< Episode 19. Singularity (1) >
Since it was my first time in the dokkaebi's hat, I took advantage of Bihyung managing the constellations to flip through a few of the papers scattered across the table.
[Singularity Status Report]
…Singularity?
Curiosity piqued, I flipped through two or three more sheets, and the papers disintegrated into dust. They weren't real papers at all—it seemed to be a database constructed through the system.
Bihyung glanced in my direction.
"—…What are you doing?"
"Nothing. Really."
Watching the dust swirl on the table, Bihyung gave me a suspicious look, then sighed.
"Hey… are we really okay?"
"Why? You regret it now?"
"Well… you know. Constellations that come in like this tend to leave quickly. Those who leave will return to the Tokyo Dome channel. And that's when Dokgak's retaliation will start."
But that's a problem for later.
"And besides, you even lied earlier. What's your plan if the subscribers actually hit ten thousand? It's already over five thousand."
I shrugged silently, and Bihyung continued nagging.
"When we signed the contract, one of the conditions was that you wouldn't choose a sponsoring constellation. Even if it's improvisation, why'd you say something like that?"
"It'll work out somehow. If it doesn't, you can just cancel the contract."
"That's not allowed."
"You… I even risked my life for you, and now you say I can't?"
Bihyung's expression darkened.
"…Well, yeah…"
Right, expecting otherwise would have been foolish.
"Don't worry, I've got it all planned."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. So, give me the item already. Since Dokgak's gone, the authority to grant items must've passed to you."
"Oh, right."
Bihyung activated the system belatedly.
Moments later, a white coat fluttered down from the air. Its clean design showed that it had been meticulously crafted not only for combat but also for style. I caught the coat and checked the inside pockets.
[The special option 'A-Space' of the 'Infinite Dimensional A-Space Coat' has been activated.]
The coat's advantage was that it could store various items without requiring the [Inventory] skill. I already had a lot of cumbersome items—[Ganpyeong], [Dragon Preservation], [Donguibogam], [Magic Furnace]—so this was perfect for me.
"…But it's white, not like the catalog shows?"
[Other colors are sold out.]
Sold out? Then how many of these even exist?
[Didn't you know? This is a mass-produced model.]
A thought struck me, and I checked the item's options.
Still strange.
The A-Space is convenient, but… SSS grade?
Even the heart of the Ancient Dragon Ignitus is only SS grade…
[…Honestly, the creator had a hand in it. They're a powerful constellation.]
Makes sense.
After all, the 'Mass-Production Creator' is a well-known constellation among returners…
Even if the grade is a little inflated, this is definitely one of the top-tier items obtainable early on.
Anyway, I had gotten everything I wanted.
[Let's go back.]
Bihyung snapped his fingers, and the surrounding scenery rippled and began to change. One blink later, I had left Dokgak's hat and returned to the ground.
Han sooyoung, who had seen me suddenly appear out of nowhere, flinched and stepped back.
"Hey! Where the hell did you go?"
"Just had to take care of something."
"…Did it go well?"
Sometimes Han sooyoung had this habit of speaking as if she knew what happened, even when she didn't. Pride of the author, maybe? I just nodded.
"Nice coat… Damn, I'm jealous."
She looked at the white coat I wore with envy, then glanced over at Yoo Joong-hyuk, who was still passed out. She looked back and forth between the black coat he wore and my white one before speaking.
"Uh… is this a couple set?"
"…Just a coincidence. It's a common design."
[The Constellation, 'The Demonic Judge of Fire,' is inexplicably pleased.]
[A constellation that enjoys changing genders lights up.]
…Come to think of it, quite a few unique constellations had joined earlier.
What's with a constellation that enjoys changing genders?
Did one of those even appear in the 'Destruction Method'?
I'd have to check soon.
[The Constellation, 'The Demonic Judge of Fire,' keeps an eye on the constellation that enjoys changing genders.]
Since we're on the topic, I decided to check Yoo Joong-hyuk's condition. Luckily, his recovery seemed smooth. His breathing had stabilized, and his split wounds were closing.
"Let's move quickly. Before this guy wakes up."
Fists clenched, the unconscious Yoo Joong-hyuk lay there. Imagining what would happen first when he woke up wasn't difficult.
I left Gangdong-gu with Han sooyoung. Yoo sang-ah, whom we had entrusted to Han sooyoung's avatar, was now on my back. Exhausted, she was still unconscious.
I went back to the battlefield where I had fought Antinus earlier, but I couldn't find Lycaon.
Judging by the lack of a corpse, he was probably still alive. But why he hadn't come straight to me, I couldn't say.
He must have been badly injured from the shards of the disaster.
Han sooyoung, glancing back repeatedly, asked,
"Do you really think it's okay to just leave him like that?"
"It's fine."
"But that's Dokhee. Can we really trust her?"
I had entrusted the unconscious Yoo Joong-hyuk to Dokhee Lee Seolhwa.
"Dokhee isn't inherently a bad person. It's the Parasite that made her that way."
In timelines where the guide hadn't been infected, Lee Seolhwa was called 'Uiseon,' not 'Dokhee.' And likely in this timeline, she would be referred to as Uiseon Lee Seolhwa.
―"Take him toward Gaebong-dong. There's probably a military unit, the 5603rd, there. If you go in, you'll find one poor soldier waiting."
I had located Lee Hyun-sung via [Omniscient Reader's View] based on Yoo Joong-hyuk's advice.
Trying to raise all my companions by my own power may have been my arrogance.
Even if I were the omniscient reader or whatever, the time and information available to this one body is limited.
So perhaps the proper trainer for Lee Hyun-sung isn't me—it might be Yoo Joong-hyuk.
"I'm hungry. Should we eat that?"
I pointed to a plant species spiraling up the skyscraper.
[Grade 7 Monster Species, 'Yanaspreta,' looks at you.]
The giant sunflower-like eye turned toward us, and Han sooyoung recoiled.
"…You want to eat that?"
"There's nothing else to eat, so we might as well. According to the Destruction Method, it's pretty tasty. And it's not fully grown yet, so it's easy to hunt."
"Ugh…"
Han sooyoung grimaced but soon summoned her avatar. We quickly cut through the plant's stem and slashed all the tentacles that lunged at us. Soon, the Yanaspreta, severed from its roots, closed its eyes.
I realized how much stronger I'd become. Even as a juvenile, I could handle a grade 7 plant species this easily.
"Han sooyoung. You're eating too, right?"
"…I don't know."
"Then I'll cook."
Following the Destruction Method, I began preparing the Yanaspreta.
I peeled the tough outer bark, then sprinkled some herb salt I'd brought from a nearby grocery store.
Inside, the flesh was a light pink, reminiscent of fresh crab meat. Han sooyoung's eyes sparkled.
"What is this…? Is this even a plant?"
"Yes."
"Can we eat it raw in a salad?"
"Of course not. We're roasting it."
I roughly snapped a nearby tree branch and skewered the Yanaspreta like barbecue over the [Magic Furnace]. Even on medium heat, cooking took a while—probably because it's a grade 7 species. When the stem was cooked enough, I flipped it a few times and sprinkled more herb salt.
After a while, a savory smell, like grilled meat, began to fill the air.
"Wow, this smells amazing."
"Wait. Don't just eat it yet."
I stopped her from reaching for the furnace and handed her a teacup I had been warming.
"Drink this first, then eat."
"What's this?"
"It's boiled stem juice. You have to drink this before eating the Yanaspreta stem."
Han sooyoung took the cup with a slightly skeptical expression. But moments later, her expression changed to delight. After drinking all the juice, she began tearing into the stem with abandon.
"Eat slowly, will you?"
"…This is insane. You could be a chef."
"Maybe in a world that's been destroyed."
Watching her chew with her cheeks full, she looked like a five-year-old child, and I couldn't help but smile wryly.
[Several constellations who like cooking are curious about your meal.]
[Several constellations who like speed and violence complain.]
[The Constellation, 'The Prisoner of the Long Winter,' tells you to just show off.]
One week remained until the start of the Fifth Scenario.
We had already defeated the Fire Dragon of the "Burning Hell Disaster" and Myung Ilsang of the "Questioning Disaster," so two disasters had been subdued and the progress was smooth.
Soon, the awakened Yoo Joong-hyuk would take Lee Hyun-sung west to tackle the disasters there, while the "King of Wanderers" would handle the northern disasters.
Now, the only concern was the Central Disaster.
I picked up a Yanaspreta skewer and glanced at the still-unconscious Yoo Sang-ah.
"Yoo Sang-ah."
Was I imagining it?
Her lips twitched slightly, though she should have been unconscious.
"I know you're awake. Come and eat this with me."
"…"
"If you don't get up, I'll just eat it all."
Yoo Sang-ah didn't move.
Somewhere, a rumble of a stomach could be heard.
"Guess you're sleeping. Well, then we'll just eat it all ourselves. Ah… it's so delicious."
"…W-wait!"
In a nearly squeaky voice, Yoo Sang-ah finally got up from her seat.
Of course, she wouldn't just lie there after smelling this.
After expending so much energy during the day, it was only natural that she was hungry.
I glanced at Han sooyoung, who was still frantically stuffing her cheeks.
"Hey. If you've eaten enough, get up."
"Why?"
"Are you really asking me that?"
"…Tch. You're annoying. Fine."
Han sooyoung probably already knew that Yoo Sang-ah had woken up long ago.
And she also knew that Yoo Sang-ah hadn't gotten up yet because of her. Thinking that, I realized just how petty Han sooyoung could be.
"I'm going for a walk. Don't eat everything—leave a few for me. Got it?"
Grumbling, Han sooyoung disappeared into the darkness, skewers stuffed in her mouth.
Only after she was completely out of sight did Yoo Sang-ah slowly approach.
Tap, tap.
The skewers sizzling on the Magic Furnace made an appetizing sound. I handed one skewer to the hesitant Yoo Sang-ah. Only then did she take it. She bit, then bit again.
After slowly finishing the entire skewer, Yoo Sang-ah finally spoke.
"…It's delicious."
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Who would imagine, seeing her now, that this was the same girl who had wielded a dagger so recklessly earlier in the day?
"Eat slowly."
Yet the two daggers still strapped to her waist were proof that the girl from earlier wasn't a dream.
A month had passed since the start of the apocalypse.
Yoo Sang-ah ate the skewer in silence, and I occasionally took bites while watching her.
The skewers… were ridiculously good.
As if the taste didn't belong to this world.
Watching the flames of the Magic Furnace, Yoo Sang-ah muttered,
"…Is this really real?"
"Probably."
"Now there's no turning back, right?"
"That's probably true."
Her hand trembled faintly, and I felt a pang of pity.
Hands that had killed humans.
Hands that had stolen someone else's freedom to survive.
Now, with those same hands, Yoo Sang-ah covered her eyes. Her shoulders jerked intermittently. The absence of any audible sobs was perhaps her last shred of dignity.
"It's not your fault."
I didn't know if that brought her comfort.
I couldn't see Yoo Sang-ah's heart.
She began to cry openly. Tears flowed endlessly onto the ground, and the half-eaten skewer fell to the floor.
I don't know how long she cried.
Her sobs gradually subsided.
The stem of the grade 7 plant species Yanaspreta has a strong sedative effect if consumed without drinking its juice.
I watched the brightly colored, slumped Yoo Sang-ah for a moment and spoke softly to myself.
"It really isn't your fault."
Those words were directed at Yoo Sang-ah.
Yet, at the same time, they weren't directed at her.
"So… perhaps it's time to reveal the truth, don't you think?"
From the ruined city, the cries of scattered wild monsters echoed faintly.
Silence that made my words my own whisper.
I looked at Yoo Sang-ah and continued.
"You're going to pretend you don't know, huh?"
"…."
"I don't know what your purpose is in watching me, but if you've been observing me this long, you must know by now, right?"
[Unbreakable Conviction] revealed its white blade in the darkness.
"I hesitate at nothing to achieve my goal."
The calmly extended blade touched the back of Yoo Sang-ah's pale neck.
"So you'd better start talking quickly—if you don't want to see your precious avatar die."
From now on, it was a game of chicken.
I waited briefly, then began pressing the blade slowly against her neck.
The blade sank about one centimeter in, and blood quickly began to flow.
Then, Yoo Sang-ah's eyes suddenly snapped open.
[Exclusive Skill, 'Fourth Wall,' reduces your mental shock.]
With a gust of wind, I was thrown back from her body.
A terrifying presence that made my heart shiver. Brilliant radiance erupted from Yoo Sang-ah's body.
I saw her bleached pupils staring at me. And within them swirled the shadow of a distant nebula. A voice like thunder seemed ready to shatter my mind.
[Pathetic human.]
I wiped the blood from my mouth and grinned.
Finally, they've appeared.
The damned constellations of Olympos.