760 chapter - King of the Unemployed (3)
760 chapter - King of the Unemployed (3)
The scenery of the Cloud Road flowed past outside [N O V E L I G H T] the window.
Someday, Kim Dokja must have seen this same view. What had Kim Dokja been thinking as he passed along this road.
Someday, Kim Dokja must have seen this same view. What had Kim Dokja been thinking as he passed along this road.
I didn’t know.
Back then, Kim Dokja had been riding together with the symbolic body of Dionysus.
Perhaps he had been too busy wondering whether the wine contained in Dionysus’s cup was real wine or not.
The two of them didn’t ask why I now had Kim Dokja’s face.
Just as Kim Dokja hadn’t asked whether the wine in Dionysus’s cup was actually his urine or not.
All that reached my ears were the squeaking of the rats running along the Cloud Road and the sound of the wind flowing softly.
When I casually took my eyes off the window, I met Cha Yerin’s gaze.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded and replied.
“I’m fine.”
“But you have Kim Dokja’s face.”
She must have recognized it instantly because it closely resembled the Kim Dokja shown on the cover of the original novel.
“Yes. It’s Kim Dokja’s face.”
It felt like a foolish conversation, but there wasn’t really anything else I could say. I really did have Kim Dokja’s face.
“He’s more handsome than I expected.”
“What?”
“My brother’s assumption was right.”
“Ki… Sungwoo said that?”
“Kim Dokja isn’t ‘ugly,’ but ‘not fully formed.’”
Only belatedly did I recall the nickname that had once been attached to Kim Dokja.
“The Ugliest King.”
Come to think of it, the first epithet Kim Dokja had obtained wasn’t “Demon King of Salvation,” but “The Ugliest King (Temporary).”
Listening from the side, Ji Eunyu asked,
“What does that mean?”
“‘Ugly’ just means ugly, but ‘not fully formed’ means he didn’t quite finish forming, or so it went.”
“Ah.”
It was a rather delicate distinction.
Of course, from the position of the person who had written that phrase in the first place, as for what kind of intent it really had possessed…
As if reading my thoughts, Ji Eunyu replied,
“But I don’t think there was any particular intention to it—”
“What do you mean, Editor. Everything was perfectly intentional. Above all, Kim Dokja was in a state where external perception was blocked by the [Fourth Wall]. Other people couldn’t properly see Kim Dokja’s face at all!”
Hearing my explanation, Cha Yerin nodded as if in admiration.
“But even though there’s a [Fourth Wall], I can see your face clearly, Author.”
“That’s because I’m under the [Fourth Wall]—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
Right now, I was acting as the proxy of the Demon King of Salvation.
Even if the [Fourth Wall] were active, it wouldn’t be strange at all.
“Open, Fourth Wall.”
Even at my command, the [Fourth Wall] gave no particular response.
Ji Eunyu asked in a suspicious voice,
“That’s how it opens?”
“I just tried it. But you can see my face clearly right now, yes?”
“Yes. What about you, Yerin?”
“I can see it well.”
Did that mean the [Fourth Wall] wasn’t functioning properly?
[Due to a current system error, the Character Information Window cannot be activated.]
Even so, the Character Information Window was still inaccessible.
Staring intently at my face, Ji Eunyu continued,
“Yerin, you said he looks like Kim Dokja to you, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a bit strange. He doesn’t look that way to me.”
What did that mean?
“Then how do I look to you?”
“Just like your original face, Author.”
“My face?”
“I’m not completely sure, but it feels like that. Didn’t you always look like this? Your hairstyle is very different, though…”
A question suddenly came to mind.
What did I originally look like?
Had too much time passed since the possession?
Even looking at my face reflected in the window, even touching it anew, my old face wouldn’t come to mind.
It felt as though this had been my face from the beginning.
At the thought that produced not even the slightest sense of incongruity, a sudden fear rose within me.
[Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ is watching you.]
I couldn’t tell the two of them.
That the tale I possessed devoured Kim Dokja’s fragments. And that the more fragments it devoured, the more I began to resemble Kim Dokja.
[Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ opens its eyes greedily.]
Even now, my tale was coveting the two people right in front of me.
If you touch either of them, I will never speak of you again.
[Tale, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ frowns and retreats.]
Fortunately, the tale calmed down quickly.
But during those brief moments, there had been someone who witnessed the struggle between me and the tale.
[I never thought there’d be someone in this universe who resembled us.]
It was the Monkey King. In a form of voice transmission unheard by the others, the Monkey King conveyed his words.
[When something that was one becomes many, problems arise. Keep your head straight, if you don’t want to be devoured by ‘a single tale.’]
A single tale.
I hadn’t expected to hear that story here, so I reflexively looked at him. But as if he had no intention of saying more, the Monkey King hid his bored expression and yawned repeatedly.
[I’m sleepy. Wake me when we arrive.]
Soon, the Monkey King let out soft, even breaths and fell asleep in Ji Eunyu’s arms.
And the moment he fell asleep, a small display appeared above the carriage window.
[Welcome aboard the ‘Orient Express Carriage.’]
I had thought it was just a golden carriage, but the interior facilities were cutting-edge. Considering it even had a tale fragment for facial recognition, I should have expected as much.
The carriage traveling along the Cloud Road suddenly felt as if it tilted.
[Soon, this carriage will switch to ‘manual control.’]
No, all of a sudden?
As soon as the message ended, a controller appeared in midair. It was the exact same controller people commonly used when playing games.
['Twelve Zodiac Ball' participants must operate the ‘controller’ and drive the carriage themselves.]
[The destination will be displayed on the panel.]
[During travel to the destination, you may attack other carriages or be attacked by other carriages.]
[Special rewards will be granted to the passengers of the carriage that reaches the destination first.]
At the same time, a massive panel appeared before our eyes. On the panel was a dot marking our carriage’s current position.
Nearby, other dots—presumably other carriages—were also moving.
Among them, there might even be the carriage carrying Killer King or Uncle Dansoo.
[Manual driving will begin in 30 seconds.]
Thirty seconds. There wasn’t much time.
I hurriedly turned to Ji Eunyu and spoke.
“Editor.”
“Yes. You want me to knock you unconscious, right?”
Without me even explaining, Ji Eunyu was already pulling a massive hammer out of her pocket.
Cha Yerin also clenched her iron fists together with a bang.
“I’m good at knocking people out too.”
I looked at the two of them for a moment, then answered.
“I’ll do it myself.”
It was fortunate this wasn’t District 13.
“I am going to be unconscious for the next thirty seconds.”
Because from here on out, skill usage was unrestricted.
[This area permits the use of ‘skills.’]
[Exclusive skill, ‘Agitation Lv.10,’ is activated!]
[Your understanding of the tale fragment ‘Agitation’ is extremely high.]
[The tale fragment ‘Agitation’ greatly affects mastery of the skill ‘Agitation.’]
As my consciousness sank into a hazy state, I activated [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint].
[Exclusive skill, ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ Stage 2 is activated!]
Let’s see.
Shall I check Yu Joonghyuk’s side first?
When I called to mind the 41st round’s boy Yu Joonghyuk, the interior of another carriage appeared before me.
“At least that guy must be on a carriage too.”
The skill’s activation condition had been met. It seemed he had been thinking of me as well.
And the one riding together with Yu Joonghyuk was—
“Is he talking about Kim Dokja?”
Damn it, of all people, Killer King.
The boy Yu Joonghyuk and Killer King sat facing each other, glaring.
“Why do you call Kim Dokja ‘that guy’?”
“It’s my choice.”
“That’s something only close friends say. You and Kim Dokja aren’t close. If anything, I’m closer.”
“You don’t look all that close either.”
The two growled at each other as if about to fight, but when they noticed the controller appearing in midair, they spoke simultaneously.
“I’ll drive.”
I immediately switched screens.
If I said I had no concerns, I would be lying, but on second thought, with those two as a team, there probably wouldn’t be any major problems.
Yu Joonghyuk’s trait was Pro Gamer, after all, and Killer King also had a knack for games.
The problem was the other team.
“Aaah! Dokja, what do we do! What should we do!”
The drama-prone Gyeong Sein was already calling out my name.
Next, Uncle Dansoo’s anxious face appeared before my eyes.
As expected, Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo were on the same team.
Using [Group Chat], I spoke to them.
—Do either of you play games?
Both Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein simultaneously looked up into the air.
“Waaah! Wait, is Dokja talking right now? Is this [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint]?”
—Yes. There’s no time, so answer quickly.
“Hem hem, I’ve never really had talent for games since my youth—”
“I, um, I like games, but I’m bad at controlling… my friends never let me join…”
Damn it. I knew it.
Just then, several other carriages were approaching theirs. No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t seem to be approaching with good intentions.
—Be careful!
The windows of the carriages running alongside them opened, and a sharp volley of shuriken flew in.
“Aaaagh!”
With a grinding sound, shuriken scraped along the carriage. Even at a glance, the attack was infused with powerful magic.
[The carriage’s durability has decreased!]
I couldn’t just leave it like this.
[10 seconds of unconsciousness remaining.]
I made a quick decision.
Remain unconscious for one more minute.
[Exclusive skill, ‘Agitation Lv.10,’ is activated!]
[Unconscious time has been extended!]
[Usage time of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ Stage 2 has been extended!]
—Grab the controller! Now!
Clutching the controller, Gyeong Sein tried accelerating. The distance didn’t open up. Instead, as if to mock them, the surrounding carriages naturally moved to encircle theirs.
As shuriken flew in from both sides and scraped the wheels, the carriage shook violently, as if it were about to overturn at any moment.
The screams of Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo.
Then whitish smoke began rising from the front of the carriage.
[Warning! Carriage durability is below 20%!]
As their carriage slowed, the other carriages overtook them mockingly. Fortunately, they didn’t seem intent on finishing it off completely.
Still, those carriages seemed oddly fast—
[Constellation, ‘Rabbit Without a Liver,’ grins.]
[Tale, ‘Running Rabbit,’ begins its story.]
[This carriage receives acceleration correction from the tale.]
Damn it, of all things, was it a carriage with a Rabbit incarnation.
The surrounding carriages all passed ours.
[Warning. The carriage that arrives last at the ‘destination’ will not be permitted entry to the ‘Twelve Zodiac Ball.’]
At the message, Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo’s faces hardened.
[All passengers of a carriage that fails to reach the ‘destination’ will die.]
Those were the rules of this game.
A game where any incarnation that fails to reach the destination is “certain to die.”
That was the Orient Express Carriage.
And if things continued like this, there was a very high probability that Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein’s carriage would end up last.
I urgently spoke up.
—Uncle. Use a tale.
“A tale—”
—Have you forgotten what animal mask you were wearing?
Uncle Dansoo’s eyes widened.
At last, he had realized.
An animal that moved slowly but steadily.
And an animal that, at the very least, never lost to a rabbit.
—Against other members of the Twelve Zodiac, maybe not, but no matter what happens, Uncle will never lose to a rabbit.
“But will the stage activate properly?”
—Of course. Because—
Just now, the conditions for this tale’s Stageification had been fulfilled.
[Tale fragment, ‘The Turtle Who Incubates Another’s Eggs,’ begins its story.]
[Tale fragment, ‘The Turtle Who Incubates Another’s Eggs,’ encounters the tale ‘Running Rabbit.’]
[Tale, ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,’ begins its story.]
As the scenery of Stageification unfolded, the carriage’s durability gauge began to rise little by little.
[Tale, ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,’ repairs the ‘Orient Express Carriage.’]
The carriage’s speed also began increasing bit by bit. Moving steadily at an honest, regular pace.
Before long, the carriages that had overtaken them came into view.
“W-we did it! We’re really catching up!”
Good. If they just kept driving well, this carriage would reach the destination without trouble.
“Hm.”
The suddenly heard voice belonged neither to Uncle Dansoo nor to Gyeong Sein.
Because I had been too focused on external circumstances, I hadn’t noticed that there was a passenger riding together with them.
Looking closely, the passenger was someone I knew.
“You there.”
The King of Non-Being and Foxes, Wei Long.
“So you’ve already learned to use the power of the Oldest Dream.”
As if he could see me floating in the air, he spoke.
“But you would be wise not to abuse that power.”
How had Wei Long noticed that I was here?
Without a word, Wei Long pointed behind me.
“Dokja.”
A voice coming from an extremely distant place behind me.
A voice that felt like a heavy weight being placed upon my heart.
That was right. [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint] was that kind of skill.
It was—
“Big brother.”
“Uncle.”
They were calling me.
Wei Long smiled as if to say, see?
“You cannot yet become a ‘Recorder.’ With so many voices clinging to you like that, how could you possibly write what comes next for this world?”
Even after hearing that, I couldn’t help but turn around.
Right now, I was the Demon King of Salvation.
The constellation who loved stories more than anyone in this world.
“Kim Dokja.”
The moment I turned back, the scenery of the story changed once again.