Chapter 144

The monsters were pouring in from the outskirts of Seoul. A gate was probably forming over there, and every four hours, the monsters' grades would surge upward.

In other words, the time left to me was eight hours at most.

Within that span, I had to lure Nirvana out and make him face Yu Junghyeok.

"I think I have a way."

Leaving the others behind, I called Bihyeong through dokkaebi communication. But the voice that came back belonged to Yeonggi.

-I apologize. Elder Bihyeong is a little busy right now......

That bastard Bihyeong. So it was getting close to promotion season, and this was how he was going to play it?

The fool didn't even know who he owed his advancement to.

I was trying to help him pad his record for once, and he was kicking away his own good fortune.

"The new special random boxes for the Scenario are out this time, right?"

-Yes. They are.

"I'll buy ten."

I expected him to jump at the sale, but Yeonggi hesitated instead.

-But the odds on the random boxes are atrocious...... Are you sure?

"It's fine, so sell them."

What was a dokkaebi even worrying about? With that kind of softheaded thinking, there was no way he would survive the brutal competition between channels.

[You have purchased 10 Main Scenario #8 Special Random Boxes!]

[You have spent 30,000 coins.]

"You can go now."

-Yes. Then may the blessing of stories be with you.

Yeonggi's voice disappeared, and ten sparkling boxes descended out of thin air. Colorful boxes stamped with giant question marks.

Lee Gilyeong, who was standing nearby, asked me, "Hyung, this is from games, right? The thing where you open it and get random good stuff......"

Kids really were the quickest to catch on in moments like this.

"Yeah, that's right."

Random boxes. Gambling items with abysmal odds that could give you SSS-grade weapons or SSS-grade skills. These were the dokkaebis' idiot-only items, designed to fleece gullible constellations blind. So why had I bought them?

[The constellation Naval Warfare God is slightly disappointed in you.]

[The constellation Naval Warfare God informs you that the foundation of a general lies in integrity.]

[The constellation Bald Army General advises you to beware extravagance.]

[The constellation Lady of the Sleeping Brocade says that if you have coins to spend on that sort of thing, you should donate them to her Incarnation instead.]

At the message from Lady of the Sleeping Brocade, Min Jiwon's face turned red.

"I-I'm sorry. My Patron constellation is a little......"

"It's fine. Honestly, it isn't exactly a cost-effective product. More importantly, everyone gather up. Think of it as a way to lighten the mood. I'll give each of you one."

"You're giving them to us? For free?"

"Yes. But when you open them, keep only the main items you get. I'd appreciate it if you'd give me the support items that come out as consumables."

At first I'd considered selling them for coins, but the people gathered here had built up a certain bond with me. If they got stronger, that would help me too. So this wasn't a deal where I would only lose out.

The moment I said they were free, Lee Jihye brightened and snatched one up first.

"Wow, what brought this on, you stingy old man? Thanks, ajussi!"

Pildu Gong and Lee Gilyeong each took one next.

"Hyung, what if I pull an SSS-grade?"

"The odds aren't even 0.00001 percent. It'll be tough."

"......Seriously?"

"It's all sales gimmicks. Just assume you're getting conned for one day and open it."

Yu Junghyeok stared hard at me before speaking.

"Kim Dokja. Don't tell me you're thinking of dealing with Nirvana using items that come out of those."

"Well, something like that. Why?"

"What a pathetic plan."

And this bastard was taking a box too......

The last one to receive a box was Shin Yuseong.

"You get two."

Startled, Yuseong's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

After hesitating, Yuseong took the boxes. There was something unusual about her expression, so I looked closer and saw tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

"I don't deserve to get two......"

Only then did I remember young Shin Yuseong's past. This was probably the first "gift" she'd ever received in her life. This damned TWSA had quite a few characters with that kind of convenient backstory, probably for the sake of the plot.

And the convenience of a work always became someone's real misfortune.

I placed the boxes into the hand Yuseong was using to wipe her eyes.

"You're my Incarnation. You more than deserve it."

Watching Shin Yuseong flush bright red with genuine delight, I regretted not looking after her sooner.

Because I still hadn't earned the qualifications of a Constellation, Shin Yuseong was still without a Stigma.

Had taking this child in really been the right choice?

Because of me, would this child only become more unhappy instead?

I couldn't know that yet. Even so, I would do the best I could to protect her.

"All right, everyone. Go ahead and open them. Think of it as cheering yourselves up."

At my words, everyone nodded and started opening their boxes.

[You have used Main Scenario #8 Special Random Box!]

[You have obtained 2 Ellain Forest Essence!]

[You have obtained 1 Fairly Usable Boots (E)!]

[You have obtained miscellaneous consumables.]

Just as expected. Nothing but consumables and E-grade items.

The others were getting the same results.

Of course they were. Random boxes were always......

[Congratulations! Someone has broken through the 0.00001% probability!]

A grand burst of celebratory music rang out, and fireworks exploded in the air. When I turned my head, I saw Shin Yuseong staring blankly in disbelief.

......No way. Seriously?

"A-ahjussi?"

A small fruit scattering brilliant light rested in Yuseong's hand. When I stepped closer to check, the item's identity became clear.

Good grief, she got this?

Just how lucky was my Incarnation?

Even Yu Junghyeok, who had been watching, looked a little surprised.

"You got something good."

An SSS-grade item, [ancient beast's fruit].

Even among SSS-grade items with a 0.00001 percent drop rate, this ancient beast's fruit was one of the rarest of the rare. It was a consumable item, but depending on how it was used, its value could be greater than SSS-grade.

"If you feed that fruit to a monster you can't tame, you'll be able to tame it easily. Congratulations. Save it for when you really need it."

There was no better item than this for Shin Yuseong, who could use [taming]. If she used it on a monster that could evolve to Grade 1 or above, the Shin Yuseong of this round might be able to grow beyond the 41st round. Yuseong, her eyes shining as they moved between the fruit and me, asked, "Ahjussi, then this...... Can it only be used on monsters?"

"Probably. Why?"

"It's nothing."

Yuseong looked at me, then smiled bashfully and lowered her eyes. Lee Gilyeong, who had been coveting it from the side, sprang over at once.

"Hey, can you give me that? I'll give you my Titano."

"I hate bugs."

"Ajussi, then why did you do all this? Was it really just to lighten the mood?"

"Of course not. Hand over the consumables you got from the boxes first."

What I had wanted from the start wasn't the boxes' main prizes, but the support consumables that came with them.

[You have obtained 4 Megaphones (Dome Channel)!]

[You have obtained 4 Megaphones (General Channel)!]

[You have obtained 2 Megaphones (Area-exclusive)!]

Only then did Yu Junghyeok's eyes narrow.

"I see what you're planning."

Megaphones. Useful consumables that let you send messages to specific channels or across an entire Area, depending on the option.

"But there's no way that bastard will come out over just a few words......"

"What matters is what those words are."

I used a megaphone. Let's start with this.

I began with an opening line that would be enough to seize Nirvana's attention.

* * *

At that same time, Nirvana was in the temporary quarters of the Salvation Sect. Nirvana sat there with eyes closed in silence, while a statue of Avalokiteshvara[1] looked down on Nirvana with an expressionless gaze.

"Do not cling to the past, nor resent the future."

"The past has already vanished, and the future has not yet come."

Those were the verses Nirvana was reciting, but the doctrine did not spread as sound. Sweat beaded across Nirvana's forehead. Sharp sparks burst over the entire body, Nirvana's eyes rolled white, and a message rang out.

[A new skill has been inherited!]

Nirvana opened those eyes.

"......I overdid it."

Nirvana's Stigma, [Inheritance], consumed a considerable amount of Plausibility when used. Because of that, unless the fables accumulated through repeated reincarnation were offered up to the constellations in exchange for Plausibility, [Inheritance] couldn't be used.

Too many fables had been stolen.

Nirvana regretted the vanished past, but quickly regained composure. To live in the present, there were things one had to empty out.

After settling the breathing, Nirvana headed deeper into the sect's quarters. After going underground for a while and passing through a corridor, Nirvana opened a door, and a room lit by dim lights appeared.

A room with an antique table and a double bed. It had been decorated with enough care to feel calm despite the dank underground setting.

"I kept you waiting. Shall we begin again today?"

Two women with a considerable age gap between them sat at the table in that room.

They were the vanished King of Wanderers, Lee Sukyeong, and Yu Sangah. Glancing at Sangah, who sat beside her staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes, Sukyeong asked, "When are you going to release the skill you cast on this child?"

[thought infection]. Even after several weeks had passed, Yu Sangah was still resisting. Nirvana gave a faint smile.

"It isn't for me to release. She has to release it herself."

From Nirvana's standpoint, it was interesting.

"How foolish. All she has to do is declare that she will live in the present, yet she resists to this extent."

"When you live a short life, the value of the past is different."

"Because you live a short life, you should value the present even more. A foolish being who received the blessing of death and still doesn't know its worth."

"Don't judge someone else's 'present' by your own standards. This child is fully living in the 'present.' The one who doesn't understand the 'present' is you, living the same reincarnated time over and over again."

"Don't forget. I'm only letting you live as long as your 'story' still has value."

Even in the face of that threat, Lee Sukyeong's expression remained composed. Nirvana slowly approached, pulled out a chair at the table, and sat down.

"There's information I need to learn today."

"What do you want to know?"

Lee Sukyeong smiled like Scheherazade out of One Thousand and One Nights. As if that smile displeased Nirvana, Nirvana said coldly, "The Incarnation called 'Kim Dokja.'"

"I don't know any Incarnation by that name."

"Playing dumb is useless. I already know he's your son. That 'Neutral' one told me."

"That child and I were separated when he was young. I don't know anything about the life he lived."

"I can find that out just by looking."

Behind Nirvana, a radiant dharma wheel began to spin. From inside that wheel, the hands of Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara stretched out. A huge hand settled squarely over Lee Sukyeong's head. Sukyeong glared at it as if the touch revolted her.

"Open your memories. If you don't, the woman beside you will die."

"What a childish threat."

"And yet you've yielded to that childish threat all this time. That's what humans are."

Lee Sukyeong quietly looked at Yu Sangah's vacant eyes, then said with a sigh, "......Do whatever you want."

[Exclusive Skill, Pratityasamutpada Lv.6, has activated!]

The fingers of Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara dug into Lee Sukyeong's head. Sukyeong's story flowed out and began tangling with Nirvana's own. The sensation of becoming one. Nirvana trembled at it. Biting deeply into fragments of story, slowly chewing and swallowing them, Nirvana was truly savoring the story and drawing closer to the providence of the Star Stream.

"How remarkable. How does a mere human possess filtered information about the future?"

Lee Sukyeong desperately tried to protect her memories, but the fragmentary knowledge of the future she had heard from Kim Dokja could not resist the current of Pratityasamutpada, and it was being sucked into Nirvana.

"Interesting. So this is the essence of 'Kim Dokja.'"

"......"

"What a tragic mother. You lied to your child. To deceive your child's life through your own arbitrary judgment."

A cold fury rose on Lee Sukyeong's face.

"You won't be able to beat that child."

"I'll admit he's an interesting Incarnation."

An Incarnation remarkable enough to force Nirvana into using [Inheritance] beyond reason. But only a human. That was all.

It was then that a voice boomed through the air.

-I challenge the leader of the Salvation Sect, 'Nirvana Moebius,' to a duel.

Startled, Nirvana looked up at the air.

Kim Dokja's megaphone. As if she had been waiting for this, Lee Sukyeong said, "That child is strong and wise. He knows what he needs, and he knows what he can do best."

-The duel will take place at Gwanghwamun today at 2 p.m. Your opponent is Supreme King Yu Junghyeok. The two people closest to the strongest will fight, and by deciding the strongest, they will protect Seoul Dome. If you are truly living in the 'present,' then don't avoid this duel.

To use the present itself as leverage. If Nirvana truly was the leader of the Salvation Sect, it was not a duel that could be avoided. On top of that, using a global megaphone had been clever. If Nirvana avoided this fight, Nirvana would face condemnation not only from every Incarnation in Seoul Dome, but from fellow believers of the Salvation Sect as well.

Still, going while knowing full well that it was a trap would have been idiocy. Nirvana smiled.

"A decent provocation. But what can I do? My goal was never to 'clear the Scenario' in the first place. My great......"

-Of course approving this duel isn't part of your 'great plan.' But.

At Kim Dokja's next words, Nirvana went rigid as stone.

-If you come now, I'll give you the chance to become one with 'Yu Junghyeok.'

Crackle!

Nirvana was so shocked that the thread of Pratityasamutpada slipped from Nirvana's grasp. Amid anger, wonder, and an unidentifiable humiliation, Nirvana's whole body shook as Nirvana bit down on those lips.

Through the connected thread, Lee Sukyeong felt Nirvana's overwhelming impulse.

The desire to fuse with a greater being, the hunger for a larger story.

As if mocking that desire, Lee Sukyeong smiled.

"I told you that you'd lose."

* * *

-Good.

Nirvana's answer came back quickly.

The others all wore blank, stunned expressions, as if they couldn't believe it had actually worked.

I shook my head to steady my dizzy vision and got to my feet.

"Dokja-ssi, how did you...... No, more importantly, are you all right?"

Jiwon seemed to be looking worriedly at the dark bruise around my left eye. It was the mark Yu Junghyeok had left when I traded on his name earlier.

Rubbing my eyelid, I asked, "Did that bastard leave already?"

I had even blacked out for a moment. Damn it, that brute who only knew how to use force.

"He headed out as soon as he heard the answer."

"Then let's go too."

Maybe because we'd all gathered together for once, Lee Gilyeong looked oddly excited.

"Hyung, then at least this time it looks like we can all fight together."

"Yeah."

But I couldn't smile. Nirvana had definitely inherited a new skill, and it wouldn't go down as easily as before. Of course, Yu Junghyeok had made preparations too, so it wouldn't be easy to predict who would win their fight anymore.

The truth was, I didn't care much about their fight.

The real problem was the message that had been noisily ringing in my head ever since earlier.

[You are currently Seoul Dome's strongest incarnation.]

......So, what do I do now?