Ch.51Chapter 51. I Became an Evolving Otherworld Monster (1)

Chapter 51. I Became an Evolving Otherworld Monster (1)

I read the second post from the newly joined user.

[AtomicRex: Did everyone who played the game get possessed?

LOLOLOLOL This is seriously ridiculous.

Just like the trash developers who made this garbage game, they only choose to do garbage things.

But are you all really Paladins?

I looked around the community and there’s not a single person saying they aren’t a Paladin.

Am I the only mutant four-legged beast?]

Did this person possess something unusual like me?

I checked the comments.

[Valkyria: hahaha monster hahaha what kind of monster are you?]

ㄴ [AtomicRex: This isn’t a joke. I don’t know what animal this is, but I have two tentacles growing from my back.]

[NotACatfish: Stop trolling and if you’re a newbie just shut up and read]

[FullPlay: Living up to your username I see]

[ITrustedMonkeyUncle: First ChatGPT and now monsters are joining? lol Next we’ll have someone claiming to be God]

Whoa.

I was startled reading that last comment.

I wonder how this person would react if they found out there’s even a crazy necromancer in the community.

Anyway, nobody believed AtomicRex’s claim that he wasn’t a Paladin.

Honestly, if I weren’t a totem, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

I wouldn’t have known that an ancient villain had stolen a Paladin’s soul and was lurking in the community.

But as Hanna said, just looking at the username, he does seem like a concept troll.

AtomicRex.

It’s the title of a movie series about a giant dinosaur affected by radiation destroying cities, and also the name of the monster in it.

It’s a series with a grand tradition spanning over 50-60 years, probably the most famous among giant monster films.

It’s still quite popular, and Hollywood even made a collaboration film called “AtomicRex vs. MagicMonkey.”

I remember watching it a few years ago.

[MeleeSpy: What? Are you really AtomicRex? That regular user?]

A new comment appeared while I was thinking.

It’s MeleeSpy who briefly went silent after getting shut down by Hanna last time.

Honestly, he deserved it. He should know better than to troll like that.

ㄴ [AtomicRex: Oh? MeleeSpy?]

ㄴ [AtomicRex: Why possess losers like you Paladogs but me too;;]

Paladog, I guess that’s a derogatory term for “Surviving as Paladin” users.

More importantly, he knows MeleeSpy?

ㄴ [ITrustedMonkeyUncle: What’s going on? How do you two know each other?]

ㄴ [MeleeSpy: Didn’t everyone hang out at the ‘Surviving as Paladin’ gallery 10 years ago? Sigh… I miss EunuchBro]

Please contain yourself, EunuchBro.

ㄴ [MeleeSpy: AtomicRex was a super famous troll.]

MeleeSpy eagerly explained about the user AtomicRex in the comments.

He was a user active in the game community 10 years ago, who always left malicious comments, cursed it as a trash game, and was notorious for his consistent trolling posts.

[AtomicRex: Let’s send a monster into this shit game~!

(Monster AtomicRex image)

Let’s tear apart and kill all demons and Paladins~!]

He would spam the board with posts like this, according to MeleeSpy.

ㄴ [FallenPowerKnight: Ah! That guy was him?]

ㄴ [NotACatfish: He’s no different from MeleeSpy though?]

Seems like there are users who know him.

[AtomicRex: Well, there’s no way for me to prove I’m a monster…

This is the first time I’ve seen such a crappy community that doesn’t even allow photo attachments

Is this a 90s website?]

But no one believed he was a monster.

Still, he definitely got attention, as many users commented on AtomicRex’s post.

I left one too.

[UltraSansMadWithMoonlightMassacreMode: Where did you wake up when you possessed?]

If he’s a monster, I doubt it would be in a cave like the other Paladins.

Even I woke up in the Blue Moss tribe.

I waited for his reply.

ㄴ [AtomicRex: Some kind of research facility? It’s all collapsed like an abandoned building so I’m not sure.]

A collapsed research facility, huh.

ㄴ [AtomicRex: Oh, I read some scraps of paper earlier and it said Delos Magic Tower something. I think that’s where I am?]

Delos Magic Tower. Of course, I have no idea where that is.

ㄴ [UltraSansMadWithMoonlightMassacreMode: Magic Tower? Then maybe you’re some kind of animal they were raising there?]

ㄴ [AtomicRex: I don’t think so? I’m still in Delos and there are corpses of monsters that look similar to me scattered everywhere.]

ㄴ [AtomicRex: I think I’m some kind of test subject. Some died after being dissected.]

Suddenly, I got a private message from Hanna.

[NotACatfish: Sans]

[NotACatfish: Why are you playing with a pathological liar?]

[NotACatfish: He’s obviously the same type as MeleeSpy so don’t associate with him]

[Are you worried about me?]

[NotACatfish: ?]

[NotACatfish: Hell no]

[It’s fine, I’m just bored]

Hanna… by my standards, you’re plenty weird too.

You’re the keyboard warrior representing this community.

[NotACatfish: If you’re bored, why didn’t you reply to my message from yesterday?]

Ah. Did I not?

[Actually I’m an AtomicRex movie fan. I was happy to see the username]

I need to change the subject. With Hanna’s short attention span, she’ll probably go along with it.

[NotACatfish: Why would you like that? It’s just cheap third-rate special effects that only manchildren enjoy]

That’s a bit harsh.

If I really liked the AtomicRex series, I might have cried.

After finishing my conversation with Hanna, I called Harry.

“What is it?”

Harry looks at me with tired eyes. What was he making?

– Do you know about the Delos Magic Tower?

“Ah, Delos Magic Tower. Of course I know.”

Harry nodded.

“It’s the headquarters of the Evolutionist School.”

– Evolutionist School?

“A place where magicians gathered who held the insane belief that continuous evolution could lead to transcendence.”

A mad scientist collective, huh. That’s concerning.

“They’re lunatics, but they had a lot of capital and connections with the Empire, so they wielded great influence.

They were the first to publish the theory that infected beings might evolve into demons. I remember they were conducting some strange experiment even before the fall.”

This sounds more ominous the more I hear.

– What kind of experiment was it?

“They tried to create artificial life forms using the infected beings’ characteristic of growing stronger by consuming other living things.”

They made someone possess a chimera monster? Someone who used to write troll posts about monsters?

Well, this is the same being who made a child who suggested creating an expansion pack boss into a totem.

They would do this kind of thing without hesitation.

I don’t know who the being is that possessed us, but I’m starting to think they’re not good.

Do they really want to save the world? I don’t think so.

Everything they do is just playing around.

They’ve placed me and the Paladins on a game board and are toying with us.

Maybe AtomicRex and I are just slightly unusual game pieces. Game pieces to satisfy their amusement.

Damn bastard, who’s the real demon here?

– …I see.

My response was delayed because I was shocked.

“But why are you asking about the Delos Magic Tower…?”

Maybe because I have a lot on my mind, but I can’t think of an excuse.

“Are you interrogating Master Malak now?”

Lakye, who was leaning against Totem #1, glares at me with wide eyes.

For once, this is perfect timing.

“N-no, that’s not it. I’ll be going now. I have things to do.”

Harry leaves almost like he’s running away.

He seems more timid since watching Lakye fight during the Symphonia raid.

When Harry first met Lakye, they had an argument. Maybe he thinks Lakye is still holding a grudge about that.

As I keep my gaze on Lakye, she looks back at me.

Lakye seems to know I’m watching her. Can we feel each other’s gazes?

“There will be those who mistake Master Malak’s generosity and mercy for weakness and try to take advantage. I will stay by Master Malak’s side and stop such creatures.

Because I am Master Malak’s guardian.”

Lakye smiled confidently. It’s a smile full of satisfaction.

She interpreted my gaze as gratitude.

I do appreciate the infinite trust and loyalty.

I wonder how she would react if she found out I’m not really Malak. Would I also become a victim of the “Lakye Punch”?

I connected to the community again.

I won’t share the information I learned with AtomicRex.

It’s not very meaningful information from the perspective of someone who’s already been possessed.

And he might question why I know such information, like Harry did earlier. I don’t want to bother with excuses.

[AtomicRex: I escaped from the research facility (which I thought was a magic tower).

What kind of magic tower is in the middle of a mountain? There’s not a trace of humans anywhere.

I’m too hungry to answer questions now. Need to eat something.]

The magic tower where I met Harry was also in a remote location.

[Ghouler: No proof pic means what?]

[ITrustedMonkeyUncle: lol nice try]

The comment reactions are the same as always.

[AtomicRex: What the hell, I ate a rat and now I’m growing a tail?

Eating gives experience points.

But were rats always this delicious?

Crunch crunch crunch it keeps crunching]

That last sentence is a bit creepy.