920 Episode 52 Light Sword Emperor (5)

I frowned at the unexpected message. I wondered if I could enter here either, but thankfully, there was a hint.

I nodded, and the hint immediately came to me.

The owner of the great record archive.

It couldn't have been anything other than an incredible coincidence.

The moment I answered, a strange tension filled me.

Considering the room's entry requirements, there was a high possibility that there would be more useful information than I expected.

Because the 'recorders' in this room were at least 'those who knew the true name of Bicheonhori'.

Then, a warning message flashed before my eyes. Restricting [Skills], [Stigmas], and [Tales] that could harm one another meant prohibiting conflicts between the recorders within.

For me, it wasn't a particularly disadvantageous restriction.

I blinked, and a sentence appeared on the pure white background.

Written in a single stroke.

The moment I read the meaning embedded in the sentence, I realized. This was the legacy of Bicheonhori.

It was a peculiar author's theory. If Kiyeon hyung had been there, he would have nodded in agreement.

Indeed, the recorder who wrote 『100 Strongest』 was different.

The background was brightly lit. In the clean room, chairs were lined up around a long table in the center. The chairs were all different shapes. Some looked like the chairs of company executives, while others resembled convenience store chairs. Some were more like benches than chairs.

I recalled a story associated with those chairs.

When the 'Seven Kings of Seoul' were chosen in the 'Meeting of the Kings', each king sat on that chair and discussed Seoul's future.

In essence, Bicheonhori had created this place based on that 'Meeting of the Kings'.

This, too, was an homage, if you will.

As expected, three dolls were sitting in the room.

The first to react was the recorder wearing a yellow mask. He wore a peculiar mask, but more accurately, his entire face looked more like a symbol than a mask.

Is that... a 'scale'?

Then, a soft voice spoke from an orange mask. It seemed to be a mask shaped like a mountain. Above the mountain, something like a cloud floated, and curiously, a beam of light streaming from the cloud seemed to engulf the mountain.

Finally, the owner of the red mask looked at me. The entire head of the mask resembled an old monitor. A mask that glowed red, like a screen—its ominous light sent a chill down my spine.

I took in the gazes of the three dolls and calmly examined their faces again.

Yellow scales.

Orange mountains.

Red monitors.

I could tell from their aura alone that these recorders were of a different class from the 'Unchanging One'.

Their masks were yellow, orange, and red, respectively. In other words, they belonged to the top three ranks of the seven tiers of 'red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet'.

Even at first glance, the orange mountains and red monitors were particularly striking. Of course, it wasn't as overwhelming as when I faced Bicheonhori, Cheon Inho, and Asmodeus in the 40th round...

While the scales and the mountain muttered, I calmly walked over and sat down on a chair.

The chair I chose was transparent. A 'transparent chair' so transparent that you couldn't even tell if you were sitting or not.

As I chose the chair, the red monitor opened his mouth, seemingly intrigued.

The tone of the question sounded like a broken television.

I calmly answered.

It seems Bicheonhori's true name is a secret among the recorders.

I shrugged and said.

The yellow scale looked surprised at my response, while the orange mountain looked intrigued.

The red monitor replied in a cold voice.

The three recorders flinched simultaneously at my answer.

I observed their reactions, then grinned and added.

Since we're not going to fight right now, there's no need to provoke undue hostility until I get the information.

So, I can answer this honestly and with a generous heart.

The three recorders reacted differently to the confirmation message from [Lie Detection].

Yellow Scale shrugged, as if surprised again, while Orange Mountain crossed his arms, seeming even more intrigued.

And...

Sparks flew across the red monitor's screen.

Orange Mountain quickly intervened.

Hermit. Is that the red monitor's nickname?

Orange Mountain turned to me this time and spoke.

I think it was said that the recorder's mantras were influenced by the stories they recorded.

The orange mountain's mantra had a strangely gentle tone, and the rhythm evoked a certain longing in me.

Nickname?

Before I could even ask, Yellow Scale, with his shoulders hunched, spoke.

The yellow scale, with its strangely ominous, submissive demeanor—'Moral'.

I thought for a moment, listening to his mantra.

Unlike the 'Unchanging One', the three recorders before me were somewhat higher-ranking beings. Perhaps, like Bicheonhori and Asmodeus, they too were characters from 'Ways of Survival'. Next, the nickname was revealed: 'Orange Mountain'.

The orange mountain with its clear and gentle mantra—'Cloud Mountain'.

It was an intuitive nickname that suited the mask well.

I tried to think of characters related to 'mountain' or 'cloud', but there were so many of them in 'Ways of Survival', it was difficult to deduce their identities.

Finally, the red monitor—'Hermit'.

One character immediately came to mind when I heard the keyword 'Hermit'.

But I didn't have time to think deeply about it. It was my turn to answer.

I was thinking something like 'Friend of the Dirt-Eater' or 'Disciple of the Transcendently Beautiful Girl Author' would work, but Hermit spoke with sparks flying.

The moment I heard Cloud Mountain's comment, I had a realization.

I see. Was that what this room's entrance notice meant?

In short, the 'nicknames' here were a kind of game devised by Bicheonhori. A 'game' where you reveal important clues about yourself to guess others' identities.

So, I had to choose a nickname that was related to me while ensuring my identity would never be revealed.

Come to think of it, there was one nickname that would be appropriate at this point.

Eight years after the fall of the Fear Realm. Even eight years ago, stories about the 'Kim Dokja fragments' were spreading, and recalling my conversations with Cho Jincheol and Reinheit, the name 'Kim Dokja' felt quite commonplace.

It was highly likely that there were others pretending to be 'Kim Dokja' while I was gone.

In that sense, the name 'Kim Dokja' was the perfect 'butt' to reveal my identity while simultaneously concealing it perfectly.

Someone groaned, perhaps startled by my butt.

Actually, I chose the nickname 'Kim Dokja' not simply to hide my identity.

According to the setting of 'Ways of Survival', the 'true names' of all high-level beings in the <Star Stream> are restricted.

Especially, those of lower ranks can sometimes suffer a severe blow simply by mentioning the true name of a higher-level being. This was likely the reason why the 'Unchanging One' fainted upon learning the true name of 'Bicheonhori'.

However, the name 'Kim Dokja' alone never inflicted damage upon the speaker.

Common sense dictates that no constellation exists higher than the 'Oldest Dream', so anyone who invoked its name should have suffered a blow close to annihilation.

However, this has never occurred.

I have two hypotheses regarding this.

First, the name 'Kim Dokja' does not refer to a single being.

Second, the story surrounding 'Kim Dokja' and the 'Oldest Dream' is so distant that no one has ever been able to trace it.

Because they didn't quite understand.

But that was only for ordinary incarnations or constellations who didn't know well. I wondered what it would be like for the recorders.

High-ranking recorders like Bicheonhorin and Asmodeus could call out the name 'Kim Dokja' without hesitation, but what about the other recorders?

With sparks flowing through the air, Hermit slammed the table in a fit of agitation.

A pale aura hovered above his monitor.

He seemed poised to attack me at any moment.

Of course, according to the room's rules, I wouldn't be attacked, so I stared at Hermit for a moment before looking around at the other recorders.

Moral looked dazed, as if he'd just experienced something unpleasant, and Cloud Mountain's reaction was difficult to discern.

Cloud Mountain spoke.

Unlike Moral and Hermit, who seemed to be strangely averse to the nickname 'Kim Dokja', Cloud Mountain seemed even more interested in me after hearing my nickname.

At Moral's words, the three recorders looked at me simultaneously.

They say that, but if they feel it would be detrimental to them after hearing the keywords, they won't engage in the exchange. When I refused to open my mouth, Cloud Mountain chimed in.

I was grateful.

There was plenty of information to use as a bargaining chip, but before that, I needed to figure out how much they knew and what they wanted.

For a moment, I felt the mask on the cloud mountain smile.

Dear Readers! Are you enjoying your read? Please consider donating to help keep the ORV-Reader running! Thank you for your support! (My rent is due TwT)

• Support ORV-Reader