[Translator – Jjsecus]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 26 – Prophet III
4
Since the day the Revealer ca out, my relationship with Oh Dokseo rapidly progressed.
I also beca more comfortable since I stopped pretending to be a cool guy (though it was fun), and I didn’t need to be wary of Oh Dokseo, who was like a ticking ti bomb psycho-pass that could turn at any mont, for twenty-four hours a day.
“Hey, let’s go.”
“Huh? Where are we suddenly going?”
“Gangnam.”
A while later, Oh Dokseo and I went out to Seoul for a drink.
Originally, south of the Han River was not a great neighborhood to stroll around due to the lack of parks. However, since the residents moved from this world to the next, it had beco quite pleasant.
-Whoa?
Tall buildings stood between empty spaces. They were reminders of the caretakers of the apartnts, even though the residents had disappeared.
-Roar!
In the eyes of the Ten Clans, we seed like suspicious individuals, so they rushed towards us swinging their tentacles. Given the strange tis, it was understandable for them to react strongly.
In fact, the judgnt of the Ten Clans was not wrong. Unless you were soone who had undergone regression hundreds of tis or had read this world like a novel in advance, what else could you be if not suspicious?
Oh Dokseo scread “Eeek!” and hid behind .
“Hey, are you crazy, mister? Those are Ten Clans! Why are you alone on a mission that should gather all the Awakeneds in Korea…!”
“Bigi, cut the octopus.”
I brandished my sword.
The reason why it was difficult to subdue the Ten Clans was because they had remarkable regeneration abilities. No matter how well you cut their tentacles, they quickly regenerated. It was also challenging to destroy both of their hearts simultaneously.
In other words, from the mont I learned the skill of slicing faster than their regeneration, the Ten Clans were nothing more than octopuses on a cutting board.
As I slashed through them, six buildings surrounding the Ten Clans collapsed with a thunderous noise. Oh Dokseo’s scream was drowned out by the crashing buildings and barely audible.
After all the buildings fell, it beca quiet all around.
“Uh….”
Oh Dokseo murmured with a sense of disbelief.
“Is it over? Is it really over?”
“Yeah. Now that the guy you called the final boss is dead, the world is at peace. Let’s go and celebrate.”
“Wow… Mister, you’ve really beco stronger.”
Oh Dokseo looked at with a mix of admiration.
“Yet even with such power, you couldn’t prevent the world from being destroyed?”
“I couldn’t. Those Ten Clans, their regeneration abilities are remarkable, but they don’t have physical immunity or magic immunity or any fancy traits like that. They’re really weaklings, you know?”
“But still….”
Oh Dokseo’s expression hardened.
Already soone who believed in my words, after this incident, Oh Dokseo completely trusted .
Oh Dokseo disbanded her party, which she had worked so hard to build. I didn’t think it was necessary, but Oh Dokseo was unexpectedly firm about it.
“No matter how much I build up my power, I wouldn’t have been able to fight against the Ten Clans. But you, mister, managed to defeat him alone. So, my party seems aningless, doesn’t it? It’s better to change our strategy to support you as much as possible.”
Whether Oh Dokseo’s judgnt was right or wrong, it provided a reason to part ways with Koyori.
Upon hearing the order to disband the party, Koyori had a very disappointed expression (at least that’s how I perceived it).
“I wanted to be with you, Party Leader, and Chief Healer… Do we really have to part like this?”
“Ah. If it’s you, Yori Unni, even if we go together… Ow!”
When Oh Dokseo was about to mutter sothing strange, I pinched her arm. I had explained to her in detail how fearso Koyori could be when the two of us were together. But now that the mont to say goodbye was approaching, she seed to be brainwashed again.
Finally, Oh Dokseo snapped out of it.
“Ah, sorry! Yori Unni! I was talking about becoming this mister’s disciple for a while! Since this mister insists on only having one disciple, I don’t think I can move around with you!”
“Hmm.”
Oh Dokseo bowed her head, genuinely apologetic.
Koyori looked at her silently. Then she turned to , gazing at my face. If I said the shadow of red flesh had appeared in her crimson eyes, was I overreacting?
“It can’t be helped. Relations between master and student are as important as those between parents and children. An outsider like can’t interfere with that.”
Saying so, Koyori spoke to with a content that endeared her to while still looking straight at . Her gaze didn’t even flinch.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. Even if we part now, I have a feeling our connection won’t be severed. I’m sure we’ll et again soday. Both of you, even though the world has beco like this, I hope you find happiness.”
Koyori gracefully bowed her waist like a noble lady taking her leave, taking a few steps back. Without adding a single word, she descended the hillside alone.
Soon, Koyori’s figure disappeared down the slope.
“Phew…”
It seed like the tension had eased, as Oh Dokseo lted away with a sigh. Even her cap, which represented Oh Dokseo’s true self, was halfway off.
“…So, what you said was really true, mister. What’s up with that? Until you brought it up, I didn’t even think about it, but suddenly I was like, ‘Why am I acting so coldly toward Yori Unni?'”
“That’s how it goes. Still, I’m glad you understand the importance of master and student relationships.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Even though it’s a master and student relationship, it can be dangerous for a man and a woman to wander around alone together. So, I told you to be careful.”
“…?”
“…?”
We turned to face each other, then quickly looked away, towards the hill where Koyori had descended. Since we had just seen her going down, we should now see her coming up the opposite hill.
The cicadas chirped.
No matter how long we waited, Koyori’s figure didn’t appear coming up the hill.
5
We wandered through a crumbling world.
I didn’t particularly want to describe the decay in detail. So astute readers may have already noticed that I intentionally avoided such descriptions.
Of course, Korea was relatively safe thanks to the actions of the Saintess. But the Saintess’s influence only reached Awakeneds. The majority of the world’s population, ordinary people, were beyond the Saintess’s control.
Plundering, arson, violence—humans who had lost their loved ones and were raising pets who had lost their owners to fill the void, the militarization of political factions and the politicization of military units, the fingertips of the poor, the first carriers of historical pandemics—unhappiness was endless.
I only dealt with unhappiness that I could handle.
The weight of unhappiness that I couldn’t handle was transferred to other people’s hearts. I didn’t beco a regressor to beco a host for pandemics.
“Hmm. The novel I read… So, the one where you’re the protagonist, ‘[All-Purpose Regressor’s Perspective],’ it was just serialized up to episode 30.”
One day, Oh Dokseo said, wiping away sothing resembling blood from her face. In fact, it wasn’t blood but crimson flower petals called Wudambara, a parasite of a vicious epidemic. I will ntion this in the next run.
“Episode 30?”
“Yeah. No matter how interesting a novel looks, if it’s less than 30 episodes, I never read it. You never know when the author might stop serializing. Wasn’t it about two or three days before the gate opened in Seoul? That’s when I started reading it.”
Oh Dokseo and I had similar tastes. Instead of discussing unhappiness, we often talked about each other’s hobbies.
“Where did you co across that novel?”
“Just? It’s just that on the web novel platform I frequently use, there’s this thing called ‘pre-releases’… Well, pre-releases are like adding to your favorites. Anyway, when I opened the novel app, it was suddenly marked as a pre-release.”
“…Does that an there’s an author creating ‘[All-Purpose Regressor’s Perspective]’?”
“I don’t know, really.”
Oh Dokseo chewed on the gum.
“In fact, I don’t rember pre-releasing the last episode. But since my list of favorites easily exceeds 200, I just thought I forgot about it. But looking back now, it might have beco a pre-release without even realizing it… Ah.”
As we walked through Onyang City, a large dog that seed to have lost its owner approached. Oh Dokseo hugged the dog.
Our party of two suddenly had one more mber.
“In my opinion, that’s your ability.”
“Ability?”
I said this one day when I sneaked into a departnt store occupied by a guild to collect pet food. Fortunately, the pet section had lax security.
“There’s a person nad Seo Gyu. His ability is to create and manage internet communities. Abilities of Awakeneds vary greatly, so it wouldn’t be strange if your ability manifested as ‘reading novels.'”
“But, my ability has already been identified as ‘[Barrier Generation],’ right?”
“You’re a multi-ability user.”
“Huh? Really? Isn’t that setting extrely rare?”
“It’s rare, yes. But in life, you find that the 1% probability is more common than you think.”
“Wow, indeed… Hmm. So, my ability actually has one more aspect, and it manifested as reading novels…”
“For convenience, I call your ability ‘[Serial Publication Urging].'”
“Serial Publication Urging…”
Woof, Darkness (the dog’s na) barked. The sound echoed faintly in the darkened departnt store.
Oh Dokseo hushed him, but it was already too late as the patrolling guards had heard.
“Oh, danger…”
“Let’s scram.”
While clearing out the guild occupying the departnt store was no big deal, they would later join the front lines to fight for humanity. We quickly fled.
Woof! Woof! Darkness happily snuggled into Oh Dokseo’s arms.
“So, instead of Serial Publication Urging, maybe my ability is more like [Prophecy]?”
A few months later, on our way back from a eting with the Guild Union, Oh Dokseo said.
[Translator – Jjsecus]
[Proofreader – Gun]
“Prophecy?”
“Yeah. Knowing your story is essentially the sa as predicting the future, right? In novels, prophets often observe the future like scenes from a movie or sothing, but in my case, the prophecy manifested in the most familiar form of web novels. How about that? Doesn’t it make sense?”
“Hmm.”
It definitely made sense.
But if Oh Dokseo’s ability is [Prophecy], a lingering question remained unanswered.
“So why didn’t any signs appear until the 555th run?”
“Huh?”
“You might not notice it, Oh Dokseo, but from my perspective, this run is quite unusual. To put it in your terms, it’s like a character who was just an extra suddenly awakened to the ability of [Prophecy].”
“Well, the tone is a bit… But yeah, it does seem strange.”
Oh Dokseo rubbed his chin.
“Maybe it’s just because it happened to be the 555th run? It seems like a special number. 555. Besides, my na is Oh Dokseo.”
“But isn’t it unlikely that awakening would happen just because it’s the 555th run? It’s not like it’s a number ga.”
“Hmm. What is it, really? Why didn’t I approach you until the 555th run…?”
Oh Dokseo chuckled.
Our questions were answered on a distant yet near day.
It was when, as usual, the 555th run ended in failure and turned into the 556th run.
[Oh Dokseo: Wow. Busan Station concourse. I saw this in a novel! The fairy of the tutorial is about to appear and smack the head of the guy Schouting ‘Hey, you fucking b****’… Huh? Huh? What’s this? Why is the protagonist suddenly coming towards ?]
This ti, I approached Oh Dokseo first. Of course, it was to block Koyori’s intrusion.
Oh Dokseo was greatly surprised by the sudden event. However, as she quickly trusted my words after Schowing her decimating the Ten Clans in the previous run, she believed .
And she learned an amazing fact.
“But, sir. Is it okay for to wander around like this?”
“Hmm? What do you an?”
“That, what was his na… Schopenhauer? Anyway, don’t you have to join that old man, Schopenhauer or sothing, who’s supposed to be the Black Star?”
I widened my eyes.
“Do you know Old Scho? You?”
“Huh? Of course. He’s in the novel.”
In the previous runs, Oh Dokseo never ntioned the old man Scho. Although I told her about another regressor, it was just a story from a different perspective, as Oh Dokseo had only encountered the content up to ‘Episode 4’ in the novel.
The first ti I t Old Scho was in ‘Episode 6.’
But now, Oh Dokseo ntioned Old Scho before I did.
The implication of this fact was clear.
‘Has the novel Oh Dokseo read… been serialized further?’
I looked at the other person seriously.
“Oh Dokseo. How many episodes of the novel you read have been serialized?”
“Huh? Umm, probably… around 32 or 33 episodes? Around that.”
“…!”
It was confird.
As the episodes progressed, Oh Dokseo’s ‘novel’ had increased in serialization. In the previous episode, the novel had only progressed up to a ager 30 episodes, but this ti, at least 2 more episodes had been added.
The criteria for this ‘increasing serialization’ were almost arbitrary, as if at the whim of a spectator. While Oh Dokseo had only added one episode at most during my 60 runs, she had even added two runs when only one episode had aired. It was truly unpredictable.
To find out exactly what criteria were used to increase serialization, more investigation was needed. But for now, there was one thing that was certain.
‘This child is following the rails of my life.’
I shivered.
6
With slightly slower steps.
At a pace slightly delayed from my life.
But with a clear montum, Oh Dokseo was following .
Perhaps Oh Dokseo hadn’t read the novel until it reached 30 episodes. She had said she wouldn’t even bother with works that had fewer episodes than 30. So, it wasn’t until the point where 30 episodes had accumulated that Oh Dokseo ‘first’ read the novel. That was what happened in the last 555th runs.
Oh Dokseo’s prediction was correct. Her ability was [Prophecy].
She had simply wielded her ability for 555 runs without even realizing it.
‘But it’s not a perfect prophecy ability.’
According to Greek mythology, there was a god nad Protheus who was also a prophet and had a younger brother.
Epitheus.
Unlike his brother, whose na ans ‘forethought,’ Epitheus ans ‘afterthought.’ The two brothers beca the origins of the terms ‘prologue’ and ‘epilogue.’
Oh Dokseo realized her prophecy as Epitheus.
Her prophecies were never quick. She was a slower prophet than any other. She followed in the footsteps I had taken a long ti ago, following with a ti difference of about 5,000 years.
But despite that, Oh Dokseo was faithfully following behind , step by step.
When I passed the 555th run, she was on the 5th run.
When I passed the 560th run, she would be on the 11th run.
‘So soday—really in the distant future, will the day co when Oh Dokseo herself will step on the 555th run?’
This story was not a fictional novel.
It was the story of this world where Oh Dokseo lived.
eting , the protagonist, and traveling the world together, dealing with the guilds, and adopting a pet.
All these facts would one day be serialized in Oh Dokseo’s novel, and Oh Dokseo would read it.
I realized that future and shivered slightly. I even felt a faint illusion, as if a ray of light had dawned on a world where destruction seed inevitable.
“…Sir, why are you suddenly like this?”
Oh Dokseo tilted her head at my reaction.
Suddenly, my right forearm felt itchy.
Over the expression of not understanding the English, the words of Tang Seorin overlapped and flowed.
– You have dreams similar to mine.
– You are repairing the broken rails of the world that has been destroyed. The rails that were destroyed by the Ten Clans. The abandoned tracks destroyed by other monsters. If we repair them one by one, soday the tracks will connect from station to station.
– Other people will be able to walk along that path too.
Yes, in the end, Tang Seorin was right.
What she muttered at that ti was nothing but hope, and my acceptance of her will was nothing more than harboring the sa wish.
But now, after more than five thousand years have passed, finally, reality has caught up with our hopes.
‘In that case.’
I embraced the tremor in my heart.
‘My job is to wait until this child catches up with .’
Until when? Until Oh Dokseo arrives at the train station nad Episode 555.
That episode was like Pandora’s box. When Oh Dokseo realizes that the ‘novel’ she read is actually the rails unfolded in reality, this world will undoubtedly change decisively.
One more enjoyable waiting was added to my life as an infinite regressor.
Therefore, I waited.
Run 556 ended.
Run 557 ended.
“Hey! Sir! You shouldn’t just abandon Old Man Scho like that!”
When we reached Episode 581, Oh Dokseo Shouted.
Perhaps she had read a scene in the latest serialization where Old Man Scho took an indefinite ‘vacation.’
I chuckled.
“Who said anything about abandoning anyone.”
There was nothing more unjust than this. abandoning Old Man Scho? It was Old Man Scho who abandoned . And I never gave up on Old Man Scho even once.
It was difficult to confuse the relationship between cause and effect, suspect and victim.
But interpreting and comnting on the novel was always the reader’s prerogative.
As the latest serialization was updated and the episodes progressed, Oh Dokseo comnted to each ti.
“Wow. How do I defeat this boss monster, Wudanbara?”
“No way! Were all the prophecies lies?”
“Creating a community ability? What a ridiculous ability….”
“This guy’s just a crazy attention seeker… I really don’t get along with people like this.”
“An online ga weirdo? Wow, seriously. Did such a gimmick even exist? It wasn’t ntioned in the original work.”
“…? Who’s this Koyori guy? Is she human? Or a monster?”
Oh Dokseo scread or lanted as if a reader was leaving comnts to an author.
Even though I wasn’t the author.
But I graciously accepted Oh Dokseo’s comnts. Though I was still like a child despite being over five thousand years old, I knew well enough to allow others to step into the boundaries of my life.
“Co on. Oh Dokseo.”
Co quickly.
You may be slower than , but your steps are faster than anyone else’s.
Co and walk on the failures I’ve experienced, the strategies I’ve created, and my life story.
My life was originally for others, but now it’s also for you.
Of course, there wasn’t only joy in this waiting.
Finally, Oh Dokseo reached Episode 52, which ans she read up to the part where I established the International Convenience Store with the fairies.
From then on, Oh Dokseo’s gaze towards changed significantly.
“Sir.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know sothing? You seem totally crazy, sir.”
“…”
“And ease up on SGnet. Talk about Three Kingdoms a bit less.”
“Oh Dokseo, there’s a reason why I bring up the Three Kingdoms plot points. If I don’t talk about the Three Kingdoms, so weirdo…”
“Okay, okay. You sll really strong for your age, sir. No, rather, is it actually age-appropriate behavior? How old are you now?”
“…”
I quietly sipped my coffee, exercising my right to remain silent.
Since I knew better than anyone else that struggling for an image that was already at its lowest point was futile.
Yeah.
Saying this might sound a bit arrogant, but sotis, very occasionally, I miss Oh Dokseo, who used to mistake for a cold but cool regressor in the world.
A bad habit.
You should try getting older like , too.
– Prophet. The End.
[Translator – Jjsecus]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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