Unreasonable

“…So you’re saying that by wearing these goggles and clearing quests, you can earn something called karma, and use that karma to bring supernatural abilities or items from other worlds, or enhance your own abilities?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm.”

The people in the conference room exchanged glances, gauging each other’s reactions.

While they could understand the concept of the goggles, accepting it was another matter entirely.

Just one pair of goggles allowing them to cross dimensions and bring supernatural abilities and items from other worlds?

Even coming from a hero and the Contractors’ Association chairman, it was hard to believe.

Some laughed dejectedly while others grew angry, thinking Yuseong and Kang Changseok were mocking them.

“It won’t take long to wear the goggles and select a quest. If you don’t believe it, try it yourself.”

The noisy atmosphere instantly settled at Kang Changseok’s words.

His solemn gaze and calm voice.

He definitely didn’t look like someone playing a prank.

“There are three precautions before using the goggles.”

“Precautions?”

“First, don’t select quests above D-rank. Second, choose quests that seem solvable with your abilities. Finally third, don’t overuse your original supernatural abilities or equipment while progressing through quests. These three must be strictly followed.”

“What happens if we break them?”

“Your life could be in danger.”

Gulp.

Someone’s dry swallow echoed through the room.

However, no one put down the goggles.

They, too, had brains and could think.

The moment they recognized the existence of goggles that could bring abilities and items from other worlds, what came to their minds were the heroes who far surpassed ordinary Contractors, possessing overwhelming power and abilities while using all sorts of extraordinary items.

Those who realized how much infinite potential these goggles held, that they too could become as strong as heroes by using them, all put on the goggles without anyone needing to go first.

And shortly after, only Yuseong and Kang Changseok remained in the conference room.

“Is it okay to distribute regular goggles?”

“Well, in the current situation, is there any other way to meet the time constraints besides distributing regular goggles?”

“Well… no.”

“We’ll mass produce regular goggles as soon as one person returns. We can’t just distribute them recklessly as that would cause huge chaos, so first send emergency messages to…”

Flash!

‘Huh? They cleared it already?’

It seemed less than a minute had passed since starting the quest, yet they were already back.

Yuseong was tilting his head thinking they must have fallen into a world with a high time ratio, but stopped before dialing Sophia.

He wasn’t the only one who stopped.

Kang Changseok behind him also froze in place.

“…Who are you?”

What appeared as the light faded wasn’t someone who had been in the conference room earlier, but an unfamiliar man they’d never seen before.

‘No. Is it even a man?’

They seemed male but also female.

One moment they looked like a muscular giant, but closing and opening your eyes they appeared like a delicate woman, sometimes looking like a young child but then appearing as an elderly person when you looked again.

No, it wasn’t even certain if they were human.

No matter how you looked at it, they were clearly a being from another world.

However, Yuseong didn’t attack this strange intruder.

He even stopped Kang Changseok who was about to attack.

This was because he detected the massive energy residing within the intruder’s body using Eye of Truth.

‘This guy. A transcendent being.’

Though it couldn’t be explained precisely in words, he could feel the same overwhelming difference in level from this intruder as he had felt when facing Lucifer.

Whether Yuseong was tense or not, the suddenly appeared intruder scratched their head and muttered to themself.

“Strange. I definitely detected abnormal access around here?”

The intruder who had been looking around belatedly noticed Yuseong and Kang Changseok and approached them.

“Ah, you’re customers using our product. Did you perhaps see any suspicious people around here just now?”

A moment of silence.

In that instant, Yuseong used Asura Perception Way to extend his perceived time and analyzed the intruder’s words.

Abnormal access, our product, customers.

While Yuseong knew the goggles’ structure and operating principles completely, he didn’t know their origin.

Who made the goggles, and for what purpose?

He felt he could resolve that question through conversation with this intruder.

“Before answering, I have a few questions I’d like to ask if that’s alright?”

“By all means. You’re our customer, aren’t you?”

“You mentioned a product earlier – would that happen to be referring to this?”

When Yuseong took out the goggles from subspace, the intruder smiled brightly and nodded.

“That’s right.”

“So you, your company sells these?”

“Correct. Official name Deus Ex Machina. A popular product for those who lack karma to purchase the Tower System or Regression System.”

“When you say Tower System or Regression System…”

“Are you perhaps interested? While both are expensive being popular products, their effects are just as certain. Nothing beats the Tower for mass producing ability users in a short time. Regression isn’t bad either. Though it has strong gambling elements, there’s no better product if you succeed.”

“No, that’s fine. Rather, could you tell me who purchased these?”

“Why, the god of this world, Earth, of course.”

“Why did Earth’s god buy this?”

“What a strange question. Obviously to survive the dimensional war, isn’t it?”

“…I see.”

He was able to resolve most of his questions with just this brief exchange.

The origin of the goggles was nothing special, to the point where all his previous worrying seemed foolish.

‘So this one’s a war merchant and the goggles are just a type of product?’

In that brief moment, numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.

A dimensional war that began long ago due to someone’s deliberate actions and continues to expand.

War merchants who can only profit as long as the war continues.

Systems like Tower, Regression, Deus Ex Machina that while impressive, aren’t really necessary except for massive scale events like wars between dimensions.

Web novels, comics, dramas, movies.

His mind trained through countless media and Yuseong’s unique way of thinking synergized to instantly form plausible conjectures.

“Customer?”

Yuseong who had been lost in thought returned to reality at the intruder’s voice.

No matter how plausible, everything was just conjecture in the end.

Even if the organization this intruder belonged to really was the mastermind behind the dimensional war, nothing would change.

Right now, dealing with this situation had to come first.

‘What should I say?’

Deus Ex Machina.

So the goggles were a product handled by the intruder’s organization and he was trying to copy them for personal gain.

He didn’t know if patent rights existed between dimensions, but common sense suggested they wouldn’t react well to someone unauthorized copying and producing their product.

‘Should I deny everything?’

The first thought that came to mind.

And also the first thought to be discarded.

He didn’t know when people would clear their quests and return, and even if by luck they didn’t encounter anyone on return, goggle users would keep increasing anyway so they would come back eventually.

Clumsy lies wouldn’t work.

He had no choice but to tell the truth and push through head-on.

“I’ll be direct. I copied and produced the goggles, or rather, the Deus Ex Machina.”

“Hahaha, the Deus Ex Machina is the essence of magic theory created by numerous transcendent beings and divine existences working together. It’s not simple enough to copy just by following the form. Even in our company, those who properly understand the principles can be counted on one hand, yet you say you copied it? That’s not even funny as a joke.”

“It certainly wasn’t simple.”

Yuseong frowned as he recalled when he first disassembled and observed the goggles.

The level of technology applied to the goggles far transcended imagination.

Just one aspect contained hundreds of profound and sophisticated skills beyond mortal understanding interlocking precisely like gears – when he first saw this sight he was left speechless for a while.

If he had tried to analyze it normally, it probably would have taken hundreds or thousands of years just to understand the principles.

But Yuseong had Eye of Truth, wisdom stats that had broken past limits, and the Forbidden Knowledge skill.

“So this is how it works?”

Complex principles and numerous magical formulas that even supercomputers couldn’t analyze?

He saw through to the essence with Eye of Truth that could capture even atomic-level energy and memorized it immediately.

Skills containing the mysteries and wisdom of numerous transcendent beings and divine existences?

They were nothing before his wisdom stat of 3000 that surpassed even decent divine existences and the knowledge of Outer Gods that humans shouldn’t and couldn’t know.

It was like cheating by copying answers from an answer key, but as a result, Yuseong was able to perfectly understand the goggles’ principles.

Though he didn’t realize it himself, in terms of comprehension and analysis ability alone, Yuseong had reached a level where ordinary divine existences couldn’t even compare.

“I’m sorry but I’m a bit busy, so could we move past the jokes to the main point?”

Seeing no sign that they would believe his words, Yuseong took out a goggle that remained after distributing them to people and threw it toward the intruder.

Thud!

“What’s this suddenly?”

“Take a look.”

The goggles Yuseong produced were identical in function to the original goggles but different in appearance, so the intruder didn’t recognize them at first glance.

But that didn’t last long.

The intruder who had been observing the goggles with an amused expression soon showed a puzzled look before their mouth fell open and they froze.

“Th-th-this is…”

“Do you believe me now?”

“…”

“I apologize for copying your company’s product without permission. I made a mistake not knowing the goggles, the Deus Ex Machina, were products someone made and sold…”

Yuseong thought they could reach an agreement by apologizing appropriately and offering some of the karma points people would collect as compensation.

He only realized that was a groundless delusion after seeing the future with almost prophetic prediction.

Seeing himself pierced through the heart by a spear of light and disappearing into particles, Yuseong reflexively retreated backward using Flash Step.

Crackle!

“…You dodged my attack? A mortal?”

The intruder who had instantly distorted space to thrust their spear muttered dumbly, seemingly quite shocked that their attack had missed.

An opening that couldn’t exist in battles between transcendent beings.

His body moved before thinking.

Yuseong, who instinctively sensed it would be dangerous to miss this chance, drew up karma to imbue with will, then unleashed Shooting Star at full power toward the intruder.

Crack!

The moment he felt the heavy sensation on his fist and saw the intruder’s face distort like a broken screen, Yuseong thought:

‘Well, I’m screwed.’