Chapter 138: Episode 27 – Unreadable (2)

Everyone had a few words that influenced them. Lee Hyunsung had something like this. For example, when Lee Hyunsung was a undergraduate, these were the words he heard the most from his teacher.

‘Everyone, be creative!’

‘Think about what other people can’t!’

‘You must be able break out of this place!’

At the time, Lee Hyunsung had thought, ‘So how do I do that?’

The demands of society were sudden for Lee Hyunsung who had been used to going to school, eating meals and then going to sleep since childhood.

So far, he had been told how to move and now he was forced to do something he had never done before?

What was creativity? What was thinking about an idea that other people couldn’t think of? Why did it suddenly become a world where he had to do something like this? Then what had he been doing so far?

Lee Hyunsung wandered all throughout university and then he naturally joined the army.

‘I think you have a natural constitution to be a soldier. Please apply to be a senior officer.’

If he hadn’t heard the administrator’s words at that time, what would his life be like now? It was impossible to know.

There was nothing he knew about the future he hadn’t chosen. In any case, he was a soldier and he lived without regretting his choice. For a person who found society difficult, the army was relatively comfortable.

The administrator congratulated Lee Hyunsung for passing the senior officer’s test and said,

‘Ensign Lee. If you’re not sure then just follow what the manual says. Then at least people won’t hold you responsible.’

He heard these words instead of the toast. The memory was as clear as the lunch he ate a week ago. However, if he could meet the administrator again then he would ask one thing.

‘Administrator, what should I do now?’ Lee Hyunsung looked at the incoming sea of hell flames and bit his lips. ‘I have no manual for cases like this.’

He thought it would be easier for him to call out the military creed as Lee Hyunsung shouted, “Jung Heewon-ssi! Please regain your mind!  Please!”

Just as the service creed couldn’t move the hearts of the soldiers, his voice didn’t reach Jung Heewon.

Hwaruruk!

He narrowly hid behind a building as the hell flames covered the ground and the incarnations burned painfully.

“Kuaaack!”

“Help me!”

Lee Hyunsung couldn’t save any of them. He looked at the deaths happening in front of his eyes and once again realized that the ‘justice’ sleeping inside him was just a manual.

Jung Heewon’s figure was approaching through the hazy heat.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is looking at you.]

Lee Hyunsung received that silent gaze and bit his lips.

‘Dokja-ssi. What should I do?’

Should he fight? Could he stop her?

Lee Hyunsung looked at the incoming Jung Heewon and his fists shook. Lee Hyunsung had no idea what this shaking meant, why he hesitated and why he couldn’t run away from this place.

Maybe it wasn’t the world that was hard. The difficult thing was Lee Hyunsung himself.

‘Dokja-ssi, please let me know the answer!’

Despite knowing it wasn’t possible, Lee Hyunsung prayed like a reservist desperately hoping the training would be cancelled due to the weather. Then amazingly, he heard the voice he had been waiting for.

-Lee Hyunsung-ssi.

He thought it was a joke.

-Can you here me?

However, it wasn’t a joke. He looked around but there was no source for the voice. In other words, the voice was heard in his head.

“Dokja-ssi!”

Was this the enemy’s trap? Still, he was willing to believe it even if it was the enemy’s trick.

-Let’s start thinking while running away. There are two ways.

Lee Hyunsung instinctively rose and ran. It wasn’t a trap. There was only one person who would speak like this.

Jung Heewon was chasing behind him but he wasn’t afraid anymore. His breathing stabilized and he was ready to accept new commands. His muscles started to tense as his breathing became heavy.

-One method is to kill Jung Heewon.

“…It is a familiar choice.”

Kim Dokja had always been this way. It had been like this since the first time they met. He always released the safest and most brutal solution first. The party members themselves rejected it.

“The second method is to keep running away like this?”

-…That’s right.

“Then we will do it the third way.”

Kim Dokja’s solution was always the third answer. He was a person who always thought of the third situation. That was who Kim Dokja was. Thus, Lee Hyunsung believed in him.

However…

-Lee Hyunsung-ssi. This time there was no third method.

***

Of course, I had a third method. I just had to wait for the right time.

[Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 3 is activated.]

[‘1st person supporting role viewpoint’ is currently incomplete.]

Jung Heewon was using Hell Flames Ignition. It was terrible even if the opponent was bad. Well, who would be different?

“…Why are you always like this?” Lee Hyunsung cried out while breathing harshly. The 1st person viewpoint meant I could feel the heat of the hell flames.

Jung Heewon swung her sword like she intended to turn all of Seoul into a sea of fire. In fact, strictly speaking, the first and second methods I presented would have the same results.

Lee Hyunsung had to either kill Jung Heewon or flee. If he left, Jung Heewon would run out of magic power and die. In other words, one of them would die. This was the damn ‘Nirvana’ scenario.

“Kill Heewon-ssi? You came to give me that advice?”

Jung Heewon was approaching. It was different when they were allies but now I knew for sure after she became an enemy.

The Judge of Destruction, Jung Heewon was strong. Even if she didn’t use Judgement Time, she was the owner of Demon Slaying. In addition, there was Uriel’s stigma Hell Flames Ignition.

She was one of the strongest members of my party. It was almost impossible to suppress the berserk Jung Heewon without killing him.

“I can’t accept this method.”

What the hell was this courage? Lee Hyunsung started running towards Jung Heewon.

-Wait a minute, Lee Hyunsung-ssi!

“Jung Heewon-ssi! Wake up!”

Lee Hyunsung kept running towards Jung Heewon. He rushed as if he was angry for believing in me, the country and the manual. Lee Hyunsung’s Great Mountain Push and Jung Heewon’s Hell Flames Ignition clashed.

However, the palms that could push a mountain found it hard to break through the archangel’s flames. His right arm soon started to melt from the pure white light.

“Jung Heewon-ssi!”

Lee Hyunsung let out a pained and depressed cry. Lee Hyunsung lost his right arm and reached out with his left arm. I cried out urgently,

-Lee Hyunsung-ssi, if you run away then at least one of you can live.

“I don’t want to.”

-Nobody will blame you if you run away.

“I don’t want to!”

-Don’t you think of me as a manual? Then please listen to me!

“I don’t believe in such a manual!” Lee Hyunsung’s answer was unexpected. At the same time, it was Lee Hyunsung’s answer.

Everyone was contradictory. The person who followed the manual actually hated the manual more than anyone else. He was a creative person who were more subordinate to the system than anyone else. It was when he broke through this contradiction that his story would begin.

“I can’t give up, even if the results aren’t good!  It doesn’t matter if I die here!”

More matter how durable Lee Hyunsung was, it was unreasonable for him to resist Hell Flames Ignition that melted even Shin Yoosung. His left arm and then his right leg started to melt.

Nevertheless, Lee Hyunsung resisted. Like a moth towards the flames, he tried to reach Jung Heewon. He staggered as his right knee disappeared and I told him,

-I see. You did well.

Lee Hyunsung didn’t answer. I smiled bitterly.

-This is the third method.

The third method wasn’t something I could tell him. It was up to Lee Hyunsung to decide for himself. I wasn’t even convinced that it would work. Even so, I chose this path because I found the sad feelings that occurred in Lee Hyunsung’s mind the moment he saw Jung Heewon.

-You found the path yourself, without the manual.

Lee Hyunsung laughed as he collapsed in the flames. “Dokja-ssi, thank you.”

I could feel the ecstasy that occurred in Lee Hyunsung’s body. It was an emotion that humans reached when they broke through the contradiction and received an answer from death.

Perhaps this sensation was the reality that Nirvana wanted to reach. It would’ve been wonderful if Nirvana could see this. Jung Heewon was the one infected but it was Lee Hyunsung who lived in the present more than anyone else.

-Thank you. It is starting now.

This was the beginning of the story. It was up to the audience to determine the continuation of this story. There was one being watching Lee Hyunsung with more delicate eyes than anyone else.

-Master of Steel. One of the most steadfast beings in the Star Stream.

I spoke slowly.

-When are you going to act?

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is listening to your words.]

The constellation ‘Master of Steel.’ The master of Orichalcum, the hardest planet in the universe and the sponsor of Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung. I cut to the chase.

-Give your incarnation a chance.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is silent.]

-I know your fears. You must be afraid of the probability.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ has closed his eyes.]

-But when are you going to notice the nebulae around you? Are you going to be daydreaming until the end of the scenario?

Lee Hyunsung had done enough. Now it was up to his sponsor.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ acknowledges the courage of the incarnation ‘ Lee Hyunsung.’]

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ says it isn’t time yet.]

I had expected it. In fact, Lee Hyunsung was still too weak for the awakening.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ thinks that the incarnation ‘Lee Hyunsung’ won’t be able to handle his narrative.]

The narrative of steel was hard and heavy. Lee Hyunsung wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Of course, if he was alone.

-I’ll bear it with him.

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is looking at you.]

The Master of Steel seemed to be thinking of something. A moment later, a message was heard.

[The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ has nodded.]

Then sparks filled the vicinity.

[The character ‘Lee Hyunsung’ is preparing for his attribute evolution.]

[A narrative is required in order to evolve the attribute.]

[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is putting the narrative to the test.]

[The narrative ‘Proof of Steel’ has begun!]

A torrent of silver light rose from Lee Hyunsung’s body. I looked at the brilliant light and was reminded of a scene from Ways of Survival.

Who was it? A character asked Yoo Jonghyuk a question.

「 “Why is Lee Hyunsung called the Steel Sword? Ahjussi doesn’t use a sword.” 」

Lee Hyunsung never used a sword at all in the original Ways of Survival. Even so, Lee Hyunsung’s nickname was Steel Sword.

「 “Lee Hyunsung doesn’t need a sword.” 」

Steel started to grow from the melted arms and leg of Lee Hyunsung. Like scales, the steel grew to cover his whole body. Lee Hyunsung’s body changed into one big sword.

[The character ‘Lee Hyunsung’ has activated the stigma ‘Steel Transformation.’

A single sword that wouldn’t break before any trial. If Yoo Jonghyuk was here then he would’ve said it clearly.

「 “That guy, he is the sword.” 」

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