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It didn\'t mean that the physical space was contaminated. The mental world, the brains of the awakeners, were completely stained with disgrace.

-Anonymous: (Recommendation) ☆☆☆Level 5~Level 10☆☆☆ Experience farming goldmine hunting ground dungeon list. Newbies must read!!

-Anonymous: Today, I got up at dawn and gained 10,000 experience points. Brought back items, settled accounts, and now I\'m downing beers. Worth it?

-OldManGoryeo: Today\'s cafe mocha.png

-Anonymous: Looking for a level 10 party!! No NPC porters, sorry ㅠㅠ

-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: Guys, I found a Black Orb of Messiah (S) while hunting monsters today. Is this any good?

Look at this rotten mental world.

Not long after the advent of the \'Online RPG,\' SG Net had devolved into this state.

As expected of Koreans, who had always prided themselves as a nation of gamers since the end of the century, they adapted incredibly fast. Just like you\'d see in subcultures.

‘What? The world... turned into a game?’

‘This can\'t be real...’

‘That cheater. How does he understand the game\'s mechanics that we don’t?’

Those clichés were completely skipped. Even elementary school kids accepted the new reality with the seasoned, veteran-like expressions of ‘What? We’ve become game players? It\'s about time.’

Soon, SG Net was flooded with strategy guides. There was no need for me to tirelessly publish guides under the guise of the ‘Great Library Society.’ Everyone independently, enthusiastically, and diligently strategized against the anomalies.

This was definitely strange.

"Why such a long face...? Hmm. Isn\'t it better now than when everyone trembled at the sight of anomalies? Nowadays, they voluntarily jump into the void to level up."

"That\'s because they\'re exploring the void with a game-like mentality. They should understand the world through their intuition and accumulated experiences, but they\'re only looking at a refracted world through the lens provided by those anomalies."

"Hmm..."

"This \'online game\' is a void in itself. The awakeners, who call themselves players, are virtually turning into void anomalies!"

"Well, there\'s some sense in that... But if it looks like you\'re just angry because anomalies are stealing your monopoly on fame and achievements, then it might be my mistake...?"

There was no need to respect the opinion of someone with a toxic perspective.

I had traveled to Japan, China, and even as far as Mongolia and India. And everywhere, I confirmed that the ‘Online RPG’ had infected them all.

‘...This is no ordinary matter.’

It wasn\'t just people\'s perceptions that had changed.

Even the anomalies were gradually changing.

"Hehehe. Lately, there have been so many slimes along the riverbank, it\'s so easy to catch them...!"

For instance, the slime that Sim Ah-ryeon caught every day to relieve stress and beat to a pulp with a club.

Originally, this slime wasn’t a common anomaly. It appeared only occasionally in sewers and rarely ventured outside.

Unless one descended into the underground, the chances of encountering a slime in daily life were almost nonexistent.

But the number of slimes was rapidly increasing. Now, they were bouncing around even on ordinary riverbanks.

Bling♪

Bling-bling♪

As a result, the sound of Sim Ah-ryeon beating slimes constantly echoed in front of our guild\'s headquarters.

Because of this noise pollution, I seriously considered relocating the guild hideout.

In addition, moving from the nonsensical S, SSS, EX grading system to a very precise, scientifically proven \'Depth\' standard was also part of this resolution.

“Power-leveling... Indeed, I can feel my Dark Phoenix skill leveling up rapidly by just beating slimes in the yard! It’s like discovering a hidden spot in the basement leading to a secret elixir mine, where only the protagonist can reap the benefits...!”

Sim Ah-ryeon\'s healing abilities were gradually reaching the level where she could heal even if the patient\'s limbs were torn apart, as long as the head was intact.

More awakeners on SG Net began to call Sim Ah-ryeon the \'Angel.\'

This was definitely strange.

However, the rapidly increasing anomalies in this rotten world weren’t limited to slimes.

Goblins, Orcs, Ogres, Trolls. In other words, the usual monsters from games increasingly filled the void.

There was only one way to explain this phenomenon.

‘The online game is encroaching on both the awakeners and the anomalies...?’

A chill ran down my spine.

An anomaly that didn’t discriminate between humans and anomalies, didn\'t remain in one place, wasn’t confined by space and time, and just endlessly expanded its domain.

An Outer God.

Indeed, just as Infinite Void had been vanquished, another unidentified outer god was extending its claws.

Disguised under the mask of a game, which was hard for humans to resist.

-Anonymous: (Proof shot) Set a new damage record while hitting an Orc, lol

-Anonymous: This game is insanely fun.

-Anonymous: Looking for a level 20 party!! Already secured one NPC porter!!

-Anonymous: Anyone up for a Troll eyeball exchange in front of Gimhae Dungeon?

SG Net was becoming indistinguishable from a ‘game forum.’

Gradually, the term ‘monster’ became more common than anomaly, and non-awakeners individuals were called NPCs.

Defeating monsters dropped \'items.\' Slime cores, Goblin teeth, Orc hearts, etc. These materials had specific effects, which could be viewed through the ‘item window.’

Everything was a game.

...I shared my suspicions with a member of the Regression Alliance. Noh Do-hwa and the Saintess’s expressions finally turned serious.

"Chief Noh Do-hwa. Please officially declare the \'Online Game\' as an anomaly under your authority. We need to alert people now."

"Understood. Though I\'m not sure how effective it will be now. Everyone’s showing signs of game addiction..."

Game addiction.

That was another symptom displayed by the awakeners infected by this outer god. It was different from the game addiction previously discussed by the media before the end of the century.

Now, the awakeners believed that ‘a world in the form of a game’ was far more real and desirable. SG Net was posting new threads every three seconds.

"Saintess, please continue to act as the ‘operator of the online game,’ so people won’t suspect anything. We may not be able to immediately subdue that anomaly, but we can at least curb the faith spreading to it."

"...Yes. I understand."

With these precautions, I managed to hold out until the 134th cycle.

However, inwardly, I had already prepared for the next run. As I hijacked the \'status window,\' phenomena like \'experience points,\' \'levels,\' and \'damage\' were added.

What kind of anomaly would await next?

Already, the awakeners, not just in Korea, but worldwide, were heavily addicted to the \'Online Game.\' The stats and levels it provided were tangible, and the void, once filled with fear, had suddenly transformed into a hunting ground brimming with experience points.

Humanity was pushing back the void more effectively than ever. They kept winning, by becoming followers of the anomaly themselves.

Suddenly, a monologue from the protagonist in [The Catcher in the Rye] came to mind.

...You like games, huh? Sure. If you get into a team full of great guys, life is indeed a game. I’ll admit that. But if you end up on the opposite team, where there are no great guys at all, then what kind of goddamn game is that? It’s nothing. It\'s not a game at all...

As long as the awakeners seemed to be winning on the surface, the \'Online Game\' was indeed a game.

But how long would that victory last?

Despite the warnings from the National Road Management Chief, the awakeners didn\'t stop playing the online game. They were thoroughly engrossed in leveling up.

And one day.

Just as there are always precursors before a major earthquake, a message arrived.

[The Admin of the Infinite Metagame announces a new event.]

Flashback.

“Ah. Come to think of it, why did you suddenly mimic a strange constellation a few days ago?”

“Huh?”

“A week ago. You sent a message under the name of the Admin of the Infinite Metagame. I was surprised that even you make mistakes sometimes. Did you send a message meant for another awakeners to me by mistake?”

“...?”

Anyone with a good memory would recall.

This was the anecdote I mentioned when I first met the Saintess.

“I never sent such a message.”

“What?”

“I\'ve never created a constellation named the Admin of the Infinite Metagame. Did you misread something?”

“......”

The story of a ‘mysterious constellation’ sending a message that the Saintess never created.

I simply shared episodes as they came to mind, not strictly bound by time, but if we arranged the flow in order of regression:

117th run. Defeated the outer god ‘Infinite Void.\'

118th run. First encountered the ‘Hero Syndrome.’

119th run. First witnessed the ‘Isekai Truck.’

126th run. Defeated the ‘Savior Narrative Syndrome.’

133rd run. First witnessed the ‘Status Window.’

134th run. First encountered the suspected outer god ‘Online Game.’

And the message from the mysterious constellation—or rather, a being whose identity as a constellation was even questionable—also came in the 134th run.

My instinct, sharpened over many regressions, trembled like the needle of a seismograph.

My intuition wasn’t wrong. The 134th cycle was merely the foreshock.

The next run. In the 135th cycle, the real earthquake began.

-Anonymous: These guys really play games all day long, lol. Turn off the game and go outside, lol.

The 135th run was fundamentally similar to the 134th.

Except, at some point, strange posts started to appear.

-Anonymous: To us, the game is reality? To us, the game is reality? To us, the game is reality?

└Anonymous: For real, lol.

└Anonymous: I\'ve been playing ‘reality’ for 50,783 hours straight, lol.

└Anonymous: You should log off.

-Anonymous: This guy posts nonsense at night and now, too...

└Anonymous: What?

It seemed like nothing more than the usual bickering on a normal community forum.

But in truth, every void disguises itself as something mundane. A school. A tunnel. The sea.

Eventually.

-Anonymous: Shit, playing games too long made my whole body stiff. I\'m logging off first.

The void descended abruptly.

-Anonymous: Sorry, guys. Too sleepy to stay logged in; logging off first.

-Anonymous: I\'m logging out to live my real life~

-Anonymous: Looking for a level 30 party!! Already secured three NPC porters!!

-Anonymous: Ugh, this game is so boring. I\'m quitting this trash game, bye.

SG Net members started posting about logging off or quitting the game.

But as everyone knew, the \'Online Game\' was an overlay on reality.

How could they \'log out\' or quit this game?

[Mr. Undertaker.]

The answer was delivered to me immediately, even if I didn\'t want to know it.

[The awakeners are not moving.]

"...Are you saying they’re dead?"

[Yes. Almost. But, it\'s strange. Some awakeners fall into a coma-like state, then after a while, resume activity as if nothing happened.]

"......"

[It\'s like they\'ve logged into a game.]

It was similar to zombies.

Active at night but stopping in the sunlight, the awakeners showed no signs of movement during the ‘logout’ period.

[The awakeners in a coma-like state show nothing even through my Clairvoyance. Darkness. Only pitch-black darkness painted over.]

An awakener in logout state couldn\'t be harmed, even if I attacked. My blade passed through as if they didn’t exist in this world.

Even Sim Ah-ryeon, who enjoyed the ‘Online Game’ the most in our guild, couldn\'t escape this phenomenon.

“—Ah, guild leader!”

Sim Ah-ryeon ran up to me with bright eyes.

...It was hard to believe she had stood still for the past three days without moving a muscle.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“...Yes.”

“Wow! Thank you! Hehe. Even if they’re NPCs, their reactions change when the affection level goes up!”

“......”

“I wanted to come back sooner, but real life held me back... But it\'s all sorted now!”

Among the addicts, NPC originally referred to non-awakener individuals who hadn’t gained skills.

But now it was different.

Over time, ordinary people gained minor abilities. They didn’t hesitate to log into the game and upgrade to players.

Now, NPC referred to those like Noh Do-hwa and me, who didn’t log into the game at all.

Ironically, the ones who could exist entirely within the \'game world\' for 24 hours were called NPCs by the addicts.

To the addicts, Noh Do-hwa building roads across the Korean Peninsula was a ‘quest’ in the truest sense.

I was also considered a ‘hidden NPC,’ tasked with informing players about various jobs, skills, and training methods.

Which side was truly the NPC?

From my perspective, those who were devoured by the anomaly and became part of the void were the NPCs. But they perceived me as the NPC.

I thought.

If this was an example of the butterfly dream, it would be a profoundly nightmarish butterfly’s dream.

Footnotes:

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