episode_0010

The comment was shocking, but it didn’t just surprise me.

The reason lies in the specific content of the comment from this person, who could be called a hardcore user of the annihilation gallery, love peace.

love peace (secret comment) – By any chance, Administrator… do you know someone named MacDeras?

Love Peace addressed me as the administrator and then asked if I had a connection with MacDeras.

“If they already know or suspect my identity, asking whether I’m MacDeras isn’t as logical as asking if MacDeras is the one in question.”

Ultimately, not even considering the idea that the administrator might be MacDeras. It could be intentional concealment, but that’s something only Love Peace’s mind can uncover. I replied to Love Peace with a secret comment.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Why are you asking about MacDeras?

Pressuring for information about who MacDeras is, is akin to acting like trash. If Love Peace is judged to not have the desired information, they will neatly close their doubts.

On the other hand, what if they do have the information? At this point, it’s clear who is the asker and who holds the desired information.

love peace – Do you know MacDeras?

“As expected.”

This reaction is normal. Those experienced in online communities will understand that at the point when the same question is asked twice, the roles of questioner and responder are clearly defined. Naturally, I am the one who may have the desired information, and Love Peace, seeking that information, is the questioner.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – First, tell me specifically why you’re asking. Then I can provide an answer.

love peace – Um… well, that’s…

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Ever since I posted data related to mass slaughter magic, strange people keep contacting me. If Love Peace is doing the same, I’ll just block them.

love peace – W-Wait!

Desperately, Love Peace protested, then, after about a minute, posted another comment.

love peace – First…please answer my question just once. Do you know a person named MacDeras? Or do you not know… If you tell me only that, then I will ask the question too…!

‘If you are an ordinary person unrelated to MacDeras, are you unwilling to even say why? No. Perhaps you can’t say. Either way, it doesn’t matter.’

It’s not something I can say I am MacDeras. It was even risky to mention knowing MacDeras in a situation where it might be related to something. But it’s okay. There is a way to know the reason without any risk.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Gossiping is blocked. And you will be banned from the gallery for 24 hours due to aggro and instigation.

love peace – Haha! I…I’m not instigating aggro!

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Alpano

Love Peace, desperately trying to explain, realized that the other party was not someone he could communicate with and changed his approach.

love peace – I’m sorry! I…I’ll ask the question!

Power is so sweet. Being able to control people as one pleases.

Love Peace smoothly spilled out his story.

love peace – Administrator, you also know that I consider peace and harmony important, right? I hope everyone pursues peace rather than war! I wish for harmony rather than conflict, hoping that everyone would be a pacifist…

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Weren’t you just a peace concept fanatic? I thought you were doing this to annoy people.

love peace – A…fanatic? That’s a misunderstanding! Anyway…there was someone in the gallery who had similar opinions to mine. They also said they pursue peace.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Enough with the preamble, summarize in three lines…

love peace – Um…well…actually, I think you, Administrator, have been possessed by a character from a certain novel.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – O_o?

love peace – An untalented magician dreams of becoming a grand magician. A player who has been possessed there…is trying to cause terrible things.

‘Oh damn…’

I almost spat out a curse at the sudden language proficiency. I thought I was just skimming, but they’ve even nailed the spacing perfectly.

Well, considering the detailed analysis and biological experiment records released in the recent mass slaughter magic deployment, it would be easy for anyone who’s possessed by the same novel or is associated with the Tower of Magic to be convinced that those records are Macdles’s.

Even if they’re not related to the Tower of Magic, for someone who has directly experienced war, even if they’ve only witnessed mass slaughter magic a few times, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to infer that the magic being discussed in the document is the one existing in the novel they’re possessed by.

“Did I elaborate too much?”

Even if there are thousands of novels, it’s rare for the details to be exactly the same. For example, the magic “Fireball” exists in almost any magic novel. Its effect is simply to emit a ball of flame.

However, what if there’s a novel that includes the “detail” that when using Fireball, a penalty causes sugar water to pour out from the user’s mouth and nose?

It’s a common Fireball, but if it spouts sugar water from the user’s mouth and nose, everyone would think, “Ah! This is that novel!”

An untalented magician dreams of becoming a grand magician. This novel is similar. Most of the magic was common, but there were many details such as effects and ranges that differentiated it from other novels. Therefore, singling out something specific isn’t all that surprising. It’s just that what surprised me lies elsewhere.

“There was an Earthling who was possessed by the novel I’m in?”

After years of ongoing war, I thought all the ordinary players would have died. Well, that’s because I literally monopolized all the various hidden pieces and connections that existed in the novel. Surviving here without the hidden pieces and connections would be beyond expression in terms of difficulty.

Overcoming various demerits through solo efforts is the basic premise of this novel.

“To think there are still surviving players here.”

We referred to those who were possessed by novels on Earth as “players,” likening them to games.

I was absolutely certain that there wouldn’t be a single player in my novel. That’s why I provided some potentially sensitive information for testing purposes.

But I was wrong. Fortunately, it seems like they don’t consider me to be Mcderas, but one thing is certain: someone has been possessed by the same novel as me.

From now on, I had to continue the conversation more carefully. Now, from my perspective, I couldn’t help but be extremely curious about what Love Peace had to say.

ㅇㅇ[Admin] – Hm… You’ve been floating around since earlier…ㅇㅅㅇ… If you keep acting so evasively, I’ll just block you. So, what do you want to say? ㅇㅅㅇ…

An ambiguous attitude, neither negative nor positive.

Love Peace – Hehe… I’ll just be honest. The person I was talking to seems to have an extreme personality… After being possessed by the novel, they claim that a person named ‘Mcderas’ and other humans have committed numerous massacres, causing great suffering to many different races, including those who have suffered themselves. That’s why non-human races are preparing for war. They plan to kill all the humans in their novel.

“Wow, damn”

This time, I cursed out loud.

Currently, on the surface, all the different races seem to be getting along, but behind the scenes, they are hostile towards each other. Elves, druids, dwarves, demons, vampires, succubi, and various other races have different appearances, personalities, and cultures.

Do they all have one thing in common: they have all suffered from the mass slaughter magic I developed?

The fact that they are secretly uniting and trying to shed human blood, with players mixed in among the key actors, was deeply disturbing. Even if they know the novel’s settings, developments, and racial characteristics in detail, they could create any kind of variable, so it wouldn’t be surprising.

Of course, the guy who’s been possessed dreams of becoming a powerful wizard. There’s a possibility that you haven’t read it, but that’s just a foolish thought. If you haven’t read the novel, it’s impossible for a non-human species to survive for years.

Even if more than ten different species all united to attack, it would be impossible to fend them off. Not only would the human territory become a wasteland, but it was clear that all life forms would perish.

We need to prepare for the threat. To do that, we need information.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Why aren’t you answering? What do you want to say?

love peace – We have to stop it. I don’t want to see people die.

The fundamental question arises here.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – It seems like your friend holds a grudge against the human race, probably because of the massacre by Macdallas and humans. In that case, isn’t the reason for seeking revenge valid? Why bother trying to stop it?

love peace – Whether it’s valid or not, countless people will die in war. Perhaps even other players who might be possessed by that novel too…

I wanted to say “It’s none of my business,” but there’s a more important question here.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – I see. Then what’s the reason for trying to find someone who knows Macdallas? Even if it is Macdallas, we can’t prevent the war, can we?

love peace – No. If the story I heard from that friend about Macdallas is true, then I can stop it. That friend was certain. Macdallas can perform magic that can annihilate several species.

ㅇㅇ[Administrator] – Are you suggesting a preemptive strike? What’s the use? If more species unite, humans will become extinct anyway.

Love Peace – It’s not about exerting force. If a man becomes a grand sorcerer, he wouldn’t do something so foolish. Just displaying power is enough. We have similar phenomena on our Earth, don’t we? Major powers all possess “nuclear” weapons, yet no one actually uses them. They only demonstrate that power through a few experiments. However, nuclear weapons serve as a powerful deterrent to major wars. Major powers possessing nuclear weapons have not engaged in war for decades. Even if they quarrel with each other.

*Sigh…*

The crux of Love Peace’s words is as follows: Macdullus, by his very existence, possesses a deterrent power akin to that of a nuclear weapon, and he will demonstrate the firmness of Macdullus’s power in the form of an experiment before a war breaks out.

While peace endures, what Love Peace has been overlooking is that if the memory of Macdullus’s mass slaughter magic resurfaces, and numerous different races actually witness it, those who were preparing for war will gradually withdraw.

It’s not an incorrect statement. This applies equally to Earth.

Consider a scenario where Nuclear Power A, capable of annihilating five countries, confronts Union B, comprising twenty non-nuclear states, in a war.

B, confident in their numbers, would charge forward for a surprise attack. But what if A, for a nuclear test, accidentally launches a nuclear bomb causing a blast radius of over 300KM along the path B is advancing?

Even if no harm occurs, they would retreat. If A realizes the onset of war, they would inevitably launch an assault, but if they happen to witness the scene while contemplating a surprise attack, they are highly likely to withdraw from the war to minimize damage. Or at least postpone it to a later date until measures against nuclear bombs are prepared. Experiencing nuclear weapons firsthand is entirely different from just hearing about them.

Unfortunately, the mass slaughter magic I possess has serious aftereffects. If I adjust the power appropriately, it won’t be enough to make these different species wary, but if I use all my strength, they might retaliate with Alpano and we could be defenseless against their onslaught.

“Ah… Why didn’t I think of this?”

I pondered seriously. Then, after a while, a brilliant idea came to mind.

A clever scheme that could perfectly counter this situation.