Gotta Do What You Gotta Do (3)
—Oh. What? It’s a set with the mask?
—Looks good?
—Hero-grade sword, kyaa~
—Looks expensive
—Whoa, it’s actually hero-grade.
The core concept of the Narrative Trick series was simple.
“The description shown to the Constellations is separate.”
It wasn’t called Narrative Trick for nothing.
Its functions inside the story and outside it were split.
The sword’s shape remained invisible to characters within the story, while its details were perceived in a distorted form by external observers.
‘They probably just see it as a hero-grade sword.’
Junil spun the blade around with a satisfied smile.
‘Invisible, huh······.’
An invisible sword.
Back in the day, one of the Demon King’s officers had used an invisible blade. Remembering how much trouble that had caused, he knew the difference between visible and invisible weapons was enormous in combat.
‘And the Constellations can still see it?’
Wearing a mask to cause facial recognition failure was nothing compared to this. Anyone ambushed by it would look like a complete idiot.
Plenty of Constellations would probably rage, “Why the hell am I getting hit by something I can clearly see!?”
‘If I combine it with the mythic reward I just got?’
It would be the perfect synergy. With that item, nothing in this world could dodge this sword strike.
‘I see······.’
Clack—
After sheathing the sword, he tossed it into his inventory and pulled out a red-covered book.
The book Go Jin-seok had left behind: Where Did the Red Boa Constrictor Go?
Their entire operation plan was written inside, albeit in hints and metaphors.
“Tomorrow, Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu······ Right after that, Ichon, Yongsan······ Are these guys a real estate syndicate or something? They’re only targeting high-end districts.”
From tomorrow onward, the schedule was packed.
Junil committed their operation plan to memory.
After returning from Archidia, his mind had gone completely blank and he couldn’t remember anything properly.
“Doesn’t say when the Demon King summoning is.”
This book was meant for the underlings.
The real boss would probably bring the sacrificial victims at the very end to summon the Demon King.
Neither the time nor the location was specified.
Flip.
While flipping through the pages again, he spotted a red flower illustration.
“······.”
His gaze lingered for a moment.
“Ugh. Nothing else in here~”
He muttered an unnecessary line and flopped onto the cheap bed.
‘No way to get back to Archidia.’
He was looking at the boa constrictor book, but he had already extracted every hint it contained.
So his mind drifted to the problem of returning to Archidia.
‘There has to be a way. The first connection is the hard part. After that it should be easy.’
While he was chasing baseless hope, a notification snapped him back to reality.
Zzzzt······!
Zzzzt, zzzzt!
A call was coming in.
Only two people would call this phone so enthusiastically.
Either Suyeon had seen another article······
[Kang Hae-il]
“Ah, shit······ Hae-il, you ham.”
Junil’s face twisted in irritation.
He had obviously called to settle the accounts for the three orc brothers they had taken down.
“Couldn’t he wait? I said I’d send it myself.”
Click.
Junil answered the call.
“Ah, hyung-nim! I was just about to call you! The calculations only came through this morning. Should I meet you to explain, or just send it right away?”
“······Huh? Send what?”
“Pardon?”
“What are you sending me?”
‘What the hell. This guy. It’s not about the settlement?’
Junil was at a loss for words.
Was this some new negotiation tactic?
What other reason would he have to call first thing in the morning besides the settlement?
“You suddenly weren’t answering, so I called.”
“Pardon?”
“I tried contacting you yesterday, but your phone was completely dead. I got worried and called again this morning.”
“Ah······.”
Junil scratched his head, feeling awkward for no reason.
‘But······ why did he call in the first place?’
“Why did you call yesterday?”
“Ah······ Yesterday?”
Kang Hae-il hesitated for a moment.
Why had he called?
He seemed to have forgotten.
“Ah. I remember now.”
Clap!
The sound came through the phone.
“What’s your level?”
“······?”
Junil’s mind raced at the sudden question.
“Ah······ I······.”
Before he could even answer, a proposal arrived.
“I’ll carry you. Let’s go.”
“······Carry me?”
“Yeah. That’s what they call it.”
“You said your level doesn’t go up easily. If you clear gates with me, you’ll still get the experience. That’s what they call carrying······.”
“No, I know what carrying is, hyung.”
Junil understood the reason the moment Hae-il spoke.
‘It’s because of the World Boss.’
He just hadn’t expected Hae-il to go this far.
‘He’s doing all this because he’s worried I’ll get eliminated?’
He couldn’t understand it.
Did he even know how hard it was for an F-rank to level up!?
“Hyung. But as you know······.”
“I know. You’re F-rank.”
“Yeah. What’s the point of raising me?”
“If you’re below level 30 when the World Boss dies, you lose your awakening.”
As expected, it was because of the World Boss.
“Exactly. What’s the point of an F-rank like me keeping my awakening?”
Junil tried saying something he didn’t mean.
Maybe he was hoping Hae-il would say something harsh.
But the straightforward answer came back.
“Are you getting carried or not.”
‘Is this guy insane.’
How high was his level that he could even offer to carry someone?
“H-Hyung-nim······ What’s your level?”
Only a day had passed.
He had wondered how much the guy could have possibly gained.
“32.”
“······.”
God damn······
Junil barely swallowed the curse that almost escaped.
“Yeah. I’ll go.”
While Junil had been clearing the Archidia gate, Kang Hae-il had also run several gates.
He had even tried calling Junil to do them together.
When Junil didn’t answer, he cleared them alone, then came back at a higher level to help him.
“What’s your level.”
Kang Hae-il asked again.
“I’m 17.”
“Huh?”
“17. Seventeen!”
“······Hmm······ Hmmmm······.”
Kang Hae-il suddenly looked deeply troubled.
‘How does F-rank taste, you bastard?’
Junil thought Hae-il would give up.
But—
“Alright. I’ll head over there soon. No time to waste.”
He said he was coming right away.
When someone says they’re coming, you can’t refuse.
He still wasn’t level 30 yet.
“Yes! I’ll be waiting!”
Click.
After hanging up.
“Wow······ He’s still going through with it? Stubborn. Really stubborn.”
Junil checked his own level as if to show the Constellations.
He had received every bit of experience from inside, plus a special bonus.
One-star gates stayed the same, two-star gates doubled it, three-star gates tripled it.
Since he cleared a four-star gate, he got a full four times the experience.
An enormous experience bomb.
On top of that, a hidden condition reward gave him one legendary item, and the overall reward gave him one mythic item.
He had been showered with rewards.
Of course, Kang Hae-il had no idea, and neither did the viewers who had just arrived in Hae-il’s channel.
Now that they knew, the Constellations who had been watching from the start began to boast.
‘Well, even I feel good every time I look at it.’
Level 27.
The biggest problem for F-ranks had always been their level.
At this point, he felt genuinely stable.
His mana handling time had roughly doubled as well.
‘A ten-level jump all at once. That was huge.’
Considering the levels of the monsters he had killed inside, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had risen even higher.
But being F-rank, even this much was something to be grateful for.
‘And now Kang Hae-il’s carry on top of that?’
He had expected to have to do annoying things like interfering so the World Boss couldn’t be defeated.
“If things go well, I might reach level 30 before the World Boss even appears.”
Looking at it now, that might not even be necessary.
Unlike the excited Constellations, Junil’s eyes were somewhat sunken as he muttered to himself.
Probably because someone had suddenly come to mind.
‘Meyrin······.’
If he hadn’t seen her, maybe he could have forgotten, but he had just seen her yesterday, so the memory wouldn’t fade easily.
‘Forget it for now.’
He forced himself to push it aside.
‘Gotta do what you gotta do.’
He had to do what he could right now.
If he resolved this request, he might be able to reach her someday.
It wasn’t completely hopeless.
‘If I become the protagonist······ If the Constellations’ power becomes sufficient······.’
Hadn’t he already gotten a hint from the ham?
There was a way.
[Current Viewers: 2,080]
[Incarnation ‘Hero – Julian’ Inheritance]
[20.08% in progress]
If that number ever exceeded 100%.
It might be possible.
This wasn’t baseless hope.
‘I can break the wall.’
Even now, he could see the Constellations’ reactions.
This was only possible because the wall had been broken.
The Fourth Wall.
The absolute barrier that existed between Constellations and story characters.
The moment characters crossed it, the story would lose its power.
‘······That’s what I heard.’
He didn’t know if it was true.
There were plenty of “I heard” rumors floating around Fairy Corporation.
Even Pam, who had been around longer, couldn’t be sure.
‘I’ve been living even though I’ve already half-broken it.’
Theoretically, Junil had been fully aware of the Constellations since around his third cycle.
By all rights, he should have been deleted long ago.
But he was still alive and well.
Why?
He didn’t know the details.
‘All stories ultimately flow through the Constellations.’
Pam had said that.
As long as the Constellations were satisfied, that was enough.
‘Maybe······.’
So nothing was truly impossible.
As long as the Constellations were satisfied.
BEEEEEP~!
“Aaaah!?”
A car horn blared outside the window.
“You scared me, damn it.”
While reminiscing about his first cycle, he had thought it was a truck.
“Come out!”
The voice continued from outside the window.
It was Kang Hae-il.
“Ah, use the phone for once······.”
Junil found Kang Hae-il harder to adapt to than the medieval era.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”