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nObserver (2)

nThe moment the golden Mana of the toy poodle completely wrapped around the tiny body, a system message rang out.

n– Observer’s Eyes (Rank: SSS) is attempting to access the user’s information!

n– Skill Superiority Judgement: The Successor’s Eyes (Rank: EX) is of a higher grade. The skill effect of the opponent has been nullified!

n– The Successor’s Eyes blocked The Observer’s Eyes!

n‘Observer’s Eyes?!’

nI had never encountered that skill before.

n‘But the name is so similar with my unique skill!’

nMy heart was beating insanely fast and loud.

nOn the other hand, that wasn’t the only strange thing.

nHaving come into contact with the skill effect, The Successor’s Eyes should’ve identified more information about that skill’s identity.

nHowever, the returning information disappointed my expectations.

nThe system message came up.

nObserver’s Eye (Rank: SSS)

n– A skill given directly by the system to those who have met special conditions.

nI was on the verge of laughter.

n‘What kind of explanation is that?’

nIt was worse than nothing.

nIn fact, it’s like giving out no information at all. I could see an intentional attempt to conceal information.

n“…!”

nMy eyes crossed with the observer.

nThe opponent showed a look so vivid I couldn’t believe he was wearing a dog’s shell over it.

nThe embarrassment slowly spread on its face.

n“How? It can’t be.”

nThe poodle tried again, vibrating golden Mana around its body, but the result was the same.

n– The Successor’s Eyes blocked the Observer’s Eyes!

nThe alien stared at me in bafflement.

n“Pardon me for doing this the first time that I met you, but I have to ask you a question.”

nIts tone was filled with caution.

nThe following question surprised me even more.

n“Are you really Seo Jin-Wook?”

nWhat was that supposed to mean?

nDid it notice that I possessed the original body?

nBut whatever the skill effect was just now, had failed. How?

nOr did the fact that the skill failed gave it a hint?

nI replied with a question of my own.

n“What kind of ridiculous question is that?”

n“It’s beyond my expectations that my observation skill doesn’t work, but that makes my guess more solid.”

nAdam was visibly surprised by the conversation.

n“Huh? Did you just use the ‘eye’ skill?”

nBased on the situation, the reason why Adam called the observers as eyes might be because of their skill’s name.

n“But it didn’t work?”

nWhew.

nAdam exclaimed as he whistled.

n“Seo Jin-Wook, I don’t know what you are, but you have a great skill.”

nEverything’s going to be revealed that way.

nI asked without affirmation or denial.

n“I don’t understand what’s happening. You asked me if we had an equal relationship, but why is the conversation suddenly turning in that direction?”

nThe poodle pointed to Adam and answered me.

n“It’s strange that an Awakened being with that level of authority and ability developed a business relationship with the tutorial race. In fact, both of you are the targets I wanted to confirm with my own eyes here.”

nAdam spoke, scratching his chin.

n“Oh, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but put aside the useless misunderstanding.”

n“It’s reasonable to doubt you. If someone like you would cooperate with him, it means that he has that much power as well, right? My common sense tells me that a resident in this type of dimension can’t do what you just did.”

nI frowned.

n“Don’t beat around the bush.”

n“Yes, then I’ll change the question.”

nFrom the mouth of the small dog, a question flowed out once again with clear pronunciation.

n“Are you really a species that originated in this dimension called Earth?”

nWhat the hell did he mean?

nI was dumbfounded.

nThe alien race in the shape of a dog continued to.

n“Aren’t you actually an alien species from a world whose tutorial has already ended? Aren’t you an illegal immigrant who hid from the eyes of our observers and the Union? Just as he lives under the disguise of Adam, I can’t raise my suspicion that you’re acting as a native named Seo Jin-Wook without reporting to the Union.”

nI knew what he was talking about.

n‘Is that what he’s tripping me over with?’

nHe thought I was an alien.

nI was about to get a headache.

nMeanwhile, as Adam heard that story…

n“H, haha··· Hahahaha!”

nA burst of loud laughter rang out.

nLaughing, he pointed his finger at the small dog and spoke.

n“Hey! You have a brilliant imagination. Well, borrowing a human identity is a method I used as well. But don’t you think I would have checked that out when I decided to work with this guy?”

nEight small tubes rose from his collarbone.

nThey were body tissues that replaced the skill of Penetration.

n“I scanned his whole body with this!”

nThe poodle distorted his expression when he saw the tubes.

n“The Dakegamas Mole’s excrement tube… How could you implant something like that in your body?”

n“How can you say that after excluding all the other details? It’s the fecal tube, the genitals, the mouth, and the sensory organs of that beautiful creature! Do you know how hard it was to connect this to my nervous system?”

nThe alien muttered as if it was ridiculous.

n“Anyway, your race…”

n“You know what it is. The scanning results using the electromagnetic waves emitted from here are more accurate than the SS-Class Penetration skill. So I can guarantee you 100%. He’s a native here. He’s a human being!”

nAdam made it clear that my body was not the result of polymorphism, nor was it a disguise worn.

nBut the observer didn’t easily believe him.

n“You two could have conspired. And his body itself could be made out of a real human being.”

nHe surely had a lot of doubts.

nWhile I was mumbling internally, it suddenly occurred to me.

n‘Wait, the reason why the poodle is a prick is that he suspects that I finished the tutorial, right?’

nThe way to resolve the suspicion was simple.

n“Wait, this misunderstanding can be corrected very quickly and simply.”

nJust as I was about to raise my right hand, Adam spilled telepathy into my mind.

n– Hold on. Wait a minute! I’ll take care of it.

nWhat’s with him?

nWith a curious look, Adam shouted to the observer.

n“Right. This misunderstanding is very easy to correct.”

nThe poodle stared at Adam silently.

nIt was as if it sensed something.

nHe then continued.

n“Are you kidding me? Why repress and threaten a species that has not finished its tutorial when there are easier ways to answer your question?”

n“When did I oppress and threaten?!”

n“Come on, let’s get this over with. We can just ask the system about the guy in front of you right now… Let’s make it hand over Seo Jin-Wook’s ‘species information’!”

n“…!”

nAt that moment, feelings that could not be kept hidden came out of the poodle’s eyes.

nI felt like the poodle was hesitating for some reason.

nAdam attacked with his words, aiming for that window of opportunity.

n“Is there another method more certain than this? Only experience points equivalent to information fees are required. If Seo Jin-Wook has finished his tutorial here, the system will throw up race information. If the tutorial is still in progress, it won’t give you any information. Isn’t that the simplest way? Of course, either the former or the latter, the system will surely consume your experience points!”

nI could only half agree with him.

nIt’s definitely a verifiable measure, but was that the simplest way?

n“… But.”

nAdam laughed and talked back at the hesitant poodle.

n“What, you don’t even have that many experience points? Or is it a waste? Does the Grand Union’s observer tremble against only half a million?”

n‘Did simple questioning require 500,000 experience points?’

nI didn’t know because I didn’t have any reason or instance to try such a thing in my previous life.

n‘The alien location information that I acquired through the system… If I had acquired that through a standard procedure, I would have consumed a tremendous amount of achievement points.’

nIf it’s half a million, that was similar to what I received after completing the first screening quest.

nDamn, I thought I saved a lot of points unexpectedly.

nAs I pondered silently, Adam continued as if to pressure the poodle.

n“So, stop persecuting the poor weak species and check it for yourself! If an observer wants to arrest an illegal immigrant, he needs to get a confession or check for clear evidence, right? Since the truth can be uncovered if you just pay up the points, shouldn’t the hungry person feed himself? It’s not us who want to arrest and gain merits. It’s you.”

nOnly then did I realize what the observer was up to.

n‘Those points are a burden even for someone that had completed the tutorial.’

nInstead of using up its points and checking with the system, it pressured me as if it was threatening me and encouraged me to confess.

n‘Isn’t he just a bully?’

nI could see why Adam hated the Union so much.

n“…”

nThe poodle kept hesitating and eventually cave in as if it couldn’t help it.

nAdam was so bold that it couldn’t keep its high-handed attitude.

n“… Yes, there was that way. Let me check.”

nIt was a clumsy pretense as if it was reminded of something it had forgotten.

n‘If his opponent comes out this far, he would be able to agree that I’m a real human being.’

nThe poodle eventually seemed to be reaching out to the system message and delivering its intention.

nAnd there was a pause.

nA loose remark leaked out.

n“… Yes, Mr. Seo Jin-Wook. The system has refused to provide information about you.”

nIt was an obvious result.

n“That makes it clear that you’re still a being in the tutorial.”

nIt then sighed and murmured lowly.

n“Sigh. It’s blown.”

nAdam laughed.

n“That’s why you did such a shallow trick? You thought that he was going to turn himself in front of you because an illegal immigrant was caught?”

nThe poodle spoke in a teary voice.

n“This can’t be; I can’t believe you’re human! But how did he build up his ability to trade on equal grounds with someone like you at such an early stage?!”

nIt was 100% sure I wasn’t human, so it tried to prove it by even sacrificing its points.

n“K-k-k-haha! It was hard for me to believe at first, too, so I understand. How many points did the system require?”

nThe poodle replied as if it had lost its country.

n“… 580,000.”

n“The price has gone up in that time.”

nAdam clicked his tongue.

nThe poodle turned weakly.

nIts steps also seemed to stagger a little.

n“Pardon me. I’ll be on my way now.”

n“Oh, wait a minute.”

nI raised my hand and called the poodle.

n“What is it?”

nIt couldn’t just go like that.

nI didn’t know when that kind of opportunity would come again.

nI had heard about the ‘Union’ to some extent from Adam.

nBut what he couldn’t answer was the part about their intention.

nThe dimension he lived in was not under the Union, but they were not particularly hostile. They remained neutral and had no interest in the Union’s vision.

n‘But I’m interested.’

nThe people of Earth also had to climb the Tower of Choice later in the tutorial.

nAfter climbing to the 100th floor, they had to choose between proceeding with the main quest or closing all dungeons and returning to conditions similar past Earth.

n‘In the end, we failed because of Angelica, but we decided to give up the main quest in our previous lives because of the Earth’s devastating situation at that time.’

nThere was a lack of infrastructure to prevent the dungeons from collapsing, even if more connections were established.

nA large number of humans had died, and the number of Hunters had dropped dramatically.

nTherefore, they decided to return to the ‘normal’ world of the past, where Mana cores did not exist.

nIt was better than the destruction of humanity.

n‘But what choice should humankind make if we want to stay this way?’

nIt was not a choice to make myself, but I wanted to hear from those who had already finished the tutorial.

nI asked.

n“I heard that the Union is a dimensional organization that aims to remain within the framework of the system.”

n“Well, that’s not all there is. It’s a roughly correct explanation. What about it?”

n“May I know why?”

nWhat benefits could we get by continuing the main quest?

nI heard about it through Adam, but I was curious about how the Union saw it.

nThen the poodle answered as if I was asking about the obvious.

n“That’s an easy question. The system is a cradle of growth that helps all the worlds…. All the species move further and higher. Through some of the trials that the system gives us, we will all end up getting what we want.”

nThe answer was focused extremely on the positive.

nWhat the Earth was like in my previous life passed through my head.

n“But the natives of dimensions could be exterminated in the process, right? Some races would have been alive if the gate hadn’t opened in the first place.”

n“That can’t be helped. They couldn’t overcome the trials and competition. Hence, they’ve been culled.

n“…”

nThe alien calmly defined the devastating end of the humankind that we had experienced in our previous lives as ‘culled.’

nI felt sick in my stomach and felt my anger rising.

nOblivious to my emotions, the poodle continued.

n“It’s one of the common misconceptions, but we’re not the seawall that keeps the tutorial species from the tides of the current. We’re the supporters that can stop more adults from getting involved in a child’s fight.”

nThe problem was that someone could die fighting between themselves.

nEven if they didn’t fight amongst themselves, they could drown in the waves of the currents.

n‘If kids are those in the tutorial dimension, and if adults are those in the main quest dimension.’

nThe bigger problem was that if one were to look at the situation that was going on at the moment, the adults didn’t completely let go of their hands.

nSuppressing my displeasure, I came up with one more question.

n“So, what is the extent to which the species that finished the tutorial can intervene on Earth?”

n“It’s not that simple to explain.”

n“Let me give you a specific example.”

nIt was the question that kept lingering in my head.

n“What if some of them were behind the scenes controlling the people of Earth? Isn’t that something that the Union should intervene in?”

nWhat the hell did those observers do?

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