< Chapter 181: Encounter (1) >
After parting from Edel, I returned to my room, dragging my feet.
I sprawled out on the bed, resting my forearm on my forehead, and stared up at the ceiling.
“…Memory sharing.”
The dream that Edel had was certainly Jia’s dream. It must have been a dream recounting the experiences Jia had with me in the modern world.
‘Was it only Edel who experienced this?’
Edel had said,
From the moment she met me, she started having those dreams.
In other words, meeting me was the key.
And Edel wasn’t the only one who encountered me in both the modern world and the past.
‘I wonder about Teddy and Heavenly God?’
If the encounter with me allows memories to be shared, even in dreams, then they too should be dreaming of the modern world just like Edel.
Teddy would dream of Instructor Pi Jin Ho.
Heavenly God would dream of Yu Hwa.
‘If that’s the case, why would they dream of the modern world?’
Is it because the past and the present are connected?
Or because this place is a parallel world, and their memories flow through me as a medium?
There were no clear answers, and I couldn’t come up with any.
“Sigh.”
I let out a short sigh.
It was frustrating.
If only I could have some proper information about this situation.
Then things might be much easier.
“This is driving me crazy.”
I covered my eyes with my forearm and muttered with deep annoyance and resentment.
“Damn that hyung…”
I vented my resentment towards hyung.
“The Creator, Adam…”
I glanced at the mark of the fire spirit engraved on the back of my right hand and bit my lip.
“As a god, shouldn’t you properly help in situations like this?”
Who’s the reason I’m suffering like this?
Not hyung, that’s for sure.
“Adam, Kim Shin. Just go and die…”
Just as I was muttering and grinding my teeth at hyung’s name,
Flash-!
There was a burst of light.
A very bright light.
Even with my eyes closed, it was a radiant light that completely ignored my eyelids and pierced directly into my pupils.
“Ugh.”
Only after I covered my eyes with both hands did it feel a bit better.
“What the…?”
In response to the sudden situation, I raised my guard to its utmost and extended my senses.
‘…A presence!’
I felt a presence nearby.
A sensation I had never felt before.
I could confidently assert it was not the presence of anyone I knew.
Just as I was trying to create some distance until my vision returned, at that very moment…
“Who are you?”
A man’s voice echoed.
Colder than the coldest winter, a voice so chilling that it sent shivers down my spine just by hearing it.
“Who are you to…”
But oddly, it was a familiar voice.
As the light faded, my vision gradually started to return.
I slowly opened my eyes.
“You know my name, right?”
“…”
A handsome man with a cold demeanor was looking at me with an emotionless expression.
Yet, separate from the coldness of his expression, his face was very familiar to me.
“Answer me. What is that power engraved within you?”
There’s probably no need for me to say who he is.
“Ha.”
As soon as I recognized who he was,
Without realizing it, my body’s center of gravity was drawn downward.
“Pretending to be a stranger all of a sudden… are you cosplaying?”
“It’s regrettable that I don’t have a weapon in my hand right now.”
From my hunched posture, I gathered all the strength I could muster into my right hand.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
That man,
Shin or hyung’s act remained consistent.
It angered me even more, and more strength poured into my right hand.
“If you don’t understand…”
Grind.
A friction sound came from between my molars.
“First, take a hit, and then think about it!”
My right hand shot out like a cannon.
Of course, the target is the man before me, the Creator Adam, also known as Kim Shin, aiming for his jaw.
Whooosh-!
The next moment, as my fist collided with hyung Shin’s jaw, a ferocious sound echoed, as if bones were shattering.
“Urk!”
He let out a groan as he was sent flying into the sky.
“Sigh.”
It was a perfect uppercut,
A flawless clean hit.
Perhaps because I fulfilled an unexpected wish, I felt a bit refreshed inside.
With a light exhale, I said,
“Get up.”
Looking down coldly at hyung Shin, who was writhing on the ground in a geometric shape reminiscent of modern art,
“Don’t overact. Someone who claims to be the creator of the world shouldn’t be knocked down by such an attack.”
He must have known how I felt and thus quietly took the hit.
Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.
How could someone claiming to be the Creator be knocked out by a single punch from me?
Especially, wriggling intermittently like a freshly knocked-out fish.
It doesn’t make sense.
“Did you go to an acting school while leaving me here? Your method of acting is impressive. Anyone would think you really fainted.”
Mocking him, I approached the writhing Shin.
“…Huh?”
And then, I was shocked.
“Hyung?”
His eyes were white, and he was making a ‘gurgling’ noise. Even considering, this went beyond the scope of acting.
“…Did you really faint?”
…How can the Creator be this weak?
* * *
“Ugh, Ugh.”
“He’s finally awake.”
About 10 minutes later, Shin finally opened his eyes.
“…”
Lying flat on the ground, Shin glared sharply up at me.
“You said you had no authority over me. Seems that was true. I didn’t expect your physical body to be this weak.”
Here was someone claiming to be the Creator, knocked down by one punch from me.
Which means, his current physical ability is not god-like.
Perhaps, as I heard in the dream last time, he lost his authority or something similar.
“…”
Shin’s gaze remained sharp in response to my words.
Sharp and keen.
“But hyung, you know what? You brought this upon yourself.”
Who asked him to put me in this situation?
“And glaring at me with such resentment? That’s what we call ‘the pot calling the kettle black’.”
It’s infuriating.
He’s the one at fault, yet he glares at me like that after taking a punch?
Should I give him another?
“…Sigh.”
No.
If I carelessly punch him again and he faints, I might run out of time without getting any information.
“We don’t have much time, do we? Get up quickly. Didn’t you say you might get caught by those higher up?”
Last time, he mentioned that he couldn’t maintain this state for long due to the lack of authority. It’s probably the same this time.
“…Higher up?”
Shin, with a grim expression, hesitantly got up.
“What on earth are you talking about since a while ago?”
“…Stop acting. It’s making me angry again.”
What kind of act is this?
It’s like Shin’s specialty to infuriate people.
“Acting?”
He tilted his head slightly and his eyes became even sharper.
“Just so you know, I’m not doing any acting.”
“…What?”
He adjusted the attire that looked like a priest’s robe.
“Rather, answer my question.”
Shin, who had returned to the state he was in when we first met, coldly murmured.
“Who on earth are you?”
“…”
With an expression and tone that made it impossible to believe he was acting.
“Answer me. How did you come to know about my name, and what is the power you hold within you?”
He pierced through me with his gaze.
“If you answer, I’ll overlook the fact that you hit me.”
Meeting his gaze head-on,
“Overlook? I’ll hit you with my fist, you show-off!”
I gritted my teeth with veins popping on my forehead and swung my fist.
Whooosh!
“Kuhuk!”
Shin was sent flying into the sky again.
Thud-
After precisely spinning three times in the air, he landed head-first onto the ground.
“…Ah.”
Oh no.
My hand just moved on its own.
‘I messed up.’
There’s no time to waste…
* * *
Another 10 minutes passed.
Shin, who had fallen in an acrobatic pose, finally came to his senses. He then checked my face once more and, with lightning-fast speed, retreated backward, assuming a defensive stance.
“You…”
“Are you still out of it and acting?”
At this level, isn’t his act nearing the realm of art? It seems his ability to infuriate me is also artistic. Just as I felt my temper rising again,
“You do realize… I’ve been suppressing my power to its limits.”
“…You’ve been suppressing?”
Shin made a bizarre remark.
“Playing dumb? Given your aggressive behavior, it seems unlikely that you wouldn’t know I’ve suppressed my power by more than 99.99%.”
“What? Why are you suppressing your power?”
Shin chuckled.
“You accused me of acting, but it seems you’re the one putting on a show.”
“No, I’m genuinely asking.”
Did he eat something wrong?
Isn’t this an act?
Only then did I start to doubt.
“If you insist on hearing from my own mouth, I’ll tell you. I do it to avoid getting caught by the higher-ups.”
“…What?”
“Such a detestable act.”
Shin gritted his teeth.
“Enough. Just answer. How do you know my name… my real name?”
“…”
Something feels off.
“Answer me, heretic.”
There’s no way Shin would maintain such an act, even considering it’s him. He should know his limits.
“Could it be that we’re truly meeting for the first time?”
“How many times do I have to say that it’s true?”
My mouth dropped open.
‘Is the Shin from the past and the Shin from ten thousand years later two different beings?’
In essence, this is the situation:
My meeting with Shin is something that happens much later from this point.
That means, at this current moment, there is no connection between me and this version of Shin.
‘But is that even possible?’
Would it make sense for someone who claims to be an all-knowing god to not have control over time? Shouldn’t he know everything, whether it’s the present, past, or future?
‘What on earth is going on…?’
My eyes swirled with questions.
“Judging from your reaction, it seems you also feel that something’s amiss. Am I right?”
“You are.”
If my hypothesis is true…
“I’m asking just in case. Is the reason we’re here because I uttered the name ‘Adam Kim Shin’?”
“Why are you asking the obvious?”
Of course.
The Shin I know and the Adam in front of me are different beings.
The moment I accepted that fact, all the strength drained from my body.
“Damn it.”
A curse slipped out without me realizing it. I thought I was about to understand my situation but to think it’s with a half-baked god like Shin who doesn’t even know about my situation…
“And that weakling got K.O.’d twice by my punches…”
“That’s because I was suppressing my power…!”
“Sigh.”
Life is so meaningless.
“…Enough. Just answer my question.”
“I came from the future.”
I casually answered.
“What?”
“I came from the future.”
Regardless of the man’s reaction, I stated it clearly.
“Before coming here, I was in the future, ten thousand years ahead. And before being in that future, I lived in another world.”
Shin’s pupils began to dilate.
“Another world?”
“A world outside this one that you created, the novel world of ‘S-Class Status Window’. Maybe I should call it the real world. Anyway, I came to this world from there upon your request.”
“That’s… ”
He probably wants to say it doesn’t make sense.
“It’s true. That’s why I know your name.”
“That is… ”
Judging roughly by the atmosphere, it seems that no one in this timeline knows the name Kim Shin.
In other words, the mere fact that I know this name gives me enough credibility.
“…Explain in more detail.”
Such a response was expected.
“More detail? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, say it again!”
The man approached me with a look that was both desperate and imploring and shouted.
“…Sigh. Fine. I’ll explain it to you in chronological order.”
I took a light breath and began.
“I’m not from this world. I was born in a place different from this novel’s world, or whatever other dimension it may be. I met you in that place.”
“Did we really meet in another world?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying. This world is the setting of the web novel ‘S-Class Status Window’ that you wrote in the world where I lived.”
“A novel? You’re saying I wrote a novel? No, more importantly, how does that relate to our current situation?”
“Who would doubt that you’re Shin with that impatience? Just keep listening.”
“….”
Shin tightly closed his mouth.
“The novel you wrote in the future was a complete flop. So, we discussed that novel. Like, how it might have become more popular. That kind of talk.”
“…So, what did you and I conclude?”
I haven’t forgotten.
That night’s drinking session.
“What do you mean what did we conclude? I just said that the protagonist was too ordinary.”
“…Ordinary?”
“Yes. In a world where everyone has a system, the S-Class Status Window is just too ordinary.”
That day.
I made the greatest blunder of my life.
“So, I just suggested removing the protagonist’s status window or system.”
The result of that rash remark is my current situation.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
“So, now I’m like this….”
I opened my eyes again.
“…Why are you making that face?”
Shin’s expression was odd.
What should I call it?
A face soaked in joy?
Or bursting with elation?
Anyway, I’ve never seen anyone look that ecstatic.
“I see. So that’s how it was.”
Repeating those two sentences, he laughed like someone who had lost his mind.
“Is that how it could have been? Hahahaha!”
…Has he really gone mad?
“So then, your name must be ‘Kang Seo-yul’.”
This time, my eyes widened in shock.
“How did you know?”
But Shin didn’t answer my question. He just laughed softly to himself.
“I understand.”
Shin said.
“I understand your situation, your existence, the reason you came here, and even what I did in the future. I understand it all.”
“…You understand? I still don’t get it. How?”
I hadn’t even finished speaking.
How could he know everything from just these fragmented pieces of information?
“Perhaps the future me was trapped by many restrictions. So, he couldn’t tell you much. No….”
Shin’s eyes sparkled.
“He might’ve even locked away your memories.”
“Locked?”
“Yes. Haven’t you ever experienced it? Suddenly dreaming of the world you originally lived in? Or remembering things you had forgotten?”
“Yes….”
I vividly recalled the events of that drinking session.
“That’s the memory lock. It was necessary, so he did that. The future me probably didn’t have any authority.”
Shin became serious.
“He might have also blocked any information about why you came to this world.”
Unexplainable anger welled up inside me.
“…What the hell is this ‘authority’!”
Why does it torment me like this?
I resented everything.
“As I said, he had no choice. The me of that time wouldn’t have had any authority. Compared to me now, he was a much weaker being.”
Saying this, he smiled wistfully.
“…So, like the future you said, is there no way to understand my current situation without reaching the ending point of this world?”
I clenched my teeth and asked.
“No. That’s not it.”
Then, the corners of Shin’s mouth turned upward.
“I said the ‘me of that time’ might not have had any authority.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“I never said the current me had any constraints.”
“You mean….”
“Yes.”
His smile deepened.
“I can now clear up any questions you have without hesitation.”
“…!”
My eyes quivered with a surge of emotions.
< Chapter 181: Encounter (1) > End
