< Episode 11. Night of the Prophets (1) >
"The Ninth Dropout… that's a trait I've never heard of before."
"Ah, I suppose that would be the case. This is the first cycle in which we, the , have appeared."
The guy's already making excuses.
I felt a small urge to tease him a bit.
"Then something's strange. If you guys really received a 'revelation,' why are you called a 'Dropout' instead of a 'Revelator'? What does that name even mean?"
"Th-that… perhaps the Book of Revelations… no, the Book of Revelations…"
Lee Sung-guk stammered. He was clearly trying hard not to trigger [Lie Detection], which was kind of admirable. I wondered just how honest he would be. Closing his eyes tightly, he continued.
"I… I think I stopped reading the Book of Revelations… maybe out of order!"
"Stopped reading? Why did you stop reading?"
"The contents of the Book of Revelations are… extremely difficult, vast, and profound…"
"So you stopped at the ninth reading, is that it?"
"Yes…"
"…That hardly seems like it would help me much."
"N-No! I can definitely be of help!"
Flustered, Lee Sung-guk continued rambling, nervously switching his smartphone on and off.
"Why do you keep fiddling with your phone?"
"I-I'm sorry… I'm addicted to my smartphone…"
No doubt he planned to seek advice from the other Dropouts.
But I wouldn't allow that.
"You have internet access, I saw earlier, right?"
"Y-yes… I'm using the abilities of a reclusive hermit…"
As Lee Sung-guk spoke, I cast a glance toward Han Dong-hoon.
The boy under hypnosis was busy picking at his nails with indifferent eyes.
The 'Reclusive Shadow King,' a master of information manipulation.
I couldn't allow this boy to remain under the .
If all the were intervening in the story like this, the original plot would be ruined, and all my plans would collapse.
Before everything goes wrong, I must stop them.
"Do the other also have the 'Dropout' trait?"
"…Yes."
"How many of them are there in total?"
"That is…"
Lee Sung-guk hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"From what we know, there are roughly forty-eight."
Forty-eight?
Fewer than I had thought.
Considering that the first episode of Extermination Law had around 1,200 views and the tenth episode around 120, I expected at least a hundred.
Lee Sung-guk seemed to read my curiosity and continued.
"As far as I know, there were originally more , but most likely they died before passing the first scenario."
"They knew the future and still died?"
"Well… we did receive revelations, but we only recently realized that they were the 'true' revelations."
Now it made sense.
Probably, when the scenario began, few readers thought that the novel serialized ten years ago had become reality. Their memories were likely already hazy.
Thinking that way, it was strange that Lee Sung-guk had survived.
Moreover, being called the 'Ninth Dropout,' he was likely a reader who left very early in the story. How on earth did he survive?
"I was also lucky to survive. If another nearby hadn't been there, I would have died immediately."
Another had been in the same place?
"Th-then—"
As Lee Sung-guk tried to continue, a small tremor shook the ground.
A vibration strong enough to be felt despite the [Echo Barrier].
Both I and Lee Sung-guk jumped out of the tent simultaneously.
Thud!
At first, I thought a sub-scenario had triggered, but that wasn't the case. At the epicenter stood two people, growling at each other. A man and a woman, facing each other. One was a man I didn't recognize, and the other was…
"Not even a supporting character… dares to defy me?"
"What the hell are you saying, you damn bastard?"
…As I expected, it was Jung Hee-won.
"What? 'Damn…'? That damn… woman?"
The man drew a huge ringed sword from his back. By mere estimation, his overall abilities looked respectable—but that wasn't nearly enough.
Jung Hee-won's movements already surpassed those of her peers with equivalent stats.
Her blade easily evaded the man's attack.
[Jung Hee-won activated 'Mikazuki Munechika's' special option, 'Footsteps of the Reaper'…]
"Jung Hee-won!"
Just before the man's neck could be cut, Jung Hee-won's blade stopped. Fine hair had sprouted on the man's neck, his eyes wide with shock.
The speed difference was absolutely enormous. If I hadn't intervened, the man would have died on the spot.
Startled, Lee Sung-guk ran forward.
"Jung Min-seop! What are you doing right now?"
Seeing Lee Sung-guk's flustered expression, I realized something too.
[Exclusive Skill Activated: "Character Index"]
And the message I expected appeared.
[Information for this character cannot be accessed through "Character Index."]
[This character is not registered in the "Character Index."]
I see.
That guy is also a .
A short while later, another kneeled in front of me alongside Lee Sung-guk.
"I'm sorry, my friend didn't know anything and just—hey, you apologize too!"
Only then did the man with the huge ringed sword next to them bow his head toward me.
"…I apologize."
He seemed to have a fair amount of pride; despite his words, there was still a trace of arrogance on his face. I looked at Jung Hee-won and said:
"Jung Hee-won, I told you not to act recklessly."
"That bastard started it first—!"
"Jung Hee-won!"
For the first time, Jung Hee-won looked genuinely surprised.
"…I apologize, Yoo Jung-hyuk."
As she bowed and turned away, Lee Hyun-sung followed her, looking uncertain. I knew she wasn't the type to aim a blade at someone without reason.
But acting recklessly in a situation like this would be dangerous.
The man with the ringed sword looked at me and asked:
"You are Yoo Jung-hyuk?"
"Yes. Are you also a ?"
"…Yes."
His expression was somewhat complicated. He glanced at me, then at the retreating Jung Hee-won and Lee Hyun-sung, and finally spoke to Lee Sung-guk.
"I… Yoo Jung-hyuk, I apologize, but I need to step out for a moment. Sung-guk, come talk to me for a bit."
As he left the tent, Lee Sung-guk hurriedly bowed toward me.
"I won't take long."
"Yes, sir!"
The original Yoo Jung-hyuk probably wouldn't have said it that way.
But there was a reason I allowed them.
As soon as Lee Sung-guk went outside and his presence grew distant, I immediately called Bi-hyung.
"Hey, Bi-hyung."
[Why? It's already interesting enough…]
"Enhanced Hearing, 2,000 coins."
[….]
Bi-hyung seemed to have adapted by now; in less than three seconds, he displayed the ad and produced the item.
[2,000 coins have been spent.]
[Exclusive Skill Acquired: "Enhanced Hearing."]
Bi-hyung muttered as he handed it over.
[Hey, be careful from the fourth scenario. For these wide-area scenarios, it gradually comes under the jurisdiction of mid-level goblins…]
I ignored Bi-hyung and immediately used the skill.
[Exclusive Skill Activated: "Enhanced Hearing Lv.1"]
I moved outside the tent, which had [Echo Barrier] in place.
Then, voices began to reach me.
For something they were trying to hide, they weren't very far away.
"Hey, doesn't something seem off to you?"
"What?"
"Do you think that's a handsome face?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden…"
"The author said Yoo Jung-hyuk was handsome."
That guy…?
Fortunately, Lee Sung-guk defended me.
"Every author has different tastes… Yoo Jung-hyuk is definitely him. Even the nasty personality matches."
"You… what do you know, you're just the 'Ninth'…"
"I…! You said it yourself—you haven't read it in so long that you don't remember exactly!"
"But with the 'Memory Privilege,' I remember some scenes clearly. You, even with a privilege, can only recall the prologue. Without me, you wouldn't even survive…"
Their bickering went on for a while, and their voices grew closer.
"No matter how I look at it, it's strange. Lee Hyun-sung is one thing, but that weird girl… who is she? If I remember correctly, there was no girl like that in the third cycle."
"Then check it. See if it's really Yoo Jung-hyuk or not."
"…But what if it really is him?"
"Follow the plan. If we can get Yoo Jung-hyuk here, we can hit the readers who've read past episode 50 properly."
This… valuable information was coming in fast and easy.
The very people who, in the comments, had hurled every insult at the protagonist for being a weak fool were now so sloppy when it was their own situation.
This is human nature.
Before I knew it, I saw Lee Sung-guk and the man with the ringed sword approaching closer.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting. Please, let's go inside."
We entered the tent again.
"Yoo Jung-hyuk, I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Jung Min-seop."
The man with the ringed sword forced a smile and bowed his head.
Seeing him again, despite being immediately subdued by Jung Hee-won, he possessed some quite useful items. In particular, the [Fugitive's Mask] around his neck was an extremely handy item that allowed him to freely alter his face and appearance.
I went straight to the point.
"So, which number 'Dropout' are you?"
For a moment, Jung Min-seop glared at Lee Sung-guk, as if scolding him for revealing that detail.
"…I am the 1,089th Dropout."
The 1,089th, huh. Considering that the first episode had around 1,200 views and the tenth had around 120, he was still an early Dropout.
The one who saved Lee Sung-guk in the first scenario must have been this guy.
"As a Prophet who has read the Book of Revelations, it is the greatest honor of my life to meet you, Yoo Jung-hyuk. However… if I may, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Questions? What kind of questions?"
"About… you, Yoo Jung-hyuk…"
"So you're doubting whether I'm the real Yoo Jung-hyuk?"
"…N-no, it's not that."
Under my intense gaze, his face flushed red.
"Ask."
"Pardon?"
"I said, ask."
Flustered, Jung Min-seop nodded.
"Then… I apologize in advance for my impertinence."
If I wanted to deceive these guys properly, there were a few points I needed to make perfectly clear.
"As far as I know, Yoo Jung-hyuk from the third cycle had 'Delusional Demon Kim Nam-woon' as a companion. But today, I noticed that instead of Kim Nam-woon, a strange woman was with you."
"…."
"Judging by the sword, I thought it might be Lee Ji-hye, but her face doesn't look like a teenager at all. I also overheard you calling her by another name earlier."
Impressive observation and memory skills.
As Jung Min-seop pointed out, this world had already diverged from the 'third cycle' that both I and they knew.
So what I needed to do now was to reshape this changed world as much as possible to suit my own plans.
"If you're asking why I'm not traveling with Delusional Demon, the answer is simple: in this cycle, Delusional Demon does not exist."
"Eh…? Doesn't exist? Did… did he die?"
"Yes."
Their faces flushed with confusion, as if they couldn't believe it. Jung Min-seop asked, incredulous:
"No… how… who on earth killed Kim Nam-woon?"
"Delusional Demon Kim Nam-woon…"
Watching the
"He died… at the hands of a Prophet like you."