NovelForge

# Calculation The air in the depths of the dungeon had a noticeably low oxygen concentration. With each breath, the inside of his chest stung like iron needles. But Junhyuk was already accustomed to such pain. 'I will reverse the record.' He stood before the crack. An artificial gap in the wall. Something the system had intentionally left behind. Or rather, a mouth torn open by someone from the outside. He traced his finger along the edge of the crack. It was cold and smooth. As if glass had been cut. Or as if reality itself had been scraped away. [Opening the Recorder job window] "Open it," Junhyuk said. The screen appeared. ``` 【Recorder】 ───────────────── Current Status: Lee Junhyuk (F→?) Strength: 100 | Agility: 87 | Intelligence: 156 | Luck: 23 Stamina: 78 | Perception: 112 ───────────────── ``` He stared at the stats. Numbers. The language that explained the world. Everything began here. 'To reverse the record...' He pushed his finger into the crack. There was no resistance. As if putting his hand into water. The world accepted him. [Record Edit Mode Activated] Junhyuk's eyes narrowed. The stat screen changed. Like sliders. Input windows appeared next to each ability where he could directly enter numbers. 'Park Sujin.' S-rank Inspector. Currently being tracked. There was no time. 'Then quickly.' Junhyuk moved his fingers. ``` Strength: 100 → [ ] ``` He entered 9999 in the input window. The screen trembled. ``` [Error: Exceeds the default setting value of the Recorder job] ``` "What happens if I exceed it?" Junhyuk asked. The system remained silent. Junhyuk entered 9999 again. ``` [Warning: Physical transformation will occur] ``` "Yes. Proceed." Heat rose from his finger lodged in the crack. It was like plunging his hand into a blast furnace. Bones made sounds. Muscles screamed. But Junhyuk's expression didn't change. ``` Strength: 100 → 9999 Agility: 87 → [ ] ``` The next input window appeared. "Zero." ``` Agility: 87 → 0 ``` He entered it. ``` [Warning: Loss of mobility expected] ``` "Next." ``` Intelligence: 156 → [ ] ``` He paused here. Intelligence was necessary. Analytical ability. The ability to read records. But there was no time. "One hundred." ``` Intelligence: 156 → 100 ``` ``` Luck: 23 → [ ] ``` "Zero." ``` Stamina: 78 → [ ] ``` "One." ``` Perception: 112 → [ ] ``` "Zero." The entire screen turned red. ``` 【Recorder】 ───────────────── Current Status: Lee Junhyuk (F→?) Strength: 9999 | Agility: 0 | Intelligence: 100 | Luck: 0 Stamina: 1 | Perception: 0 ───────────────── [Record has been updated] [The world is being reconstructed] ``` The moment Junhyuk pulled his hand from the crack, his body changed. His arms swelled. His shoulders broadened. His chest hardened like an iron wall. It felt like his muscles would pierce through his bones. Extreme pain. But simultaneously, extreme strength. He opened his hand. He pressed a rock with a single finger. The rock crumbled. 'It works,' Junhyuk muttered. But his movements were sluggish. Of course they were—with no agility and no perception. The world looked like slow motion. Or rather, he was moving in slow motion. 'No problem.' Boss battles aren't ranged combat. They're close-quarters fights. Strength determines everything. As Junhyuk tried to move, a notification appeared on the screen. ``` [Director Park Sujin: Within 5km] ``` 'Fast,' Junhyuk muttered. ``` [Director Park Sujin: Within 3km] ``` 'Tracking intensified.' The crack trembled. The wall began to split. The crack was expanding. As if opening its mouth to swallow someone. "Junhyuk!" Han Jieun's voice rang out. Junhyuk didn't turn around. He had already abandoned Han Jieun. No—he had to abandon her. 'In the process of reversing the record, existing records collide. The victims of that collision are those nearby.' More notifications appeared on the screen. ``` [Director Park Sujin: Within 1km] ``` ``` [Han Jieun's record is becoming unstable] ``` ``` [Warning: Abnormality in ally's body] ``` Junhyuk had anticipated this. That's why he had lied. "You'll be fine." It wasn't a lie for Han Jieun. It was a lie for himself. ``` [Director Park Sujin: Entering the depths] ``` Inspector Park Sujin appeared. Still with an elegant posture. But her face was contorted. The moment Junhyuk reversed his own record, the shockwave reached Park Sujin as well. "What did you do?" Park Sujin said. Her voice was trembling. "The system says the world's record has been updated. You... what did you do?" Junhyuk didn't answer. Instead, he took a step forward. His foot crushed through the floor. Concrete scattered like sand. With zero agility, his movements were slow. But his strength was powerful enough to shatter a planet. Park Sujin drew her sword. An S-rank inspector's sword. A sword covered in aura. "You're already F-rank. What can you possibly do?" Junhyuk let out a laugh. And he walked. One step, then another. The ground cracked beneath him. ``` [The Recorder's reversal is in progress] [The world's collision is increasing] ``` Park Sujin's sword aimed at Junhyuk's chest. As the blade made contact, Junhyuk's chest glowed. The strength of 9999 devoured the aura. Park Sujin's arm was pushed backward. "Impossible..." Park Sujin muttered. But Junhyuk was already in front of her. With slow movements, but an unstoppable trajectory. Junhyuk swung his fist. Park Sujin blocked with her sword. The sword shattered. The sound of an S-rank weapon breaking was like glass shattering. Park Sujin's eyes widened. ``` [Director Park Sujin: Attempting record modification] ``` The system announced. ``` [Failed: Already reversed records cannot be modified] ``` Junhyuk didn't look at Park Sujin's face. He was already calculating what came next. 'Distance to boss: 200m.' 'Time remaining: 3 minutes 30 seconds.' 'Han Jieun's survival rate: 47%.' 'Park Sujin's tracking resumption: Inevitable.' 'Still, it's enough.' Junhyuk pushed Park Sujin. The inspector crashed into the wall. Stone shattered like a human body. And Junhyuk walked into the deeper darkness. Beneath his feet, records were crumbling. # Park Sujin, who had crashed into the wall, remained motionless for a long time. Black blood dripped from her mouth. It was a mark left by the aura. She slowly pulled herself up and saw the broken blade. It was an S-rank weapon. Made from mythical-grade materials. Yet it had snapped as easily as a finger. Park Sujin's hands trembled. '9999.' That number burrowed into her brain. It was a statistic that didn't exist in human records. The highest record was in the 500s for S-rank strength users. And that was only achieved through extreme enhancement techniques. 9999 was a game. A joke. The realm of the impossible. Yet it had happened in reality. Park Sujin used her wrist to push against the wall. She turned on her communicator. Her fingers still trembled. This was no longer a tracking mission. This was a security crisis. "Emergency notice to all departments." Her voice was ice-cold. Emotion had already transformed into calculation. "Lee Junhyuk. F-rank awakener. Currently confirmed at 200m depth in the deep zone. Status: Extreme stat composition anomaly. Objective: Unknown. Threat level: Terrorist class." The communication network crackled. Park Sujin's voice spread across the global government network. "Reclassification. Lee Junhyuk is hereby publicly designated as an international terrorist. Elimination authority granted to all awakeners. Priority: S-rank." As she spoke the final sentence, Park Sujin muttered under her breath. "The only thing that can stop him is full force." --- Seoul Awakener Management Bureau Headquarters. Screens flickered in unison. Red lights came on. "Terrorist designation?" Employees rose from their seats. This was a situation with a manual. Fingers across the office drummed on keyboards. Information poured out. Lee Junhyuk's face appeared on the screens. News broke. --- A guild headquarters in London. The Hunter Association in LA. The Psychic Federation in Tokyo. The European Surveillance Organization in Nuremberg. The same name echoed in every place. **Lee Junhyuk.** F-rank. Terrorist. Elimination target. --- 1000m underground, in the deep zone. Junhyuk already knew. The noise of the communication network lingered at his ears. The system didn't filter such things. All the world's voices were records, and all records were signals. Junhyuk read those signals. "Designated as an international terrorist." Saying so, Junhyuk almost laughed. Park Sujin's calculation was precise. Since individuals couldn't do what government organizations couldn't, making the entire world an enemy was faster. 'Good tactics.' Junhyuk counted on his fingers. S-rank awakeners. How many would move? There were roughly 200 worldwide. In Korea, there were 20. No, now it was 19. One less because of Park Sujin. 'I need to recalculate survival probability.' Junhyuk walked through the darkness. Beneath his feet, broken records scattered like dust. The system remained silent. Why? Normally, it should have issued several warnings by now. The cost of reverse records, the acceleration of world collision, things like that. But the system was quiet. That was more frightening. --- A luxury apartment in the Gangnam district of Seoul. Choi Minjae watched the news. Junhyuk's face appeared on the screen. His expression was calm. Emotionless. Like a recorded image. Choi Minjae turned off the screen. "This crazy bastard." He muttered, but it wasn't a curse. It was acknowledgment. That Junhyuk had really done it. Making the entire world an enemy. In one move. Choi Minjae picked up his phone. He issued orders to the guild executives. "Erase all records related to Junhyuk. Don't leave any connection to our guild. And..." His fingers trembled as he spoke the final sentence. "If that guy comes here, say you didn't see him." --- In the deep underground zone. Junhyuk was walking. By clock time, 2 minutes and 40 seconds remained. 140m until the boss. Han Jieun's survival rate had dropped to 41%. 'Records are collapsing.' Junhyuk extended his hand forward. The air trembled. It was the vibration of records breaking. The cracks were widening. It was because of his stat composition. The power of 9999 was colliding with the world itself. 'It's a contradiction.' Junhyuk thought. 'The stronger I become, the weaker the world becomes. The more I edit records, the more other records collapse. Then is this really strength?' His footsteps stopped. No. He hadn't actually stopped. Junhyuk was still walking. But in his mind, the next calculation had already begun. 'Park Sujin is currently in an untraceable state. Other S-rank awakeners will arrive in a minimum of 3 hours. Government special forces are already mobilizing. Estimated arrival time: 45 minutes.' 'That's enough. To meet the boss.' Junhyuk's pace quickened. A loud sound came from behind. It was the sound of descent from the surface. The acoustic signature of dozens entering the underground. Government forces. 'They've already arrived.' Junhyuk descended deeper. The sound of records breaking rang in his ears. It was as if the world itself was screaming. But Junhyuk chose not to listen. He simply walked. Deeper, into darker places. Something existed there. He didn't yet know what it was. But Junhyuk knew. That when he met it, everything would change.

Chapter 3