Translator: Rainbow Turtle
"That jerk Kim Dokja... he forgot about me again."
There was a small fortress standing on the empty plains. In fact, it was the size of a small house rather than a fortress. However, the armed weapons meant it wasn"t lacking compared to a fortress.
Needless to say, it was Gong Pildu"s Armed Fortress.
Dudududu!
Gong Pildu fired sh.e.l.ls at the monsters approaching the fortress. For several weeks after entering Dark Castle, Gong Pildu had been living in a h.e.l.lish monster zone. There was an endless stream of monsters. If it wasn"t for the coins that Kim Dokja had previously provided him, he might"ve run out of magic power and died already.
[The constellation "Defense Master" is excited about the defense game.]
The situation wouldn"t have ended up like this if it wasn"t for the perverted sponsor.
"s.h.i.+t!"
His Dark Castle ranking had risen sharply due to all the monsters he killed. The problem was that his mental strength and magic power had reached their limits.
"It is up to here..."
Gong Pildu had a disheartened expression as he watched the Armed Fortress being broken down by the claws of the monster.
At this time, something golden flew in the distance. It was a powerful ether storm that broke apart the whole field. He wondered if it was Kim Dokja but the person was unexpected.
"...Yoo Jonghyuk?"
A huge dragon was flying through the storm. On top of it, there were two people Gong Pildu knew. Strength went out of Gong Pildu"s body and the fortress collapsed. Yoo Jonghyuk ran like the flash and caught the falling Gong Pildu.
"I overused the power of transcendence. For the time being, I must preserve my strength." Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he glanced at his right arm.
The hand that was holding the sword was swollen and red. It wasn"t the power of his sponsor but transcendence was also affected by the probability.
The situation would improve as the restrictions were gradually lifted. However, the probability allowed in the ninth scenario wasn"t enough for him to take full advantage of transcendence.
"I have recovered Gong Pildu. Lee Seolhwa is steadily raising her ranking in the western field..."
His plan was progressing steadily. The situation was smoother than any previous scenarios.
"Now the only thing left is Kim Dokja." Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he looked towards the western plains. "The fate of Star Stream isn"t that lax. What are you going to do, Kim Dokja?"
***
"Don"t worry. There is a way out."
"...That woman isn"t the only problem. There are many tough people. Moreover, how are you going to deal with the Mechanical Gateway Array Method?"
"There isn"t a way to break the Mechanical Gateway Array Method."
Han Sooyoung and I were walking through the Mechanical Gateway Array Method while following the incarnation of Jeon Woochi, Cho Youngran. I saw that she was floating, not walking, and thought she definitely fit the incarnation of Jeon Woochi.
Jeon Woochi. Along with Hong Gildong, he was one with the power to enter the peak of the Korean constellations...
Han Sooyoung noticed her and spoke again. "By the way, wasn"t the King of Wanderers killed by the reincarnator?"
"She isn"t someone who will die so easily."
"Come to think of it, you said that you know the King of Wanderers. Tell me precisely. What is your relations.h.i.+p?"
A light sigh emerged at the question. "It is the most complicated relations.h.i.+p in the world."
"I feel disgusted. An old girlfriend?"
"My mother."
"What? Really? Uh... I"m sorry." Han Sooyoung stuttered in an unusually embarra.s.sed manner.
As if hearing our conversation, Cho Youngran looked back with a stiff expression. "Follow exactly where I am stepping. If you step on another place, you will get lost."
I thought it would be like this. All Mechanical Gateway Array Methods were the same. If you didn"t go through the proper path, you would get lost. I asked a slightly disgruntled tone, "Can"t you just turn it off?"
"It is difficult. I don"t know what you will do."
"How funny. You killed me and now you"re afraid of me."
"I know you are capable of resurrection."
"Does that let you kill me w.i.l.l.y-nilly?"
"I"m sorry for that. In addition, I wasn"t moving to kill you. I attacked the woman and she used you as a s.h.i.+eld."
...What? I turned around and saw Han Sooyoung whistling. I watched Han Sooyoung smiling and thought about hitting her head. I would question her about it later. I might have eight lives but... wait, it was six lives now.
I glanced back towards Cho Youngran and asked, "Why are you helping my mother?"
Cho Youngran paused at my sudden question. "I honestly don"t know why someone like you is following an incarnation. The First Spiritualist of Joseon can become a king right now."
"...How do you know my sponsor?"
"It is obviously a Korean constellation who can use the Mechanical Gateway Array Method."
Jeon Woochi wasn"t a narrative-grade constellation but he had many advantages in the early scenarios because the consumption of probability when using his power was small.
Moreover, according to the progress of the scenario, the fame and stories that could be built up were overwhelming compared to other constellations of the same rating.
It was the reason why Yoo Jonghyuk tried to recruit Jeon Woochi as a colleague in the early scenarios.
Cho Youngran replied, "I"m not suitable to be a king."
"Did my mother grab your weakness or something?"
Cho Youngran was going to say something, only to close her mouth again.
I said to her, "Tell me honestly. I can help you."
"..."
"You are being deceived by that person."
Jeon Woochi would be a great power if I could get his incarnation on my side. Of course, I didn"t expect much.
"She saved my daughter."
It was as expected.
"I see. Saving the life of your child... of course, you would be loyal after something like that."
Cho Youngran"s eyebrows twitched at my words. "Is that a sarcastic tone?"
"That"s right. I think "saving that life" is intentional."
"...Intentional?"
"My mother, isn"t there something strange about her?"
"What?"
"She is overly adaptive to the world or knows a lot of information that shouldn"t be known at this point."
Han Sooyoung looked at me with a confused expression because she didn"t know what I was trying to do. Cho Youngran wondered, "...What do you want to say?"
"What do I want to say? My mother knew what constellation you would get."
"..."
"Maybe she saved your daughter for the purpose of trying to use you. She is such a person."
Cho Youngran... I didn"t remember precisely but it seemed a woman with this name had once been Jeon Woochi"s incarnation.
A character who lost her daughter and became Jeon Woochi"s incarnation decided to get revenge on the world.
I didn"t know when I told my mother the story, but if she heard it from me and remembered the information, it wasn"t an exaggeration to think my mother would use it.
However, unexpected words emerged from Cho Youngran"s mouth. "You"re mistaken about her."
"Mistaken?"
Cho Youngran gazed at me in a strange way. It was filled with unpleasant sympathy and was the type of gaze I hated.
"Sookyung-ssi isn"t as bad as you think."
Was it because repulsion was surging inside me? I replied bluntly, "n.o.body knows her better than me."
"Originally, it is the child who doesn"t know anything about their parents. In any case, we"ve arrived."
I suddenly saw something that was like a front door. Cho Youngran spoke towards Han Sooyoung.
"Girl, you can"t enter. Wait with me."
"Che, your mother seems very shy. Be safe."
I nodded and brought my hand to the front door. Behind this door was probably the strongest enemy in the current scenario.
Cho Youngran told me, "There is a bell."
Ding dong.
Somehow, the quaint ringtone stimulated familiar memories. It was a ringtone I seemed to have heard a long time ago. Then my mother"s voice was heard from inside the door. "Come in."
The door opened and the familiar entrance of a house appeared. A few pairs of shoes were placed neatly together. Some of them were small enough to belong to children. My sense of deja vu was even worse. The interior of the house was familiar. It wasn"t too flashy or old-fas.h.i.+oned, but the small decorations showed it was a person with some sense of style.
I entered the living room and saw a familiar room. There were the forgotten wall clock and the television. I knew the texture of the sofa without needing to sit on it. The location of the table was also familiar.
[The "Fourth Wall" is shaking.]
Really... this was a terrible hobby.
My mother was sitting on the sofa of the living room, dressed in elegant clothes. She asked me, "It took a long time. How does it feel to be home after a long time?"
"I would rather remain dead."
"I"m glad that you are healthy."
"Thanks to someone, I just died and came back to life."
Maybe my mother chose this place to seize the initiative. The dialogue from now on would be a battleground to determine the outcome of the next two scenarios.
"I heard Nirvana killed you. How are you alive?"
"I wouldn"t be fooled by such a person. Have you forgotten? I also have a lot of information about the future."
I had expected it. Still, my mother managed to deceive Nirvana. I had no idea what this person was capable of. Perhaps the most threatening thing to me at present wasn"t Yoo Jonghyuk or the constellations, but this woman.
"You were alive yet you didn"t come to my funeral."
"Why would I go to a funeral when I was the unfortunate one left behind."
"You thought it wasn"t enough and had your people kill me once more."
"I killed you once more because you are an irresponsible son. Do you need a funeral this time as well? I saw that you have many good colleagues. They didn"t know you were going to rise again and cried..."
The person saying this was my mother. I took a deep breath. I could never be careless when talking to my mother. From now on, it would be the real thing. "Why did you kill me?"
My mother laughed and replied. "Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most."
"...How do you know that?"
"Yoo Sangah-ssi told me. She asked me to save you." Yoo Sangah must"ve visited my mother. "By the way, you came with another girl this time. Have your tastes changed? Honestly, I like Yoo Sangah more."
"Don"t pay attention to unnecessary things. I don"t understand you the more you talk. Why did you kill me when you were asked to save me?"
"The prophecy came true thanks to me. Isn"t that right?"
"Huh?"
My mind became complicated. No, she was saying...
My mother continued, "It said it in the prophecy. The "person you love most." Thus, I killed you."
It was ridiculous that the person I hated more than anyone else would say this.
Even so, the moment I heard it, I was disturbed by a feeling I couldn"t express well. I definitely hated my mother. My life was a mess because my mother ruined it. Yet... my mood was complicated.
"I see. You killed me because you thought you are the one I love most? Is this fate?"
"Doesn"t it often appear in your favourite novel?"
"If so, you have completely failed."
Obviously, fate told me that I would be killed by the person I loved most. If so, my last death should"ve made my fate come true.
"I am still receiving the fate message."
It was true. A little while ago, the infernal message entered my ears.
[A huge fate is hoping for your definite death.]
A modified was even added. It was a "definite death."
The words of King Oedipus in my dreams were correct. I couldn"t escape this fate with the story "Eight Lives."
"At the very least, you aren"t the person I love most."