Chapter 33
I know it’s too late to say this, but.
I always wanted to be in the protagonist’s position.
The dream I had when I was young, the regret of not achieving it, the hope that my mother gave me.
Those complicated things intertwined and mixed, and what ignited the fire in my heart was Choi Do-yoon’s words.
-You have no potential.
I thought that was true at the time.
I was a nobody, and that’s why I gave up on my dream and followed Choi Do-yoon.
I lived and died like that.
And I was reborn like that.
‘It’s different now.’
I realized it when I saw Kang Hye-rim.
She persisted in her will until the end.
She faced death in her own way, proud and beautiful.
So I thought I couldn’t stay still either.
[The spirits are confused by what’s going on.]
[Most spirits question if you’re crazy.]
The spirits who realized the seriousness of the situation made a lot of noise.
I understand what they’re thinking.
In their world, and in the world we live in,
Tellers were always observers.
Tellers needed points like Collectors, but they never acted like Collectors.
They always stayed behind, and they earned enough points by just watching.
If you ask them why they don’t act directly, they’ll surely answer like this.
-We are the shadows that create the protagonists called Collectors. We are also another kind of protagonists.
I didn’t believe that.
It was just a lame and hollow excuse.
Do you like to support from behind?
Are you satisfied with being a shadow?
Is it enough for you to make someone else shine?
That’s ridiculous.
How contradictory are the actions of Tellers who care about their reputation?
I’m different.
I’m tired of sitting and watching.
If I really want to shine, if I really care for Collectors, if I really aim for my dream.
‘I have to fight with a weapon in my hand.’
If this world is a book, and we are really the protagonists in it.
The one who turns the pages of this story should never be someone else, but oneself.
“Are you saying you’re giving up your protection now? Are you crazy?! What if you die!”
Protection was the only lifeline for Tellers.
It was the ultimate shield that made them immune to any danger.
I threw it away myself.
She didn’t usually get angry, but she seemed genuinely angry at this moment.
“I thought I had to do this. Just like Hye-rim did.”
“…”
The old me didn’t fight directly.
I just stepped back and watched the stage from the dark with envy.
Even if I didn’t stand on the dazzling stage, even if I didn’t receive the cheers of the crowd, I thought it was enough.
But looking back, it wasn’t.
It was just an ugly self-consolation.
In fact, I wanted to stand on the stage.
I wanted to receive everyone’s cheers.
It didn’t matter if I had no talent, or if it wasn’t my place.
I just wanted to be like that.
A brilliant protagonist like Choi Do-yoon or Kang Hye-rim.
“Just like Hye-rim did, I’m ready too.”
So now, on this spot, I step on the stage.
I shake off all my protection and authority, and my anxiety.
To grasp glory.
“There are over a thousand spectators. For a nameless actor’s debut, it’s quite a splendid stage, isn’t it?”
“Ha, haha…”
She let out a small laugh at my playful words.
She relaxed her shoulders and wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes.
She tried to act strong, but she couldn’t completely shake off her fear of death either.
But now it was different.
She looked more relaxed as if she had made up her mind.
“Thank you. And please help me.”
Kang Hye-rim focused on her sword as she said that.
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She had a serious attitude unlike before.
She seemed to have realized something.
White powder-like texts rose from her body and then settled into complete sentences.
And then they were absorbed back into her body.
The process of turning letters into stories.
The sign of the final awakening.
“I understand.”
Swoosh.
I grabbed my sword.
It was a decent level sword that I bought hastily from [Dimensional Shop].
It was a perfect expense since I bought it myself and couldn’t get any commission benefits.
From now on, I have to buy time until Kang Hye-rim fully awakens.
Without anyone’s help, with my own strength.
A challenge that I chose myself, not imposed by the system.
“Dimensional Shop open.”
A list of items sold in various dimensions unfolded in front of me.
[Points: 83,280TP]
The points I had accumulated so far.
It was an amount that was hard to get as a regular Teller.
But I chose to invest boldly.
A story about combat. Purchase.
[I purchase the Art of Splitting Swords.]
[I purchase the Extreme Sword Technique.]
[I purchase the Lightning Flash Method.]
…
[12,300TP is consumed.]
People say that tellers are always watchers, and they don’t fight on the scene.
And tellers also say that they don’t need to fight on the scene.
[I purchase the Expansion of Spirit.]
[I purchase the Latran Mercenary Swordsmanship.]
[I purchase the Black Iron Spear Technique.]
[I purchase the Weapon Changing.]
…
[7,800TP is consumed.]
Do tellers not have to fight?
Do they have to watch only with protection?
There is no such rule.
There is no rule that tellers must have protection, nor a rule that they must not fight with collectors.
It’s just that everyone has taken these things for granted.
Telllers don’t fight.
They won’t fight.
[I purchase the Close Combat Technique.]
[I purchase the Body Enhancement.]
[I purchase the Instant Acceleration.]
[I purchase the Focus Enhancement.]
…
[8,200TP is consumed.]
That’s why.
I decided to fight myself.
In a way that no one else has done, only I can do.
I step onto the stage.
[4,320TP is consumed.]
The points I saved up disappear.
The stories converted into points are absorbed into my body.
[6,400TP is consumed.]
The absorbed stories solidify my existence.
[3,200TP is consumed.]
The spirits hold their breath and watch this scene.
[Remaining points: 2,300TP]
All that’s left is a mere 2,300.
I spent a whopping 80,000 or more points.
I bought a large number of low-grade stories with the spent points and stuffed them into my body.
‘It would have been nice if I had both the appearance and the power of my previous life, but that would be too greedy.’
But it wasn’t bad now.
Even though blood-like points flew away, it was enough to earn more later.
Now it’s time to fight.
“Kill the witch!”
“If we take her down, we can seize victory!”
The soldiers who rush at me.
I calm my breath and look at them.
The stories in my body are roaring, begging me to use them.
I take a step forward and thrust out the sword in my hand.
With a cold gaze, I cut down the Ottoman soldiers.
Sometimes fast, sometimes smooth, sometimes strong.
I swing my sword.
In an instant, corpses pile up around me.
“W-what…!”
“W-what is this kid!”
“Kill him!”
Maybe because they blocked the way to Kang Hye-rim, the enemies’ eyes focused on me.
But I didn’t flinch and took a stance.
I parried the sword of the first one who rushed in and counterattacked, cutting his throat.
Splat!
The headless body fell to the ground.
The smell of blood and the hot heat of the battlefield swept over my body. It was a sensation I could never feel when I had protection.
The sensation of being alive.
[Most spirits are astonished by your prowess.]
[Some spirits doubt if you are really a teller.]
The spirits were shocked by the spectacle I showed.
I didn’t react to that.
I kept moving and dealt with the enemies one by one.
Sometimes with a sword, sometimes with fists and kicks, sometimes with other weapons lying on the ground.
A variety of attack methods that are not bound by one style.
This was my way.
“What are you doing! He’s just one guy!”
“Break through!”
My physical abilities were lacking compared to my previous life, but my experience was still with me.
How to fight, knowledge about combat, accumulated skills.
Not the stories I bought from the store, but what I, Kang Yu-hyun, had possessed.
That transcended time and burst out fully.
I pierced their weaknesses and blocked their flow, causing confusion.
Sometimes I hit and run, sometimes I boldly dive in.
The enemies were only swayed by my fighting style.
“Damn it! What is he! Why can’t we break through one guy!”
“That’s because I’m strong.”
Thud!
I shove my sword into the mouth of the guy who was ranting in anger.
You’re soft.
Compared to the trials I went through after the apocalypse, you’re so boring that I want to yawn.
‘But it’s true that I’m running out of power.’
I was thrown into the battle right away in a fresh state and cut down more than 40 enemies.
Among them were not just ordinary infantry, but also captains and commanders.
As the battle continued, my sword’s sharpness dulled and the weight of my strikes disappeared.
My flesh that gave up protection was hitting the resistance of the physical laws of reality and getting tired.
“He’s exhausted! This is our chance to take him down!”
The Ottoman soldiers approached me with a murderous aura.
I couldn’t help but smirk at their sight.
My goal wasn’t to take down all the enemies in the first place.
It was to buy time.
I stepped back slightly and asked.
“Have I held out enough?”
“Yes. More than enough.”
Along with the voice from behind me, a sword wind burst out over my shoulder and swept away the enemies in front of me.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the enemies screamed and flew away.
All of that was the result of Kang Hye-rim’s single strike.
“Now it’s my turn to step in.”
Kang Hye-rim stood by my side.
“Whew.”
I whistled softly at the sight.
[Contractor Kang Hye-rim fully awakens Sword-Body Unity.]
[Contractor Kang Hye-rim fully awakens Azure Sky Sword Path.]
‘She’s ridiculously strong.’
Kang Hye-rim had completed the awakening of the two traits that were dormant after [Goryeo Era Swordmaster].
What it meant to fully open three protagonist-level traits was proven by the scene right now.
“Kraaak!”
“Is this possible! The witch wasn’t tired at all!”
Every time Kang Hye-rim swung her sword, at least three, or more than seven enemy soldiers were swept away.
Even from afar, the armor touched by the sword wind was cut, and the skin cracked and splattered blood.
The Ottoman soldiers who were charging in fearlessly were scared, and holes were made in their formation.
The Roman defenders stepped into those gaps.
“This is our chance! Set up stakes!”
“Block them so they can’t come in again!”
Before we knew it, our commander and Roman emperor Dragasis came near us.
He still couldn’t accept reality, his eyes were shaking.
“What is this… Who are you?”
“We’re reinforcements to help you. Hye-rim’s friends.”
Dragasis still looked bewildered. It was one thing for people to appear out of thin air, but he couldn’t understand how I blocked the enemies while Kang Hye-rim became much stronger than before.
“Are you… really angels sent by God? No. Now is not the time to question that. Thank you. Thanks to you, we have time to hold them back again.”
“That’s right. But this is just a stopgap measure.”
I had read how the situation would unfold.
I also knew how it went in the original history.
“We would have to hold out until they retreat if this was a normal war. You must have felt it already, right? The war here doesn’t end with ordinary methods.”
“…That’s true.”
“There is only one way we can choose here.”
I raised my sword and pointed beyond the enemy camp.
“To strike at the enemy’s head from this side.”
