DCRBG 74

Chapter 74

Yes, I’m That Guy (3)**

5.

Maybe she hadn’t expected my answer.

The woman who introduced herself as a branch manager let out a dumbfounded scoff.

“Are you planning to be uncooperative like this?”

“What are you even saying? The ones who cranked up the raid difficulty to kill me and then got wiped instantly are talking big, huh? I can barely hear you over the sound of your own incompetence.”

“…Childish, aren’t we?”

“You’re the ones who made it childish.”

How am I supposed to treat these ‘administrators’ nicely?

Everything they do is to block my path from start to finish.

She lightly curled her fingers into a fist, then glanced at Aegasa and Ruby beside me. Grinding her teeth, she spoke.

“I heard your report—you freed souls bound to the Theater of Dimensions… and now you’re doing something fun here, I see. Aegasa Christine. If this is how you behave, things are going to get complicated.”

It seems she knows Aegasa.

Aegasa replied firmly.

“We have nothing left to do with people like you.”

“Yes, yes. Congratulations, Aegasa. Lucky you—escaped the loop. Not that it’ll help you get out of here, of course.”

“If you’re here to yell at someone, yell at me. Don’t take it out on others.”

Whatever story that is, I can hear it from Aegasa later.

When I glanced at her, she stood up with Ruby.

“We’ll step outside for a moment.”

“Ah, yes.”

Once the two left the house, the branch manager smirked and sat down, looking at me.

“Is returning a bug item that can disrupt the balance of the Abyss really so difficult?”

“I earned my reward fairly. Got the item fairly. Problem?”

“That item can discourage other players. You never thought about that even once, I suppose. If you return it, we’ll compensate you accordingly.”

“Let’s hear the compensation.”

“Unique items obtainable from floor 7 and above. Two of them, and in bound grade. I trust you understand how valuable that is.”

Unique items from 7F or higher, bound class.

Definitely high-value.

Some would go for hundreds of billions.

Even if America and several other countries have entered the 8F range, unique drops are still incredibly rare.

“And we’ll give you a 4F pass.”

“A pass?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Skip 4F and enter 5F directly. It’s a privilege we’ve never given out before.”

That’s… quite the offer.

According to Inseop, starting from 4F, the achievement point requirements skyrocket.

In other words: major slowdown point.

Reaching 5F is already high-tier by Korean standards.

And rewards skyrocket past that.

But to my ears, her proposal sounded like something else entirely.

“So what you’re saying is… it’s an item so ridiculously broken that you must retrieve it no matter what—am I hearing that right?”

“Player Meteor Shower.”

I remembered the last time I met a low-rank admin.

Came in acting cocky about erasing me, and then got absolutely clowned.

They tried to use some system-command-like power, but it didn’t work on me.

Meaning?

“If you can take it, go ahead. Try.”

“…You’re really making this difficult.”

“You can’t, right? That’s the truth, no?”

Administrators can’t directly do anything to me.

They can only influence things indirectly.

And even that influence is restricted by the system called Scales.

Conclusion?

I can do whatever I want.

“Do I look like a pushover?”

The Miracle Matryoshka.

There won’t be another item as absurdly strong as this.

Unique items from 7F?
I can bulldoze through those using this damn thing.

“In the face of violent luck, everything loses meaning. Have you never played an RPG? The balance breaks. The scales tip.”

I haven’t even fully experienced the Matryoshka’s effects yet, but one thing is certain:

This thing will carry my climb from now on.

In a gacha-based game, what’s more important than luck?

The Abyss, which mirrors those systems, is the same.

“If you came to spout nonsense like that, get lost. I’ve got nothing else to say.”

Did you get shot in the head?

Why would I throw away a goose that lays golden eggs?

Hearing my quick and sharp answer, she burst into a knowing laugh.

“I figured you’d say that. Well, fine.”

“You’re giving up that quickly?”

“I’ve given up thinking I could take anything from you. You’re… mm, attracting the attention of some important people.”

She poured tea into a cup and inhaled the aroma before nodding.

“I told you I’m a branch manager, right? Thanks to you, we’re about to suffer quite a bit of loss.”

“What even is a branch manager?”

“You know the Abyss is divided by nations? We’re the same. There’s an administrator handling Japan, another for Korea, another for China. They’re all different. Just know that much.”

She clearly wanted to say something.

I sat down again, crossing my legs casually.

“So here comes the real message.”

“How quick-witted.”

“You lost something because of me? What, you gambled too big and busted? Want me to give you the number for a gambling addiction helpline?”

“You’ve been streaming so much lately—your tongue’s gotten awfully flexible. Makes me want to rip it out.”

“Get to the point.”

She set the teacup down loudly, stroking her chin as she spoke.

“We administrators care about performance. So… how about we do business?”

“I thought you guys just wanted humanity destroyed? What business?”

“I can’t tell you the details, so I’ll keep it simple.”

She crooked her finger, meeting my eyes.

“One month from now, new epic quests will update for 5F+ players in Korea, Japan, and China. It’s called The Era of Grand Unification. Players of all three nations will cross into each other’s zones to progress.”

A manager leaking upcoming content.

Her smile turned wicked.

“When that time comes, go into other countries’ areas and do exactly what you’re doing now. Nothing more, nothing less. Just like now—that’s enough.”

What is this woman thinking?

6.

—Take your time with my proposal. What I want to say is: we don’t have to be enemies. A win-win, as you people call it. In return, I’ll help hide you from the Scales. The one behind you will want that too.

Branch manager Oda In left after offering that sketchy deal.

I thought she’d try something, but she withdrew surprisingly quietly.

“Era of Grand Unification, huh.”

Sounds fancy, but the outcome is obvious.

Abyss players already fight often.

People will risk their lives when greed is involved.

And if the system itself sets up a battlefield like that?
Conflict will intensify—guaranteed.

Are they trying to trigger an actual war?

‘Not that she needed to ask me to cause trouble…’

If it’s Japan or China, I was already planning to wreak havoc.

Especially China.

They sent assassins to kill me first.
If I let that slide, they’ll think I’m easy.

Anyway, what I need to do now is simple.

One month, she said?

Then I need to satisfy the prerequisites before that.

Step one: reach 5F.

I heard 4F is ridiculously long and boring, but thanks to the raid buff, it shouldn’t be hard.

“Benefactor.”

Aegasa approached gently as I was lost in thought.

“You look troubled.”

“A bit, yes.”

“Thanks to the memory you restored, I recalled several spells I’d forgotten. Before I lost my memory in the endless loop… I was researching magic to escape this place. Magic connecting different dimensions.”

The old woman closed her eyes as if searching her past. Then she looked at me again with a gentle smile.

“I don’t know if it will help you.”

“Are more memories returning?”

“Our world perished. To flee from destruction, we made a contract with… something. That’s all I remember for now. And wherever we escaped to—it wasn’t paradise. We must have tried to escape again for a reason.”

Aegasa smiled bitterly, watching the players working ahead of us.

“If more memories return, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Should I bring you more fragments again?”

“Yes, please.”

[You’ve accepted ‘Epic Quest – Soul Fragments <2>’.]
[Completion requirement: Soul Fragments 0/10]

Not troublesome at all.

Soul fragments can be farmed in raids or by hunting.

As more memories return, she might reveal more about the Abyss.

Dimensional magic—definitely useful someday.

Magic is always like that.

“Well, I should get back to work.”

“Work?”