Chapter 24 – Prophet I

Chapter 24 – Prophet I

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 24 – Prophet I

1

Let’s talk about a second-year syndrome misinterpretation of a web novel otaku, a leader in nerd fashion, Oh Dokseo.

As mentioned in the previous run, the first time I met this guy was in the 555th run. Well, to be honest, we had crossed paths long before that, but it was truly in the 555th run that we formed a ‘connection’ in the true sense.

At that time, I returned to Busan Station’s waiting room as usual.

‘Bored.’

And at this time, I hadn’t even picked up the hobby of reading web novels.

Even though I considered myself a highly positive person who would probably bid well in the “[Infinite Regression Lottery Contest Most Likely to Be Positive in Life],” facing the 555th starting point made me a bit uneasy.

Wouldn’t even the most exciting theme park in the world get boring after 555 visits?

Moreover, the Busan Station waiting room was hardly an entertainment-rich place to be called a theme park. At best, you could expect some excitement akin to hearing Seo Gyu’s loud cursing.

There was one secret hidden in the waiting room, but I’ll talk about that later.

‘...Should I try some mind reading?’

This time, I decided to add a bit of intrigue.

“Mind Reading” was an ability I acquired in the 554th run. It allowed me to eavesdrop on the thoughts of beings inferior to me.

The criteria for “inferiority” were extremely vague, and the ability itself was far from omnipotent, but it was worth using just for fun.

[Jaehui Lee: My phone isn’t working, huh?]

[Uehara Shino: There are too many people. It’s hard to breathe.]

As soon as I activated Mind Reading, the thoughts of the people gathered in Busan Station’s waiting room flooded into my ears. Among them were familiar voices and relatively unfamiliar ones.

[Seo Gyu: Damn, what’s going on? This is ridiculous.]

[Park Yedam: I need to contact the manager.......]

[Lee Baek: What? Where did the others go?]

[Koyori: Ugh.]

[Jeong Sohee: Master? Master, where did you disappear to?]

[Sim Aryeon: Where is this? Who am I?]

[Kim Siwoon: Mom.]

For a moment, my head spun.

Mind Reading wasn’t something I could only use on the target I desired. The moment I activated the ability, the surface consciousness of everyone around me was transformed into language and echoed in my ears.

But I could handle it.

And the impression of using Mind Reading for the first time in Busan Station’s waiting room was.....

‘Not much to it.’

It seemed like just ordinary thoughts.

‘Right. They’re all familiar faces.’

I already had almost everything about the original members of Busan Station’s waiting room figured out. Their names, impressions, backgrounds, and even what abilities they would awaken later on.

So, there was nothing new about whatever antics they were up to or what thoughts they harbored. I had reached a point where I could tell what they were thinking just by looking at their faces, so Mind Reading was practically meaningless.

‘Guess Koyori, who I wondered about, still doesn’t stand out.’

I definitely shouldn’t get involved with that kid.

I walked in the direction farthest away from Koyori and leisurely grabbed a drink from the vending machine in the waiting room. The people around me gave me strange looks, like, ‘What’s with this relaxed attitude in such a urgent situation?’ But I didn’t care.

Later on, these drinks would become incredibly precious. From their perspective, they had just been summoned to the waiting room, but for me, it was like returning to a world that hadn’t fallen apart as much in twenty years.

“Ah, refreshing.”

The Shirley Temple I hadn’t had in a long time was delicious. It was so good that I quickly finished one can and bought another. After downing four cans in a row, people looked at me incredulously.

[Lee Jaehee:...Wow, enjoying that drink, huh?]

[Jeong Sohee: Shirley Temple. It’s sacrilegious.]

[Park Yedam: The young lad knows how to drink.]

[Sim Aryeon: Where is this? Who am I?]

[Kim Siwoon: Is there really a nerd with such a refined taste here?]

Hmm. Lee Baek really hasn’t changed since the first run.

I sensed her gaze moving and quickly turned my head. But Honey Reader stared in this direction as if she hadn’t noticed that I was already looking at her.

[Misinterpretation: There he is.]

[Misinterpretation: The protagonist of this world. Code name, Doctor.]

?

[Misinterpretation: He’s better looking than I thought... No, maybe the cover illustration was better? Hm. Is the real thing better? It’s ambiguous. Well, they’re quite similar to the cover, I guess.]

??

[Misinterpretation: But don’t be fooled by the face. So. The Doctor is a protagonist who has experienced regression several times. No blood, no tears.]

[Misinterpretation: A regressor who lives only on hatred towards monsters, typically a regressor who can’t die... Especially now, with his anger towards the world at MAX because he lost Tang Seorin to the Ten Clans in the last run.]

[Misinterpretation: He’s just insane, completely insane. If he even suspects something suspicious, he might just kill me. Let’s handle him with caution.]

???

No blood, no tears... Hatred... Anger, what?

Sorry, but who is this person?

To begin with, Tang Seorin didn’t die at the hands of the Ten Clans in the last run. The Ten Clans felt like a wall of lamentation only in the beginning, and from about run 20th, it was like a water rocket that I got a five-minute cut with.

Could it be....?

‘Could it be someone who knows me from the past?’

That’s when it happened.

[Misinterpretation: Hey, mister over there.]

“Hey, mister over there.”

Mind Reading and actual voice overlapped.

Misinterpretation pointed her index finger at me. Before I knew it, there were only about ten people left in Busan Station’s large hall, and everyone except me had gathered in one place.

“Hey, sir, come over here. That fairy made a blood fountain, and everyone puked, but at least we should gather together. Don’t you think?”

“Number 264 did nothing wrong! The seniors crossed the wrong guidelines! If anything, 264 is the unfortunate victim...”

“Ah, you’ve said enough. The adults want to talk now, so butt out.”

“Eeek.”

In the midst of the survivors, Misinterpretation confidently stood as if she had become the leader.

Her defiant stance amidst people who were all afraid of fairies left a deep impression on the survivors. In fact, Fairy 264 had simply followed instructions and had no inherent malice towards humans (excluding the bourgeoisie), so the fairy quickly became despondent.

“So? Are you coming over here, sir? What do you say?”

“....”

Misinterpretation muttered. So, basically, in her mind.

[Misinterpretation: Come on. Damn it, please come. We’ll all die without you! You lost your first love, Tang Seorin, who was your only guild leader, and the monsters are sh*t, and the world is sh*t too, but please, save us!]

Honestly, I couldn’t understand half of what this kid was saying, and I didn’t know how she came to these misconceptions in the first place.

But one thing was clear.

‘If I follow her, this run seems to be a guaranteed fun reservation, right?’

Beyond the impulse for fun, there was also another reason, the possibility of utilizing her to tackle some bizarre situation... but let’s talk about that much later.

Anyway.

I remembered my old, ancient self from a very long time ago. What expression I had, what look I gave, and what tone I used back then.

“I won’t follow you guys.”

It was something like this, right? Seems about right.

It was the first time I had acted as myself during my long regression life. It felt quite different.

“Just observing you guys.”

“Oh. Well, whatever.”

Misinterpretation chuckled as if it was nothing.

I farmed some souvenir orbs at the gift shop and then immediately read Misinterpretation’s psyche.

[Misinterpretation: Damn, is his voice really that harsh? It’s so irritating... Hmm. But escaping Busan Station’s large hall without the protagonist is almost impossible... I have to create favorable conditions by any means necessary.]

Hmm.

She was indeed an interesting fellow.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]