"Huhuhu, since I resolved the quest and even took 1st place, I'll definitely get a ton of bonus points!"

In the corner of a dark room, Hyun-woo grinned while his fingers tapped on the keyboard as though they were flying. After returning to Jackson, Hyun-woo had immediately logged out and gotten onto his computer. This was because all of the candidates had received an email telling them to submit a report as soon as the event quest ended. But even without the email, Hyun-woo wanted to write up a report right away.

Although he didn't register in the Hall of Fame, of course the Global Exos planning department would of be aware Hyun-woo had tied for 1st place in contribution. If he sent in a report with the details on top of that, he would be able to make a strong impression. Only now did the vague idea of joining Global Exos feel real.

"I'm definitely in front of the other candidates! Getting into Global Exos isn't just a dream!"

In just a few minutes, Hyun-woo wrote up a 10 page report and sent the email.

Only then did his fatigue from the past three days hit him all at once.

* * *

"Hahh, I feel like I've completely become an idiot." Kim Gwon-tae sighed with a fatigued expression.

It had been exactly 3 days since the event quest began. Though the same was probably also true for the players who had participated in the quest, he had needed to stay up all night battling with a computer during that time, in order to find out system information related to the quest. But his efforts were completely in vain; surprisingly, whenever the situation changed as the quest proceeded, the related information was locked down anew.

'This is really a monster.'

Even if it could and did exist within the realm of common sense, it was something that couldn't be. Despite being a regionally restricted quest, the participants numbered in the hundreds. As a result, there were thousands, tens of thousands, of possible variables. For a single computer to be checking all those simultaneously arising variables and automatically renewing the locks on them... Seeing as the data was being constantly updated on the screen even now, he felt a little fear. A living monster... it could only be expressed in such terms.

'The only way to make that possible is to put a master key on the highest level of the whole system. But how can the system realize this much freedom with a master key? Just what is it? Where is it hiding, this master key programmed in by the genius game director Park Woo-seong?'

Kim Gwon-tae was the deputy of the Global Exos Planning Department. He was a competent programmer and hacker, a hidden heavyweight who was known to be capable of hacking into even Interpol's (International Criminal Police Organization) information network if he put his mind to it. Of course, it wasn't like such rumors weren't exaggerated, but he was certainly an internationally famous hacker.

Not only was he unable to clear a lock on the game, he couldn't even identify the location of the hidden program that renewed the locks.

'There's only two things I can think of.'

Either New World's main computer had an AI that was beyond imagination, or Park Woo-seong was continuously monitoring the game as he updated the locks from wherever he was hiding.

If the first option was the answer, then there was hope of lifting the lock one day. But if it was the second, the situation was more serious than expected. Even if they cleared a lock with difficulty, their efforts would go right down the drain if he renewed the lock, and an endless war of attrition would continue.

'I heard that Park Woo-seong would have received considerable shares if New World went commercial, but why did he go as far as to give up on those shares and pull something like this? Damn it, I'm not really sure but Park Woo-seong is indeed amazing. Designing such a crazy system wasn't enough, so he threw in all those locks like mines while maintaining the sense of unlimited freedom. It was not something a human can do.'

Aside from fear, respect for Park Woo-seong formed.

'Hahh, seeing I have to fight such a ridiculous human being, maybe I chose the wrong job...'

It was nothing new, but for the last three days, he'd been forced to feel the piercing truth that he wasn't a genius.

Kim Gwon-tae turned his gaze onto the monitor beside him. Since there was no way for him to access the system despite being an administrator, all he could do was to go through the scanty information sites and monitor the forum. Quite a few posts of participants who had been logged out in the final battle of the quest were currently being uploaded.

As he pulled out a cigarette and bit into it, his head tilted while scanning.

It was a post written 1 hour ago, but it already had 8,000 views and over 2,000 comments. Even posts put up three or four hours ago didn't exceed 1,000 views.

'Just what could it be about...'

When he clicked the info, an attached video started. It was gameplay taken from a player who had participated in the quest.

"What, what is this?"

Staring blankly at the screen, the cigarette fell from Kim Gwon-tae's lips.

The video showed about three minutes of an unknown player fighting the boss monster.

Visibility was poor due to the fog, but there was someone moving quickly within the murky water. Most of the players were busy struggling to escape, but he was actually pushing back the enemy and fighting fiercely in single combat. He dodged the outrageously swinging iron mace by a hair's breadth.

The scene of him counter-attacking and pushing the boss back with continuous attacks was the real highlight! With his occasional flashy kicks, it was enough to make someone think they were watching a martial arts movie. The duration was 3 minutes; it wasn't long, but it had the energy to overwhelm the viewer.

- I saw a player solo the 130+ level boss that 50 players couldn't beat together. Because he was in the muddy water and was out of range of the [Detect] scroll, I couldn't check his name or level. I was unable to watch to the end because I was logged out in the middle of it, but it was amazing. I really want to know who it was.