651 Episode 19 People of the Past (3)

I thought about my parents.

When I was young, I was given homework to draw a picture under the theme of 'family' at school.

I remember it as being a pretty embarrassing homework assignment.

Because at that time, I was not good at drawing people's faces. When I tried to think of someone's face, strangely, only a pale mosaic face came to mind.

So instead of my parents, I drew myself standing under the deep dark night sky.

When the teacher asked me that, I replied that I drew my parents.

Looking back now, it might have been the manifestation of my literary talent.

A deep, warm night sky with a few twinkling stars

A cozy darkness that seems to embrace me no matter what I do.

Although there are no detailed shapes or faces, the people who were clearly there and cared for me.

Looking back, I wonder if it wasn't because of my parents that I first started writing a novel.

To that question, my mother replied:

A story for world peace.

For the world to be peaceful, everyone must read novels.

At first I didn't understand what that meant.

But going to school and meeting my friends

Being bullied for not bullying someone else together.

As I listened to the teacher's criticism for not clearing up the misunderstanding even though I hadn't done anything wrong, I understood my mother's words for the first time.

People really like stories.

In a place where an incident does not exist, they create an incident, exaggerate it, and even distort it to develop a story.

They are enjoying the process of someone in front of them getting hurt and falling apart.

And all of that is quickly forgotten.

Perhaps it was at that time that I began to write novels.

Instead of hating people, let's write novels.

Let's write really interesting novels, and let the whole world talk about my novels all the time.

I wrote and wrote like that.

Finally, around the age of 23, I made my debut.

When I visited my parents with the news of my debut, the first expression my parents made.

My memories were hazy like a pale mosaic, but the emotion contained in that expression came to mind clearly.

Why?

The faces of my parents who read my novel looked somewhat sad.

Naturally, I knew they would be happy, but I was confused. What did I do wrong? Did something in my novel make them sad?

My parents hugged me silently. I couldn't understand that feeling, so I left the house that way.

It's funny when I think about it now.

Perhaps my parents were worried about how I would make a living as a pure literature writer.

As a result, I met Ji Eunyoo and became a web novel writer, so my parents' concerns may have been correct.

Ji Eunyoo was a patient editor.

The correction was basic, and she spared no criticism when the development was strange or when there was an utterance that did not suit the character.

Hundreds of manuscripts were rejected, and dozens of other works were returned for thousands of reasons.

I wrote it, and she edited it. So one or two works piled up.

One day, a story came to us.

It was her first successful work that she and I created together.

Even Ji Eunyoo, who has been calm throughout the writing, couldn't hide her excitement in front of her sales index she had never seen before.

On the day the work began to be paid for, we sat side by side in the management chair with the lights off and read readers' comments together.

Not all of the comments were comments of support, but we were happy that day.

Although I didn't know it, I must have been as trembling as Kim Dokja at the moment he first became a Constellation.

But why am I remembering the story of that day now?

As Ji Eunyoo advised, it would be difficult to talk about this for a long time.

"Huh!"

When I jumped up with a strange scream, my surroundings were covered in pitch black darkness.

I had a strange dream.

I think it was a dream about my parents and Ji Eunyoo.

As I relaxed my shoulders lightly and looked around me, I felt a heavy sensation in my right thigh.

When I turned on the light on my smartphone, I saw Shin Yoosoung leaned over who fell asleep.

Several memories came one after another.

In order to collect Sangpyeong Tongbo, I entered the 'Field of Nagak', and met Shin Yoosoung there.

There, I helped Shin Yoosoung to deal with the Ancient Nagak.

I used [Enhance Sentence] to tame the Ancient Nagak. I even remember that I [incited] myself as Shin Yoosoung'…

My memory after that wasn't clear.

Is it a side effect of [Incite]?

"Shin Yoosoung, are you okay?"

When I lightly shook Shin Yoosoung’s shoulder, the child quickly opened her eyes.

"Ah, you're awake...!"

Looking at Shin Yoosoung's smiling expression, I felt chills.

Why?

Fortunately, that feeling quickly dissipated.

"Yes. Are you uninjured?"

"Yes, thank you!"

Fortunately, it seems that we cleared the 'Field of Nagak' without much trouble.

In the meantime, the message log was pushed back for a long time.

Exclusive Skill [Breath].

Although it is a full-time skill that makes you hold your breath for up to 30 minutes with a single breath, it is a useful skill when you have to go through a contaminated area or engage in underwater battles.

Even got an additional reward by hunting the hidden boss of the 'one-person dungeon - Ancient Nargak'

The flute of provocation. An item that greatly reduces the enemy's mental strength when used, and gathers scattered enemies in one place.

I honestly don't know where to use this.

It's not like I'm strong, and if I had to drive normal monsters to one place, I'd die like a dog.

I'll have to give it to Kyung Sein later.

The messages weren't over.

There was still a bounty scenario left.

Come to think of it, this scenario ends when you give that constellation the ancient Nagak’s meat.

I hesitated for a moment, then muttered into the air.

"It's going to take a few days to do it. Is that okay?"

This bought me some time.

By the way, when I got out of the dungeon, the Ancient Nagaks disappeared, so how do I consecrate the meat of the ancient horns?

While I was lost in my thoughts, Shin Yoosoung brushed her butt and stood up.

"Thank you, Ahjussi. Thanks to that, I can now do it for one person."

Shin Yoosoung smiled brightly as she looked down at Sangpyeong Tongbo, which she had acquired herself.

But I couldn't laugh.

"Are you going back to your original group?"

"Ah yes… I decided to do that with the adults..."

The reason Shin Yoosoung entered the 'One-Man Dungeon' was to prove her worth to the adults in her group.

Now that the proof is complete, Shin Yoosoung will be able to become an official member of the group.

"I'm not asking the grown-ups' opinions, but Shin Yoosoung's intentions. Do you really want to be in that group?"

A smart Shin Yoosoung would have understood the meaning of my question. However, some children are so smart that they come up with answers that others don't even have in mind.

"The adults in the group said. They say that they don't discriminate based on their age, but if they have ability, they're people who treat them as much as they have ability-"

I know what you want to say, but I don't need to hear more.

"Shin Yoosoung."

"Yes, yes?"

"Would you like to come with me if it's okay?"

Shin Yoosoung looked up at me with her eyes wide open. I gave the child enough time to think. After a while, Shin Yoosoung asked in a small voice.

"Can I?"

"Yes, of course."

"But I won't be of much help."

"If it wasn’t for Shin Yoosoung, I would be dead."

"That helped me…"

Shin Yoo-seung bit her lip and murmured while lowering her head.

"You don't even know who I am..."

What drove this child to this extent?

Even without [The Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], I could read the words echoing in the child's head.

I opened my mouth as if in protest.

"No, I do."

"Yes?"

"I know what kind of person Shin Yoosoung is."

"How..."

If you ask me how I know, there are no words to explain.

I've read and rewrote a lot of sentences about you, I can answer that.

But that wouldn't be an appropriate thing for Shin Yoosung now.

Who is in front of me right now is not 'Shin Yoosung in the 3rd round', but 'Shin Yoosung in the 41st round'.

She was the one who followed Yoo Joonghyuk more than anyone else.

That's why she couldn't stand the feeling of betrayal.

She is someone who has grown with hatred by wandering around the world lines for thousands of years.

A person who appeared as a disaster in the third round.

The person who became Kim Dokja's daughter.

The person who was reincarnated as a dokkaebi and told the story of <Kim Dokja’s Company> to <Star Stream>.

That's why I know Shin Yoosung well, but I don't know much about Shin Yoosoung in front of me.

"Even if I don't know who you are, I'm going to trust you."

So that was all I could promise.

Shin Yoosoung looked up at me blankly, then she averted her gaze and said:

"… I think I can trust you too."

Shin Yoosoung, who had been twitching her little hand for a while, asked.

"Then… Do you have a group too?"

"Would you like to join my group?"

"That, is that okay? But to join the group, you have to get permission from the king…"

"I am the king."

At my words, Shin Yoosoung sighed and took a small breath. Then she took a couple of steps away from me and started shaking her shoulders.

I know very well what kind of being the 'king' of the last group was.

"There is nothing to be nervous about. As you can see, I’m just an ordinary ahjussi. I just picked up a flag by accident."

If Cheon Inho looked a little nicer, my words would be more persuasive.

I used my narrow eyes to draw as good an arc as possible.

"It’s scary because you smile like that."

"Sorry."

"Can I really join?"

"Sure."

When I agreed, Shin Yoosoung, who was briefly thinking about something, said in a determined voice.

"Then I want to join."

I couldn't turn a blind eye to Shin Yoosoung…

I may be beaten to death by Yoo Jonghyuk of the 41st round later, but I believe this is the right decision for now.

"The other group members haven't joined yet, so it looks like we'll both be four for the time being."

Shin Yoosoung nodded her head vigorously as if she liked it.

After clearing the 'One-Man Dungeon', what's left is the 'Sangpyeong Tongbo' we collected to enter the 'field of the Big Dipper'.

Looking for a seat in the lobby, I thought for a moment about Shin Yoosoung.

This is the 41st round not recorded in 'Ways of Survival'.

In this round, Shin Yoosoung, the 'Disaster of Floods' who went to Kronos won’t appear.

Then, who will be the disaster of the 'fifth scenario'?

As soon as the 10 Sangpyeong Tonggi were inserted into the entrance of the lobby, a dim light began to permeate the lobby.

"I'm going to enter the Hidden Dungeon. It could be dangerous, would you mind?"

Since the entrance to the National Palace Museum had collapsed anyway, I couldn’t try to escape.

I had no choice but to clear the dungeon.

If even one person clears this dungeon, the remaining members will be automatically summoned out of the museum.

"It's okay. I was prepared for that much."

As I looked at the child who spoke resolutely, a corner of my chest was sore.

I didn't wait any longer and used the Sangpyeong tongbos.

"Enter."

I couldn't find any traces of other kings either in the National Museum of Korea or in the 'Field of Nagaks'.

In other words, other kings have already collected 10 pieces of Sangpyeong Tongbo and entered the field of the Big Dipper.

"The culprit who destroyed the museum must also be in this dungeon."

I blinked and my vision wavered.

I imagined the scenery that would soon unfold.

After a while, an open waiting room appeared as explained in the main story when reading.

However, there was one thing that was different from the main story.

With a cool sense of tension, I narrowed my eyes even more.

In the 'Field of the Big Dipper', we have collect all the star jewels scattered across the seven gates to summon the 'Death Sword'.

So the waiting room had to have a total of seven doors according to the number of star jewels.

The scenario had changed.