NOVEL NEXT Chapter 121
Dreamer I
Before I knew it, my story surpassed 120 chapters.
I didn't count the numbers myself; according to Oh Dok-seo, it was true.
Though I wasn't sure, 'self-proclaimed web novel expert' Oh Dok-seo insisted that the number 120 had symbolic significance.
"Got it, mister? Anyway, I need 120 chapters. You have to hand over 120 chapters without any setbacks."
"Why?"
"Because I'm planning to stockpile up to 120 chapters and release them all at once on the platform*... Ah, damn. Do you even understand when I explain? You haven't even looked at a web novel before the Advent of the Void."
*This novel was released with 120 chapters on kakaopage in April 2024.
"Yeah."
Oh Dok-seo scratched at me as if she were my editor. In reality, she did perform the role of an editor.
What could an old and sick person like me do? I had to follow the young one's lead.
However, the method of writing was up to me.
I preferred the traditional method. I wrote by hand in a notebook and handed it to Oh Dok-seo. Sometimes, I went even more traditional and told the stories orally.
When I let Oh Dok-seo experience the old traditions lost by the younger generation, she looked moved.
"Seriously... Damn. How can you do this? You need to give me usable manuscripts."
I was a kind author to my editor. So I answered according to Oh Dok-seo's intellectual level.
"Not my problem."
"......"
"Good luck."
My role was merely to tell the story.
If I were asked to edit, revise, proofread, and format it, that would be difficult for me.
Not because it was bothersome, but because the life of a regressor was busy.
If my story was released somewhere officially and an error was found, it wouldn't be my fault. It would be entirely Oh Dok-seo's fault.
Would someone like me, who possessed [Complete Memory], make mistakes?
Between us, if any typos were observed, you could blame "Ms. Oh Dok-seo". Though she had a chuunibyou otaku personality, she had a kind heart, so please understand her with your broad minds.
Anyway, since 120 chapters was a milestone number, it seemed like a good opportunity to summarize the cities of the Korean Peninsula that appeared in my story so far.
Let's call it a newly crafted map in the apocalypse era.
Here's the note I handed over to Oh Dok-seo while explaining the current situation:
――――――――――
[Busan]
The headquarters of the National Road Management Corps.
Food produced through the 'Sword Marquess' in the Gimhae Plains and Kyushu is stored in Busan. The patrol teams of the National Road Management Corps also act as merchants, transporting food and supplies from Busan nationwide. Therefore, patrol teams are sometimes called "caravans."
Judicial and military powers in Busan are exercised by the Samcheon World Guild. The National Road Management Corps and Samcheon are in a blood alliance.
The last hope of the Korean Peninsula. Power outages and water shortages occur frequently, but with the romance of rainwater and candlelight, there are no problems. Cheers to those living today.
- Key Figures: Noh Do-hwa, Dang Seo-rin, Yu Ji-won, Old Man Scho's corpse.
[Daejeon]
A massive refugee city. Most refugees and displaced people from the Korean Peninsula gather here.
Near Daejeon, many creatures mutated by the Void Poison live. Using this ecosystem, Daejeon produces its own food. However, the safety of the food is not guaranteed.
Managed by the Satisfaction Guild, which is practically controlled by Pink Hair. If you don't value your life, please visit and enjoy the city.
- Key Figure: Voldemort.
[Sejong]
A prominent holy city of the Korean Peninsula along with Pyongyang. The county of Cheon Yo-hwa, by Cheon Yo-hwa, for Cheon Yo-hwa.
The Baekhwa Guild, composed of alumni from Baekhwa Girls' High School, strongly dominates the city.
Originally, the guild members of Baekhwa were descendants of families that worshipped a pseudo-religion called Cheonilgyo, and they still serve Cheon Yo-hwa. Although Cheon Yo-hwa herself despises pseudo-religions, the city's operations make it look like a cult's headquarters.
If you're tired of living in the apocalypse, go to Sejong and curse Cheon Yo-hwa. Recommended phrase: "No matter how you look at it, isn't wearing a school uniform a bit crazy?" This way, you can take a biology class and realize how many organs you have in your body.
- Key Figure: Cheon Yo-hwa.
[Seoul]
The frontline. South of the Han River has been scorched. Boasts the cheapest housing prices on the Korean Peninsula.
A defense line is formed to block the monsters constantly pouring in from the north. All bridges except for Jamsu Bridge and Seongsu Bridge have been destroyed for security reasons.
Originally, my hideout was also in Seoul, but since the Inunaki Tunnel was renovated, Cheon Yo-hwa's Baekhwa Guild has been defending Seoul.
If you are a nostalgic person still wanting a Han River view, it is highly recommended. Just note that with the Han River view, you also get a monster view.
- Key Figure: Saintess.
――――――――――
There are many other cities like Jeju, Naju, and Pyongyang, but since they haven't been covered in my story yet, I'll skip them.
"Hey, mister."
Once you summarize and look at the map, you might start thinking like Oh Dok-seo.
"Isn't it doable after all?"
"Hmm."
"Food production is smooth, power is well-organized around Busan, and Cheon Yo-hwa follows you fervently. Saving the world might be impossible, but saving the Korean Peninsula seems definitely possible, right?"
"Not sure."
Sorry, but it's not that easy.
You must have witnessed Daejeon disappearing overnight in the last story.
Let me say it again.
This world hates humans.
First, I need to point out that maps created when the world was intact are of no use.
Because this world is very serious about giving humanity a big middle finger.
If the National Road Management Corps blindly sends a patrol caravan, incidents like the following happen frequently.
-Oh no, this is bad. Daejeon should appear around here. Why do we keep going in circles?
-Team Leader, it's a big problem. We've been wandering around this area for 14 days now. Posting on SG Net gets no comments at all...
-14 days? What are you talking about, Assistant Team Leader? It's only been 4 days.
-What?
Missing. Disappearance. Vanishing.
Despite crossing a distance equivalent to only two bus stops, it takes more than half a month in terms of time.
They think they are walking on a path, but suddenly they find themselves heading towards the bottom of a pond.
Where the river should flow, a salt mine appears, and where the mountain should be, a vast lake stretches to the horizon.
A literal labyrinth.
A world consumed by the void is no different from a huge maze, a labyrinthos.
In this world, my role is to break through the labyrinth. If compared to Greek mythology, I would be Theseus, who navigated the maze and roasted Minotaur steak.
"Undertaker."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"The 21st patrol team has been stationary on my map for three hours."
"Not moving at all?"
"No."
"The power poles? The power lines?"
"They seem to be cut. The reports that were regularly posted on SG Net stopped 180 minutes ago."
"Ah... They're trapped in the void again. That's why sending patrols near Daejeon always causes trouble. Saintess? Are you watching?"
[Yes, I am.]
"Please send a message to the 21st patrol team in the name of the constellations. Tell them not to panic and wait at their location. A rescue team is on its way."
[Are you going to check it out yourself?]
"Yes, I need to repair the power lines if they're cut."
[Understood.]
Yu Ji-won's 'Mini Map' and Saintess' 'Telepathy'.
Thanks to their assistance, I managed to connect cities in this harsh apocalypse.
Though it was impossible to control vast areas, ruling the lines between them was still feasible.
And of course, besides Saintess and Yu Ji-won, many talents assisted the National Road Management Corps.
"Ha-yul."
"Yeah?"
"They said the power lines are cut again. Let's go lay the threads."
If Theseus was to navigate the maze, he would need Ariadne.
The Puppeteer Lee Ha-yul.
This kid, who spun puppet strings like a spider, was also indispensable in managing the roads of the Korean Peninsula.
When I ran with Ha-yul on my back, I quickly found the 21st patrol team sitting in the middle of the forest.
It seemed they had been trapped in the void for quite some time, as their faces looked utterly exhausted.
"Ah...! Undertaker!"
The team leader of the patrol recognized me and brightened up. My official position within the National Road Management Corps changed with each cycle, but I was always treated with respect by the team members.
"You came!"
"Yeah. You've all worked hard."
I took out chocolate and Ha-yul from my backpack. Ha-yul walked around on her own, and I distributed the chocolate to the team members.
"How many days have you been stranded?"
"From my perspective, it's the 15th day. But since the days each member perceives are different, it's not accurate."
"Thoroughly bewitched. What about the sun?"
"I observed the direction as per the guidelines, but on the 1st day, it rose in the south, on the 2nd day, it rose in the east, on the 3rd day, it rose in the north, and so on. The direction changed daily."
"The moon?"
"I always saw one, but there was one testimony from a member that they saw three moons."
"Any missing members?"
"No. We always moved in groups of three."
Of course, that couldn't be true.
Given how deeply the void had consumed even the celestial phenomena, the possibility of everyone returning safely was slim.
Upon checking, I found the patrol team, which should have had 24 members, reduced to 21. However, none of the remaining members recognized or remembered the missing three.
I sighed deeply.
'At this rate, I'll really have to clear a separate path near Daejeon.'
At that moment, Ha-yul looked at me. She busily moved her tiny hands.
-Found. Broken place.
It was sign language.
Usually, Ha-yul had a puppet she carried around to speak for her, but we had left it behind in our haste this time.
Still, we communicated well with each other through sign language. Sometimes, we even chatted in Japanese sign language.
"Where?"
-Here.
Swoosh—
Ha-yul waved her hand, and a thin puppet string rose from the ground. The string was broken in the middle.
Transmission Line.
The puppet strings Ha-yul produced were not only used for the security of the guild hideout. Underneath the roads used by the National Road Management Corps, we laid puppet strings.
Ha-yul's puppet strings exhibited near room-temperature superconductor performance limited to aura. If skilled in aura, one could even send Morse code through the strings.
Most importantly, the 'Transmission Line' was truly Ariadne's thread for the patrol teams.
In the void, constellation phenomena and compasses were easily nullified. In such a maze, Ha-yul's puppet strings were the 'only objective indicators.'
Ha-yul and I buried the puppet strings only along the safest paths.
In other words, as long as the patrol members moved along the strings infused with aura, they could at least avoid dangerous areas.
However, the moment the strings were broken, the survival rate of the patrol members plummeted.
"Why do you think it broke?"
-Don't know. Presumably due to creatures living underground.
"Ha... This is the umpteenth time near this area. I really should abandon the Daejeon route and only use the Sejong route."
-Is it okay?
"The more we do this, the more Daejeon will become isolated and the voidification will worsen, but what can we do? Let's bury the line a bit deeper this time."
-Okay.
Puppet strings flowed out from under Ha-yul's nails. The strings cut through the ground like a cake and sank.
Thud—
In the meantime, I brought and planted a power pole. Power poles were easy to find anywhere in the country, and they served as a perfect marker indicating 'there's a transmission line underground here.'
The repair work was quickly finished but the real rescue operation was just beginning.
"Team Leader Park."
"Yes, Undertaker."
"Take your team and head up to Sejong. I'll join you after finishing some business around here."
"Understood. Thank you!"
The patrol caravan moved.
If it had been after the 380th cycle, Byojoki and Kongkongi would have pulled the carts, but unfortunately, this incident happened in the 205th cycle. The patrol members pushed handcarts themselves and moved away.
"Alright. Let's finish this quickly and return. Ha-yul, get on."
-Okay.
Ha-yul jumped and clung to my back like a sloth. I scoured the surrounding area with the regressor's unique walking technique.
Ha-yul, from behind, stretched her hands and formed sign language.
-Fun. Fun. Fun.
"......"
This kid liked riding on my back. She said it felt like riding a roller coaster.
Anyway, after an hour of searching, we couldn't find the missing members.
Just when I was about to give up and go back, something that shouldn't appear in the void caught my eye.
-Oppa, over there.
"...Yeah. I see it too."
Thunk. I stopped walking.
[DREAM CASINO]
Flashing.
Pink and red neon signs shone brightly. In a situation where even in Busan, where power outages occurred daily, I wondered where they got such power.
"A casino...?"
...It seemed the missing members had turned into gamblers.
Footnotes:
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