"Dokja-ssi! I heard your approval rating exceeded 80%?"
Kyung Sein and the others were unaware of the details of my negotiations with the 'Bear Beastmen' as they were each traveling throughout Zone 13 to gain additional support.
"Wow, how on earth did you convince them?"
"I don't know if I should call that persuasion."
Not all bears were persuaded.
The leader 'the bear who will spare One's Life if One pretends to be dead' rejected my instigation and disappeared.
The bear who took over his story and became the leader of the new bears, said this.
"The leader fulfilled his mission. He felt that this was his ◼️◼️."
◼️◼️.
Is there an end to the road even for those who have lost their dreams?
"Don't feel guilty. The boss just entrusted us to you. All you have to do is keep your promise."
The companions who heard my story had solemn expressions.
"I don't know what to say. After all, you can't force the same dream on everyone."
The bears were an enemy he had fought just a few days ago, but no hostility could be found in Kyung Sein's tone anymore.
Friend or enemy, in the end, everyone is just a part of this huge story. That was the lesson we learned while building the story here.
"Kim Dokja, when are you going to leave?"
In response to Killer King's question, I checked the 'system message' floating in the air.
[You can attend the 'Zodiac Ball'.]
[Choose the colleagues you want to attend the ball with by midnight tonight.]
[The eighth scenario automatically ends as soon as you attend the 'Zodiac Ball'.]
"By midnight tonight."
Midnight tonight.
Finally, we'll meet the constellations of the Chinese zodiac.
Kyung Sein asked with a stern expression, maybe nervous about going to a new scenario area.
"Yoo Jonghyuk hasn't woken up yet. Will it be okay?"
"It's okay. If he doesn't wake up, I'll at least slap his butt to wake him up. "like Breaking the Sky Sword Saint".
"
We looked at each other and laughed.
"But what exactly is the 'Zodiac Ball'?"
"It's an event that has never been mentioned in the Book of Revelation."
As Cha Yerin said, the 'Zodiac Ball' was definitely an event that did not appear in 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint'.
I can only guess that it will have a similar feel to the 'Constellation's Banquet'.
"It would be good to know the information in advance."
"How?"
I pointed to a corner of the inn with my chin. There was a little rat prisoner tied up tightly.
[The constellation, 'Nail-Eating Rat' is trembling and looking at you.]
It was six months ago that Kim Soogyeom first became aware of the phenomenon of possession.
'It's an unfamiliar ceiling.'
The moment he realized that fact, Kim Soogyeom was thrilled.
Having acquired a repertoire of 'possessing people' through comics, novels, and animations, he was surprised by the appearance of an unfamiliar ceiling, but was not embarrassed.
'I just waited for this moment.'
To him, who was a repeat student—to be exact, he had retaken the CSAT but failed the CSAT and was about to take the third attempt—this possession felt like a kind of salvation.
The problem was the object of his possession.
[Squeak.]
Of all the objects, why did I possess this one?
[Squeak.]
The only comforting thing was that this 'squeak' was not "squeak" but [squeak].
[The constellation 'Nail-Eating Rat' squeaks.]
The moment he read the word constellation floating in the air, Soogyeom Kim realized what kind of world he had arrived in.
[Are you here, Sugyeom?]
[Squeak… ah?]
What's even more surprising is that his friends arrived first.
[I thought you would come too.]
There are two friends who possessed someone together with Kim Soogyeom.
Their modifiers were as follows:
'Pig Living In a Brick House'.
And 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake'.
Kyung Sein: No, you were originally friends with the 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake'?
Kim Soogyeom was excited.
I am not alone!
I'm not alone in this damn world!
While possessing constellations, they decided to call each other by their constellation names.
'Tiger Eating Rice Cake' is a tiger.
'Pig Living In a Brick House' is a pig.
And Kim Soogyeom is a rat.
He didn't like the name, but he couldn't help it. Because it was the tiger who decided that.
[But why did I possess someone in this novel?]
The rat answered the tiger's question.
[It's because of you. You liked this novel.]
[The rat said you read it too.]
[I didn't like it that much.]
However, no matter how hard they think about it, the phenomenon of possession itself does not change.
[What scenario are you all in now?]
[I am in the 69th. The rat is number 63.]
[I am in the 71st. I've come the furthest, but honestly, looking at the difficulty level of the scenario, I think it would be impossible for us to get to the final scenario on our own.]
[It was like that in the original.]
[Ah, why did we have to possess an animal constellation? It would have been better if it was someone like Sun Wukong or Hades.]
[What do we do now?]
[We need to find Kim Dokja.]
But soon they realized.
[I think we are ◼️ here.]
There is no 'Kim Dokja' in this world.
But they were not frustrated.
What would they be without Kim Dokja? All they have to do is make Kim Dokja.
[What do you think? Who should I sponsor?]
[How is he over there?]
[Isn't he originally a villain?]
[He's a villain, though. …Uh? Well, isn't there something strange about that?]
[Huh? Uh huh?]
[Squeak!]
The moment the first scenario ended and they saw Cheon Inho alive at Geumho Station, the three friends realized something.
[I decided on you.]
Lee Dansu: Oh, by any chance, in 'Sponsor Selection' at that time…!
From then on, Kim Soogyeom and his colleagues began sponsoring.
Unfortunately, all three failed to become Cheon Inho's constellation, but it was not something they wanted as they were great-grade constellations anyway.
In the meantime, they learned that there was another constellation in the same situation.
[The constellation 'Cow of the Beginning' shrugs.]
They also learned that there are constellations plotting evil plans.
Cha Yerin: The Misreading Association.
The two forces immediately antagonized.
That's right, one side was the side that wanted to support the main character and see the ending, and the other side was the side that wanted to become the main character of this world by exterminating the main character and the other side.
[The constellation 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake' roars!]
[The constellation 'Snake cutting its tail' screams!]
[The constellation 'Pig Living In a Brick House' builds a brick house.]
[The constellation 'Rat Bringing Plague' begins to eat the bricks.]
After fighting every time they encountered each other, the constellations eventually decided to get together and negotiate.
Of course, there was no way the negotiations could work properly.
[Snake, I warn you. Don't interfere with the story. Unless you really want to get lost.]
[How pathetic. Are you really going to lose control of the story to people like that? We are constellations.]
[Birds who do illegal downloading◼️ keep their mouths open—]
[So, did you guys buy them all?]
[Of course we…]
[Swear to the
Killer King: So who didn't take the oath?
They continued to fight and antagonize and grab each other like that for several months.
A lot has changed in them in those few months. They came to talk like a constellation, think like a constellation, and act like a constellation.
[The constellation 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake' cheers for Cheon Inho.]
If you think about it, that wasn't such a strange change.
[The constellation 'Cow of the Beginning' is amazed by Jung Heewon's majesty.]
Maybe they lived similarly even before becoming a constellation.
[The constellation 'Pig Living a Brick House' feels frustrated with Yoo Jonghyuk.]
They were happy, sad or angry while watching the scenarios of the incarnations, and sometimes even moved.
And at some point they forgot the scenario they had to clear.
Some friends even helped the main character by exceeding the probability allowed to them.
The 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake' was one of them.
In particular, after sponsoring the 'core of the devil species' as the material for 'Unbreakable Faith', the condition of the 'tiger' began to deteriorate noticeably.
[Tiger, are you okay?]
[Hmm? Rat, what's going on?]
[I'm asking this because your complexion is pale.]
One week, two weeks, one month.
Time continued to pass.
Because he did not want to be left out among friends who laughed or cried, Kim Soogyeom occasionally wrote indirect messages. But every time he wrote a message, he got the feeling that something was going wrong.
[The story 'The Rat Who Desires an Incarnation' urges you to find a new incarnation.]
[The story 'Back Alley Thief Rat' orders you to lick the story that fell on the floor.]
[The story 'Gluttonous Rat' wants to devour new stories.]
When did stories start speaking to them?
Or maybe they were talking to them from the beginning and they didn't know?
Was supporting the main characters and devouring their stories all a command of the stories? Then,
[The story 'Nail-Eating Rat' is looking at you.]
Could it be that they are now being consumed by 'stories'?
Kim Soogyeom, terrified, threw away his story and ran away. Wherever he went, stories followed him, but fortunately he was a 'rat' who was good at running away. Among the zodiac animals, the rat was the fastest.
But unfortunately his friends were not 'rats'.
Killer King, who had listened to the rat's story to the end, shook his head and said.
"So that's what happened."
It was only after listening to the story that I could understand why the 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake' had changed so much.
Most of the animal-type constellations above, as well as the 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake', are probably in the same state.
They are no longer 'readers'.
[I, I came to tell you this. Never climb up. The constellations of the 'Zodiac Ball' are all crazy. And the guys who were the Five Dogs Association—]
The moment he said that, the rat's mouth suddenly froze.
[The constellation 'Nail-Eating Rat' screams!]
Along with the rat's terrible scream, terrible sparks began to blow into the rat's incarnation body.
[The constellation 'Nail-Eating Rat' takes a huge hit and leaves 'Zone 13'.]
It happened so quickly that I had no time to do anything.
I looked down at the small claw left where the rat had been.
Killer King asked.
"Just now…"
"It's hard to say that he simply lost to the story."
No matter how much he has lost his 'status', he was still a 'great-grade constellation'. If he had disappeared due to being dominated by a story like the 'Tiger Eating Rice Cake', some other symptom would have appeared.
I said, looking up at the night sky that had already become dark.
"There's someone..."
Clearly, this is the work of a guy who exists in a higher-level scenario. It is also a being that can exorcise the 'Nail-Eating Rat', a powerful constellation, with a single blow.
"In the 'Zodiac', there is a being equivalent to a 'narrative-grade constellation'."
Normally, it would have been a time when Kyung Sein or Dansu ahjussi would have been scared and uttered a word. But this time no one said anything. Because they already knew that there was a powerful enemy up there.
"Get ready to go up quickly."
Exactly one hour later, we finished getting ready and gathered in the central clearing of 『The Fox and the Crane』.
A small cargo was rising in the center of the clearing. Perhaps the crane owner had prepared it in advance.
We sat naturally around the bonfire.
"Zone 13 is also the last."
Everyone's eyes are deep in their own thoughts. This time, Kyung Sein was the first to open her mouth.
"Dokja-ssi, I have a question."
"Yes. Please tell me."
"By any chance… have you become a Constellation?"
I answered with a bitter smile.
"It's just a replacement."
"Replacement? Is something like that possible?"
I briefly explained my situation.
"Then you will be able to act as a constellation for the time being."
"I guess so."
"Are you okay, Dokja-ssi? I wonder if the stories are speaking to you like the constellations before…"
"Oh, me."
[The story 'Heir to the Eternal Name' is grumbling at you.]
"Sometimes there are some who start fights, but it's okay. It's just similar to what Kim Dokja experienced."
After hesitating for a moment, Kyung Sein added.
"It somehow flows in a similar way to the Book of Revelation. It seems that Kim Dokja became qualified as a constellation around this time in the Book of Revelation."
It was like that. I think it was definitely around that time.
"If Dokja-ssi is Kim Dokja, we all have our own roles, right? For me, I guess it's Lee Hyunsung. And Dansu ahjussi is… Han Myungoh?"
"No, Sein-ssi."
"Of course Yerin-ssi is Jung Heewon, and…"
Kyung Sein hesitated for a moment.
She probably was reminded of Ye Hyunwoo.
Killer King intervened with good timing.
"Of course I am Yoo Jonghyuk."
"Yes. I think the second apostle is Kim Namwoon."
"You."
The companions burst into light laughter.
Dansu ahjussi opened his mouth as if organizing things.
"We are just who we are. I don't think there's any need to compare ourselves to others. I'm definitely not saying this because I was compared to Han Myungoh."
That was right.
We cannot be
The man named Lee Dansu, who was touching his knee in embarrassment, added:
"But honestly, I don't think we're inferior to
That was also correct.
Above all, everyone in the party has learned [Way of the Wind]. Even if we look at us one by one, our growth rate was not bad.
Not only was Kyung Sein capable of tanking as powerfully as Lee Hyunsung of the same period, but he also had much more agility than him.
Dansu ahjussi not only has the 'Sneaky Schemer' as his constellation, but also has 'Immortal King' as his characteristic.
There was no need to mention the talented Cha Yerin, who was the first to master [Way of the Wind].
And Killer King.
"Kim Dokja, you're looking at me with unpleasant eyes."
Above all, we have Yoo Jonghyuk from the 41st round. In terms of potential alone, our protagonist has more formidable fighting power than any other round.
"It's not like I don't have friends like Jihye-ssi, Hyunsung-ssi, Heewon-ssi, and Yoosoung-ssi… Isn't this round quite interesting?"
I forgot about them for a while.
If we look at it closely, we can confidently say that the 41st round's power was stronger than any other round, as there were key characters such as Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, and Kim Namwoon.
Now that I think about it, where have other characters like Jung Heewon and Shin Yoosoung gone? Ji Eunyu and Anna Croft are nowhere to be seen either.
Looking at the situation, it seems like they fell in an area other than Zone 13...
If I participate in the 'Zodiac Ball', I might meet them.
[The story 'Between Truth and Lies' is looking at you.]
A mumbling story was talking to me. It felt like Yoo Jonghyuk had woken up.
It was a signal to me that it was time to leave.
Killer King asked since he felt the energy of the story.
"Is that a newly acquired story?"
"Yes."
Eyes that somehow seem envious or admiring.
Killer King looked up at the story that was floating above my head for a long time after that. Then he pressed his lips several times and slowly opened his mouth.
"I am Cha Sungwoo."
Cha Sungwoo.
The group turned to each other at the soft voice.
The name of the person Killer King possessed was Kang Ilhoon, but Killer King said his name was 'Cha Sungwoo'.
"My name is Noh Kyunghwan. I'm sure everyone knows this."
The person who opened his mouth next was Dansoo ahjussi. I knew the man's real name well, but the weight of that name sounded different.
While the embers of the bonfire were lightly bouncing, there was someone who took over the baton.
"I'm Sung Minwoo."
Judge Heewon— alsdn0905.
The person who had been called 'Kyung Sein' until now smiled as if she were embarrassed.
"This is the first time I say my name."
As she scratched her cheek shyly, Literature Girl 64—Cha Yerin, who was next to her—said.
"I'm Cha Yerin."
Cha Sungwoo, Noh Kyunghwan, Sung Minwoo, and Cha Yerin.
Geumho Station, Chungmuro Station, Gwanghwamun, the names of the people who have been through those difficult scenarios together.
Cha Yerin said to me who hesitated.
"You don't have to tell us your name. We just wanted to tell you."
The moment I heard those words, I realized something.
「 They know. 」
Since when? I don't know anything like that.
But they knew who I was. Still, so far they haven't asked a single question. Who I am and where I come from. What am I doing with them?
There is only one name allowed in this world: my name.
"I."
But can that name provide a sufficient explanation about me to the people in front of me?
I looked down at my hands. The warmth of the bonfire passed through my fingertips as I wrote the sentence.
All the stories in this world are fiction that exists for just one person.
Nevertheless, the warmth of this moment was never a lie.
I opened my mouth.
"My name is."
As time passes, the bonfire we gathered around will turn to ashes.
This warmth, this scenery, the fact that we shared this story, everything will be forgotten forever.
It's okay though.
"It's Lee Hakhyun."
At least at this moment, we are reading this story together.