and chills freeze their body? This way, there’s no such thing as ‘nothing’. Therefore, humans shouldn’t know about true void.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
But now, Niolle truly understood what the void meant.
There was nothing. At that place.
Even when trying to reach out, nothing was there to touch. There wasn’t even air to fill her lungs. No warmth, no emotions to share. She didn’t even know whether she was alive or dead.
To simply categorize this as ‘black’ would be an insult to color. Niolle yearned for the shimmering black of the cosmos that she had glimpsed through a telescope. A vacant area without anything to interact with felt unbearably lonely.
What on earth am I experiencing right now?
The sole reason Niolle was able to retain sanity was because she was connected to Bennett. Even in a void where their very being seemed to be melting away, they could exist simply because they recognized one another’s presence.
Clutching Bennett’s body tightly, she drifted.
How much time has passed?
Suddenly, there was light. They felt a pull, as if being drawn somewhere, and then Bennett and Niolle were expelled into a barren desert.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯Heu… ack.”
Niolle inhaled deeply. Gravity pressed down on her shoulders, sand crunching between her fingers. The glaring sunlight pierced her eyes. Everything felt so welcoming. She cradled Bennett’s body and glanced around.
Where were they sent? Where… is this place? Is going back even possible?
The two individuals, having crash-landed in the heart of a crumbling world, were in both a physical and emotional state of vulnerability. The continual fights and repeated failures had eroded them like acid rain, exposing their fragile hearts.
Piercing the heart was the hobby and goal of the Evil God. The Goddess who watched over this world could easily be outsmarted. Therefore, only tormenting the two with every means at one’s disposal remained.
It was like sculpting a gemstone into a masterpiece. Each sparkling facet of a jewel represented a deep, sharp wound. Once the perfect cut was made, a beautiful gem that spread light everywhere finally emerged.
I wish there were more gems in the world. So that they could shine even brighter.
The Evil God reached out its tentacles, stimulating and twisting their loving hearts into a toxic obsession. With repeated engravings of helplessness, it would make them realize that, in the end, they are pitiably human who can do absolutely nothing.
Having lost everything in the pursuit of trivial justice, it would deceive them into wishing they had abandoned their meager morality earlier and cultivate a hatred for the cherished beliefs they once held dear. It would instill the realization that there was no way to save their younger sister and that, ultimately, it was solely due to their own incompetence.
Time was plenty. It doesn’t take much effort to mold a delicate young heart into a desirable shape. Let’s start with some whispers. Let’s make them believe that their failure to stop the Cult Leader’s final curse was out of their own greed.
The young man fought fiercely, igniting even his soul for them, yet they were stingy enough to regard that lifespan as a treasure. If only they had sacrificed even a year of their own life, the Cult Leader would have lacked the chance to wield magic.
Ultimately, it’s about laying blame for all these failures on their shoulders… You are entirely at fault, from start to finish… Niolle.
A dark shadow stretched toward the girl steeped in fear and dread. The stars laughed and chattered, waiting for the girl’s sanity to be butchered. The only recourse she had was to block her ears and look away…
At that moment, the Evil God’s whisper was distorted and severed.
⋯⋯Who are you?
In tandem, the Evil God sensed a malignant mass proliferating from within itself. Left unchecked, it would taint all its information. The Evil God emitted a silent scream while twisting its body in anguish.
The dawn broke. The brilliant sunlight that illuminated the world pushed the moon and stars back, their shadows igniting and turning to ash. Amidst it all, the Evil God heard someone’s whisper.
“Enough. This nonsense ends here.”
The Wizard, awakened, dispelled the night.
===============================================================
It felt as if I had just awoken from a long dream. And honestly, it wasn’t a good dream.
This was the tale of a GM overly focused on results rather than the process. He wished to include a dragon at the end of his session. The reason was straightforward—he had prepared loads for a dramatic combat against the dragon.
Battle data featuring a majestic dragon image, sound effects mimicking its roars, an impressive battle map, fitting background music, incredible gimmicks.
But the session’s narrative unfolded differently than he anticipated. He assumed players would want to slay the dragon, yet they instead expressed a desire to marry it. More precisely, one player wished for that, and the others wanted to help.
Upon concluding their quest, the players offered gold and silver treasures along with a fresh cow as a gift to the dragon. Then, with a marvelous performance from the Bard (who rolled a perfect 20 on a 20-sided die), they launched into a heartfelt confession.
While the GM found the players’ confession amusing, he also yearned for a confrontation with the dragon. So, he thought, ‘Aha, both can happen!’
He allowed this declaration and successfully married the dragon and the player. Then, after describing their idyllic newlywed life, suddenly a passing evil wizard’s Frenzy spell struck, and the dragon lashed out, slashing her claws.
A battle ensued, and the groom had to stab his bride in the head to kill her. After the session ended, the GM and players ended up in a huge argument, leading to the team’s disbandment.
For reference, I was that dragon-wed player.
The moral of this story was that trying to force players into something they didn’t want was surely a step towards chaos.
Suffering? Sure, that’s fine. Trials and trials? Okay, that’s also fine. But they ought to serve as stepping stones to help the players. Unless, of course, players enjoyed torturing their own characters.
Wasn’t it better for every story to finish with a happy ending?
With such thoughts, I awoke.
“Ughhhhh⋯⋯.”
I stretched as I sat up.
Sometimes, you know… isn’t there a delightful awakening where you feel rejuvenated as if you had a splendid sleep? That’s how I felt right now. It felt as if a boulder weighing me down had been lifted about 7%. My mind felt clearer, my mood, not too shabby.
I felt as though the world appeared much more colorful. Each step I took made my heart flutter, and the simple shadow play of leaves could stimulate an hour’s worth of reflection.
It felt like I had rediscovered that excitement I thought I had lost.
The Purple Magic Tower Master’s therapy seemed effective. What on earth did she do to yield such a remarkable result?
Had the session ended?
How did it conclude? The route returning to Day One and obliterating the sect? Or perhaps going even further back to save Isaac as well? Were there any couples formed?
Had Tara managed to think independently and move forward? Could Niolle find a realistic sense of justice to compromise with reality? Would Bennett reconsider his path once more?
I felt exhilarated.
Logs, let’s check the logs. Following along in real-time feels different, but I would at least ease my regret for not being able to see everything play out till the very end.
[Tara, instead of saving a couple of civilians… don’t you want to obliterate the Order of the Silver Twilight?]
Huh?
“⋯⋯Be, nnet, t⋯⋯!”
Oh⋯⋯.
“I’ll kill them all.”
Um.
I lay back down and closed my eyes. For a moment, it felt like I had drifted into a nightmare. I thought if I fell asleep and woke again, I might open my eyes to a world where the session had ended on a hopeful note.
But of course, hoping for that was wishful thinking.
“Ah, shit⋯⋯!”
Even though it wasn’t the Tower Master’s intention, it felt like I was going to get cancer after this rapidly devolving session. If tragedy happened, she should have utilized it to generate something like love or friendship⋯⋯!
I shot up. There was no time to escape reality. With the story spiraling downward, it needed a remedy.
I dashed to the control room.
“W-wha, wh, wh-what, d-do I do?”
The Tower Master, who had confidently told me to trust her, was malfunctioning. It felt akin to an elementary school kid paralyzed with panic after being hit with ransomware while playing on their dad’s computer.
“Move!”
“Eueck⋯⋯!”
I skimmed over the system log.
ID_013, the NPC designated as the Evil God. I had no idea what sort of chemical reactions were involved, but when something from my head was taken and implanted within it, it seemed to have transformed into some kind of virus.
When it began gaslighting Niolle, the Tower Master tried to block it. However, it raged in retaliation, filling the air with all sorts of disgusting memes and incoherent nonsense. It appeared the Tower Master got sucked into the mess, and hence, everything went haywire.
You are⋯⋯ disqualified as a Forum Moderator, Yuna!
While the Tower Master was skilled in obliterating things, she had a fatal flaw when it came to precision work. Consequently, it seemed that the chaos ejecting from the Evil God’s antics accidentally acted as a counter.
The Tower Master could’ve detonated the entire session using an Information Bomb, but given that would obliterate the log, she was probably too scared to set it off.
For the time being, I initiated a preemptive action.
No matter how much it wreaked havoc, I was the Administrator. The hierarchy of abilities was distinct. I opened the Settings for ID_013 and hammered in every conceivable character trait.
In actuality, the Outer God was a beautiful young girl who loved humans dearly, would sometimes pull nasty pranks, but actually cherished them, secretly printed bromides, stuck them in her room, loved wearing Gothic Lolita outfits most while treasuring her black cat panties, and was just high-maintenance in personality, getting irked if she didn’t receive adequate compliments while dating—
The oversized ‘Get fucked, idiot’ resulted in a stutter. It struggled to block my adjustments using the editing powers I had enabled to adapt the NPCs to their situations. I had bought some time; now, let’s get everything sorted out.
1. The session has descended into utter chaos.
2. I want to flip this into a happy ending.
3. That tragedy-producing malicious virus must also be dealt with.
Let’s tackle these step by step. I can manage this. After all, tragedy could serve as a springboard for a happy ending.
“Y-you’ve woken up.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
The Tower Master huddled in a corner, trembling. Even while shaking furiously like a puppy that knew it was in trouble, it glanced up at me with an apologetic expression.
When I pinched her cheek, she closed her eyes and uttered a small Euuuenggg. She was still as adorable as ever.
But now was not the time for that.
After-effects, compensation for the players entangled in this incident, a punishment for Yuna, and my penalty for dozing off while leaving everything to Yuna—all had to be postponed for now.
“Modeling that can allude to 100 years later.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
“10, 9, 8⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯!!!”
The Tower Master, who had shrunk to almost meld with the floor, sprang up and began sculpting the model as soon as work was assigned to her.
That ‘Evil God’ was an utterly vile being that solely desired the suffering of players, tossing my endeavors and intentions into the dumpster. It represented everything opposite to my beliefs. I couldn’t let it slide.
I shall make use of all the tragedies you’ve created as the fuel for dreams, friendship, and love, you twisted fiend.
Despite having launched a preemptive strike, I couldn’t eliminate it at this moment, so I’d have to keep pushing through its attempts to sabotage until the end of the session. But it was worth a shot.
The method of reigniting the spirits of the players who had been thoroughly beaten down by trial after trial and failure upon failure?
That was to demonstrate to them precisely how their efforts had meaningfully improved the world. To remind them that their efforts were indeed significant. That their actions were not in vain. And to instill in them the awareness that one final step remained.
Operation Name… “Time Sync,” commence!
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