......But in the end, conflict really was a hassle.
I was already strong enough that I didn’t even feel the need to get any stronger than this.
And I didn’t really want to fight with anyone.
‘They’re people who suffered for years, just like me.’
I’d heard there were quite a few deaths even in [Easy Difficulty]. Was the life of people who survived after forcing their way through that path supposed to be easy?
If everyone was an Earthling, I wanted to be good friends.
“I’m disappointed.”
“...?”
For once, Ran—who normally didn’t pass judgment on my opinions—spoke up in opposition.
“It is not as though I exist to satisfy you.”
“I’m easily satisfied and I’m still disappointed. The player who represents an entire server is stopping their contest with other servers. That is like... proposing with a fake diamond, giving birth to a seventh son, getting a shortcut and looking like your older brother, the first night inside your pants—egege...”
For some reason, once he came out to offline, Ran’s expressiveness got a little richer. He kept grumbling busily with a bird’s beak, but what was I supposed to do?
When I was weak, I was curious whether I would win or the Hornless Demon Tribe would win. Now that I knew I was strong, I didn’t particularly want to prove it.
“Ran. Showing off is a deficiency. You only want to prove strength because you’re weak.”
“Then does love for one’s mother imply the mother’s absence?”
“What? No.... ...Wha....”
How does that even follow.
“Enough. I’ve made up my mind. I didn’t plan to stay in End Ocean long in the first place. So—Isn’t there some way to avoid creating pointless conflict?”
“Then turn on [Pacifist Mode].”
“Pacifist Mode?”
Come to think of it, there was a button like that. A button called [Pacifist Mode].
“It is a remnant of an old End Ocean patch, but in the past, those who disliked combat could avoid battles by restricting and hiding their information. Attacking becomes impossible as well, but wouldn’t that be fine?”
He said things like, you won’t appear on the [Mini-map], and combat power measurement becomes impossible. It sounded pretty plausible.
‘Right. If combat power can be measured, rumors will spread in an instant even if you don’t log into the community.’
I originally graduated from a science high school, so there weren’t any class bullies like that.
But from the webtoons I’d read, stories like “the new transfer kid in the class next door used to be the top dog at another school...” spread really well.
“Good idea. Pacifist Mode.”
To use an easy analogy.
The goal is to meet Class 1’s bully.
You go to Class 1 without them even knowing you transferred in, grab the bully, and only then briefly reveal your strength.
Haa.
Me, Kim Dante Hiacapo—I’ve mellowed out a lot....
That was the thought that crossed my mind.
How many people had I beaten up while living as a professor in the Assassination Department?
I beat up cadets.
I beat up Hornless Demon Tribe members.
If they got mouthy, I beat up the Discipline Department too.
I killed constellations. Killed sea monsters. Beat up guards. Beat up professors. I even attacked Eve just because she clung to me and I didn’t really know her—me, the total thug Kim Dante Hiacapo.......
But now I’d settled my past as an assassin and become a pacifist.
‘Yeah. They’re all guys who possessed the game and lived through hell to reach the ending.’
With that resolve, I pressed the button.
Click.
[ Pacifist Mode - on ]
[ From now on, while Pacifist Mode is on, you and your island will not be exposed on the mini-map, your combat power will not be revealed, and likewise you will be unable to attack others. ]
“An island is approaching.”
“There are people too.”
It was early evening.
As an island approached from far away—after meeting real people for the first ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) time in years—I lifted my hand, happy inside.
A light blinked over there too.
‘Whoa. It’s an actual person.’
An Earthling.
Comrades who were dragged here and suffered like me.
And the island was a decent size too.
Thinking of some “pale blue dot alumni association” or whatever, I waved my hand a little brighter as well.
“Sir! What are you doing here! You’re not even on the mini-map!”
As the ship came close, a kind-looking middle-aged man smiled brightly and asked.
Unbelievable. He called me “sir.” Sir.
“I turned on Pacifist Mode.”
For once, I dropped the Dante act and spoke normally.
“Ohhh. I see. People here don’t really turn on Pacifist Mode. So I was surprised. Is this your first time in End Ocean?”
“Yes. It’s my first time in End Ocean. I don’t know anyone yet either.”
“Ah—are you Korean?”
Even though all languages had been unified into Hiaca’s common language,
from subtle points in his expression and gestures, I realized he was Korean too.
“Ah, you are Korean. That’s huge. Usually the ones who clear late are foreigners. What difficulty did you clear?”
“I cleared Normal. You?”
“Aigo, you must’ve suffered a lot. I’m Easy. Even that was hard.... But hyungnim, your character’s lucky. You possessed a really handsome kid.”
“How many people are on your island?”
“About twenty-ish. They’re all good people. Ah, this won’t do—since meeting like this is fate, do you want to come over to our island for now? We’ve got a friend who can make kimchi stew!”
“Really? Thank you.”
So I went over to their island. I shook hands with a few people, smiling. I was guided into a room like a reception room.
“I’m Robin, but my real name is Kim Yoonchan. I’m 28. You’re older than me, hyungnim. What’s your name?”
“Ah, I’m... what was it again......”
Then I ate kimchi stew and had a drink too. It really felt like I’d come back to Korea and met online game friends for the first time in forever.
“Have another drink, hyungnim.”
“Thanks.”
Was it because I’d always lived on edge? Or because I’d been acting even normally?
The fact that I could finally loosen up completely was really comfortable.
......But what I realized soon after was—
Vegans can only exist when there’s plenty to eat.
Human rights can only be cried out for once life is livable.
And pacifism is only possible when people are kind.
I was sitting in the reception room.
Puhwak-!
Something burst through my chest.
While my vision was blurry because my drunkenness hadn’t faded yet,
a low voice reached my ears.
“What the hell. He really was a total beggar.”
That familiar, friendly voice. Robin. Kim Yoonchan.
When I slowly turned around, the smiling faces from the drinking table were gone. All of them—him and his buddies—were the same.
All that remained was the disappointed look in their eyes as they stared at the thing that had fallen out of me: a plain wooden stick.
“......You.”
With my insides pierced through so I could barely speak, Kim Yoonchan let out a sigh.
“Who the hell are you to turn on Pacifist Mode when you don’t even have anything? I thought you were hiding somewhere and mining some good vein or something. You got my hopes up.”
“Hey. You little X, Kim Yoonchan. Didn’t you say he looked like he’d have some money? This doesn’t even cover the booze.”
“No, is this Xcking my fault? Look at his face. I thought he had money rotting away and did customizations or something!”
“Enough. Ah, Xck. So there are still guys like this these days. How much of a dumbass do you have to be to take fifteen years to clear Normal....”
Thanks to [Pacifist Mode], I couldn’t feel pain, but my body began dying quickly. Because [Pacifist] itself was a state where combat power was completely sealed.
“Catch that bird too.”
The bluebird, Ran, started flapping and trying to fly away, and I stared at the blood surging up from my heart before I slammed my head down.
[ You have died. ]
[ Your island has been taken. (Seizer: Robin) Your island will be merged into Lord Balthazar’s faction. ]
[ You have been expelled from End Ocean. ]
[ Access will be restricted for 24 hours. ]
[ Ran, as your helper, will also be reverse-summoned with you. ]
When I opened my eyes, it was the sea.
Splashing, I climbed onto offline land. In the meantime, I picked up Ran, who was flailing in the water, and set him on my head.
“You okay, Ran?”
“Yes.”
When we got onto land, Dino was napping next to the campfire.
I sat down beside him.
Ran and I stayed silent for a moment.
Since I had nothing, there wasn’t much of a hit. I didn’t lose anything. There wasn’t really any death penalty either. I didn’t feel hollow, and I didn’t even feel betrayed.
‘...Right. The level of guys who saw the ending of this psycho game is all like this.’
What did I expect.
On the other hand, even if my mood was fine, my thinking had changed.
The method I’d thought was a hassle seemed like it would be the fastest method.
“I do not understand. Why do they suddenly attack?”
“It’s fine.”
“Is it fine?”
“Humans are just like that.”
“Humans attack others recklessly for no reason?”
“Yeah.”
And I was human too.
***
The next day, I connected to End Ocean again.
[ Pacifist Mode - off ]
After that, I took out the smartphone in my pocket and connected to the [Community] too.
Then an event message popped up.
< The [Hell Difficulty] clearer [Dante Hiacapo] has entered End Ocean. >
At the same time, it felt like the community board was starting to explode, but I didn’t feel like checking it right away.
They’d be going “wow finally that guy came” and whatever.
『Light Step⁺₊⋆』
I didn’t even need to move my island and travel. When I performed a basic footwork technique, light began to wrap from my feet around my entire body. I rose into the sky and shot upward in a straight line.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa ——
As I crossed the sea, a sonic boom erupted. The water’s surface shattered in a circular pattern, opening a path for me. Since End Ocean’s starting point is always a place called the [Sea of Beginnings], before long I found many islands.
After skipping past several islands big and small, Ran spoke.
“It seems to be over there.”
It did.
When moving by light, I’m barely affected by inertia, so even midair I could turn at a right angle and descend onto the island.
There was no explosion. It was just a bright flash of light and then I landed in front of my feet.
“...What the hell? What is this?”
Right after a startled voice rang out, the first person to appear in the forest was Robin (Kim Yoonchan). Because I had come straight to him.
I walked up to him.
Maybe he recognized me—his eyes widened. “You’re...” Then he started backing away. He realized something was wrong.
I stepped in and grabbed his cheek.
“Aaagh!!”
If it’s not [Pacifist Mode], pain applies according to the values the 『Game System』 imposes. If you twist someone’s cheek, they feel pain proportional to how hard you pinch.
Robin’s body curled up, and he tried to pull away, but he couldn’t.
When I tore at his cheek, he collapsed and slammed his head to the ground. Even a hard pinch hurts a lot.
“Did you come to your senses.”
“Hwuk, ghk.... you crazy, crazy bastard... what are you....”
“Not yet?”
I pinched the other cheek.
“Aaaagh!”
It was grip strength that could leave marks in steel if I wanted. Even pinching lightly, he writhed in pain, twisting his body.
The screams didn’t echo far. Because the mana within my territory was blocking nearby sound waves.
“Did you come to your senses.”
“You, you were definitely yesterday...”
“You? What do you mean ‘you’ to your hyung. You. Still not in your senses, huh.”
When I raised my hand again, he flinched and ducked.
His situation was different from mine. Since he’d lived here long, he had things he’d gained.
Which meant he had things to lose.
“...Hyungnim. I’m sorry, but... could you please spare me....”
I stepped on his head and pressed down. Like a hydraulic press. His skull flattened against the ground.
“Not happening. You had no manners.”
“Ah.... th, this—”
“Still, depending on how you behave, my mind might change.”
“...I’ll do well. I’m really sorry about yesterday, hyungnim.”
“Watching you sit there like that—it was really disappointing. Someone showed you kindness. Trusted you. And you stab them in the back? Even between Koreans.”
“...I’m sorry.”
“You said you’ve been in End Ocean for eight years. Yesterday, at the drinking table.”
“...Yes.”
“Then why did you set up shop here in the Sea of Beginnings?”
“...B-because I didn’t want to get involved in the Lord/Anti-King conflict.”
“Then you could’ve gone to another sea. But why did you specifically settle in the newbie respawn sea? Why.”
“...To hunt newbies.”
“Newbies don’t have money. Like me.”
“...Th-there are sometimes random spawns like rare mines even here.... Sometimes newbies would loot those. In the past.”
“So you wanted to loot that?”
“...Yes.”
“You’re a total X-bastard.”
I stomped his arm and broke it.
“Aaaaaaagh!!!”