Beyond the Eternity

I remembered the first time Soo Jinyoung encountered Jang Hyunseok. At first, he was a king candidate that proclaimed himself as a peaceful Buddha and ran mad after taking a glimpse of Soo Jinyoung's Soul. It seemed the Soul Itself was something far beyond what the human mind could handle alone.

I looked at the slit-eyed man and asked. "So what was that about? Why did he react that violently? In addition, why did he call me a demon?"

"Haha! Sorry about that. You see, my king sometimes see certain things and mistakes it for something entirely different. Not anything he sees is accurate."

"But he saw something that made him think I was a demon?"

In response, the man nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing important.

"As I said before, this is not the first time such a misunderstanding has happened. The <Soul> holds mysteries that not even the mind can fully comprehend. You can't fully understand the existence of another person by what's shown at face value. Just like how you can't fully understand a character by reading about them."

I thought his words were rather interesting. Did he mean to say my entire understanding of Soo Jinyoung as a whole was nothing but a lie? What about that asshole Song Jaewon? Or the master of this territory, Ollerus Izzard?

More importantly...

"By the way, you never mentioned your name."

"I didn't?" The long haired man looked surprised, "Ah, silly me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Shin Joonkyung. I'm Jang Hyunseok's assistant."

He was the assistant of the Temperance. Maybe he was drawn to Jang Hyunseok because of his support Constellation. Was he one of the King candidates? Major series or Minor series?

I needed to be sure so I silently activated a skill.

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Wall has activated.]

[The Omniscient Wall has failed to read this person's information.]

[This person is not a character registered in the Story.]

...What? Not registered in the story? I see. So It was he was that bastard in disguise all along.

"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"It's nothing. I thought I saw something behind you."

"There's something behind me? Where?"

The man turned around as if looking for something behind him. What was this? Was this bastard really messing with me now?

As my hand slowly reached for my gun, another message appeared infront of my nose. This time, It was a rather strange message than the previous one.

[Enough Information has been gathered about the target.]

[Information update will commence.]

What's this?

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[Character Information]

Name: Shin Joonkyung

Age: 25

Chosen Constellation: Forgotten Swordsman

Private Attribute: 998th Apostle to Drop the Torch (???)

Exclusive Skills: Swordsmanship Lv. 3, Martial Training Lv. 4, Weapons Training Lv. 3, Reading Attritude Lv. 2, Memory Fortitude LV. 2...

Divine Protection: Sword Projection

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 20 (Currently Lv. 10), Strength Lv. 18 (Currently Lv. 10), Agility Lv. 17 (Currently Lv.

10), Magic Power Lv. 15 (Currently Lv. 10)

Description: An Incarnation with alot of potential. His only regret is that his chosen constellation was a bit lacking. Despite that, his talent as a swordsman is considerable. If he goes through harsh training, it's possible for him to become a Sword Demon.

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The message was so absurd that all my accumulated anger and resentment completely vanished in thin air. Subconsciously, the hand reaching for the gun also dropped as well.

I couldn't read his information at first because he was a reader of Song of Nightmares. But after the update, I was able to read his information.

There was only one explanation. The man who was an apostle had suddenly become a character.

No matter how I thought about It, It didn't make sense. He is a reader. Therefore, a being outside the story. So why did he become a character?

If he became a character, it should be also possible to check other people.

I looked at Lee Dokho who was oblivious to the situation and activated the same skill.

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Wall has activated.]

[The Omniscient Wall has failed to read this person's information.]

[This person is not a character registered in the Story.]

There's a difference between an updated person and an non-updated person? Wait a minute, something's not wrong somewhere.

Logically speaking, since I have been with Lee Dokho far longer than Shin Joonkyung, I should have been able to read his information by now. But that was not the case. On the other hand, I was able to read the information of Shin Joonkyung who I just met recently. Was there something I was missing here?

In the end, I didn't have enough information to come to a conclusion.

"Someone is coming!"

The doors of the waiting room opened up one by one and several people wearing different attires walked out.

I carefully observed the king candidates walking out the doors with their group members flanking them like loyal servants. They didn't seem to have suffered from any serious casualties so they must have had it easier on their end. Their clothes were still intact, and their faces held no trace of exhaustion. It's clear that they must have had it easier on their end.

"Tck."

I clicked my tongue rather distastefully. Why did that bastard have to focus on us?

In any case, I swallowed all my frustration and asked Shin Joonkyung who was standing besides me.

"Are they on the same side?"

"It doesn't matter, really. Even if they were mortal enemies or held any personal grudges, they would be forced to push it aside and focus on the main threat."

"Is that so? You know, people are stupid. If those guys met each other, they would have fought. After all, only one person can become king."

"Hehe! I guess you're right, but it seems that's not the case. Perhaps they never met each other to begin with. A different space, I suppose."

Everyone was placed in different spaces the moment they entered the territory. The one that entered first, will not be able to interact with those that entered 20s later.

The World must have arranged the game board to his advantage so he can take out the king candidates one by one.

"Oh, It seems these King candidates are rather good. On the left, we have the king candidate representing the <Strength>, Kim Eunji, then the <Magician>, Kim Yeonwoo on the middle, and lastly, we have the <Hermit>, Yoo Sookyung on the right. Wait, is that all? I thought there would be more."

Shin Joonkyung looked rather puzzled. What kind of expression would he make if I told him five main king candidates were already dead?

I decided to ignore him for the meantime and looked at the king candidates approaching this way.

The [Strength], the [Magician] and the [Hermit]. Apart from the Magician, the Strength and the Hermit were somewhat lacking when it came to fighting prowess. Although the Hermit abilities were useful for something else.

Wait, the Hermit?

Abruptly, I remembered the words of Lee Dokho before we entered the territory. That person also entered the territory as the same time as the Hermit did.

I studied the king candidate representing the [Hermit] and narrowed my eyes.

Yoo Sookyung. He looked around 17 of age and had dark circles. In all honestly it did not seem that he could fight, let alone lead a group. He looked like the type that would prefer solitude than any interaction with the outside world.

It was obvious that boy couldn't be the main power with just a single glance. Someone else was pulling the strings from the shadows.

I looked at the members of the Hermit group and spotted a cloaked figure, too peculiar to ignore, walking behind the Hermit representative.

「 The man wearing the same hood like a chunni smiled mischievously. His dirty white hair seemed to sway gently as he moved, catching the faint light with each subtle motion 」

It's him. He that manipulated the entire situation and shifted the narrative to his advantage. The true reader that had read the story from the beginning to the end. The king candidate representing the [Devil], Park Joonhyuk.

His gaze landed my way for a few seconds before he shifted his gaze somewhere else as if he was disinterested.

As I thought, since I disguised myself as Soo Jinyoung at that time, he didn't know my real Identity.

I was tempted to pull out my gun and shoot him three times in the forehead but I resisted the urge.

Showing any signs of violence now would be meaningless. Most likely, the Anti-World Alliance that's about to be formed will be shattered. More importantly, even if I killed him right here and there, It was possible that what I was seeing was just a duplicate or a puppet.

He was right infront of me yet I could literally do nothing.

"Tck! In the end, It seems I have to be a little patient."

"What? Did you say something?"

"Nothing. It looks like they're about to give a speech."

Lee Dokho who was besides me shifted his gaze forward and I did the same. The members of the Maitreya group had gathered at the middle and someone stepped out.

"Everyone, listen here!"

It was Jang Hyunseok. As the crowd slowly turned his way, he opened his mouth and continued.

"You've all gathered here because you have a single enemy in common. Maybe your motives were different from the beginning but you must have lost something because of him, isn't that right? Some of you must have even lost your kings to him."

That was why some of the people here looked lifeless.

They had come here to kill the World but had their kings taken instead and became 'Wanderers'.

"The enemy is The World. He's a terrible man that kidnapped the Sookmyung Highschool girls and forced them to do his dirty work. Such a person cannot become the King of the New Seoul. If he get his hands on the [Yellow Dragon Sword] and becomes the Master of the Holy Grail, It will be all over and we'll become the puppets of an arrogant god!"

The World has already killed five man king candidates and collected their cards. It meant he would soon obtain the Emperor Sword.

Jang Hyunseok looked at the mumbling people one by one.

"As we speak, the World is undoubtedly preparing for our arrival. He's expecting us to be divided. To fight among ourselves and pick us out one by one. Thus, we must prove him wrong and fight as one."

"It might be too late to live a righteous life. We have committed many sins already, that I know. Even so, we can still change our way of life. The first step towards that life will be preventing the birth of the worst king! So let's take the next step to the new world together!"

At the end of the speech, the crowd cheered. Some sympathized with his words while others seemed moved to tears. It was strange. In fact, the speech itself didn't have much substance but the people were moved regardless. It was as if they were revolutionaries fighting to dethrone the corrupted ruler.

I silently watched the scene alone.

「 Everything felt like a dream 」

Just a month ago, these people were going about their normal lives. Some of them would have been working at the department store, some worked at the family restaurant, some worked at the pet store while some worked as salary workers.

No one would have thought the world would be destoryed. But, In just a month, the people can now wield swords and spears, and fight for their freedom.

"March forward!"

Hundreds of survivors entered through the path leading to the Master's room at once.

「 They did not know what was waiting for them at the other side. But if they knew, perhaps they wouldn't have taken the next step 」