[Synthesis failed]

‘Don’t calm down. Wait, that’s not right. Calm down.’

I took a deep breath. The Mystic Key and Athena’s Arrow might have been destroyed, but there had to be a better solution.

—…Oi, you okay?

A voice rang in my head. I turned my head in a daze. Shimurin and Jain were staring at me.

—Hajin, what’s wrong~?

I couldn’t hear them well, almost like I was underwater. Suddenly, I felt sleepy. Perhaps everything would return to normal if I went to sleep and woke up.

Wait, no, that was just running away from reality.

“…What’s wrong with him? He’s seems out of it all of a sudden.”

Shimurin’s voice woke me up. I suddenly remembered something. Right, I still had something I could do, even if it was going overboard.

“Time Reversal.”

“Huh?”

Even though it would hurt a lot, I could just go back in time.

“Huu, huu.”

I took deep breaths. Once, twice, thrice….

“What are you doing?”

Shimurin and Jain stared at me strangely. I took one final breath and turned to face them. Using Time Reversal just to recover destroyed items…

A sudden philosophical thought popped up in my head. Would Jain in the present be the same person as Jain three minutes in the past?

I shook my head and threw the thought away.

“See you in a bit.”

I closed my eyes and activated Time Reversal. The wind blew backwards and a warping sensation surrounded my body. When I opened my eyes, [Athena’s Moonlight Arrow] and the [Mystic Key] were both in my hands.

“…Haa.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. My legs gave out, and I slumped down on the ground again. Jain and Shimurin gave me strange looks, but that didn’t matter.

Looking at the key and the arrow in my hands, I fell in thought. Should I try fusing them again? Or should I be content that I restored them?

It was then that something strange occurred.

A bright orb of light appeared in the air above the items. The sun-like orb began to bloom like a budding flower. I stared at it with widened eyes.

As the orb gave off a dazzling, golden light, a system window popped up.

[The ‘accumulation of luck’ stacked eight times activates – Miraculous Retry]

[For the next 30 minutes, your invariable stat, ‘luck’, rises to 9.99]

**

[Colosseum]

“…What happened to the thing I talked about?”

On the other hand, in the Colosseum’s waiting room, Jin Seyeon asked Cheok Jungyeong who was lounging around on the couch.

“Do I really have to bring it?”

Jin Seyeon had asked Cheok Jungyeong to bring the furniture from the Chameleon Troupe’s hideout, knowing how much Vassago was interested in them.

“Yes, I told you, they will come in handy during our negotiation.”

“What, after we beat him up, we’ll console him by giving him some furniture and tell him to go home?”

“…Regardless of what the plan is, having more options isn’t bad.”

Vassago’s Colosseum had a simple format. The challengers would put their lives on the line to fight, just like gladiators. There were ten levels to the Colosseum, and challengers had to clear all levels before they could challenge Vassago. His logic was that he would only accept challenges from the strong.

“But it’s not like we can leave this place, right?”

Jin Seyeon furrowed her brows at Cheok Jungyeong’s question.

“Don’t you guys have Khalifa? Tell him to come here.”

Challengers couldn’t leave the Colosseum once they entered, but Jin Seyeon and Cheok Jungyeong earned the right to invite a guest after crushing their way through to level 8.

Cheok Jungyeong got up from the couch and asked.

“You know Khalifa?”

“…Pardon? Ah, well, the Chameleon Troupe is famous, after all.”

Cheok Jungyeong still gave her a suspicious glance. Jin Seyeon let out a few dry coughs and explained.

“I did some background investigation.”

“Why?”

“….”

Jin Seyeon raised her brows unhappily, and Cheok Jungyeong did the same.

“You think I can trust someone who investigated us so easily?”

“…Tsk.”

Jin Seyeon scratched the back of her neck. She trudged to the bed and lied down. Cheok Jungyeong smirked and lied back down on the couch. Just like that, silence filled the room.

The level 8 challenger’s waiting room was large and quiet. After a moment, a soft voice cut through the air.

“You guys killed my father.”

It was Jin Seyeon’s voice.

Cheok Jungyeong murmured while still lying on the couch.

“…It’s pretty common.”

“Killing people?”

“In this world, it’s common to kill and be killed. You should know it too. Think of all the Djinns you killed. Aren’t they human too?”

“….”

Jin Seyeon twisted her body to the side. Her bow was leaning on the head of the bed. It was the same bow that had taken the lives of hundreds of Djinns.

Jin Seyeon spoke calmly.

“My father was my only family.”

“That’s common too. There are also people who are born orphans.”

“I sometimes wish I was born an orphan too.”

“…Pft.”

Cheok Jungyeong suddenly chuckled. Jin Seyeon furrowed her brows and glared at Cheok Jungyeong.

“What’s funny?”

“Nothing, I just remembered something. There was someone who used to make fun of me by calling me ‘Orphan Producer.’”

“What?”

“Puhahaha. I think it’s funny. You don’t have to laugh if you don’t think so.”

Cheok Jungyeong got up from the couch, his large body towering over Jin Seyeon.

Looking at her, Cheok Jungyeong smiled.

“If you want to avenge your father, I’ll welcome you at any time. I don’t know if I’m the one who killed him, but the Chameleon Troupe is one being. But just know that you’ll have to put your life on the line as well.”

Cheok Jungyeong spoke calmly. He had no fear of death, having spent most of his life with one foot in the River Styx. Jin Seyeon’s face quickly turned vicious.

“…No thanks. You weren’t part of the Chameleon Troupe when that incident happened.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes, you were busy running around the steppes of Manchu killing people.”

“Kuhum, you even know about that? …Oi, don’t look at me like I’m some sort of a monster. I’m not the man I used to be.”

“Oh please, there are even rumors that you eat human flesh.”

Jin Seyeon pulled the bedsheet over her head. Cheok Jungyeong replied, almost like he was giving an excuse.

“Human flesh? I don’t eat things that aren’t tasty. Plus, it’s true that I changed. That guy changed me before I even noticed.”

“…That guy? You mean Black Lotus?”

“Yep.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When she heard Black Lotus’s name, Jin Seyeon peeked her head out of the bedsheet. She was attracted to Black Lotus for reasons she didn’t understand.

Was it admiration, fear, respect, or rivalry? She didn’t know how to describe her feelings for him. But her intuition as the Divine Archer told her that there was something about Black Lotus that resembled herself.

“Feel free to tell me more.”

Jin Seyeon spoke gently. Cheok Jungyeong raised his head. Jin Seyeon was looking at him in anticipation. However, Cheok Jungyeong only gave off a cold smirk before lying back down.

“Nah.”

“…Just a bit.”

“No. I’ll talk to Khalifa about that furniture though, not that I think it will help.”

“….”

Jin Seyeon scratched her cheek. She was still happy about the information she pried out, so she gave it a rest for the day and closed her eyes.

“Good night.”

**

[Baal’s Castle – Banquet Hall]

An orchestral classical piece was still flowing in the air as Jin Sahyuk stared at Yi Yeonjun. Yi Yeonjun continued as he looked deeper into Jin Sahyuk’s eyes.

“Do you get what kind of an existence you are now? You’re nothing but a puppet.”

“….”

Jin Sahyuk didn’t say anything. She simply thought Yi Yeonjun had gone crazy. But she also didn’t think he was completely insane.

At that moment, Shin Jonghak spoke up.

“That fool must be misunderstanding something, right?”

“What?”

When Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows, Shin Jonghak smirked and continued.

“I don’t know if it’s his delusion or a side-effect of his Gift, but he must believe that this world is a novel. He’s living while believing that it is.”

Shin Jonghak was saying that Kim Hajin was a megalomaniac who deluded himself into thinking that this world was a novel he wrote.

However, Jin Sahyuk knew Baal was more than capable of discerning reality from fantasy. As far as she was concerned, it was more probable that Yi Yeonjun had gone crazy rather than doubting Baal.

“…Shush.”

Regardless, what she had to do was simple.

“Where’s Baal?”

To find Baal. She would know the truth once she talked to him.

Yi Yeonjun readily replied.

“Baal’s upstairs.”

“So what do we need to do to go up?”

“You need more people.”

As he said that, Yi Yeonjun pointed at the banquet hall’s door. Jin Sahyuk and Shin Jonghak both turned their gazes downwards.

Kiik— And at that moment, the door creaked open. Jin Sahyuk frowned, and Shin Jonghak’s face wriggled with joy.

—Huh? Where’s this?

On the first floor of the banquet hall, Chae Nayun was looking around with a greatsword in her hand.

—I’m not sure… some sort of party?

Yun Seung-Ah’s gaze scanned the hall.

—I see Suho-ssi over there.

Rachel pointed at a couple dancing in the middle of the hall. Kim Suho and Aileen also spotted them. Kim Suho couldn’t hear Yi Yeonjun because he was focused on dancing. Once the others arrived, Kim Suho greeted them with a smile.

—Hey, Suho… it’s been a while.

Yun Seung-Ah stared at Kim Suho from a little distance away. She was happy to see him but didn’t show it on her face.

—Ah, yes, it really has been a while.

Kim Suho stood straight and bowed slightly. Yun Seung-Ah smiled bitterly and told Kim Suho and Aileen about who they met.

—We met Black Lotus.

—Really?

—Yeah. He said he’s helping you. Is that true?

—Yes, it is.

Jin Sahyuk turned back to Yi Yeonjun.

Yi Yeonjun opened his mouth, like he was waiting for this moment.

“Now that there are eleven of you here, you should be able to go up. Go ahead. Find Baal and hear the truth. Then, you can fall into despair.”

Shin Jonghak hopped down to the first floor to see Chae Nayun, leaving only Jin Sahyuk glaring at Yi Yeonjun.

But not long afterwards, Jin Sahyuk made her usual proud smile.

“Yi Yeonjun… it looks like you’re mistaken.”

Jin Sahyuk gathered magic power in her hands. Her black magic power coalesced like a storm and emanated its overwhelming presence. Her Authority blazed up as it devoured reality.

“I don’t care what the truth is. Even if what you’re saying is true, it doesn’t matter to me that this world is a novel.”

Guoooo… She reached out with her burning right hand and grabbed Yi Yeonjun’s head. Looking at Yi Yeonjun’s empty eyes, she shouted loudly.

“I am not a puppet, but a king! And the one who decides that isn’t you or this world! It’s me! I am the one who decides who I am! As long as I’m alive, I am a king, and that’s all I need to know to live in this world!”

She could feel several presences from her spot on the balcony. Chae Nayun and Shin Jonghak, Kim Suho and Yun Seung-Ah, Aileen and Kim Youngjin… there were even more climbing up the staircase.

She could even feel Kim Hajin, watching over her from outside.

Jin Sahyuk made a faint smile.

“I am different from you entirely!”

KOOONG—!

Suddenly, an explosion erupted in the middle of the banquet hall. Yi Yeonjun scattered into dust, and Jin Sahyuk looked down from the balcony with widened eyes.

—W-What happened!? Who are these people?

The men and women, who had been dancing in the hall, had all turned into Death Knights.

“What….”

Jin Sahyuk froze. She looked down at the first floor in a daze.

—Take out your weapons, everyone! Aileen Unni!

—Yeah, I know. I’ll take care of it.

Hundreds of Death Knights were surrounding the group. But what shocked Jin Sahyuk wasn’t the sheer number of Death Knights or the sudden disappearance of Yi Yeonjun.

The Death Knights weren’t wearing helmets, so Jin Sahyuk recognized them. Even if they were wearing them, she wouldn’t have missed the insignia on their armor and shield.

A crown of ice and a wolf.

That was the symbol of Jin Sahyuk’s kingdom, Plerion.

They were the knights of Plerion, who had protected her until the moment she died.