Chapter 154: Episode 30 – Dark Castle (4)
Han Sooyoung heard my story and muttered in a dumbfounded manner. “...Did you really become a constellation?”
A person who was an incarnation a few days ago suddenly appeared as a constellation. Certainly, it was strange. Han Sooyoung hadn’t read anything about an incarnation being reborn as a constellation.
“Yes. I am a constellation.”
“Really, seriously?”
“That’s right.”
Han Sooyoung’s eyes were filled with disbelief. “...Is it that easy?”
I wanted to say it wasn’t easy but Han Sooyoung didn’t listen.
“Shit, will you now be watching us outside the scenario and sponsoring us?”
“Nothing like that. I became a constellation in the course of the scenario so I have to keep participating in the scenario.”
“What’s the difference? I can’t tell at all.”
In fact, I didn’t feel it was real either. Borrowing stories, trading with other constellations and nebulae, changing the attitude of the constellations towards me...
[Some constellations are jealous of your growth.]
[Some constellations oppose you having a modifier.]
[Some constellations show hostility towards you.]
In any case, the constellations also felt the ugliness of jealousy. Why were they so harsh towards a growing bud? Still, there was something I could do now.
[You stare at the other constellations.]
[Some constellations are staring at you with amazement!]
[Some constellations have spat out the coke they are drinking with surprise!]
[200 coins have been consumed to send an indirect message.]
...As expected, indirect messages cost coins. It was fun but I had to use it in moderation.
Han Sooyoung was staring at me with an open mouth. “W-Was it you who just sent the message? The constellation who doesn’t yet have a name?”
That was what it looked like to Han Sooyoung.
“Yes.”
“Is it because you haven’t signed a sponsor contract until now?”
“Yes.”
“...Then is it already too late for me?”
“You could say that.”
Han Sooyoung frowned and looked up at the air.
[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ hesitantly reads her face.]
Han Sooyoung sighed and glanced at me. “Shit... I’m envious. By the way, why don’t you have a modifier?”
“That...”
Why didn’t I have a modifier? The correct answer was that I didn’t know.
[The Star Stream is looking for a modifier for your constellation.]
Perhaps it was because I haven’t accumulated enough stories. A constellation without a modifier was similar to gaining a citizenship without having a home.
Han Sooyoung muttered, “You are a vagabond.”
“...The fifth story isn’t over yet. Maybe I will have a modifier by the time this story is finalized.”
[The fifth story ‘Lone Messiah’ is currently in progress.]
The fifth story was a story that greatly affected the ‘status’ of the constellation. The position of my constellation would depend on how this story was finalized.
...Maybe.
Then Han Sooyoung booed. “Boo...Kim Dokja, why you suddenly look cool? Then can you beat Yoo Jonghyuk?”
Yoo Jonghyuk. I clenched my fist and opened it. Then there was a message I had never seen before..
[Beware of the ‘probability storm’ effect.]
[The Star Stream is currently evaluating your level.]
There was a prickly feeling at the tips of my fingers. This was a problem for constellations. Still, I would be fine as long as the ‘evaluation’ was in progress. The Star Stream didn’t know the right level of constraints for me yet.
“I might be able to win against him now.”
“...Really?”
The point was the word ‘now.’ The protagonist was the protagonist for a reason. I could only match his growth by becoming a constellation. The perks that Yoo Jonghyuk received were huge.
I ordered her, “Quickly return what I gave you.”
“Che, I understand.”
[The incarnation ‘Han Sooyoung’ has fulfilled the contract.]
I received all the coins and items I had left with Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung sighed. “...It’s too bad. I felt rich for a while.”
“I gave you 20,000 coins for the trouble.”
“I handed over 600,000 coins but only got 20,000 in return.”
“Then you can give back the 20,000 coins.”
Han Sooyoung scoffed and turned her back to me. I received my items and coins from Han Sooyoung.
[Possessed Coins: 684,353 C]
In the meantime, I had collected a lot of money. It wasn’t strange since I made a steady income and saved money. Now that I was a constellation, I no longer hesitated in using coins. The coins would exert their real strength from now on.
Then little by little... ah, wait. I forgot an important thing. “Han Sooyoung, when will you release that? It is sexual harassment.”
“Eh? Ah, I forgot.”
Han Sooyoung smiled and I approached Lee Hyunsung who was sitting on the floor holding his head in his hands. Han Sooyoung’s clones were still dancing naked around Lee Hyunsung.
[The character ‘Lee Hyunsung’ is shaking with fear.]
...
「 The Steel Sword is weak to women. 」
There was such a sentence in Ways of Survival but I hadn’t thought it was so severe. Besides that...
“...It isn’t real.”
Han Sooyoung’s clones looked naked but they didn’t have the important parts. In other words, Lee Hyunsung had become like this because he saw mannequins.
Han Sooyoung noticed the meaning of my words and laughed mischievously. “Hrmm...what does that mean? You are sorry because you didn’t get to see them?”
“I told you. I don’t like a poor body like yours.
“...You haven’t even seen it.”
“Do i need to see it?”
I approached Lee Hyunsung and patted him on the back. “Hyunsung-ssi, are you okay?”
“D-Dokja-ssi.”
He looked stupid but he wasn’t crazy. Lee Hyunsung looked at me like he had seen a ghost. “Why is Dokja-ssi...you are... dead?”
I think he got a real trauma. I looked at Han Sooyoung with annoyance. It was a comic-like situation but it would’ve been a serious blow for the Steel Sword. If I didn’t something wrong in this round, Lee Hyunsung might step on an unknown route...
For the moment, I had to rely on time for him to recover. Then another voice was heard from the side. “Excuse me...”
“...?”
“Can I go?”
The last member of Pink Kids entered my eyes. She had a pretty face and slender body. She had fine eyebrows and tender cheeks. Who would believe this person was an uncle in his 40s?
“What is your name?” I asked and a pretty voice answered.
“S-Seo Inna.”
“That’s not his real name.”
Seo Inna hesitated before speaking his true name. “...I am Kim Yongpal.”
Pink Kids, Kim Yongpal. I found the right person.
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue. “...Why are you keeping him alive. Aren’t the Pink Kids scum?”
“Not yet. They ‘will become’ bad guys. If you read it correctly, you should know that the Pink Kids was originally a trio.”
“But there are four... eh?”
I explained, “This uncle died before they became really active.”
“...Is that why I couldn’t remember him?”
“Kim Yongpal is basically a pure person. Thus, he was the first to die in Pink Kids.”
Kim Yongpal interrupted. “Excuse me, what are you talking about...?”
“Shut up.”
Han Sooyoung frowned at him. “This is a pure person?”
“Yes.”
I also couldn’t believe it but it was a setting in Ways of Survival.
[A constellations who likes to change sex is nodding.]
[A constellation who likes to change sex claims there are no bad people among those who like to change sex.]
In fact, Kim Yongpal survived to this day without killing anyone, even in the first scenario.
I could come up with the ‘insect killing’ method in the first scenario because there was a precedent where Kim Yongpal stepped on an ant by mistake and survived. Of course, Kim Yongpal didn’t know why he had survived.
He was a person who ‘fortunately’ survived. This was Kim Yongpal of Pink Kids. No, I should call it Pink Kid now that his companions were dead.
Han Sooyoung muttered like she didn’t want to admit it. “Damn...so what? In any case, you saved him because there is a use for him?”
“Yes.”
“Then now what?”
“We have to break the scenario again.”
“Do you know that this scenario is?”
Of course I knew. I knew it very well.
“It is the last scenario before the liberation of Seoul Dome.”
The ninth scenario, Dark Castle. In this scenario, beings that had never appeared before emerged.
I watched Lee Hyunsung, who was still trembling with fear, the unconscious Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung who was caring for the injured Lee Gilyoung.
Maybe my other companions were alive somewhere. There was Jung Heewon so they wouldn’t be defeated so easily on the first floor.
“The first floor is just a joke. The real hell is the second floor.”
A special window in the castle showed the outside landscape. Crowds were moving around Seoul. Unfortunately, in the absence of the ‘greatest sacrifice’ and the ensuing struggle, half of Seoul had become demon servants.
The incarnations of Seoul were shouting sorrowfully. Despair already covered Seoul but the ‘story’ was still lacking. The story was always lacking.
The dokkaebis were seeking larger frustration. The constellations were yearning for more provocative story.
Han Sooyoung stared out the window and spoke. “It is a cliche imagination. Regressors, returnees, reincarnators. Now there are demons?”
“A person who plagiarized is saying this...”
“Hey, I told you a couple of times...”
I was joking as usual when I suddenly became curious. “Han Sooyoung.”
“What is it?”
“If you are the writer of Ways of Survival...”
“I didn’t write that garbage.”
“Let’s just assume.”
The grumpy Han Sooyoung bit her lips. “...If I am the writer?”
“If you are the writer of Ways of Survival, why did you make this world?”
“How should I know?”
“You are also writer.”
“How can a first-rate writer like me know the thoughts of a third-rate writer?”
...I was an idiot for asking her. Han Sooyoung continued speaking. “I should be the one asking you that.”
“...What?”
I met Han Sooyoung’s deep eyes. I couldn’t read Han Sooyoung even if I used Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. Still, I seemed to understand a bit. A person who read the story might have similar thoughts.
‘You know the end of this world. Isn’t that right?’
Han Sooyoung was obviously asking this. As always, I didn’t answer.
Han Sooyoung stared out the window like she knew she wouldn’t receive an answer. Then she asked another question. “...Why do the scenarios exist?”
I stared out the window.
The dark sky above the destroyed Seoul could be seen. Was it because I had become a constellation? The sky wasn’t the same as before.
Countless constellations were embroidering the sky. The Star Stream was embracing the constellations. They were stars that could never be reached despite being so close.
Even with so many stars shining...
There was the distant abyss that couldn’t be erased. I felt like I had discovered something.
What were the constellations always enduring? Why were they so obsessed with the story?
I shook off this distant emotion and opened my mouth. “Perhaps the scenario...”