Chapter 18
──────
Companion I
Shin No-a
1
Let's talk about Dang Seo-rin, the guild master of Three Thousand Worlds.
"Your eyes are filled with killing intent."
"…."
"Aren't you that person? The virtually sole survivor from Busan Station. An eccentric who goes around asking people strange questions all day long."
My first encounter with Dang Seo-rin was in the 4th iteration.
Unfortunately, at that time, I hadn't yet mastered [Complete Memory Ability]. It was in the 5th iteration that I acquired that ability.
Therefore, there might be some slight discrepancies in the first meeting with Dang Seo-rin that I recall. No, I just don't want to admit it, but there were definitely errors.
Isn't it a past that has already flowed by for over a thousand years?
"Your name?"
"…Undertaker. It's an alias."
"So you're someone who goes around burying people? Not bad. A person's depth depends on how many corpses they've buried in their own heart."
Perhaps Dang Seo-rin didn't say 'Your eyes are filled with killing intent' but rather 'Your eyes are filled with spirit.' She might have addressed me as 'you' instead of 'you' (formal).
It might have rained that day, or it might not have. I think I heard the sound of water, but that might have just been the sound of water flowing from my own heart.
Nevertheless, I can clearly recall the atmosphere of that time, the outline of the air.
Because for a person to live, they must breathe not only from the oxygen drifting before their eyes right now but also from the air of the past that has already flowed away.
"How about it? Won't you join our guild?"
"What's the guild name?"
"Three Thousand Worlds. Samcheon for short. Someday I personally aspire to recruit three thousand awakeners. Undertaker. Help me. I need your power to subjugate the Ten-Legged."
A human who held a certain share in my breathing curled up the corners of her lips and extended her hand.
At that time, I had neither reason nor leisure to refuse that hand.
"Oh, by the way, anyone who joins our guild has to wear a conical hat regardless of location."
"…A conical hat?"
"Yeah, you know, the hats witches wear in fairy tales? That's our guild symbol. You also have to carry around a broomstick staff. Haven't had lunch yet, right? I know a restaurant only I know about, so I'll take you there to celebrate your joining."
"I'd like to withdraw my application."
I couldn't withdraw.
Later, changing the broomstick to a sword-cane was the best I could do.
Dang Seo-rin was clever and strong-willed. And she was well-versed in regional restaurants. People called such a Dang Seo-rin the Witch of the Train Station, the founder of Juga-yeongchang, a solitary gourmet.
…Come to think of it, the last nickname seemed like something only I used.
Of course, there was another title I used most frequently.
What is there to hide?
Once, she was my guild master.
2
Now it's a past that could be dismissed as a joke, but in the very early stages of my regression life——meaning before the 10th iteration——there was a boss monster that blocked Korean awakeners like a wall of wailing.
"Wait. What is that?"
"Uh, uh……. It's coming this way!"
Ten-Legged (Sipjok).
According to the monster classification system established by the wiki group called the Library Society, it had city-level (Polis) danger. Identification name 'Crawling Baby Cthulhu.'
"Crazy! Why is it so fast?"
"It's Cthulhu! Cthulhu!"
"What the f……. Alert! Sound the alert first, you bastard!"
Opinions were divided on the etymology of why Ten-Legged came to be called Ten-Legged.
The most credible theory was that it was called Ten-Legged because where legs should be, there were no legs, but dozens, hundreds of things looking like human arms wriggled like tentacles.
But personally, I support the theory that 'that fucker is fucking annoying' somehow became distorted and settled as 'Sipjok' (Ten-Legged/Fucker).
That much did the first boss monster of the Korean Peninsula, Ten-Legged, bring us great despair.
"We need to catch that thing to reclaim the area south of the Han River and push the front line, which has been doubly separated, back to the ceasefire line."
Dang Seo-rin didn't despair.
More accurately, she gathered the despairing awakeners, formed a guild alliance, and was elected as the alliance's leader.
Shall we call it the Anti-Ten-Legged Coalition Army?
The difference from the Anti-Dongtak Coalition Army in Romance of the Three Kingdoms was that unlike Yuan Shao, Dang Seo-rin was an extremely competent leader.
"Undertaker. You will lead the elites of other guilds on the front line and block the Ten-Legged's movements for as long as possible."
"Understood."
After learning of Old Man Sho's existence, he led the martial faction, but before that, I served on the front line as a substitute. It was a passage that showed how pathetic the level of awakeners was at the time.
Oh, for reference, during my time as a Samcheon guild member, I naturally used formal speech to Dang Seo-rin.
"My deputy died yesterday, so I'm a bit shaken too……. But I'll do it. How many minutes do you need me to hold out?"
"Just manage to hold out for 30 minutes. I'll set up great magic to back up the death squad."
"Understood."
I nodded my head.
"That's easy."
It wasn't easy.
-Gr̷o̷o̷o̷o̷h̷!
The Ten-Legged howled.
Exactly 2 minutes after the battle started, a hole was drilled in my head by the Ten-Legged's tentacle thrashing. What could be done? If the Gyeongbu Expressway was laid across the center of one's brain, even a regressor would have no choice but to die nicely.
I was impressive for holding out even 2 minutes. Other awakeners had their heads harvested in the blink of an eye. It was sickle work that would make autumn farmers drool. I held out until the very end and then became rice grains together with Dang Seo-rin.
4th iteration end.
5th iteration start.
"Undertaker. You will lead the elites of other guilds on the front line and block the Ten-Legged's movements for as long as possible."
"It's fucking difficult."
Instead of bluffing in front of the guild master, I decided to be a bit more honest. Dang Seo-rin's eyes went round.
"Difficult?"
"Yes."
"I thought that with the alliance forces we've secured plus you, we could sufficiently wage a delaying battle. Is there something wrong with the data?"
"The data isn't wrong. That Ten-Legged bastard is hiding his power."
It was lamentable how the world worked. The hidden-power meta was something I, a regressor, should be doing, but that damn boss monster was doing it instead.
"The legs he usually shows aren't all of them. Other legs can pop out from inside his body like tentacles at any time. Honestly, it's hard to hold out even 5 minutes, let alone 30."
"…Vice Guild Master. If that's true, that's a level where we have to give up on the strategy itself."
"Yes. Let's give up."
"Yeah. Let's do that. Would fleeing to Busan be appropriate?"
"Good. It's the traditional and reliable refuge, isn't it."
"Lots of good restaurants, right?"
We retreated to Busan. It was a region sufficient to satisfy Dang Seo-rin's taste, which sought out restaurants first wherever she went. Originally, it was also our guild headquarters.
The problem was that Ten-Legged wasn't fixed to a gate but was a free-spirited soul who wandered the field as he pleased. Like Dang Seo-rin, this bastard also traveled around each region looking for restaurants. The menu was fixed to human flesh, though.
After completely devastating Seoul, Ten-Legged wiped across the entire country in a zigzag pattern, showing off that he too was talented enough to appear in the Solitary Gourmet series.
Originally, this guy only sought out 'areas where people are densely packed.' Perhaps he had some sixth sense equipped to feel human life. Thanks to this, the cities of the Korean Peninsula were devastated, and Ten-Legged achieved decentralization that no politician had ever succeeded at.
The time it took to reach that point was merely 5 years.
-Gro̷o̷o̷o̷h̷!
The Ten-Legged howled.
"Fuck."
We set up a final defense line at the Nakdong River and then nicely became awerner skewers together.
We could learn the lesson that even if we gave up on subjugation, as long as Ten-Legged was intact, we were all just living on borrowed time.
5th iteration end.
6th iteration start.
'Is this……. perhaps something with no answer?'
The 5th iteration ended with us being annihilated by Ten-Legged, but it held tremendous significance for my entire regressor life. It was at this time that I acquired [Complete Memory Ability].
So from this point on, I clearly remembered what I was worrying about, when and with whom I met and what conversations I had.
"Vice Guild Master, do you have time by any chance?"
"Hm? What is it?"
When I was deep in thought wondering if the world was screwing over humanity, the one who threw open a breakthrough I couldn't see at all was the world's own screw-up.
"Someone has come from outside to see the Vice Guild Master."
A guild member with pretty silver hair opened the KTX train's passage door and spoke to me.
Her name was Yu Ji-won, a talent I had selected and used as my deputy starting from the 5th iteration. She was a complete psycho, but let's mention that later.
"Outside guest? Where are they?"
"They've come to our train station platform."
"Wait, what's the security team doing?"
"They tried to stop him, but they say they couldn't stop him properly because this guest was so strong. They say keeping him waiting at the platform was the best they could do."
"Hmm."
Why we were having a conversation on a KTX train is, well……. Three Thousand Worlds guild's base was always a train.
It wasn't particularly because the Samcheon guild members including me were railway otakus who felt metaphysical beauty from lumps of scrap metal that couldn't even move anymore.
This was entirely the taste of our boss, Her Excellency Dang Seo-rin.
Dang Seo-rin had a strange habit of making the finest train in the best condition her base whenever she moved the guild to another region.
As she herself said, 'Isn't it more romantic for a witch to live on a train?' or something like that.
As could be seen from her wearing a conical hat, her mental world wasn't normal either.
Anyway, back to the main topic.
"So what's the guest's name?"
"Yes, the name is……. Emm……. Schopenhauer? Ah, Schopenhauer."
Zzzzt.
My deputy tilted her head at the noise flowing from the walkie-talkie.
"They say he seems German?"
3
Emmet Schopenhauer.
Sword Master. Sword Star (劍星).
An awakener wrapped in numerous aliases who had sliced off even more monster heads.
But to me, simply a man called Old Man Sho.
"Hmm……. Hello? What brings you here?"
"…."
Old Man Sho gazed at me quietly.
Honestly, my first impression was 'Wow, he looks like he has a terrible personality.'
It was still only the 6th iteration era.
The German old man who came to Korea following his wife and suddenly got swept up in the Gate incident hadn't learned Korean. So he tried to communicate using bits of English and body language, and a smartphone translator.
If I had been good at English, there would have been no problem with communication, but unfortunately I had no talent for languages.
"Fucking monster."
"Fucking monster……. do you mean Ten-Legged? Are you talking about Ten-Legged? Lurker? Tentacles? Just flopping around?"
"Yes."
"Oh. Sorry, I can't speak English."
"…."
Old Man Sho frowned.
He had a very frustrated expression.
"Different. Strategy."
"……?"
"You died before. Here."
KTX dining car. On the table in this place also used as the guild reception room, a map of Korea was spread out.
Tap. Old Man Sho pointed to the center of it with his finger.
The line connecting Seoul to Gwacheon. It was the place where I ignorantly tried to take down Ten-Legged in the 4th iteration and got taken down instead.
"But didn't die."
Sliiide.
Old Man Sho's finger moved downward. The place where his index finger stopped was precisely pointing at the Nakdong River.
"……!"
"5 years. Too big difference."
Old Man Sho's gray gaze directed straight at me.
Perhaps. No, could it be?
My heart wobbled. With a table between us, we looked into each other's eyes for a long while. And we realized that our hearts were flowing at exactly the same speed.
The old man's mouth slowly opened.
"Return?"
Even with my tin ear, I couldn't fail to understand the intent of that question.
I silently traced a number on the table with my finger.
6.
Only then did the old man's expression relax as he grinned. That was the number of lives repeated until now.
Perhaps out of consideration for the fact that I couldn't understand English, Old Man Sho's sentences weren't long. The old German swordsman knew how to put strong emotions into short sounds.
"My friend."
With Old Man Sho's joining, the aspect of the battlefield changed completely.
It wasn't for nothing that I always mentioned Old Man Sho when asked to name the most powerful person among awakeners in history.
Not a water rocket, but even now past the 1000th iteration, if asked to evaluate, Old Man Sho's potential was definitely at a crazy level.
"You're saying we should put this person on the front line? Are you sure?"
"Yes, Guild Master. I'm certain."
"Hmm. Looking at his appearance alone, I don't trust him that much. But if the Vice Guild Master says he's certain……. Still, we should test his skills once, right?"
"Of course."
50 minutes later.
"I'll immediately designate this person as a key resource for this strategy."
To say it again, Dang Seo-rin was a competent leader.
Even in the middle of the chaotic scene where Samcheon guild's renowned awakeners were being carried out on stretchers, she didn't care at all. She even got an interpreter to plant beside Old Man Sho.
"Interpreter, could you ask him what he thinks about conical hats?"
Not long after the interpreter conversed with Old Man Sho, his expression darkened.
"I'm really sorry, but he says he has no interest in joining the guild. He says he prefers going around alone."
"Is that so? That's regrettable. But didn't he just say Alohomora? Did I mishear?"
"Ah, I think he made some kind of joke but I couldn't understand it. I apologize. Haha."
"That could happen. Vice Guild Master, there's a good sundae soup restaurant around here, isn't there? Would Germans like gukbap too?"
"As long as it's not turnips, I think he'd eat anything well."
I saw it. The interpreter faintly smiling next to me.
He was a wise human.
At this time, I didn't know German so I just let it pass, but Old Man Sho's actual statement was "What kind of bullshit is that? What, those Harry Potter knockoff hats you people wear? I bet you'll soon be raising owls too. Alohomora, you moron! Tell you even our family dog doesn't wear that kind of thing."
For reference, I agree with that opinion too.
The fact that I didn't join Samcheon guild and started going around separately with Old Man Sho from the 7th iteration had a considerable share in that damn conical hat. That fashion…… no, it wasn't even fashion. The only person who could pull off witch cosplay was Dang Seo-rin.
Naturally so.
Dang Seo-rin wasn't doing witch cosplay, she was a great magician and multi-ability awakener who truly called herself a witch.
"Undertaker. Sword Master. Hold out for 25 minutes…… no, 30 minutes by any means necessary."
South of the Han River. The cursed land where countless civilians evaporated in an instant without knowing why.
There, Old Man Sho and I, Three Thousand guild master Dang Seo-rin, and a total of 1,500 awakeners gathered. If military units and civilian volunteers were counted, there were even more.
We stood at the front line of the battlefield where almost all available forces in Korea were concentrated.
-Gr̷o̷o̷o̷o̷h̷!
The now familiar roar echoed.
In the distance, Ten-Legged's massive main body began to reveal itself. The horizon trembled. Buildings that had become ruins couldn't withstand his thrashing and collapsed like straw.
"25 minutes. Can you hold out?"
"It's difficult."
I spoke on behalf of the strategy team.
If there was a difference from previous iterations, it was that now I could add one phrase to these words.
"But it's doable."
Dang Seo-rin nodded.
"After it ends, let's go find a restaurant. Right. But what's a dish representing Seoul? Something local."
"Well. There probably isn't anything particularly famous."
"Is that so?"
Hmm, Dang Seo-rin looked at the horizon.
Countless tentacles resembling human arms were wriggling.
"From today on, it'll be octopus sashimi."
"Ah, octopus raw fish isn't bad."
"Right. All members, battle positions. Today we reclaim Seoul."
Battle commence.
Infinite Regressor telling a story.