Chapter 50

3 A writer. It was one of very few job classes that could acquire the “Avatar” skill in TWSA. If this bastard was a writer, that would explain some of the miraculous feats he’d accomplished. The First Disciple’s lips twitched at my question. “A writer… Do you mean the creator of the Revelation? You got me. That’s right. I wrote the Revelation.” That’s not what I was asking. What the heck is he talking about? In any case, there was no way to know if what he said was true or not. I looked over at Junghyeok, who was staring intensely at this exchange. [Exclusive skill “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” has been activated.] [Character Junghyeok Yu is using the skill “Lie Detection” Lv.6.] I knew it. This guy and his trust issues… “You wrote the Revelation?” “I did. I’m also the only one who possesses the Revelation in its entirety.” I scoffed at his confident smile. Cool story. Let’s hear what else you’ve got to say. [Character Junghyeok Yu is using the skill “Lie Detection” Lv.6.] [Character Junghyeok Yu has confirmed this statement to be true.] ……What? He has the actual file? My mind was reeling. That can’t be right! I hid my panic as I pressed him some more. “What exactly do you mean by ‘the Revelation’?” “You know the answer to that. It’s an epic tale that foretells the future.” [Character Junghyeok Yu has confirmed this statement to be partially true.] How strange. That the statement was only “partially” true. “Now it’s my turn to ask: How did you know about our plans? Are you also an Oracle?” “Didn’t you say you wrote the Revelation? But you don’t know that?” “An all-knowing creator is no fun, right?” The First Disciple let out a villainous laughter, but it allowed me regain my composure. There was no way this guy was the author of TWSA. If he were, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize me, the only one who read his story. “This is very interesting. I thought the woman in Seodaemun Prison was the last Disciple. But it was you…” “…Seodaemun Prison?” “I guess you don’t know. Let’s make a deal. Tell me who you are, then I’ll give you some information.” “Oh yeah? Well, I doubt you have any intel I’d want.” “You seem to be rather smug, thinking you beat me, but this isn’t even my real body. You just got lucky—” “I know about the future.” I cut him off on purpose. I’m sure Junghyeok is listening very closely to this conversation. Time to throw in some breadcrumbs. “A lot more than you do, actually.” [Character Junghyeok Yu has confirmed your statement to be true.] The First Disciple looked stunned. “Nonsense. There’s no way you know more than I—” Just then, a strange look flashed in his eyes. “Wait, are you…?” He seemed to realize something. And so did I. Hang on, is he “that jerk”? I knew five things about him so far. One, he has read TWSA. Two, his job was a writer. Three, he isn’t the author of TWSA. Four, he has a text file with information about the future. Five, the contents of file he has is “partially true.” Memories of reading the 3,149 episodes of TWSA ran through my mind. To my knowledge, TWSA was so unpopular that no bootleg copy of it exists. But if this guy is who I think he is…the fact that he has the text files and detailed knowledge of TWSA all makes sense. I spoke nonchalantly. “Are you proud of plagiarizing other people’s work?” “Wh-what?” He’s agitated. It must be him. “I can’t believe you’re still doing this. ‘Revelation’ my ass. How do you sleep at night? It pisses me off just thinking of what the real creator went through because of you.” “You…!” “I thought it was odd. The information you were using seemed to be a bit off.” He went pale. “Leeching off other people’s work, don’t you think you’ve done enough? The whole world’s gone to shit, and you’re still pulling this crap?” “Junghyeok Yu!” The First Disciple quickly turned to Junghyeok. “Junghyeok Yu! Join me!” Look at him go. “Like I said, I know the Revelation in its entirety. I’m the only one in this world who can take you all the way to the end!” [Exclusive skill “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” Lv.2 has been activated!] [You cannot activate “Omniscient Readers Viewpoint” Lv.2 due to a high level of fatigue.] Damn it! Why now? “Think carefully! You can’t clear the forty-sixth scenario by yourself! You’ll need my help to fight Anna Croft and those Zarathustra bastards!” I thought those lines sounded familiar, then I realized I’d said almost the exact same thing during my first meeting with the main character. Junghyeok shook his head. “I’ve never heard of this ‘Revelation.’” “It’s a prophecy! You can tell by looking at my attribute, can’t you? Not only that, but I’m the ‘last’!” [Character Junghyeok Yu has activated the skill “The Eye of the Sage” Lv.8.] I used my skill as well. [This character’s information cannot be viewed via “Character Profile.”] [This character is not registered in “Character Profile.”] Damn it, it doesn’t work. Junghyeok appeared to check something with “The Eye of the Sage,” then looked at me. The head continued talking. “Kill that bastard! You know he’s dangerous. He’s been impersonating you and completely messed up the future by doing so! If you don’t get rid of him now, he’ll set off a butterfly effect that will ruin all your plans!” How ridiculous. Is that idiot trying to get both of us killed? “You did the same thing.” “I’m different! Join me, Junghyeok Yu! I’ll swear an oath if you want! I’ll never betray you!” Those are some big promises… “I see. You want to work with me?” asked Junghyeok. There was a deadly calm in the Regressor’s eyes as he stared at me. It drove me nuts that I couldn’t read his mind at that moment. Junghyeok pulled out his sword and slowly walked toward me. Emboldened by this development, the First Disciple shrieked, “That’s right! Kill him!” “One calls himself a Prophet and the other, an Oracle…” “I said, kill him!” Stomp! Junghyeok stepped on the First Disciple’s head. “Ugh… What’re you doing?” “If you really know about the future, let me ask you a question.” “What?” Junghyeok’s sword was pointed at my neck before I even realized it had moved. The blade I had used as Junghyeok Yu earlier was now aimed at me. I felt a sting, and something warm trickled down my neck. “What the hell are you doing?!” screamed Huiwon as she ran toward us. I raised my hand to stop my companions. As nervous as I was, I knew nothing good could come out of agitating Junghyeok here. He turned to the First Disciple. “Tell me. Will I kill him now or not?” “What?” “If you really know the future, then you should know what choice I’ll make.” This again? You psycho… The First Disciple looked torn. He was probably thinking the same thoughts I had on the Bridge of Even Numbers. But his answer came out faster than I expected. “Of course you’ll kill him! That’s the kind of person you are!” He looked quite confident. The arrogant expression on his face said he had no doubt about how Junghyeok would act. “So hurry up and do it! Then I’ll—” Shhk. The blade moved. But the sound that came wasn’t of flesh being cut. Splat! The First Disciple’s head was crushed underfoot. He wouldn’t die since it was just an avatar, but he’d probably sustain some mental damage. Junghyeok’s sword was already in its sheath. “I knew it, he was all talk.” I was dumbfounded. Junghyeok Yu chose to let me live? It felt a little bit weird. Even I hadn’t been sure about this, but… Junghyeok glared at me for a beat before turning away. “Hey! Where are you going?” What a jerk. He probably thinks he’s so cool right now. ……To be honest, that was kind of badass. “Wait! Are you leaving without Jihye?” “The future has changed, so I need to revise my plans as well.” “Then why don’t we team up? I can help you.” Junghyeok turned around to look back at me. Despite myself, I tensed up at his deadly gaze. “With this, we’re even,” he said. “As my last favor to you, I won’t take your flag.” This bastard. I couldn’t let him go like that. “You can’t leave this station anyway. Not before I remove you from my group. Or do you want me to use “Punishment” on you?” Junghyeok’s hand slowly moved to his sword. I quickly continued: “I know what you’re planning. You’re going to Jung-gu to join the battle for the flags, right? Your goal is to complete King’s Path and obtain a black flag. I’ll help you.” “It’d be faster if I took your flag now.” “I’d love to see you try. Your sword or my tongue… I wonder which will be faster?” It was a gamble because Junghyeok actually could stab me through the neck before “Punishment” took effect. “There’s no need to go to Jung-gu. Let’s go north instead. I’ll help you take the Tyrant King’s territory and flag. You can acquire a flag and kill your enemy, too. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?” “I can do it by myself.” “There are forty-eight hours left until the end of the fourth scenario. Do you think you can take over twenty stations and obtain a black flag in that time?” Junghyeok stopped reaching for his sword. Got you. “Besides…you have a reason to go north, don’t you? Or are you planning to abandon your family in this loop?” “You…” “Calm down. I don’t mean you any harm. I’m only trying to help you.” Junghyeok’s eyes filled with anger as he glared at me. The air around us grew thick with tension, then simmered down. “Do you expect me to believe that? Tell me what you want.” That’s our Regressor for you. Always quick to catch on. “It’s simple. Tell me one thing. That’s all I want,” I smiled as I spoke. “What is it?” “The guy you just crushed…what was his attribute? I’m guessing one of them was ‘the Last Renouncer’… What was the other one?” Junghyeok paused for a moment, then opened his mouth. Thirty minutes later, I called up Minseob and Seongguk. I had a special task for those two. “So…who was he?” asked Minseob before I could speak. I hesitated. Should I tell them or not? “SSSSS-Rank Infinite Regressor. Have you heard of that novel?” “Oh! I’ve read it!” Seongguk raised his hand. “Wasn’t it the number one web novel for a while? I was really into it…” “Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. How did it end again?” Reminded of a nostalgic memory, the two friends began to chatter excitedly. These guys read TWSA, so it made sense they had been into web novels. “It was a mash-up of tropes…but it was fun.” Actually, I’d read that novel, too. Back when I was reading TWSA, I had seen it at the top of the list of trending titles. I’d clicked on it without much thought, but I was shocked when I saw its setting and plot. Psychopath Regressor stuck in an infinite loop. Sponsorship from transcendental beings called constellations. Online streaming system. A game of survival against overwhelming odds. True, it was a patchwork of various cliches, but the details in the world-building and the flow of the story were clearly ripped off from TWSA. I posted a comment right away. Isn’t this plagiarizing the novel Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse? I remembered people criticizing me for comparing it to the boring TWSA. They didn’t think it was plagiarism, and then came all the hate in my DMs by readers of SSSSS-Rank Infinite Regressor. Web novels are all same anyway. Stop being a whiny little snowflake lol I was furious, so I sent a DM to the TWSA author. What did they say again? I think they said they were happy because some of the plagiarized novel’s readership trickled into TWSA and got them more views. Thinking about the author brought tears to my eyes. “By the way, why did you mention it?” Seongguk asked. “The First Disciple is the author of that novel, SSSSS-Rank Infinite Regressor.” “What? No way!” If the TWSA author knew about this, they would’ve been so upset. The world they created became reality, but someone who plagiarized their work started going around claiming to be author, even coming up with a whole backstory with the Revelation nonsense. After hearing my explanation, Minseob thought it was ridiculous. “That novel was plagiarized?” “That’s right.” “Whoa, now that I think about it, the stories are kinda similar… I know It’s been a while, but why couldn’t I remember that novel at all? It was much more popular.” “Isn’t it because of the renouncer attribute? We only remember what we’ve read in the original novel. And S-whatever had too many similarities, so our memories got mixed up.” “Maybe? So you’re saying that bastard is a plagiarist, right? Then the file he has is…” I nodded. “He probably has the text file of the plagiarized novel he wrote. Since that was copied from TWSA, he had some knowledge about the future of this world.” Not only had that bastard made a fortune in the old world with his plagiarized novel, but he was also acting like a king in this apocalypse with that information. It was time he got a taste of cold, hard justice. “D-doesn’t that mean it’s impossible to beat him? If he copied the original all the way to the end…” “No, not the end. He only stole from the early parts so he could easily weasel his way out of accusations of plagiarism. That means he’ll soon start to run out of relevant information.” “But, sir, how do you know all this?” “I just do.” Obviously, because I was the only reader after Chapter 100. “Uh, excuse me, but how far did you read—” “Anyway, there is something you guys need to do. Something we have to do.” Minseob and Seongguk’s shoulders tensed. “You told me before that the Tyrant King took out some of the Oracles, right? “Ah, yes… I think a few of them are still being held captive by the Tyrant King and are being forced to give him intel.” “Really? Even better.” “Sorry?” Forty-eight hours left before the scenario ended. That wasn’t enough time to take out the Tyrant King in a full-on confrontation. “We’re going to leak false information…” If the Tyrant King was using Oracles, then all I had to do was exploit that. “…disguised as part of the Revelation.” Minseob and Seongguk didn’t seem to understand, so I went into more detail. “We’re going to make copies of SSSSS-Rank Infinite Regressor and spread them online.” When dealing with multiple enemies, it’s best to make them fight each other.