#Episode 23
There was a very secluded cave.
In that cave, which had no furniture whatsoever, there were hundreds of candles. These candles brightly lit up the cave, which should have been dark.
Right in the middle of it all was a man sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, and his appearance was quite peculiar.
It had two spiral horns on its head and eight wings on its back.
Both his horns and wings were black. His body, which was bare, was engraved with countless scars, proving that the path he had walked so far had not been smooth.
Slowly he opened his eyes.
On the outside he looked very calm, but on the inside he was not.
I can’t help but swear.
‘… …Three apostles have already died.’
The apostle is an extra-human being.
It’s simple.
10 years.
It’s already been ten years since the Gate appeared on Earth.
During those 10 years, countless Awakened people were born, and among them, there are more than 7 who are of a high level.
The unique awakened beings, commonly called Chilgang, can erase mountains from the world and easily devastate the land.
The most dangerous weapon on Earth is a nuclear weapon. The seven Awakened Ones have powers that go beyond nuclear weapons.
The apostles are the ones who don’t even notice such beings.
It was strange that he noticed it in the first place.
The land itself was different. The species was also different.
How could a mere creature look down on the beings in the sky? But now, that common sense was being shattered.
No.
It’s not that common sense has been broken, but rather that irregulars have appeared.
That irregular was throwing the balance off.
Ten years ago, exactly 200 Apostles descended into the world to replace the 200 humans sent to Titan.
The ranking of those 200 people is determined by strength.
The 200th apostle is said to be the weakest of the apostles, but even the weakest apostle was not noticed by anyone in the world.
But not one, but three. Three are now dead.
The monster stood up, his deformed body gradually shrinking.
Height is exactly 180cm.
He was of good looks and was an Oriental.
I just opened the door.
A magnificent view of the vast mountains unfolds before you.
He spoke in a quiet voice.
“Did you say your name was Jin Shihou?”
His shadow rises high.
“yes.”
“That ‘test subject’ that was sent to Titan ten years ago?”
“That’s right. Based on the circumstances, it is the real Jin Shihou. It is certain that he killed the three apostles.”
There was no need for any evidence.
That’s what irregular means.
The man asked the shadow.
“Did you report to ‘him’?”
“… … I have not given it to you yet because your lord has not given you permission.”
The man nodded and said with a smile.
“Report it. And come back with an answer on what to do about it.”
“Your name-!”
The shadow disappeared.
The man who had been staring blankly at the shadow, ‘Li Gang’, a unique Chinese Awakener and one of the strongest Awakeners in the world, took a moment to quietly admire the magnificent view.
Contrary to his gentle expression, his inner feelings were complex.
Should I say it’s a kind of worry?
I guess so.
‘… … I’m going to get tired from now on.’
* * *
I’ve never lied so much in my life, but at least in this situation, I absolutely did not want to lie.
I have no intention of denying it.
I was anxious.
What made me anxious was, first of all, my sister was anxious. And then the people around her were anxious.
No matter how much I think about it, they’re all just weaklings.
I spent ten years on Titan and hundreds of years in the Time Chamber before coming to Earth.
Those hundreds of years could be thousands of years, not hundreds of years. I’m thinking it’s because I don’t have any memories of what happened after those hundreds of years, but there’s definitely something after that.
I wish I had two bodies, but I only have one.
What can I do with one body?
I slowly clenched my fist.
With just a handful of mana flowing through the air, I can destroy a 40-story building in the distance.
When I saw it, the monster I saw at the gate, something called a karma, was a monster outside the standard specifications.
It wasn’t something my older sister could handle. To be clear, she wasn’t weak. Rather, she was strong.
And it’s so big.
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‘The gap between the Apostles and the Awakened Ones is so great that it’s almost excessive.’
I looked at Jeongbin in front of me.
I burst out laughing as I watched the guy chewing his food.
“… …Why are you laughing, brother?”
“just.”
“… … Would you like some spam? I don’t usually compromise on things like this.”
“Okay. You do it.”
I looked blankly at Jeongbin.
The guy who was eating put down his spoon as if he was going to vomit.
I asked the guy.
“You graduated from the Department of Korean Language and Literature?”
“Yes, I am also a graduate of Korea University.”
Korea University is the most prestigious university in Korea. It was a little surprising that he graduated from that university, which only accepts students who get the highest score on the college entrance exam.
“You studied well.”
“Well done.”
“Then you must be good at writing.”
“… … I can’t write.”
He scratched his chin.
“Bin-ah, do you hate working with your brother that much?”
“No, bro. That’s not it. I really can’t write. I’m not a creative writing major, and I became an awakened person right after graduating from college and got my current job. If I could write, I would have.”
“But you must have learned the basics, right? And I see you read a lot of novels. Aren’t all the books on the shelf genre novels?”
“That’s true… … No, wait a minute. Are you really going to write a novel about the things you experienced over the past 10 years? With me as your ghostwriter?”
“uh.”
He continued speaking, taking a sip of water.
“I have to tell you. What happened in that place called Titan.”
“… … Then, wouldn’t it be okay for you to just take over what the existing copycat was doing and use it yourself? There would probably be a separate editor and management.”
He said it proudly.
“bothered.”
“… … .”
“Okay, answer me. Why did you go to the Department of Korean Language and Literature?”
“… …Because I like novels.”
“So you went there because you wanted to write?”
“Well, in my case, yes, that’s right… … right.”
“But then I realized that my writing skills and such were very lacking?”
“……yes.”
“Are you saying that you yourself don’t have the talent to be a novelist?”
“It hurts, aren’t you hitting me too much?”
I ended up laughing.
“What if I fill that talent?”
“… …Fill in your talents?”
“Honestly, I don’t mind if it’s not you. But it’s a shame. I opened up my mana blood and saved my life, so I don’t want to take our relationship lightly. Just wait.”
I reached out.
Jeez, the space was distorted. My hand went into the distorted space. After fumbling around inside for a while, I grabbed a ‘small stick’ and pulled my hand out.
I had a pen in my hand.
“… … What was that just now?”
“This? Subspace.”
“… … .”
“Okay, take this.”
He handed the pen he was holding to Jeongbin. Jeongbin’s eyes widened as he accepted the pen.
“What… what is this?”
Jeongbin looked at the pen in his hand with a strange expression. He just watched blankly.
Jeongbin said.
“A pen filled with the soul of a great novelist… … Wow, what’s this pen’s legendary rating?”
They say that when you become an Awakened you will be able to see the information on items, and I think Jeongbin was talking about the grade and name of the pen I gave him.
“Is the rank Legendary?”
“yes.”
“Is Legendary the highest?”
“That’s not it. After the Legendary grade, there is a Unique grade. It is the highest Unique grade among the existing items, and this one is the best internal grade even among Legendaries. If you hold this pen and write, you can gain the inspiration and writing skills of a legendary novelist… … No, hyung, if you have something like this, I think you can just use it.”
“I told you, it’s annoying.”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I have been living on Titan for a full 10 years. During these 10 years, I have had direct and indirect relationships with many people.
Among them, the most famous novelist in the Western Continent was ‘Bon Aveiro Zeino’. He had an impressive bushy beard and I had many interactions with him. On two occasions, I happened to save his life. In return, he gave me an interesting artifact.
‘As far as I know, the general writes a diary every day.’
‘All the works I have written so far were born from this pen.’
‘It was originally just a pen, but I made it into an artifact. I wanted to give it to my student, but as you know, that student hit me in the back of the head, so I don’t want to give it to him.’
‘I don’t know if it will help you with your diary. This pen is more helpful for novels than diaries, since it condenses everything I do when I’m working.’
‘What is a novel? In the end, it’s something that entertains readers. It’s something that makes you enthusiastic and immersed in someone’s story, and when the story ends, it lingers for a long time, and you can give it to someone else. It’s something that’s out of my hands now.’
Bon Aveiro Zeino, who said so, was killed by dragons exactly one year before I came to Earth.
I opened my eyes.
“Binah, tell me now. Do you want to try writing my story as a novel?”
Jeongbin nodded slowly, knowing that I was being sincere.
“Yes, sir, I will do it. But please make this one thing clear.”
“What?”
“… … Even if the novel fails, it’s not my fault.”
“Don’t do it, Inma. And if you just have the name Jin Shi-hoo, even if you make the title something like The Poop Man of the Republic of Korea or The Babari Man of Anseong City, you’re guaranteed at least hundreds of thousands of readers who’ll click on the first episode at least once. How could it fail?”
“… … .”
“And can you work in parallel with the Gate Security Management Department or something?”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult?”
“Even if it’s hard, you don’t want to quit, do you?”
“I don’t know.”
I spoke firmly to Jeongbin, who had a complicated expression on his face.
“Do whatever you want. I won’t say anything if you do both.”
“older brother…….”
Jeongbin wasn’t stupid.
That I am considerate and that I am giving them a ‘chance’.
Jeongbin noticed it well enough.
The guy said.
“Brother. Just trust me. Actually, it was my dream. To be a ghostwriter.”
“You’re funny, kid.”
I left Jeongbin, who was smiling stupidly, behind and went outside.
I just picked up the watch.
There was a message from Yoon Young-soo.
[I checked the list you sent me yesterday. I can identify one of them today.]
[There is a B-class gate that our Salvation Guild is going to clear in the direction of Sunae 2-dong, Bundang-gu. We will have our four teams on standby here. You can drag him in there.]
[I wish you good luck.]
* * *
It’s hot.
That was the first thought that came to mind.
Of course, I’m crazy for wearing a thick coat in May weather, but I didn’t want to take it off if possible.
There are so many memories contained in this coat.
I walked with my coat on.
I see ‘Cafe Lane’ across the street. I go inside.
Inside the cafe, a man standing at the counter said with a smile.
“Welcome… … .”
It was a really small cafe. A cafe so small that there wasn’t a single person there.
I walked towards the man who furrowed his brow as he greeted me.
I told him.
“Jeong Seong-il, he was such a good guy.”
“… … .”
“What are you doing? Bring me a coffee.”
The man stood there blankly, like a plaster statue.
“Americano, iced. Make it refreshing.”
“… … .”
I waved my palm at the man who was still blankly staring.
Taaak-!
Blood spurts out with a loud sound.
He continued speaking, looking at the man who was holding his left cheek in embarrassment.
“Come out. If you want to be pampered.”
The man, who had the face of Jeong Seong-il, brought coffee with a hardened expression.
