The Omniscient Mola Mola (1)
A short while later, we were moving toward the entrance of the "Hidden Dungeon" located in the basement level B1. I was walking in the rear with Lee Gilyoung, while Lee Ji-hye and Jung Heewon led the group. I was glancing at my smartphone as we walked.
"...Amidst a skull-splitting pain, Yoo Joonghyuk lost consciousness.
'I'm giving up on this life.'
That was Yoo Joonghyuk's eighth regression."
No way... right?
Surely things haven't gone that far yet.
...Damn it. He's only on his third regression, so why's he acting so recklessly? If he had moved as cautiously as he did in his second round, he could've stumbled through the mid-to-late scenarios just fine.
When I lifted my head, Jung Heewon was looking at me.
"Reader, what are you looking at so intently?"
"…Ah, just checking the calendar… With everything going on, I've lost all sense of the date."
Honestly, checking a calendar might be more fun than this. Sometimes I can't even believe I managed to finish reading that novel. Jung Heewon, giving me a suspicious look, turned her head toward Lee Ji-hye.
"By the way… Ji-hye, was it? You use a sword too?"
"Yes. I like swords."
"Right? Swords really are the best. There's just something satisfying about slicing."
"…You know that feeling too, unni?"
Jung Heewon smiled and glanced at Lee Ji-hye's sword. Even at a glance, it gleamed with a high-quality shine. Probably a gift from Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Your sword looks nice."
"Oh, my master gave it to me. What about yours, unni…?"
"Mine… mine's great too."
Jung Heewon glanced at her comparatively shabby horn-blade and subtly shifted it to the other side of her hip.
I didn't do anything wrong, but I felt guilty anyway.
So I picked a fight with Lee Ji-hye to distract myself.
"Hey, why do you speak formally to Heewon but casually to me?"
"Uh… well, I'm kind of weak to cool older girls."
Lee Ji-hye replied awkwardly, and Jung Heewon playfully put her in a headlock. It seems like there's some kind of unspoken bond between people who possess [Demon Slayer] abilities. Barely escaping the headlock, Lee Ji-hye asked:
"Anyway, why are you trying to save our master, mister?"
"He's a comrade."
"Don't give me that crap."
"He's useful."
"…That sounds a lot like something our master would say."
[Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is curious about your intentions.]
Now that I thought about it, not just Lee Ji-hye, but the constellations probably found my actions suspicious too. He's the kind of guy who thinks about killing me every time he gets a chance, yet here I was running to save him.
[Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' appreciates your desire to redeem a fallen comrade.]
[You have received 100 coins.]
Some of them were interpreting it a bit too generously.
But unlike the expectations of the 'Demon-like Judge of Fire'—in other words, the Archangel Uriel—the reason I was trying to save Yoo Joonghyuk was deeply personal.
It was to stop his Death Regression.
"Death Regression" sounds great in theory. It's a "regression" stigma that sends the user back to the past upon death—a truly overpowered ability befitting a protagonist.
The problem is what happens to the supporting characters when this ability is used.
"So, what happens to the world after you regress?"
At some point, after Yoo Joonghyuk had gone through more than ten regressions, a supporting character had asked him that. I can't remember who it was, but I clearly remember Yoo Joonghyuk's answer.
"...I don't know. I just choose the world where more people can survive."
It sounded noble, but the truth was: he didn't care about the worlds he left behind. In fact, the [Doomsday Law] never offered a solid theory about what happens to the world after he regresses.
Science, magic—none of it.
That was what made me anxious.
What does happen to a world after the regressor disappears?
Does it reset with them?
Or does it splinter into a new parallel timeline?
If it's the latter, that would be a relief. But if it's the former… what does that mean for me?
"Hyung?"
"Huh?"
Lee Gilyoung tugged at my sleeve and looked up at me with concern.
"I think we're here."
[You are nearing a zone outside of the scenario area. Be careful not to exit the scenario region.]
A warning message popped up. Not a problem. After all, the "Hidden Dungeon" in Chungmuro is still considered an "in-bounds" location.
We turned a corner and saw Exit 1. Next to it, the darkly flickering entrance to the dungeon loomed ominously.
[You have discovered a Hidden Dungeon!]
[This dungeon has already been discovered by someone else. You cannot obtain the First Discovery Achievement.]
[A new Hidden Scenario has arrived!]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A-
Clear Condition: Defeat the master of the Theater Dungeon.
Time Limit: None
Reward: 4000 coins
On Failure: ―
Lee Ji-hye took a startled step back.
"…What is this? A Theater Dungeon?"
Lee Gilyoung also looked shocked. Understandable—none of them had ever received a Hidden Scenario before. Even Jung Heewon spoke up.
"A movie theater turned dungeon… It's kind of romantic."
Romantic, huh. She clearly didn't know how terrifying a movie theater could be. We stepped into the theater. A familiar-looking underground multiplex lobby greeted us.
[You have entered the 'Theater Dungeon'!]
Despite our tension, the dungeon's interior looked desolate. A nine-story multiplex, from basement level 1 to the 8th floor above ground.
"Hyung, the posters are all torn up. Who would do that?"
"Who knows."
I said that, but I already knew the answer.
The key to this "Theater Dungeon" lies in those posters on the walls. Yoo Joonghyuk must've fought through each trial embedded in them, ascending floor by floor. No doubt intending to hog all the rewards for himself.
Aside from the torn posters, there was nothing particularly strange about the first basement floor. No monsters, no items. The only oddity was an elevator in the corner, its doors warped and smashed in.
Lee Ji-hye asked:
"Is this really a dungeon? Why's there nothing here?"
"There will be something upstairs."
"…Mister, do you know something?"
"A little."
"How? You're kind of suspicious. Are you on your second life or something?"
That would be your master.
Actually, he's on his third.
Then Jung Heewon chimed in.
"The reader's like a clairvoyant. He's basically the Korean Rasputin."
"…Is that true?"
Ignoring the two giggling women, I turned to head for the ground floor. Just then, Lee Gilyoung grabbed my arm. Above his head, his cockroach familiar twitched its antennae violently. Almost at the same time, Lee Ji-hye drew her sword, and I raised my hand to my lips.
"Shh. There's someone else here besides us."
As we held our breath, faint voices began to drift down.
From the floor above—likely the lobby.
At first, I thought it might be Yoo Joonghyuk, but it wasn't his voice.
"...So, you're sure? There's a ton of them here?"
"Yeah. That information cost 1000 coins, you know."
"From , right?"
"Yeah. Shady as they are, they've never been wrong."
We crept up the escalator, one step at a time. Eventually, we could see them: four men gathered in the first-floor lobby.