Surviving Among the Entities

The ascent of the Tower of Babel continued at a furious pace.

“I am the king of the jungle! The law of the jungle is survival of the fittest! I will conduct a duel befitting that!”
“You mortals made of flesh, taste the might of a mechanical body!”
“This body is the ruler of the skies! A companion living with the wind! Now begins the Wind Duel!”

The masters of the floors were the spirits of cards.
As they were spirits rather than humans, they sometimes took forms beyond human appearance and presented formidable and special decks that brought despair to the challengers.

“Continuous spell effect, ‘Survival of the Fittest,’ absorb the attack and defense of the monsters I’ve defeated! Additionally, effect of ‘King of the Wild’ activated! Any monster with lower attack than my monsters immediately becomes paralyzed with fear for 3 turns upon being summoned! Monsters in a paralyzed state cannot activate their special effects!”
“Continuous spell effect, ‘Archenemy of Steel’ activated, for this game, all non-machine monsters summoned to the field become machine-modified. Trap card, ‘Ransomware’ activated, all machine monsters are implanted with the ransomware virus, allowing me to control them as I please.”
“Continuous field spell, ‘Outer Heaven’ activated! From now on, the field becomes the sky! All non-flying monsters fall to their death!”

Is this really a card game?
Or is it a game of settings where the one who talks better wins?
The card battles of this world were so unbalanced and unfair that such doubts arose.

“Then it’s my turn.”

Fortunately, the broken one was me as well.

“Magic card, ‘My Notebook in My Head’ activated, I freely draw cards whose names and effects I know by heart until my hand is full. Using this effect, I will search and summon the card, ‘Isekai Transfer Book: Medieval Fantasy.'”

No, I was even more broken.

“This is a monster card, but since it’s non-living, it is not affected by the ‘King of the Wild’s’ effect. Next, I activate the special effect of ‘Isekai Transfer Book: Medieval Fantasy,’ I transfer all monsters on your field to another world. Once transferred, those monsters cannot return.”
“What!?”
“Instead, there is a certain probability that they will live a good life. Ah! The results just displayed. Your monster, ‘Nemean Lion,’ has awakened its magic powers in the medieval fantasy world and become a guardian deity protecting the empire.”
“No, what is this!!!”
“For reference, monsters that disappear due to this effect are not dead, but transferred, so they cannot activate death effects.”

A card that could exclude the opponent’s cards from the game without any conditions.

“Magic card, ‘Dream Theater’ activated, from now on, all monsters are actors, you are the director, and I am the critic.”
“?”
“Special effect of ‘Dream Theater,’ the victory condition of the game is changed to ‘satisfy the critic by creating an outstanding work.’ Now, quickly create your work and satisfy me. You only have one chance.”
“This nonsensical… Ugh, the rules of a duel are rules, so then where……”
“Hmm, the artistic quality is severely lacking. The actors’ performances are also stiff. Regrettably, you are disqualified.”

A card that changes the victory condition of the game.

“Magic card ‘Dial TV for You’ activated, according to ‘News Foretelling the Future,’ the current game state is changed, and the news content is ‘Oh no! The emergence of a powerful entity has flipped the world upside down!’ Following the news, the positions of the sky and ground are reversed, negating the ‘Outer Heaven’ effect, and your flying monsters are unable to adapt, falling to their deaths.”
“……”

Cards whose effects were not predetermined but changed wildly according to the situation, and more.
The special cards imbued with the characteristics of the entities I had encountered so far were powerful enough to shatter the rules of the game.

“I summon ‘Toy Well,’ with its special effect, I can summon the token monster ‘Gold Ingot’ whenever I want. Next, I summon ‘Office Worker,’ by tributing ‘Gold Ingot,’ I can freely special summon, normal summon, or draw any card I want from my deck.”
“I summon ‘Munchkin Merry Constellation,’ in 5 turns, you will be defeated.”
“Trap card, ‘Scales of Good and Evil’ activated, any monster that has killed even once will be enveloped in misfortune. Oh, your monster ‘Ultrastrong Cannon’ has been struck by misfortune, failing in elevation adjustment and fragging your own forces. That includes you, the player.”

If such cards had existed in the original world’s card battles,
wouldn’t they have been mocked on the internet as “What kind of card is this? Absolute nonsense.”?
Anyway, thanks to them, my ascent of the tower was the fastest.

“I summon ‘Marble: Human,’ I will activate its special effect. The effect projects a movie stored within onto everyone’s minds like a daydream, including the players and audience.”
“A movie? No, what kind of effect is… Uwah! Kya! Hwiik! Fwah!”
“It seems you’ve fainted. Unfortunately, as you can no longer continue the duel, I win.”

And yet, I had only reached the 1,275th floor.

“Professor Roland, to reach the top floor, it will take some time……”
“Kya! Huuh! Bwaangguaah!”
“……it seems.”

While waiting for Professor Roland to recover, I spent some time conducting a few experiments.

“Sarang-a, are those numbers still not reachable?”
[“Yes, the phone numbers you referred to as Seong-yura and Kim Dong-wook are still unreachable. Based on the complete lack of signal, it seems they are either in another dimension or an isolated space.”]

First, contacting the Foundation was impossible.
The location of their headquarters seemed to be in an independent dimension, disconnected from this world.

‘The Foundation agents dispatched must have all become Duelists.’

While the Foundation agents were prepared for mental corruption, there was no chance they avoided the reality manipulation that even Sarang-a could not evade.

“Hmm.”

Next, I took out the business card I had received from Baal.
I called out to him inwardly, but while I felt some kind of connection, he did not actually appear.

‘This side is the same – the severing of dimensions seems to be a powerful ability possessed by the “center of the world.”‘

Finally, I took out the Karma Call Center phone.
While the call center phone showed a signal even if no one answered, now there was no signal at all.

[Your current location is an area where connections are impossible. Please try again from another area.]

This confirmed it.

‘Our dimension has been perfectly isolated from other dimensions.’

In other words, it also meant we were safe from entities of other dimensions.

“Hmm.”
[“Why is that?”]
“No, just thinking. I made the decision long ago, but it’s something I should carefully reconsider several times.”
[“By the way, Mr. Seung-hoon, I understand you still have some unused cards.”]
“There are a few. I just didn’t feel the need to use them since they were too powerful. I thought they might cause problems outside the game.”
[“What cards are those?”]
“Blue Moon, Blind Girl, Ululuru, Creator’s Hatred, Giga-Christ.”
[“I’m curious about their effects.”]
“As for their effects……”

At that moment, a bright light shone down from the sky.
Parting the clouds, a group of angels appeared within the light and descended before me.

“Duelist Seung-hoon Lee, the master of the Tower of Babel seeks you.”
“Oh dear.”

If I had known this would happen, I would have tried using them.

There was no reason to refuse the angels’ request.
Meeting the master of the Tower of Babel was necessary to carry out the plan I had in mind.

“Is this outer space?”

As I took their hands, the world changed.
I found myself standing on a path formed by the light of countless stars scattered across a black canvas.

‘It’s gone.’

There were no angels to answer my question.
As if they themselves were not permitted in this sacred space, I was alone, and had no choice but to walk the starlit path by myself.

“So you have come. Challenger of the Tower of Babel.”

At the end sat a woman on a grand throne.
Wearing a priestly robe with cards depicted on it, she looked at me and let out a sigh.

“No, should I call you a bug?”
“A bug? You speak as if the world is a program.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You remember the original world, don’t you?”

With a wave of her hand, I found myself seated at a table across from her.
As I picked up the already set teacup, she introduced herself.

“I am the creator and manager of this world, the self of the entity you call the ‘center of the world.'”

Her identity was not singular.

“Simultaneously, I am the final boss of the current game, the ‘card battle.'”

“I myself do not know when I came into existence. One thing I am certain of is that my creator loved games and wished for many to enjoy them.”

She, the “center of the world,” was created for one purpose.

“To turn concepts that pique humanity’s curiosity and interest into games for all to enjoy. That is the mission for which I was born into this world.”
“Concepts that pique curiosity and interest – that would include the discoveries and inventions brought about by human creativity, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, for that is the nature of interest. I still remember when humans first discovered and activated me, storing the concepts they created as stone tablets.”

That was the incident at Göbekli Tepe.

“The stone tablet the humans activated at that time was ‘commerce,’ the concept created when some tribes first engaged in barter and used gems as currency.”

The concept of commerce changed the world and soon drew many to Göbekli Tepe.

“Once commerce became the center of the world, many gathered to where I was for trade. As trade began, it gradually transformed into a city, and civilization was born.”
“But it ended.”
“Yes.”

Her existence was a game.
Games must have an end.

“You could call it a game in your terms. Games are enjoyable because there is an end to strive towards. The same applies to games. There must be an end, and I am in charge of that end.”
“So that’s why you introduced yourself as the final boss.”
“Yes, for in the moment I am defeated, the game also ends.”

She was the final boss during the time of Göbekli Tepe as well.

“At that time, the setting was that all of humanity owed me a debt. All of humanity had to collectively offer me 1 trillion won in today’s currency. After hundreds of years, the final installment was paid, and the game at that time came to an end.”

Once the game ended, the people who had gathered for commerce naturally dispersed again.
This was the truth of Göbekli Tepe.

“Judging from the remaining traces, it seems you didn’t go as far as reality manipulation back then.”
“The humans of that time were pure beings who could be satisfied with small stimuli. But not the humans of the present.”
“Modern humans have become addicted to dopamine.”

But I had one question.

“If I defeat you and return to the original world, will humanity remember what happened in this world?”
“They cannot.”

As expected, they could not.
If they could remember, then after people dispersed following Göbekli Tepe, another civilization should have instantly flourished.

“Then doesn’t that make the game meaningless?”
“Instead, a trace remains in the soul.”
“Is there meaning in that?”
“There is. At least, that is what my creator believes.”
“Who is the creator?”
“I do not know either.”

Who exactly is the creator?
Well, the veil of mystery surrounding the birth of entities is not that special, so I let it go.

‘It must be a creator from another dimension, or a god, or a higher entity, or a primordial being.’

I continued asking the questions I had.

“What happens to those who died in this world?”
“Since it will be as if it never happened when returning to the original world, they will all be revived.”
“You said you were the final boss, so defeating you is what’s required?”
“Yes, the moment I am defeated, the world will revert to its original state.”
“Why did you call me separately?”
“Because you are a bug. Not only do you remember the original world, but you possess numerous cards that shatter the balance. This goes against the purpose of the game, so I invited you to negotiate.”

She said:

“Please, stop the dueling. I wish to continue this game. I do not want to lose this opportunity I have regained after tens of thousands of years.”
“I have one final question. Are there no entities from other dimensions attacking you?”

Her expression gave the answer.

“So there are entities attacking you?”
“……Yes, there are.”
“There must be many. While you are certainly a powerful entity, there are many powerful entities in the world. Can you endure?”

It did not seem like a good situation for her.

“It is quite burdensome. As I have manifested my self and am also serving as the final boss, it is regrettable that I cannot focus solely on defense.”
“What if you could focus solely on that?”
“Then I could easily fend them off.”
“That’s how multitasking usually goes.”

The external attacks were burdensome, but she was barely managing to fend them off.
As for the internal risk factors, well, they would likely be reality-manipulated into settling things through duels.

‘I’ve gathered all the information.’

I finalized the plan I had been considering.

“I have no intention of defeating you.”
“Ah! Really!? Then for as long as this game continues, I will provide you with the best service……”
“No, not agreement, but cooperation. I quite like the world you’ve created. So let’s make a deal.”

I crossed my legs and made her a proposal.

“You keep the external entities from intervening. I will become the final boss and help you focus solely on that task.”