Chapter 227: The Foolish Father
"······."
Baek Woohyun, sitting in a chair prepared in the battle preparation room, wasn't flustered by the slightly delayed start.
This was something he'd already heard about from Jeong Nayeon. She had mentioned that due to the aftermath of the trailer, it might take a bit longer than usual.
So his attitude was simply relaxed. He merely waited calmly with his eyes closed, leaning against the soft chair's backrest.
This was absolutely not an act with a purpose like calming his nervous heart before climbing the Challenger ranking through meditation—or anything of that sort.
Even if it was Challenger rank, victory was far too natural a thing for him. It would be the same even if it were a place filled with practitioners even more skilled than that.
Since he never considered defeat from the start, how could he possibly be nervous?
'What build should I try today.'
Therefore, the thoughts floating in Baek Woohyun's mind as he sat with closed eyes could only be this leisurely. Making the challenge called the Challenger road seem meaningless.
But who could really blame him for that? He was currently a monster with an incredible record of 131 wins and 131 losses, limited only to the PVP 'Duel' mode.
They say if you act leisurely and win it's confidence, but if you lose it's arrogance. Since he's been winning all along, even this should be considered confidence.
"Hmm."
Setting that aside, Baek Woohyun had used quite a variety of builds in PVP, and doing so for so long, he'd secretly found enjoyment in encountering new builds.
As mentioned earlier, since victory was an extremely natural result for him anyway, it was fair to say he'd decided to enjoy the process a bit more.
Unlike 'that side,' here his life wasn't at stake with each battle.
In his perception, a battle where you don't struggle between life and death was no different from amusement. Meaning it was merely something to enjoy.
Thus he accepted 'Reverse Planet's' PVP in his own way—though he tended to dismiss it, anyway!—and was fully prepared to enjoy it thoroughly.
Even if he changed builds, his strength wouldn't suddenly disappear.
'Let's see.'
['Social Misfit' Build]
['Scathing Mockery' Build]
['Super Random Box' Build]
·········
······
···
['Foolish Father' Build]
['The Bed Is Science' Build]
['Gift Exchange' Build]
Baek Woohyun, opening his eyes, calmly examined the supernatural ability builds he'd received from Jeong Nayeon. The corners of his mouth, barely perceptibly raised, revealed his mood.
Indeed, it was worth requesting with the criterion of 'interesting builds' from her—the builds in the list were truly bizarre, starting from their names.
Just from the packaging, you couldn't predict the contents well. He couldn't even guess how the 'The Bed Is Science' build would fight.
'Should I use this for the first match.'
After browsing through the list here and there, Baek Woohyun selected one build that interested him reasonably well.
A build with the name 'Foolish Father,' it was a bizarre yet powerful build that could demonstrate unique abilities through the constraint of closing one's eyes.
Generally, they say that among the five senses, vision accounts for 80 percent, and the description attached noted that its power was tremendous in exchange for abandoning that.
Well, it made sense since ordinary people couldn't even maintain daily life properly if they closed their eyes.
'Fighting with eyes closed, huh.'
However, it was a story that didn't particularly relate to Baek Woohyun.
While he too valued visual information, he was different from ordinary people who clung only to it. To him, vision was merely one among his senses.
Nice and convenient to have, but even without it, while it might be bothersome, it wouldn't prevent him from fighting.
As always, he'd had experience fighting blind on 'that side.' Though it was when he was captured in a research facility as a test subject.
-Jeong Nayeon: ㄱㄱ
Just as he finished choosing the supernatural ability build to use in the first duel, a message came from Jeong Nayeon. It seemed the studio's issues had been resolved smoothly as well.
Since he'd chosen the build to use and the start signal had come, there was no reason to hesitate, so Baek Woohyun immediately attempted game matching for 'Duel' mode.
[Would you like to start PVP 'Duel' mode game matching?]
[Yes/No]
The option Baek Woohyun chose was, of course, "Yes."
Soon the matching timer slowly turned.
Even for Challenger queue, since 'Duel' mode was 1v1, matching didn't take very long.
[PVP 'Duel' mode game matching successful]
[Moving to dueling grounds]
***
[PVP 'Duel' mode game matching successful]
[Moving to dueling grounds]
'Oh, got one.'
Jang Baekho, who used the ID 'White Tiger,' was a rare, ordinary Challenger tier user.
It might seem strange for the modifiers 'rare' and 'ordinary' to be attached simultaneously to Challenger tier, of which there were only a thousand in the Korean server, but it really was so.
In a Challenger tier crowded with active first or second-string pro players, aspiring players about to debut, or at least former pros, he was truly ordinary.
Additionally, since he was an amateur who simply loved 'Reverse Planet' who made it into Challenger ranking, he couldn't help but be rare.
'Though I am near dead last.'
Jang Baekho's expression turned bitter as he recalled his ranking, which he'd checked one last time before starting matching.
His current ranking was 998th. Virtually dead last, and even that would clearly drop lower if he lost a few more times.
To preserve his Challenger ranking, he'd need to cling to this place for at least several more months from now, but if things were already like this, wouldn't it be utterly impossible?
He'd made it into Challenger ranking a few times in previous seasons too, but ultimately failed to preserve it, so he felt even more desperate.
"Ugh!"
It's not like Jang Baekho would gain anything just by preserving Challenger ranking. There was no prize money or rewards at stake.
To begin with, for him who had no intention of becoming a pro player, Challenger ranking preservation was practically no help at all.
At most, maybe some honor where he could brag about his ranking preservation and swagger around a bit more?
But for a gamer, honor—especially the honor of being good at games—was something he wanted to have by any means, so he couldn't help but be desperate.
'This time, I really must!'
"······."
"···Huh?"
Because Jang Baekho had so desperately wished for victory, he realized the fact that heaven was indifferent when he saw his opponent.
On the opposite side of the dueling grounds, implemented by cutting out part of Zone 11: Cemetery, stood a man whose face he'd seen somewhere many times.
Jet-black hair, pale skin, deep dark circles around the eyes, annoyingly handsome features.
'Why is Hackphysical here···?'
It wasn't very difficult for Jang Baekho to realize his opponent was Baek Woohyun.
Currently, the personal broadcast that was the biggest topic among 'Reverse Planet' users was the 'Hack Tour' content, and he was like the owner of that place.
Even Jang Baekho, who only watched broadcasts occasionally when he had time—usually he was busy running PVP 'Duel' mode—had actually seen him.
However, separate from recognizing him, he wondered why the famous Hackphysical was in front of him.
This was because Jang Baekho not only rarely watched broadcasts, but had also cut himself off from the community since he might fall out of Challenger ranking if he made even one mistake.
So he didn't know until the large truck called Challenger ranking climbing came right up to his face.
[Time remaining until first round start - 10 seconds]
'Ah, why, really why! At such an important time!'
"······."
Unlike the indifferent-faced Baek Woohyun, Jang Baekho's expression twisted close to tearful.
Even he, who was merely at the bottom of Challenger ranking, knew very well just how strong the monster called Baek Woohyun was.
Not only in personal broadcasts but also in official tournaments, he'd displayed his strength everywhere, so it would be strange not to know.
Just when the resignation of 'should I just surrender···' began to swirl in his head, thinking there was no hope of winning.
"Phew— Hmm?"
Jang Baekho, who let out a sigh and looked at Baek Woohyun one last time, widened his eyes. It was because he belatedly discovered the tattoo drawn on his face.
Utterly uninterpretable characters resembling hieroglyphics filled the area around his eyes. Though there was quite a distance and they weren't visible due to the dark circles.
Anyway, that was clearly evidence that Baek Woohyun wasn't using his signature build!
'Then, it's worth trying once!'
Of course, Jang Baekho knew well that Baek Woohyun was strong even when using other builds. The build roulette during his winning streak was quite famous.
The famous phrase 'form is temporary but class is permanent' had been changed to 'the build may change but class is permanent' and attached to him.
However, even so, it was clear that he'd become weaker compared to his signature build. Strong but strong, he'd come down to a level that wasn't absolute.
Meaning he didn't have to resign and surrender the moment it started. That alone was enough to reignite Jang Baekho's motivation.
[3 seconds]
[2 seconds]
[1 seconds]
'Alright, let's do this!'
"Whoo—!"
"······."
Tick-tock as the remaining time gradually decreased.
Finally, just before the system message announcing the round start appeared.
Baek Woohyun, who had been standing in the silence, closed his eyes.
[First round, start!]
■■■■!
"—?!"
Though Baek Woohyun who chose it didn't know, the 'Foolish Father' build was created taking motifs from the Cthulhu Mythos, a fictional cosmic horror mythology.
Precisely, it could be seen as shaping into a build the cosmic entity corresponding to the supreme god, the chief deity of that mythology—'Azathoth.'
The constraint that amplified the build's power, 'closing one's eyes,' also originated from the original mythology that described him as 'the blind idiot god, king of all things.'
······And as mentioned earlier, the Cthulhu Mythos belonged to the genre called cosmic horror.
Meaning its theme was the fear forced by helplessness based on beings that humans could hardly oppose, let alone even comprehend.
Therefore, the supernatural abilities of the 'Foolish Father' build couldn't help but be filled with elements characteristic of cosmic horror—bizarre, unsettling, and fear-inducing depending on the person.
■■■■!
Pitch-black, writhing darkness spreading around Baek Woohyun standing with closed eyes!
Its edges continuously squirmed like tentacles, and between them, the fierce sound of drums and monotonous flute melodies stabbed into his ears.
Beyond the despair that didn't allow even a point of light, horrors that humans should rightfully fear lurked, waiting only for the moment to burst forth.
But though he was clearly watching with both eyes, he couldn't say for certain what ugliness crouched there.
It looked like a ghost, a monster, a demon, and perhaps even a human. It was to the degree that this might be what it would look like if you lumped together all the evil in the world.
If there was just one certain point, it was that inside that darkness was an existence more terrifying than the horrors—Baek Woohyun in the role of 'Foolish Father.'
"···Ugh, ah."
'Why of all things—!'
Jang Baekho, who had been preparing with the mindset of giving it a try, stepped back hesitantly. His face was noticeably deathly pale.
The inner thought of 'of all things' plainly revealed the fear he was feeling. Well, that made sense—he had a timid personality that couldn't even watch horror movies.
Baek Woohyun, who brought a cosmic horror genre build, had unintentionally struck right at his weak point!