Chapter 212: Episode 40 – Hatching (3)
The flow of time and space was becoming abnormal. Jang Hayoung’s lips moved very slowly while the voices were badly fragmented and didn’t sound normal. It was like the whole world was in slow motion.
「 Kim Dokja realized. This is the time of the dokkaebis. 」
In order to manage and judge a large number of channels at the same time, the dokkaebis’ cognition rate was significantly faster than other creatures.
I looked up at the air. A sphere of white light floated over a baby dokkaebi with fluffy fur. It was a sphere I had seen before. It was the soul of Shin Yoosung.
‘It has been a while, Yoosung.’
A translucent light appeared inside the sphere and the silhouette of a person could be seen. The existence who wanted to save the world and who used to have faith in Yoo Jonghyuk. The Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression was right in front of me.
[You have earned an incredible achievement!]
[You are the first human to hatch a dokkaebi egg.]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ‘Father of a Dokkaebi’ has been acquired.]
Shin Yoosung read my expression and spoke.
-Don’t apologize. I chose this.
‘Still, I’m sorry.’
-Ahjussi is incredible. Captain of the 41st regression wasn’t like you.
‘It isn’t easy. I have a lot of work to do.’
-Don’t you need my help?
I nodded and Shin Yoosung smiled brightly.
-Can I do it well?
‘You can do it well. I will help you.’
Only a person who reached the bottom of the scenario knew the weight of the scenario. This was why I believed in the 41st round Shin Yoosung. Of course, this wasn’t why Shin Yoosung had to believe in me.
-Captain of the 41st regression was unsuccessful.
Shin Yoosung’s voice was shaking slightly.
-There will be more horrible things going forward.
‘I guess.’
-Ahjussi can’t imagine the things that are waiting.
‘I will go with you.’
Shin Yoosung was silent for a moment. She seemed to be discern the meaning of my words and was measuring the depth of the last years. Either way, it would be painful for her. Soon, Shin Yoosung opened her mouth.
-I won’t be able to remember Ahjussi right after I’m born.
‘I know.’
-Don’t make too much of a fool of yourself.
‘I’ll try.’
Her smile was brilliant. In the silence that was like calm music, Shin Yoosung continued to speak.
-I have few good memories of the scenario.
She sounded indifferent but it was sincere because of the indifference. I listened to her and recalled the story of Ways of Survival. I thought of the stories of ‘Shin Yoosung’ that I knew. It couldn’t be fully explained even with one hundred or one thousand sentences...
-Still, if I ever have something to say...
I didn’t know if I had time to worry about this. I might’ve read Ways of Survival and could read her thoughts with Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint but I didn’t understand the pain that the 41st round Shin Yoosung had endured.
-This time, I will talk to Ahjussi.
Thus, I could only reply to her in one way.
‘Thank you.’
I bit my lips to try and conceal my heart. A bright string of light rose and the flow of time gradually returned to its original state.
[The first channel of the 73rd Demon Realm has opened.]
[Channel name: #BI-90594]
The fragmented sounds returned and I could hear Jang Hayoung’s voice. “What will you name the child?”
...This was what he said. I had been very worried because of the name.
The baby dokkaebi was looking at me. I stared into her eyes and spoke quietly.
[Channel Manager: Biyoo.]
Did she know it was her name? The baby dokkaebi reached out to me. I grabbed the small and fluffy hand and it felt like the baby dokkaebi smiled at me.
Shin Yoosung was crying. She often cried after escaping from Seoul Dome. It happened when she fell asleep after a hard day or when she opened the Attributes Window and gazed at her ‘constellation support.’ Shin Yoosung’s tears flowed out unknowingly.
It was always Lee Gilyoung who spoke to Shin Yoosung during this time. “Hey. Why are you crying again? Dokja hyung likes mature people.”
Shin Yoosung’s red and swollen eyes flashed at the words. “Get lost!”
“Hyung will be back soon. Didn’t you see? He left while saying, ‘We will meet again, Lee Gilyoung.’”
“He never said that?”
“He told me! Surely you heard it?’
Lee Gilyoung saw Lee Jihye standing in the back and his eyes narrowed.
“What are you smiling at?”
“Something cute.”
Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye were on the way to the place they promised to meet after getting rid of the monsters that appeared as disasters in the 12th scenario. The place where they promised to meet the other party members was Seongnam City. Since they decided to meet again here, the other party members would soon gather.
As Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung bickered, Shin Yoosung opened her Attributes Window.
[The link to your sponsor has been disconnected.]
This was the message that appeared that kept appearing in Shin Yoosung’s Attributes Window shortly after leaving Seoul Dome. Lee Gilyoung didn’t like Shin Yoosung’s somber face and spoke again, “Hey, look at this coin.”
“...What is it?”
“If I throw the coins and it is heads, Dokja hyung is alive.”
Lee Gilyoung pulled out a 100 won coin and Shin Yoosung pouted. “You have done this before.”
“Let’s try it again.”
“...Do what you like. Ahjussi won’t suddenly appear in front of you.”
Flipping a coin. It was the action done whenever Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung became uneasy.
“How many times has Dokja hyung died so far?”
“...41 times.”
“How many times did he live?”
“59 times.”
If a heads emerged, Kim Dokja would come back to live. If a tails emerged, Kim Dokja was dead.
Lee Jihye heard this story and asked, “Are you sure you want Ahjussi to really be alive?”
Lee Gilyoung threw the coin in the air. At almost the same time, three pairs of eyes followed the coin. The skeptical Lee Jihye also focused on watching the coin. There was a clink as the coin fell to the ground and moved twirled. Three people stared breathlessly at the coin.
Heads, tails, heads, tails. Then...
“Heads! Look, what did I say?”
Lee Gilyoung’s confident voice was heard as the coin stopped on the heads which contained a portrait of Admiral Yi Sunsin. Even Lee Jihye felt slightly better after seeing the result. However, Lee Jihye knew this result wasn’t due to ‘chance.’
[The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ has consumed some probability.]
Lee Jihye smiled bitterly. Her sponsor had been losing power recently and it was because he wasted his probability on this. Nevertheless, she couldn’t say anything.
[The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ is looking at the children with sad eyes.]
People needed hope and perhaps the constellations were the same. Suddenly, Lee Jihye wanted to be mischievous. She picked up the coin that had fallen and opened her mouth. “Since Ahjussi is alive, let’s try something else.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Lee Gilyoung spoke half-heartedly like he was displeased with her intervention. Lee Jihye ignored him and kept speaking.
“Does Dokja ahjussi like you better? Or does he like Yoosung more?”
“Of course it is me!” Lee Gilyoung shouted.
“What? Have you forgotten the garter belt incident? My liking was higher.”
“Hey! That...”
Then a shrill voice was heard from behind them. “A 15 year old schoolgirl!”
The owner of the voice wasn’t Shin Yoosung, Lee Jihye or Lee Gilyoung. They saw two girls approaching in the distance. They were Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah who came back from fighting monsters in Gwacheon.
Lee Jihye recognized the owner of the voice.
“A 15 year old schoolgirl. He said that to the black flame dragon and took a skill!”
As they were going to reach Lee Jihye and the children, another woman appeared from the Suwon direction. She was a slender woman with a long sword hanging from her waist.
“What are you talking about?”
It was Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon, who had been in charge of Suwon.
“Heewon unni!” Lee Jihye rushed towards Jung Heewon with delight. However, Jung Heewon’s state wasn’t good. Her armour was severely damaged and her thights and forearms were covered with cuts. It was unthinkable when considering Jung Heewon’s strength. The monster species weren’t that strong.
“Are you okay? Did a different monster appear?”
“That isn’t it. There were some problems with my stigma.”
“Stigma?” Jung Heewon was about to explain only to lightly shake her head. Instead, she looked towards Han Sooyoung. “Han Sooyoung-ssi, please keep talking. What were you saying?”
Maybe it was because of Jung Heewon’s intense interest but Han Sooyoung instantly started to talk about what happened. Lee Jihye listened to the story and wondered,
“I’m not sure what you are saying... who is the 15 year old schoolgirl?”
People’s gazes focused on Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung spoke brief gibberish before declaring in a slightly excited voice.
“Kim Dokja, he is alive.”
“How did you come to that conclusion? Why...”
Anyone who heard Han Sooyoung’s reasoning would think it was nonsense. At this moment, Jung Heewon interrupted. “I don’t know the connection between Kim Dokja and the 15 year old schoolgirl but... it doesn’t seem very likely.”
Lee Jihye asked with an absurd expression. “Unni, you understood what she said just now? Did you learn a new skill?”
“It isn’t likely. However, I do think Dokja-ssi is alive.”
The party members gulped at Jung Heewon’s words. Kim Dokja, was he really alive? Jung Heewon took a pained breath and started speaking. “I suddenly can’t use my stigma.”
“Huh?”
What did this mean? What did Jung Heewon’s inability to use her stigma have to do with Kim Dokja surviving? Jung Heewon immediately replied to their question. “My sponsor has suddenly disappeared.”
“Your sponsor?”
Jung Heewon nodded and looked at her Attributes Window.
[The link to your sponsor has been disconnected.]
It was the first time she had seen this. Thanks to this, she was unable to borrow the power of her sponsor for the moment. However, that wasn’t the only message.
-I found Kim Dokja.
At this time, a person arrived in the 73rd Demon Realm.
[You have arrived in the 16th personal scenario area!]
[This scenario has a time limit!]
[Be sure to return to the main scenario within the given time!]
The moment he stepped through the portal, a bleak horizon of stories and mountains of garbage story fragments unfolded. Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at the sight and asked, “...Is this really the right place?”
Then a small angel doll sitting on his shoulder nodded.
“Do you have to answer through this toy?”
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ says it can’t be helped because there are no channels here.]