NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
Prophet I
Let's talk about Oh Dok-seo, a web novel otaku, leader of nerd fashion, and a hipster with a case of the chuunibyou syndrome.
As I mentioned before, I first met this character in the 555th run. Actually, we knew each other way before that, but we only forged a real 'bond' in the 555th run.
At the time, I regressed to the waiting area of Busan Station, as usual.
'I'm bored.'
Back then, I hadn't even acquired my web novel hobby.
Even someone like me, an optimist who could rank in the [Life's Most Optimistic Infinite Regressor] competition across all fiction, would get a little tired of reaching the 555th starting point.
Moreover, the waiting area of Busan Station was far from an exciting theme park. The best you could hope for was Seo Gyu yelling "You fucking asshole!" loudly enough to be heard throughout.
There was one hidden secret in the waiting area, but that's for later.
'...Should I try [Telepathy]?'
This time, I decided to spice things up a bit.
[Telepathy] was an ability I acquired in the 554th run. I could listen in on the thoughts of beings less capable than me.
The criteria for 'capability' were extremely vague, and the ability itself wasn't all that powerful, but it was worth using just for fun.
[Lee Jae-hee: My phone's not working?]
[Uehara Shino: Too many people. Can't breathe.]
The moment I activated [Telepathy], the collective thoughts of the people gathered at the Busan Station waiting area flooded my ears. Some voices were familiar, while others were relatively new.
[Seo Gyu: Fuck, what's going on? This is bullshit.]
[Park Ye-dam: I should report to my boss...]
[Lee Baek: What the hell? Where's everyone else?]
[Go Yuri: Uh҉҉-oh҉҈-uh҉.]
[Jung So-hee: Leader? Leader, where have you gone?]
[Sim Ah-ryeon: Where am I? Who am I?]
[Kim Si-woon: Mom.]
For a moment, I felt dizzy.
[Telepathy] didn't let me focus on a specific target. When I activated it, I heard all the surface-level thoughts of those around me.
But it was bearable.
And my first impression of using [Telepathy] at the Busan Station waiting area was…
'Not much.'
All I could hear were the same mundane thoughts.
'Well, I'm familiar with all these faces.'
I had already figured out nearly everything about the original members of the Busan Station waiting area. Their names, appearance, origins, and even the abilities they'd awaken later.
So no matter what these people did or thought, nothing surprised me. I could predict their thoughts just by looking at their faces, so [Telepathy] was practically meaningless.
'Of course, I couldn't read Go Yuri, as expected.'
I should never get involved with that child.
I walked away from Go Yuri and headed to a vending machine on the other side of the waiting area to leisurely grab a drink.
People around me gave me the stink eye, thinking, "What kind of guy is so relaxed in this dire situation?" but I didn't care.
Later on, even these drinks would become rare. From their perspective, they'd just been summoned to the waiting area, but I'd returned to a world that was still relatively intact after 20 years.
"Ahhh."
The Ceylon Tea I had after such a long time tasted heavenly. It was so good I quickly downed a can and bought another. After gulping down four in a row, people stared at me in disbelief.
[Lee Jae-hee: ...What's up with this guy? He's drinking it so damn well.]
[Jung So-hee: Ceylon Tea? Such sacrilege!]
[Park Ye-dam: The kid knows how to drink.]
[Sim Ah-ryeon: Where am I? Who am I?]
[Lee Baek: What's with this geezer's taste?]
Hmm. Lee Baek hasn't changed since the first run.
Even after listening again, nothing stood out. In that way, [Telepathy] was a double-edged sword.
Right before using it, I would feel a rush of excitement, wondering what fascinating thoughts people might be hiding. But after listening, I'd be disappointed, thinking, "That's it?" Hence, ironically, [Telepathy] was the most fun right before activation.
There was nothing I could do about it. At this point, asking the original members to have a fresh mindset was my unreasonable greed—
[Oh Dok-seo: Wow. The Busan Station waiting area. I've seen this in a novel! Soon, the Tutorial Fairy will appear and blow off the head of the guy who swears.]
I guess not.
"Puha!"
I spat out my fifth Ceylon Tea. The drink, glowing like the sunset, splashed across the air, painting the world with its golden hue, and the people caught off guard gasped as they witnessed an accelerated sunset by seven hours.
[Lee Jae-hee: Ack! Gross!]
[Jung So-hee: Disgusting. Horrible.]
[Park Ye-dam: Ugh, filthy guy.]
[Sim Ah-ryeon: Where am I? Who am I?]
[Lee Baek: Fucking hell, what a pig.]
The original members, who were always at odds over personality, origin, ideology, and beliefs, had finally come to an agreement. They accomplished the impossible, but at this moment, that didn't matter.
I quickly turned my head.
[Oh Dok-seo: Let's see. The novel didn't have many illustrations, so it's hard to recognize people... Oh, but I can tell that guy is Lee Baek! Kim Tae-yang! Wow. That guy made the waiting area stage a nightmare...]
There she was.
Oh Dok-seo. A person who always wore a cynical expression and seemed aloof and detached throughout the 555th cycle. Her distinctive features included lifeless eyes, a hoodie, and a cap.
A frequent victim who often died in the Busan Station waiting area unless I intervened. For some reason, she was checking out her surroundings with an almost lively glimmer in her otherwise dead eyes.
[Oh Dok-seo: Well, no doubt about it. This is the prologue stage from Omniscient Regressor's Viewpoint I binge-read last night.]
Omniscient Regressor's Viewpoint? Prologue?
[Oh Dok-seo: So, what's my ability? Status Window. Hey, Status Window. ...Status? Open? Ability Window? Skill Window? Wow. Not even a hologram pop-up? This is straight-up Status Window discrimination.]
Latest trend? What's she rambling about?
"You fucking asshole! What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ho-ho."
Whoops. I'd focused so much on Oh Dok-seo's thoughts that I couldn't stop Seo Gyu's head from being blown off.
'Sorry, Seo Gyu!'
Fairy number 264 scored a kill for the first time in ages. As blood splattered everywhere, Sim Ah-ryeon and many others screamed.
Of course, all I felt was, "Wow, how long has it been?" rather than shock.
[Oh Dok-seo: Oh. The Tutorial Head-Blowing Man cliché, huh? They do all these old tropes but no Status Window?]
Oh Dok-seo wasn't fazed either.
She didn't seem shocked at all. I thought calling Seo Gyu the "Head-Blowing Man" was harsh, but oh well.
[Oh Dok-seo: Anyway. The only important thing in the Busan Station waiting area is how early you can grab the elixir hidden in Haeundae.]
How does she know there's an elixir in Haeundae?
[Oh Dok-seo: And the only Awakeners worth paying attention to in the waiting area is Uehara Shino. She's treated like garbage now, but she'll later awaken as a high-level alchemist...]
How does she know that?
[Oh Dok-seo: Uehara's the opposite of Sim Ah-ryeon. She's only useful until the prologue stage, but she'll be handy as a healer until then. ...Oh, there she goes. Right, she's a coward.]
How does she… wait, Sim Ah-ryeon becomes useless later?
She's actually at her lowest now, but once SG Net is established, she'll rise like a phoenix saying, "Wow, the NET world is so vast."
There wasn't any time to nitpick about the details. Oh Dok-seo kept spilling one fascinating thought after another like golden honey dripping from a Himalayan beehive.
[Oh Dok-seo: I should start buttering up Uehara Shino. Tsk. Breaking canon and creating an unstoppable original character isn't my style... but since I don't even have a Status Window, can't be picky, right?]
Breaking canon? Unstoppable original character?
As I said before, at this point, I had no knowledge of web novels. Oh Dok-seo, who preached this hobby to me, was right there, so it was only natural that her thoughts sounded like a foreign language to me.
[Oh Dok-seo: But even Uehara Shino is only my second priority.]
[Oh Dok-seo: If there's one person to focus on here, it's definitely that man.]
At that moment, Oh Dok-seo turned to me.
Sensing her gaze, I quickly looked away, and unaware that I was watching, she stared directly at me.
[Oh Dok-seo: There he is.]
[Oh Dok-seo: The protagonist of this world. Codename: Undertaker.]
?
[Oh Dok-seo: He's better-looking than I expected… wait, maybe the cover art was better? Hmm. Is he better in person? Hard to say. He resembles the cover a bit.]
??
[Oh Dok-seo: But don't be fooled by his looks. The Undertaker has experienced regression multiple times. He has no mercy or empathy.]
[Oh Dok-seo: He lives only for revenge against monsters, a typical regressor with nothing but hatred, and he's probably furious right now because he lost Dang Seo-rin to the Ten Legs in the last cycle.]
[Oh Dok-seo: He's just a madman. If he senses anything off, he might kill me on the spot. Better be careful around him.]
???
No empathy... hatred... fury? What?
Excuse me, but who is this person?
Dang Seo-rin hadn't died to the Ten Legs in the previous cycle. They were a formidable wall at first, but after around 20 runs, I could beat them in five minutes.
Could this person be…
'Does she know the past me?'
At that moment,
[Oh Dok-seo: Hey, mister over there.]
"Hey, mister over there."
The telepathic and actual voices overlapped.
Oh Dok-seo's finger pointed at me. There were only about ten people left in the Busan Station waiting area, and except for me, everyone had huddled together.
"Mister, come over here. The fairy's made a blood fountain, and everyone's bailed. Let's at least stick together. Don't you agree?"
"Fairy number 264 did nothing wrong! The seniors gave the wrong guidelines! In fact, fairy number 264 is a victim..."
"Oh, shut up. The adults are talking. Why are you interrupting?"
"Eek."
At the center of the survivors, Oh Dok-seo stood boldly, like a leader with her chest puffed out.
Her audacity in challenging the Tutorial Fairy, who everyone else feared, must have made a strong impression. In reality, the fairy number 264 was just following the guidelines and had no malice toward humans (except the bourgeoisie), so it quickly retreated.
"So? Are you coming over here or not, mister?"
"......"
Oh Dok-seo mumbled internally.
[Oh Dok-seo: Come on. Please, come over here. Without you, we're all dead! I know you lost your first love and the only guild leader you ever followed, Dang Seo-rin, died, and I know you hate monsters and the world sucks, but please save us!]
Honestly, I didn't fully understand half of what this kid was saying, and I had no idea what she had gotten wrong.
But one thing was clear.
'If I follow her around, this run is going to be a blast.'
There was another reason too, not just for the thrill but also because I might be able to use her to hunt down some sort of bizarre creature. But this is a story for another time.
Anyway.
I recalled my ancient self from ages past, more than a thousand years ago. What expressions, glances, and tone had I used back then?
"...I won't follow you."
Was it something like this? Should be. I think so.
Even in my long regressor life, it was my first time acting as myself. It felt quite different.
"I'll simply observe you."
"Ah. Well, do whatever you want."
Oh Dok-seo snickered dismissively.
After looting a Silver Bell from the souvenir shop, I read her thoughts again.
[Oh Dok-seo: Wow, his voice is terrifying. Gives me chills... But escaping the Busan Station waiting area is nearly impossible without the protagonist. I'll have to butter him up somehow.]
Hmm.
She was certainly an interesting character.
Footnotes:
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