Chapter 67: System Update (2)
67. System Update (2)
[System Notification: Your entry keyword has been set.]
[System Notification: Entry keyword (I hate mint chocolate)]
[System Notification: The entry keyword can be changed later, but due to security concerns, the process will be complex. Please take note.]
"Alright, let's try it first."
If it sucks, I can always change it later.
I nodded simply. Arguing over something as trivial as an entry keyword wasn't worth the effort.
"Now, let's get straight to the point. Updates 1, 3, and 4. Give me a quick rundown."
[System Notification: How is that a simple request when the explanation is complicated?!]
"Just do it. Normally, when outsourcing work, the client is supposed to give a proper briefing first. Didn't you know?"
Bullshit.
A client who gives a kind, detailed briefing is as rare as an ugly person trying to look beautiful in a tacky way.
In other words, it doesn't happen.
[System Notification: ...This is incredibly difficult, but since I'll lose if I argue, I'll just take the challenge!]
"Wow, your tone's gotten really detailed, huh?"
[System Notification: That's also thanks to the authority update!]
[System Notification: In the Unconscious Space, I can communicate more freely! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ]
"Good for you. Now, kindly explain things just as freely."
As I leaned back on the sofa and tilted my head, the system window vanished with a pop, and soon, the lights in the space flickered off with a bang, bang, bang.
"W-What the hell? That's creepy."
POW! A spotlight suddenly lit up in front of me, revealing a large monitor hanging in midair, displaying what looked like a PowerPoint presentation.
The first words on the screen were...
The_Real_Final_No_Seriously_This_Is_It_For_Real22222>
"...Ah, I can't look at this. PTSD kicking in."
[System Notification: Endure it. (＃｀д´)ﾉ]
Ignoring my protests, the slide clicked to the next one.
[System Notification: First, to understand this authority update, you need to understand how the System has worked until now.]
[System Notification: As explained before, Hajin-nim, by default, should not be able to interfere with a human's timeline for any reason.]
"I know. Unlike a Chosen Regressor, I just happened to become aware of regression."
[System Notification: Correct. However, as the search for the Chosen Regressor dragged on, our Time Management Department decided that things couldn't continue like this.]
[System Notification: We concluded that we needed the help of a human living in the same timeline.]
"And that was me."
[System Notification: I assume you already know the reason without me explaining.]
The distant memories of that time resurfaced in my mind. The day I was forced into regression over and over, the day I first encountered this System.
—Ah, seriously, please. I can't live like this.
The frustration I felt back then was still vivid.
"There probably wasn't anyone more desperate than me to stop regression."
[System Notification: True. Actually, 'preventing regression'... is much harder than you'd think, for a human.]
"Well, rewinding time is an insane ability."
Even I, during my first regression, thought it was a chance to fix my life.
Anyway, I understood why I was chosen. But I was still just an ordinary guy with no special abilities. If someone like me was supposed to find the Chosen Regressor...
As I followed that train of thought, the bigger picture started to make sense.
"So that's why you gave me quests. To help me uncover clues."
[System Notification: It was... a bit of a loophole.]
"What's the criteria for quests and rewards? You said you still don't know who the Chosen Regressor is."
[System Notification: There's a temporal energy unique to the Chosen Regressor. We've been tracking it so far.]
[System Notification: Among the events and people emitting that energy in the current timeline, we provided quests based on the information we could share with Hajin-nim.]
I nodded, recalling the quests I'd received so far.
"So there are two types, then? Quests that happen because I need to resolve events related to the Chosen Regressor, and quests created to share information or clues you've uncovered."
[System Notification: Correct.]
"But what about that 'Cat's Gratitude' thing from before? That doesn't fit either category."
[System Notification: ..........]
Huh? Why this blatantly suspicious reaction?
"You're gonna tell me eventually. Might as well say it now and get it over with."
[System Notification: It was a small device to inject some liveliness into the dull daily life of a Fixed Regressor. Since pre-debut anecdotes and heartwarming stories are very important for idols...]
"The real reason?"
[System Notification: I just wanted to mess with you a little...! Take some hits! Struggle a bit!!! Roll around desperately!!!]
"Appreciate the honesty."
I wasn't planning to nitpick, but now that I heard it, I felt a bit indignant.
Next time I need to squeeze something out of them, I'll pretend to be traumatized by this.
"Okay, got it so far. Now explain the system update."
[System Notification: It's simple. Hajin-nim has been granted the rank of Time Administrator Zero (0).]
[System Notification: This is a temporary authority that will disappear once the Chosen Regressor is found, their truth investigated, and their regression ability revoked.]
[System Notification: Of course, not all permissions are granted... For now, the current quest-and-reward system will remain in place!]
"That's possible? Then why not do it from the start?"
[System Notification: Security reasons.]
Click. The slide changed, revealing a faceless profile. The words <Former Time Administrator> in the bio made it obvious whose profile this was.
[System Notification: Among ourselves, we currently refer to this person as 'The One Who Turns'.]
"You mean that red bastard?"
[System Notification: Until now, every time we Time Administrators searched for the Chosen Regressor, we were hindered by this individual.]
[System Notification: The reason Hajin-nim wasn't given any authority was also to prevent this person from noticing you.]
[System Notification: But now that they've already sensed your existence, for your own safety, I! Strongly advocated! For granting you this special rank!]
Though all I could see were white letters on a blue window, I could vividly picture an enthusiastic new employee passionately waving their fists.
This brat, the scolding last time must've had some effect.
[System Notification: From now on, direct communication regarding human timelines and clues about the Chosen Regressor will be possible.]
[System Notification: However, you must use this space for such exchanges, so please keep that in mind!]
"That's it? No removing skill penalties or anything?"
[System Notification: That's impossibleee. (ㅡ∧ㅡ；)]
"Tch."
Almost good.
Still, being able to communicate more directly is welcome. I'd rather not get blindsided like last time.
[System Notification: Explaining every detail about human timelines would be far too broad and vast.]
[System Notification: Therefore, we've determined that answering your questions directly would be more efficient.]
Then, with a click, the screen turned white, and the words appeared in bold letters.
"Wait, just three slides and we're already at Q&A?"
[System Notification: If you don't like it, I can force you awake right—]
"Why so extreme? Hold on, I've got plenty of questions anyway."
Where to start...
There's a mountain of things I want to ask, but processing too much information at once is exhausting. Today's agenda isn't just this, either.
"Then... first, tell me about Fixed Events."
This was the most urgent.
Until now, I thought my family's financial stability was an absolute inevitability, but apparently, it could be deleted or altered?
That can't happen.
"You said Saryn's Fixed Event was deleted and the timeline was modified. Is that possible? Can Fixed Events just disappear?"
[System Notification: Hmm, how to explain this simply... ( •́ ̯•̀ )]
The monitor filled with the words <Extremely Awkward;;>. This brat's really going all out with the visual stimulation, huh?
[System Notification: Hajin-nim, do you believe in fate?]
"Not particularly."
[System Notification: If someone returned to 10 years ago without realizing they'd regressed, do you think they'd make different choices?]
"...Dunno."
[System Notification: Most people, even if the timeline repeated hundreds of times, would make the same choices.]
[System Notification: Every moment of life is a series of choices, and those choices are the result of every moment that person has lived.]
[System Notification: Let me give an easier example.]
Another profile appeared on the monitor.
This time, it was easier to recognize—Seo Tae-hyun, who appeared on Boyhood Under Heaven.
[System Notification: Across all five lives you remember, as well as every timeline the Chosen Regressor has returned to, Seo Tae-hyun-nim made the same choice.]
"That'd be debuting as an idol, right?"
[System Notification: Correct.]
[System Notification: But he didn't debut the same way every time.]
The screen split into five, each showing a different version of Seo Tae-hyun.
[System Notification: In the timeline you call '1st Run,' Seo Tae-hyun-nim signed with a small agency that offered the highest contract fee after Boyhood Under Heaven ended.]
[System Notification: But as you know, it didn't end well.]
The first screen played, showing the Seo Tae-hyun I knew—hopping between small companies, only to debut solo in his early 20s before fading into obscurity.
[System Notification: In the 2nd Run, pressured by Manager Son Hyung-gu and the need to debut, he signed with a foreign agency.]
[System Notification: In the 3rd Run, he left Miro to avoid the manager, lived as a civilian, then signed with a new company after a chance encounter as an adult.]
With each explanation, the Seo Tae-hyun on-screen moved.
I guessed this was possible because he was my Comrade. The System said I could influence my Comrades' timelines more.
If I recruit others as Comrades, I can see their past lives too. That might give me clues about the Chosen Regressor.
The Comrade system might be a more important key than I thought.
By now, the tear-jerking highlight reel of Seo Tae-hyun's life was ending. The System window flashed again.
[System Notification: As you can see, there are choices in a person's life that never change.]
[System Notification: Additionally, there are conditions that must be fulfilled due to the world's providence and rules.]
[System Notification: Things like human death, failure, and despair fall under this.]
[System Notification: Not every human can succeed, stay safe, or be happy at every moment.]
Various human figures appeared and disappeared as effective visual aids.
[System Notification: These are what Hajin-nim calls Fixed Events.]
Soon, all the visuals vanished like candle flames. Only darkness remained, and a single question mark floated on the monitor.
[System Notification: But what if, amidst all these repeated timelines, a human appears who makes different choices every time?]
[System Notification: For example... someone like Hajin-nim.]
[System Notification: What if there's someone who remembers all past timelines and refuses to repeat the past?]
My reflection appeared on the black monitor.
"...Go on."
Something told me this wasn't going to be a simple conversation.