Chapter 122
That I might be someone else’s wish.
Honestly, it could just be dismissed as nonsense. What if all of this was just something the Narrator and the Brat of Nightmares staged together? They enjoyed putting on plays like this.
‘Hope and despair.’
They were among the main ingredients that completed a story.
So, if I assumed their words were lies, then my being dropped into this place was no different from the other irregulars.
It would just mean I was nothing more than a device… a device within the story.
But if, by any chance, it was true, then it meant someone in this world truly wanted my involvement.
But me? Of all people?
Well, if it were just chosen at random, that would make sense.
Let’s say someone wished for me to come, and that someone ended up being me.
Then that someone is not Sa Jaeheon.
‘With his personality, there’s no way he would’ve made such a careless wish.’
And there hadn’t been any such description in the recent chapters either.
So if it wasn’t Sa Jaeheon, then…
‘Then suddenly the list of candidates expands.’
I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that the one who called me was a “Third Party” or even the “Narrator.” That guy said it wasn’t them, but you never know. In truth, the easiest ones to add irregulars into this world would be them.
I needed to know who it was to understand why I came here…
I thought that far, then simply stopped.
No matter who called me, no matter what my parameters were, no matter the reason…
‘I’m going back.’
That was all.
That guy had already disappeared. His space was collapsing as well.
Only then did I realize that what the Brat of Nightmares had said was likely true.
—
[Due to the host’s circumstances, the event has ended early!]
—
The event was forcibly shut down.
Anyone could tell… it bore the marks of a sanction.
And if a sanction had been imposed…
There was a high chance it was because he had been spouting truths.
I barely managed to drag Lee Hoin, who had passed out while writhing in pain, into the car.
Sweating like rain, I took a moment to catch my breath.
The reason Lee Hoin had fainted was probably…
‘He was made to faint on purpose.’
The sanction likely wasn’t just about that story alone. If it was enough to forcefully end the event, it meant the door had been completely shut so that the Brat couldn’t enter this world at all, even temporarily.
To receive that level of sanction wasn’t something minor.
What I could guess right now was…
‘The truth.’
And manifestation.
Also, the reason I was fine while Lee Hoin wasn’t.
All of these factors must have been mixed.
The reason they had no choice but to impose such a heavy sanction.
—
[Because the event has ended early due to the host’s circumstances, all “wishes” and “rewards” will be granted collectively.]
—
With that message, two boxes dropped in front of me.
One was probably the wish, and the other the reward.
‘I’ve brought back most of the items we had.’
If something was missing, it was that monocle that could identify curses. Maybe it was bound to the mansion.
I opened the “wish” box first.
Inside was a small ticket.
—
[Message from “The Brat of Eternal Recurrence and the Closed Nightmare”: Bring me something interesting. I’ll buy it at the highest price. Oh, and there are quite a few watching your story right now. Like the story inscribed on your dagger, or the decayed divinity you possess? This is a freebie.]
—
The story is inscribed on the dagger.
The one that led me to learn dagger techniques?
I didn’t know who the owner of that story was, but I remembered a notification appearing back then too.
‘If they’re still watching me, that’s honestly surprising.’
A lot of time had passed since then.
—
[People tend to keep their eyes on interesting things.]
[That’s the kind of world this is.]
—
At the mocking tone of that voice, I turned my head.
The gift was…
—
[Veil]
A very simple trick.
Just a small deception, you could say.
With this one trick, you can distort your presence and disappear from the world for about 5 minutes.
Not that amazing, right?
After all, everything in the world is just a trick.
※ Number of uses: 3
※ This item cannot be restored
—
At a glance, it looked no different from a piece of white cloth… except that it faintly showed through from the inside.
It looked almost identical to the cloth that the kid had been wearing over himself.
Even if it really was that, it wouldn’t be surprising.
With a few adjustments, it could easily turn out like this.
It wasn’t that difficult.
Something like cognitive distortion.
‘There were originally a lot more items to obtain in that space.’
The event wasn’t supposed to end this early.
The goal was to stay in that space for a long time, use numerous items, and obtain the deeper, hidden items within the mansion.
‘We’re screwed.’
All we had now were a bunch of items with unknown uses… just without any curses.
‘We’ve accumulated way too many of these.’
I pondered briefly and looked up.
Now I had to sort through the items and sell some to a story merchant to lighten the load.
I needed to meet a story merchant.
And before that…
‘Item appraisal comes first.’
Using the last remaining appraisal powder that Lee Hoin probably had would be too wasteful.
‘I need to find someone who can appraise items.’
I didn’t even know if there was an appraiser in our world right now, but going to that side would be premature.
‘…A place I can go.’
Pressing my temples, I opened the Character Encyclopedia beside the unconscious Lee Hoin.
If you could just put in the effort, you didn’t necessarily need to be smart.
—
[If you’re dumb, you make up for it with your body!]
—
I think I phrased that a bit more nicely just now.
The time we escaped the mansion was 8 a.m.
Now, it was close to 9 p.m.
After checking that Lee Hoin was breathing properly despite being deeply asleep, I covered the car windows and quietly flipped through the Character Encyclopedia again.
That’s when Lee Hoin stirred and opened his eyes.
“…You’re awake. It’s night.”
I lowered my voice and spoke quietly.
Lee Hoin let out a long breath, picked up his phone, and sent me a message.
—
Lee Hoin
What was that? (8:57 PM)
—
I thought for a moment before replying.
—
I don’t know. At least something like a god.
Like the ones we’ve been seeing. The rabbit and the clown. (8:58 PM)
—
I didn’t really want to call them godlike beings, but…
—
Lee Hoin
No, from the beginning
My memory’s all messed up (8:58 PM)
—
Messed up?
I looked at him, and he continued typing.
—
Lee Hoin
I remember wishing for that small boy in that space to save you
But after that, it’s all jumbled. I can’t remember well (8:59 PM)
—
Was that the Brat’s doing?
Or…
—
[Let go of the idea that everything is caused by the Narrator.]
[If everything were truly my doing, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this!]
—
Was it that thing instead?
At the very least, the one who made Lee Hoin faint midway was definitely the Brat.
But as for his memory being scrambled…
—
Anything you remember? (9:01 PM)
—
After thinking for a moment, Lee Hoin replied.
Most of what he remembered was fragmented into pieces.
And most of those pieces were meaningless.
So I explained it simply.
—
I said I wanted to go to their space.
And I made that wish. (9:27 PM)
—
Lee Hoin didn’t respond for a long time.
He didn’t even look at me.
Then suddenly, he replied.
—
Lee Hoin
Is that okay? (9:54 PM)
—
Is it okay?
There was only one answer I could give.
—
We were going to meet them eventually anyway.
If I have to meet them, I want to go at a time I choose… after I’m fully prepared. (9:59 PM)
—
Lee Hoin blinked for a while after reading my reply, repeatedly typing and deleting something.
He wasn’t far away; he was right next to me, so I could see what he was typing.
He drank some water, as if his throat was dry. Only after emptying the entire 500ml bottle did he reply.
—
Lee Hoin
Where are we going? (10:03 PM)
—
Where are we going?
I had been planning to just say we should move for now.
My goal was Sochek, one of the proxy agents in the appraiser category, but if I specified a location, it would only lead to more explanations for Lee Hoin.
I had barely managed to trace Sochek’s route by digging through Sa Jaeheon’s records.
Sochek usually walked along the outskirts of Seoul.
So he’d likely be somewhere on the outskirts…
‘If it’s the outskirts, contacting Shin Giyeon wouldn’t be a bad idea.’
I didn’t know what he was doing now, but his movements also tended to follow the outskirts.
Thinking that, I started typing that we should move first.
Above my sentence, the messages Lee Hoin had typed and erased lingered.
—
[Let’s discuss…Ⅰ ]
[Are you sure this is okay…Ⅰ ]
[It might be dangerous…Ⅰ ]
[…Ⅰ ]
—
The words he ultimately didn’t send felt like they scratched deep inside me.
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