916 Episode 52 Light Sword Emperor (1)
The Recorder of Fear—the 'Unchanging One' had long forgotten his true name.
But even he, despite this, never forgot, and always remembered one thing.
It was the time when he first 'possessed' a character in this world.
He had possessed someone in the <Star Stream> 158 years ago, and just before he possessed, he was leaving a comment online.
The comment he had written was on an article about an actor's donation.
—No one knew. Yoo Joonghyuk had made several anonymous donations to an unknown organization...
The headline was designed to spark controversy. How could an article about anonymous donations be published without anyone knowing?
However, since a similarly critical comment had already taken the top spot, the 'Unchanging One' had no choice but to write a different comment.
—Isn't he donating to avoid taxes anyway?
Of course, the 'Unchanging One' had no idea whether donations were truly beneficial for tax savings. But since everyone else said it, he assumed it was true, and believed it was right. No. Whether it was right or not wasn't even his concern in the first place.
—What's so great about donating his surplus money? Isn't it all just image-making?
There are many reasons why the 'Unchanging One' would write such a comment.
It could be because he'd been studying for the civil service exam, receiving allowance from his parents for three years after his military discharge.
Or perhaps it was because he'd confessed to his only female friend at 2 a.m. a week earlier and been rejected.
Or perhaps it was simply because his mother, on her way to work this morning, casually suggested, "Why don't you try working part-time?"
Or perhaps he just didn't like the actor's handsome face that day.
In any case, the important thing was that the 'Unchanging One' left a comment that day, and even more importantly, someone had left a reply to his comment. "If you were born handsome, you could live like ash, right?"
But the 'Unchanging One' was a person who didn't know what was important in his life, so he wrote another comment.
"Yeah?"
Two simple consonants. Looking back, those two consonants changed his life.
"Crazy?"
The next day, when he woke up, something like a fantasy novel unfolded in his life.
[The main scenario begins.]
An apocalypse where people must kill each other to survive.
The 'Unchanging One' realized he had possessed someone in another world. Fortunately, with 15 years of experience as a webtoon reader, the 'Unchanging One' quickly realized his predicament.
"Abilities, what kind of abilities?"
Typically, these 'possession events' grant abilities.
The moment he looked in the mirror, the 'Unchanging One' realized what his abilities were.
"What the hell?"
He had become handsome. And his good looks proved quite useful as the scenario progressed.
He easily earned most favors, and despite his weak combat prowess, he was able to recruit party members without difficulty. Even his poor performance in the scenario led to some constellations showing interest in him.
The 'Unchanging One' chose the one that seemed the strongest among them.
[A constellation that likes gender-changing smiles brightly.]
Thus, the 'Unchangeable One' became the embodiment of the 'constellation that likes gender-changing'.
Although he endured the humiliation of being forcibly gender-changed every three days, simply being able to have a sponsor was a great blessing.
He had to survive somehow.
Simply because the world had changed, the 'Unchanging One' devoted himself to his own survival, something he had never cared about in decades.
As he diligently killed people and plundered items, the 'Unchanging One' thought to himself,
Perhaps, here, he could live the life he wanted. He might actually become as great as the actor he envied.
"Supreme King! Supreme King! Supreme King!"
That's what he thought until he saw his face.
"Yoo Joonghyuk! Yoo Joonghyuk!"
When he first heard the name, the 'Unchanging One' couldn't believe his ears.
Why, why was that actor here?
On the other hand, he was also delighted.
Perhaps because his face had become more handsome than in his previous life.
The 'Unchanging One' mustered up his courage for the first time.
"Are you possessed too? It's me!"
"..."
"You're Yoo Joonghyuk, right? You donate a lot... I'm a fan!"
Yoo Joonghyuk glanced at him with his golden eyes, then continued on his way without paying him any attention.
After that, the 'Unchanging One' never saw Yoo Joonghyuk again.
Perhaps it was only natural. The 'Unchanging One' was desperately struggling to survive in the lower scenarios, while Yoo Joonghyuk was a monster, fighting fearsome constellations as he moved from one scenario to another.
Even when the environment changes, humans don't change. He may have become handsome, but he was still the 'Unchanging One'.
And instead of chasing Yoo Joonghyuk, who had turned his back on him, the 'Unchanging One' chose to remain in the lower scenarios, resenting and cursing him.
"I knew you'd be like that, you piece of trash!"
When Yoo Joonghyuk was attacked by giant nebulae and destroyed in scenario 73, the 'Unchanging One' thought his wish had been granted.
But the 'Unchanging One' didn't know.
What the protagonist's death in this world would mean to an extra like him.
[That's the end of your story. It's been fun, poor child.]
Everyone. The scenarios failed, and the universe perished.
He prayed his sponsor.
I want to live. I don't want to die like this."
His sponsor smiled and said,
[Don't worry. Your usefulness doesn't end here. You've lived the life you wanted, so now pay the price of your contract.]
And when he came to his senses, he received the following message,
[You have successfully concluded a contract with 'Hunchback'.]
[You have become a 'Recorder of Fear'.]
[Your modifier is 'Unchanging One'.]
Thus, the 'Unchanging One' became a 'Recorder of Fear,' floating through worldlines under the orders of the 'Hunchback.'
And now, you, reading this story, are probably wondering:
Why on earth do I have to read 3,013 characters of this 'Unchanging One's' story?
The reason is simple.
Because the 'Unchanging One' is thinking about his own records in real time.
"How long do I have to keep recalling these records?"
In case the 'Oldest Dream' were to pry into their hearts, all 'Recorders of Fear' were obligated to constantly recall their history in a corner of their minds.
Of course, the 'Unchanging One' was certain that the Supreme Being would not pry into them, but it was still a possibility.
'If I record this scenario well, I too can rise to a higher scenario.'
Every 'Recorder of Fear' rose in stature the more magnificent the story they recorded.
'Goodbye to this tedious Murim.'
The mission he received from the Hunchback was to assist the ascension of an incarnation from <Veda Biotech>.
He had signed a recording contract with <Veda Biotech> executive 'Yoon Hyunseok' and was tasked with recording him.
「 Executive of <Veda Biotech>. Myeongwangsu Yoon Hyunseok. The contracted constellation is 'Parrot of Desire'. 」
The constellation's description was a bit odd, but it was nonetheless a narrative-grade constellation of <Veda>.
Indeed, Yoon Hyunseok was a powerful figure, not only nicknamed 'Myeong-wangsu', but also occasionally mentioned in 「The 100 Strongest People」, written by the high-ranking recorder, 'The Fox Who Commands the Sky'.
In other words, from the perspective of the 'Unchanging One', Yoon Hyunseok was a convenient figure who 'could be written roughly'.
「 Executive Yoon Hyunseok frowned and glared at the unidentified man. He had narrow eyes and a pale face, and he was someone he didn't like at all. 」
To be precise, that was the case until a moment ago.
「 Yoon Hyunseok pursed his lips and thought, 'He withstood my [Myeongwang Ichiken]? There's no way that's possible.' 」
Yoon Hyunseok was an executive-level incarnation, considered a potential next ascendant alongside Olympus Technology's Reinheit and Black Cloud Foundation's Cho Ji-cheol.
The incarnation of a small business, a first for him, blocked the executive's attack.
'What is this?'
[Myeongwang Ikkeun was the highest-level martial arts skill possessed by Veda Biotech. It was definitely not a skill a random incarnation could block.]
「 The narrow-eyed man grinned as if nothing had happened. 」
The 'Unchanging One' glared at the narrow-eyed man, wondering.
Does he have a backer?
He'd suspected something was off from the start. Why would he suddenly show up and visit the <■■■ Company>? Why would he appraise the hair of an 'end-level Outer God' at an auction house? The auction house incident, in particular, was so improbable that the 'Unchanging One' had to work with the other recorders to dismiss it as a 'bug'.
'There's no way he could have emerged from the Fear Realm.'
As far as the 'Unchanging One' knew, the only incarnation to return from the Fear Realm eight years ago was the 'Breaking the Sky Sword Saint'.
To stop the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint from running wild, all the recorders in the city had to work together to enforce the 'Record'. As a result, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was now imprisoned in the city's underground prison.
'Then is he an irregular like the Light Sword Emperor?'
Pulling his lips tightly, the 'Unchanging One' concluded.
'Whatever he is, I will eliminate him here and now.'
Although he lacked the penmanship of the high-ranking recorders who once existed in the Fear Realm, the records he wrote possessed a probable, compelling force, akin to a small fate.
['Record' begins!]
Especially when a powerful figure like Yoon Hyunseok was the subject, his power grew even stronger.
「 Yoon Hyunseok glared at the narrow-eyed man for a moment before gathering his composure. The fact that he hadn't collapsed despite being struck by his Hades's fist meant that his opponent possessed at least the strength of a supervisor—perhaps even an executive. 」
Just like the day he left a comment on Yoo Joonghyuk's article, the 'Unchanging One' continued writing without even realizing what he was writing.
「 He decided not to let his guard down. From now on, he's assuming his opponent is an 'executive' level. 」
In fact, Yoon Hyunseok was already strong enough even without this. He was a powerful figure in the early stages of the narrative-grade, capable of drawing on up to eighty percent of the power of his sponsor.
With the help of the Recorder, this powerful man began to unleash his full potential.
「 'I'll activate [Myungwang Shinbeop] to its fullest potential and finish him off with [Myungwang Ichiken]'s transcendent secret technique, [Myungwang Hwang Cheongwon].' 」
「 'If not twice, I'll use it three times. If not three times, I'll use it four times. I won't let my guard down even in the slightest.' 」
「 Yoon Hyunseok's [Myungwang Ichiken] swept through the entire estate. Thick smoke rose. It was a brutal bombardment, leaving not a single ant to survive. 」
The 'Unchanging One' nodded.
As expected, his handwriting is exquisite.
He continued writing, concluding.
A sentence that determines the character's life or death.
It was time to write his favorite scene.
「 The corpse of a man with narrow eyes, horribly torn apart... 」
That's when something strange happened.
「 ...Yoon Hyunseok smiled bitterly, anticipating what lay scattered everywhere. 」
'What?'
That wasn't the sentence he had intended to write. He clearly intended to write, 「The horribly torn, narrow-eyed man’s corpse lay scattered everywhere.」
The Unchanging One furrowed his brow and attempted to write again.
「 The thick smoke cleared, and the horribly dismembered corpse of the narrow-eyed man… 」
Tsutsutsutsu!
「 …Yoon Hyunseok smiled bitterly, anticipating what would unfold before his eyes. 」
The 'Unchanging One' gaped blankly.
The sentence he had just been about to write was, 「The thick smoke cleared, and the horribly dismembered corpse of the narrow-eyed man came into view.」
But then another strange sentence appeared.
And that wasn't the end.
Sentences continued to appear randomly.
「 Yoon Hyunseok thought, 'Did it harm him?' 」
It was a sentence he had never written before.
「 The thick fog cleared, and the narrow-eyed man appeared, unharmed. 」
The 'Unchanging One' stared blankly at the continuing record, his fingers beginning to tremble.
The sentences he had desperately written were disintegrating, and new sentences were being typed on top of them.
「 The narrow-eyed man, who had been smiling faintly, slowly opened his eyes. 」
The record had escaped his control.
The significance of this fact was clear.
「 The man's gaze was clearly focused on Yoon Hyunseok. He was heading towards him, but what he was seeing wasn't Yoon Hyunseok. 」
To that narrow-eyed man before his eyes—
「 "Were you there?" 」
An even more powerful 'Recorder of Fear' was attached to him.