Chapter 91

Chapter 91
I still remain completely uncertain what kind of mental state I was in once the entrance exam wrapped up.

I distinctly recall the examinees, alongside the cadets acting as proctors, standing frozen with dropped jaws and utter shock the second I manifested hovering above on a hoverboard. I handed out passing marks to those who still scrambled to grab me even while I rode the device, as well as to the ones who methodically formed groups and rushed forward the moment my feet touched the ground. There was also one fellow—whether driven by sheer audacity or plain foolishness—who leaped onto the discarded hoverboard and came soaring toward me only to tumble head over heels across the snowy field. The concept itself was decent, so I passed him too and resolved to subject him to player training.

Taejeong, Shut-in Honey, and Shin Eun-jo all cleared it with minimal difficulty as well. Only after they successfully passed did I lay out the blueprint for mass-producing players. Upon hearing the entire scheme, Shut-in Honey remarked with open admiration:

“You truly do not think about anything aside from scamming people, do you?”

“I appreciate the compliment.”

“Still, is it acceptable to voice this while a player from a different zone is listening?”

“I did not particularly wish to hear it either.”

Shin Eun-jo, who had been softly stroking Luna Moon tucked inside her coat, glanced sharply at Shut-in Honey before shifting her gaze to me. Her expression clearly conveyed deep unease at having overheard the plot.

“It is true I requested to take the entrance exam… but I will be returning to my zone shortly. If you are entertaining thoughts of preventing my departure…”

“That will not happen. I have no desire to keep you lingering here for long either.”

Naturally, she would need to stick around for a bit longer. I still needed to extract further details from her concerning the Cthulhu Games representative. However, I had to tread carefully with my inquiries. Based on what Ttopamine Addict had previously shared, the criteria for unlocking deeper system features seemed tied to the fact that Father had possessed us… The reality that Shin Eun-jo’s system remained locked even after she encountered the Cthulhu Games representative might well be linked to her prior inability to even remember the corporate name Cthulhu Games. If I posed the wrong inquiry regarding Father and inadvertently triggered an extra system unlock for her, both of us would land in profound trouble. It was far wiser to proceed with caution.

Right then, Taejeong raised his hand and spoke up:

“I follow the logic of providing player instruction to NPCs. But to actually teach player instruction… the instructor would surely need to be a player themselves, wouldn’t they? Who is going to instruct them?”

“Player instruction will be managed by Shut-in Honey.”

The responses to my casual statement fractured instantly. First came Shut-in Honey:

“Oh right! Advancing from student to teacher!”

Indeed. His mind remained a blooming meadow, exactly as always. This was the same individual who had received a note from Ttopamine Addict and never even bothered to mention it to me… it was entirely plausible he had completely forgotten he ever received the note in the first place. I would inquire about Ttopamine Addict’s note at a later time. If he discovered I had already crossed paths with the guy in the interim, he would begin grilling me about our conversation. Regardless. Unlike Shut-in Honey’s enthusiasm, Taejeong and Shin Eun-jo reacted with utter disbelief…

“For real…?”

“Have you lost your mind? Whom are you entrusting what to?”

That was likely the reaction of players who still possessed functioning intellect. Shut-in Honey appeared deeply insulted by their reply and hollered:

“What! Why! Dopamine Addict is entrusting this to me! Your attitude toward the instructor is disrespectful! I am docking points from all of you!”

“…You are genuinely going to leave education to someone like that?”

Shin Eun-jo stared at Shut-in Honey with undisguised revulsion. Yet that exact facet of his character was precisely what I desired.

“Witnessing him act like this only reinforces my certainty.”

“What?!…Are you out of your mind?”

“Hyung… are you feeling well?”

I shook my head at both of them and stated:

“If we intend to manufacture fake players anyway, mass-producing individuals like Shut-in Honey is far preferable.”

“…Huh?”

As I had noted previously, the intelligence levels of Cola Zone NPCs were not particularly high. Mass-producing high-intellect players was consequently exceptionally difficult. But if the player template happened to be Shut-in Honey? We could churn them out endlessly.

“It would be wonderful if they even conversed like him. Then we could inflict psychological damage purely through dialogue.”

“Wasn’t the agreeable nature of this zone’s NPCs their sole genuine advantage……?”

At Taejeong’s remark, I responded with genuine confusion.

“Why would having a pleasant personality be considered an advantage?”

“That is a textbook psychopath statement.”

Shin Eun-jo dismissed my query as pure psycho chatter and pressed on:

“Right… now I understand why it was fine for me to listen in. I could never bring myself to train the zone’s young children into clones of Shut-in Honey merely to crush players from other zones. You are willing to do literally anything to secure a victory. You are truly… a terrifying individual.”

“I am frightened of you as well, hyung……”

These two had entirely overlooked the fact that Shut-in Honey was standing right beside them absorbing every word.

“I do not entirely follow what you are discussing, but regardless, Dopamine Addict—you want additional players resembling me in this zone, correct?”

Hmm. Fortunately, he had heard only what he wanted to hear. “Yes. Exactly that.” Even the portions he failed to grasp aligned flawlessly with my requirements. I wanted the NPCs to resemble players; I did not want them growing sharp enough to cast covetous eyes toward my position. …Was that a somewhat dictatorial thought process?

Shut-in Honey raised both fists with absolute fervor. “I will labor diligently, Dopamine Addict!” “Indeed. Keep fighting.” And back then, I had no inkling what manner of outcomes this choice would eventually unleash.

Among the original pro-Daphne faction leaders, the sole executive remaining alive and active was Lieutenant General Radu. On this particular day, he reached a monumental resolution. Today, I shall poison Haydam. Several factors had converged to solidify this decision. For starters, today’s poisoning attempt was not an isolated incident. Ever since Haydam emerged at the executive assembly, claimed deep familiarity with them, and casually inquired about Radu’s personal child, Radu had continuously pressured his mistress—who happened to work as a servant at the Commander’s estate—to slip poison into Haydam’s morning meals. Even though he was a father engaging in an affair with a servant from the Commander’s household, he still cherished his child. He could not simply overlook the boy who had brought up that very child immediately following Lieutenant General Batom’s demise.

Yet word that Haydam had been poisoned never materialized. His lover insisted she faithfully laced his food every single morning and wore a deeply aggrieved expression, but Radu refused to believe her. Surely the soft-hearted woman simply lacked the nerve to poison a young child’s meal. The sole silver lining was that, for someone who had referenced Radu’s child under those circumstances, Haydam displayed zero further interest in him or his family whatsoever. Consequently, Radu had resolved to abandon the poisoning plot and quietly maintain his two-household life in peace—until Haydam forced Anton into retirement. (Anton retired of his own volition, naturally, but he had summoned the executives and declared he was stepping down because he could not match a young man’s vigor, prompting Radu to blame Haydam.) Following that, Haydam framed Lieutenant General Max for the soldier murder incident.

The former general Anton was one thing, but Max truly was not that sort of person……!

Radu believed Max had been framed, and that conviction happened to be entirely correct. The sentiment that he could no longer leave Haydam unchecked returned with overwhelming force. I must take action somehow. While these thoughts churned, word reached him.

“Lady Daphne… a divorce?”

The bombshell announcement that the Commander and Lady Daphne were parting ways. Radu was well aware their union lacked passion, and he knew Haydam’s arrival meant the succession would pass to the boy. Even if the Commander held no personal affection for Lady Daphne, he had never neglected her for over a decade. The notion that he would discard her the moment Haydam stepped forward had never crossed Radu’s mind. The subsequent piece of intelligence nearly caused him to faint on the spot. Daphne’s new spouse was Meursault Pendleton—the scoundrel who had gunned down Lieutenant General Batom.

Even after recovering, Radu struggled to process reality; both hands trembled violently.

“Lady Daphne, who ought to be the most… revered figure across the entire zone……!”

Every executive belonging to the pro-Daphne faction had reaped massive benefits from the former Commander. Unlike the current ruler, the previous Commander had functioned as a benevolent dictator. The phrase might sound contradictory, but that was simply the reality. Consequently, the pro-Daphne executives cherished Daphne—the former Commander’s offspring—like their own flesh and blood. Daphne herself radiated a peculiarly magnetic charisma, prompting them to faithfully serve her both as the daughter of their hearts and their rightful lord in place of the late Commander.

And now she had fallen from the rank of Commander’s wife to the spouse of a mere major general? The Commander had genuinely consented to Lady Daphne remarrying Meursault? Inconceivable. When an unprecedented event suddenly occurs, it signifies that a novel variable has disrupted the status quo. Specifically, Haydam—the Commander’s illegitimate progeny who materialized out of nowhere one day. That child at last……!

That Meursault Pendleton had once harbored affections for Lady Daphne was a secret to no executive. Yet following Lady Daphne’s marriage to Commander Hayden, when Meursault assumed the role of Hayden’s adjutant, everyone assumed those feelings had been permanently buried. The sole reason he could now openly propose to her must be because Haydam had orchestrated it from behind the scenes. Even though I issued warnings to Lady Daphne countless times……!

Haydam was an illegitimate child. Yet every executive also knew that Luna Moon and Commander Hayden had been lovers long before the Commander wed Lady Daphne. From Haydam’s perspective, the person who usurped his father was none other than Daphne. This was a ruthless child who did not even blink when lives were snuffed out right before him. Naturally, he would seek retribution for his mother as well. That chilling gaze he directed at the portrait gifted by former general Anton had felt ominous from the very start…… Haydam had finally exacted his vengeance upon Daphne—by forcing her down into the station of Meursault’s wife.

“At this rate… I cannot bear the guilt I would carry toward the former Commander.”

Thus, Radu resolved to poison Haydam personally. He meticulously prepared chocolate heavily laced with poison and waited to “accidentally” cross paths with Haydam. The boy possessed extreme cunning; if Radu sought him out deliberately, he would undoubtedly grow suspicious of any offered confection. Then word arrived that Haydam intended to visit the military academy to inspect preparations for the entrance ceremony. Feigning an innocent visit to check on his sponsored child, Radu made his way to the academy and encountered Haydam without issue.

” Isn’t this Lord Haydam? You have matured significantly since our last meeting.”

Harnessing the remnants of his acting prowess, Radu wore the warmest smile he could muster, but Haydam greeted him with nothing more than an icy smirk. “Why are you present here?” Witnessing suspicion instantly flicker across the boy’s face, Radu felt relieved he had chosen the coincidence facade.

“I came to check up on my charges. The school term has advanced, after all.”

“Ah……”

“Ah—I brought these treats for the youngsters. Lord Haydam, please partake as well. It is chocolate.”

There was a calculated reason he selected chocolate specifically. Within the zone, cookies were relatively easy to procure, but chocolate—due to its intricate manufacturing process—was genuinely scarce. Consequently, a youth like Haydam would not refuse it. Furthermore, according to prevailing rumors, he had spent his formative years half-starved in the slums and exhibited an obsessive fixation on sustenance. Such a kid would never turn down chocolate.

Just as Radu anticipated, Haydam’s lips curved upward slightly and he accepted the chocolate without the slightest hesitation.

“Consume it quickly before anyone else notices.”

He had also heard that Haydam held a soft spot for the zone’s children. Fearing the boy might decline to eat it and instead distribute it to others, Radu hastily added instructions to consume it immediately. For reasons unknown, Haydam suddenly broke into laughter, then offered a slight nod of acknowledgment toward him.

“I shall gratefully enjoy this.”

The unexpectedly bright and polite demeanor caught Radu off guard for a second, but the die had already been cast. Haydam popped the entire piece of chocolate into his mouth in one unbroken motion. Radu monitored him closely, every muscle coiled.

“However……”

When Haydam parted his lips again, the chocolate had vanished completely, leading Radu to anticipate that the next second would bring hemorrhaging and collapse. Instead, Haydam spoke with immaculate articulation:

“Occupied with your affair, are you?”

“…What?”

Radu questioned his own hearing.

“Frankly, your moral bankruptcy irritates me every time our paths cross, but my father is technically an adulterer as well, and so is Meursault, so I hardly have room to lecture. Carry on living in that fashion.”

Haydam maintained an angelic grin, yet the words spilling from his lips bore zero resemblance to his expression; the cognitive dissonance bordered on physical. Moreover— Why… is he not… expiring?

Haydam strode past him as though nothing had occurred. I personally poured enough toxin into that chocolate to drop even a massive-class monster with a single strike. He had inserted the poison himself and delivered it personally; zero chance of error existed. Yet Haydam simply walked away, in pristine health, until he vanished from view.

Radu awaited word of Haydam’s demise, assuming the poison merely required time to take effect. The following day arrived, followed by the day after that. No obituary for Haydam ever materialized. And when news of death finally reached him, it was not the demise of Haydam that Radu had anticipated. It was the report of Daphne’s passing.