Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
55. Stalemateless (5)
He didn’t hear any hallucination after the words about halting the transfer ended.
Cheon Seong-heon thought that something was wrong.
Cheon Seong-heon, who unknowingly suddenly stood up, staggered.
Because Cheon Seong-heon kept reducing his sleep time to clear PMH’s last chapter before the server shutdown, his body and mind were greatly exhausted.
Cheon Seong-heon, who made a blank face for a moment, asked the air.
“What is that sound…?”
But there was no being, who would answer Cheon Seong-heon’s question.
In the small gosiwon room, Cheon Seong-heon stared into the air with a face of futility.
Just on the brink of sinking into helplessness, he abruptly recalled why he was playing PMH.
Stalemateless, Jo Uisin.
Wasn’t it to find him?
‘What would Uisin hyung do?’
Several of Jo Uisin’s matches flashed in his head.
From among them, he recalled the match that became a trigger for the title of Stalemateless sticking to Jo Uisin.
In a tight situation, even in the end game, were the victory and defeat was balancing on a knife’s edge[1] and it was difficult to predict the next move, the chess player competing with Jo Uisin made a scheme.
‘I think he was much older than Uisin hyung, who was an elementary school student at the time, was he five years older in Korean age?’
That chess player, as an Asia Youth Chess champion, was older than Jo Uisin, who was an elementary schooler at the time, and had a much longer chess career.
The chess player, whose pride pierced the sky, didn’t hesitate to sharpen his knife against Jo Uisin and give an aggressive interview, saying he wouldn’t lose to a greenhorn.
But when he saw the chances of winning and losing were similar, he attempted a stalemate.
Because Jo Uisin hated stalemates, he probably thought that if he gets stalemate, it would be his win.
As if the chess experience and first place records the Asian Youth Chess champion piled up weren’t for nothing, he started to drive the situation into a stalemate.
And when the game situation was esteemed to be 10 moves from stalemate, Jo Uisin’s hand halted.
‘He stared at the chess board for a while, consuming all limited time.’
While Jo Uisin halted, the commentator analyzed the opponent’s moves and the game situation.
The commentator made the simulation of moves where stalemate would occur, and explained which pieces could be moved and which couldn’t, and added how much Jo Uisin hated stalemates according to the interview with him.
And at the moment when almost the entire limited base time was consumed, and it reached countdown, Jo Uisin’s hand moved.
He moved the chess pieces right away, playing a move at a frightening speed, with freaking no-time, as soon as the opponent ended his turn, as if it was a lie that Jo Uisin halted for dozens of minutes.
And after overthrowing every game situation estimated to lead to a stalemate, and Jo Uisin succeeding in the checkmate, he was given a nickname of ‘Stalemateless’.
‘Uisin used all His time to turn over the game situation. There is still time left before the time I can treat it as the defeat time.’
Cheon Seong-heon looked at the timer matching the time until PMH server shutdown.
Over 50 minutes of the time left.
‘Uisin hyung disappearance would be related to the unknown existence, which made me hear hallucinations. In other words, I have to persuade that unknown existence within minimum 50 minutes.’
Cheon Seong-heon analyzed what occurred and the information he heard through the hallucination after he cleared PMH last chapter, one after another.
The last chapter clear compensation.
The smartphone screen, which halted just after obtaining the compensation, and the strange voice he heard.
— Connection with Transcendent Universe completed. Examining the connected Player’s suitability.
— Examination completed. Player ‘Cheon Seong-heon’ is selected as Suitable Other Dimension Future Modification Candidate.
Cheon Seong-heon was abruptly surprised anew that the strange voice knew his name.
Naturally the Player name used in the game wasn’t his real name ‘Cheon Seong-heon’, so he couldn’t guess how the owner of the strange voice knew his name.
‘It would have enough information power to know my life, right?’
As the existence that ignored laws of physic and was able to disappear a person, this much would probably be possible.
Cheon Seong-heon’s reasoning continued.
‘This game itself is kind of a test, and the people, who pass the test, undergo another ‘suitability examination’? And I was selected at that Suitable Other Dimension Future Modification Candidate.’
There were no particular problems up to this point.
Cheon Seong-heon clearly passed the test of clearing PMH’s last chapter, and that suitability examination.
So he guessed that after that, the ‘information modification, dimension synchronization and transfer’ were in progress.
The problem was what came next.
— The information modification was successful, but a serious error occurred in the process of dimension synchronization.
— To protect the Suitable Other Dimension Future Modification Candidate, the dimension synchronization and transfer were halted.
It seemed that Cheon Seong-heon, who passed the examination, was undergoing those three processes.
First, the information modification.
Second, the dimension synchronization.
Third, transfer.
‘The information modification was said to be successful. But because an error occurred in the dimension synchronization, the dimension synchronization and transfer failed.’
Could he solve that ‘serious error’?
Cheon Seong-heon thought it through, but shook his head.
As the unknown existence, that had power and information ability outside common sense, couldn’t solve it, it seemed like it would be difficult for him to deal with it.
‘I should think of another move. The solution to that error is an extremely complicated problem.’
Cheon Seong-heon chewed over the unknown existence’s words.
While Cheon Seong-heon fell into thought, the time until the server shutdown continued to decrease.
Cheon Seong-heon closed his eyes and coldly analyzed the moves he had.
He, who reached a conclusion, at last opened his mouth.
“You said that the dimension synchronization and transfer were halted to protect the Other Dimension Future Modification Candidate, correct? As You have said that candidate was me, I believe You have halted the work to protect me.”
The voice, who spoke up with after ending a long thought, was polite and soft.
Him talking to the air didn’t look very normal, but that abnormal atmosphere was offsetted thanks to Cheon Seong-heon’s polite tone.
Cheon Seong-heon kept talking to the unknown existence, which was unclear if it existed or not.
“You don’t have to protect me. I’m okay even if there are some problems. Please carry out the dimension synchronization and transfer.”
There was no reaction even after Cheon Seong-heon’s words ended.
Cheon Seong-heon hid his impatience.
Thinking that even him making a suggestion right now was some kind of ‘evaluation’, he could pretend to be calm.
At that moment, a green[2] flickered for a moment in front of his eyes.
⟨…..⟩
He didn’t hear a clear voice, but tinnitus rang out, and then stopped, so it seemed that the unknown existence responded to Cheon Seong-heon’s suggestion.
‘It’s clear that it’s hesitating.’
If there was no response, he would have to halt making suggestions and have to try clinging to analyzing the ‘serious error’, but if it came out like this, the story was different.
Cheon Seong-heon continued to persuade the other party.
“You’re trying to select someone through this game, aren’t You? But there wouldn’t be many who cleared this long game. Moreover, if You have to examine the suitability of the people, who cleared it, there would be even less people, who had passed it, correct?”
⟨…..⟩
The light flickering increased very slightly and the tinnitus grew a bit stronger.
Cheon Seong-heon had a hunch his words were true.
“Even if I shoulder a penalty because of that ‘serious error’, I’ll cooperate in the work Uisin hyung or You do.”
At a glance, Cheon Seong-heon’s words sounded like he meant that he would cooperate with the other party, but those words had a catch[3].
‘In the work Uisin hyung or You do’.
The ‘or’ in other words contained the meaning that even if he wasn’t cooperating with You, he would cooperate with Jo Uisin.
It was unknown if the unknown existence somehow got the real meaning contained in those words, but the voice rang out.
⟨Warning, the dimension synchronization and transfer ignoring the error is estimated to have powerful side effects.⟩
“It’s fine.”
Even while they conversed, the time until the server shut-down was gradually decreasing.
As if the unknown existence hesitated, or there were still more necessary processes left, there was no reaction.
‘… Should I play another move? No, if I appear impatient, my value might drop. I have to wait until the critical moment.’
While Cheon Seong-heon thought about the next move with a gentle face, the voice at least was heard.
⟨Suitable Other Dimension Future Modification Candidate ‘Cheon Seong-heon’s’ dimension synchronization and transfer in progress. 100 seconds until completion.⟩
Following that, the unknown existence began a slow countdown starting from the 100.
Cheon Seong-heon hid his relieved heart, and calmly organized his surrounding within the 100 seconds.
‘Thinking about it, I prepared an anonymous booked mail, presuming I would be eliminated.’
Cheon Seong-heon prepared for a case where his family members noticed his plans and got rid off him.
Cheon Seong-heon used his hand to provide the information with his name to the competing companies, press companies, civil organization and national assembly if the booked date wasn’t periodically updated.
There were things like the evidence of family violence he had suffered, the recording of bid rigging that occurred on the social gathering, the direct video recording of the moment when the high position figure in the government was given a bribe, and so on.
It was uncovered evidence that would reveal that he was behind it the instant it was shown to the world.
If Cheon Seong-heon disappeared like this, that email might have completely destroyed the remains of the company handed to the relative.
‘Well, that’s not a problem.’
Cheon Seong-heon used the remaining 100 seconds to clear Jo Uisin’s room.
⟨2… 1…. 0. ⟩
The moment the unknown being announced 0, the pure white light covered Cheon Seong-heon’s vision.
And when he opened his eyes again, Cheon Seong-heon was in the one-person hospital room’s bed.
His mind was intact, but his body didn’t move.
From the whole body, the only thing that could move were his eyelids and eyeballs.
‘Is that the side effect?’
Cheon Seong-heon used all his senses to collect information.
As the result, he learned that his identity was completely changed by something.
His surname was Cheon like before, but his name wasn’t Seong-heon.
He was said to be fifteen years old, and was turning sixteen the next year.
Moreover, as an abandoned bastard son of a certain chaebeol family, someone paid the hospital bill after he developed a Locked-in Syndrome, but no one was said to have visited him.
‘Wherever I go, I’m a bastard son, eh?’
The circumstances were miserable, but Cheon Seong-heon was certain that at least being the bastard son wasn’t the side effect of that ‘serious error’.
The unknown existence might have tried to prepare an identity that matched him and made it like this.
‘From the comments about the superpowers and Players… it seems to be a similar world to PMH.’
What answered Cheon Seong-heon’s doubts was the existence of the half-brother, who appeared a certain day.
“… Hi. I’m your hyung.”
Playable Character Cheon Dongha.
He was Cheon Seong-heon’s new half brother.
“It’s difficult to communicate. How about we set a rule? For a positive answer, blink once, for negative, please blink twice.”
He had a subtle feeling, because he compared his half-brother to Cheon Dongha, but knowing that Cheon Seong-heon seen through the screen was a righteous person, Cheon Seong-heon blinked once.
He just blinked his eyes once, but Cheon Dongha was happy.
He said to be his older half brother, but right he was still just a 1st year highschooler, about to become a 2nd year highschooler, yet Cheon Dongha worked hard trying to get close to his younger half brother.
As part of those efforts, Cheon Dongha passed the outside news to him, and among them were news about Jo Uisin.
Jo Uisin was said to have freaking saved everyone from the ‘Tutorial of the unnamed supporting character’ and survive.
‘Uisin hyung came with His original name. There were unnamed supporting character in that tutorial, right? Doesn’t that mean that because He got a position without a name, Uisin hyung became Jo Uisin as He was?’
Cheon Seong-heon disappeared, but he was given a name, using the shared syllable with Cheon Dongha.
Considering this situation, Cheon Seong-heon made a hypothesis.
‘But even in this world, Uisin hyung is a year older than me… As Uisin hyung came to this world first, isn’t my position defined by Uisin hyung standards?’
If he thought like this, this situation was understandable.
Cheon Seong-heon repeatedly reasoned things out, while listening to news about Jo Uisin from Cheon Dongha.
He also figured out that the Red Wall Thief was Jo Uisin.
‘It’s a different development from the game. This surely should be Uisin hyung. Because there is no way that Uisin hyung would leave the Fantasy Auction alone.’
That said, there might exist other suitable or candidates beside him in this world, so it could be the outcome of a ‘candidate’ person stepping out.
Even so, he was certain the Red Wall Thief was Jo Uisin.
Because blocking the escape routes by mobilizing methods that could be used to reveal the whole Fantasy Auction to the whole world was a move that seemed like played by Jo Uisin.
And a certain day, Cheon Dong-ha showed Cheon Seong-heon a certain game record.
It was the game record of the Stalemateless, Jo Uisin.
*~*~*
[1] on a knife’s edge — ‘on thin ice’ in raws.
[2] green — or blue, I’m really unsure with this one.
[3] had a catch — in Korean ‘had a bone’ literally.
Translator’s note: Hm? 100? I can think of something that took 100.
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