Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The End + Afterword
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The explosion of a planet after its Star Force is absorbed is a terribly violent process.
Want a metaphor?
It's like draining water from a lidless jar packed full of it.
How do you drain water from a lidless jar?
You smash it.
Then restore the broken jar through regression. That was Plan B.
Regression doesn't rewind everything perfectly.
Not me, not the squid, not Alex. We all move forward.
But Earth does.
The broken jar will be perfectly restored, without a single trace of the damage.
However, since the Star Force inside escapes the regression, Earth becomes an empty jar.
Without Star Force filling it, no Tower will ever appear on Earth.
Does that mean the jar loses its function? No. Earth is already a planet with an established ecosystem, so Star Force will eventually refill it someday.
Of course, some other god who devoured the squid's territory might pull the same stunt.
'No need to worry about the distant future.'
That time is far, far off.
Not something that'll happen in a mere 1,000 or 2,000 years.
I could plan all this because I've fiddled with timelines multiple times.
I understand the principles of time a bit, from both science and magic.
'Still, I got lucky.'
Time is like the film reel in a cosmic movie.
Regression means rewinding that film and playing it backward.
You rewind the projector, cut out one actor named Alex from the future film, and overlay him onto the past.
Discard the film Alex already experienced. Splice it back together? Now Alex can paint himself onto the newly drawn film.
Me?
Me, the Wanderer, and the squid exist outside the projector, unaffected by regression.
The overlaid Alex from the past knows the discarded film's content, so a similar yet different movie plays out.
That's the principle of regression.
'It went just as planned.'
Everything unfolded according to plan, except it took a long time for me to return to Earth.
The Earth I finally arrived at was peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.
"No Tower, no Climbers."
Without Star Force on Earth, no Tower rises, and no humans awaken.
People won't even remember what happened.
I went to see Alex, the one person I could share all this with.
"It's a malevolent spirit! A really vicious one!"
Alex was working some exorcist gig.
'He told me he was a graveyard keeper?'
He'd said he was a graveyard keeper to me, but with no Tower, did he switch jobs?
Out of curiosity, I followed to watch his exorcism process.
Honestly, who wouldn't be curious?
My body's a spirit now—hope he doesn't exorcise me too?
A little scared, but skeptical, I floated alongside Alex.
If he were a real exorcist, he'd spot my spirit form right away. But he didn't notice a thing.
Of course. This con artist punk. I knew it from the start.
We arrived at a rundown family home, the kind you'd expect in America—perfect for a haunted house rumor. But it was huge.
"It's my grandfather's house. Word's spread about the evil spirit, so it won't sell... Now it's just a headache."
The client following Alex vented their frustration.
Basically, taxes bleeding them dry with no sale in sight—can Alex really fix that?
"Hmm... Make it ten grand."
"T-Ten grand? We agreed on five!"
Alex made a grave face, looking troubled.
"It's too powerful. Strong enough to cause physical effects. You're loaded anyway—cough it up?"
Alex spouted plausible nonsense and secured the ten grand.
Of course, nothing lingered in that shabby house.
"This con artist punk..."
My inner rating of Alex plummeted from humanity's guardian to con artist punk.
Alex entered the house alone and summoned his Grimoire...?
"How?"
I couldn't hide my surprise as I inspected Alex's Grimoire.
It was the Grimoire of Death he used.
Thinking about it, there's one more being that escaped regression: the Tower itself.
"Did something change?"
The squid's domain vanished from Earth, but the Tower's subspace probably still exists in another dimension.
The Grimoires there must have found their way to Earth somehow.
Grimoires are Artifacts that seek their owners.
Grimoires that found owners on Earth before seem to have crossed over from Akasic's library.
Alex entered alone, summoned a corpse.
"Groooar."
"Follow the mana."
The corpse limped on wonky legs through the living room to the master bedroom.
It stopped before the bed, and Alex flipped it over with brute strength.
Surprisingly, a small magic circle etched the floor.
"That's the cause. Whose is this?"
Alex sighed and erased it with magic. Probably the "evil spirit" source.
Job done, Alex flew out the door dramatically.
"Gahk!"
"Exorcist!"
"Stay back!"
As the shocked client rushed forward, Alex frantically waved him off.
"Groooar."
Alex's summon limped slowly out the door, and the client screamed in terror.
"Aaaahhh!"
Bang.
A gunshot. The summon's head blew open, and it collapsed.
...What kind of show is this?
He bounces himself out the door, then shoots his own summon.
"Hah, hah. It's done."
Alex staged the tension and calmed the client.
"Nothing will happen now."
"Thank you! So much!"
A sly grin crept across Alex's face.
"Please transfer the payment, sir."
This con artist punk!
He did fix the cause, but pulled a show to get paid.
Alex kicked back at his desk in the office, feet up.
"Best payout lately."
The exorcist who couldn't sense me—the spirit stuck right to him—chuckled at the deposited cash.
This guy's a regressor? Disaster for humanity!
Alex suddenly called someone.
"Hello?"
I flinched. A familiar voice.
"Hello, Lu Ri?"
"What's up so late?"
"Late? Oh."
"It's night here!"
It was Iru Ri.
How? She shouldn't remember the previous regression. What happened?
"Found a new spell."
"...Another unknown Grimoire User?"
"Yeah."
Shocking content. They were hunting Grimoire Users together.
"Stubbornly reclusive type. It's been over five years since regression, and he's just now moving."
"Yeah... Korea's been quiet, luckily."
"Ugh, why'd Grimoire Users regress too? So annoying."
"Maybe newly discovered?"
"Too late for that. Probably stayed hidden. When the Grimoire touched him and memories returned, he realized there were plenty of Users."
"True... Same for me."
Their talk revealed Grimoire Users regaining past-life memories and committing crimes with them.
Likely some error from the cosmic shift, squid trapped in my Grimoire.
"And quit the scams already."
"Scams? I actually solve them!"
Alex vented to Lu Ri.
"Sigh... Fine."
"Moon Byul?"
Huh? Me?
"Same as always. Meeting him tomorrow."
No, me?
"Yeah, say hi."
"Sure."
Call ended.
...Say hi to me?
"Lu Ri, drinks tonight?"
"Sis, booze again?"
"No customers, no work..."
In a Towerless world, So Seori opened a big bar.
"Nah, not tonight!"
"Got plans~."
Fate's real. Sis lost her memories this life, but our bond's unchanged.
"I'm the boss!"
"Plenty of other staff!"
I'm her manager now. Kinda bummed—thought about college this time.
"Auntie, how much?"
"Thirty thousand won!"
I bought a small fruit basket and took a taxi.
"To ■■■ Hospital, please."
"Yes, ma'am."
Down the familiar hall, I signed in for visitation.
"Girlfriend's back?"
"N-Not girlfriend!"
"Then no visitation~"
"Ugh... Yeah, she is."
The usual nurse teased me like always.
"Room 1403?"
"Yes."
"Here."
Quick visitor pass, then to 1403.
Private room.
Civil servants didn't get this before, but the Association President... no, Congressman Kim Seok Hyun changed a lot.
High approval for the election. Probably president next.
Slide.
Opened the door. The familiar face lay there, unchanged.
"Moon Byul, it's me."
There was Moon Byul. Tall, long-haired, but the charisma gone—now a skinny young man.
About six years ago, he fell into a coma from an accident at his civil servant job. Never woke up.
"You're 24 this round. Makes you 29 now?"
I sat, peeled the fruit I brought.
I told him about my talk with Alex, everything so far.
"I think your real body was somewhere on Earth last round too."
Neatly plated the fruit.
"Why didn't anyone think to ID you back then?"
'They didn't see me as human.'
Truth is, I didn't think of it either.
I answered while watching Lu Ri peel fruit for herself—absurd, but.
One, she can't hear me. I'm a ghost now, basically.
"You saved Earth with epic feats! No one remembers—aren't you mad?"
'Mad as hell.'
"And that con artist as a regressor! Hero material? His antics say no!"
'Haha, exactly.'
"Exorcism scams? Hilarious! But he works hard... Kinda solves it, so not total scam? Anyway! He's good deep down."
'I know.'
We traded unheeded Q&A. Fun. But my words not reaching her hurt.
"...You'll come back, right?"
...
"Five years is long. Almost six. Alex is waiting too. Grimoire Users are wreaking havoc—it's tough."
...
"...I miss you."
...
"Whish whish."
"Yeah, let's go."
Take care, Lu Ri.
I waved as she stood.
To Wisp too.
"Whish whish."
Wisp returned my wave, poked me like old times.
Slide.
Before leaving, she turned back.
"See you..., oppa."
I replied before she turned again.
"I'll be waiting."
...
"Whish!"
She looked at me briefly.
I looked at her.
We smiled at each other, but my vision blurred.
Drip.
Warm tears soaked cold into my hand's back.
Misunderstood as a Disaster-Level Grimoire User. -Complete-
What follows is a casual author's afterword.
I've split the afterword into story discussion and my personal story.
Author's Afterword.
Hello, readers.
This is the author.
First off, as a writer, I'm deeply honored and sorry that you've read my story to this point.
I don't even know where to start.
On the story first.
Even as I write this afterword, I wonder if this was truly the best ending.
Side characters...
Underutilized. Some could've been cut entirely—I feel it. Especially the heroines.
Setting and plot.
As you know, full of holes like Swiss cheese.
Couldn't weave it smoothly into the prose.
Rereading, some plot threads got dropped or glossed over.
Settings feel underexplained, confusing.
Quick original concept: Moon Byul was meant to skip climbing the Tower, act as advisor.
But protagonist screentime would've tanked, so made him a Climber.
Vast Deep Sea = vast, deep cosmos.
Imagined squid swimming in the cosmic ocean.
Debated mentioning: Early on, Wisp was a hairy old man. Old wizard grandpa turned Grimoire! But not anymore.
Wanted to flesh out side characters like Han Yu Seong for depth, but scrapped—seemed boring.
That's it.
Questions on ending or details? Leave comments, I'll answer separately!
What follows is my story, the author's tale.
As my first serialization, I started with big ambitions.
No delays, no breaks.
Run to completion.
Write something fun even for me.
But finishing, aside from delays/breaks, I failed most.
60 chapters is ridiculously short for webnovels. Barely counts as one.
Some readers must be furious. Abrupt short ending is a writer's sin.
Sorry to bring it up in afterword, not story.
No excuses—pure lack of skill. Just sorry.
Webnovels usually end around 200+ chapters.
Ending here makes me ashamed to call it webnovel.
Direction, scenario, characters—not very webnovel-like.
Above all, even I found it less fun than others.
Struggled a lot during serialization.
Wanted shame-free reading, but it's lacking. Truly sorry, and thanks for sticking till end.
After this shameless 60-chapter end, I'll study, prep tightly for next—no repeats.
Hope returning readers think, "Oh, way better now." I'll really work hard.
Next afterword: No lame excuses, just proud "Fun, right?"
Thanks again for reading. Love you all.