Chapter 18

The Apocalypse Game I Created Became Reality Chapter 18

I sat in the workshop chair, blankly watching a YouTube video.

The title was quite provocative.

『Is Last Protocol Becoming Reality? The Chilling Connection Between the Bermuda Structure and Arctic Glacier Microorganisms』

The view count had increased compared to before.

Until recently, it had only been in the hundreds, but now it was a little over 3,000.

The atmosphere in the comments had changed considerably too.

ㄴ What a conspiracy theory lololol

ㄴ These dead-game players still haven’t moved on?

ㄴ Anyone who seriously believes this should go to a hospital first.

Most reactions were like this.

ㄴ But it is kind of interesting that even the order matches.

ㄴ Yeah, yeah, go ahead and mock us doomers all you want right now. Just don’t come begging us to save you later.

ㄴ Yes, next batch of rejected losers lololololol

Whether he knew about the atmosphere in the comments or not, the man in the video was speaking seriously into the microphone.

- Everyone, is this really just a coincidence? The Last Protocol prologue begins with the discovery of a structure beneath the Bermuda seabed. And the very next event is the detection of unidentified microorganisms inside Arctic glaciers. Yet the exact same events are happening in reality, in the exact same order. If, one month from now, animals begin showing abnormal group behavior as well...

While I was at it, I clicked on some other videos too.

『Last Protocol Prologue Dates Organized』

842 views.

『Was an Apocalypse Game Actually a Prophecy?』

A staggering 11,000 views.

『Arctic Microorganisms, the Beginning of a Zombie Virus?』

5,000 views.

“Haah.”

I leaned back in the chair.

The world was gradually getting noisier.

Of course, for now, it was still only a small amount of noise.

But that noise would only grow louder with time.

‘Especially the third event. Abnormal group animal behavior appearing in certain regions around the world.’

Once that becomes known, the situation changes.

Bermuda is far away.

The Arctic is far away too.

But animals are close.

They’re right near people.

Dogs, cats, birds, rats, fish.

Once things like that start behaving strangely, the fear will feel far more real.

『D-147』

“...”

I looked at the date chart beside the laptop.

The time was rapidly ticking down.

“...This isn’t the time for this.”

I closed the YouTube window.

I had no time to waste.

If the world was starting to get noisy, then I needed to prepare even more quietly.

And I needed to become stronger faster than everyone else.

____________

When afternoon came, I took out the VR device again.

This was the fastest path available to me right now for getting stronger.

Because it was a limited but reliable method of farming experience.

“Hmm...”

I opened my previous records again.

[Kobold Worker Clear]

[EXP +4]

It was pitifully small compared to real combat experience.

When I eliminated the unofficial precursor entity, I leveled up immediately.

But one VR kobold was only worth 4 experience points.

Still.

‘I can repeat it.’

That was the key.

There was no risk of dying.

No risk of infection either.

I didn’t have to go searching for monsters in reality.

And the downside?

‘A bit of fatigue and motion sickness. And the mental burden caused by pain feedback.’

Soon, I pulled the VR device over my head.

First, I needed to confirm whether repeated kills caused experience reduction.

[Experience Efficiency Test]

I wrote the heading in large letters in my notes.

- First, check experience from repeated kills of the same entity.

- Second, change pain feedback values.

- Third, number of hits taken and clear time.

- Fourth, whether skills are used.

“Right, I should find out whether the skill works properly too.”

I had definitely obtained one skill through my previous battle.

Its name was Precursor Sense.

In reality, it was still vague.

Because there hadn’t really been any danger for it to react to.

But.

‘Wouldn’t it work properly inside VR?’

I pressed the power button.

“I’ll know once I try.”

Soon, my vision darkened.

A moment later, I was standing in the middle of the ruined training ground.

With the familiar gray sky, concrete floor, and tall walls.

Slide.

I opened the debug menu first.

[Monster Spawn]

I had already chosen the first target.

[Kobold Worker]

But this time, I changed the conditions.

[Injury Feedback: 50%]

I cut the pain feedback in half.

For equipment, I chose a plywood shield and wooden spear.

“Start.”

[Spawn: Kobold Worker]

Soon, the iron door opened and a kobold walked out of the darkness.

Gray-brown fur, a flat snout, a wet nose.

Sniff, sniff.

It didn’t immediately charge.

It was smelling the air.

At that moment, the back of my neck felt very faintly cold.

“...!”

This was it.

‘Precursor Sense.’

I hadn’t seen anything.

I hadn’t heard anything either.

It was simply that something felt slightly unpleasant down to my lower right.

As though a very thin stream of cold water were flowing from there.

“Kirik!”

At that moment, the kobold laughed.

I lowered the shield slightly.

Dash!

Immediately afterward, it lunged out.

It looked like a frontal attack.

But the cold sensation was down to the right.

I trusted the sensation over my eyes.

I lowered the shield diagonally.

Bang!

The kobold’s body collided with the shield.

‘Got it!’

A thrill spread through my mind.

Precursor Sense didn’t tell me the exact trajectory of an attack.

But it gave me a sense that something was wrong.

Before my eyes could confirm it, my body was already prepared.

That difference was significant.

I immediately stabbed downward with the wooden spear.

Thrust!

“Yelp!”

The kobold screamed.

The distinctive cry of a canine-type monster.

It immediately tried to retreat.

But I didn’t let it escape.

Precursor Sense rang out again.

‘Left.’

The direction it would flee.

I angled the shield to the left.

Bang!

Its body became trapped between the wall and the shield.

Thrust!

Then came the second stab.

Tremble.

The creature, pierced by the wooden spear, convulsed before going limp.

At the same time, the results window appeared.

[Combat Duration: 01 minute 11 seconds]

[Pain Feedback 50%]

[Hits Taken: 0]

[EXP +2]

“...Exactly half?”

The experience had decreased.

Probably because I lowered the pain feedback.

But that wasn’t the important part.

‘Precursor Sense works in VR too.’

I immediately proceeded with the second test.

Same monster, same conditions.

The result.

[EXP +1]

Third time.

[EXP +0]

“...As expected.”

Experience from repeating the same target decreased.

Definitely.

‘Comfortably farming the same thing over and over isn’t the answer.’

Then what should I do?

‘Train as though it were real. The more danger I feel, the more experience I gain.’

This was connected to the game system I had created too.

Last Protocol wasn’t a game where you became stronger by repeatedly killing the same trash mobs.

Rewards decreased if you repeated the same actions, and rewards were added when adapting to new dangers.

‘Why did you do that, past me...?’

Anyway, I selected the next monster.

[Low Ghoul]

A lowest-grade humanoid infected.

This time, I decided to use Precursor Sense more consciously.

Rumble!

Soon, the iron door opened.

And a low-grade ghoul walked out.

Stagger. Stagger.

Its head was tilted, and its mouth hung half open.

From a distance, its appearance didn’t look that different from a person.

“Help... me...”

I still couldn’t get used to that sound.

A voice exactly like a human’s.

As though it were asking for help.

Grip.

I tightened my hand around the dagger.

At that moment, Precursor Sense reacted.

‘Front.’

Heavy.

It was different from when I faced the kobold.

Back then, it had been a thin, sharp sense of wrongness.

Like a needle stabbing into my side.

But the ghoul was different.

Slow, but heavy.

To compare it to something, it felt like a lump of mud pushing toward me from the front.

‘So the sensation itself differs depending on the target.’

This was good information.

‘The texture of the sensation differs depending on the entity’s characteristics.’

The kobold was sharp.

The ghoul was heavy.

Step.

At that moment, the ghoul approached.

I backed away.

One step, two steps, then three...

Dash!

“...!”

The ghoul suddenly rushed toward me.

As expected, its speed wasn’t much different from a human running.

‘If even the lowest grade is this fast... damn it.’

Precursor Sense rang out again.

‘Right shoulder.’

The direction it was trying to bite.

Dash!

I lowered my body.

Clack!

Its teeth brushed past the side of my earlobe.

I deliberately lured it toward an abandoned car.

‘Still, ghouls are definitely slow at changing direction.’

They become even slower when they get caught around narrow structures.

Exactly... like now!

Thrust!

As it was just about to turn clumsily, I moved in instead.

Apparently not expecting my action, the ghoul moved sluggishly.

Thrust!

The ghoul staggered as the wooden spear pierced its knee.

“Save... me...”

Fuck off.

Whirl!

I left the wooden spear embedded and swept low across the ground.

To break its balance.

I kicked the ankle opposite its injured leg as hard as I could.

Thud!

Only then did the ghoul topple to the ground.

Scrape, scrape.

But the ghoul didn’t give up.

Once it fell, it crawled toward me.

To grab me.

To tear into my flesh.

Shiver!

Precursor Sense rose from below.

‘Ankle.’

It was trying to grab my ankle.

Dash!

I reflexively stepped backward.

At the same time, the ghoul’s hand grabbed empty air.

“...Nice.”

As expected, this skill.

It was far more useful than I had thought.

Because in a situation where every second mattered, it helped me move one step ahead.

Shnk!

I pulled out the wooden spear and moved toward the ghoul’s head.

Since this was a virtual space, I didn’t hesitate.

I raised the wooden spear and brought it straight down into the ghoul’s head.

Tremble.

Only after its weak point, the brain, was pierced did the ghoul finally stop moving.

Ding!

Soon, the results window appeared.

[Combat Duration: 02 minutes 38 seconds]

[Pain Feedback 50%]

[Hits Taken: 0]

[EXP +6]

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Breathing heavily, I checked the results window.

The experience had definitely increased.

Especially since number of hits taken and pain feedback were listed separately.

‘Those two must affect the experience reward.’

I immediately wrote it down in my notes.

[VR Training Routine Revised]

- No more than 3 entities per day

- No repeating the same entity

- Goal: 0 hits taken

- Pain feedback 50% by default

- 100% real-combat mode once per week

- Higher-grade entities after Level 3

Level 3.

I paused for a moment as I looked at that number.

‘My current level is 2.’

Since I hadn’t leveled up, I was still short on experience.

But if I followed this routine?

How high could I raise it before D-0?

“At least 5, no, maybe 10...”

I quickly shook my head.

‘No, don’t get greedy.’

If you get fixated on numbers, you die.

The important thing wasn’t the level.

‘Survival. Staying alive.’

I lightly brushed my hair back.

“Anyway, this really is an incredible privilege.”

While everyone else trembles in anxiety while watching YouTube, I engrave monster patterns into my body.

While everyone else searches the Last Pro website for guides, I run the original data.

While everyone else gets nervous after seeing the third event, I’m already accumulating experience.

That difference is huge.

No, it’s absolute.

“Phew...”

I took off the VR device and was about to sit and rest for a moment.

Bzzzt!

Just then, my phone buzzed briefly.

“...Hm?”

At first, I thought it was the guild group chat.

But it wasn’t.

“A private message?”

The sender was...

「DemonKingLucifer」

“...?”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the screen.

The message was very short.

- DemonKingLucifer: Human, are you asleep?

What does this one want all of a sudden?