Chapter 114

Non-Player II

Since we’re already on the topic, the author of the novel "Bird Drinking Poison" (who really wrote it in the 766th cycle) said the following:

-The settings of a novel are like the roots of a tree; they need to be vast and solid, but if exposed, the tree will wither and die.

This applies not only to the settings of a world but to all situations.

The protagonist is not omnipotent. There should always be a hazy margin, like a 'white mist,' lingering at the edge of his vision.

The white wasteland left by the protagonist's ignorance is the fertile ground that continuously enriches the prose and descriptions.

Of course, the characters... information about the characters should always be somewhat shrouded in mist. How can one instantly know the intelligence of this person or what their skills are?

Therefore, the status window is harmful.

To use an analogy, the status window is like recklessly eliminating the minerals from the earth and the nitrogen from the air.

I’m not saying this because I’m pissed off at Sim Ah-ryeon, but because I have a very logical and just reason.

Even if I took an interest in subcultures from the 555th cycle and we’re now in the 133rd cycle, meaning I actually didn’t have any knowledge of status windows, and the things I’m saying now are historical distortions by later generations, there’s no need to listen to those counterarguments at all.

This is not a contradiction but rather proof that the 133rd-cycle me had prophetic intuition. Even in my subculture-ignorant days, I instinctively felt that the status window was a harmful existence.

“Relying on something like a status window makes people weak.”

I immediately took action.

Not only did I wage a public opinion battle on SG Net, but I also emphasized the harmfulness of the status window to every awakener I met.

“Excuse me? Hyung?”

“In my time, we fought with anomalys to gauge our strength and slowly estimated our capabilities. That process of exploration, the experience of testing oneself while crossing the line between life and death, is an irreplaceable treasure. But these days, people boast about their strength being a B grade, saying they can easily handle slimes.”

“Uh...”

“What an ignorant statement! Slimes cannot be defeated by strength alone, and the danger varies drastically depending on whether you face them in a swamp or a narrow labyrinth where they might drop from the ceiling unexpectedly. The void is a space that cannot be quantified, which is why it’s void.”

“......”

“How can you trust only the alphabets displayed on the status window to measure your skills, your opponent's abilities, or even the depth of the void? The status window itself is a anomaly, contaminating the consciousness of the awakened and lowering the standard of humanity. It’s nothing but an ‘idiot box’! Why can’t you see through the wicked scheme of the anomaly that’s trying to destroy the awakened, one by one, by making them rely on the convenience of the status window?”

“Uh...”

Seo Gyu raised his hand.

“May I ask you one thing, hyung?”

“What is it?”

“Why do you talk like that?”

“It’s a draft of an article to awaken the consciousness of the awakened. How about posting it on SG Net? Seo Gyu, doesn’t it make your chest swell and make you feel the duty of an awakener anew?”

“Uh, well...”

“Surely, you’re not advocating for the status window, are you? I’ve been educating you one-on-one since the waiting room at Busan Station, so I trust you haven’t entrusted your judgment to such a filthy anomaly.”

Seo Gyu’s expression became subtle.

According to physiognomy, it could be interpreted as ‘What’s up with this brother again?’

Next to him, Sim Ah-ryeon (who was still there) whispered to Seo Gyu.

“He, he must not have had the 『Status Window』. Gacha disaster...”

“Oh, so that’s why he’s like that.”

“Yeah, yeah... Oh! Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming aura of aggro from somewhere? Ah! Even though I didn’t do anything, aggro is piling up in my heart! I can feel my abilities strengthening in real-time! It’s delicious! So delicious! It’s a delicacy I’ve never tasted in my life... Who, who could hold such resentment towards me...!”

“You two won’t have coffee for the next six months.”

Seo Gyu and Sim Ah-ryeon screamed in horror, but I gracefully ignored them. These guys needed to realize the preciousness of discomfort more deeply.

-ZERO_SUGAR: [Long Post] An article about the ghost 'Status Window' currently appearing in Korea ~Awakeners of all nations, awaken!~

I sounded the alarm with a heart full of blood. However, the awakened, already steeped in the false convenience of the anomaly, did not respond at all.

Instead, they laughed.

-Anonymous: ? What’s this?Finnd new chapters at novelhall.comous: Is this a joke?

-Anonymous: Wow, this is legendary lol

-[Baekhwa]TenthGrader:( >_<);;;;;

-Anonymous: I saw this in elementary school! It’s like the old story of nobles smashing the underground shelters that commoners found convenient, saying, ‘How dare you try to avoid the winter wind?’

└[國道] Officer: It’s an anecdote from the Goryeo period about the literary figure Yi Gyu-bo. The original text says, ‘夏熱冬寒, 四時之常數也. 苟反是則爲恠異’. Meaning, ‘Hot in summer and cold in winter is the constant of the four seasons. If it’s the opposite, it’s strange’. Coincidentally, the original text also uses the word anomaly (恠異).

└Anonymous: How are you so smart?

└LiteraryGirl: Oh.

-dolLHoUse: Oppa...

-OldManGoryeo: lol

-OldManGoryeo: lol

-OldManGoryeo: lololololol

-OldManGoryeo: This guy’s strength and intelligence skill levels were F on the status window. I saw it lol

└Anonymous: Oh!

└Anonymous: We didn’t even know ᅲᅲᅲ

“......”

There was no public opinion in my favor anywhere on SG Net.

How could I not be thrilled? Seeing a delivery man sneakily eating all the food from a lunchbox wouldn’t be as shocking.

-Anonymous: The Saintess of National Salvation << GOAT among constellations, give her a thumbs-up lol

-Anonymous: Really, this one is just correct lol

└Anonymous: Bastard?

└Anonymous: Show some respect and call her madam.

-LiteraryGirl: She tells us what skills we have, how to develop them, and now even gives us a Status Window. How much more can you give us, oh my GOAT...

Naturally, all the faith originally intended for the anomaly now gathered towards the constellations, specifically towards the Saintess.

The anomaly did the work, but humanity reaped the rewards. This is the supreme path of a regressor.

“How’s that? Checkmate.”

“......”

The status window anomaly was neutralized.

What I didn’t anticipate was that the “Status Window” was merely an aftershock of the void created by the elimination of the anomaly, Infinite VOID.

Just like aftershocks follow an earthquake, the ripples of the void occur multiple times.

Boom!

Barely a few days after celebrating my victory over the status window, Sim Ah-ryeon burst through my door.

“G-Guild leader!”

“...Ah-ryeon. I’ve told you repeatedly not to obsess over trivial things like status class...”

“It’s S-class. Please get it right.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway! That’s not the point right now―― I mean, it’s important, but! There’s a big problem! Come out quickly!”

Sim Ah-ryeon tugged at my sleeve.

For a moment, the thought “She’s pulling with E-ranked strength, no wonder my body isn’t moving” shot through my mind and tickled the corner of my mouth, but I held back.

I hadn’t fallen that far yet.

Anyway, when we got outside to the vacant lot (we hadn’t yet considered using an underwater tunnel as our hideout), there was a half-dead slime slithering around.

“Aah! It’s already escaping! Hey! Hey! Stop! How dare a slime...!”

Probably, Sim Ah-ryeon was the one who had beaten it, as the slime was clearly wary of us and wriggled around.

Sim Ah-ryeon picked up a stick.

“L-Look! Guild Leader! Look closely...!”

I wondered what she meant by “look closely.”

As I pondered the increasing complexity of cryptid language, Sim Ah-ryeon swung the stick.

And I widened my eyes.

“...Huh?”

“D-Did you see that? Hehe. You saw it, right?”

What surprised me wasn’t that Sim Ah-ryeon’s stick swing contained profound techniques, nor that the slime showed some unprecedented chemical reaction.

More accurately, it was something witnessed in the ‘void’ above the slime’s body, where there should have been blank space.

[DAMAGE!]

[91!]

It was displayed.

Above the slime’s body, in English, the word ‘DAMAGE’ and the numerical value of the damage.

Bold, exaggerated red letters floated briefly... and then disappeared.

What happened next was even more astonishing.

Beep-boop ♪

A ridiculous sound effect played once. Sim Ah-ryeon twitched her fingers as if manipulating an invisible status window.

“I gained experience points and leveled up...”

“Experience points? Level?”

“Yes. I hit slimes daily for stress relief, and suddenly, damage numbers started popping up. The status window now shows experience points and levels...”

“......”

“I’m level 13! Oh. I just leveled up to 14... What’s your level, guild leader? Hehe. What if it’s 99?”

Sim Ah-ryeon’s eyes sparkled, but I remained silent.

Somewhere, I could hear the anomaly’s mocking voice.

-Checkmate? No, it’s a counter-move.

-Where are you looking? That was my afterimage.

The status window was just the tip of the iceberg.

Experience points. Level-up system.

The true nature of this anomaly, freely manipulating all these elements, was none other than an RPG... a ‘Role-Playing Game’.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried