A handsome beard and thick eyebrows. The thick lips that showed a unique, upright personality. The man who appeared from the darkness was exactly the same as when I met him three years ago."Goryeo"s First Sword?"
"I didn"t know we would meet in such a place, Kim Dokja."
A constellation of the Korean Peninsula, Cheok Jungyeong was on Reincarnation Island.
***
I was indebted to Cheok Jungyeong from Dark Castle to the Demon King Selection. I swallowed down my pleasure. Cheok Jungyeong was a good constellation but his purpose here was unclear. It was time to look at the other person"s purpose. It would be difficult if his purpose conflicted with me.
"I was worried because you haven"t been sending any indirect messages."
"I have been refraining from broadcasting on the stream for a while."
On closer examination, Cheok Jungyeong"s entire body seemed much more refined than before. Something flashed in my mind. "Did you come to the island before the start of the scenario?"
"It"s been 15 years already."
15 years? At this moment, a sentence of Ways of Survival rose.
「 Reincarnation Island is located in the Dark Fault. 」
It might be three years in Earth hour but time within the Dark Fault was a few times faster. In fact, Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had also been here. At present, the time density of this island was around five times that of Earth.
"The reason you are here..."
Cheok Jungyeong shook his head. "It might be an outer G.o.d but I still wasn"t able to withstand it."
There was a scene playing in my head. It was three years ago, the day when the 73rd Demon Realm was destroyed. Cheok Jungyeong lost his incarnation body while dealing with the disaster.
The prideful Cheok Jungyeong was greatly shocked that there was such an existence in the world. Thus, it was even more amazing. The other constellations had their egos crumble at the mere sight of the disaster while Cheok Jungyeong was still trying to tear down the disaster.
Perhaps this was the theme of the constellation called Goryeo"s First Sword.
"I felt that I had to train again from the very basics. This island is the perfect place for such training."
Cheok Jungyeong spoke while looking at the people moving through the bushes in front. They had good mobility even in this hot and sticky forest. They were probably the forgotten people of this island.
One of them noticed my gaze and walked over. "You managed to survive. Usually, the constellations from the outside die in less than an hour. Ah, apart from that monster "Cheok" over there."
"Thank you for your help. I am Kim Dokja."
I deliberately didn"t say my modifier. Among the first generation forgotten people, there were many people who considered the modifier to be pretentious.
The man laughed as if he liked my answer. "I have long forgotten my name. That is what everyone does when they"re here."
The man spoke and moved ahead. The forgotten. They were those who forgot their names after numerous reincarnations. However, they didn"t really forget their names. It was just that reminiscing on the past became too painful.
An old scent was felt from the bodies of the forgotten who were opening the path. A very strong, curved and hardened story.
Lee Jihye whispered, "How are they so strong?"
It was natural to be curious. The forgotten people themselves didn"t feel particularly great. Yet they used a single strike to kill the troll we struggled with.
"The quant.i.ty and quality of their stories seem better than us..."
"No matter how good the stories, it is useless if they can"t take advantage of it properly."
Lee Jihye stared at me with questioning eyes. The moment I tried to speak, I was interrupted by Cheok Jungyeong.
"He"s right. Even if there are 10 swords, humans could only hold two swords properly."
Goryeo"s First Sword. His body was a sword, his heart was a sword, his story was a sword.
Lee Jihye looked down at her hands like she gained profound enlightenment. In the meantime,
Cheok Jungyeong stared at me with a deep gaze. "You have collected many great stories. You won"t fall behind the top rated constellations right now."
"You"re overpraising me."
"By the way... you"ve acc.u.mulated too much in a short period of time. Do you know what state you are in right now?"
I closed my mouth. In these eyes, I was currently in a very precarious state.
[The giant story "Torch That Swallowed the Myth" is aiming for your incarnation body.]
[The story "Person who Opposes the Miracle" is doubting your qualifications!]
[The story "One Who Killed an Outer G.o.d" is dissatisfied with you.]
It was the same in practice. I raised the giant stories wrong and almost had my life s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the stories. If that happened, I would become the same as the constellations I met at the Duet Between Good and Evil.
"Don"t forget. After an existence creates a story, the story creates an existence."
I already knew. I came to this island knowing it.
"I will keep that in mind."
Not long afterwards, we arrived at the village.
[You have arrived in the first safe zone!]
[You have met the conditions to clear the main scenario of the 133rd Small Island!]
[You have met the conditions to clear the hidden scenario!]
[You have received additional compensation for killing a compet.i.tor.]
[Additional compensation is being prepared.]
The village was peaceful. After pa.s.sing through the main entrance, there was a lifestyle that revolved around a huge hearth in the centre. It was different from city life.
A stay at home woman in scruffy clothes was feeing a cow while a bearded man was doing laundry. There were also children who seemed younger than Gilyoung and Yoosung. It was an incredibly rural village where the first generation forgotten people lived.
「 (...It is really amazing here.) 」
"Yoo Sangah-ssi?"
「 (Ah, sorry. Did I surprise you?) 」
"It"s fine. Is it okay to talk now?"
「 (Yes, it is break time. The wall is also busy.) 」
For some reason, Yoo Sangah"s voice felt closer than usual. The Fourth Wall had become thinner, making her activities more convenient.
「 (This village is like a mural that many artisans painted over the years...) 」
I was inwardly amazed as I heard Yoo Sangah trying to find the right words. It was apparently ordinary but as Yoo Sangah put it, the reality of this village was never ordinary.
I might be a visitor but I could tell by the sight of the residents living their lives as usual. They looked bored, as if they had seen this hundred of thousands of times.
[s.h.i.+t, I almost died.]
[This crazy island... are they really orcs?]
I looked up at the true voices and saw a group of constellations appearing at the opposite entrance of the village.
I quickly looked at the faces of the group. Unfortunately, the faces of my party members couldn"t be seen. Instead, I saw an unpleasant guy.
[Demon king "Eyes that See the Forbidden" is looking at you.]
The demon king with fiery eyes in the shape of a black panther. He was one of those I saw when I visited the 1863rd round.
The master of the 61st Demon Realm. Eyes that See the Forbidden, Flauros. He was the one who died from Yoo Jonghyuk"s fist in the 1863rd round.
The demon king followed me to this island. Flauros stared this way with strange eyes before turning his attention elsewhere. It was obvious even without reading his face. He probably judged that this wasn"t a favourable place to fight.
Cheok Jungyeong standing next to me would"ve surely noticed it. I glanced at Cheok Jungyeong beside me. "What did you have to say?"
"It"s nothing."
...They were really strong and reliably shoulders. I was envious.
[Is this the end of the scenario? Hey, NPCs. Guide me!]
The constellations entered and the village became a bit crowded. One of the residents frowned at the turmoil occurring everywhere and responded. "This is the end of the small island."
[There is no sincerity in your words. Well, the scenarios are all created by the dokkaebis.]
Now that there were no monsters, the constellations were regaining their spirit.
[The story "Weak Against the Strong and Strong Against the Weak" has started.]
The voices of the stories were flowing from the eyes of the constellations. As expected, Cheok Jungyeong was correct.
There were no exceptions, whether they were constellations or incarnations. If we didn"t live the stories properly, the stories would live instead of us.
[Are there no additional rewards here?]
[Should we search through the houses? There might be some hidden pieces.]
The residents felt tired and replied in a voice that found the situation troublesome.
"There are no such things. The small island scenario is over. Those who want to go to the next scenario should enter the hearth in the centre of the village. It is the portal."
Some of the constellations frowned at the cold tone and Demon King Flauros stepped forward.
[The NPCs are really noisy. It is up to us when we want to leave here.]
Perhaps he was looking for an opponent to go against as he suddenly raised his status.
[I have found a village like this. It isn"t bad to rest for a while. Bring out some drinks and food! This body is very hungry.]
The violent words caused the other constellations to laugh. Lee Jihye frowned and came forward. "That―"
"Just wait."
Perhaps there was no room for us to intervene in this fight.
In fact, the villagers weren"t fazed at all by the threat of the demon king. The man was.h.i.+ng his laundry yawned with boredom. "NPC, always NPC... These days, the kids think of life as a game."
An old man carrying a Korean frame said. "It is a strange fate today... I have no enthusiasm and pa.s.sion."
The woman feeding the cows also added some words. "Spit. This is why I was against opening our island. No matter how urgent the need for coins, do I have to watch these sn.o.bs entering? It is better to raise a few cows."
The flowing words were heard clearly. The situation headed in a strange direction and the constellations started to notice.
Flauros let out a roar. [Why are these group of bugs...?]
The little boy sucking candy in front of them said, "You are the bugs who haven"t lived for a thousand years."
Flauros" mouth dropped open. He was the one who reigned over the 64th Demon Realm and it was natural for him to react like this. It must be the first insult he had ever received. A wicked expression flashed across Flauros" face.
[The scenario didn"t tell me not to kill NPCs.]
The demon king let out a powerful status. The moment he roared and revealed his fangs, all the residents of the village gazed at Flauros in unison.
The man doing the laundry. The woman placing food and water in the trough. The old man carrying the frame.
It looked like the whole world froze. The constellations sensed the strange air and faltered. The same was true for Flauros. He was a fairly keen demon king and must"ve noticed something weird. Perhaps he was thinking this way.
「 What the h.e.l.l are these guys? 」
However, he couldn"t back down here. His ego as a demon king wouldn"t tolerate being suppressed by the inhabitants of a small village. In the end, Flauros chose the one who looked the weakest.
[Die!]
Flauros" claws aimed towards the little boy eating the candy. However, this was a completely wrong choice.
「 He clenched his fists. Then the fist was there. 」
Something exploded. The fragments of an incarnation body scattered through the air like fireworks. Flauros" incarnation body lost his head and slowly sank to the ground.
[Eyes that See the Forbidden has been eliminated from the scenario.]
The constellations witnessed the death of the demon king in front of them and withdrew with a shudder.
[W-What? This...]
The residents showed little response to the astonishment of the constellations. It was a serene atmosphere like no one was holding a funeral for the bug. The man started the laundry again and the woman gave water to a cow. The old man shook his head and cutting at a tree.
The kid sucking the candy declared, "Get out of the way. I don"t want to see you anymore."
The pale incarnations and constellations fled through the portal. In any case, the small island scenario had ended. There was no reason to hesitate anymore. After disappearing through the portal, there were less than 10 constellations remaining.
[The huge story "Torch That Swallowed the Myth" wants you to go to the next scenario!]
From the moment I faced this child, my giant stories reacted violently. Maybe they noticed something. I smiled bitterly and approached the child who killed the demon king.
[The giant story "Torch That Swallowed the Myth" is threatening you!]
I didn"t know that Flauros would be so helpful. I was relieved to find what I had been looking for.
[The giant story "Torch That Swallowed the Myth" declares that it will destroy your incarnation body if you keep approaching him!]
I ignored its words and continued forward. The swirling giant story was emitting threatening air currents. I was annoyed by the childish story who thought it was a provocation against him.
"What? Do you want to be like that guy?"
"One Invincible Fist, Yoo Hosung. "You taught the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios."
The expression of the child changed. The inhabitants of this place were all "reincarnators." Their age couldn"t be read from their appearance. The child in front of me was a reincarnator who had lived for at least 10,000 years. The child narrowed his eyes and asked me. "Who are you? What is your relations.h.i.+p with those children?"
[The giant story "Torch That Swallowed the Myth" is revealing its teeth to the presence in front of you.]
There was another reason I came to Reincarnation Island. Based on the future battles with myth-grade constellations, I had to obtain something from this place.
I swallowed the rising blood and spoke in a congested voice. "One Invincible Fist, please teach me "Story Control"."
TL: Rainbow Turtle