Above Your Head

Vol 2. Chapter 77: The Salvation of God (14)

I had expected to run into a limit in the end. In the first place, the update rate of the End Project was set at a rate that was absolutely impossible for humanity to keep up with. It was an unaffordable configuration doomed to wipe out humanity in the end.

What was a Compléter (level 10)?

Only a few months ago, level 10s were considered the apex of humanity. People who reached such a level were considered the strongest of mankind.

For example, a swordmaster. A person born with unparalleled talents could finally reach the level of a swordmaster after dedicating their entire life to the blade, then breaking through a wall. They would finally have reached the level of a Compléter.

The power of a combat-type Compléter was unimaginable. They were simply killing machines. Even if an entire division armed with the newest, strongest weapons flocked together, they would be lambs for slaughter if they had to clash with a swordmaster. Their blades could pierce even the thickest steel of a tank, and their defenses were impenetrable, even against cannon barrages. In addition, they were agile enough to avoid bullets, which meant they were unbeatable opponents for modern soldiers.

In the past, Heaven Sword Lee Jong-woo, who was called the strongest swordsman in all of Korea, had reached level 11. What more needed to be said?

But now, after passing through level 11, 12 and reaching 13, knocking down a level 13 enemy was simply equivalent to doing one’s own share.

- The tests have been completed!

- Stage cleared. Compensation will be given according to the contribution.

- You are tied for 1st place (11,122 people).

- The Death Procession will be applied without any changes.

- Number of remaining Death Procession.

- 911,135,211

It felt as if the End Project was finally starting to live up to its name.

That was right. The human race was… finally reaching an unbreakable wall.

At a supermarket in Florida, USA, there was a gunfight over supplies, as well as a battle between players. On the streets of England, a college student of Singaporean origin was attacked. It is known that the student possessed a high level of honor. In France, hate crime has been on the rise recently. A violent group is known to target Asians. Humanity’s horrible sides are being revealed amid the advance of the apocalypse. This is Reporter Han Hye-jin signing off.

With the numerous, horrific incidents increasing in number all around the world, it’s almost as if people are competing over how far humanity can fall. Violent protests around the world are causing massive casualties…

The parliament is discussing possible martial law, but its effectiveness is being questioned, as players’ standards have risen significantly and with the Ministry of National Defense on the verge of collapsing entirely.

It has been confirmed that the African Republic of Burkina Faso has been officially ‘destroyed’. Burkina Faso was a country with a population of 14 million people. Burkina Faso did not have their fair share of players capable of clears, and more than 90% of their total population has been wiped out. No attempt has been made to dispose of the bodies, and the entire country was completely eradicated with the majority of their citizens dying. Unfortunately, Burkina Faso isn’t the only country sharing in this unfortunate fate, the…

“As long as the update continues, the situation will only continue to worsen…”

After the easy difficulty of level 13 finished, the number of surviving humans decreased even further. The entire world had descended into chaos. Certain countries had managed to maintain their social systems until now, but finally began to collapse with the new restrictions.

Neither the preparations of the Great Wizard nor the blessings of the three gods were able to control the people’s growing fears and prevent them from going insane.

“Hey! What are you spacing out for? Let’s go and rob it!”

“Yeah, move it!!”

I sat on a bench and sipped on my iced coffee while watching several men break through bank doors. There were only about ten robbers, and they weren’t equipped with any guns, but not even the police stepped up to stop them. Perhaps the lack of action was due to the letters that were floating on top of their heads.

Level 11

I knew that their true strength was only equivalent to around level 7 to 9, but even so, they were an unstoppable force to the general public.

‘There aren’t that many players among the general population.’

The stage was being held for all of humankind. More than half of humankind should be players, according to common sense, but I don’t think there were any players in the surroundings. Everyone was way too busy screaming and hiding.

To be exact, there is no one who is high-leveled.

‘Yeah. Now that you mention it, there are quite a few people who are below level 5.’

But there were only a few people who were stronger than that. This was also proof that the stage was now proceeding not with the capacity of humankind as a whole, but with the capacity of a small number of elites.

“Someone do something about that! Did anyone call the police?”

“I reported it, but do you think the police will be able to do anything about it?”

People were pacing around nervously.

It was then.

“Everyone, please stop.”

With a loud thump, a figure appeared behind the bank robbers. I was slightly shocked due to the identity of the person.

“…A monk.”

It was a monk. His head was shaved bald, and he was adorned in the traditional clothes of monks. It felt way too foreign to see a monk in the middle of the city, rather than a temple in the mountains.

“Who the hell are you?! Get the hell out of here!”

I thought they would attack as soon as the monk spoke, but unexpectedly, the robbers became wary of the monk and shifted their stance.

‘They’re not complete idiots.’

They were most likely well aware. Just as they could dodge bullets and break open the bank’s thick iron door with their bare hands, the monk could also be a powerhouse. Even though he looked weak, a person’s outer appearance didn’t reveal anything about their true power. Ironically, the biggest threat to the robbers was not the soldiers nor the police… but a passerby high-level player.

“What are you scared of, you idiot? Look at his level! He’s only level eight!”

“Huh? You’re right. This old man must have gone senile! I thought he was a passing master because of the way he was dressed!”

A man with a flaming sword roared and kicked off the ground. He launched a devastating attack without any hesitation, attempting to resolve the situation with violence.

However.

Zeng!

“Stop. Don’t you see that these actions are only building up your evil deeds?”

Wooong!!! Wooong---!!

“Ugh! Uaagh!”

“Keugh! What the …!?”

The players were sent sprawling to the floor along with a golden shockwave. No one was injured because the emitted energy was gentle, but it was a force beyond common sense.

‘What? Was he hiding his power?’

But the information I saw was not much different.

Seongbulsa Temple

Level 7

Good Deed Practitioner Myeong-wol

‘What the heck?’

I muttered under my breath. I soon discovered the source of the power he was using – it was a cane in his hand. After discovering the weapon, the robber players shouted in disbelief.

“It’s a Justice Weapon!”

“What the fuck!? How is it possible for a level 8 to become this strong with just one stick?’

“What tier is he at?”

They charged once more while shouting. They were also players. They cleared the stage while fighting fear and despair. They were well aware that they needed to make quicker decisions if things were no longer reversible.

Puck!

A dagger stabbed into Myeong-wol’s shoulder. He clenched his teeth and swung the Justice Stick.

Whoo-hoo!

An energy erupted like a tidal wave and sent the players flying. They crashed into the wall, but no one died.

‘How foolish.’

If he focused his powers to deal with one or two of them at one time, he would be able to easily take care of the robbers. But Myeong-wol was acting with the intention of only suppressing them. The problem was that he was not strong enough to be merciful toward the enemies. Even if he possessed a powerful Justice Weapon, the limitations were clear due to the lack of his personal capabilities.

“You fucking hermit--!!”

The asphalt shifted fluidly and caused Myeong-wol to fall. He held on to his cane but eventually fell, and the asphalt rose up like a living creature and tried to swallow Myeong-wol’s body.

“Hap!”

But with a roar, a tree rapidly grew from the ground and covered Myeong-wol’s body as he hit the floor.

“All right! Stay right there, senile monk!”

Fwoosh!

A ball of fire appeared in the air. It appeared that one of the robbers was a wizard. Myeong-wol tried to lift himself up in a hurry, but the ground was still moving.

Puck!

“Keu…gh.”

Blood gushed out of the wizard’s mouth. The startled players turned around to come face-to-face with a steel midget holding a long, iron skewer.

“Goblin! F, fuck! Find the pilot!”

Puck! Puck!

Arrows started pouring down as well. I instantly located the hunters sitting on the roof of a nearby building.

Thump! Thump!

Two berserkers started charging. They were equipped with a weapon I had never seen in the vending machine. It was a lightsaber.

‘A Justice Weapon.’

Shing! Shing!

“Keugh! No, no! I need to run…”

The players suffered grave injuries after clashing with the metallic enemies, but they weren’t given a chance to escape. The arrows continued to fall, and the lightsaber continued to press the players. The small goblins delivered several critical blows with sleek movements, and in the blink of an eye, the robbers were all dead.

“W, what…”

Myeong-wol looked at the bloody road with a devastated look on his face. He had closed his eyes as if preparing for death, but the sudden reinforcements had saved his life.

“Are you all right?”

A man approached Myeong-wol. He was equipped with a sleek helmet – the controller I handed over to Jae-seok when I gave him the Avatar series. Since the Avatar series was equipped with Genie’s Battle AI software, the controller was required for others to utilize the iron golems.

“I, I am fine, but… How… How could you kill them all?”

“They were too dangerous to be simply suppressed.”

“Even so, players have extraordinary vitality, right? You could have injured them instead.”

Myeong-wol protested with a pale expression.

It was then.

- Destroying evil is the first step in enacting justice. Kim So-hyang. I bestow upon you my Godly Artifact for enacting justice.

A shining dagger descended from the sky along with the somber voice.

Click!

The door of a nearby car opened. A child ran towards the descending dagger and received. She looked to be an elementary student.

“Wow! It’s a Justice Weapon! Look! It’s a real Justice Weapon!”

After grasping the weapon, the child smiled broadly while jumping around.

Myeong-wol asked with an even paler expression.

“D, don’t tell me… Was that child the one manipulating the goblin? A child that young?”

“…The Avatar Series can be controlled even if one lacks in physical ability, even children. Rather, children ten to adapt quickly and produce better results in terms of controlling.”

“T, this is nonsense! How could you bring a young child to such a terrible scene? Are you telling me that you ordered her to murder? How? How could you?”

Myeong-wol’s hands trembled in disbelief. The young girl was tightly embracing the dagger, which looked like a toy in her arms. So-hyang had a frightened expression. She wasn’t sure how to respond to the trembling old monk.

“D, did I do something wrong?”

“No, not at all. So-hyang, take Sally back to the car.”

“Okay!”

So-hyang ran chicly and approached the goblin. It was the same one who stabbed the wizard through the chest with an iron skewer. She avoided the blood and the bodies on the ground, then picked up the goblin before running back to the car.

On a closer observation, I saw a pink ribbon tied to the goblin’s head.

“…..”

I observed the entire situation unfold in silence. It wasn’t just me either, as many people were crowded around the scene. The man with the helmet spoke.

“Monk Myeong-wol, we are facing the end of the world.

“B, but. But.”

“Sir.”

The man in the helmet stopped speaking for a moment.

He also seemed to have a lot to say. I’m sure he had many things he wanted to talk about – how everything was happening with the government’s approval, how things would get out of hand if the wicked weren’t immediately punished, or how the children would die on the next stage unless the performance of their Justice Weapons were improved.

But in the end, he only spoke a few, short words.

“Humanity must do anything to survive.”

“…..”

Myeong-wol remained silent, and the man left him behind. He boarded a large van, and two berserkers, three hunters, and eight goblins took their place on the roof of the van.

Vroom!

Even as the van moved away, Myeong-wol stayed unmoving in a daze.

“How.”

He finally uttered after a long time.

“How could this be? How could the world… How… Ugh…”

The old man started to shed tears. The crowd started turning their heads, unable to watch the scene anymore.

I asked Genie.

‘How many humans are left now?

Less than 4 billion. And… there will be even less after the next stage.

Flap!

I turned my head while listening, and a fluttering banner came into view.

This was written on the banner

- 40 years after being illegally tortured during the military regime

- Finally finding peace after spending countless nights of tears

- A story of finding hope at the end of despair

- Monk Myeong-wol’s Happy Conversation Free admission on a first-come, first-served basis!

- Daladala Cultural Center at 2 P.M. every day.

- (Monk Myeong-wol is the owner of a Diamond Rank Justice Stick.)

“…..”

I stood up and checked the time.

5:30 P.M.

There was only an hour and a half until the intermediate stage of level 13 began.