Surviving Among the Entities

“Whew, we’ve been panicking this whole time. We thought the Earth dimension had been destroyed.”
“My mistake. I should have given you notice in advance.”

While making preparations, I met with Mr. Kim Dong-wook.
The time that the “center of the world” had manifested was nearly a year, and though time had been rewound, the Foundation had been isolated in the outer dimension, so time was not rewound for them.

“While we couldn’t directly intervene, we were observing. In fact, we could have intervened if we wanted, but there were calculations from the Sephiroth.”
“What kind of calculations?”
“Calculations that Mr. Seung-hoon’s actions would benefit humanity. If done well, it was certain that all outside dimension entities could be blocked, and since the inner entities could be resisted by humanity through specific concepts, the number of sacrifices would decrease dramatically compared to before.”

According to the Sephiroth’s calculation results, the Foundation had split into two factions.

“We should pierce the dimensional barrier and intervene to stop this even now. No, from a macroscopic perspective, we should sacrifice ourselves to keep the Earth safe – there was quite a controversy.”
“Which side were you on, Mr. Dong-wook?”
“Ahem, I’ll keep that a secret.”
“Has there been any change in my treatment due to this incident?”
“No, not particularly?”

Mr. Dong-wook had the same expression and tone as usual.
However, my hearing enhanced by the “Withered Friendship” had detected his heartbeat becoming irregular for a moment.

‘It seems there have been some changes.’

I’ll have to pay attention to the Foundation from now on as well.

“More importantly, why did you ask to meet?”
“There is something I need to request from the Foundation, which is why I contacted you.”
“What is it?”
“I heard the Foundation is in contact with the top leadership of various national agencies and can control them.”
“Not exactly control, but we do exert significant influence.”
“Significant influence is enough.”

I brought up the main issue to Mr. Dong-wook.

“Please draft legislation regarding virtual reality. Legislation that will allow anyone in the world to enjoy virtual reality games without any regulations arising.”
“For the entity you mentioned earlier, I presume? It’s not a difficult task. Since there has never been a perfect virtual reality game before, there is no related legislation, and public interest is also lower, so it can be pushed through like a stealth maneuver. But Seung-hoon, why are you helping that entity?”

Mr. Dong-wook asked.

“You’ve already weakened it, so couldn’t you just hand it over to the other transcendent entities? Are you trying to protect the world from the threat of entities through that entity again?”
“No, I’ve been told that if it tries the same thing again, truly dangerous entities will directly intervene, so that’s no longer possible.”
“Then why do this?”

Certainly, there was no reason to help the “center of the world.”
Of course, this was only considering self-interest, as there were sufficient reasons to help from another perspective.

“It is a comrade who nearly succeeded in creating a world with an extremely low threat from entities, thanks to my help. And……”

I took a sip of tea.
I took a bite of the cucumber sandwich.

“Her games had a kindness that considered humanity.”

[There will be an announcement soon. You can make your announcement then as well, Mr. Seung-hoon.]

While waiting for the request I had made to the Foundation, I observed the changes in the world.

‘The “center of the world” had said that even after a game ends, traces remain in the soul.’

The prime example of this was Lee So-young.
I had succeeded in recruiting her to the Sarang Corporation racing team I had recently established.

[“But I don’t even have a license?”]
[“You can get a license. And this is private property, so you can drive without a license. Why don’t you take it for a test drive?”]
[“No, and I’m going to quit!”]
[“Here is the contract fee.”]
[“No amount of money will make me accept……”]

It seemed too much money for her to refuse, as she ended up accepting with tears in her eyes.
While I was thinking about it, I visited the racing team to observe. To avoid causing any unnecessary pressure, I secretly entered the racing track and watched her practice.

‘Fast.’

Her driving skills resembled those of Schumacher in his prime, which I had only seen on YouTube.

“Do these numbers make any sense?”
“How is she enduring this? She hasn’t received any training yet!”
“On top of that, the vehicle isn’t even that great, so how is she exerting power beyond the engine’s capabilities?”

In the distance, the staff members were discussing.
Then, I could also hear Lee So-young’s voice as she drove the vehicle.

“F*ck! What the! I keep wanting to swear! It’s gotten worse since I started driving, damn it!”

She had become a tsundere.
That part didn’t need to remain engraved in her soul.

‘Her physical abilities have also improved, and her driving skills remain.’

Should I take it for a spin as well?
It was just a passing thought.

“If any of my racing world abilities had been transferred over, my driving might have become city-destroying entity-level.”

In any case, based on Lee So-young’s changes, I predicted there would be some degree of change in all humans worldwide, and that was indeed the case.

[Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Gallery]
[Why is there such an influx of newbies these days?]
[Yeah, it’s the 5th most popular gallery on Huenga kkkkk]
[Wow, so many newbies! So good!]

People’s interest in the Card Battle had increased.

[TCG Gallery]
[Ohonghong great! So many people!]
[Good, good, we should guide the newbies.]
[Woah, our gallery is the 3rd most popular on Huenga? Insane kkkkk]

[Rock Gallery]
[Why are the card game galleries all popular on Huenga, but not us?]
[Is this really the card game gallery? Isn’t this the rock-collecting gallery?]
[This is indeed the place for card games. Please, newbies, come in.]

Interest in racing had also risen.

[F1 Gallery]
[Our gallery is popular on Huenga even though it’s not Sunday? Is this a dream?]
[I want to learn racing, how can I learn?]
└[First, you need to be filthy rich.]
[First time seeing so many grilljens during the off-season fr]
[I like Perez]

Not just specific communities, discussions about F1 Grand Prix would occasionally pop up as topics in various communities, some asked about sports cars, and some even explored the subject of racing manga.

‘The racing world, which I spent more time in than the Card Battle, seems to have generated more discussions about racing.’

Then what about philosophy, art, and liberal arts, which had an even greater impact on people than racing?
The first place I checked was a job search site.

[Very Good Chemistry]
[Hiring 1 liberal arts major, 2 science/engineering majors]

[Technical Electronics]
[Hiring 1 philosophy major]

Even companies that should be heavily recruiting science and engineering majors were including some liberal arts majors.

[Ah, why do I suddenly want to major in philosophy so much? Don’t you not get hired with a philosophy major? What should I do, I don’t even know my own mind anymore.]
└[Just go for it, you can’t get hired no matter where you go anyway lmao]
└[Seebulyeon?]

I would also occasionally see people wanting to transfer to philosophy or other liberal arts majors.

[This Week’s Bestsellers]
[1. The Catcher in the Rye]
[2. Ulysses]
[3. The Glass Bead Game]
[4. The Unbearable Lightness of Being]
[5. Finnegans Wake]

Philosophical and literary novels had become bestsellers.

“The job market is hiring some liberal arts majors regardless of job duties, and bookstore sales of philosophy and literary books have increased by 12,355% compared to before.”

Not bad.
As the final boss, my actions have caused such a butterfly effect in reality.

“Although the goal was not achieved, the world has become a little better.”

A few days later, I received a call from Mr. Dong-wook.

-They will soon begin making announcements one day apart in each country.
“Thank you.”

The announcement was made in Korea first.

[Introduction of virtual reality legislation, pushed through stealthily?]
[According to the virtual reality legislation, virtual is virtual – all adults have the right to enjoy any kind of virtual reality, and any incidents occurring within will be considered virtual, so they will be punished not by real-world laws but by the game company’s established laws within the virtual reality.]
└[What is this? Is real virtual reality coming out?]
└[Aren’t they just talking about VR games? But looking at the legislation, it seems to be considering the actual virtual realities that come out of game worlds?]
└[What kind of otaku legislator made this? The world isn’t the Accel World.]
└[Must be a soaon.]
└[Are your brains functioning properly?]
└[Heh hehng hai.]

The response was not good.
Many opinions questioned why such legislation for non-existent virtual reality was even being enacted, and public interest was lukewarm.

[Is this being made by Sarang Corporation? As the world’s greatest resolver, they should be able to create a virtual reality, right?]
└[A resolver solves incidents, not invents things]
└[Right, our Leader is a resolver, not an inventor]
└[???a spy??? Reporting lmao]
└[Absolute cringe]

Over the course of a few days, the rest of the world announced related legislation.

“It’s about time.”

Finally, I met with those I needed to persuade.

“Have you come to talk now?”
“My probation is almost over, Lord of Karma-to-be? Could you please let me know what we’ll do soon?”
“For you, even coming for work counts toward your probation? How unfortunate.”
“And you?”
“We don’t have such things.”
“Damn it!”

I didn’t need to persuade both of them.
Persuading one would suffice.

“Lord Chugang Daewang, the weakened ‘center of the world’ has become a kind of virtual reality game console.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“How about connecting virtual reality and the cyber hell, allowing sinners to be placed in a part of the virtual reality game to atone for their sins?”
“……How so?”
“By having them appear as monsters in RPGs, for instance. Or NPCs would also work. Like village NPCs or livestock. If they fall within the scope of NPCs, they could be made to labor in various games other than RPGs as well.”
“Having them appear as monsters to experience the fear of death, and actually killing them? Having them appear as village NPCs to suffer through their duties? Or keeping only their egos intact while freely manipulating their bodies, making them experience the terror of losing themselves? I like all of it!?”
“Excuse me, Mr. Chugang Daewang? Are you falling for this now?”

Baal glared piercingly at the “center of the world.”
He seemed ready to destroy it himself if Chugang Daewang did not cooperate, but…..

“Hmm, it might not be a bad idea.”

Without causing any trouble, he obediently backed down.

“I’ll take my leave now. Please be sure to release the virtual reality game.”

Had he seen some potential in it?
In any case, with Chugang Daewang’s cooperation, I released the sinners of the internet hell into the virtual reality.

‘Now for the true final step.’

I went to work at Sarang Corporation.

“I need to hold an interview. Please call the reporters.”

I told the executives.

“I will be announcing the release of the virtual reality game.”

“Ughh, stuffed again today.”

Watching the chibi character on the screen, a man stretched.
Having completed all the in-game content that needed to be done with the 12 characters he owned, he lit a cigarette.

“Haah, are there no good new games coming out?”

The true enjoyment of games was entering a newly opened game and indulging in the early-game overpowered goodness.

‘These days, there are too many undercooked games coming out. Their investment efficiency is crap, so I don’t want to bother.’

Even if you raise them, the recognition is so poor that the game itself doesn’t gain popularity, resulting in a waste of time in many cases.
After finishing his tasks for the day, the man was searching for a new game when he discovered an interesting post on the community.

[I heard Resolver Seung-hoon Lee is making some game-related announcement?]
[Chairman Seung-hoon Lee? A game? Sarang Corporation?]
[Yeah, Resolver Seung-hoon Lee seems to have made something.]
[If it’s Chairman Seung-hoon Lee, well, although not a game company, it might be worth anticipating?]
[Whether he’s a chairman or a resolver, just do one lmao]

Seung-hoon?
That guy?
While the man knew who he was, he had never paid particular attention to this individual and was about to ignore the news when his sixth sense happened to activate.

‘Should I take a look?’

Just what kind of announcement was he making?
Entering Sarang Corporation’s official YouTube channel, he heard Seung-hoon Lee’s voice as he was announcing the highlight scenes after having started quite a while ago.

[“And so, I hereby announce the release of the actual virtual reality game, ‘The Center of the World.'”]

The voice didn’t quite register in his ears.

[“Hundreds of virtual realities await you as games. This is a screen showing what the game currently looks like, being played by reporters who arrived early.”]

A cinematic scene displayed on a massive screen.

[“Aaahh! Why does it look so real!”]
[“I-If we get hit, do we really die!?”]

Hundreds of keywords written in one corner of the screen, displaying the existing games.
Among them, eye-catching RPG-related keywords.

“Saa……”

The man trembled with elation.
Each time his body trembled, the fantasy novel books about games on his bookshelf shook as well.

“Ssaal!”

He had purchased not just e-books but also physical copies.
The man who was obsessed with fantasy novels about games shouted.

“The era of salmukki has arrived-aaaaahhhh!!!”