10645-chapter-2

Chapter 2

It seemed the earlier taunt had really gotten under their skin, because they wouldn’t stop mocking him.

He didn’t mind, of course. Losing was the goal, and he had no reason to be upset over trash talk.

[ifibuyititsonsale]: You know I’m recording this, right?
[ifibuyititsonsale]: Bet the forums are gonna explode tomorrow. LOL
[ifibuyititsonsale]: Watching Rank #1 get absolutely wrecked. PRICELESS.

“….”

Okay. That was annoying.

Still, it was fine.

The entire ranked community knew his skill level.

Even if the video went public, it would be obvious to anyone watching that he had thrown the match.

The worst thing he could do now was take the bait and engage.

He was about to close the chat window when

[ifibuyititsonsale]: Be honest, you paid someone to boost your account, didn’t you?
[ifibuyititsonsale]: Typical. Acting like a big shot with no real skills.
[ifibuyititsonsale]: Feel bad for all those idiots who thought you were actually good. LOL

“This little….”

A sharp flash of irritation surged through him.

His entire existence in the game had just been insulted.

The match was practically over. On the surface, it looked like a 10 to 1 power imbalance—an impossible situation to turn around.

And yet, his fingers tightened around the mouse.

Victory points?

Didn’t matter.

What mattered now was teaching this guy a lesson.

“You’re dead.”

His hands flew across the keyboard.

The shift in momentum was immediate.

The supposed power imbalance? Gone.

The gap between their forces rapidly shrunk until the tables completely flipped—from 10 to 1 to 1 to 10.

As the tide turned, the once lively chat window fell silent.

At some point, his opponent stopped typing entirely.

And by the end, they weren’t even trying to control their character anymore—completely frozen, as if they had given up.

Without hesitation, he wiped them from the battlefield.

《[ResonanceTrap] has defeated [ifibuyititsonsale].》
《[ResonanceTrap]’s ranking score has increased to 20,790.》
《[ifibuyititsonsale] has left the game world.》

As soon as the result was finalized, his opponent vanished from the lobby.

A rush of satisfaction coursed through him—only to be immediately replaced by dread.

“…This is bad.”

His score had gone up even higher.

With matchmaking already borderline impossible, this would just make things worse.

He buried his face in his hands with a long, exhausted sigh.

“I have to complain to the developers about this.”

There was, of course, another option—deleting his account and starting fresh.

But could he really throw away six years of being the undisputed Rank #1?

At the very least, he needed to explore other solutions first.

After all, it wasn’t like anyone else in the world had this problem.

The next day, he logged into the official website to submit a support ticket.

And froze.

《 Thank you for supporting “World Breaker.” 》
《 As of today, “World Breaker” has officially shut down. 》
《 We apologize for the sudden closure and appreciate your understanding. Please look forward to our next game. 》

“…What?”

For a moment, his brain short-circuited.

Surely, there had to be some mistake.

If they were ending service, shouldn’t they have announced it weeks ago?

Yesterday, everything had been fine.

And now—this?

“Those bastards…!”

Fury surged through him as he immediately logged in to the community forums, ready to unleash hell—only to find the forums already on fire.

【 No advance notice? Are you insane? 】
【 This has to be some kind of joke. 】
【 Wow. Just how little do they care about their player base? LOL 】

It was hard not to nod along in agreement.

He scrolled down, about to post his own complaint, when something odd caught his eye.

A thread with a strange title.

【 Everyone, check your inbox RIGHT NOW. 】

The original post was bizarre.

“Just checked my inbox and got a message from the devs. It says I’ve been chosen as a beta tester for their new game. To enter, I need to say ‘Open Dimensional Gate.’”
“At first, I thought it was a joke. But… I actually tried it. And… a portal appeared. No joke. Try it for yourself.”

┗ Dude, not the time for jokes.
┗ This is why people don’t take gamers seriously.
┗ Get lost, troll.
┗ Go split yourself in half.

“…What kind of nonsense is this?”

Was someone seriously trying to mess around at a time like this?

He frowned.

Yet, as he kept scrolling through the comments… something felt off.

┗ ??? Wait, what the f**—why is this real?*
┗ HOLY SHT LOL WHAT IS THIS?!*
┗ Tried to take a screenshot but it won’t save!
┗ Is anyone else too scared to step inside?

The reactions weren’t normal.

And then there was the recommendation ratio.

A 7:3 split.

Usually, posts like this would be flooded with dislikes—but this one actually had upvotes.

“No way…”

A sudden, uneasy feeling settled in his gut as he opened his inbox.

And sure enough—there it was.

A message from the game developers.

《 Congratulations. You have been selected as a Beta Tester. 》

“Thank you for your continued support of ‘World Breaker,’ [ResonanceTrap].”
“You have been selected as a Beta Tester for the upcoming game, launching in three days—on the Day of the Apocalypse.”
“To join early, simply say the words: ‘Open Dimensional Gate.’”

His eyebrows furrowed.

What was this nonsense?

“World Breaker shut down today. But it’s launching again in three days?”

And what kind of game required a player to say something out loud in real life?

He scoffed.

Ridiculous.

And yet—

He glanced back at the forum thread.

At the hundreds of shocked, frantic comments.

An odd sensation crawled down his spine.

“…Open Dimensional Gate.”

He spoke the words quietly, almost hesitantly.