Chapter 39

5 I felt indescribable catharsis as my palm connected with his head. Bastard, you know how much I wanted to hit you? But……this wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. “…Junghyeok?” He didn’t turn around. A gray-white aura was coming from his body, an ominous energy that gave me the creeps just looking at it. I instinctively stepped back. When I took a closer look at the aura, it was connected to the old man sitting on a bench on the eighth floor. The moment I saw the old man, I figured it all out. [The Cinema Master Simulation has revealed himself.] …Shit, so it’s come to this. Junghyeok Yu slowly turned toward me, his body enveloped in the gray-white aura. This was the worst thing that could have happened. [The Cinema Master Simulation has control over Junghyeok Yu.] Incredible murderous energy was coming from Junghyeok, who had lost all thought or reason. Right now, there is no “character” in the world who could stop him. [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated “Force Palm” Lv.4.] I barely managed to open my mouth. “Hey, wait!” An intense pain spread across my stomach, and I felt like I was going to pass out. My surroundings were quickly fading away, and the pages of my life flashed before my eyes. I had let my guard down. …In his eighth loop, Junghyeok Yu died in the Cinema Dungeon. It wasn’t because he was weak. To be precise he was unlucky. Because the boss of the Cinema Dungeon is a terrible matchup for Junghyeok… I got my breath back. “Cough… Urgh.” [Reinforced Armor Suit has been damaged.] [Your defense has decreased.] I clutched my stomach with a trembling hand and staggered to my feet. What an unbelievable power. I had taken so many ampoules, but one punch did this to me? I realized I’d been sent flying across the entire rooftop and slammed into a wall. [Character Huiwon Jeong has activated “Demon Slaying” Lv.2!] Huiwon charged at Junghyeok with her eyes ablaze. I had to stop her, but I couldn’t move. [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated “Hundred Step Fist” Lv.2.] At this point, Huiwon stood no chance against Junghyeok. She seemed to keep up with him for a few exchanges, thanks to her “Demon Slaying,” but soon blood began to seep out from between her lips from the internal damage she’d received. Currently, Junghyeok Yu was much stronger than I had expected. [Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated.] [There is too much information about this character. Switching to a summarized view.] [Only designated content will be displayed for the convenience of the user.] <Character Profile> Name: Junghyeok Yu Exclusive Attributes: The Regressor, <Third Loop> (Mythical) Pro Gamer (Rare) Exclusive Skills: [The Eye of Sage Lv.8], [Close Combat Lv.8], [Advanced Weapons Proficiency Lv.5], [Mental Barrier Lv.5], [Hundred Step Fist Lv.5], [Phoenix Walk Lv.1], [Sky Breaking Weapon Aura Lv.2]… Stigma: [Regression Lv.3], [Carryover Lv.1] Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.28], [Strength Lv.27], [Agility Lv.26], [Magic Power Lv.25] *This character is currently not in control of his actions. Ugh, I knew it. His new stigma, “Carryover,” had been activated. “Carryover” let him gradually regain skills he had learned in his previous loops. Junghyeok would become a real monster with this stigma. “Master!” At that moment, Jihye Lee came up from the lower floor. A fist that was flying toward Huiwon changed direction. “Eeek!” I didn’t know if it was because of Chungmugong’s blessing or “Ghost Steps,” which had leveled up, but Jihye luckily avoided Junghyeok’s strike. I yelled at her. “Junghyeok is being controlled right now! Target the Cinema Master!” But Jihye didn’t seem to have a chance to do that. After all, she couldn’t get closer to the Cinema Master without getting past Junghyeok. For a brief moment, Jihye and Huiwon made eye contact. Their swords moved toward Junghyeok at the same time. The combination of “Kendo” and “Blade Proficiency.” However, the joint attack that had brought down a T. rex did not work on Junghyeok. “Argh!” The barrage of punches from Junghyeok’s “Hundred Step Fist” struck Jihye’s face, and she went down bleeding. [Character Huiwon Jeong has activated “Time of Judgment.”] [The constellations of the absolute good alignment remain silent at Huiwon Jeong’s request.] [The skill activation has been cancelled.] “Shit… It won’t work on him, either?” Huiwon cursed. Of course not. His methods were ruthless, but Junghyeok ultimately acted for the greater good. Huiwon tumbled to the ground after getting punched by Junghyeok. At that moment, when everything looked hopeless, Gilyeong used the special skill of his new hammer, “Thunder of Mjolnir.” [Character Junghyeok Yu nullifies the attack with “Electric Resistance.”] He turned toward us. Damn. I knew he was a monster, but…when did he get this strong? I grabbed Gilyeong’s shoulder and stumbled forward. “Gilyeong, I’m gonna need your help. You know what to do, right?” The quick-witted boy nodded right away. “Yup.” “Sorry.” “Don’t be.” Gilyeong began to mumble something. His eyeballs were slowly rolling back. I didn’t want to resort to this, but at this point, I had to use all my cards. [You have used Tyrant T. rex’s DNA Ampoule.] [All your stats are drastically increased for the next thirty minutes!] All right… Let’s do this, you damn sunfish. [Stamina Lv.24 -> Stamina Lv.34] [Strength Lv.24 -> Strength Lv.34] [Agility Lv.20 -> Agility Lv.30] [Magic Power Lv.15 -> Magic Power Lv.25] [Your body overflows with vitality!] [Your muscles gain explosive potential!] [You can move faster than ever before!] [A mysterious energy surges from your heart!] I would make up for my lack of skill with sheer stats. It would’ve been a hopeless gamble if Junghyeok Yu’s “Carryover” was complete. But at this moment, while his skill levels were still low, I had a chance. This wouldn’t last, but all I needed was a small window. [Exclusive skill “White Star Weapon Aura” Lv.1 has been activated!] [“White Star Weapon Aura” has leveled up!] [White Star Weapon Aura Lv.1 -> White Star Weapon Aura Lv.2] The spark of magic power at my fingertips felt different. I didn’t have to run at Junghyeok because he was charging at me. He must’ve sensed that I was in an empowered state. For the first time since we’d been fighting, he drew his sword. [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated “Sky Breaking Weapon Aura” Lv.2.] Sparks flew as our blades clashed. Neither of us backed down one bit. I could sense incredible pressure in my hand gripping the hilt. His sword was ablaze with blue aether. It was beyond impressive. I was genuinely amazed. In the world of TWSA, a difference in the first digits of two people’s stats meant an overwhelming gap in power. And right now the first digit of my stats was three while Junghyeok’s was two. However, he wasn’t being pushed back in the slightest. If anything, I was one misstep away from being overwhelmed. I gritted my teeth. [Exclusive skill “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” Lv.2 has been activated.] The moment my skill activated, a disorganized cacophony of Junghyeok’s thoughts filled my head. [I’m tired.] [How many more times…] […do I have to repeat this?] I flew into a rage. Is he already…? “Snap out of it!” I blocked his blade with all my strength and threw a punch at his chin. It was a sloppy attack, but I was able to anticipate his movements due to “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.” Wham! My punch narrowly grazed Junghyeok’s chin, and he reeled from the first blow he’d taken. [Once regression begins, it’s back to square one again.] [My companions will lose all their memories, and the history I’ve lived will be erased.] “You moron!” [Then everything will repeat all over again.] As many people know, sunfish are actually quite tough in terms of physical bulk. The reason they have the humorous reputation of dying easily is because they are weak to stress. Just like the guy in front of me right now. The Cinema Master was able to control Junghyeok Yu because his mind was in an unstable state. Simulation’s physical stats were weak, but he had top-tier skills for attacking the mind. If Junghyeok Yu’s “Mental Barrier” skill was at least level 8, it wouldn’t have come to this. [For what reason must I…?] Junghyeok’s eyes were glazed over. Listening to his thoughts of short-sighted, juvenile self-pity, I was filled with anger. “You call yourself the main character?” As the reader who stuck with TWSA for all 3,149 chapters, I had every right to be pissed. “You’re acting like this after just three regressions?” I smacked him in the head again with all my strength. Is it a miracle? His movements seemed to slow down. I used this chance to kick him in the chest. “Do you really think that? Have you already forgotten what you resolved after you regressed for the first time?” [I’m the only one in this world who’s truly alive.] He sounded bitter. “You swore you wouldn’t get all sentimental like this!” Parrying his next strike, I yelled at the top of my lungs, “You swore that even if everything felt meaningless, you’d still push on for the greater good!” [Exclusive skill “The Fourth Wall” is unstable.] Who was I really talking to? Fiery sparks exploded every time our blades clashed. My eyes stung, and my skin felt hot. Perhaps, even as I yelled at him to come to his senses, I too was losing my mind. [I’m all alone.] As if I’d become Junghyeok Yu, as if I’d lived Junghyeok Yu’s life… My chest felt tight. “…All alone?” [I……] “Do you know what we went through to make it up here? And you think you’re what?” [I……] The skin on my palm was torn from the repeated impact of our blades. Blood flowed and flesh was rent. I swung my sword again and again like a madman. I gnashed my teeth until they cracked. “How dare you say you’re alone! When you got yourself killed like a dumbass in the Cinema Dungeon! When you were blubbering over your sister’s dead body! And when you croaked after being betrayed by the Prophet! Even when you had a child for the first time with your loved one…!” Though I was reciting events from Junghyeok’s life, my mind was thinking of different memories. Memories from my own life. Memories of TWSA, word by word. “When that child died, and you lost yourself!” The memories of my complicated family life and getting beaten up by bullies in my teens. “When you fought the demon king and faced off against the returnees!” The nightmare of my military service, the relentless harassment I endured from my superiors. “When you helped the otherworlders and battled the reincarnated! When you finally stood before the constellations!” Struggling to get a job, desperately sucking up to the higher-ups to keep that job, living day to day just to survive… “As I watched you struggle to push on…!” …but knowing that on the commute home, I’d get to read my favorite novel. “I also…!” My sword hand was trembling. I got way too carried away. Damn it. All I had to do was stall for time. I struggled to control my breathing and looked up. But…something was off. Did I imagine that? For a brief moment, light had returned to Junghyeok’s pupils. [You……] Sometimes, even if you can read someone’s mind, you’re unable to truly understand them. My heart sank when I saw Junghyeok’s expression. [“The Fourth Wall” is unstable due to excessive immersion.] Junghyeok’s eyes were looking directly at me. [Who…are you?] “What?” [Are you…?] I was taken aback by the sudden changes in his thoughts. Did he regain consciousness because of what I said? Was that possible? I was a bit thrown off. I hadn’t been counting on this to happen. [The Cinema Master Simulation panics.] [The Cinema Master Simulation reinforces his control over character Junghyeok Yu!] “Argh…!” Junghyeok’s eyes glazed over again. I knew it. I’d gotten hopeful for a moment, but it was impossible for him to break out of mind control on his own. There was a reason why I called him a sunfish. I was just thankful that he hadn’t already killed himself. The blue aether surrounding his sword began to shake. [Character Junghyeok Yu’s “Sky Breaking Weapon Aura” has leveled up.] Even as all this was going on, his stigma “Carryover” was strengthening his abilities. It was all thanks to his damn main character perks. Bzzzzt! “White Star Weapon Aura” was pushed back little by little as it collided with Junghyeok’s aura. I wasn’t sure if this was due to my skill’s limitation or the gap between our talents. I glanced over at Gilyeong. Only the whites of his eyes were visible, and his nose was bleeding. It was almost time. “Hey, Junghyeok.” After today, Junghyeok would become incredibly strong. “Remember when I asked if I could hit you just once?” I said, pushing back his blade with all my energy. Due to the unbridgeable gulf between our natural abilities, Junghyeok would grow into a monster over the next few years that I couldn’t hope to match. But not now. Not at this moment. “Well, you definitely said I could.” If I fought with everything I had, even for a brief moment, I just might be able to… [Blade of Faith has been activated!] [Unbreakable Faith’s special effect has been activated.] [The element of the aether has been changed to fire.] …overpower this damn monster. Fwooosh! The aether blade. Fully unleashed aether surged toward an opening in his stance. He flinched at the sheer force of my sudden attack and took several quick steps backward. He must’ve instinctively sensed that something was different. But it was too late. [Stigma “Song of the Sword” has been activated.] “Song of the Sword” was a top-tier combat buff bestowed by Chungmugong. [Your sword becomes infused with a verse written by Chungmugong.] I got a power-up based on the passage chosen at random, so it could be a bit unpredictable. However, it could give me the edge I needed right now. A rain of arrows and a barrage of gunfire… Luckily, the verse I got this time was from Chungmugong’s wartime diary. An incredible amount of magic power was drained from me, and the aether flaring around the blade of my sword instantly coalesced into a single point. I swung it straight at Junghyeok’s direction. …fell upon the battlefield with the fury of a thunderstorm. Fiery aether shaped like arrows rained down on Junghyeok. I could only sustain it for a brief moment due to my limited magic power, but that was enough. “Arrrgh!” Junghyeok’s body was covered in red-hot wounds from all the arrows. This damn world, where everything had a coin value and the constellations determined how the future unfolded, still needed Junghyeok Yu in it. So I will save you today. He was immobilized by the flames engulfing his whole body. Due to his “Fire Resistance” skill, he wouldn’t sustain any serious damage, but this would be enough to incapacitate him. I turned my gaze to the Cinema Master, who was sitting on the bench at the edge of the garden. [Cinema Master Simulation is extremely wary of you.] This was my only chance. I began running. From a distance, I could see the Cinema Master’s stunned face. However… [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated “Revive” Lv.2!] He was already coming after me. “Revive.” It was a downright cheat skill that let you instantly recover back to full health no matter how much damage you had taken, once per day. I couldn’t believe he already had this skill, too. Zoom! No matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t outrun Junghyeok, who was using “Phoenix Walk.” I was steps away from the Cinema Master when Junghyeok’s blade blocked mine. Now, I only had one last card to play. I yelled with all my might, “Gilyeong!” With that, a huge crack appeared in the rooftop garden’s ceiling. The black dome covering the whole area was beginning to shatter. Both Junghyeok, who had been charging after me, and the Cinema Master, who had been controlling him, looked up at the ceiling in astonishment. The barrier around a hidden scenario zone had been breached. Ordinarily, this would be impossible. But if an “extraordinary” being was involved, it was a different story. In the distance, Gilyeong was crying out, his nose bleeding uncontrollably. “A-ah…! Ughhh…!” Through the cracks in the dome, forelegs of a colossal insect appeared. More of the dome broke apart like shattering glass, and the ceiling was split in half. The Cinema Master screamed. A monster powerful enough to break through the boundary of a scenario zone. A gargantuan Monarch Species Insect that resembled a praying mantis. It was a monster that had been summoned to fight another monster. [Level-6 Monarch Species Insect Titanoptera has appeared.] I got goosebumps just looking at its fearsome form. This was the monster I had spotted facing off against a plague rhinoceros. It had been summoned all this way by Gilyeong’s “Interspecies Communication.” “Heh, heh-heh… Titano…,” the boy was laughing. Titano? No way… It sure looked like the insect we’d encountered in the movie, but it couldn’t be. Crick, crrrick! The mantis’s massive scythes flew toward the Cinema Master. Junghyeok stepped in to block it. [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated “Protective Aura” Lv.5!] With the sound of a tremendous explosion, the two clashed, and Junghyeok’s body was pressed down into the floor of the rooftop by the force of the attack. And yet, he held his ground. …Seriously, what a monster. He’s holding his own against a level-6 monarch species insect? When he’s already a mess physically and mentally? And he wasn’t just hanging on; he was even fighting back. Krrrrrr! A flurry of sword strikes. I couldn’t believe it, but Junghyeok was going toe-to-toe with the monstrous insect. I almost wondered if he had been going easy on me when we were fighting earlier. The Cinema Master seemed to have regained his relaxed, smug composure. Junghyeok was powerful. The Cinema Master was probably thinking that he could come out on top no matter what as long as he had the Regressor under his control. But you’re wrong. You should’ve kept your eyes on me. I ran toward the Cinema Master. “Interspecies Communication” wouldn’t last very long. Gilyeong had given his all to buy me this precious time, and I wasn’t going to waste it. [“Blade of Faith” has been activated!] The Cinema Master finally noticed me and yelled something in my direction. The Cinema Master Simulation. According to TWSA, this dungeon boss was a masterpiece painstakingly created by a constellation. However, he had deteriorated over a long period of time and was now serving as a boss of a mere hidden dungeon… Still, not just anyone could penetrate Junghyeok Yu’s “Mental Barrier.” A monster favored by a constellation. The Cinema Master was no easy foe. [The Cinema Master Simulation has activated “Simulacre”!] A skill that caused more severe delusions than a specter’s Illusory Prison. The space around me became distorted, and all sorts of phantasms appeared. Illusions of monsters that were indistinguishable from the real things: ground rats, grolls, plague rhinoceroses, and a T. rex… Every type of monster I had encountered came charging toward me. They tore at my flesh with their savage fangs and claws, but I didn’t stop. I wasn’t scared. They weren’t real. They didn’t exist. They were all… …figments from a novel. Time slowed when Blade of Faith was a hair’s breadth away from the Cinema Master’s neck. [The Cinema Master Simulation attempts to activate “Mind Control.”] “Mind Control” was a high-level mind-altering skill that had been used on Junghyeok Yu. But I wasn’t afraid of it because I had “The Fourth Wall.” Then an unexpected thing happened when Simulation got into my head. [The Cinema Master Simulation panics.] In the deep, dark abyss of the psyche, pages of TWSA swirled about. [Wh-what?! It. Can’t. Be! This…is…!] Countless bits of text floated in the dark void, glowing with a faint light. They were the stories I had read in TWSA. [Exclusive skill “The Fourth Wall” has been activated.] I could see the face of the Cinema Master, who was trying to invade my mind, change as he saw what was inside. He turned pale at the sight of the countless lines of text surrounding him. [Could. It. Be? You. Are…… Aaah!] And that was it. Oddly, Simulation looked like he was in awe. When Blade of Faith was about to cut his neck, his body dissipated like fog. Like an evil spirit touched by holy light and punished for the profane atrocities it had committed. The Cinema Master was extinguished as though he had never existed. I looked down at my hands in puzzlement. What just happened? [You are the first to defeat the Cinema Master Simulation!] [You have received 9,000 coins as a reward!] [The condition for clearing the hidden scenario has been met!] [You have received 4,000 coins as a reward!] More messages followed. When I turned around, Junghyeok slumped over as he was released from the Cinema Master’s “Mind Control.” Luckily, he didn’t die. Having overused “Interspecies Communication,” Gilyeong was in a similar state. “Dokja…” I ran to catch the boy’s limp body. Exhausted, he was breathing heavily in my arms. [The barrier surrounding the Cinema Dungeon has been lifted.] The barrier covering the dome had vanished, and I saw the monarch species insect looking down at me. I gulped nervously, wondering if we needed to run away, but surprisingly, the insect turned around as if it had lost interest in us. I let out a weary deep breath of relief. It was over. “……Are you okay?” Huiwon and Jihye staggered toward me, leaning on each other for support. “I’m fine. What about you, Huiwon?” “I’m okay. Jihye is, too, thank goodness.” Jihye looked like she had been beaten badly by Junghyeok. Her cheeks were swollen, so she couldn’t speak. [The third main scenario is about to end.] It looked like things were wrapping up down in Chungmuro Station as well. When I looked around, I could see that the sun was rising. If Hyeonseong had seen this spectacular view, he might’ve begun reciting “Pray for the Nation.” “Ah… Seoul is…,” moaned Huiwon. Under the dim light of early dawn, the view of the ruined city sprawled out before our eyes. The occasional sounds of explosions in the distance broke the silence. There was no more poisonous fog. There were dead bodies of plague rhinos crushed by collapsed buildings. We also saw some people fighting each other. I guessed they were from the groups that had finished the scenario before us. All those sights formed a citywide diorama contained within a vast dome. A far bigger barrier could be seen now that the smaller barrier surrounding this dungeon had been broken. Currently, Seoul was contained in this transparent dome. “It’s true…… Seoul is destroyed.” I had been well aware of that, but actually seeing it with my own eyes hit different. Looking at the collapsed buildings, I wondered if Mino Soft, where I’d used to work, was among them. I felt Gilyeong squirming in my arms. “Are you up now?” He nodded weakly and pointed up at the sky. A meteor shower was falling over the ruined city. The meteor shower was an omen of an upcoming main scenario. But there were more shooting stars than before. That meant a “hall” would open soon. The meteors were probably falling all over the world. Huiwon looked amazed. “They’re so damn beautiful…” But she couldn’t have known what terrible nightmares those beautiful shooting stars would bring upon the people unfortunate enough to be near where they landed. Far greater disasters were approaching. Gilyeong cupped his hands in prayer and mumbled softly. Huiwon and Jihye were also silent for a while. Perhaps they were making wishes. I couldn’t help but notice how funny this was. Making wishes upon seeds of calamity… Humans were probably the only beings in the universe who did such a thing. A moment later, Gilyeong opened his eyes and looked up at me. “Aren’t you going to make a wish?” I looked down at him for a bit and answered, “I did.” “What was it?” “You’re not supposed to say it out loud or it won’t come true,” Huiwon interjected. I looked at her, then at Junghyeok, who was unconscious, then back at the destruction of Seoul. Then I opened my mouth. “I wished that I could see the epilogue of a certain novel.” Gilyeong stared at me in confusion. I looked up at the sky without a word. Faint cracks were appearing in the skies of Seoul. By the time the sun came up, the Goblins would have devised a fresh new hell for us.