NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Wandering and Scheming in Another World
The day I handled the Sword Hero’s corpse, I checked the newly updated section in th e hologram.
▶ Neck-Snapping Statue (New)
────────────────◆
▶ Neck-Snapping Statue
Rank: C
Trait: Neck-Snapping
Penalty: Temporary Loss of Self
▼ Neck-Snapping
From the user's perspective, within a 300-meter radius, it snaps the neck of any breathing human once.
▼ Enhancement Conditions (New)
1. Kill using Neck-Snapping.
(Complete)
2. Experience Temporary Loss of Self.
(Complete)
3. Instill Fear in the Opponent.
(Complete)
4. Kill using Neck-Snapping 1/5
▼ Precautions
1. This trait only applies to humans.
2. Once cast, it cannot be canceled.
3. Temporary Loss of Self lasts for five minutes.
4. Once all enhancement conditions are met, the Neck-Snapping Statue will evolve.
(New)
The newly added section of the Neck-Snapping Statue—its enhancement conditions.
The hologram informed me that killing people with this ability would make it stronger.
Even though I had committed murder, my heart remained cold.
I looked at my hands.
Would I have to snap another person’s neck with these hands?
Murder was quite a simple solution.
The dead wouldn’t bare their teeth at me, nor would they chatter noisily.
And yet, what unsettled me was Naram noona.
My encounter with the Sword Hero had ultimately only provoked Naram noona’s anger.
After explaining everything to her, I wrote five pages of reflection on my reckless behavior, my abrupt disconnection of communications, and the self-inflicted injuries I sustained.
Only then did I barely receive her forgiveness.
“Hmph.”
One fortunate thing was that Naram noona’s means of observing the outside world were limited to her hearing and the entrance surveillance cameras, so she didn’t know the details of the battle.
Even to me, the Sword Hero’s corpse was gruesome.
A rotting corpse with a broken neck was not exactly a pleasant sight.
Of course, my own corpse was a bigger issue than the Sword Hero’s.
As for the details of my corpse… I’ll omit them.
“I’ve updated the authorization to Kang Naram… The battery’s fine, and the signal’s strong! And it’s cute, too. Starting today, I’ll begin exploring the outside in earnest!”
Anyway, Naram noona’s drone had begun functioning properly.
After organizing the countless deaths scattered throughout the research facility, including the researchers, I felt like I deserved a reward sticker.
There would be no corpses captured by the sparrow drone’s camera.
Once again, I had protected Naram noona’s eyes.
There was probably nothing more rewarding than this in the world.
Naram noona’s drone was going to be our eyes.
For transportation, the special containment garage outside the research facility had a jeep and an off-road motorcycle, but since I didn’t have a license, I couldn’t drive them.
I planned to learn from Naram noona later, but for now, with no means of transportation, drone scouting was the most effective method.
A latest-model stealth drone, built with a hydrogen fuel cell that allowed it to operate for 187 hours at full capacity without recharging and reach a maximum speed of 70 km/h, was barely visible to the naked eye.
“So, in the end, what was that man?”
After finishing my shooting practice, I sat down with my back against the eerie door.
As always, my head started talking.
“Well… Based on your story, Seo-ho, he could only be a Phantom Species, but then again, you insist he wasn’t.”
“He didn’t seem like a Phantom Species. Nor did he feel human.”
“Maybe he’s a newly emerged mutant entity with abilities similar to a Phantom Species…”
“Then Earth is doomed.”
“Be precise with your words. It’s not Earth that’s doomed, it’s humanity.”
“Fair point.”
The Phantom Species were newly emerging predators.
Since Earth’s inception, countless predators had ruled this blue planet, and the baton had eventually passed to humanity.
Many believed that no species would ever surpass humanity in the past or the future.
But that belief vanished for me the moment these unidentified monsters appeared.
Entities capable of defying the laws of physics, bringing forth supernatural disasters, beings that made no sense.
Humans had arrogantly believed they could contain them through procedures, locking them away in specialized institutions like the Paranormal Research Facility.
But I had seen the outcome.
I witnessed the deaths of those who once despised me as a monster.
Now that the contained Phantom Species had been unleashed, my conclusion was that Earth, in one way or another, had become a complete mess.
“…Ehh?”
Naram noona’s dazed voice.
Had she spotted Eighteen through the drone?
“What the hell is that? A colosseum? A pointed arch? Stained glass? There’s even some weird temple. There’s no way a building like that exists in Paju…”
“What’s going on?”
“I’ve found a place where people are living. But our research facility was in Paju, South Korea. Yet, all the buildings I see look like something straight out of medieval Europe…”
Noona sent me photos.
They were images captured by the drone’s camera.
Beyond the research facility, past a mountain with fresh air, a city stretched along a great river.
As noona said, the city had a medieval appearance.
There were no modern buildings made of concrete or cement.
Buildings and roads constructed from white stone exuded an old-fashioned nostalgia.
"Hmmm."
No way, right? No, that couldn’t be it.
This was the consequence of indulging in subculture.
At this moment, the only reason I was thinking about the cliché of being reincarnated into another world was because I had been watching Japanese anime out of boredom, influenced by Naram noona.
"Seo-ho."
"Yes."
"I must have thought that just now because I’m such a hopeless otaku, right?"
It seemed Naram noona had the same thought as me.
But for some reason, her voice sounded excited.
"Ah… does he not know…?"
"Noona?"
"This is a stealth drone powered by a hydrogen fuel cell… Fihihi."
Naram noona was starting to burn with excitement.
She had already begun fantasizing about smugly lecturing the underdeveloped people of this otherworld on the laws of thermal energy conservation.
"A mere junior researcher in reality… but in another world, I am Einstein…?"
"Noona…"
"I have become a plagiarizing scientist in another world… I have become a medieval fantasy scientist… A researcher in the medieval ages… I am the crazy woman of this era!!"
"Calm down…"
Suppressing Naram noona’s excitement was a difficult task.
Otaku passion was like an infinite fuel source.
Once it started burning, it wouldn’t stop.
"I need to trigger an industrial revolution in this world immediately. Don't stop me, Seo-ho. From today, I will become a great figure! I’ll erect a statue of myself in that city!!"
Naram noona’s outburst lasted for an entire hour before it was finally subdued by my ultimate weapon—‘Naram Noona’s Sleep Photos Collection.’
She must have been quite shocked to see herself sprawled on a desk, drooling.
She went completely silent afterward.
I hope she doesn’t think I’m a pervert.
Everything was for the greater good…
"Delete the photos…"
Naram noona's voice was feeble.
I had no choice but to erase my precious treasures from my gallery.
Though in reality, I had already backed them up in another folder, so it didn’t really matter.
***
We came up with three hypotheses.
The first was that we were experiencing an illusion close to reality due to a wormhole.
The second was that we had gone insane due to some incident and were hallucinating.
The last was the otherworld theory.
Naram noona strongly supported the last hypothesis.
How could I, someone who had never even attended school, argue against the logic of a researcher who had graduated from a master's program in the shortest time possible?
I could only nod in agreement.
The moment when Naram noona’s hypothesis would be proven true arrived sooner than expected.
A shadow of a person was captured on the outer surveillance camera.
Although all security systems except for the main entrance had gone offline, with Naram noona’s engineering knowledge and my craftsmanship, we had managed to restore the surveillance cameras somehow.
Access privileges had also been granted.
Now, accessing the surveillance cameras via Veritas wasn’t just noona’s exclusive privilege anymore.
I contacted noona.
"There’s an intruder."
"Yeah, I see them."
"What should we do?"
"I still think the same way. Until we completely grasp the situation, pretending we don’t know anything is the best option…"
It seemed noona had read my thoughts.
"But you think differently, don’t you, Seo-ho?"
"Yes."
Time was not infinite; it was limited.
Sometimes, taking risks was necessary to obtain what we wanted.
Noona’s idea of thoroughly analyzing the situation using the drone before making a move wasn’t necessarily wrong.
But it wasn’t the best choice either.
Ever since the anomaly occurred, all the Level 4 personnel at the research facility had disappeared.
Director Jung Yong-jin and Eighteen had vanished.
All the contained Phantom Species had escaped.
I had encountered a strange man with an inexplicable power.
It was an endless series of incomprehensible events.
And right now, the most important issue was that Naram noona was trapped inside the disguise of an unidentified Phantom Species.
There might not be an immediate problem, but one could never predict what might happen in the future.
Problems that could be solved should be dealt with as soon as possible.
Otherwise, an uncontrollable variable could strike in the future.
"Alright."
Naram noona let out a sigh.
She didn’t seem entirely willing, but she understood my point.
Once we dealt with the intruder, I would have to launch a space shuttle as a reward.
"Then…"
I’m coming to meet you now.