Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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‘Sure, it’s a good thing, but…….’
Among his countless lives, he had done similar work many times.
That was why he felt no interest in this current job.
He was sticking around only because he hadn’t yet found something he wanted to do, but he had no intention of continuing like this forever.
‘Trying new things is more fun than repeating the same old ones.’
In his early reincarnations, he had sometimes repeated the same paths.
He had walked the way of the sword master to forge new realms, created ultimate magic to shatter records in the highest circle spells.
At times, he had gone beyond the Spirit King to commune with the gods of spirits, or discovered new laws to shock the scientific world.
But that thrill had only lasted a moment.
He eventually realized that treading the same path brought only emptiness.
After that, he always sought out something new.
Becoming a doctor had been for that reason, and so had becoming a painter.
This time was no different.
But after 999 lives, there was nothing he hadn’t tried.
‘Can I really find something?’
He wondered.
“Tae-seong, mind giving me a hand for a sec?”
Just then, a familiar voice called out.
It was Hwang Ki-tae, the head of the sales department.
“Sure.”
Tae-seong replied and followed behind him.
They arrived at the underground parking lot, where a van with its trunk open came into view.
“Some goods are coming in today. It’s a bit much for two people. Sorry to pull you into work like this.”
“No problem. Just need to load all this up?”
“Yeah. Agent Hwang! Agent Hwang, where are you?!”
“Yes! Right here!”
Hwang Woo-min, Hwang Ki-tae’s nephew, came rushing over in a fluster.
“Tch! Couldn’t hold out and grabbed your phone again?”
“Heh heh.”
“Let’s get moving.”
“Yes!”
The three of them started unloading the cargo.
With three able-bodied men at it, the load vanished in no time.
“Ah, I’ll get the last one.”
As Hwang Woo-min picked up the final box and headed up, Tae-seong, left alone, sat on the trunk to catch his breath.
“Hm?”
That’s when he noticed a smartphone sitting nearby.
The screen was on, densely packed with text.
“Agent Hwang’s?”
“Oh, there it is.”
Hwang Woo-min came running back just in time and snatched up the phone.
Spotting Tae-seong looking at his device, he asked,
“Agent Jeong, you into fantasy novels too?”
“Fantasy novels? Nah, not really. Just caught my eye since the screen was lit.”
“Oh, gotcha. Give it a read if you have time. My buddy wrote it—pretty fun stuff.”
“Your friend’s a writer?”
“Yeah, high school classmate. He just debuted. Download this app here, and you can read it free. First 25 chapters are free, then one chapter unlocks daily for free.”
“Oh?”
“Agent Hwang! Let’s go!”
Their conversation ended there.
Hwang Ki-tae had come back down, brushing dust off his clothes as he climbed into the van.
“Thanks for the help today, Agent Jeong.”
“No worries. Drive safe.”
“Will do. See you next time.”
“Then I’ll head out first, Agent Jeong!”
The sales team rarely came into the office.
They mostly handled things externally and clocked out straight from the field.
The days they did drop by were usually for receiving shipments.
For all their sales title, they pretty much handled all the odd jobs.
“Fantasy novel, huh.”
Tae-seong recalled Agent Hwang’s words as he stepped into the elevator.
* * *
After his return.
Tae-seong was the first to rise at home.
4 a.m.
No matter when he slept, he woke at the precise time.
It was a habit ingrained from repeating long lives.
Even as his body screamed in fatigue, his mind had long surpassed it.
Soothing the protesting flesh, he stepped outside and ran.
At first, it had been tough.
Before his death, Tae-seong hadn’t cared much for exercise.
Some peers worked to build great physiques, but he wasn’t that type.
Through repeated reincarnations, though, he had learned one thing.
To maintain a healthy mind, the body had to keep up first.
Exercise didn’t just improve the body—it balanced everything.
That was why he never neglected it.
There was a decent park near home, perfect for workouts.
“Hoo—!”
After finishing, he caught his breath.
Past 5 a.m., people were starting to appear in the park.
Sitting on a bench to regulate his breathing, Tae-seong looked up at the sky.
The moon was slowly fading.
And on the opposite side, the sun was rising.
The sight of sun and moon coexisting was wondrous.
‘It was like that back then too.’
A memory surfaced.
From when he was called the Sword God.
The Righteous-Demonic Great War—the worst conflict in martial history—had erupted, and as a key figure in the righteous sects, he had led the charge.
The war didn’t end easily.
The forces of the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Cult were evenly matched.
At this rate, both sides could face annihilation.
With the outer martial world eyeing the Central Plains, the Alliance and Cult eventually gathered elites to end it.
To minimize losses, Tae-seong volunteered for the vanguard.
But the Heavenly Demon Cult sent their Heavenly Demon, Wi Ji-cheon, to the front as well, pitting leaders against each other.
That battle raged for three days and nights.
The moment their inner energy ran dry and mortal wounds were exchanged.
The two unleashed their ultimate techniques, as if by agreement.
He had emerged victorious.
As Wi Ji-cheon fell, spitting blood, he left these words.
‘I thought sun and moon couldn’t coexist in one sky, but I was wrong.’
In his gaze, sun and moon hung together, just like now.
‘It was fun.’
Wi Ji-cheon had been rival and foe.
But looking back, he was a friend.
A companion on the same path.
‘Time to head back.’
Tae-seong shook off the past and stood.
Time to return home and prepare breakfast.
* * *
Breakfast earned rave reviews again today.
Not just from his parents, but his sibling too.
‘Mom and Dad’s energy is stabilizing.’
Tae-seong’s cooking went beyond mere taste.
It restored health through food.
Precisely, it supplied modern people’s nutritional deficiencies and realigned their disrupted energy flows.
When he first returned, his parents’ health wasn’t great.
Father suffered lumbar pain and bad knee joints.
Presbyopia and forgetfulness had set in too.
Above all, the energy circulating in his body was chaotic.
Mother had no major illnesses, but constant minor ailments.
Tae-seong selected ingredients and methods to steady their flows.
Over three months of consistent good food and cooking, they were finding balance.
‘This is the spot.’
On his way to work.
Tae-seong turned to look at the road.
This was where the accident happened.
Precisely, he had died saving a girl from a car.
No regrets.
It had let him live many lives.
‘Gonna miss the subway.’
He quickened his pace.
Thanks to that, he caught the train just in time.
‘Plenty of time to get there.’
It was a 30-minute ride to the office.
Normally, Tae-seong would meditate, observing his inner body.
But not today.
‘This the app Agent Hwang was reading?’
Linked to Korea’s top messenger app, download and login were a breeze.
‘The title… Was I the Only Otherworlder?’
Finding the book was easy.
It ranked high, quite popular.
Tae-seong tapped chapter 1 and began reading.
* * *
-This station is Bucheon, Bucheon Station. Doors on the left will open.
The announcement snapped Tae-seong back.
“Hoo—!”
Time flew by unnoticed.
It was fun.
Fast-paced plot, smooth flow.
Different from the literature he knew, but entertaining enough for busy modern readers.
There was another reason.
‘It’s similar to one of my lives.’
I Was the Only Otherworlder.
A ordinary office worker dimension-shifts one day to become a hero saving another world. A standard tale.
Others might dismiss it as fantasy.
But Tae-seong, having lived it, dove right in.
‘Fun.’
A fresh thrill.
The first excitement since returning.
That feeling lingered long in Tae-seong’s heart.