Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: ACT.27 Main Player (2)
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[Kim Se-hyeon.]
Gabriel appeared, his expression displeased.
[I was told you requested ‘Kairos's Dice’ as your reward.]
“That’s right.”
Kairos was one of the gods from Greco-Roman mythology, a god who governed time.
His nature was quite different from that of Chronos, the more commonly known god of time.
If Chronos represented absolute time, Kairos was less about time itself and more about the ‘moment.’
To be precise, the ‘moment to seize an opportunity.’
[Rolling Kairos's Dice fixes the success rate of the next action involving a probabilistic element at 100%. Depending on its use, it's an item with tremendous repercussions. I do not believe you are unaware of this.]
Of course I know.
That’s why I asked for it.
[I’m not sure you truly grasp the gravity of the situation. This means that even a probability of less than 0.001% can be fixed at 100%. It would even be possible to make what you call an Ark Gate suddenly appear here.]
“You think I’d use it for something like that?”
Now that I had ‘Disaster Eater,’ I would eventually have to deal with all the Ark Gates, but I was still laying the groundwork.
Even after the foundation was set, the beings known as Disasters were tough to beat in a straightforward fight without any tricks.
More importantly, if I did something like that, all the horrified angels would leave my list of sponsors.
[…I refuse.]
Gabriel finally shook his head.
[This isn't something that can be given away so easily, especially when we’d have to closely monitor how you’d use it even if you obtained it through normal means.]
“Changing your tune now, are we? Has the authority of an archangel fallen so low?”
[That’s not it.]
Gabriel’s face hardened.
[Let me be blunt, Kim Se-hyeon. I do not trust you very much.]
“What a coincidence.”
Neither do I.
I swallowed the rest of my thought.
There was no need for the other archangels to hear it.
Trusting an angel was as foolish as trusting a devil.
No, in some ways, it was even worse.
At least devils didn’t wear masks of hypocrisy.
When would these guys finally drop their masks?
‘Still.’
Separate from my mistrust, they were providing a lot of help.
Most importantly, they were easy to exploit with a little bit of acting.
“Is that your personal judgment, or was it a decision made in an official meeting with the other archangels?”
[…It is my own.]
“That’s strange. This should be a matter decided through a meeting. After all, it wasn’t just your mistake, but a mistake on the part of all the angels.”
[Even so, what’s not possible is not…]
[The ‘Wise Follower of the Light’ affirms that it is fine to give it to Kim Se-hyeon.]
Gabriel stopped talking.
In contrast, I was smiling broadly inside.
That’s right. You’re finally playing your part.
This was the final harvest of the seeds I’d sown with Lee Do-hyeon.
“See? Another archangel says it’s fine.”
<…>
The corner of Gabriel’s mouth twitched subtly.
It was almost pitiful to see Uriel holding her breath and watching nervously.
Not that I cared, of course.
[I’ll add a condition.]
At last, Gabriel proposed a new plan.
[I will place a restriction on it so that it cannot be used for anything that would yield significant monetary or material gain. I cannot accept this without at least this much.]
A meticulous one, isn’t he?
I could understand.
While they didn’t exist in our country yet, places like the US already had ‘Coin Casinos.’
If one were to use the dice there after choosing the option with the highest payout, it would be possible to sweep up millions of coins.
He was probably trying to prevent that in advance.
“Fine. I don’t care.”
That wasn’t what I intended to use it for anyway.
I was planning to use it on ‘Army of Darkness.’
My goal was to fix the probability of a captain-class entity appearing at 100%.
Alpha’s performance was outstanding, but it was better to get an entity that was more specialized in a particular area.
[…No, I will also adjust its performance. Instead of being fixed at 100%, it will increase the probability by 70%.]
“What? You’re limiting its use and nerfing its performance?”
[This is a measure taken due to a strange sense of unease.]
I swallowed a scoff.
Has he lost his mind?
Who gave him the right to not only impose restrictions but also adjust its performance?
“Cut the crap…”
I snapped my mouth shut, stopping mid-sentence.
No. Maybe I can turn this around.
The summoning probability for a captain-class entity was 15%. Even with the nerfed Kairos's Dice, it would be 85%.
Not being 100% meant it could still fail.
Gabriel must have suspected I might use it on Army of Darkness, and that unease led him to adjust its performance.
After all, possessing two captain-class entities at this stage would be a tremendous boost in power.
‘However.’
That only applied to my current self, whose mana stat was capped at 70, having never broken through the limit.
Once I broke through and hit 80, the success rate for summoning a captain-class entity could be increased further.
Gabriel was unaware of a crucial fact.
I already had two B-rank elixirs that raised mana.
‘Three B-rank elixirs are needed to break through a stat cap.’
I deliberately glared at Gabriel.
“Then I’ll add a condition of my own. Since you’ve already nerfed it twice, it’s the same as my reward being reduced.”
[…I acknowledge that. However, this is my personal decision. State a condition that I can find acceptable.]
“So you do have a conscience.”
[Your condition?]
“One B-rank elixir that raises mana.”
I held up my index finger to Gabriel.
Gabriel didn’t answer right away, just stared at me intently.
He was contemplating.
Since the primary use of B-rank elixirs was for breaking stat caps, he was weighing whether giving it to me would have a significant impact on future chapters.
‘There’s no way he won’t give it to me.’
The first time information about breaking stat caps becomes available is around chapter 18.
That means the normal way to obtain B-rank elixirs also unlocks around then.
He might assume I managed to get one through a hidden achievement, but he wouldn’t think I could have two.
That’s how rare elixirs were at this point in time.
[Very well.]
As expected, Gabriel’s deliberation wasn’t long.
[Kim Se-hyeon. I accept your condition.]
“That’s more like it.”
[However.]
“…Now what?”
[This time, I find it unacceptable for a different reason, so I will add to the reward.]
[You have acquired the item, ‘Kairos's Dice (Adjusted)’.]
[You have acquired the item, ‘Elixir of Mana (B)’.]
[You have acquired the item, ‘Elixir of Agility (B)’.]
Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of complaints, my eyes widened as I saw three items come in.
[Considering the degree to which my adjustments have nerfed the item, one B-rank elixir is not a fair trade. But giving you two elixirs that raise the same stat would be unfair to other players. Therefore, I have added another random elixir. I hope it is to your liking.]
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but… did our dear archangel eat something strange?”
[…I am an archangel. In any matter, I cannot tolerate an unfair transaction. That is all.]
Gabriel made a displeased face and turned away sharply.
Then, just like last time, his body began to blur.
I could see Uriel letting out a sigh of relief, as if she could finally relax.
[Kim Se-hyeon. Do not let your guard down in anything you do.]
Gabriel suddenly said this just before he completely vanished.
He was gone before I could say anything in response.
I stared at the spot where Gabriel had disappeared for a moment before muttering.
“You don’t have to tell me. I know that all too well.”
***
The wind was unusually chilly, so I zipped up my jacket.
“You needed to see me… What is it about?”
I had called Seong Woo-hyeon to recommend Min Dan-ah to the Jamryong Guild, thinking it was the best place to protect her while she grew safely. Coincidentally, he had something to discuss with me as well.
Seong Woo-hyeon had effectively become the leader among the guild masters.
The Jamryong Guild was the largest, but his personality also played a big part.
Despite his gentle appearance, he exuded an underlying charisma.
A summons from him naturally made one consider various possibilities.
Whether good or bad.
“…Good grief.”
The Jamryong Guild’s headquarters was a complete mess, having been half-swallowed by a Red Zone.
It seemed they were rebuilding quickly, but it would likely take quite some time.
“Welcome.”
When I arrived at Seong Woo-hyeon’s room, he greeted me with a smile.
“This room is surprisingly intact.”
“It’s where we store important documents, so we had it specially reinforced.”
Seong Woo-hyeon gave a wry smile and tapped a bookshelf lightly.
The edge crumbled, and fragments fell to the floor.
“Even so, it’s practically in tatters now.”
“Better than the documents being in tatters, I suppose.”
“That’s true.”
With an enigmatic smile, Seong Woo-hyeon picked up some documents and approached me.
The protective magic hadn’t completely shielded them, as parts were singed, but they were still legible.
“What’s this?”
“Dimension Hijacking… DH-02 for short. It refers to an incident that occurred in Seoul a year ago, designated the Dimension Hijacking Incident.”
My hand, which had been flipping through the papers, stopped.
I slowly raised my gaze and met Seong Woo-hyeon’s eyes.
“…It is the incident in which we believe your parents, Se-hyeon-nim, were involved.”
I remained still for a long time.
The impact of Seong Woo-hyeon’s words was that great.
Kim Ji-hyeon had likely told him my parents were missing.
To go around talking about someone else’s family matters so easily.
She probably didn’t have bad intentions.
She must have wanted to help somehow after hearing they were missing. I understand that.
However, it was a pointless gesture.
“That’s probably not it.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because…”
I closed my mouth after briefly opening it.
Should I tell him this?
You are all fictional characters in a game, and that incident was also a fictional event.
There’s no way my real parents could have been caught up in a fictional event.
‘…No.’
Perhaps that very thought was wrong.
Let’s think about this calmly.
Haven’t I experienced things that felt off regarding this matter several times?
Kang Dong-woon was a prime example.
A first-generation player who knew about the real-world ‘Strategy King.’
At the time, I had concluded it was impossible, that Kang Dong-woon must have been a second-generation player like me.
‘But what if that wasn’t it?’
What if both were true?
Then what in the world was that game?
Once I started questioning, one doubt led to another in a continuous chain.
If we’re talking about strangeness, it all started from the very beginning.
The world changed on the day I cleared the game.
There’s too much circumstantial evidence to say the similar timing was just a coincidence and that they were separate events.
The events unfolding almost identically to the game. The system explicitly mentioning a ‘clear reward.’
At the very least, the ‘Great Cataclysm’ happening on a global, no, a trans-dimensional scale, was definitely related to ‘End of Apocalypse.’
And those strange voices I heard in my sleep.
A set deadline. One chance. The true ending.
…What on earth was that game?
The questions I had been too busy with various incidents and survival to address were now running rampant.
Eventually, I arrived at a fundamental question.
‘Then, who on earth developed that game?’
“Seon-hyeon-nim?”
Seong Woo-hyeon’s cautious voice calling my name snapped me back to reality.
Only about ten seconds had passed.
I had really been thinking up a storm.
I was surprised at how fast my thoughts had accelerated.
“Are you not feeling well?”
“No. I’m fine.”
I almost lost my balance for a moment as I stood up, but I managed to steady myself.
“Is the information in here all there is on this incident?”
“Yes. At the time, all five major guilds, including ours, went on high alert and investigated for over a month. However, we found very little. The idea that they were sucked into another dimension is really just speculation. There’s not much evidence.”
No, it’s entirely possible.
I myself had been to another dimension and back.
Just as I eventually returned to Earth, it was possible that one of them had also returned to Earth.
Wielding the power of another world.
*Shhk.*
A small sticky note fell from between the documents I was holding.
It was short, but a single, powerful sentence was written on it.
[The culprit is presumed to be the Order.]