I'm an Infinite Regressor, But I've Got Stories to Tell-Chapter 419

Oh Dok Seo (吳讀書).

The Miko of Ten Thousand Amusements.

Also, the Miko of the Regressor.

A reader who has observed the life story of a regressor.

Also, an author who has displayed the regressor’s humanity.

“Haaa… I’m bored…”

“Isn’t there some interesting novel to read?”

“Honestly, all authors should just be locked up in a room and forced to write.”

“If they published three chapters a day, wouldn’t their income triple too? Hm. Why has no author thought of that? Are they all from liberal arts…?”

First Authority — ‘The Slowest Prophet.’

Oh Dok Seo can foresee the tragedy of a world that will begin its true destruction seven weeks from now.

That prophecy manifests in the form of a novel.

“Huh? Did I mark this one as a favorite before?”

Once Oh Dok Seo finds a novel she likes, she reads it through in one sitting, even if it means staying up all night.

However, she has a strong tendency to postpone reading works that haven’t built up enough chapters until they’ve “fattened up” properly.

“Oh. This one has a decent amount of chapters.”

Moreover, to Oh Dok Seo, a prophecy is nothing more than a story — so it is impossible for her to perceive the prophecy as a prophecy.

“Today’s daily bread, I suppose~.”

Thus, she is the [Slowest Prophet].

A blind person who acquired the prophecy faster than anyone, yet fails to recognize its precious value.

A Cassandra who foretells everything yet saves nothing — an Epimetheus who cannot help but leave Pandora’s box unopened.

“Oh?”

“…What the— This is the first time a character in a novel has the exact same name as mine. Even the surname matches? Ugh. Even the Chinese characters… are the same.”

“…”

“Oh?”

Condition cleared.

Oh Dok Seo has finished reading the prophecy.

And simultaneously, she becomes convinced that the character named ‘Oh Dok Seo’ appearing in the story is none other than herself.

May 1st.

At this point, Oh Dok Seo ranks among those who realized their own awakening earlier than anyone else — not just among prophets, but among nearly all of humankind.

“What is this… Is this… real?”

“1.6 billion? Hah, sixteen hundred million people die per day? Uh… wait! June 17th, that’s right around the corner, isn’t it?!”

“That’s impossible.”

“…”

“Everyone… dies…?”

First Authority — Unsealed.

‘The Fastest Prophet.’

“Wh–what do I do?! Shit! What am I supposed to do?! I’m just an ordinary human being!”

“Whoa. That line sounded kind of protagonist-like.”

“No, seriously! What the hell am I supposed to do?!”

“Why did that Undertaker guy dump all this responsibility on me?! …Ah. Right, to save Old Man Sho, he needed a prophet who awakened earlier than his regression point…”

“B-but still. How…?”

Second Authority — ‘Absolute Defense.’

Oh Dok Seo has a tendency to treat every event happening in this world as something occurring within a fictional story.

Even if a nuclear bomb detonates within a story, it cannot possibly radiate real humans in reality.

Therefore, Oh Dok Seo can declare any physical impact within a story to be “nullified” within her vicinity.

“…It works?”

“Wow, I’m an awakened one too! Status window!”

“Hm. No status window. Oh, right — I remember status windows are supposed to be a prank by that Outer God, Ten Thousand Amusements or something…”

But that’s all.

[Absolute Defense] didn’t last long.

At present, it barely held for about a minute. No matter how much she trained, the duration of the barrier could hardly be increased.

A frustratingly ambiguous ability.

“Wait. I’m her shaman, so shouldn’t I be able to freely access a status window too? Ah. She’s sealed inside the laptop, huh.”

“…I have to get that laptop. At this point, Ten Thousand Amusements is the safest Outer God — the only one incapable of harming humanity.”

“Where on earth—”

[Hello there?]

“It was my laptop!”

“No, wait. Come to think of it, this laptop first appeared in the tutorial dungeon, right? Then it’s probably an item belonging to someone who was summoned at Busan Station…”

“I was part of the Busan Station family too!”

[Indeed. Even at this point in time, my Shaman brat was already babbling to herself and enjoying her own little social life.]

[I suddenly want to strangle my past self — the one who called this dimwit’s ‘habit of talking to herself’ a ‘charming protagonist trait!’ and chose her as my Shaman.]

“Oh wow, the sharp-tongued, silver-haired red-eyed noble girl personality… just like in the novel.”

“Ah, but anyway— can you tell me how the later parts go? What happens next?”

[Yes.]

“Oh.”

“…”

“Hm. Naruhodo.”

“We’re screwed.”

“Yeah. I’ll need to power up first. Ah, give me a status window! Please!”

[I could, but are you sure you’re okay with that?]

“What do you mean?”

[The more you depend on my power, the more you’ll become a ‘character inside a story.’ After all, I’m an Outer God who governs fiction.]

[Your special position stems from the outrageous act of treating this world as nothing more than a novel.]

[The moment you start seeing yourself as a character within that story, your own Authority will weaken accordingly.]

“Oh…”

“Wait, hold on. My Lady, couldn’t that actually be solved somehow?”

[Somehow?]

“If I become strong enough to crush everything, and then turn this story into something that never happened, that’s all it takes.”

[…]

“Now I get why that Undertaker guy passed the final baton to me.”

“I don’t need to use strange, convoluted methods like the regressors or reincarnators to erase my aberrant nature.”

“I— and I alone— even if I become incomparably powerful at this point in time— when I swing that immense power to prevent the events of fiction from happening, I’ll lose that power right then.”

“Of course.”

“The time that unfolds in a place where nothing happens anymore— that’s no longer fiction. It’s reality.”

“Am I wrong?”

[No.]

[You’re right. For a complete novice with zero experience points, you’ve grasped it well.]

“The other shamans… the other sacrifices, the more they grew in power, the more they became corrupted by the Outer Gods. They themselves fell into monsters known as the Fallen.”

“This paradox— growing strong to defeat the aberrations, yet becoming closer to them the stronger you grow— is what drove the world into ruin.”

“Reincarnators and regressors alike.”

“So they could only reach the conclusion to seal themselves away.”

“But not me.”

“I still have time to set everything right. Only about a month, but that’s enough.”

“Until the day June 7th comes, I can grow as strong as I want— without worrying about consequences, or corruption.”

[June 17th.]

“…”

[It’s June 17th, not June 7th. You really can’t memorize numbers, can you? You’re confusing even the most important date?]

“S-shut up! Anyway!”

“…Until June 17th, I can grow stronger, without caring about side effects or backlash.”

“And then—”

[You’ll seal it so that nothing ever happens.]

“Seal…”

“Yeah.”

“This novel. The hundreds of regressions and the billions of reincarnations that supposedly took place within it.”

“I’ll seal that time.”

Second Authority — Unsealed.

‘Absolute Seal.’

“To demote the story within a story back to just a story. To connect it to reality.”

“If that’s my power, then I’ll use it.”

[…]

Third Authority — Side Story Composition.

Oh Dok Seo is, in truth, a writer with absolute authority to compose the life story of another.

Before her eyes, all humans are demoted to ‘characters.’

Thus, Oh Dok Seo can immerse herself in any iteration, any character, and act as if she has become that person.

It’s only natural for an author to immerse herself in her characters.

[Why?]

“Hm?”

[You’ve already seen this far in your prophecy, so you must know. There are no longer any obstacles in your way.]

“…”

[The Reincarnator.]

[Prometheus, who shared the fire of awakening with toothless, clawless humans so they could resist the Outer Gods, has crawled into the regressor’s unconscious and memory.]

[The Regressor.]

[He, inheriting the will of the Reincarnator, willingly made himself a mere fictional character and entrusted all of humanity to you.]

[Outer Gods like the Mastermind or Infinite Void are hardly worth consideration. You could eventually demote even them into mere fictional elements.]

[As I once did at my peak.]

“…”

[Isn’t reality worthless?]

[At least for you, you find no value in it. You’re the type who believes fiction is the truer world.]

[That’s why, my Shaman—]

[Go on. Reduce the Reincarnator and the Regressor to fictional beings.]

[And further— let the world have just enough chaos and just enough aberrations running wild. Adjust the difficulty.]

[You could become the one and only god of a new world.]

“That would mean betraying him.”

[…]

“You wouldn’t understand, you’re an aberration.”

“To entrust the achievements you’ve built up, the story you’ve woven, the domain you alone could control and decide— to another person.”

“That is what’s most sacred for a human being.”

[I don’t understand.]

“Of course you don’t. You’ve never been someone’s child, nor anyone’s parent.”

[…]

“Children can understand their parents’ stories from their own perspective.”

“Indeed, parents willingly allow their far-too-young children to judge their lives.”

“A king to his people.”

“A friend to a friend.”

“A Buddha to another Buddha.”

“Humans never judge their own stories alone. Or rather, they choose not to.”

[That’s why you humans are weak.]

“Right. But then, why is the mighty Outer God now living as a one-viewer VTuber streaming from my laptop?”

[…]

“Humans don’t give up control because they’re weak.”

“They give it up because there exists someone they cherish even more than themselves.”

“And I just happen to be the type who thinks of herself as trash.”

“So since that Undertaker trusted even someone like me with the right to decide his life, I’ll bet my life too.”

[Where are you going?]

“Yoo Ji-won.”

Third Authority — Unsealed.

‘Main Story Composition.’

“At this point, the strongest person— Leviathan— invaded this world years ago.”

[That’s right. The one chosen as the sacrifice, Yoo Ji-won, is sealing the aberration solely with the trace of humanity she feels in her longing for ‘Mr. Matiz.’]

“I need to find her first and ask for her cooperation.”

[Because she’s the strongest?]

“Yeah. And more importantly… just as you said, Yoo Ji-won is obsessed with ‘Mr. Matiz.’ If I mention that keyword, I can immediately open a sincere conversation.”

[Even with your current lack of experience, if you just click the ‘Recruit’ button, you can add her to the party, is that it?]

“Status window, and the map too, please.”

[All right.]

“First, I’ll recruit Yoo Ji-won as a companion. Next is Lee Ha-yul. She’s probably still confined somewhere in Busan as a concubine’s child— I’ll just drag her out.”

[And then?]

“The Saintess. Before June 17th, when the Great Void called ‘White Night’ occurs in Seoul— hmm? It keeps being mentioned in the text, but there are no details…”

[…]

“Anyway, before the White Night happens, the Saintess has already awakened. Slightly later than me, but still early enough. Her logical nature is emphasized, so with calm persuasion, I can convince her.”

[Next?]

“I’ll destroy Cheon Hwa and Yo Hwa’s cult.”

[Even if they split into two factions, you’re saying a makeshift hero party led by a newly awakened girl can crush the worst cult in the peninsula, capable of summoning Outer Gods?]

“Yes.”

[You think that’s possible? You’ll die.]

“If I die, send the text log of how I died to my next iteration— you will.”

[Huh? Next iteration? You’re not a regressor. You only have the attribute of a book-possessor. Once you die, it’s over.]

“Maybe.”

“—But when the Undertaker, who regressed to June 17th, revisits the Busan Station tutorial dungeon, what will he think when he doesn’t see me there?”

[…]

“If he realizes I died, the Undertaker will move to the next regression. Of course. His affection for me is genuine.”

“If the story hasn’t even started yet and Oh Dok Seo dies— that’s a situation he could never accept or forgive.”

“So I’m certain. If I die, the Regressor will definitely move to the next loop.”

[…And even if you, receiving the strategy through me in the next round, fail and die again—]

“He’ll regress again.”

[And when you inherit your experience from your past self, growing strong enough—]

“June 17th. Busan Station. Tutorial dungeon. Until I reach the starting point— the prologue.”

[You’ll essentially become no different from a regressor.]

“Exactly. Because there’s someone kind enough to keep regressing just for me.”

[Ha.]

[The Reincarnator entrusts the Regressor. The Regressor entrusts the Possessor. And the Possessor entrusts the Regressor in return.]

“Understand now, aberration? This is what humanity is.”

[If the world were full of humans like you, the Outer Gods wouldn’t have descended in the first place.]

[Fine.]

[I’d like to see how this story ends too.]

[I’ll witness your death with my own eyes, Shaman of the Worst Kind.]

“Yeah. I’ll probably only need around ten loops to get strong enough. I’ll be far beyond that nearly powerless old man.”

“With a status window, inventory, and map— I’ll fight fully equipped. Wow, this’ll be a cakewalk.”

“What was nightmare difficulty for the Reincarnator, and hard mode for the Regressor, will finally be easy mode for the Possessor— me!”

“It’s so… easy.”

[Hmph.]

[We’ll see.]

[Will it really be that easy?]

“Huh?”

And thus—

Epimetheus blossoms into Prometheus.