Chapter 77 - The Promotion Seeker I

1

Speaking of wishes, I’m actually closer to the one receiving them than the one making them.

[Time Seal].

My unique awakened ability, and the reason Undertaker became my firmly established alias. An ability that traps someone in “the happiest day of their life,” allowing them to repeat that day forever.

["Undertaker, it’s too much. I want to let go of my life now."]

["Please, Mr. Undertaker."]

["I miss my family. Back when the world was still intact, with my family... Please."]

["No one in reality will remember me anymore? I don’t care. This shit... This reality, anyway."]

Although they repeat a single day forever, the people subjected to [Time Seal] never actually notice that fact. Even if they happen to realize it, like the soccer player Kim Jucheol from an earlier episode, it isn’t a problem. They soon forget again.

All they have to do is get an all-access ticket to the dream amusement park I, Undertaker, have prepared and play all day long.

For humanity in this utterly wrecked end-of-the-world era, I, Undertaker, am essentially the final legally sanctioned sleeping pill (contains narcotics).

Naturally, more than a few people are waiting in line for an unlimited pass to this amusement park. Today, I think I’ll introduce the most deranged psychopath in that queue.

2

"Deputy Guild Leader."

"Hm?"

"My life is unbearably painful."

Silvery hair slipped softly down across from me at the drinking table.

It really was beautiful hair. Too white to call gray, too lustrous to call white. Silver was the only way to describe it.

When awakened first discover their abilities, their hair automatically changes to a random color. The person in front of me had pulled an SR on a single gacha roll. (For reference, mine is normal-rarity black.)

"Honestly, I can’t keep enduring this sober anymore. I just want to let everything go and end it."

"..."

Yu Jiwon.

There’s a person by that name.

In fact, the name Yu Jiwon has already appeared several times in my stories. I don’t know whether any of you readers remember, but this was the first appearance.

["Deputy Guild Leader. Do you have a moment? A visitor has come to see you."]

["A visitor? Who?"]

["Yes, the name is... Emib... Schopenhauer? Apparently, he’s German."]

The day I first met Old Man Scho.

The very first person to notify me, at that historic moment, that some German old fart had come calling was none other than Yu Jiwon, the SSS-class beauty of hair. My secretary and adjutant.

Yes. Secretary and adjutant. Long ago, when I was still Dang Seorin’s lackey in Three Thousand Worlds, Yu Jiwon was my lackey. That made Jiwon the lackey’s lackey of our Supreme Leader, the guild leader—a fairly high rank in its own right.

Let me introduce the secret to how this one shot straight into the heart of power, our inner circle.

It was during my fifth run. One day, Yu Jiwon said this to me.

"Deputy Guild Leader, do you happen to like Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

"What? Don’t tell me you do too?"

"Yes, sir. I became a fan as a child through Yokoyama’s sixty-volume Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

My eyes flew open. Now those were solid foundations.

The expressionless, cool-and-chic silver-haired awakened recited steadily, moving nothing but those lips.

"Afterward, I explored the versions by Go Uyeong, Hwang Seokyeong, Lee Munyeol, and Jang Jeongil. I briefly fell into the demonic manual An Analysis of the Three Kingdoms and went through a dark chapter of my life. Then, having become someone whom novels alone could no longer satisfy, I went through Three Kingdoms Combat and properly embarked on the historical Records of the Three Kingdoms."

"Unbelievable."

My mind went hazy. It was a drug-like haze.

Was this how a martial-world elder felt upon encountering a promising young talent?

Unable to hide the tremor in my voice, I asked a question to test whether this truly was the junior who would carry on my legacy.

"Koei...? Or Total War: Three Kingdoms...?"

"Hmm."

As people exchanging Zen riddles often do, Yu Jiwon held that chin in contemplation. At last, Jiwon briskly pushed up those glasses.

"My rational mind calls for Total War: Three Kingdoms, but my young heart cries out for Koei. And I believe the soul resides in the heart rather than the mind."

"... Your favorite installments?"

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms III, V, and XI."

"Gasp...!"

I could only bow before my successor’s noble, flawless integrity. From that moment on, Yu Jiwon was immediately selected as my close aide.

Of course, one final hurdle remained.

"Well, look at you two. What a load of bullshit."

In place of democracy, which had fallen out of fashion worldwide, Three Thousand Worlds espoused absolute monarchy. Naturally, personnel decisions were the guild leader’s exclusive prerogative.

Her Excellency Dang Seorin, our Supreme Leader and Great Witch, snorted and glared at Yu Jiwon and me in turn.

"Hire someone as the deputy guild leader’s adjutant on the spot just for being a Three Kingdoms geek? Oh, this guild’s going to run just wonderfully."

"Coming from a witch geek and a train enthusiast..."

"Hm? What was that, Deputy Guild Leader?"

"Nothing at all."

"I understand you like Jiwon, but you can’t just promote guild members willy-nilly without procedures or rules. Honestly, you know better. What’s gotten into you? Would Jiwon even feel comfortable getting ahead like this? Ugh, the disapproving looks from fellow recruits would strip the skin right off that back."

"Forgive my presumption, Your Excellency the Great Witch. May I say a word?" Yu Jiwon asked.

As I’ve described several times, Yu Jiwon wore an expressionless mask all year round and spoke with measured, precise discipline. Jiwon possessed the talent to make any bullshit sound plausible once it had passed over that tongue and been launched out through those lips.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I was not recommended for the position of the deputy guild leader’s adjutant merely because I possess knowledge of the Three Kingdoms, Your Excellency the Great Witch. I have a variety of other uses."

"What, your awakened ability? That minimap thing? I know about that. I think highly of you too. But as I keep saying, an organization has procedures and rules..."

"I majored in Latin, and I can write freely in Latin. Naturally, I can translate song lyrics into Latin as well."

"Promoted."

Yu Jiwon, appointed to the leadership!

3

Of course, Yu Jiwon’s knowledge of the Three Kingdoms and proficiency in Latin were what earned that promotion into the inner circle. But that absolutely did not mean Jiwon was incompetent as an awakened.

Quite the opposite.

"Jiwon."

"Yes, Deputy Guild Leader."

"I think it’s about time to start the operation. Turn on your minimap."

"Understood."

Minimap.

That was Yu Jiwon’s awakened ability. Any Korean who once sold their soul to the national pastime called StarCraft would understand what sort of ability “Minimap” was from that simple, three-syllable Korean name alone.

FWIP

Yu Jiwon spread a map across the operations table. Scale: 1:50,000. On that ordinary printed paper map, Jiwon placed the chess pieces prepared in advance.

Amazingly, the chess pieces began moving on their own.

"Deputy Guild Leader. As expected, the enemy is gathering in Dong-gu. I read this as a plan to lie concealed there, then use boats to strike our rear."

"Hmm."

The seemingly ordinary chess pieces bore red index-label stickers with names like “Kim Seongu” and “Park Hyeonmo.” All were names of the enemy leadership we were facing.

The chess pieces reproduced the enemies’ locations and destinations on the map, mimicking every movement. And it wasn’t just the enemy.

♝ ♛

Yu Jiwon Dang Seorin

The bishop labeled “Yu Jiwon” and the queen marked “Dang Seorin” also displayed their exact positions on the map.

Dang Seorin marveled.

"It really feels like fighting with the minimap on. Isn’t this ability completely broken? Guild wars have become so easy since Jiwon joined Three Thousand Worlds."

"You flatter me, Your Excellency the Great Witch."

Yu Jiwon, whose workplace social skills were maxed out, bowed at the perfect angle—neither overly exaggerated nor insolently shallow.

"My ability has clear limitations. Without Your Excellency’s leadership, how could even my ability have been of any use?"

"Oh, that’s too far. Rein it in, dear. Before I start wanting to sew your fucking mouth shut and kill you."

"Yes, ma’am."

Yu Jiwon was merely trying out humility on top of all the ass-kissing, but “Minimap” did have a few actual weaknesses.

1. Minimap can only display targets whom Yu Jiwon has personally met and whose names Jiwon knows.

For example, Jiwon cannot display the Saintess’s location. Not only has Jiwon never met her, Jiwon doesn’t know her name either.

2. Minimap only applies to cities in which Yu Jiwon has personally “set foot.”

For example, the fifth-run Yu Jiwon had never been to Gyeongju in an entire lifetime. This despite being a cycling enthusiast whose hobby was cross-country rides, traveling not just around Korea but even to Japan.

So no matter how often Jiwon opened [Minimap], a target who fled to Gyeongju could not be tracked. In such cases, the chess piece would move partway, then topple limply once it passed beyond the map’s boundaries.

“Setting foot in a city” might sound a little vague, but it had a surprisingly clear criterion: setting foot in a convenience store in that city.

Curiously, visiting one of the city’s convenience stores and either buying something or staying for at least a minute made that city count as a place Jiwon had “set foot.”

That meant cities whose convenience stores had been obliterated without a trace could never be “visited.” In New York, for instance, which had been laid waste by the arrival of an Ocean-class anomaly, there was no way to find a convenience store.

Meaning?

"Guild Leader. I’ll take Jiwon with me to regular meetings with various guild leaders and travel around the country a bit."

"Yes. Please do."

I dragged Yu Jiwon all over the country under the pretext of having a secretary, diligently making Jiwon become familiar with people’s faces.

As a result, the “vast network of contacts” Jiwon built through me was projected in its entirety onto a nationwide map of the Korean Peninsula.

"Magnificent."

I looked down at the enormous map and popped the cap off a beer bottle.

Influential guild leaders in every city. People who, even if not on the level of guild leaders, possessed special abilities. Anyone with even the slightest potential to influence where power lay on the Korean Peninsula.

The locations of every influential figure were being displayed in real time.

"Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Deputy Guild Leader."

"Not at all. You lucked into a good skill. And you chose the right major."

"Honestly, I never imagined my Latin major would shine brighter after the world ended. When civilization was still intact, my first concern was whether I’d starve."

"Fortune has a way of turning, doesn’t it?"

I slowly poured beer for Yu Jiwon, who respectfully held out those arms. We raised our glasses to celebrate completing the “national map.”

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

CLINK

The glasses rang out beautifully.

With Dang Seorin’s leadership, my support, and Yu Jiwon’s overwhelming intelligence network, Three Thousand Worlds went from victory to victory.

And the invincible trio lived happily ever after... I’d love for the credits to roll there, but as you all know, this story is rather far from a happy ending.

Not long after we ascended to the seat of power on the Korean Peninsula, the war situation grew steadily bleaker.

In runs without Noh Doha, the cities became isolated and destroyed themselves. In runs without the Sword Marquis, food quickly ran out. In runs without Seo Gyu, the awakened lost the very network through which they exchanged news. In runs without Old Man Scho, we lacked the strength to break through the anomalies’ overwhelming numbers.

Even we, the leadership of Three Thousand Worlds, were no exception. No, in some respects, perhaps we had it worse.

Dang Seorin was that rare species supposedly harder to find in an absolute monarchy than a legendary Pokémon: a “good monarch.”

The leadership had to set an example on the front lines, without exception. If even a single guild member went hungry, the leaders had to go hungry too.

Dang Seorin endured it. I endured it well too.

Yu Jiwon struggled to endure it.

For someone whose character concept was expressionless, silver-haired cool chic, but whose heart bore the words “POWER” and “ADVANCEMENT” in formal calligraphy, it was a truly wretched situation.

The even crueler truth was that Three Thousand Worlds was still the best-off organization on the Korean Peninsula.

Caught between a nature that could only be satisfied by seizing power and getting ahead wherever she was, and an era that had absolutely no intention of satisfying that nature, Yu Jiwon agonized, tormented herself, and despaired.

Had she been guaranteed advancement by betraying Dang Seorin and joining another guild, she might well have followed the shining example of Yi Wanyong, prime minister of the Great Korean Empire.

Indeed, Yu Jiwon was full of intentions to carry on her predecessor’s legacy.

"Deputy Guild Leader."

"Yes?"

"Could you perhaps find me passage on a ship to Japan?"

I didn’t bother lecturing her with, “Why, planning to run away to Japan? Aren’t you ashamed, being the deputy guild leader’s personal adjutant and all?”

Instead, I sipped my coffee. By then, the rose-colored glasses had begun to come off, and I had gained a fair understanding of Yu Jiwon’s true nature.

"I could find one if I tried. But you’d only be getting a one-way ticket."

"What do you mean?"

"Until recently, Japanese ships still came over to Busan now and then, right? They vanished completely three months ago. What do you think that means?"

"..."

We founded a guild alliance and fought bloody battles with anomalies across the country. Throughout that war against extinction, with humanity’s survival at stake, Yu Jiwon accompanied me everywhere as my direct subordinate.

"Deputy Guild Leader, what about China...?"

"Putting together what the constellation told me last time, the Shandong Peninsula, at least, is fucked."

"..."

"Besides, you’ve cycled around Korea and Japan plenty, so [Minimap] works there, but you said you’ve never been to China. That’d be practically the same as sealing your skill. Would you be okay with that?"

"..."

Exactly. Even betrayal requires somewhere willing to take you in, and even escape requires a paradise to flee to.

The times were turning her into a loyal retainer for the ages.

As often happens to talented people who roll badly in the gacha and wind up born in the wrong era, Yu Jiwon finally admitted that her desires would never be fulfilled.

She had nowhere to go. Where could she possibly go? The whole world had gone completely to shit.

No.

Actually, there was exactly one final place left to escape to.

"Deputy Guild Leader."

"Oh, for fuck’s sake. Hey! Adjutant Yu! What, are you scared? Let’s just die together, you little shit. Huh? What’s so special about life? We’re all destined to croak before long anyway..."

"Please kill me."

I turned my head.

My expressionless personal adjutant stood there, staring straight at me.

"Please conduct my funeral. With your ability, Deputy Guild Leader. I beg you."

"..."

I gave a low, thoughtful hum.

Countless people had asked me for a funeral... that is, a “Time Seal.”

Yes. Some of them had been personally precious to me.

In short, I was a professional undertaker. I had already experienced stuffing someone personally close to me, like Yu Jiwon, into a coffin for eternity several times.

And I also knew that when the request for a funeral came from someone with whom I’d witnessed every good and ugly side of life, I could offer a slightly more detailed consultation than usual.

To summarize that consultation in one line:

["Actually, I’m a regressor, and when the wheel of time rolls into the next run, the world gets a little better. Do you still really want to be shoved into a coffin?"]

Yu Jiwon was shocked to hear my secret. Her psychological shock lasted precisely six hours.

Before even a day had passed, my silver-haired personal adjutant came to see me again.

"Your Excellency Deputy Guild Leader. Did you not say that this is your fifth run?"

"..."

As you can probably tell from the way “Your Excellency” was tacked onto my title the instant she learned I was a regressor, this little shit really was something else.

"I did."

"Yes. Then by ordinary reasoning, wouldn’t this world hold a little more hope in the second run than the first, the fifth than the fourth, and the sixth than the fifth?"

"... I suppose?"

The silver-haired lunatic nodded with an infinitely solemn expression.

Then she began reciting lines I had never heard once in my entire life as a regressor.

"Your Excellency. In that case, I judge that even if I am to be subjected to Time Seal, having it done now, in the fifth run, would represent an extremely substantial loss."

?