Chapter 34

EP.34 Record of Destiny (3)

 

As soon as Kang Seo-jun sent the two women away, he began his tasks.

Just enduring the night was enough to make his exhausted body scream in agony, but there was still too much to do to just fall asleep like that.

Kang Seo-jun first injected the ‘Vibrant Awakening Potion’ he purchased from the dimensional store.

– Puk!

– Shooooo! –

The effect was outstanding.

The clarity of his mind, which had been exhausted, became as sharp as if he had just awakened.

“Ugh..!”

However, as clear as his mind became, the screams of pain from every joint, muscle, and skin in his body became even deeper.

Kang Seo-jun alleviated all that pain with the ‘Vibrant Painkiller’.

– Taltaltal! –

– Glug! Glug! –

“Hoo…!”

It was quite strenuous, but for Kang Seo-jun, every day was a precious resource, so it was inevitable.

After completing the minimal preparation, he started his work in earnest.

The first thing he had to do was to read the [Joint Record of the World Hunter Union and Seongjin Group] brought by Jin Se-rin.

He needed to know where the item called ‘Record of Destiny’ came from. He needed to know its background.

[19XX, X month, X day. Discovered during the process of flattening the land to build Seongjin Group’s new headquarters. It was stored in a steel box sealed with welding, along with refined mana stones.]

[19XX, X month, X day. Started researching the purpose of the old parchment at Seongjin Research Institute.]

[19XX, X month, X day. Explored possibilities from magic catalysts to armor material, but still couldn’t find a suitable purpose.]

[19XX, X month, X day. Entered into a research agreement with the World Hunter Union. The study of the old parchment was adopted as one of the agreement projects.]

[19XX, X month, X day. Young researcher Johnson claimed to have seen his future through the parchment. Such a phenomenon had never been observed in the research process so far, so Johnson’s claim was skeptically accepted. However, two days later, another young researcher, Rose, also claimed to have seen her future through the parchment. Dr. Kwak Cheol-ong, the research director, hypothesized that the conditions of parchment use might be related to age and conducted experimental research with young researchers at the center.]

[19XX, X month, X day. The value of the parchment is immeasurable. It contains a vast amount of information and technology, such as formulas for a specific ancient language cube, undiscovered properties, future medical technology to be discovered in 5 years, the location of an unregistered dungeon to be discovered in 3 years, weaknesses of a demon to appear in 3 years, and strategies for dealing with unknown monsters. The institute plans to recruit additional personnel to pursue new technology development projects based on the information obtained through the parchment.]

[19XX, X month, X day. A mysterious commonality was found in the claims of researchers who saw the future through the parchment. The name of a black-haired Asian man named Kang Seo-jun always appeared in the phenomenon they saw. Dr. Kwak Cheol-ong named Kang Seo-jun’s code name ‘This Man’.]

The report featured a montage of This Man’s face in black and white.

The montage looked exactly like Kang Seo-jun’s face before he came to this world.

It was natural.

Kang Seo-jun had always changed the character’s name and appearance to match his own in order to enhance the immersion of the game with each episode.

Full-body plastic surgery was the standard, and gender transformation was a frequent course.

So, whether Kang Seo-jun played as Jin Se-rin, Seo Eun-ha, or any other character, it was always the appearance of a black-haired Asian man that remained the same.

‘I never thought that the plays I did to enhance immersion would result in something like this.’

It felt eerie that the seemingly thoughtless choices in the game had accumulated into the current massive outcome.

Kang Seo-jun began reading the documents again.

[19XX, X month, X day. This Man. Who is he exactly? Why is he providing us with information through this parchment? Why has he bestowed the parchment upon us? What is the ultimate story he wants to tell? We must find This Man.]

[19XX, X month, X day. Facing difficulties in investigating This Man’s identity. The appearance witnessed by researchers generally matches, but details such as his origin, occupation, characteristics, age, and even sometimes gender… all identifying information contradicts. The research team is considering the possibility that This Man is intentionally hiding his identity…]

[19XX, X month, X day. Skepticism increased regarding the project to develop new technology based on information obtained through the parchment. Mimicking technology advanced by several generations was difficult just by witnessing it a few times. Many projects were scrapped, and there was a significant reduction in research team personnel.]

[19XX, X month, X day. The research team achieved considerable success using information obtained through the parchment. However, there is a prevailing opinion that it will be difficult to obtain new information through the parchment anymore. The research team gradually shrunk, and eventually, on 19XX, X month, X day, under the agreement of the Union and Seongjin Group, the research on the parchment came to an end, and the parchment research team was completely disbanded.]

[19XX, X month, X day. This Man. Who is he really? In the end, his identity was never discovered, even until the very end. Since the research team has been disbanded, it is now impossible to investigate his identity any further. Ultimately, This Man’s identity became an eternal puzzle that no one could solve, and with time, it would become a record that no one would care about. It is deeply regrettable. This Man… Will we ever meet him again?]

The contents of the research report were finished.

Kang Seo-jun placed the report on the table and leaned back on the sofa.

– Thud! Crack! –

There was a sound of something breaking from his waist, but Kang Seo-jun ignored it.

“A mysterious man of unknown identity who provides future information through parchment… This Man…”

This was Kang Seo-jun’s identity recorded in the report.

The researchers mistakenly believed that This Man, Kang Seo-jun, buried future information for their sake.

“Hmm.”

From the content alone, it might seem as if he was trying to quickly grow Seongjin Group and the Union by providing future information.

They didn’t just see the future, they saw ‘their future’, and in that future, Kang Seo-jun was with them as a colleague.

“And Jin Se-rin and Seo Eun-ha…”

They mistakenly believed that, to save themselves and the world, they used some means to send future information to the distant past.

“Hmm… Should I clear up the misunderstanding?”

No, but saying it’s just a misunderstanding…

While contemplating for a moment, Kang Seo-jun shook his head.

“Let’s think about this later.”

There were more pressing matters to attend to right now.

“This is next.”

Kang Seo-jun lifted the old parchment.

A parchment with nothing written on it, just faded yellow.

Record of Destiny

《Item》

◆Grade:

[Rare]

◆Description:

※ A parchment with some memories from the previous round recorded. When used, you can see the memories of the previous round recorded on the parchment. It consumes mana when used.

※ When used by an NPC, the NPC can only view memories related to themselves.

He needed to figure out exactly what memories Jin Se-rin and Seo Eun-ha had seen using this.

====

***

====

“Ugh..!”

Kang Seo-jun, suppressing the discomfort in his stomach, put the parchment down.

Because using the parchment required consuming mana, and sipping mana potions like coffee during the task seemed to turn his stomach upside down.

“But I’ve checked everything…”

As expected, Seo Eun-ha had indeed seen her own bad ending route.

And the memories related to Jin Se-rin were filled with scenes that felt awkward for her to directly speak about.

From the memory of starting from the first meeting, which began with a slight disagreement.

The memory of protecting each other’s backs during operations.

The memory of blushing when they shook hands for the first time.

The memory of consoling each other at the chairman’s funeral.

The memory of a dramatic rescue when they were prepared for death.

The memory of a confession unheard during a fireworks festival.

The memory of surviving together, sharing body warmth in isolation on an icy sea.

The memory of moving into their first shared home.

The night before a challenging battle, the memory of promising each other hope and a future under the starlight.

And…

The memory of embracing Jin Se-rin, slowly dying from a demon’s curse, and weeping while climbing the Altar of Regression with her lifeless body, holding her memento in hand. It was the final fragment of the last memory.

“The fragments of memories are intricately divided.”

Actually, those memories didn’t all happen in a single episode, but bundling them up like that made it feel like watching a sad movie.

Perhaps the composition of memories is also influenced by the Luck stat. Thanks to the combination of these memories, Kang Seo-jun’s relationship with Jin Se-rin deepened much more quickly.

Every coincidence flowed in a direction favorable to Kang Seo-jun, even if he didn’t wish for it.

– Chirp chirp! –

“Sigh…”

Kang Seo-jun took a deep breath while gazing out the window. Time had quietly become a bright morning. There was still time until the afternoon, when he had a promise of physical training with Jin Se-rin.

Kang Seo-jun massaged his stiff eyes and reached for the final task.

The necklace that Seo Eun-ha had confiscated from the Mine Spy.

《Item》

▶ Obsidian Necklace of Deception

◆ Grade:

[Rare]

◆ Description:

※ A necklace that hides the user’s mana presence so that it cannot be detected.

※ This item is exclusive to [Demon].

It had no special effects, and being exclusive to Demon made it practically trash for humans. However, for Kang Seo-jun, this was the first step toward the Heavenly Demon Martial Art.

“Shall I start a family business?”

Trash could turn into valuable pieces through processing, and it could become a heirloom.

Kang Seo-jun opened the dimensional shop and purchased the materials needed for the combination.

– Thud. Thud. Thud. –

Single-use combination boxes, black bones, night flowers, dark crystals, and more… The materials, which would have taken years of effort to obtain, were gathered in an instant through the power of the dimensional shop.

Kang Seo-jun arranged the materials according to the combination formula.

What he wanted to make this time was a [Legendary]-grade accessory.

It was also an item exclusive to Demon, so he couldn’t use it himself. However, if he sold it in the shop, he could make a profit several times the invested dimensional currency.

The success rate of the combination was a mere 0.03%.

However, for Kang Seo-jun with the Luck stat reaching transcendence, such a probability was a meaningless figure.

With a substantial supply of dimensional currency, he could purchase the ‘Downtown Reconstruction Serum’.

◆ Traits:

[Scoliosis Lv. Lowest], [Reverse Joints Lv. Lowest], [Twisted Arm Lv. Lowest]

Finally, a way opened to remove more than half of the annoying physical debuffs.

This meant getting one step closer to one of the essential conditions for the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts, the Heavenly Body.

In other words…

“Today, I get one step closer to the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts.”

Kang Seo-jun closed the lid of the combination box, wearing a deep smile.