Singularity (5)

I wanted to sleep for a while but it was early dawn when I opened my eyes.

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ encourages you to take care of your incarnation.]

I unknowingly woke up from Uriel’s message. Damn, the constellations had been making a fuss since I made the ‘sponsor declaration’ yesterday.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is chuckling at your choice.]

Truthfully, there was no way I could be a sponsor when my narrative wasn’t properly built. A sponsor who couldn’t give their incarnation a stigma was just a hindrance, although I had a lot more money than a decent sponsor.

[Many constellations are curious about your choice.]

[Some constellations think that your actions are ridiculous.]

The reaction of the constellations to my incarnation was split into two. Those who liked me were the ‘incarnation seekers’ while those who disliked me were the ‘amusement seekers.’

Of course, there was one constellation who was unclear.

[The constellation Secretive Plotter is watching your strategy with interest.]

[1,000 coins have been sponsored.]

I thought he was ordinary when I first saw the modifier but I recently changed my mind. The average size of his sponsorship was too large. This constellation was at least ‘narrative’ grade. However, no matter how much I searched through Ways of Survival, I couldn’t see the name Secretive Plotter at all.

This meant he wasn’t a constellation of this world or he wasn’t properly handled in Ways of Survival. Who was it?

Wooong. Since last night, Shin Yoosung had been practicing her skills in one corner of the abandoned building. Shin Yoosung used the magic power recovery potions that I gave her and kept using a skill on the nearby young groll.

A faint aura stretched out from Shin Yoosung and touched the skin of a groll. This was the power of Diverse Communication that I saw from Lee Gilyoung.

I looked down at Shin Yoosung who had dark circles under her eyes. “Yoosung, have you slept?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t you know the penalty for not sleeping? Go to sleep.”

“Just a bit more.”

[The character ‘Shin Yoosung’ has used ‘Diverse Communication Lv. 8.’]

[The character ‘Shin Yoosung’ has used ‘Taming Lv. 7’]

Shin Yoosung’s concentration soon disappeared.

[Taming has failed!]

[The monster has started to run wild!]

The groll broke away from the control and rushed towards Shin Yoosung. Before I could move, the drooling Han Sooyoung sleeping nearby acted. The groll stopped breathing as it slammed into a wall of the abandoned building.   Han Sooyoung fell asleep again.

I spoke to Shin Yoosung, who was controlling her breathing with a dejected face. “Do you understand now?”

“Yes.” Shin Yoosung made a gloomy expression.

[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]

The abridged version.

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[Character List]

Name: Shin Yoosung

Private Attribute: Beast Tamer (Rare), Reflexive Killer (General)

Exclusive Skills: Taming Lv. 7, Diverse Communication Lv. 8, Agile Feet Lv. 8, Hybridization Lv. 6.

Stigma: None

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 19, Strength Lv. 14, Agility Lv. 44, Magic Power Lv. 45

* Growth Package I is currently applied.

* Growth Package II is currently applied.

* The New Scenario Commemorative Package is currently applied.

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Her skills growth rate was enormous thanks to the growth package I bought her.

There was also the New Scenario Commemorative Package that promoted the evolution of stats. I didn’t know if any incarnation on the Korean peninsula had received such package support.

She was a talented person so Diverse Communication would soon break through the 10th level and become Advanced Diverse Communication.

The problem was that she couldn’t properly tame the 8th grade groll despite her stats. This should be impossible thanks to the help of the system. Shin Yoosung bowed her head like she was embarrassed. “…I don’t have any talent.”

If she didn’t have talent then I should just kill myself.

“Don’t worry. You have talent. ” I couldn’t let my precious incarnation become frustrated. Perhaps Shin Yoosung couldn’t use it properly because of her trauma. “What are you thinking of?”

“I’m scared.”

It wasn’t hard to guess why she was scared. I told her, “The monsters aren’t pets.”

“I know.”

“Still, it might be okay to make one a companion. They are durable and strong.”

Shin Yoosung was someone who killed her dog with her own hands. It was to survive. This fact still remained deep in this child’s heart. I thought for a moment before saying, “Did you know? If all the scenarios are cleared, you can make a wish…”

“Ahjussi’s face changes when you lie. Your nostrils become larger.”

This reminded me of Gilyoung. Perhaps the children with Diverse Communication were more sensitive to body language. I decide to go forward like a gangster. “…What do you want to ask?”

“Can I do it?”

“You can do it.”

“You are speaking without any sincerity.”

“I chose you.” Shin Yoosung’s eyes shook at my words. “I chose you instead of Seoul. I don’t regret it.”

“…”

“You can do better than anyone else.”

Shin Yoosung looked up at me as she squeezed her fingers together. Then she started to tear up. “Ahjusshi, if I really become strong…”

“Strong?”

Shin Yoosung hesitated for a moment before laughing. “It’s nothing. I will try hard.”

Then Shin Yoosung turned around and used the skill again. I suddenly remembered something. I recalled the type of person Shin Yoosung was like in the original novel.

「 “Jonghyuk oppa is handsome.” 」

「 “Jonghyuk oppa is the best.” 」

「 “I like Jonghyuk oppa the most.” 」

…This girl, she was a fan of Yoo Jonghyuk in Ways of Survival. Of course, she wasn’t a heroine candidate. Due to her age, she was in the younger sister position. I remember her having a big fight with Yoo Mia…

I suddenly became a bit worried. Would I lose the person I worked so hard to raise to Yoo Jonghyuk?

I suddenly turned my head to where Han Sooyoung was stretching as she woke up. Han Sooyoung noticed my gaze and turned away. This girl, she had been sulking since yesterday.

I called out to her. “Hey.”

“What?”

“Are you going to keep sulking?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“There is something I want to ask you.”

Han Sooyoung raised an eyebrow at my words. I lowered my voice so that Shin Yoosung couldn’t hear and asked, “What do you think about my looks? Especially when compared to Yoo Jonghyuk.”

Han Sooyoung looked at me like bugs had entered her ears. “Why the hell are you asking me this?”

“I’m just purely curious.”

I had never been interested in what I looked like since I graduated from high school. Then I thought about the reactions of the prophets when I pretended to be Yoo Jonghyuk and it seemed that I was ugly. I didn’t think I was ugly when I took occasional selfies in the bathroom.

[A windy constellation is looking at you like you are pathetic.]

She replied, “Accept your fate.”

“No, I really am just curious…”

“All I can do now is cheer you up.”

Shit.

“…To that extent?”

I quietly looked at Shin Yoosung and made up my mind. I could never let her meet Yoo Jonghyuk.’

***

We hunted the monsters around us and collected the coins. I invested the collected coins into Shin Yoosung, causing her stats to grow remarkably fast.

The coins were primarily used for agility and magic power. It was to maximize the advantages of Agile Feet, Taming and Diverse Communication.

By the time night came again, Shin Yoosung finally learnt Advanced Diverse Communication. However, the Taming skill still didn’t succeed. Shin Yoosung asked, “The future me will be much stronger?”

Of course. The current Shin Yoosung was no match for the future Shin Yoosung in a frontal battle.

However, if she trained intensively then she could seal one of future Shin Yoosung’s important abilities. The Disaster of Floods was dangerous because she could lead an army by herself.

“I believe in you more than the future that hasn’t come yet.”

If the future Shin Yoosung could do it then it was a possibility for the present Shin Yoosung. Besides, there was a chance of winning if she confronted her future. It was because the future Shin Yoosung could never kill the present Shin Yoosung.

“I ate well.” Yoo Sangah gave a short prayer after eating the groll meat and cleaning up its bones.

“Yoo Sangah-ssi is religious?”

“No I’m not.”

“Then why pray…”

“I did it for the gods of Olympus.”

It was such a realistic prayer that I was dumbfounded. That reminded me. The gods we knew had become reality and the objects of our prayers were no clear.

“Today Han Sooyoung and I will stand guard first. Yoo Sangah can sleep.”

“Is it okay?”

“Yes.”

Yoo Sangah lay down and fell asleep first.  Han Sooyoung leaned against the wall opposite her and messed around with her smartphone.

It was natural to be uncomfortable. They were enemies by nature. Han Sooyoung’s ideas were the opposite of Yoo Sangah’s ideals. No matter what happened in the future, the two of them would be more antagonistic than friendly.

The tired Shin Yoosung had fallen asleep and only embers remained of the fire. Han Sooyoung spoke first. “You sleep too.”

I lay on the floor but sleep didn’t come easily. There were four days left until the start of the fifth scenario. Shin Yoosung hadn’t made any new progress today but a message came from the Gangseo area this afternoon.

[Someone has dealt with the Disaster of Ice that came from the west.]

This was the message. I didn’t have to ask who killed the disaster. Yoo Jonghyuk had prevented the disaster that would’ve caused Seoul to become an Ice Age. Perhaps he had met up with Lee Hyunsung.

Han Sooyoung was watching the embers when she suddenly opened her mouth. “Hey, I have a question.”

“You are ugly.”

Han Sooyoung frowned. “Who is wondering about that? You bastard.”

“…Then what is it?”

“What do you want to do?”

“What do I want to do?”

“What is your purpose? I think it is strange every time I see you. You shattered the throne and didn’t kill me. What do you want?”

“I have a desired ending.”

“Ending?”

I nodded lightly. Unexpectedly, Han Sooyoung didn’t ask anything else. Instead, she spoke about something else. “There was an ending I wanted to write.”

“For your novel?”

“Yes.”

“Then let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you plagiarize? You write well.”

“It isn’t plagiarism. Do you think that Ways of Survival is like the Bible? Aren’t the ideas everywhere? The sponsorship of transcendent beings. Survival missions. A protagonist who regressed. Isn’t it harder to find a novel that doesn’t have one of these ideas nowadays?”

“It is because yours is the closest.”

“There is a reason for that. Shall I tell you a story? In the past, there was a poor girl…”

“It is a story of a literary girl living in poverty who became frustrated with her dream and eventually plagiarized a novel for food and living.”

Han Sooyoung’s mouth gaped open. “Can you actually read someone’s mind?”

“Eh?”

“Anyway, something like that is possible. Right?”

“What type of god do you think I am? I wouldn’t be suffering like this if I had that skill.”

[The character ‘Han Sooyoung’ has used ‘Lie Detection Lv. 3’.]

[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is false.]

Han Sooyoung laughed. “Is it possible for me?”

I didn’t answer.

“Well, you don’t have to tell me. In any case, if possible please read my mind right now.”

“I can’t read it.”

“In fact, I didn’t plagiarize.”

I looked at Han Sooyoung suspiciously and she used Lie Detection on herself.

[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]

…What?

“It is just a coincidence that the story I wrote was similar to Ways of Survival. I just wrote according to the dreams I had.”

[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]

…This girl was using her subconscious as a shield.

“In any case, you saw it. It was a dream to you.”

“Maybe that is true. Then…” Han Sooyoung hesitated before saying, “Sometimes I think about it.”

“Think about what?”

“If this reality is the original and I only reproduced the original then I might’ve plagiarized…”

“What are you saying? Then you did plagiarize?”

“Who said that? I said it was just a thought.”

In fact, I didn’t mean it. It was a thought I had from the moment Ways of Survival became reality.

Was this world overlaid on a novel? Or was reality turning into a novel?

I stood up and shook my head. “Hey, let’s change the shift. Go ahead and sleep. The constellations on my channel will be reduced if I keep listening to such a painful story.”

“My constellation support has reduced because I’ve been with you lately.”

“That’s because you keep doing cancerous things.”

We shot a few more barbs at each other before shutting up. I leaned against the wall of the building and looked at the snoring Han Sooyoung.

I suddenly had a thought. Perhaps I was a bit lucky that she was here. At least I wasn’t alone in knowing that this world was a ‘novel.’

At some point, I fell asleep. It might be because I was too tired or perhaps I was distracted by the unexpected comfort.  It was a short but sweet sleep. However, perhaps I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.

When I opened my eyes the next day, Han Sooyoung was a cold corpse.

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