< Episode 16. The Fifth Scenario (2) >
Looking closely, the woman appeared to be fairly mature.
Not quite in her 40s, but judging by the faint wrinkles, she seemed to be in her late 30s at least.
She knows me? How?
I was slightly taken aback, but maintained my composure and decided to probe her.
"You must be mistaken. My name is Yoo Joong-hyuk. Kim Dokja is the person I hate the most."
"······Yoo Joong-hyuk?"
"Exactly. So tell your deserter not to act recklessly. If they don't understand, just deliver the message first."
I glanced at Han Sooyoung; she was giving me a look of disbelief. I signaled to her. Han Sooyoung would know exactly what to do from now on.
The woman spoke.
"I already know that you are Kim Dokja. Stop the unnecessary lies."
[Character 'Han Sooyoung' has confirmed that this statement is true.]
Han Sooyoung nodded toward me.
This woman had clearly come knowing exactly who I was.
"The King said that this meteorite will be entrusted to you."
An unexpected sequence.
Not only did she know me, but now she was just giving us the meteorite…
"Who are you?"
"We serve the 'King of the Wanderers.'"
"So, is the masked woman over there your king?"
The woman nodded.
I looked at the tall masked woman from a distance. The closer I looked, the more familiar she seemed, but there was something strange.
"King… you don't seem to have a flag?"
"The King does not concern himself with such trivial things."
…Trivial things?
The woman continued.
"The King instructed me to tell you: 'We will handle the northern disaster. But the other four disasters will be entrusted to you.'"
Before I could ask anything, she left, as if she had said all that she needed to.
Han Sooyoung shouted.
"Hey! What's the meaning of that? You should explain properly before leaving!"
But the woman ignored her, walking away with her back turned.
Han Sooyoung looked at me and asked,
"What the hell… do you happen to know that woman too?"
"As if I would."
I immediately activated [Character List].
[This character is not registered in the Character List.]
[Do you wish to update the Character List to confirm information about this character?]
Seems like the update cycle had come around again.
I nodded.
[Update completed.]
[Some characters have been added to the Character List.]
A window appeared.
Name: Jo Young-ran Age: 37 Patron : Joseon's Greatest Sorcerer Unique Traits: Escaped Model Prisoner (Common), Executor (Rare)Unique Skills: [Prison Break Lv.3], [Patience Lv.6], [Time of Execution Lv.3], [Shooting Lv.4]…Stigmata: [Disguise Lv.2]Comprehensive Stats: [HP Lv.30], [Strength Lv.34], [Agility Lv.36], [Mana Lv.28]Overall Evaluation: Currently in progress
Starter Pack currently applied
Growth Package currently applied
Look at that, Joseon's Greatest Sorcerer?
[Seongjwa, 'Joseon's Greatest Sorcerer,' watches you with cautious eyes.]
I never imagined there would be a woman who already had Jeon Woo-chi as her patron.
And although her class isn't as prestigious as 'Judge,' it's still a solid class in the 'Executor' category.
If her subordinates are this strong, then who exactly is this 'King'?
I immediately turned to look at the tall masked woman.
[Information about this character cannot be accessed via the Character List.]
[This character is not registered in the Character List.]
The moment our eyes met, a sharp jolt of pain ran through my mind.
I instinctively looked away.
My heart raced.
[The Fourth Wall] didn't tremble, but instinctively, I knew.
Had I continued looking at her, the tremor would have been even greater than when I met Song Min-woo. Even though I have [Self-Justification], I couldn't fully trust its effectiveness yet, so I didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
Han Sooyoung asked with concern,
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"······It's nothing."
The fact that [The Fourth Wall] was reacting meant that she was someone who had a significant impact on the "real" me.
In other words, this woman was someone I knew.
However, there was only one person in this world who had instilled a greater trauma in me than Song Min-woo ever had.
I see… so you survived after all.
I didn't expect you to be in Seoul, though.
Or that you could amass such a large force.
Or the reason why they wore prison uniforms.
If it was that person, it made sense.
Soon, the wanderers began to move.
They marched back along the path they had come, in perfect formation. There wasn't a single hesitation in their march. In the meticulous discipline woven into every step, I felt a loyalty I had never seen in any other group before.
At the front of the formation, their leader commanded them.
A woman without a tyrant-like crown or a majestic royal robe.
I looked at the ruins they had swept through: the damaged coin farms and the survivors they had saved. Blankets and daily necessities, seemingly provided by their own hands, were laid beside the survivors. The survivors watched the departing wanderers with eyes full of awe.
I had forgotten.
A king does not need a flag, nor a throne, to be a king.
Even in a world without kings, a king still existed.
A little later, I was examining the [Yellow Meteorite] they had left behind.
Yellow Meteorite.
Also called "Moonstone" in some references, this meteorite was actually a satellite from a star that had wandered through another dimension.
Just as described in the books.
The tingling magical energy I felt when touching it, the faint light emanating from its opaque interior, and the prominent white streaks across its surface — this yellow meteorite surely contained one of the powers capable of countering the disaster.
While I was examining it, a system message rang out.
['Moonstone' wishes to grant you evolution of a higher dimension.]
I refused the meteorite's offer.
The meteorite then withdrew its power.
Since the Moonstone inherently carries the power of night, it likely granted this power to the inhuman species as well. The cannibalistic creatures who received the night's power may have evolved into higher-tier in humans, like the werewolves.
['Moonstone' senses an inexplicable familiarity from you.]
However, the true purpose of this meteorite was not simply to evolve inhuman creatures. Hundreds of werewolves wouldn't be enough to stop the approaching disaster.
Of course, a thousand might help, but that would invite another disaster due to the throngs of in humans and the minions of the demon kings.
"Feels like I'm doing some volunteer work for once… Hey, did you figure anything out?"
While I inspected the meteorite, Han Sooyoung was tending to survivors who had collapsed nearby. It was slightly surprising — it didn't suit her at all — but, as expected, it was a clever ploy to earn coins.
[Some Lawful-Good aligned Seongjwa are moved by Han Sooyoung's good deeds.]
Since she had already crossed paths with the demon king, the donations were likely inflated compared to normal.
Truly, the duality of humans is profound.
Among the Lawful-Good Seongjwa, someone rivaling the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon might even appear. With
I looked around and said,
"Avatars are surprisingly useful."
Dozens of avatars were rapidly cleaning up the area. The corpses of the inhuman creatures were burning fiercely, and the horrifying cages and human butcher setups were dismantled. I couldn't imagine someone would want to earn coins while shedding that much blood…
As Han Sooyoung wiped blood with a swift motion, she asked,
"So, when are you going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"That thing from earlier."
I realized her question wasn't about the meteorite.
"You're still thinking about that?"
"Could I not?"
There were two 'Deserters' she didn't know about.
And it seemed there was some connection between them.
As the so-called 'Last Deserter,' it made sense that Han Sooyoung would be concerned.
"It's someone you know, probably."
"······I thought you didn't know before?"
"Not the woman I spoke to. I mean the leader of the group you mentioned."
"The King of the Wanderers?"
I nodded.
"That person isn't a Deserter. To be precise, they probably never even read the original story."
"What? Then how do they know about the story?"
"I told them myself."
Han Sooyoung's expression looked like she'd been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.
"You told that boring story to someone else? Why?"
"I needed something to say when I met them."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"That was all I had to tell them."
Perhaps because the atmosphere had darkened slightly, Han Sooyoung, who had been about to press me for answers, hesitated. She probably had many questions: who that woman was, and what kind of connection she had with me.
After a brief silence, Han Sooyoung spoke again, more casually this time.
"I don't know what your relationship with that woman is, but is it really okay to leave it alone? If more people who know the future appear…"
I could understand her concern. But it would be fine.
At least, she was a principled person, and wouldn't recklessly wreak havoc using future knowledge.
I tapped the Moonstone lightly and spoke.
"More importantly, this is what we're dealing with. From now on, we're going to awaken it."
"What? This?"
Han Sooyoung looked at me as if I had lost my mind.
"You mean… you're going to wake the 'Disaster' now?"
"Why are you so shocked? You did this yourself, didn't you?"
In
"Hey! That was just a minor plot device back then, but this… this is—"
"This isn't a Disaster."
"······Then what is it?"
"You must have been slacking on your plagiarism. Don't you remember? When a scenario starts, you really have no idea what will appear here, do you?"
Han Sooyoung glared at me for a moment, then turned on her smartphone and began reading her novel's text version.
"Ah… no way…"
"Finally figured it out? Looks like it's been copied pretty well."
"Shut up. But isn't it too early to be doing this? The main scenario hasn't even opened yet. What if we get hit with a plausibility explosion?"
"This won't trigger that."
"Even though you've angered mid-level goblins…"
"That's why we handle it while they're not around."
By now, that guy is probably busy being reprimanded at the Administration Bureau.
"From now on, we'll infuse this with magical power. By my calculations, ten hours will be enough for it to hatch: I'll handle three hours, you handle six."
"Why do I have six hours?"
"Because your magic level is higher, right?"
At that moment, the number of wandering avatars dropped sharply.
Noticing this, I asked,
"Be honest. What level is your magic?"
"Do I have to tell you?"
"It's information necessary to clear the scenario."
[The clauses of the 'Temporary Pact' take effect.]
Han Sooyoung's face contorted in annoyance.
"······Level 55."
I was honestly a bit shocked. Judging by her ability to operate dozens of avatars, I assumed she was above level 40. Level 55 was almost at the scenario's limit.
Judging by her comparatively low stamina and strength, it seemed she had dumped all her coins into magic.
"I'll adjust the time. I'll do two hours; you'll do eight."
"Hey! That's unfair! And I'm out of magic anyway."
I requested from Bihyung to open the [Goblin Pack] and bought a few [Intermediate Magic Recovery Potions].
"Then drink this while you do it."
"What is this?"
"A coin item."
"······Wow, your Patron must be insanely generous to just hand this to me."
"It's me who's generous."
Han Sooyoung glared at me.
"You didn't slip anything weird in there, right?"
"Then I'll start first."
I placed my hands on the Moonstone and immediately began infusing it with magic.
Thinking of the being that would awaken inside it in ten hours.
How long had it been asleep? I woke to the sound of someone rousing it.
"Hey, get up! This thing's starting to move!"
Han Sooyoung, hands on the Moonstone, shouted anxiously.
Crack… crack…
Fissures began to spread across the Moonstone. It was similar to what had happened when the Fire Dragon's red meteorite had shattered. It wouldn't react aggressively like back then… but even a single wrong word could get both of us killed here.
Koooooo!
A brilliant beam of light shot straight up from the Moonstone, piercing the night's darkness.
From within the stone, a powerful being was awakening, crouched but exuding an overwhelming presence, terrifying just to behold.