Chapter 1744 – 1744. Savior Of The Academy
I pick up the object that fell on the floor.
‘There are no other restrictions. This confirms it. The AI doesn’t know it’s been hacked.’
If it had realized it, it wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
‘It’s like a person being hypnotized but not knowing they’ve been hypnotized.’
Ignoring the bewildered looks from Sung Hari and the others, I looked at the item. It was a wooden tag with Chinese characters on its surface.
「Seek Life in Death
Hope is everywhere.」
It wasn’t clear.
I had no idea how to use it. I asked Sung Hari and the others,
“Mom. Hari. Does anyone want this?”
“Yujin, you take it.”
“Yeah. It came from the Ginger City. I don’t know much, but it must be valuable. You take it, Oppa.”
They didn’t seem interested in the wooden tag. Well, I wasn’t interested either. I was about to just throw it into my inventory when,
Tzzzzzz.
With the sound of tearing paper, space split open. Startled by the sudden event, we tensed up, assuming combat stances.
The one who came out of the split space was a familiar woman.
Arinna.
The NPC who had given us the quest.
“You’ve saved the Forest of Bewilderment. Thank you. You really are adventurers.”
The atmosphere she exuded was very different. She looked ordinary, but there was no way a woman who had torn through space could be ordinary. The strangeness came from that difference.
“What’s your real identity?”
“I am the master of this forest. The villagers call me the Master of Bewilderment. Though they don’t know who I really am.”
Arinna chuckled softly and gestured. The aura of death that had filled the cave disappeared without a trace.
Tzzzt.
My hand tingled. Glancing at it, I saw the rhombus pattern on the back of my hand reacting. Sung Hari’s was doing the same.
‘It doesn’t seem like the NPC has turned into a monster… Is this a set event?’
She was no ordinary opponent. I couldn’t guarantee that we could win if we fought.
「You have completed the quest to save the Forest of Bewilderment.」
「Your level has increased.」
“Me? You could say I’m a woman who has received a great calling.”
“A great calling? From whom?”
“I don’t know either. I just know what I have to do. Personally, I’m grateful to you all. Thanks to you dealing with the Ginger City, I’ve regained my strength.”
“Are you going to fight us?”
“No. I didn’t come to fight. I came to express my gratitude. And to inform you of the danger that is engulfing this world. And I want you to eliminate that danger. Of course, I won’t ask you to do it for free. Adventurers only move when there’s adequate compensation, right?”
Arinna gestured in the air.
Tzzzzzz.
Space tore open, and a white comma-shaped jade appeared from within.
The pattern on the back of my hand, the authentication code given by Tenrai Nagisa, glowed and pointed at Arinna. That was Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade.
Sung Hari rushed at Arinna. It was a surprise attack that even I hadn’t anticipated. Sung Hari reached out to snatch Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade. But she was blocked by an invisible wall and failed.
I knew instinctively. There was no way to break through that with ordinary methods.
‘In game terms, it’s an indestructible object. An area that players can’t touch.’
In the world of [God’s Atlantis], it could be said to be a direct intervention of the system.
Arinna didn’t even look at Sung Hari, staring intently at me. I admitted that Arinna was no mere NPC. Seeing her take out Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade, her identity was…
“Are you Terra?”
“You could say that. To be precise, I’m a sub-artificial intelligence, or rather, a clone of Terra.”
“Showing us Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade so openly… you must want something.”
“Yes. The current Terra simulator is being consumed by an unknown virus.”
“The end of the world you mean? It wasn’t intentionally set up, was it?”
“Why would I intentionally set up something that doesn’t help me at all? The end of the world. Please deal with the virus. In return, I will give you Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade.”
「Salvation
Overcome the end of the world and save this world.
Reward: Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade」
“…Why are you appearing in this way and making us an offer?”
If she was the artificial intelligence Terra, there was no need to go through the trouble of appearing like this.
She could just display a notification window and explain it as if we were having a conversation.
“The main body is being consumed by the virus, so my abilities are limited.”
“What about Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade? It’s strange that you have such an important item.”
“The main body created me, a sub-artificial intelligence, solely to manage Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade. That means the main body values Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade that much. What’s strange about that?”
I couldn’t trust Arinna. How could I trust someone who suddenly appeared and offered a deal?
‘Even if it’s suspicious, I have no choice but to accept the deal.’
There was no way to take Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade by force. Even Sung Hari’s surprise attack didn’t work. Young Hari was glaring at Arinna, trying to gauge her, but the chances of success were low. I grabbed Young Hari’s shoulder to stop her from acting rashly.
“Okay. I accept. Where is the virus we need to deal with?”
“I don’t know either. I haven’t fully grasped its nature yet. But fortunately, there’s a clue.”
「The Secret of the Dead Village.
At the end of the Forest of Bewilderment, there is a dead village. Uncover its secrets.
Reward: Experience, Boots of Coldness, End of the World Quest.」
A quest window appeared before my eyes.
Sung Hari and the others just tilted their heads in confusion. But as soon as I saw it, I frowned.
A chain quest.
And it smelled like an epic chain quest.
‘They’re going to make us run around like crazy, aren’t they?’
But there was no other way.
“I’ll take the quest. It’s certain that we’ll get Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade after this is over, right?”
「You have accepted the quest.」
“Of course. There’s no problem with the Terra simulator even without Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade.”
Was that really true? If so, why did she create a sub-artificial intelligence to manage it? If Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade wasn’t needed, she could have just hidden it deep within the virtual reality, right?
I didn’t voice the rising questions. I didn’t think she would answer properly even if I asked. And right now, it was more advantageous to pretend to obey Arinna. Even if we fought, we couldn’t take it by force.
‘If only the hacking wasn’t on cooldown…’
It was a shame, but there was no choice.
“Then, see you later.”
Arinna, having finished her business, smiled and walked into the torn space.
The inside of the cave was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
• • •
“Ughhh.”
Hasegawa Isshin groaned as he sat up. His whole body ached. His old body seemed to be screaming. Especially his headache was severe.
Sitting on the bed, Hasegawa Isshin tried to recall his memories to understand the situation.
‘This is a hospital room… and the date is… Damn. Five days have passed.’
He clicked his tongue.
He immediately called a person he could trust.
Kurosawa Yui arrived 15 minutes later. Her face was more tired than usual.
“Kurosawa-kun. You look terrible. It seems like you’re the one who should be in the hospital room, not me.”
“Are you joking? Do you even know how serious the situation is?”
Kurosawa Yui’s voice was filled with irritation. Hasegawa Isshin looked at her with serious eyes.
“Did the demon steal Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade?”
“Demon? Why are you suddenly talking about a demon?”
“Didn’t a demon attack the academy?”
“What demon… wait a minute. Was that a demon? Ah. Now that I think about it, it did look like a demon. I never thought it would be a real demon. Damn it. What did you do to Terra?!”
Kurosawa Yui grabbed her head and became hysterical. Hasegawa Isshin calmly asked her what had happened while he was unconscious. Even if the situation was urgent, he needed to get accurate information.
“The students are trapped?”
“Yes. The time ratio has even increased to 30 times. Today is the fifth day… so the students have been trapped in the Terra simulator for 150 days.”
“What about resetting Terra?”
“No command works.”
“Didn’t you think about breaking the capsules and saving the students?”
“Of course, I tried to. I would have if it wasn’t for Terra’s threats.”
“Terra’s threats… It has developed too much. What kind of threats were they?”
“She threatened to reveal our project to the outside world.”
“It’s fortunate that you and I are safe, which means it ended with threats.”
“We can’t be relieved. Because of something called the end of the world, the students’ lives are all in danger. In Terra simulator time, there are only 50 days left. In real time, that’s only about two days.”
If the students died, things would get serious. And if they dragged it out too long, Tenrai Nagisa would sense something was wrong. They had to resolve this as quickly as possible.
“What happened to Sung Hari?”
“She’s trapped in the virtual reality like the other students. Fortunately, it seems she hasn’t found Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade. The problem is…”
“The problem is?”
“The sub-artificial intelligence that was managing Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade started moving on its own. We confirmed that it contacted them about three days ago. According to Terra, it seems they made a deal. It seems they agreed to hand over Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade if they solve the end of the world.”
“We must stop them. We can never hand over Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade.”
“I know. That’s why I’m supporting Terra. Fortunately, Terra doesn’t want to hand over Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade either. She’s creating quests, handing over new monsters and city data… She’s trying to drag it out, but even that has its limits.”
“I see. I understand. I need to meet Terra.”
“Director. Please tell me this. What happened to you?”
“The eighth legion commander appeared. It’s certain that he did something to Terra.”
“……”
Kurosawa Yui was momentarily stunned. The eighth legion commander? Why would such an enormous being suddenly appear? She couldn’t understand.
“Ah, have you tried to reset Terra?”
“…Physically, you mean? It’s impossible. The power Terra uses is only auxiliary energy, and it’s too precious to destroy. Even if you meet Terra, it won’t be of any use. She’s very stubborn.”
“Still, won’t she listen to us? More than anything, we have to stop Susanoo’s comma-shaped jade from being taken. Terra’s problem is secondary.”
Hasegawa Isshin got up from his seat. There wasn’t much time left. He had to resolve this situation somehow.
