Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: The World's Laws
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My answer brought a satisfied smile to the apostle's face.
“……A future where I am destroyed. You truly saw it clearly.”
Seeing that smile filled me with disgust.
That kind of reaction meant this entire situation was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
And the fact that he had anticipated this situation implied he knew something about me.
The apostle's expression hardened for a moment before he spoke again.
“……But for someone who has seen the future with their own eyes, you seem surprisingly unsurprised. Could it be you already knew about this future?”
I stared at him steadily, then nodded truthfully.
“More or less.”
The Holy Martial Emperor's final exam venue.
Ja-un, summoned by the 'summoning stone' in Daria's possession at the last checkpoint.
The will of the Demon of Observation being dominated by Ja-un, leading to its destruction during a future prophecy.
It was a scene depicted in the original story, so I wasn't particularly shocked by the future I had witnessed.
……However.
Having seen the future through the ritual frame, I harbored doubts in a different area.
In the original story, the reason for the Demon of Observation's destruction was described as overload during the process of prophesying to Ja-un.
But in the future read through the ritual,
the fundamental reason for the Demon of Observation's destruction was not 'overload.'
It was due to another reason called [The Laws of the World].
“Ho.”
Hearing my answer, the apostle looked surprised.
“To already know the future. I'm curious how you found out. It doesn't seem like you possess precognition abilities, Sunwoo Kim.”
Then, with a thoughtful expression, the apostle quietly muttered.
“It seems more likely to be something on the star divination side.”
“Never mind that. What exactly are the Laws of the World? Explain that first.”
The apostle raised his head and stared straight into my eyes.
Soon, he gave a small smile and said,
“The Laws of the World are a 'suppressive force' that prevents those bound within the framework of the world from altering their predetermined fate.”
“……Suppressive force?”
“That's right. It's a special power that arises when a being like me, capable of reading a fixed future, tries to arbitrarily change that fixed future. You could call it a kind of punishment from the world itself.”
I couldn't comprehend it.
A force that activates when trying to arbitrarily change a fixed future? And how does the world administer punishment?
“Have you ever encountered another being capable of reading fixed futures, besides me?”
“Yes.”
The Mysterious Apostle I met in the ruins and the Plague Beast I subjugated in Nepal.
Both had mentioned their fixed futures and spoken of their own ends.
Their words had left lingering questions even now.
The apostle smiled and said to me,
“Didn't you feel any doubts upon meeting such beings? Knowing the future, why didn't they attempt to change it?”
It was certainly strange.
They knew in advance that they would die.
One would expect them to flee from such a future, yet for some reason, they accepted their deaths without running.
“The reason they couldn't escape their fates is precisely this 'suppressive force.'”
“What happens when the suppressive force activates?”
“It varies depending on factors like 'what change occurred?' or 'was it intentional?' But usually, death.”
“……Death?”
“Yes. They might vanish without understanding why, or sometimes contract a disease that torments them with excruciating pain for life. If they're lucky, it might just shorten their lifespan slightly.”
“The same applies when divulging a known fixed future to the outside.”
The apostle continued.
“In fact, an ogre called the 'Demon King of Prophecy' died after repeatedly revealing futures he knew. Perhaps it was an attempt to escape his predetermined fate.”
The cost of prophecy abilities, mentioned multiple times in the original story.
Finally, I had uncovered its secret.
Who would have thought it was for such a reason?
“This is that kind of world. There is a fixed future, and changing it is impossible. Even for a regressor.”
Muttering that, the apostle fell silent for a moment.
“Ah, but it's not that there's absolutely no way to evade it. You can exploit loopholes in the world.”
“Loopholes in the world?”
At my question, the apostle chuckled briefly and shook his head.
“I can't explain in detail. But as an example, the 'ritual frame' you just saw exploits a loophole in the world.”
“There are all sorts of methods.”
“Rather than that, let's talk about something else. As a being under the Laws of the World myself, I can't reveal too much. The 'suppressive force' doesn't activate only when divulging futures—it also triggers when revealing the world's hidden laws.”
The apostle paused once.
“……And I'm reaching my limit soon. Even if I look fine now, my core is gradually breaking down.”
The apostle gave a wistful smile.
My mind was a whirlwind.
Stories completely unaddressed in the original work.
The unexpected content only added to the confusion.
At the same time, several doubts were resolved.
The phrase Mystery always spouted offhandedly.
What Kim Chang-hyun had said to me.
The words about Jin Cheon-woo that Lee Yun-kyung had relayed.
'I can't say anything.'
They might have said such things because of this 'suppressive force.'
And I now understood why the Demon of Observation was destroyed not by 'overload' but by the 'Laws of the World.'
It was destroyed by the suppressive force triggered by divulging the fixed future involving Ja-un.
Unaware of that fact, I had arbitrarily assumed it was simply due to 'overload.'
The apostle stared at me before rising from his chair.
He turned around, leaned against the window, and gazed up at the sky.
Staring at his back, I asked,
“Why tell me all this? If what you say is true, isn't this conversation putting you at risk from the 'suppressive force' too?”
“It's a form of rebellion. And my destruction is fated soon anyway. Without a soul like humans have, it's fine.”
“Well, I suppose you could argue that the future of my destruction is no longer a fixed future.”
“Because the future changed due to me.”
“Yes, exactly.”
How peculiar.
Mystery was like that, and so were the other few beings who knew the future.
The moment they saw me, they recognized I was unaffected by the 'Laws of the World.'
As if they already knew I came from another world.
Did that mean the beings who knew the future were aware this world was 'inside a novel'?
Countless questions arose simultaneously.
Why were settings unmentioned in the novel suddenly appearing?
Exactly why did Lee Seo-jun die in my previous life?
Who wrote the novel, and what was the purpose of summoning me here...?
Was this world truly inside a novel to begin with?
I had once thought Lee Seo-jun died due to a butterfly effect from my minor interventions.
But according to Mystery, fixed futures don't change easily.
In other words, Lee Seo-jun shouldn't have died under the 'Laws of the World.'
Because that's not how it happened in the original.
“Can you tell me how the future Lee Seo-jun dies?”
“I can't answer about the future.”
“What if we use the world's loophole you mentioned earlier?”
“That's a different case. The ritual frame wasn't intended to reveal my future to someone at the time of creation, and it was a near-future event with little time left anyway.”
“……Tch.”
Unfortunately, it seemed I couldn't learn about the future.
If I knew the reason for Lee Seo-jun's death, many questions would surely be resolved.
It looked like I'd need to use the authority of causality, 'Dimensional Observation,' to see into Lee Seo-jun's death.
I turned my head to gaze at the ritual frame hanging on the wall.
At the same time, the future scenery I had seen earlier—the one I already knew from the original—vividly replayed before my eyes.
The Holy Martial Emperor's final exam venue.
Ja-un summoned by the 'summoning stone' in Daria's possession.
The Apostle of Observation pierced through the chest by Bert. And the two vanishing together amid a strong light and twisting space.
About 10 seconds later, space twisted again, and Bert returned to the final exam venue.
Bert then spoke to his comrades.
—I saw the future.
—'He' has returned.
Meanwhile, Werner was prowling around the 4th floor of the mansion where Kim Sunwoo and the Apostle of Observation were together.
Earlier, he had coincidentally seen Kim Sunwoo and the Apostle of Observation ascending to the 4th floor.
For Kim Sunwoo to enter the 4th floor, a student-restricted area, meant the apostle had personally summoned him.
Yet the apostle had never shown interest in any specific individual before.
He always ignored anyone who dared speak to him, the arrogant machine.
“……What could it be?”
It seemed related to the anomaly shown by Kim Sunwoo's doppelganger during the 'Doppelganger Hunt' exam.
Was there actually another reason why Kim Sunwoo's doppelganger had glitched?
That thought brought several hypotheses to mind.
Having researched rituals and mysteries for so long, he possessed numerous theories unknown to ordinary people.
“Should I investigate separately......”
He wanted to press his ear to the door and eavesdrop right then, but that space was exclusively for the Apostle of Observation.
A space shielded from any surveillance, leaving him powerless.
“Tch......”
In the end, he had no choice.
He had to give up on eavesdropping.
It was then, as he descended the stairs back to the 1st floor.
Murmur murmur.
Rowdy noises began rising from below.
The students who had finished the written exam, 'Wizard's Aptitude,' were coming up to the 1st floor one by one.
Worried they might approach and chat if they spotted him, he hurried to slip away elsewhere.
Just then, a voice called from behind.
“Hello! Examiner Werner!”
Werner stopped and turned around.
“Ah, yes. Nice to see you. How did everyone do on the exam?”
Werner put on the act of a kind examiner.
The students, unaware of Werner's true nature, approached him warmly due to his gentle demeanor.
“The exam was too hard.”
“That exam is quite difficult for students to solve. But since everyone is under the same conditions, no need to worry too much.”
“I saw Kim Sunwoo finish and leave in like 20 minutes earlier?”
Hearing the name Kim Sunwoo, Werner flinched briefly.
He already knew that solving those tough theory and ritual problems in 20 minutes was impressive.
He knew Kim Sunwoo had six consecutive perfect scores in theory at the Korean Wizard Academy, but he couldn't fathom how he solved them so quickly.
“I was shocked too. Even Wizzen researchers take an average of 40 minutes.”
“Wow. Doesn't that make him better than Wizzen researchers?”
“……Ahem. Anyway, forget the exam you've already taken and prepare for the next practical one.”
“The next practical exam?”
“Yes.”
“What kind is it?”
“Haha. Trying to fish for info, huh? The next exam event is a secret.”
“Aww.”
The students looked disappointed. Their expressions weren't cute—just annoying.
Werner flashed them another kind smile.
“If I were you, I'd use this time to head to the nearby training grounds and train for the next exam.”
So please just go already.
“Yeah, you're right. Let's hit the training grounds.”
“Alright, we'll get going. Bye, Examiner!”
“Yes, train hard.”
The students left.
Finally free, Werner let out a deep internal sigh.
He needed to move before more students appeared.
Werner quickened his steps to relocate.
Just then, a familiar face ascended from the basement to the 1st floor.
It was Lee Seo-jun and his comrades, students from the Korean Wizard Academy.
Werner halted his departing steps, turned with a bright smile, and changed direction.
“Seo-jun! How'd you do on the exam~?”