Since I had declared that I would open a personal broadcast to choose a sponsor, I had expected some kind of reaction from Black Block.
I was prepared for a fair amount of madness, but I never imagined he would stir things up on this scale.
It was unbelievable that Black Block had managed to gather 666 potential sponsors from Akasha.
I wanted to confidently say that I could simply refuse to choose, but the energy emanating from the people gathered in the banquet hall was unsettling.
Because they were concealing themselves, it wasn’t entirely clear, but I could feel the presence of beings that would truly make one think one thing.
’These are gods.’
Beings capable of forcing a choice upon me even if I refused.
The Young God was observing everything with curiosity.
Just what kind of entity was Black Block?
Despite being more obsessed with the contract with me than anyone else, he had held a public charity event.
By gathering guests of this caliber, it felt as though he was signaling his confidence that he would be chosen regardless.
’What about Dominic...’
I didn’t know if Dominic would let this situation slide.
And if, by some chance, a sponsorship contract were actually signed...
A faint, eerie chill crawled down my spine.
The Young God, who until a moment ago had been quietly picking candidates to tear off star fragments from, claiming they looked like they would serve me well, suddenly went silent.
The Young God had always been afraid of Dominic, but since being forcibly merged inside my eyes last time, he had been unable to move a muscle.
Contrary to my complicated state of mind, Black Block continued speaking cheerfully.
To the guest who finds the Young God first, I shall give a truly magnificent prize. And that is-
I couldn’t hear the rest.
I tried to strain my ears to catch Black Block’s voice, but all I got was a blur of noise, with exaggerated laughter and applause.
I looked at Cecilia to see if she had heard, but she gave a small shake of her head.
A sudden stir rippled through the banquet hall at whatever Black Block had said.
I didn’t know the details, but it seemed to be a prize sufficient to pique the guests interest.
And a simple rule! You must not look inside!
A voice, distorted as if warning, shook my brain.
I nearly stepped backward but managed to hold my ground.
The Young God threw a tantrum, asking why I was struggling with something so trivial.
When he tried to push me aside, claiming he would handle it, I told him to be quiet.
Beyond that, Black Block mentioned that he had applied a small amount of power throughout the hall to ensure the Young God wouldn’t be found too easily.
It felt like a sort of cognitive impairment.
Then again, even with a mask, it would have been easy for other aliens to find me.
My eyes were gold, after all.
Black Block shouted his final remark.
Let us all have a night full of joy, delight, and ecstasy!
As his greeting ended, a voice echoed from the screen.
Who wants to be my sponsor?
The words the Young God had spoken rang out through the hall.
The screen vanished, and the lights came back on.
Soft classical music began to flow through the banquet hall once more.
The sounds of laughter and conversation blended into the music here and there.
I scanned the guests one by one.
He had hosted a game of hide-and-seek for the Young God to decide on a sponsor, but Black Block himself didn’t seem to be here.
Only the masked guests were enjoying the special event.
It was certainly an appropriate diversion for a charity event.
Except for the fact that I was the one on the line.
The number of guests in the hall wasn’t exactly 666.
This was because some, like Cecilia who was number 666, had brought partners.
Furthermore, Black Block had given me a slight advantage.
He had said the Young God was among the 666 guests, but I wasn’t a guest.
Since I attended as Cecilia’s partner, I didn’t have a number tag.
But who would complain to Black Block about such a minor error?
A person of power has no obligation to tell the truth.
In any case, attention would be focused on those wearing number tags, meaning I had a small window to slip away.
Chestnut.
Cecilia whispered my name and reached out her hand.
I took her hand.
In this situation, our only option was to act naturally.
Like any other guests attending a ball.
As with most charity events, this was a social gathering for exchanging conversation.
However, the more I spoke, the more disadvantaged I became.
Then again, if I stayed completely silent and hid, I would only stand out more.
I had to remain like part of the background and endure until the event ended.
I crossed the hall with Cecilia, observing the interior.
I had been to the central banquet hall before when infiltrating as a cleaner or a cook in the game.
But this was the first time I had examined the interior in detail as a guest.
The hall was a strange space, a blend of classical opulence and cutting edge cyberpunk.
The marble pillars, gold leaf molding, carved ceilings, and massive chandeliers were the forms of a Western style palace I was familiar with.
But upon closer inspection, every element composing the hall felt futuristic.
Between the crystals of the gold chandeliers hanging in tiers from the ceiling, minute optical elements were embedded.
The crystals sparkled as if stars from the night sky had been plucked and pasted there, and whenever the light flowing across the surface surged like a wave, the digital fresco on the ceiling changed.
Right now, it was displaying the cosmos.
The decorations mixing gold with nano coated metals and the pillars engraved with complex circuits were unique, but the most beautiful part was the black marble floor.
The subtly shimmering black marble floor changed its light in real-time, following the guests who walked upon it.
It looked as if one were walking upon the Milky Way.
I thought my own domain would look so pretty if I decorated it like this... but Earth doesn’t have this level of technology yet.
I shifted my gaze.
I saw a woman playing a cybernetic violin made of titanium.
After watching the soloist for a moment as she played with elegant movements, I turned back to Cecilia.
Standing with her back to the dancing aliens, Cecilia gave a faint smile and asked,
Do you know how?
I could only give a very pathetic answer.
I don’t.
I had done it plenty in the game, but this was my first time in reality.
Actually, even in the game, I just pressed options like Dance, and the character moved on its own.
Social dancing was especially foreign to me; I felt like I’d be incredibly clumsy.
But if I learned it now, I might be able to teach my subordinates later.
’I could invite a bunch of guests to Akasha and throw a party too...’
I barely pushed aside the Young God, who was already envisioning a party where he could shower my subordinates with love.
After telling the Young God to stay quiet while we danced, I whispered to Cecilia,
You teach me, Noona.
Cecilia let out a small laugh.
Alright.
When I placed my hand on hers, Cecilia wrapped hers around mine affectionately.
Because of the height difference, I ended up looking slightly up at her.
Cecilia leaned down to meet my eyes.
Relax your shoulders. Just follow my footwork.
She gently wrapped her other hand around my shoulder and led me.
I stepped forward, following Cecilia. With every step, waves of light rippled across the marble floor.
As Cecilia spun elegantly, the hem of her dress scattered a soft glow.
How is it? Not too hard, right?
It’s only because you’re leading me. I’m worried I’ll step on your feet.
It’s okay, Chestnut. If you mess up, I’ll just scoop you up in my arms.
Cecilia whispered, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
I swallowed a laugh at the thought of her hoisting me up.
Dancing to the melody amidst aliens gave me a strange feeling.
Despite being a world from the distant future compared to Earth, the social behaviors felt similar.
As I glanced at the dancing aliens, Cecilia suddenly asked me,
Are you doing okay lately?
I paused for a moment before answering.
Was I really okay?
But even after thinking it over, I was.
I liked how things were now.
Cecilia said teasingly,
My little casta?a is all grown up. You used to cry because you didn’t want to be alone.
I didn’t cry...
Cecilia laughed cheerfully again.
I remembered the time I spent staying at her house for a few days.
Because Cecilia had stayed by my side every single moment, I was able to regain my stability quickly.
Thinking back to that time, I felt nothing but gratitude toward her.
I had always liked NPCs, but after meeting Cecilia, I began to open my heart to them more.
Because I realized that NPCs truly cared for me.
That was why I liked the Archive game.
Not simply because it was fun, but because the vivid, living NPCs were the greatest charm.
It felt as if they weren’t just fragments of data...
Chestnut.
Cecilia turned, slightly shielding me from someone’s gaze.
Can you do the reporting?
I have to.
Tonight’s charity event was a game of hide-and-seek for me to find Black Block.
Originally, the quest to report on the Mad Messiah was designed to be a failure.
There was no way to enter the tower, nor any way to know if he was even inside.
But now, he had come out of the tower himself.
Since I had even been put up as a party prize, it was only fair that Black Block paid a price as well.
I intended to succeed in the reporting that I couldn’t achieve in the game.
Black Block had no publicly known appearance.
I planned to take a photo of at least a part of his body and sell it as a scoop.
If the media outlets of Hyper-Eden wouldn’t take the story, I had other methods in mind.
Anyway, since he invited guests, Black Block must be inside the hall.
I looked up at the second floor.
Certain sections of the corridor running along the outer wall of the second floor were separated into independent terrace seats.
Holographic curtains were drawn, so the interior couldn’t be seen from the outside, but the structure allowed those inside to look down upon the banquet hall.
I decided that Kwak Han-mook and Mo Hae-in, who were infiltrating as waiters, should prioritize checking the second-floor terrace seats.
A radio would have been ideal, but there was a risk of being caught by security scans, so I planned to use telepathic messages as much as possible.
Just as I was moving, mentally scolding the Young God for whining about wanting to be with my subordinates, it happened.
I bumped into something.
I had been distracted while sending a message, but the corridor was long and the view was clear.
Even though I could see straight ahead, I hadn’t felt the presence of another person.
I looked around belatedly, but again, there was nothing to be seen.
While I was wondering, a loud noise erupted behind me.
There was a scream, followed by the crashing sound of something falling over.
I quickly realized what was happening.
A towering alien was walking down the corridor, tearing apart a security android as if it were a toy.
Mechanical parts dropped behind him like droplets of blood.
I observed him with a hint of tension.
The alien, wearing something like a space uniform with a subtle shimmer, wore a mask that covered his entire face.
Six eyes were drawn on the mask in neon circuits, each moving in a different direction, relentlessly searching for something.
The moment I saw the number tag on his collar, I immediately stepped back into the side of the corridor.
I cast my eyes down, pretending I didn’t even dare look at the alien noble.
Fortunately, the multi-eyed alien passed me by.
I glanced at his receding back and decided to wait a bit longer before moving.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
The multi-eyed alien rushed back at high speed and stopped right in front of me.
Before I could even inhale, he bent his waist deeply and shoved his face toward mine.
Six pupils stared at me in unison.
My body froze instinctively at the grotesque voice. I couldn’t understand a single word he was saying.
The alien slowly tilted his head from side to side.
He tossed the broken android he was holding anywhere in the corridor.
Then, as if sniffing me, he brought his face close to various parts of my body.
I could only keep my eyes wide open.
Then, the alien placed a hand on my stomach.
The moment I touched that massive hand, which felt as if it could cover my entire body, I had an intuition.
He was trying to reach inside me to look.
Just as the Young God was about to burst out in rage.
Three of the six pupils shifted to look to the side. I turned my head as well.
Standing there was a man wearing a white cognitive-impairment mask.
A white scabbard roughly knocked the alien’s hand away.
A mechanical voice spoke in a commanding tone.
Stop it.
It was CEO Cha.
And on his suit...
There was a sponsor’s number tag.

Comments

Loading...