We were heading to the cafeteria for lunch after class, except for Elcia.
“Gongja, so what are we going to do about Elcia?”
“I don’t know. Ignoring her is too risky.”
[If we ignore her, she might awaken as a lifelong yandere.]
‘That Golden Dragon is really OP. Nerf, please.’
However, it seemed that Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon interpreted my fear differently.
Of course, they had no way of knowing what happened before Elcia’s regression.
“Is it because she’s the representative for welcoming the World Tree? At that level, it would be a huge problem if we ignored her.”
“Shinwoo, can I just burn the World Tree?”
“……You might be able to, but wouldn’t that start a war with the Elves?”
Of course, Hyeji could do it.
But it would just lead to war.
“Then can’t we just burn all the Elves who would start a war?”
“……Are we in an academy novel here? This isn’t an apocalypse novel, right?”
Hyeji suggests erasing the cause of the war itself.
It’s oddly reassuring in a way.
Just then, we arrived at the cafeteria.
The first thing I saw was Elcia running toward me with a wave.
The Escort Elf hadn’t been around since the first day.
Looks like she’s not doing her job at all.
Anyway, Elcia still smiled brightly and opened her mouth.
“Husband! Today, I have some special information just for you!”
“Oh wow, did our sister finally make a reservation for the funeral? I’ll bring a hefty condolence gift.”
“Don’t worry. My coffin won’t be as flat as our Hyeji’s.”
Hyeji and Elcia were still the same.
Anyway, since Elcia came to tell me something, I decided to get back on topic.
“So what’s this information?”
“You still don’t know my body size, do you?”
“Please tell me.”
“Kim Shinwoo, you crazy dog, are you out of your mind?”
Hyeji glared at me fiercely.
But this was crucial information.
No matter how scary Hyeji was, I had to know this.
“Listen. I’m 5.74 feet tall, the weight is a secret. As for the bust size, touch and guess—”
“Wait, what?”
I thought I had misheard.
But what Elcia said next was…
“Embarrassingly enough, I’ll say it again for you. My height is 5.74 feet—”
There was no doubt—I hadn’t misheard at all.
An unacceptable unit of measurement.
My blood started boiling.
And I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t accept it.
Everyone except Elcia reacted similarly.
“AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Get rid of that cursed unit!!!!”
“Is our sister really crazy? Inches? Why aren’t we using the metric system? Grandma’s really lost it!”
“Elcia, no matter what, you’ve crossed the line.”
[Have you ever seen such a trashy unit?]
‘I agree. That’s a fucking awful unit.’
At that, Elcia tilted her head, not understanding.
“Oh dear, why is everyone like this? Isn’t it that the metric system has become so common that it’s losing its value?”
“Shut up.”
“Shut it.”
“Be quiet.”
[Shut up!]
In that moment, a horrible memory I had buried resurfaced in my mind.
It reminded me of the encounter with the Unicorns.
According to the Unicorns, they had mistakenly come here instead of going to meet the Elves.
“Elcia, did the Unicorns go to your Forest of Elves or whatever?”
“Yes! That’s right! How did you know, Husband?”
The Unicorns must have used the metric system.
I vaguely remembered that the Elves had used yard measurements.
“……Did you guys give the Unicorns directions in yards?”
“Yes, that’s right. We arrived too late and had trouble. Honestly, how did we mess up distance calculations?”
“You all were the culprits! Damn it, seriously!!!”
Ultimately, this was where I found out the reason I became the god of Ada.
[Surprisingly found the reason close to home, huh?]
‘Compassion punch, you ear goblin bastards.’
Anyway, I needed to make them stop using that unit.
They had made mistakes in the past, but if they correct things now, it would be fine.
“Anyway, don’t use that yard-pound bullshit.”
“Yard. Inch. Pound. Foot. Aren’t those magnificent units? You should understand, Husband.”
“What’s this? Is the Elf in front of me a Redneck Elf?”
[Looks like she’d fit in Texas rather than the Forest of Elves.]
‘I can totally see her walking around with a double-barreled shotgun.’
At that moment, someone called my name and sprinted toward me.
No, it would be more accurate to say she flew toward me.
It made sense.
“Kim Shinwoo, you fucking bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Die!!!!!!!!!”
After a running start, she came charging in with a flying kick at incredible speed.
She was small but incredibly dangerous.
If it hit anyone, it would have been a serious blow.
If it had hit me, that is.
The kick missed its target and slammed into a pillar of the cafeteria.
Naturally, the attacker began to tumble after hitting the pillar.
She looked pitiful, like a bird flying only to collide with an invisible window.
The protagonist of the Hectopascal Kick (missed) was none other than Chi Da-eun.
At that moment, I heard her voice, the web novelist.
“What the hell is this bastard doing here?”
“You! You! You ruined my story, damn it!!”
“Da-eun! Did you really follow the bullshit I mentioned back then?”
“Fuck! I did! I did!!”
It seemed like she had correctly applied the three factors I had previously mentioned.
But I was not at fault.
After all, I had just given advice.
“You were the one who actually did it.”
“What are you going to do, you bastard!!!!!!”
The one who truly did it was that girl.
Chi Da-eun gripped my collar with piercing eyes.
She said she had applied all three factors I previously mentioned, not just casually.
It was done with a steady build-up and meticulous writing, rather than hasty drifting.
In the end, readers gradually slipped into a nightmare without even realizing it.
Just like a little mouse that didn’t notice the open maw of a snake.
As a result, the comment section had been flooded with comments like “What’s with the chemistry PLEEEASE.”
The BL drift seemed truly successful.
And she received countless long messages filled with the furious readers.
Not just the usual length but evolved into 7800-character notes.
Elcia, not knowing any of this, quietly watched this spectacle.
Meanwhile, Hyeji yawned and waited, not caring.
But Da-eun still couldn’t contain her overflowing rage.
“Fuck! Fuck! You’ve ruined everything, you bastard!!!”
“The note’s longer than your novel’s main content.”
“Da-eun! Calm down!”
“Calm down? Are you kidding me!!! Really!!! What are you going to do!!!”
“Okay, let me talk first.”
Breathing slowly, Da-eun began calming down.
Thanks to her taking deep breaths, her breath gradually became steadier.
Of course, only her breath calmed down.
Her eyes were filled with a silent menace.
The pressure she radiated was peaking.
“First of all, how many chapters did you fuck up?”
“……About 45 chapters.”
“That’s a lot to mess up.”
“Sounds like a lot of rushing happened. This novel has barely reached 45 chapters.”
[How did it even get to 45 chapters?]
‘Seriously, I find it amazing too.’
Chi Da-eun suddenly lowered her head and let out a deep sigh.
It was clearly a huge shock.
“My views dropped, damn it.”
“First, we need to fix this. Cut the tumor out and rewrite it with new content.”
“……I already fixed most of it, but I’m out of material and I’m exhausted. It’s hard.”
“Hmm, I need to think for a moment.”
Looking at her, it seemed she was experiencing burnout.
When in such a state, rest is necessary.
I suddenly thought of the perfect way for her to rest.
At the same time, Jeong Ahyeon seemed to be preoccupied with her thoughts and wasn’t paying attention to us.
This was a golden opportunity not to be missed.
I quickly spoke to Da-eun.
“How about meeting other people and taking a break?”
“I don’t have many people to meet.”
“There’s no need to meet them in reality. Have you ever heard of VR chat?”
Suddenly, a voice in my head screamed urgently.
[Are you? Isn’t that ‘Abyss’? Are you trying to send another writer there?!]
‘If someone plans to write BL with me, it’s right to nip it in the bud.’
However, Da-eun only tilted her head, seeming confused about it for the first time.
What a relief that she didn’t know.
“What is that?”
“In the virtual world, you can play simple mini-games or meet others and have fun doing various things.”
“But do I have to use my real appearance?”
She seemed insecure about her own appearance.
However, I could easily dispel any doubts she had.
“No. It’s a virtual world, so you can use the appearance of whatever character you want.”
“Really? Can I make a beastman character?”
“Of course! And if you play well, you might find inspiration there.”
Finally, Da-eun was intrigued.
I noticed her immediately start operating her phone, looking to write an announcement right away.
“I’ll write a notice saying I’ll take about two weeks off and then start.”
“Good idea. Oh, the equipment might be a bit pricey.”
“It won’t be a problem. I’m making enough to afford it.”
“Stop bragging, you bitch.”
“Thanks anyway. I’ll get started right away as you suggested.”
Da-eun looked revitalized as if nothing had happened.
She loosened up and quickly took her leave from the cafeteria.
Just as Jeong Ahyeon was about to offer her advice after finishing her thoughts, she asked.
“Gongja? Where did Da-eun go?”
“I gave her some advice about resting, and she ran off to put it into practice.”
Da-eun had already left the scene.
Jeong Ahyeon’s expression turned worried.
“…A little uneasy, but what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing big. I just told her to take a break and try out VR chat for about two weeks.”
Jeong Ahyeon immediately grabbed my collar.
“Are you crazy? Are you crazy? You really are! Why would you suggest such an abyss?!”
“Wait, that’s not an abyss. It’s just a modern version of the Matrix.”
Jeong Ahyeon began to spiral into chaos.
But Da-eun had already gone far away.
“Don’t joke with me!!! So many writers have gone missing after going there!!!!”
“This one will come back quickly. Don’t worry too much.”
“Don’t joke with me!!! I already don’t want another Mikko in my life!!!!!”
“The way you talk makes it sound like I killed someone.”
“Gongja, you definitely did! You ruined my unfinished story!!!”
In the end, Jeong Ahyeon crumbled helplessly in her spot, having lost another writer.
Meanwhile, Hyeji and Elcia were already eating together.
After all that fighting, I found it surprising they were getting along so well.
The story that followed was as such.
The author of a work resolved the BL drift by killing all the male characters and suddenly announced a hiatus.
During the hiatus, she left only a message saying she’d take a break to gather inspiration through VR chat.
However, the period she promised to return had long passed, and there was no news whatsoever.
Eventually, a search team was hastily formed to find the missing author.
It consisted mostly of veterans and regressors who had escaped the Abyss.
They named themselves the ‘Abyss Expedition Team.’
The journey of the Abyss Expedition Team was not smooth.
After many twists and turns, they found a character presumed to be the author in the beastman area.
Only…
It was too late.
The author had already become deeply entrenched in the Abyss.
Having lost her humanity, she couldn’t even remember how to speak.
She could only repeat “Aaaahhhhhhh.”
That was enough to crush the Expedition Team’s resolve.
Ultimately, they decided, by majority rule, to give up on bringing the author back to her original world.
Instead, they chose to live a second life alongside the author within the Abyss.
And thus ended the story of the Expedition Team.
If you ever venture into the Abyss, remember.
Do not stop without a clear goal.
If you hesitate for even a moment,
The Abyss will swallow you whole.
