Chapter 130 | Omni Tales

Thus, there were five teams of five members, with a total of 25 participants scattered throughout the island.

“It is obvious but…”

The members of our team consisted of me, Sungjae, Hye-young, Olia and Lia, who was formerly an idol. However, there were actually six visible faces present.

“I’m not participating in the game. In a way, I am here as your helper! You can call me a guide.”

Eternal Magic Girl Boram led us with a smile. She wasn’t really with us; it was more like she sent a type of avatar.

‘Indeed, there was no reason for her to participate in this mission.’

Although all guests were guild masters, an 8th class barrier mage was on another level entirely. It wasn’t a joke—she could annihilate all the guests within ten minutes if she wanted to.

In other words…

Apart from me.

‘Indeed…what about her?’

Honestly, it was hard to gauge. It wasn’t possible to discern her capabilities through simple observation of breathing, posture and movement like when I faced the knights of Ardenia. What was needed here were intuition or spiritual insights. Since I lacked these qualities, there was no way to tell unless we actually clashed.

However, as soon as this thought crossed my mind…

Boram swiftly turned her head and met my gaze.

“Hee…I can see right through you.”

Realizing she had read my thoughts, I bowed my head sheepishly.

“My apologies.”

“No need to apologize. Your enthusiasm is refreshing. It’s always delightful to witness a promising junior emerging.”

Her smiling words made Sungjae jeer, “Woo~ don’t lie! You are always nagging me!”

“It is because you are so greedy, you flirtatious dog!”

As we walked while bickering…

[Encounter!]

A sharp warning sound broke out, physically entering my ears. At the same time…

Pudok!

“Muooooh!” A monster resembling a cow, around three meters tall, roared.

“Eek!” The female idol screamed.

”…”

Everyone quietly watched the female idol. In other words…

‘Ah, yes. Lia from Shavet. I should remember.’

Anyway, Lia looked embarrassed.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ve been filming various reaction variety shows with my members lately… Y-You can consider this as occupational hazard.”

“Haha! It happens to me too. Lately, I end up laughing uncontrollably at jokes made by friends. This is just the fate of celebrities.” Sungjae spoke awkwardly while averting his gaze.

No one was frightened by the Minotaur monster. Naturally, no one had lost against it during their previous encounters. Instead, people watched with keen interest.

“Wow, it looks almost alive? Let me handle it!” Olia shouted enthusiastically before charging towards the Minotaur (aka the small unit leader).

“Grrr!”

“Yaaaaah!”

Crash!

There was a heavy sound as Olia and Minotauros’ heads collided. It was a clash between a three meter tall monster with massive strength versus Olia, who might be tall but had a slender physique! However, it was obvious and common sense that Olia would win.

“Muoooong!” The minotaur staggered before falling to the ground. A cultivator trained in the Seven Heavens Vibrations collided physically with him, so there was no way he could remain unharmed. This impact must’ve been worse than hitting his head against an iron pillar embedded in the earth.

“Bam!”

At this moment, Sungjae stood next to me and mimicked pulling a trigger. The wooden bullet moved faster than sound, entering the mouth of the Minotauros…

The battle ended with that.

Pahssss…

“Huh? The body is disappearing!”

“What is this? Was it a minion? I thought it was an android.”

“It isn’t a minion.” The smart pet filming us changed into a shamgo cat. This meant Taesuk had synchronized it. “Everyone knows about the monster crisis. Even roughly estimating the damage, it is astronomical in scale.”

Everyone nodded. It was an obvious issue. Although there was no damage in District 34, the monster crisis affected the entire macrocosm and was a major issue. Once this topic came up, it wasn’t difficult to identify the identity of the minotaur.

“It must be monsters from some game.”

“That’s correct,” Taesuk replied.

Lia raised a question based on his answer. “But PD-nim! Aren’t these monsters appearing only in crowded places?”

“Yes, but the Game Master created a device to manipulate them. To simplify it… he can change their spawn coordinates.”

“I got this myself! He gave it to me because I insisted on its promotional value!” Boram flashed a V sign, startling everyone present.

“What?! Directly from the Game Master himself?”

“My goodness!”

In the macrocosm, one of the strongest and highest-ranked new Game Masters was a demigod, born between a God and a human.

Before the Apocalypse Project covered Earth, he lived an ordinary life as a high school student. Boram was his close junior at that time. While it wasn’t like Chairman Il-sung’s joke about being classmates with God, Boram was one of the closest people to the Game Master in District 34.

“Our mother prays every night for the Game Master…”

“This isn’t just a golden connection. It is divine networking. Divine.”

While we were admiring this, another monster appeared.

[Encounter!]

“Come on, let’s catch it!”

The progress was smooth. We moved around the island and participated in various games.

When they entered the island, everyone was unarmed. However, as they explored, they discovered treasure chests containing equipment and solved puzzles to receive buffs from dragons.

[Encounter!]

There was one problem though.

“Isn’t this encounter getting shorter? It doesn’t matter for me!”

I shrugged at Sungjae’s words.

“It is still beneficial. Killing monsters gives points.”

In fact, that wasn’t the only benefit.

“Another one appeared!”

“Wah, six out of seven items went to Jae-yeon. Is this possible?”

Items dropped when we killed monsters! Sungjae laughed incredulously at the sight.

“Wah, I heard about it but seeing it directly is amazing. Farming items in reality? Lia!”

“Yes, big brother! Skill Book!”

A golden book was summoned next to Lia. I stood nearby and observed her.

‘Guild Master’s Apprentice.’

It wasn’t easy to encounter such beings. Becoming a priest of the Game God required significant resources even on Earth 34. Furthermore, these priests tended to leave the peaceful confines of Earth 34 to wander the universe for leveling up purposes.

“Lia, use [Appraisal]!”

Following my advice, Lia read out the description with squinted eyes, seemingly struggling to comprehend it. In contrast, without needing any skill, I could effortlessly read the item’s details at a glance:

[Ogre Gauntlets]

Gauntlets imbued with the strength of an ogre. Fixes the character’s Strength (Str) attribute at level 10.

Provides a 10 damage bonus for close-range weapons only.

Weight limit +200, allowing more items to be carried. >

Cannot be equipped by thief or mage classes.

“What game is this from? There are so many games with ogres.”

“Ah, it seems to be from Dungeons & Dragons! If you wear them, you will have the strength of an ogre.”

“No need for batteries or mana stones? Isn’t that cheating?”

“Well, like other items, they probably have durability.”

Considering I caught over 100 monsters today, the drop rate wasn’t particularly high. Moreover, out of the seven gloves found, six were dropped from monsters I killed, suggesting the actual drop rate might be even lower.

‘Oh, this…’

Despite obtaining these items, I didn’t feel particularly pleased.

‘This also… seems to be related to me.’

In fact, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. The mysterious monster phenomenon occurring throughout the universe seemed to have many connections with my abilities.

‘It looks related but is different.’

The monsters randomly appearing and attacking intelligent beings, as well as my ability obtained through purchasing power—it appeared rooted in the same game concept but took completely different directions. From beginning to end, this ability was full of question marks.

“Flower Team! Three treasure chests discovered! Two games won! With 210 defeated monsters, you are currently in second place!”

“Huh? We caught so many yet we’re only in second place?!”

“Still, you worked hard!”

“Oh my goodness, it is amazing!”

The first day’s schedule ended. We found a suitable open space and summoned the green dragon, along with Flower’s flower carriage.

“Wah! There are plenty of cooking tools here!”

“There are also seasonings!”

“There are enough bedrooms for everyone! Great!”

The performance of Flower’s flower carriage exceeded expectations. As expected from a dragon treasure, even at a glance, it was clear that ultimate magic had been applied to this item! According to Hye-young, who went out on reconnaissance, other teams were struggling significantly while building fires and makeshift shelters, but thanks to our flower carriage, we could comfortably enjoy dinner.

We lit a bonfire and gathered around it. Honestly, I wanted to retreat to my private room for some rest, but that wasn’t possible due to unforeseen circumstances.

This was because Taesuk, the producer of Survival Island, had secretly visited us earlier.

“Please spend as much time together after dinner! It would be great if you could naturally share some personal stories!”

‘No, this isn’t natural when you’re ordering us to do it.’

I was the only one with such complaints.

“Yes~”

“Understood!”

“Hey, shall we play rolling paper? Rolling paper?”

Everyone seemed familiar with these situations.

‘Well, we didn’t come to this island just for hunting.’

We already had enough combat scenes, so other scenarios needed to be created.

“Ah! By the way, how do Olia and Jae-yeon know each other? You called her ‘teacher’ earlier.” As expected of an idol, Lia skillfully brought up the topic.

Olia responded with a smile:

“In the ring. I was her opponent for her debut match.”

“Ah! So Jae-yeon-nim debuted as a pro fighter? Well, she seemed really strong from what I saw earlier!”

Lia laughed brightly like a typical idol. She had a slender body with delicate features and a refreshing expression.

Sungjae responded with a smile, “Lia is also amazing? You are a disciple of the Game God, and you have become a mage at class 5 before reaching thirty years old? Moreover, your system is truly surprising. Is it that rumored Amplification System?”

“Yes, somehow it matched my aptitude.”

“Nowadays, idols are incredible. They dance, sing, act, compose music, and are high-level ability users… Look at today’s guests who are all masters. Out of them, no less than ten are idols.”

“The competition among idols is fierce these days. Nowadays, each idol team has at least one high-level ability user.”

We talked about various topics. The atmosphere wasn’t bad since everyone was still relaxed.

‘It is also safe.’

Currently, there were five dragons on Survival Island. Not just one but five Transcendents who were worshipped as gods in lower civilizations. No matter how twisted the situation became, it couldn’t be dangerous. This was why they could broadcast combat content that was practically real-life battles.

“Acting aside, you really excel at everything.” Hye-young approached and spoke to me. Her hair was damp, indicating she had washed before coming here.

“I don’t tend to get nervous regardless of what I do.”

I had a big heart. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived for 20 years in the Land of Midgard. Now, there were only three things that could make me nervous: when my life was in danger, when someone close to me died, or when everything I achieved collapsed. The only other time I felt nervous was when an official mentioned taxes worth 8.7 billion won.

’…Even thinking about it again gives me goosebumps.’

Anyway, if I made a mistake during filming, I could just redo it, and the worst outcome would be receiving a few negative comments. It wasn’t a process that caused much anxiety.

“You are amazing.”

With these words, she strode over and sat next to me. Her eyes sparkled with the reflection of the crackling campfire on her knees.

“I still can’t completely shake off my nerves. Even back when I was an idol, it led to my downfall.”

“Ah, I remember you were an idol?”

“Yes. Like Lia, I was responsible for high-level abilities. However, my career didn’t last long.”

“That…”

I started to speak but stopped when I noticed the cat quietly watching us.

Pong!

Words appeared above the cat’s head:

[Don’t look at the camera! You should talk as if there is no camera!]

“But how can we pretend there isn’t a camera when it’s so obvious…”

“Hehe!”

Suddenly, Hye-young laughed.

“Well, this is still our first variety show experience.”

“No matter how much experience one has with variety shows, pretending not to see such an obvious camera isn’t easy…”

“Teacher!” At that moment, Olia approached with her lively voice.

“You still have energy left! Shall we train today?”

Her suggestion was absurd, and Sungjae couldn’t help but respond incredulously, “How can you train with cameras watching? Do you want your training session broadcasted nationwide?”

“Oh, showing off my body? That’s fine. I’ve exposed plenty in the ring too. Millions of people have seen m-”

“Ah! Ah! Forbidden! Absolutely forbidden! No indecent talk on this sacred weekend variety show!”

“But I was just talking about my own body~~! South Koreans are so prudish!”

Boram joined the lively conversation, adding her own input.

Just then…

”…Huh?” Boram paused mid-scolding, confusion written all over her face. Sungjae, seated next to her, asked:

“What’s wrong?”

“Suddenly our communication is cut off? But this device should work across dimensions… huh, what’s that?”

Her serious tone drew everyone’s attention, but Boram paid no heed to them. She just stared blankly at the sky. Naturally, others followed her gaze.

“Hmm? Suddenly something… Huh?”

“What?”

“The sky… It’s closing.”

As they said, despite being filled with countless stars, darkness enveloped the sky as if it was covered by giant lids from both sides.

Then suddenly…

-Grrraaaahhh!-

A roar made their hair stand on end, and it appeared.

”…Are you kidding me?”

Its black body emanated death itself, and its wings spanned several times larger than its massive frame. However, the most alarming aspect were the words inscribed above it:

Phantom Dragon (Myth)

Lefler