Chapter 372

As I slowly regained my consciousness, I decided to activate [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] .

⸢Sooo, the method to clear the ‘Middle Island No . 4’ is . . . . ⸥

After managing to master the ‘Fable Control’, Jeong Hui-Won had finally entered the Middle Island’s scenario and began massacring other participants .

⸢ . . . . I dunno . Well, if they come at me, I’ll just kill them all . ⸥

⸢Our general is also a Fable-grade, you know? Don’t you look down on us!⸥

Jeong Hui-Won activated [Hour of Judgement], while Yi Ji-Hye activated [Demon Slaying] as they ran amok in their battlefield; around the same time, the kids began clearing the Middle Island’s scenario in their own clever way .

⸢I’ve tamed the ‘Invisible Wisp’ . Let’s steal that person’s Modifier using this guy . ⸥

⸢But, we can just send insects over there, though?⸥

What a crafty method of clearing the scenario . So much so that I didn’t need to help them out at all .

⸢Keuh-euhk, keuheuk, groan . . . ⸥

Yi Hyeon-Seong found himself alone on a different Middle Island and was being severely beaten up by other Constellations and Incarnations . He was in a foetal position while glaring at his enemies with sorrowful eyes, but then, he suddenly roared out like a huge bear .

⸢The one thing sadder then ending up all alone, is to get beaten up all by yourself!⸥

Powerful rays of light exploded out from Yi Hyeon-Seong’s body, causing the participants around him to explode en masse .

I was familiar with that technique . That was one of the special techniques possessed by the ‘Master of Steel’, [Impact Release], that released all the accumulated damage at once .

As expected, the folks from the original storyline were truly cheat characters . In any case, I got to clearly see that Yi Hyeon-Seong had become stronger as well .

⸢[Character ‘Jang Ha-Yeong’ has activated ‘Breaking the Sky Force Punch’!]⸥

As for Jang Ha-Yeong, she was clearing the scenario while displaying overwhelming strength . To me, she seemed to be on the path to truly becoming the master of the ‘wall’ she possessed . Well, she was a talented person from the get-go, and was also capable of absorbing the techniques of others rather quickly, as well .

⸢[‘Unidentifiable Wall’ is evolving!]⸥

Her ‘wall’ had become far more stabilised compared to before . She could chat to other Transcenders through her ‘wall’, and got to learn and understand their abilities . In a way, one could say there were some similarities between her method and me reading the book .

⸢[‘Unidentifiable Wall’ has sensed your presence . ]⸥

My view was instantly filled with white noise .

[‘Unidentifiable Wall’ is staring at ‘The 4th Wall’ . ]

[‘The 4th Wall’ is staring at ‘Unidentifiable Wall’ . ]

The moment these two walls stared at each other, my view suddenly grew fuzzy, blurry .

[ . . . . The end of the world-line is approaching . ]

As my view crumbled away, I could hear an unknown voice .

[Kim Dok-Ja, they shall come to find you . ]

*

Vrrr . . .

The moment I regained my consciousness, I felt my smartphone vibrate . I switched the screen on without thinking too much about it, only to spot today’s date .

February 15th . . . .

As we weren’t on Earth, the local weather report didn’t appear . All I could confirm was the date . Even then, I couldn’t say it was an accurate one, either . The space-time indicator had long lost its meaning after I moved around different dimensions willy-nilly, after all .

Everyone within lived in a different time from the others . That was the case, but now . . .

15th of February, is it?

I fell into a bit of thought regarding this date, before giving up and placed the phone down . My head was in a disorganised mess, and almost every part of my Incarnation Body was aching painfully, too .

I blinked several times while looking down at my upper torso to find bandages tightly wrapped around my chest area .

… . Where am I now?

The surroundings slowly filled my view . Firstly, the clean, white bedsheets, followed by the elegant Oriental décor of the room I was in .

A certain someone leaning against the window and looking outside threw a question at me . “You awake now?”

“You . . . . ?!”

Her eyes arched in a mischievous manner . “Ahh, so this is how it feels like coming back to life after dying . “

“But, didn’t you die . . . . . “

“I did?”

Seeing Han Su-Yeong snicker like that, the inside of my head grew even more complicated . I immediately recalled the sight just before blacking out; the events of her dying at Yu Joong-Hyeok’s sword, me fighting against him, and then, passing out from his attack, and finally, sharing a conversation with Yu Sang-Ah inside the Library… .

Han Su-Yeong approached the bed before I noticed it and pinched my cheek . “In any case, Kim Dok-Ja . You can be really adorable sometimes . “

Only then did I realise that she played me for a sucker . I took a closer look and found a small IV needle stuck in her arm, too .

” . . . . Where are we?”

“The waiting room of the Main Island . The place where that ‘guy’ and his castle is . “

It was then, I abruptly remembered something else .

[‘Master of the Island’ is calling out to Incarnation ‘Yu Sang-Ah’ . ]

Back then when that guy was taking Yu Sang-Ah away, there was another message popping up in front of my eyes, as well .

[‘Master of the Island’ is inviting you . ]

The King of Reincarnators . The third protagonist of the book ‘Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World’ had summoned us to their territory .

“But, I’m pretty sure that I failed to clear the scenario? Don’t I need to clear the Middle Island’s scenario in order to get here, so how . . . . . “

“Nope, you did clear it . “

I quickly confirmed the message logs .

[You have cleared Hidden Scenario – ‘Snatching Modifiers’!]

[Reward handout is currently on standby . ]

It’s true .

“But, how? I hadn’t collected the syllable ‘Vil’, so how . . . . . “

Han Su-Yeong wordlessly pointed at the necklace hanging around my neck .

[Devil of Lust and Wrath]

The completed necklace of Modifier was emitting a soft glow . Something like this couldn’t happen, though . One of the syllables should’ve been missing on my necklace .

Han Su-Yeong spoke . “Yu Joong-Hyeok gave it to you before leaving, saying that it’s a leftover . “

… . Yu Joong-Hyeok did?

But, why?

My thoughts were getting messy again . The things he said at the final moments rang vividly in my head .

– Yu Joong-Hyeok, a former Regressor .

Not the Regressor Yu Joong-Hyeok, but a former Regressor .

What was he thinking about when he told me that?

“Where is he now?”

“The next scenario . “

The sense of emptiness and relief brushed past me simultaneously when I heard her . He again went ahead before everyone in order to clear the scenario .

” . . . . Who was his target, anyway?”

“You just woke up, but you’re already so full of questions . How annoying . “

I sat on the bed, eyes blinking like an idiot . She pointed to my chest again . Upon taking a closer look, there were two [Modifier Necklaces] hanging around my neck . One of them was Asmodeus’s Modifier, [Devil of Lust and Wrath], while the other one was… .

[□□ of □□]

The places where my Modifier should’ve been were replaced by empty holes, instead .

“No way?”

“Yes, way . “

Well, at least he did leave behind ‘Of’ . That son of a bitch .

“It’s my turn to ask questions now . Is Yu Sang-Ah still inside you?”

” . . . . King of Reincarnators already took her . “

” . . . . Did she say anything else before going?”

I unsteadily rose up from the bed and walked over to the window . While standing next to Han Su-Yeong, I stared at the unfolding cityscape .

Reincarnators were busy roaming the streets that possessed the unmistakable ancient Chinese vibe . Beings from other worlds were here; beings that had chosen to live a new life in this place, along with different names and different faces .

“She said, let’s meet again in the next life . “

To me, it’d still be this life but to Yu Sang-Ah, it’d indeed be the next life . She’d earn a new body, a new life, through the power of the ‘King of Reincarnators’ .

She’d get to live a new life in this world, in other words .

Han Su-Yeong and I stared at the streets below without saying anything . It was as if we were searching for Yu Sang-Ah hiding somewhere within these nameless streets .

Han Su-Yeong abruptly opened her lips to speak . “It’s snowing . “

She was right; bits of snowflakes were descending from the sky .

Originally, this particular world didn’t have any snow . Yet, it was doing precisely that .

Snow fell like starlight . And beyond the tall skies where snowflakes continued to fall, Constellations were watching my tale . No indirect messages reached me, but I could still feel that they were looking at me . Probability they had gathered bit by bit until now was scattering gently in the skies .

I turned my head to the side to find Han Su-Yeong studying me . She grasped my [Modifier Necklace] and grinned . “I guess you’re no longer the [Demon King] of [Salvation] . Shouldn’t you get yourself a brand-new Modifier now?”

I began recalling the days I spent as ‘Demon King of Salvation’ while listening to her talk .

It hadn’t been that long, but those days were the most brilliant moments in my life .

As my vision grew wetter and blurrier, I could see Han Su-Yeong giggling away .

“Should I make one up for you, then? Mm… . What will sound nice on you, I wonder . How about ‘I Pass Out Too Often-Man’? Or, ‘Miraculous Piehole’ . . . . Eh? H-hey, you are . . . crying?”

My face was reflected in her irises, her eyes widening in surprise .

Actually, I wanted to ask her, an author .

As she was a writer, maybe she’d be able to tell me straight .

Tell me that I did good until now – whether I made the wrong choices or not, whether I would get to see the desired conclusion when I reach the end of this story or not .

“Hey, why are you crying like that? I get it, okay? I get it, so stop . There, there . “

She must’ve thought up something, as she began rummaging through her pockets next . Soon afterwards, something sweet and slightly sour entered my mouth .

“Why are you crying on a nice day like today? I mean, it’s even snowing, too… . I promise to think up a nice Modifier later on, okay?” Said Han Su-Yeong, before avoiding my gaze to stare into the far-off distance .

Today was the 15th of February .

That’s what the smartphone said . However, the time of this place and that of Earth weren’t the same, therefore this indicator was simply an ‘error’ . It was a coincidental date, with no meaning behind it .

Even then, what if there was some kind of a miracle and this date was indeed true?

Then, today would be my birthday .

Han Su-Yeong rubbed her eyes as she spoke . “I want to see the others already . “

I summoned up every ounce of my strength to make my reply . ” . . . . Yeah, me too . “

As if those words became the signal… .

[Revised text has completed its update . ]

A gift sent by someone arrived at my doorstep .

– Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (Final Revision) . txt

*

Inside the scattering, falling snow, Yu Joong-Hyeok was staring at the ‘Castle of Reincarnators’ .

Most likely, Kim Dok-Ja had regained his consciousness by now . And Yu Sang-Ah would be in the middle of reincarnation, having met the ‘Master of the Island’ already .

‘… . That woman . ‘

A deep frown crept up on Yu Joong-Hyeok’s face .

He’d never be able to forget the moment when his head rammed into that mysterious wall a few days ago . He got to forcibly observe that wall’s insides amidst the horrifying storm of Probability sparks . And that was where he bore witness to fragments of a tale he didn’t know before .

Some of them were as per his expectations, while some of them were definitely news to him . Some of them even took him completely by surprise, too .

It all happened for an instant, but he found the information he’d been searching for from that wall, as well as the answers he wanted to find . And now, he realised that it was time to put to practice the answers he found .

“Secretive Plotter . “

He raised his head to greet the gaze of a certain scheming Constellation .

[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, is looking at you . ]

The ‘Secretive Plotter’, the Constellation that made its first appearance in this regression . And, an unidentified existence whose information or evidence couldn’t be found in any of the 1863 worlds .

[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, is looking at you . ]

“Haven’t I played along with your schemes long enough now? I’m sure that I have the right to ask you a single question or two . “

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ didn’t reply for a brief moment . But then, a portion of the skies suddenly became dyed in darkness, and a ray of black light fell towards Yu Joong-Hyeok .

Tsu-chuchuchuchut!

As the sparks from Probability crackled all around him, the space-time within the near vicinity began distorting noticeably .

He was currently in the world ruled by the ‘Master of the Island’; no top-ranked Constellation would be able to exert that much Probability in this place . Yet, the ‘Secretive Plotter’ was an existence who could do exactly that .

A pitch-black shadow rose up within the darkness .

[What are you curious about, oh, the puppet of the most ancient dream?]

“Why did you show me that book?”

The shadow of the ‘Secretive Plotter’ wavered about as if to mock him .

Yu Joong-Hyeok continued with his questioning . “Did you want me to fall into despair? You wanted me to kill Kim Dok-Ja after reading that book?”

[Maybe . Maybe not . ]

“Why did you plot something like that?”

[You think you can understand it after hearing the answer?]

Its arrogant voice was filled with the confidence of knowing that a lowly being like him would never understand, even after hearing the truth .

Yu Joong-Hyeok asked another question . “Why did you send Kim Dok-Ja to the 1863rd turn? Why did you order him to kill ‘me’ there?”

[Let’s just say that such a scenario would’ve been fun to observe . ]

The shadow wavered around as if it was cackling .

Yu Joong-Hyeok remained calm and spoke his piece . “All of your schemes were to destroy Kim Dok-Ja . “

[Why do you think that? Do you have any reasons to believe that’s the case?]

“Maybe I do . Maybe I do have a pretty good reason . “

This Constellation, holding a mysterious animosity towards Kim Dok-Ja, and at the same time, didn’t exist in the ‘original work’, just like him .

Yu Joong-Hyeok had been chasing after this Constellation for a long time . And he had finally reached the answer to his pursuit in this very moment .

“Secretive Plotter . Are you the ‘Kim Dok-Ja’ from the future?”

Fin .