I Became an Illegal Cheat User

103 – The Scheduled Ambush (1)

The moment I nearly lost my sight, the deity, Baek Yu-hwa, appeared.

Of course, with Aegis in place, I likely wouldn’t have lost my sight.

Thanks to her timely appearance, I was spared from the touch of something dangerous, whether it was a finger or a tentacle, I couldn’t tell.

“Get your filthy hands away from me.”

Baek Yu-hwa waved her hand lightly, grimacing as if she were confronted with something unpleasant.

In response, the finger of the creature that had been poised to gouge out my eye disassembled at an astonishing speed.

It was as if a line of dominoes was collapsing towards it.

But unfortunately, before the phenomenon could reach it, the creature yanked its disassembling arm away with its other limb.

Thud.

The creature’s arm fell to the ground. And as soon as it hit the floor, it disintegrated into dust.

The creature, watching its arm vanish without a trace, lifted its gaze to Baek Yu-hwa.

– …What are you?

From its face, which revealed nothing but a void, I sensed a fury and hatred, as if it were looking at something loathsome.

Baek Yu-hwa scoffed, her expression one of disdain as she addressed it.

“Disgusting thing, you still look repulsively grotesque.”

With a swift, graceful motion, Baek Yu-hwa’s hand cut through the air.

Swish.

A sound like something being sliced echoed.

And then, following that—

Swoosh.

The upper body of the creature slid down diagonally.

But that was only for a moment.

Rumble!

With a sickening sound emanating from its body, thin, thread-like tentacles poured out in a rush. The lower and upper body tentacles intertwined.

Then, as if nothing had happened, it returned to its original state. Simultaneously, the disassembled arm regenerated.

Baek Yu-hwa frowned slightly and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Though its essence has not been manifested, a being is still a being.”

Hearing Baek Yu-hwa’s mutter, I realized that it was indeed a being.

No, to be precise, it was more accurate to say that what had been unclear had now become clear.

I had sensed its identity as a being.

An overwhelming strength that surpassed the named.

The word “being” that had echoed in Terra’s voice before it vanished.

But I couldn’t be sure, as the creature’s appearance was different from what I remembered.

It made sense, though, since the apostles I recalled had a human form, unlike the one before my eyes, which was not properly recognizable.

As Baek Yuhwa had said, it had a repulsive form, all of them equally grotesque.

And just a moment ago, seeing the tentacles that poured out from its body, it seemed to be the Fourth Apostle.

The Fourth Apostle was the most hideous among the seven.

To roughly describe its appearance, it was made of tentacles, with eyes densely packed between them.

Just looking at it twisted my insides and drained my mind, a monstrous sight.

However, unlike Baek Yuhwa, who seemed to see it clearly, my eyes perceived it as a human form, yet twisted and distorted, making it hard to recognize.

It must be due to the difference in perception…

“The reason you cannot see its true form is due to two factors, not just the difference in perception.”

I thought that, but it seemed Baek Yuhwa read my mind and informed me of another reason first.

“The first factor is that Gaia’s protective power still lingers in this world.”

As Baek Yuhwa said this, she reached out her hand into the air.

At that moment, the Fourth Apostle, which had been standing back, seemed unwilling to remain idle.

Swoosh!

With its arms wide open, it shot countless tentacles toward Baek Yuhwa.

But before the tentacles could even reach her—

Crack!

Baek Yuhwa’s pupils shifted from black to red.

Her outstretched hand grasped something in the air.

Vroom!

The black sword that had seemingly always been there resonated in her grasp.

Powder.

All the tentacles that had been aimed at Baek Yuhwa disintegrated into dust in an instant.

“And the second factor is that you possess the essence of Gaia.”

The essence of Gaia?

Is she referring to the system?

The moment I thought that, Baek Yuhwa nodded.

“Yes, that’s exactly what you were thinking.”

‘Ah, so that’s why I was the only one able to move.’

I looked around.

Everyone was frozen, staring up at the sky—my homeroom teacher and my classmates.

As if time had stopped, their eyelids didn’t flutter, nor did they breathe.

Watching them, I suddenly sensed a dissonance.

‘…Wait, something’s off?’

I recalled what had just crossed my mind.

‘Their eyelids aren’t moving, and they’re not breathing.’

…As if time had stopped.

As soon as I recognized that, I lifted my gaze to the audience seats. And then I realized.

This place I was in was fake.

‘Seriously, does it make sense for the Great Saint and the Sword Master to be frozen like everyone else?’

They may not be gods, but those two are undeniably transcendent beings.

So, this place could only be a fabrication.

“Have you figured it out now?”

Baek Yu-hwa smirked and slammed her sword down onto the ground.

With that, the sound of shattering glass echoed, and the space shattered with a crash.

All around was engulfed in a darkness as deep as the cosmos.

Yet even in that darkness, Baek Yu-hwa and the Fourth Apostle stood out clearly.

In their presence, I understood that at least those two were real in this false world.

Still, just to be sure, I deactivated the voice modulation filter of Armor and asked Baek Yu-hwa.

“…Is the chairman standing before me real?”

As I asked that, Baek Yu-hwa raised her black sword and replied.

“Well, what do you think?”

In response to my question with another question, Baek Yu-hwa swung the raised black sword with a swift motion.

Swish!

With the sound of slicing, the space beside me tore open. Then, not just the Fourth Apostle’s arms, but tentacles poured out from his entire body.

Swoosh─!

Tentacles shot out from all directions like crashing waves.

But of course, they didn’t touch Baek Yu-hwa, nor did they reach me.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…!

Because everything that came within a certain range turned to dust and vanished.

“I have a feeling this is real.”

At my response, Baek Yu-hwa smiled faintly and waved her hand.

At that gesture, my body floated gently, rising up. I flew toward an open space that seemed empty, where nothing was visible.

And just before entering that space, Baek Yu-hwa spoke.

“Lee Yu-jin, wake up.”

Wake up? What does that mean…? I wanted to ask.

But my body had already entered the space. And just like that, I felt as if I were sinking, as if I had fallen into water.

My vision brightened. At the same time, a faint voice reached my ears.

“……Jin!”

What are they saying?

For some reason, I focused on the voice with a hazy consciousness.

“…Yu-jin! ……Wake up!”

“…Hey! …Come on, …please!”

“Hurry up…, regain…, your senses!”

Then the faint voice grew clearer.

The bright light that had obscured my vision began to reveal my surroundings.

And not long after.

“Lee Yu-jin! Quickly, come to your senses!”

“Yu-jin! Please! Please wake up!”

“Yu-jin! Hurry, snap out of it!”

They were shouting at me to regain my senses.

Meanwhile, Arthur, Asuka, and Lee Seo-yeon were fighting off the approaching monsters and the corrupted ones.

Bang! Crash! Bang!

“Damn it! There are too many monsters!”

Clang, clang, clang!

“Chief! When is the chief going to wake up?”

“…I don’t know! Seeing them still standing like that, it seems like it’s not yet!”

“Damn it! Chief! Wake up quickly! At this rate, we’re all going to die!”

And then I saw my classmates from Class A.

I realized that the situation was very serious from what I saw.

However, to understand the details of the situation and to check on Terra’s condition, I called for her.

“Terra.”

Then, as if she had been waiting, I heard Terra’s voice.

– Master! You’re awake!

At her voice, I let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly.

I had thought there might be a problem since I hadn’t heard her voice due to the Apostle’s gestures.

Fortunately, it seemed there was no issue after all. Still, just to be sure, I asked about her condition.

“Terra, are you okay? It seems like the Apostle did something to you, but there’s no problem, right?”

In response, Terra spoke in a bright voice, as if to reassure me.

– Master, I’m fine. I was simply expelled from the illusion, and the system briefly went down, so there’s nothing to worry about.

“…Isn’t a brief system shutdown a big deal?”

– No, it’s not. Unlike last time when it took 12 hours, I restored it in just 10 seconds, so it’s not a major issue.

Hearing that, it did seem that way.

– But how about you, Master? Are you feeling alright?

“Uh, thanks to the Chairman’s help, I’m perfectly fine.”

– Ah, that’s a relief.

Having confirmed that there were no issues with Terra or the system, I immediately asked for an explanation of the current situation.

Then Terra began to summarize and explain the situation, saying she would start the briefing.

– The moment your mind was drawn into the Apostle’s illusion, the situation changed drastically.

– Numerous rifts poured out from the dimensional crack along with the demons.

– However, thanks to the swift actions of the Great Saint, Gloria, all but a few rifts and demons have been contained.

Even without Terra’s words, I could see it.

Beyond the shattered sky, demons and black whirlpools were pouring out from the dimensional rift.

And below that, I could see Gloria blocking them with her immense divine power.

– The Sword Saint and the Great Mage are eliminating the rifts to lessen the burden on the Great Saint.

As Terra said, the whirlpools and rifts pouring out from the dimensional crack were disappearing at a rapid pace. However, since the rate at which the rifts were appearing was similar to the rate at which they were being eliminated,

the situation would not end unless the cause of the dimensional rift was dealt with—either by killing the Apostle or driving it away from this place.

“What about the citizens in the audience?”

– As you prepared, the portal installed in the audience area was activated, and all citizens were moved to the bunker located underground in the academy.

“That’s a relief.”

I had worried that a dimensional rift, especially one of this nature, might cause the portal to malfunction.

Fortunately, it seems that such a thing did not occur.

I let out a sigh of relief internally and asked if the other defenses were functioning properly as well.

– Yes, the barrier is operating normally.

The barrier Terra mentioned is imbued with the damage absorption capabilities of my Aegis.

It is a collaborative creation of the principal, the vice-principal, and the crafting instructor. This combined barrier boasts an astonishing level of defense, impervious even to the most powerful of corrupt beings.

In other words, unless the monsters or the corruptors can destroy the barrier, they cannot escape.

Of course, we cannot leave this place either.

But from the very beginning, none of us had any intention of leaving.

Not until every problem is resolved.

– Shall I continue the briefing?

“No, I’ve heard enough for now… Ah, there’s one more thing.”

– What is it?

“Chairman, where are you right now?”

As I asked this, I received a response.

– The deity is currently within the dimensional rift.

It was stated that he was inside the dimensional rift.

I lifted my gaze to look at the rift.

Flashes of light erupted, bright and blinding!

From within the pitch-black rift, bursts of light continued to emerge.

From the looks of it, it seems the deity and the apostle are engaged in battle.

“So, we just need to hold out until the chairman defeats the apostle.”

The moment I thought that.

────────────────────

Great Achievement Quest

【Hold On.】

Endure by any means necessary until the deity, Baek Yu-hwa, defeats the fourth apostle.

※ Greed, Grid is targeting you! Beware!

– Reward: 300,000 points (additional rewards based on performance), ???

– Failure: Do not think of failure.

────────────────────

The achievement quest has appeared.

‘I was planning to endure anyway, but if they give me a quest like this, I feel motivated.’

I grinned and activated Astra’s transformation effect.

Clatter, clatter!

────────────────────

– Form “Transformation”

[Current transforming form: Atlas Armor (+Angel of Death)]

[Number of registered items: 4]

────────────────────

The form of the Atlas Armor that enveloped my body changed.

Mini-gun barrels sprouted from both shoulders.

I pulled out two more mini-guns from my inventory.

Armed with a total of four mini-guns, I activated my clairvoyance.

At the same time, I fired the mini-guns.

──────────────!!

A white flash shot out towards all the monsters and corrupt beings visible in my clairvoyant sight.