The Inquisitor I
Let me preface this by saying that today's episode contains a lot of questions and answers, a sort of Q&A format.
In that spirit, I'll start by tossing a question to all of you.
Q) What is the most hated anomaly among all the survivors on the Korean Peninsula? (Difficulty: Lowest)
Once, we conducted a survey on this very question on SG Net.
There were many strong candidates, but the top 5 were as follows:
1. The 'Ten Legs.'
2. Because it wrecked all electronics and made life hell. Known as 'Gremlin.'
3. Always popping up at crossroads asking, "Save the right or the left?" 'Trolley Dilemma.'
4. Not much detail can be given, but it's a pink-haired being whose name starts with 'Go' and ends with 'ri.' (Nominated by Seo Gyu under duress and rigged the votes.)
5. The 'Tutorial Fairy.'
The results of the four-day survey were announced.
A) The 'Tutorial Fairy.' - 82.7%
Candidate number 5 won with an overwhelming majority!
Supporters embraced in joy and collectively praised the winner.
-Anonymous: Those fucking fairies.
-[Baekwha] SixthGrader: Uwaaah… Please don't talk about scary things! ㅠ_ㅠ);;
-Anonymous: Fairies special trait) When you first wake up, there's a 95% chance a doll-like figure is floating above you. They look cute, but who knew their hobby was harvesting human heads?
└Anonymous: Ha, three years ago my boyfriend's head flew off right in front of me.
-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Fascinating.
-Anonymous: In the void I was in, a fairy showed up and ordered us to kill each other until only 30 survivors remained.
-[Samcheon] Officer: Other anomalies don't even communicate, so you can kind of understand them. But fairies act like they can communicate, which makes them even more infuriating. What do they think humans are?
By the way, 'Officer' is Yu Ji-won's nickname on SG Net. Just for the record.
The important fact here is that even a born psychopath like Yu Ji-won couldn't hide her anger when it came to the Tutorial Fairy.
Some of you might think, "Huh? Are fairies really that bad?" given that in my stories, fairies have appeared quite cute and charming.
But it's time to correct that misconception. Fairies are bastards.
Just remember how our SG Man Seo Gyu died.
Until I saved him in the 50th cycle, he was always decapitated by the Tutorial Fairy.
Back when we were all still immature and naive as awakeners, when the concepts of anomalies and voids weren't well-defined, fairies unceremoniously embedded us with real, compressed trauma in our minds.
"Gah! There are still too many survivors. If this keeps up, I'll get scolded by my seniors for not thinning the herd properly… Eh, I hate getting scolded, so I have no choice! Dropping 50 shadow hounds!"
"As a quest reward, I'll give you rice! But since you cheated to clear the quest, I'll have to cheat the reward too… Here, take this sack of rice mixed with pebbles and sand! Hehe. Before being dispatched here, I studied history and learned this is a specialty of the Korean Peninsula!"
"Hwaaa. Only one survivor left… I failed to balance the difficulty. My seniors will definitely give me a beating… Still, you're a one-man army! Totally elite! Clap clap clap! Fairy number 264 sincerely wishes good luck to the sole survivor at Busan Station, Undertaker…"
How could people not lose their minds?
Who would like being treated like lab rats? Even the rats wouldn't prefer it.
Especially Homo sapiens, who had been lording over all creatures as the dominant species until recently. Unable to accept the sudden change in their situation, curses and intense reactions erupted everywhere.
I too transformed into a violent game protagonist.
"I will kill you all."
"Gah?"
That was in the 2nd cycle.
Back when I didn't have [Complete Memory], I once cursed a fairy out of sheer, overwhelming hatred.
"What you did to us. I will find not just you, but your kin and your superiors, and I will exact my revenge, no matter what."
"Gah… I don't understand…"
My memory might be faulty, but the fairy likely looked at me with a puzzled, innocent expression back then too.
"Bad humans who ignore the guide's words get punished!"
With a dull thud, my consciousness was severed.
It was the moment I learned that in fairy language, 'punishment' means [the act of smashing someone's skull to the point of spilling its contents outside].
Fairy bastards.
So the regressor caught and punished the evil fairies—
If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, Tutorial Fairies were fierce. They were like level 70 guards in an RPG.
And I was a newbie. Well, to be precise, I lacked combat-related skills.
I confess to you… actually, as an Undertaker, I was more of a supporter than a dealer or a tank.
This was evident from my abilities like [Complete Memory] and [Time Seal], which were all non-combat skills.
This was partly intentional.
Because we had Old Man Scho, a historically unrivaled Swordmaster with the Heavenly Martial Body.
The plan was for Old Man Scho to handle the combat while I, as a supporter, handled all the miscellaneous tasks. It was a perfect blueprint. A flawless plan.
Q) But what happens when the sole dealer suddenly leaves the party? What's the appropriate expression for this situation?
A) "Damn it."
I was in despair.
Suddenly, my skill tree, packed with support skills, became the hallmark of a ruined character, and my life genre shifted dramatically towards #regret #despair #obsession. Typically, in web novels, a hero party with a runaway member faces a tragic end.
Old Man Scho, you bastard.
What was left for me now? The exclusive domain of a regressor. Time. An abundance of time.
That was the escape route.
'Inner energy!'
A ray of hope shone on me, the Bill Gates of time.
'To survive, I must amass inner energy!'
Yes.
Depending on culture or person, it was called 'Aura,' 'Qi,' 'Yoki,' etc., but in any case, everyone agreed that if you imbued it in a kitchen knife, you'd get praised for cutting fruit beautifully.
This mystical energy, like excrement, grew stronger the longer it stayed in the body.
In martial arts, a 'Gapja' was 60 years. A martial artist with 1 Gapja (60 years) of inner energy was revered.
It reflected the East Asian preference for ranking by age.
And who am I, the Undertaker? Not to brag, but by the 30th cycle, I was a man who had been breaking the human lifespan record day by day.
Moreover, I had the [Resume] skill that preserved my muscles and inner energy even through regressions.
In short?
"Hey, fairy. I've got a gift for you."
"Gah? A gift? What is it, dreary human?"
"Punishment."
"Huh?"
Thunk! Wheeeeeew-!
The Tutorial Fairy's head was sent flying into the air at a perfect angle.
Had a missile enthusiast in Pyongyang seen it, they would've clapped in envy at the propulsion.
"Ah."
The day I first cut down a fairy with a single stroke, I, unable to contain my emotions, wept openly.
What a long and grueling time of humiliation and oppression it had been!
Having evolved from a muscle freak into an inner-energy freak, the regressor was indeed powerful. I became dissatisfied with merely Busan Station, traveling across voids nationwide, harvesting fairy heads.
"It's the Undertaker! The Undertaker has appeared!"
"Eeeek? Crazy fairy hunter!"
"Everyone run! If that human bastard catches you, it's decapitation for you and me both!"
"Run! Run! Ruuuun!"
Superb combat skills? Fancy martial arts? Who needs those?
With 5 Gapjas, 10 Gapjas, or 20 Gapjas of inner energy, there's not much you can't do in this world. (Though there are exceptions.)
As the saying goes, highly developed basic attacks are indistinguishable from combat skills.
Without any special techniques, just persistently infusing aura, my brute force meta overwhelmed the Tutorial Fairies.
"Why are you tormenting us like this! Dirty human! Vicious human! What have we fairies ever done…!"
"Hmm. True, you haven't done much. Let's see, aside from discrimination, gaslighting, threats, imprisonment, torture, murder, genocide?"
"We could win a lawsuit against you!"
In which court?
"Anyway, this is all slander! Defamation! We were merely following our sovereign's orders to help you inferior humans adapt to the void as quickly as possible! We should be thanked…! Yes, we should be thanked!"
"Sure. Why do all imperialists say the same things regardless of history or race? Hmm? Wait, sovereign?"
I paused my boiling fairy broth. This was big news.
"Hey, you have a sovereign?"
"Gah! Of course!"
Tied up tightly above the cauldron, the fairy raised its head stiffly and retorted.
"Every society must cede its natural rights, and this is the common will of fairies! Our monarch is the only legitimate ruler as our representative! Stupid humans wouldn't understand!"
"...?"
I didn't know it at the time, but fairy society was divided into republicans and royalists. This fairy was a staunch royalist.
But what did it matter? I always respected my opponent's political leanings.
So, I ignored the fairy's political philosophy and slapped its cheeks several times.
"Gah? Gak! Gah!"
"Hey. Where do you get off shouting? Look, Fairy. See this cauldron boiling here? Huh? I'll use you to make broth and share it with your kin."
"Eeeek? This is barbaric! Call the Fairy Rights Commission!"
"Answer my questions quietly if you don't want to take a dip. Now. Do you have a leader who ordered you to conduct these tutorials on humans?"
"Gah! Leader? Watch your words! Address him with respect and reverence as our sovereign, human!"
"Okay. So they're the one responsible for ruining the world like this."
"Gah? What are you talking about…"
"I want to see the Fairy King's face. How do I do that?"
"Face? Do you, a lowly human, intend to meet the great Fairy King with that vulgar face? Hikhikhik!"
For reference, that weird sound was the fairies' unique laugh. No, really. They laugh like 'hikhik.'
"Too bad, but that's impossible!"
"Hmm."
"Our sovereign is a transcendent being! The sole free will that unites us! There's no reason for him to descend to this wretched earth and get covered in dust…!"
"Really? What if I make you into fairy soup?"
"Hikhik! Even if you kill me, even if you wipe out all the fairies dispatched to Korea, the Fairy King will never descend before a lowly human!"
"Okay? Then let's test that."
"…?"
Time passed. I, the Undertaker, the inner-energy freak of the apocalypse, returned with exactly 10 more Gapjas of inner energy after several regressions.
And I captured all the Tutorial Fairies remaining in Korea (101 in total).
-x-X-x-
The Inquisitor II
There's a saying, "Enemies within and without."
Normally, it refers to the extreme pain of suffering from food poisoning while also stepping on a LEGO, tormented both inside and out. But in truth, this idiom has a different meaning.
It's the wisdom that internal worries can be easily resolved by focusing on external enemies.
This ancient wisdom was proven once again when I captured 101 Tutorial Fairies and uploaded the footage to SG Net.
-Anonymous: Is Undertaker a god? Is Undertaker a god? Is Undertaker a god?
-OldManGoryeo: Watching those fairies getting wrecked feels so satisfying, haha.
-Anonymous: Mom, I want to be the Undertaker when I grow up! Mom, I want to be the Undertaker when I grow up!
-LiteraryGirl: Why do we only get to watch this awesome prank on video? Can't we get tickets to see it live?
└Anonymous: I think I know where that is. Forming a raid party to cheer on-site.
-[National Road Management Corps] Officer: Truly retribution. Proof that justice is still alive and breathing. Those who run rampant in this apocalypse should watch this video and reflect.
-dolLHoUse: Worry ;;;
-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: Truly, the cinematography is excellent!
"Hmm."
I nodded in satisfaction.
The number of upvotes on the post was the highest in my entire life across 89 cycles!
Our awakeners had various personalities and temperaments, but they all shared a common hatred for fairies!
But it was too soon to relax. No matter how well you deal with external enemies, internal problems don't just disappear. It's merely a distraction.
My internal worry, the cancer itself, was exuding a pleasant scent beside me.
"Wow… capturing all the Tutorial Fairies from across the country and gathering them in one place. How did you come up with such an idea, guild leader? You're amazing."
Pop quiz.
Who was it that just smiled brightly and praised me?
Hint 1: This person called me 'guild leader,' a title few use.
Hint 2: This person has rare pink hair.
Hint 3: It's the 89th cycle now.
"As expected, guild leader, you're quite unique. I'm glad I decided to follow you when you invited me at Busan Station…"
The answer: Go Yuri!
If you were a normal person, hearing this answer would make you scream "Aaaah! Nyarlathotep!" and run away.
But I was far from normal, and at this point, I had no idea that the 89th cycle would end in a massacre.
Naturally, I didn't suspect that Go Yuri was a mind-controlling, hypnotic Kadabra (from Pokémon) in human disguise.
"Well, thanks to you joining, running the guild has become much easier. Sometimes I think the guild members like you more than me."
"Ahaha. Guild leader, you're too kind. I don't have the responsibilities or the authority to give orders, that's all."
So, the me of the 89th cycle, listening to the pink shiny Kadabra's laugh, thought it was simply a pleasant voice. What a fool. Run away.
"And honestly, luck played a part in this one."
"Luck, you say?"
"Yes. I may know all the patterns of the fairies left on the Korean Peninsula, but they surrendered too easily."
"..."
Go Yuri smiled brightly.
"You did your best. In the end, it's all down to luck. The fairies were just unlucky, and you, guild leader, should be happy."
"Hmm. You're right."
No! Undertaker, no!
Run away now. Run away immediately!
…But no matter how much I acted out Interstellar on my own, there was no way my voice would reach the me of the 89th cycle.
The only consolation was that Go Yuri's mind control wasn't species-specific.
Her powers worked on fairies as well as Homo sapiens. Thanks to that, the 101 fairies didn't cause much trouble even in prison.
"Gah… Where are we?"
"It's a strange ceiling."
Their location was Cheongsong Prison.
Since the apocalypse, Cheongsong Prison had experienced a continuous outflow of population due to its walls breaking down. It had been a long time since it bustled with new arrivals.
"Kidnapping? Is this really kidnapping?"
"We, who were created for clichés, have become the playthings of clichés?"
"That, too, is a cliché."
"Gah… If I were born 500 years earlier, I would have dominated world literature. I was born in the wrong era…"
"There was no cola, potato chips, or instant noodles in the Middle Ages, so dominating would be useless."
"I could make all future literati 500 years from now regret not being born earlier."
"Gah, a fearsome genius…!"
Rustle, rustle-
Leaving 101 fairies alone made it as noisy as a marketplace.
It was time to start the main event.
Go Yuri, as if prepared, smiled and handed me a microphone (which gave me chills). I climbed onto the podium.
"Testing, testing. Hello, fairies. Nice to meet you."
"Gah. You are…?"
"I am your guide. I understand you must be surprised to be suddenly kidnapped and brought here. But don't worry. From now on, I, your instructor, will guide you kindly from start to finish."
The fairies lying around the auditorium blinked and whispered to each other.
"This sounds oddly familiar."
"It feels very familiar."
"These ropes are too strong to untie…"
"Busan Station awakener!"
Eeeeek! A fairy screamed from the middle of the auditorium.
"I've seen the footage! That human cleared the nightmare dungeon at Busan Station in less than 20 minutes! It's definitely him!"
"Gah?"
"20 minutes? That's the protagonist type awakener the seniors warned us about!"
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The fairies became noisy in an instant.
But the speaker, believing in his righteousness, was not swayed by mere outside clamor. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial, I continued my speech firmly.
"Calm down and listen to me, fairies. When do you think evil arises in this world?"
"Gah?"
"I believe evil arises when one cannot or chooses not to understand the position and emotions of others. Ignoring and refusing to know. In that sense, Socrates' old proposition that ignorance is the root of evil is truly correct."
"What is this human babbling about?"
"I don't understand at all…"
"Ah, ah. I have arranged this meeting to save you from the depths of evil. You toy with humans because you've never been toys yourselves."
Question marks appeared over the fairies' tiny heads.
In the now quieter auditorium, my voice echoed like a righteous shout.
"Do you get it now? From now on, kill each other."
"…?"
It didn't take long for the bent question marks to straighten into exclamation points.
The Tutorial Dungeon for fairies, start.
"Gyaaaa! Save me, fairy!"
"Gah! A rock! A rock is rolling towards us! Gyaaaa! Gyaaah!"
Full of malicious traps, limited resources, and stages designed to instill paranoia.
All creation is born from imitation.
When building Cheongsong Prison Dungeon, I drew inspiration entirely from the great predecessors in this field. Those predecessors were joyfully frolicking in the architecture their successor had designed.
"How can you do this while wearing a human mask! Do you have no human heart?"
"No, I don't. Instead, I have a fairy's heart. Gah- gahaa-"
"...…"
"What? What are you looking at, number 76? Did you grant mercy when humans begged for their lives in Yeongwol?"
"Gah! We were just following orders!"
"Were you? I'm similar. I command myself as my own master. Please be as understanding as possible, fairies."
"Crazy human… Crazy human…"
The fairies trembled.
By the way, all of this was being meticulously recorded by Go Yuri's smartphone.
"Ah, guild leader. Sorry, you're not in the frame. Could you move in a bit?"
"Like this?"
"Yes."
As time passed in Cheongsong Prison, day by day, Go Yuri's smile evolved from 'bright' to 'beaming.'
As a master of mind control, Go Yuri also excelled at video editing.
Director and writer: Undertaker. Filming and editing: Go Yuri. Starring and supporting: Fairies.
As a result of our combined efforts, the emotional documentary weekend drama [Tutorial Reversed World] hit a 100% viewership rate every time it was uploaded on SG Net.
"Guild leader, you're truly interesting."
…Looking back now.
No matter how much the wisdom of internal and external threats was applied, it was difficult to elicit such a consistent response from the crazy SG Net.
Perhaps the edited videos themselves were already imbued with perception manipulation, enough to satisfy even Sim Ah-ryeon or SwordMarquess.
From this point on, it was certain that Go Yuri became seriously interested and obsessed with me.
Of course, my purpose in establishing a prison for fairies wasn't just to avenge the accumulated racial grudges. (That was only about 50% of the reason.)
I looked down at the fairies who had lost a tug-of-war and fallen 60 meters underground.
'I've captured all the fairies left on the Korean Peninsula and made them into clowns. Do you still plan to remain hidden?'
Fairy King.
Yes. The presumed supreme anomaly that managed and controlled the 'Tutorial Dungeons' and 'Fairies' that appeared simultaneously worldwide… a top-tier anomaly.
According to the future classification system of the Library Society, it might be the first to be classified as level 5, outer god-class.
'I've put so much effort into capturing the fairies. I must gather as much information about that guy as possible in this cycle.'
Eeek! The fairies screamed in terror.
Amazingly, even by this point, I still didn't know anything about the Fairy King's true identity.
Not once in 89 cycles had I obtained meaningful information.
That fact kept me on alert.
'Not an easy opponent.'
Unlike typical villains who are eager to reveal their identities in other creations, the fairy boss was a true mastermind.
The only information I had was the two-word phrase 'Fairy King.'
"Hey, butcher."
"Gah…"
I tapped the forehead of the fairy lying on the ground with my finger.
"Why don't you start talking about your boss? Do you think I'll stop wreaking havoc just on the Korean Peninsula? China, Japan, India… well, maybe not India. Anyway, I can wipe out fairies in many places."
"Gah, I, I can't tell you…"
"Why? Because you only have one mouth? Would it help if I gave you two or three?"
"Eeek!"
Footsteps echoed. I glanced back to see Go Yuri standing with her hands behind her back.
"Are you interrogating, guild leader?"
"Yeah. It's not a pretty sight, so don't film this."
"Not a pretty sight? It's such a lovely sight that we should treasure it and keep it away from prying eyes."
Go Yuri tilted her head.
"Hmm. Are you having trouble because the fairies aren't talking? If I can help, I'd like to."
"Huh? If you can help, that would be great, but these guys have pretty tight lips. I appreciate the thought."
"...…"
Go Yuri smiled.
"No need to thank me. What are you asking them?"
"Ah, I was just asking for the Fairy King's real name…"
"――The Fairy King is the Fairy King."
Mumble.
I stared at the fairy. Our eyes met. The lips of the fairy, which had remained silent for days, twitched.
"But humans misunderstand the true meaning of our sovereign."
"…Misunderstand? What do you mean?"
"The sovereign you think of is '군주 (君主),' meaning a ruler whom subordinates serve and are loyal to. But our Fairy King is different. Our sovereign is '군주 (群主),' meaning the master of a collective called 'fairies.'"
The fairy smiled brightly.
"We are one. One is us. Therefore, we truly say 'our Fairy King.' Betrayal is nothing but self-betrayal. We――"
Boom!
The fairy's lips trembled, and an explosion erupted from within. The fairy's body swelled like a balloon.
A flash. I quickly raised an aura barrier between the fairies and us. Red liquid splattered against the shield like a windshield.
When the explosion subsided, nothing remained where the fairy had been except for scraps of flesh.
"What the hell is this…?"
"Ah, it seems there was a bomb planted to ensure secrecy."
Go Yuri muttered beside me.
"Hmm. This is the first one, but… guild leader shouldn't be too troubled, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"There are still 100 fairies left."
Go Yuri clasped her hands together.
"You can ask 100 more questions."
-x-X-x-
The Inquisitor III
To start with the conclusion, Go Yuri's solution of "Why don't we just burst the heads of the fairies 100 more times to get perfect information?" did not come to fruition.
It wasn't because my tender heart suddenly sprouted sympathy, thinking that such cruelty was too much.
Just looking at my brother, Seo Gyu, who suffered from anger management issues and had his head delivered express by the fairies more than 50 times, sympathy was out of the question.
I, the Undertaker, oppose racial discrimination but proudly consider myself a thorough species chauvinist. My emotions only open a two-way street for Homo sapiens.
The reason Go Yuri's solution failed was simple.
"Initiate extermination."
"Initiate extermination."
As soon as we left the interrogation room, a swarm of fairies rushed at Go Yuri.
"What…?"
Fairies appeared from every direction—hallways, ceilings, above, below, everywhere. They all had identical faces and emotionless expressions.
Even though it was quite a cosmic horror scene, my attention was focused elsewhere.
'The fairies didn't use their usual speech pattern?'
Good grief. It was a cultural shock.
Is that even legal?
Before my tongue could express its shock, the trained reflexes of a seasoned Regressor kicked in.
"You bastards! From where!"
Bam! Wrapping my thighs and calves with aura, I kicked and shattered the three fairies charging directly at Go Yuri.
But it didn't end there.
The fairies fell from my kick, but then their bodies swelled like red balloons.
The small bodies of the fairies rapidly bloated with red liquid, and the scene played out in slow motion right before my eyes.
A chill ran down my spine.
'Self-destruct!'
The aim wasn't to attack us directly but to close the distance.
I quickly wrapped my entire body in aura protection and pulled Go Yuri into a tight embrace.
"Ah-"
Go Yuri's lips moved, but her voice was drowned out by the subsequent explosion.
KABOOM!
The entire Cheongsong Prison shook from the explosion. Although it was remodeled to incarcerate fairies, the thick walls couldn't entirely block the blast.
Of course, they couldn't penetrate my barrier either.
"Damn…"
Everything collapsed. Walls, pillars, ceilings, all fell apart.
Concrete chunks pounded against my aura-shielded body.
"Hoo. Go Yuri, are you okay? Can you speak?"
"Yes, thanks to you, guild leader. You're amazing."
Despite her words, I could hear her coughing from the dust stirred by the collapsing debris.
Srrr… The surrounding landscape visible through the dust clouds was drenched as if hit by red water bombs. It must have been the LCL liquid expelled from the exploded fairies.
Amid the chaos, one fairy still floated in the air, looking intact.
"You… you bastard…"
"I request a dialogue."
A fairy spoke as if nothing had happened.
"However, there are conditions. I demand to speak with you alone—"
Boom! I immediately dashed forward and crushed the fairy's head.
I wiped the sticky, bloody mucus from my fingers.
"Don't make me laugh. You pull a suicide bombing, and now that I'm still standing, you want to talk? As expected, murderous psychopaths have a completely different mindset."
-Caution. No questions will be entertained.
Then an astonishing thing happened.
Liquid from the surrounding puddles began to boil and quickly formed the shapes of fairies.
But they were incomplete shapes. From various puddles, only heads, mouths, and fingers of fairies were forming, each twitching independently. Damn it.
-No demands will be entertained. If anyone interferes with our conversation through filming, recording, or eavesdropping, all terminal entities in this zone and any future encounters will be immediately destroyed.
"..."
-You have 30 seconds.
I frowned and looked to the side.
Go Yuri was giving a mixed smile, both troubled and amused.
"Hmm. It's okay. Don't worry about me, guild leader."
"Really? …Thanks for understanding."
"Haha. Instead, could you take me to Busan next time you go? I'm interested in meeting your friend, Dang Seo-rin."
"Hmm. Sure, let's do that."
There was no reason for me to feel indebted to Go Yuri.
Of course, there was no reason to leave all the other guild members behind and take only Go Yuri on [Tutorial Reversed World] missions. Moreover, it was clear that Dang Seo-rin would hate anyone else joining us on our food trips.
Even if I set all that aside, laughing like 'haha' after witnessing all this chaos wasn't normal. Yet, all I felt was a slight guilt for excluding such a kind girl from the conversation.
Your brain has melted, Undertaker.
Step. Go Yuri's footsteps sounded like a rattlesnake's as they tread over the building debris. Step—her snake-like tail disappeared behind a steel-reinforced concrete pillar, and the fairy spoke.
-28 seconds elapsed.
-We have confirmed your willingness to converse.
"You can speak normally."
I looked away from the direction Go Yuri left and tried to focus on the fairies. Damn it. There were too many of them bubbling up like pot foam.
"Did you drop the speech pattern because it was a facade all this time?"
-Is that your first question?
The liquid fairies stared at me. Despite their expressionless faces and voices, I could feel a tinge of "Are you serious?" from them. It was slightly fascinating.
"Yes."
-The speech pattern of the terminal entities was set by configuration.
-Location: Korean Peninsula, Language: Korean, Subject: Koreans, Environment: Apocalypse.
-We chose the speech pattern that would lower human suspicion the most.
"What? That crap? …Well, now that I think about it, it does sound weak and silly."
-Margin of error.
-Responses to terminal entities vary among individuals due to the average setting.
-Proposal. How about we alternate questions and answers?
"...…"
I shrugged.
It was a gesture to indicate that I didn't mind, but more importantly, I wanted to test how much "they" could understand non-verbal communication.
-Consent confirmed. To prevent misunderstanding, I'll clarify that our objective was not to exterminate you.
"So what? You intended to kill my comrades? What's the point of killing someone with nothing but bones left?"
-It's our turn to ask a question.
-Why are you cooperating with the pink-haired entity?
Dozens of liquid eyes focused on me.
"Pink-haired entity…? Do you mean Go Yuri?"
-Affirmative and negative.
-The entity has no specific proper noun or defined technical term. To maintain neutrality, we temporarily use 'the pink-haired entity you accompanied at Cheongsong Prison,' shortened to 'pink-haired entity.'
-Please answer the question.
I frowned.
"Entity this, entity that… Why don't you just use her name? Go Yuri is my guild member. She serves me as the guild leader. Does associating with someone need a grand reason?"
-....
-....
The distorted fairy forms, the 'Fairy King,' stared at me.
A brief silence followed.
-We understand.
"I'll ask a question now. You, the so-called Fairy King. Why did you summon void zones in a perfectly normal world? And why did you force innocent people into survival games through the tutorial?"
-....
"For fun? Entertainment? Like in many creations, did you want to toy with humans as if we were playthings?"
This was not just my question. It was the question of all awakeners who experienced the tutorial phenomenon, and perhaps humanity as a whole.
I was merely the one voicing it.
I waited for the Fairy King's answer as if I were the first human to question a god.
-We will break down the question.
-First, we need to point out your misunderstanding.
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
-We did not summon the entire void into this world. We merely managed the phenomenon called 'tutorial.'
Ah.
Instead of rage towards the Fairy King, disappointment welled up inside me. If so, the being before me wasn't the master of all anomalies.
I, in my 89th cycle, believed I could still return the world to its original state, unlike my current 1183rd cycle self.
-Second, we do not conduct experiments for amusement. Observing survival, literally, is our goal.
"What?"
-We would like to ask you in return.
-If you were thrown into the void environment without any preparation and without undergoing our 'tutorial' process, what do you think your survival rate would be?
"..."
-Calculating within a range of 365 days, your survival rate is only 1.76%.
-Meanwhile, the average survival rate of awakeners in the tutorial is close to 31%.
-If one survives the tutorial, their subsequent 365-day survival rate soars to 69%.
"So, what? Are you saying you prepared this death game parade for us? That's really generous of you. I'm almost in tears."
-We have no benevolence. We have no malevolence.
-Please judge whether our 'experiment' contradicts your purpose.
At that moment, I sensed movement behind me and quickly turned around. Ten or so fairies, who had apparently regenerated, were creeping towards me.
Our eyes met.
-....
"Damn it!"
I quickly summoned aura and harvested the fairies' heads. Pop! Their heads exploded like strawberry juice.
"Attacking during a conversation? You're worse than Nazis!"
-Mission failed.
-Reassessing your threat level.
"You really intend to go all the way with me? Alright then. Let's see how far this goes!"
-We must correct you. It was not us who initially initiated hostile actions. You kidnapped our entities out of abnormal hostility and subjected them to a highly simplistic experimental environment.
-The environment was poor, and the experiment's purpose was unclear. It was you, not us, who abducted intelligent beings for mere amusement.
"What…? Ha."
The retort, "You were the ones who roasted and tormented humans like anchovies from the first cycle to the 89th," was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it.
I didn't want the anomaly in front of me to know I was a Regressor. Even the smallest hint could lead to dangerous consequences.
-It is extremely difficult to subdue you with force.
-Establishing an ongoing relationship of mutual interaction with you is preferable.
"Dream on. Who says I'll cooperate?"
-Instead, we will disclose information you haven't asked for. Information directly linked to your survival.
The Fairy King moved its lips slowly, perhaps excessively so.
-The being you■■■call■■■■■ is■■■■■.
A crackling noise like an old radio echoed in my head as the Fairy King spoke.
I frowned.
"…What did you just say?"
-■■■■■■■. It's■■■, not■■■■■.
The noise grew louder, filling my head with static. The frown on my forehead deepened into a valley.
"Stop it. It's noisy. If you're playing a pointless prank, cut it out."
-....
Fairies all around, peeking from the debris, looked at each other.
-Failure. The contamination level of the target entity exceeds 99%.
-Abandoning Operation B. Redirecting anger through hostility towards a specific entity is deemed ineffective. Higher-level mental manipulation than the target entity is impossible.
-Commencing Operation C.
"..."
I began to think about how to completely eradicate the collective anomaly known as the Fairy King.
"If you keep ignoring and looking down on humans like this, I'll—"
-We will share information. Although we did not bring the entire void into this world, it is true that we are among the highest-ranked anomalies.
-Currently, there are seven such highest-ranked anomalies.
I blinked.
Yes, this was the moment I first heard about Level 5 anomalies, classified as "Outer Gods" by the future Library Society.
"Seven highest-ranked anomalies?"
-Indeed. These anomalies exert a strong influence over humans, leading to contamination without their awareness.
-If we compare anomalies to gods, entities that worship them inevitably emerge, whether they are objects, plants, animals, or humans. This phenomenon occurs regardless of whether the entities consciously worship the anomaly.
-No belief is necessary.
-Among these worshippers, some are as powerful as apostles.
-Naturally, as the "Fairy King," we have human awakeners who serve as our apostles.
I tilted my head.
"Well, that's interesting information… But why are you suddenly telling me this?"
-There is a high probability that you already know our apostle.
-Cheon Yo-hwa.
I froze.
Numerous fairies, one Fairy King, looked at me from various angles like the eyes of a spider.
-Tutorial Dungeon, Baekhwa High School.
-The survivor there, Cheon Yo-hwa, is the chosen apostle of the "Fairy King."
-x-X-x-
The Inquisitor IV
To an infinite regressor, the world could be compared to a bag of potato chips. Among the countless amounts of nitrogen, you have to dig out the rare potato chips.
Similarly, a regressor occasionally encounters exceptions within the endlessly repeating time. Just like I did in the 89th cycle.
"No way, Cheon Yo-hwa…."
I swallowed the name of the potato chip. The president of Baekhwa High School's student council. The necromancer who, alongside Dang Seo-rin's Samcheon, is often cited as one of the most powerful guilds on the Korean Peninsula. I never expected to hear her name here.
-It's not just humans.
By some miracle, this bag of chips had a few more chips than usual.
-As I mentioned, the influence of anomalies affects objects and plants indiscriminately.
-Think of anomalies as a type of radiation.
-The "Butterfly Effect" that you presumably exterminated was also one of our apostles, an entity contaminated by us.
"Wait a minute. Even the Butterfly Effect?"
-Yes. It's the truth.
"..."
My brain was in a state of confusion.
As far as the 89th cycle me knew, Cheon Yo-hwa was a necromancer. The malevolent student council president who occasionally treated the Korean Peninsula to a [Bad Ending: Academy City ENDING].
And the Butterfly Effect was a schizophrenic butterfly that scattered tornadoes everywhere, even when it wasn't bored.
"…They're too different. What do Cheon Yo-hwa and the Butterfly Effect have in common to be your infected… or so-called apostles?"
-It's faster to show you directly.
"Directly? Show what?"
The Fairy King extended its hand.
-This entity.
"..."
-I detect hesitation. Are you afraid? Will you not grasp it?
I sheathed my sword.
Being a regressor was convenient in times like this. Even if it was a trap set by an anomaly and I died, I could carry the information that "the Fairy King is absolutely untrustworthy" to the next cycle.
"Fine. If it's a provocation, I'll accept it. I don't know where you're taking me, but lead the way."
When I grabbed the Fairy King's hand, the unpleasant, squishy feeling of its liquid body spread across my palm.
And in the next moment, I stood in the middle of a prison, completely clean and intact.
"――What?"
But this prison wasn't Cheongsong Prison. I couldn't tell exactly where it was. Iron bars and hallways extended endlessly beyond my line of sight. There were no people.
"What on earth is this…?"
The Fairy King grabbed my hand tightly as I instinctively reached for my sword.
-Do not let go of my hand.
-You will lose it.
Lose what?
Before the words could be uttered, blink. When I closed and opened my eyes, the prison had turned into a hospital.
"..."
The hallway was lined with oddly clean hospital beds, despite the lack of any patients or doctors. Transparent IV tubes hung from each bed like suspension bridges. The corridor was infinite.
Identical hospital beds, identical IV tubes, identical angles of hanging infusion lines, all in the same shade of white, stretched endlessly down the corridor.
Blink. The school was an old, wooden, abandoned building. The school name Baekhwa shimmered. The sky was blood red. Broken windows, birch trees with white bark protruding into the hallway through the shattered glass. The school was impaled by white stakes, a mess.
The angles and positions of the broken glass repeated every six meters. Each repeated section had old desks and wooden chairs scattered about. The old wooden surfaces, moss-covered and sloping, were all identical.
Blink. A swimming pool. The strong smell of chlorine. Swimming lanes extended to the horizon, a water-filled corridor.
Blink. A movie theater. It was dark. But it was strange. No ordinary theater had such old, wooden chairs like those from an abandoned school. Transparent IV tubes hung from each chair. The screen displayed scenes of a prison. Iron bars. Hallways. Iron bars. Hallways. An empty prison. The theater screen alternated between scenes of the prison, hospital, school, and swimming pool, then back to the theater screen, the eyes within the eyes.
Blink.
The universe moved.
There were no rules in the movement of the stars. No complementary colors in the hues. The stars danced, stood on their heads, laughed without exhaustion, and fell silent.
As the laws ceased to function, time also released its grip on the world. The colors grabbed the falling fingers. Interlaced hands. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, cyan, lime, gold, crimson. Interlaced fingers. The hands of color held the hands of color and danced in a circular motion. Orange stepped on blue's foot, red killed orange. The Milky Way turned red.
Blink.
And thus, stars were born and destroyed immediately, forms were created and collapsed as soon as they appeared. Like bubbles. Everything in the world was a bubble. Soap bubbles, like those that shimmer with rainbow colors in the sunlight, were rampant. Existence was bubbles, life was color.
Blink.
The universe blinked. A traffic light. As the red light turned to green, time took a breath, a momentary pause.
The colors of the starlight, the bubbles of the planets, the orange killed by red, the dancing color arrays, the theater screen, the chlorine smell of the swimming pool, the wooden chairs of the school, the birch bark protruding into the hallway through shattered glass, the white hospital corridor, the iron bars of the prison, the zebra crossing where black and white interlaced like a carpet.
The entire universe.
Was staring blankly at me.
The universe stood on the other side of the traffic light, staring at me. They opened their mouths wide.
'Eyes' 'Blink' 'Gaze' 'Watch'.
Like a choir that had never practiced. Voices with inconsistent pitches and tones. Some sounded like church bells, some like water flushing in a toilet, some like insects flapping their wings.
The breath from those mouths barely, through the mouth of the Fairy King holding my hand, 'reconstituted' itself.
-Do not blink.
"..."
-You perceive this entity as the Fairy King, the highest anomaly commanding all terminal entities, but strictly speaking, that perception is incorrect.
It felt like my ears were tearing apart. No, my brain.
Every word whispered by the entire universe had a different vocal apparatus. 'Ter' 'mi' 'nal' 'en' 'ti' 'ty'. The sound of wind chimes hanging from a temple eave, the scream of a crow being killed by a hawk. Sounds that should not form language and noises that should not form words did.
If I weren't a regressor who had honed myself over countless cycles― just listening to the 'words' of that universe would have destroyed my brain, a fierce intuition surged with nausea.
It wasn't even a sound insulting humanity.
The world was being violated.
"Incorrect, you say…?"
-Maintaining your identity in this situation is beyond expectations.
-This entity, the 'Fairy King,' is an interpreter.
-A priestess.
-A priest. A pope.
-A terminal entity. Command role. Highest priest.
-But far below the god.
-Speaking for a silent god, seeing for a blind god.
-The god has no benevolence or malevolence.
-Only randomness. Rejoice. Your existence is equal.
-Scream.
-There is no difference between a drop of bubble and the Himalayas in the clouds. Laws are not superior to individuals. There is no hierarchy on the ladder of form.
-This entity is merely a terminal born by chance. I am fortune, not misfortune, for you. You need not bear malice towards me.
-We merely experiment. As we were created for experimentation.
"..."
I stared at the universe with eyes that felt like they would burn. So, that was an anomaly.
Outer God-class. Level 5.
The most toxic of all voids. One of the seven most powerful anomalies, the Seven Outer Gods.
The one I… humanity must kill.
The enemy of this world.
"…It doesn't even have a name. That thing."
-Unnecessary.
-What we indicate is our god, and what we do not indicate is also our god.
"Infinite Void."
The Fairy King looked up at me.
"Infinite Hell. Its name is now Infinite Void."
I spat out like blood. That was the maximum resistance the me of the 89th cycle, who felt like he would be crushed by the void at any moment, could muster.
-As I said, names are unnecessary.
"No, it's necessary for me. Because I will kill that blind god who has violated our world without permission."
-...
"Everything in the world has boundaries to protect its distinctions, but you mix everything, leaving no gap between anything. Things become impermanent, existence melts away, making it truly hell. Hence, it is the Hell of No Intervals. You plunder, take, and violate the laws of the world, making it also the Hell of Violations."
The Fairy King, the fairies――the red light of the traffic light, the stars, the colors, the dance, the theater screen, the school, the hospital, the prison――stared intently at me.
There was a phrase in Laozi's Tao Te Ching: 寂兮寥兮.
Silent and Solitary.
Before humans distinguished all things, the world existed without division, a world so quiet because no sound or noise was meaningful, was described as 'tranquil.'
Originally, such a world was void and could not be named.
I named that void.
Pointed at it with a human finger.
-Infinite Void.
-Infinite Hell.
-A proper name.
-An improper name.
-It is also a randomness.
-I can now guess why the pink-haired entity showed peculiar behavior.
A thousand layers of laughter split.
For a moment, the smell of chlorine from the swimming pool wafted. It was the breath exhaled by this universe's Backrooms.
-I will experiment on you, Undertaker.
The Fairy King… no, 'Infinite Void' released my hand.
At that moment, the traffic light's color turned bright blue. Not green or yellow, but sapphire blue, like the wings of a Morpho butterfly. An incomprehensible color.
The presence of Infinite Void surged towards me. Crossing the white-painted crosswalk, traversing the swimming pool, thundering down the hallway, trampling time and tearing space.
In that instant, I lost consciousness.
"Guild leader?"
A voice called out.
"Are you okay, guild leader? Are you awake?"
"Uh… hmm, where am I?"
"Cheongsong Prison. Or rather, what used to be Cheongsong Prison. You said you were going to have a conversation with the fairies."
"Ah."
As I came to and looked around, Go Yuri was supporting my head on her lap amidst the rubble of the collapsed building.
Smiling.
Go Yuri looked down at me and smiled.
"Did the conversation go well?"
"The conversation… I'm not sure. I think I saw something, but I can't remember well…"
"Ah, I see. Hmm, this is a bit concerning. How should I…?"
Go Yuri muttered, tapping her chin with her index finger, showing a hint of concern.
I could only look up at her with my still foggy mind.
"…Right. Do you still remember promising to take me with you next time you go down to Busan?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I remember."
"Great. Since I stepped aside quietly, a small concession like this seems fair."
"...?"
"Relax your body for a moment, guild leader. Take a deep breath- exhale. Like that. Yes, good job! You've been caught in several explosions, so your body and mind must be tense without you realizing it."
Pat, pat.
Go Yuri's hand gently stroked the back of my head. Even though it was simply a gesture of touching my hair, my mind cleared up surprisingly quickly.
Most importantly, the memory of observing 'Infinite Void' surged back like a flood.
"Ah…"
"Seems like you're feeling better. That's a relief."
"I don't know if I'd call it feeling better, but my memory… no, it's nothing. Anyway, you took care of me while I was out. Thanks, Yuri."
Despite having named one of the most powerful anomalies in this world, the identity of the being in front of me remained unknown. She helped me up with a gentle pull and smiled brightly.
"Guild leader, are you happy right now?"
"Huh? Well, at least I'm not unhappy."
"Then I'm happy too, guild leader."
It was an exceptionally beautiful smile as always.
There's a very short epilogue.
"Seo Gyu, I'm actually a regressor, and you've had your head blown off by the tutorial fairies at least 50 times. But in a past cycle, I discovered an anomaly that seems to be the boss of the fairies. It's called Infinite Void, a terrifying entity that can kill most people just by being observed. How would you like to deal with it?"
"You're saying there's such a fucked-up bastard? Of course, I need to personally take revenge!"
I took him there.
"Hey, you fucking asshole! You blew my head――ahhhhh!"
Boom! As soon as our SG man stepped into the void of Infinite Void, his head exploded, just like the aliens in Tim Burton's movie Mars Attacks!
"Hmm."
…It seemed humanity was still far from exacting vengeance.
-x-X-x-
The Accomplice I
I faced the worst enemy, the Outer God-class anomaly called 'Infinite Void', but I didn't respond immediately. Instead, I waited for the right moment. For an infinite regressor, 'waiting' is on a different level. Multiply the frustration and anxiety you feel when your food delivery is three minutes late by about 13 times, and you get the waiting experience of an infinite regressor. It truly requires superhuman patience.
During this period, I focused on maximizing my power.
Did I train in martial arts? Of course not. As Old Man Scho said, my combat sense was akin to a beaver's. It would be a mistake to underestimate the combat talent of someone born to be a supporter.
But even for me, or rather, because it was me, there was still a way to maximize my power.
"Master Noh Do-hwa."
"..."
Noh Do-hwa's expression was as usual. Meaning, her default expression was already one of utter disgust, so making it worse now would just add to the normality.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like I'm a piece of crap before I even said anything?"
"Because when you call me 'Master Noh Do-hwa' instead of 'Chief Noh Do-hwa', it usually means you're about to talk about something personal.... And your personal grief, rage, vendetta, your 'I'm-human' pose, and the signal that you alone can recognize my humanity—those things evoke no feelings in me other than annoyance."
"Master Noh Do-hwa. Haven't you been working too hard lately? I happen to have some free time, so why don't we take a vacation? A backpacking trip, just the two of us, like college friends."
"You bastard...."
"As expected. I knew you'd like it."
Thus, Noh Do-hwa and I went on a trip.
If it had been after the 380th cycle when I established 'Idea Ranch', we could have traveled riding dinosaurs together (we actually did that later), but unfortunately, we were only in the 100th cycle at this point.
Had I been alone, I would have used something like a lightweight flight technique to move swiftly. If Noh Do-hwa hadn't been my companion, I would have given her a piggyback ride to enjoy the speed together.
The latter solution was rejected again when Noh Do-hwa shyly remarked, "Oh, if you wanted to see me commit suicide, you should've said so from the beginning." What a bashful person.
Therefore, our means of transportation had to be extremely limited. Finding the best possible solution despite these difficulties proves my dignity as a regressor.
Vroom... vroom...
Noh Do-hwa had a plain expression as she rode the means of transportation with me.
"Regressor Undertaker..."
"Yes?"
"Is this really the best method...?"
"Yes."
Vroom... vroom...
"No matter how scarce fuel is, shouldn't there be something more plausible like a dump truck, or can't you use the National Road Management Corps resources or your miraculous regressor powers? Even a bicycle would be better..."
"Oh, you're such a joker. We're traveling for personal reasons, so we shouldn't deplete the corps' resources. Bicycles would break quickly on rough roads, making them useless."
Vroom... vroom...
"But for fuck's sake.... Seriously. Where the hell did you get this damn yogurt cart?"
Indeed.
We were currently riding the world's first and only Près Manager exclusive rideable refrigerated electric cart, the 3rd generation model, Coco (Cold&Cold) 3.0.
Also known as the 'Yogurt Lady Cart'. Its beautiful apricot-colored exterior and ability to seemingly teleport between neighborhoods made it a relic of ancient times.
I was driving while Noh Do-hwa sat on the cart. I had modified it with a top-quality cushion, so her butt wouldn't hurt.
"Oh. Please refrain from using bad language. This is a 'Yogurt Cart' anomaly."
"Anomaly...?"
"Yes. No matter how rough the road, it climbs without issue and arrives at its destination no matter how remote. Master Noh Do-hwa, have you ever seen a yogurt cart broken down or stranded on the road?"
"No, I haven't...."
"Exactly. Most Koreans have only observed yogurt carts being 'just fine'. Even if it seems physically impossible for it to traverse a certain terrain, this anomaly produces the result that it 'successfully made the journey'."
"What nonsense...?"
"Watch."
Vroom... vroom...
An asphalt road appeared before us. The cart bravely advanced on the road, which was so broken it was hard to tell if it was concrete or cookies.
Clunk, the cart's wheel fell into a concrete crack. Noh Do-hwa's complexion darkened.
"Oh, it fell..."
But the cart mysteriously adhered to the concrete surface and climbed back onto the normal track.
"…down?"
Its movement was extraordinary.
Even when the concrete was broken, the tiles were a mess, or tree roots were bulging out, the yogurt cart merely jolted slightly but continued without any problems.
It traveled well even on a national road so damaged that not even cars or most people could traverse it.
Truly the pinnacle of Korean engineering. An SSS-class lost technology artifact.
"Huh? What is this idiotic...?"
"This is the yogurt cart anomaly. Master, feel free to praise me."
"Wait, does this thing move without any power or charging...?"
"Yep. Moreover, the fridge Master Noh Do-hwa is sitting on keeps drinks or food from spoiling. Even meat in a yogurt-shaped container can be preserved for over a year."
"Holy shit. If you had such a great item, you should've informed the National Road Management Corps instead of playing backpacking cosplay. We need to collect and distribute these carts nationwide. This could revolutionize logistics in this shitty era, and it could even serve as a wheelchair for the elderly..."
"Ah. There's only one."
"...."
"I tried to test if it could be mass-produced by collecting relatively intact carts, but the only one that exists as an anomaly is this one. So, I'm just using it as my beloved car."
"Damn..."
Anyway, the two-person party, consisting of the shadowy mastermind and the overlord of the bright side, traveled without incident.
Though Noh Do-hwa grumbled, she enjoyed everything. After all, I luxuriously stocked the refrigerated cart with meats, vegetables, and various carbohydrates, cooking delicious meals each time we stopped.
"Did you know, Regressor Undertaker...?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're utterly useless in my life, but your cooking skills are national treasure level. Without that, I wouldn't have treated you like a human..."
"...?"
As expected of Noh Do-hwa, who was born with 'workaholic' etched into her DNA, she must have been experiencing burnout symptoms while managing the National Road Management Corps.
As our enjoyable camping trip extended from one day to two, then three, and more, Noh Do-hwa's face became serene. The fatigue and grime accumulated in her heart were washed away.
I was remarkably adept at comforting and caring for weary hearts.
"Hey, you damn regressor bastard. How long are you going to roam around outside? If the Samcheon guild leader finds out, do you want to see me die?"
"...?"
Finally, on the sixth day of our trip, we arrived at our destination.
The Taebaek Mountains, Jeongseon.
Once the most famous mining area for Koreans (now famous for other reasons), Noh Do-hwa showed a typically plain expression.
"What kind of backwater is this...?"
"As you can see, it's a village."
A village had formed around the mines in Jeongseon. The terrain was quite unique.
A large cave was hollowed out in the middle of a cliff-like mountain slope, and village buildings grew like mushrooms inside it.
You could call it a mining village. The feng shui only took the first part of the "mountain behind, water in front" principle.
"The houses are made of stone...?"
"They used fireproof materials. Not a bad construction choice."
"The villagers seem abnormally short...?"
"In this era, being large just means eating more useless nutrition, so they've convergently evolved."
"All the residents have bushy beards..."
"It's a way to maintain constant body temperature. The villagers have excellent adaptability to the environment."
"They're midgets, aren't they...?"
Hmm.
I nodded.
"They are often called that. But calling them midgets is a bit weird, isn't it? Please use the term 'Dwarf' instead."
"You said we were going backpacking, but you brought me to a top-tier void where different species exist, you crazy bastard..."
Dwarves. A staple in fantasy genres.
In every story, they are born with a national spirit of being 'excellent blacksmiths'. Thus, the masterpieces they create are treated as relics of lost technology, much like the yogurt cart we are riding.
Now you can guess why I came to this remote void in the Taebaek Mountains to enhance my power.
That's right.
I came to get some equipment.
I first discovered this place, the so-called 'Jeongseon Dwarf Mine', in the 54th run.
At that time, I had just established the National Road Management Corps and was traveling across the country to complete the updated Daedongyeojido (Large Map of Korea).
The Jeongseon Dwarf Mine looked like it came straight out of fiction.
Sounds of metal clanging and dwarves bustling around could be heard from all directions.
Despite the decline of the mining industry in the Taebaek Mountains, the dwarf village was constantly filled with the noise of pickaxes and hammers.
But the voids of this world are not that simple. This place, too, was not just an ordinary village despite its resurrection as a mining town.
"Hello?"
-....
"Can you understand me? Hello? Can you recognize me?"
-....
"A species inferior to elves. Your beard is very ugly."
Clang!
The 'dwarves' hammered the anvil without any reaction, paying no attention to me.
In fact, if you looked closely, these dwarves deviated significantly from the typical image.
They had bushy beards, which was fine. But instead of eyes, they had 'eye sockets', and instead of mouths, they had 'mouth holes'.
This wasn't a play on words.
It meant they lacked eyelids and lips.
-..., ....
Clang, clang-!
Their arms were abnormally muscular like a statue of Hercules, creating a strangely unbalanced physique. Those muscular flesh lumps made eerie breathing sounds as they continuously hammered.
-O.... Oun.... O… O...
It wasn't air stored in their lungs and released; it was as if their whole body was a leather drum, and air flowed from inside their bodies.
Not the breath of life but the whistle of the abyss.
"Hm."
Even for me, the greatest linguistic genius in Earth's history, Dwarvish seemed a bit challenging. Of course, it made sense. It wasn't an Earthly language.
I felt regret.
'If I could request a weapon from the dwarves, I could definitely get an effective sword against anomalies.'
After touring the entire mining village, I found that there were seven blacksmith dwarves, and none of them could communicate.
In the end, during the 54th run, I only identified the void's location and left without any significant gain.
"Wait..."
Noh Do-hwa interrupted my story.
"Then why did we come to this backwater? They can't speak, and they don't make equipment for us..."
"Ah. It's fine. I don't intend to request weapons from the dwarves."
"...? Then why?"
"Oh, think about it, master. Even if normal communication is impossible, if these beings truly mimic the dwarves from creations, wouldn't their hammering and tanning hold significant secrets? Like how a protagonist can learn great techniques just by watching a swordmaster wield a sword, a great blacksmith could learn much from observing these dwarves' hammering."
"Huh...?"
"And the ores they're hammering, those aren't earthly minerals. They're probably called things like adamantium. Naturally, the technology to smelt these ores into weapons is exclusively held by these dwarves, not modern Earthlings. To smelt these ores, a great blacksmith must learn from the dwarves."
"...?"
"Oh, what a coincidence. Right before my eyes stands the most talented blacksmith in Korean history. In other words, the number one craftsman in Korea. Ta-da."
"...."
"Ta-da-a-an-"
"...."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"So, you want to learn how to work with some non-earthly ore by watching these non-communicative anomaly bastards hammer, and then you want me to craft an SSS-grade weapon for your use...?"
"Exactly."
"Please, just die."
"Oh, you said the same thing last run."
"...?"
"Last time, I just carried you here on my back in less than a day. So you strangled me to death, asking if I thought you were a joke and to see if I'd really die. I didn't expect you to actually kill me, but anyway. This time, I brought the yogurt cart anomaly so you could come comfortably. Didn't I do well?"
"You damn crazy bastard――"
I was strangled.
This time, I didn't die.
-x-X-x-
The Accomplice II
Everything proceeded smoothly as planned, except for the discovery that Noh Do-hwa's secret kink was choking play.
SG Net became a bit noisy.
-Anonymous: I heard there's no leader at the National Road Management Corps right now? Is that true?
-[NRMC] Officer: It's true. Our leader is on a long vacation.
└Anonymous: ?
└Anonymous: ?
└LiteraryGirl: That machine has a concept of vacation??
-[NRMC] Officer: Yeah. So all the management officers were shocked. Since the establishment of the National Road Management Corps, there hasn't been a vacation or even a holiday. But this time, she took a bold 21-day long vacation and disappeared without a word.
└Anonymous: That person is really unpredictable from head to toe. Really seems like a nutcase.
-OldManGoryeo: ? lol
└[NRMC]Officer: What? Why?
└OldManGoryeo: She left silently with exactly a 21-day vacation notice? Did she disappear without a trace? lolol
└[NRMC] Officer: Exactly. Why?
└OldManGoryeo: lolololololololol
└[NRMC] Officer: ?
-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: Hmmm....
"Hmmm...."
As I read the comments up to that point, Noh Do-hwa sighed next to me.
I closed my smartphone and returned from the virtual world to the real world.
"What's wrong?"
"…It's nothing. This mineral is fascinating. It's light and strong. Truly, this is something not found on Earth. You called it ada-something…?"
"Adamantium. Be careful not to mistakenly call it mithril even by accident, it could cause a big problem."
"...? The two words don't sound similar at all..."
Noh Do-hwa took out and put on her monocle. Her left eye had particularly poor vision, but it was also part of her routine to get serious about work. Like soccer players who touch the grass or pray to the gods as they step onto the field.
"Hmmm..."
Noh Do-hwa wandered around the mining village for a long time, observing the dwarves making weapons through her monocle.
Clang, clang!
The dwarves mechanically hammered their weapons, and as soon as they finished, they started the same process again. But the finished products didn't remain; they melted into the air and disappeared.
Noh Do-hwa raised her hand and touched the remnants in the air.
"Hmmm.... A village where objects disappear right after being created. But I can learn the blacksmithing skills just by watching."
"How's it going? Learning anything?"
"I don't know. You call me a blacksmith, but I'm just a prosthetist, a maker of assistive devices. Even if you suddenly ask me to make a weapon, it's problematic...."
Mumbling, Noh Do-hwa extended her right arm toward me while keeping her eyes fixed on the dwarf. I took a hammer and tongs from another dwarf's grasp and handed them to her. Her white fingers silently gripped the tools.
"Do you think I'm Doraemon? Making prosthetic limbs is tough enough, but now you want roads built, the National Road Management Corps organized, and balancing the guilds' power struggles, for fuck's sake. Do you think I'm a vending machine that spits out anything when poked...?"
Clang.
Noh Do-hwa mimicked the dwarf with a sidelong glance. Clang, her hammer slightly missed the mark due to unfamiliarity with the material.
"Hmmm..."
Her lips twitched. She closed her mouth tightly and continued to imitate the dwarf for hours.
By nightfall, a sword was in her hands. Its shape was crude, and its balance was off. But the silhouette it cast in the moonlight was unmistakably that of a sword. Noh Do-hwa's slender eyes, resembling moonlight, traced the sword's curve. Her gaze was so sharp that if the two overlapped, the sword seemed like it would get shaved down.
"Hmmm. I don't quite get it. I should start with something simpler, like a hoe..."
From that day on, Noh Do-hwa almost stopped eating, imitating each dwarf one by one.
Clang, clang—
I followed her like an assistant, carrying tools and supporting her. We were a perfect match.
"...."
The shadows of dwarves that remained in place of humans who had fled from the anomalies.
The decayed mining town's mines.
In a village where there were only the two of us, the clang of metal echoed eternally.
This naturally brought to mind memories from hundreds of years ago.
When Noh Do-hwa called me something other than 'Regressor Undertaker'.
"I want to apply as an apprentice in your workshop. Please hire me."
"Hmmm..."
It was the 53rd run.
Up until then, the National Road Management Corps had never been established in my regressor life. It only existed as a paper plan in the palace of my memories.
At this time, I was searching for the right person to become the head of a quasi-governmental organization. In other words, the future leader of the most powerful entity in Korea.
Dang Seo-rin came to mind first, but that was a last resort. My preference was to avoid burdening her further.
I could have done it myself, but I had to run around the front lines fighting anomalies. It was impossible for one person to be both Xiang Yu and Xiao He.
The conditions were fourfold:
-Someone not corrupted by a desire for power. In other words, mental strength or character.
-Someone who knew how to wield power. In other words, competence or instinct.
-Someone who pursued practical benefits as a system rather than individual gains. In other words, beliefs or philosophy.
-Someone willing to tread an untrodden path. In other words, courage or bravery.
Practically impossible conditions.
But 'practically impossible' doesn't mean 'absolutely impossible', and countless hours made me bridge the gap between 'impossible' and 'almost impossible'.
Test commenced.
-Hey, Undertaker! Aren't we the top family in Korea now? Let's show those Incheon bastards...
-What? Connect the road to Seoul? Why would we do that? If we waste our energy laying roads, we're just benefiting other guilds...
-Doc, can you take a break? You're too good, and it's making it hard for me to speak. Just take a short vacation and when you come back...
Eliminated. Deferred. Eliminated.
Countless candidates were considered and discarded. I spent at least 5 years, sometimes 10, being their acquaintance, colleague, friend, or partner.
I gave them power and took it away. I bestowed honor and trampled on it. If necessary, I observed their character across different runs.
The position of the head of the National Road Management Corps, as I envisioned it, required that level of scrutiny.
Like a massive wave, I swept through the people of Korea one by one, raising the stakes each time, until I ended up at a remote alley.
"An apprentice. It's true our workshop is always short-handed.... But why? From your appearance, it seems you could join any guild and live well..."
Noh Do-hwa.
She was like an island.
If not for being a regressor, I would never have met her in my lifetime.
She was already famous for custom-making prosthetics for those who had lost limbs. I had relied on her in other runs a few times.
But it was my first time trying to establish a close relationship beyond that of customer and shopkeeper.
I bowed my head.
"My father had difficulty walking all his life. I want to do something to help those who struggle with mobility."
"Oh. Your father?"
"He passed away."
A lie.
"By an anomaly."
"Hmmm..."
Noh Do-hwa's sigh had the same resonance then as it did now. It was like a tremor that gently touched and outlined a person.
Like a bat mapping objects with ultrasonic waves.
"Well, wouldn't it be better to seek revenge on anomalies rather than helping others?"
"...."
"Well, urging someone to give up revenge is as presumptuous as pushing them to pursue it. Alright. If you don't mind being a temporary apprentice, give it a try..."
If the world were not an island, she would make an island to live on.
The net Noh Do-hwa cast over her world wasn't wide, but it was tightly knit.
She would pull in and examine everything before deciding what to keep and what to let go.
That was evident in how she treated the other apprentices in her workshop, aside from me.
"Don't come in tomorrow..."
"Pardon?"
"It means you're fired. Do you have a metal rod in your ear, making me repeat the same thing? Should I pull it out for you?"
"No, master! Wait a moment!"
The fired employee had grumbled about a young customer who had lost a leg, muttering during lunch, 'How can a young kid act like the world ended just because he lost a limb? It's rare to find a healthy person in this messed-up world.'
The fired employee cried, but no one helped. Worker protection? Labor laws? Such Western concepts didn't exist in this land of propriety.
"Oh dear, sir! You came all this way despite the snow and bad roads. Here, have a warm cup of coffee."
"Oh, this is precious. Thank you..."
Moreover, I had earned the nickname 'Little Brother' even from the crazy Sword Marquess of Korea. Naturally, I had no issues serving the main customers of the workshop, the elderly.
Noh Do-hwa, who probably had 'Respect for the Elderly' etched in her skull, must have seen me as an ideal apprentice.
"Apprentice Undertaker ."
"Employee Undertaker."
"Employee Doc."
"Assistant Doc."
Each time my title changed, the staff at Noh Do-hwa's workshop were also reshuffled.
Realizing she no longer needed to lower her standards, Noh Do-hwa awakened as a true bourgeois. She offloaded tedious tasks like managing personnel, customer relations, internal factions, and profit improvement onto me.
"Assistant."
Eight years.
It took eight years for the title 'Apprentice Undertaker' to shorten to 'Assistant.'
At the rate of dropping one syllable every two years, her personality was indeed hard to get close to.
"Yes, master."
"Aren't you evacuating? The northern cities are getting eaten by anomalies and moving south..."
"Master, where else would I evacuate from Busan?"
"To Japan, China, or even Southeast Asia. There are always places to run to..."
"Do you think those places are safe? I'm fine."
I wasn't the only peculiar one.
Every time the world ended, I found that many people didn't run until the end, regardless of the run.
Noh Do-hwa was no exception.
"Did you hear? Samcheon World is forming a last-ditch resistance team to counterattack."
"Hmmm. Do you think they'll succeed?"
"It'll be tough. The problem is even if they succeed, it's uncertain. The anomalies already won when they formed a 'monster wave'."
"Hoh?"
"Anomalies aren't particularly close to each other. Their types and personalities vary. But if they've formed a legion, it means they've excluded incompatible types and fused into one organism. Or rather, calling it an organism is misleading. It's just… a mass of cancer cells. Bugs of the world. Even if we defend Busan, anomalies will continue, without purpose, to spread bugs everywhere."
"Hmmm..."
Noh Do-hwa smiled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Sometimes…. I think you know a lot, Assistant."
"...."
"Well. It doesn't matter much..."
The next day, the last resistance team of Korea was swallowed by the tsunami of anomalies.
"Assistant."
"Yes."
"What are you doing? It's 8 o'clock, and you haven't opened the shop. Do you think you're exempt because you're the senior now? Should I help you write your resignation?"
"No, no. Master."
Click.
I flipped the sign on the glass door from [Closed] to [Opened].
On the day the last city in Korea fell.
Noh Do-hwa's workshop opened for business.