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Chapter 151

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Strategist III

3

This world is not a game.

There’s no such thing as progressing through a scenario like a game, where mid-bosses, final bosses, and the hidden mastermind all conveniently show up one after another.

The monsters must have been greatly inspired by the Joseon Dynasty’s King Seonjo war genius.

When the daimyo born in Japan, the land of classic RPGs, bragged, “Yoshi! Cleared the boss stage in Hanyang!” “Wow, that no-hit clear at Tan-geumdae was amazing, wasn’t it?” “Successfully speedran the Imjin War!”—King Seonjo coldly reminded them that the world was not a JRPG.

Retreat. Hide. Wait.

Indeed, why foolishly reveal yourself in front of the enemy? If you just stay hidden until the end, you can even erase the possibility of defeat.

The monsters also don’t flaunt their power needlessly.

Especially if they are an outer god, it’s extremely rare for them to show their true face before insignificant humans.

Just look at Endless Hell.

Endless Hell, coiled up on the 4th basement floor of Baekhwa High School, had set up a barrier that made it impossible to approach through conventional means, and tried to rule the world by dispatching only “colonial army tutorial fairies.”

And yet, Endless Hell was merely the weakest among the outer gods. [The Admin of All-Play] took it even further.

“This guy is essentially the stealthiest of the stealthy.”

I said to Oh Dokseo.

“Status windows, experience point systems, damage indicators, leveling up, gaming communities. It’s only after these systems have completely infected Earth, and even then, only after hundreds of years, at the moment of ‘server shutdown,’ that it finally shows its face.”

“Wow, that’s seriously tough…”

It was midnight. We had paused our speedrun livestream for a short break to regroup.

[......]

Oh, by the way, while Oh Dokseo and I were talking, the Saintess was still hiding nearby.

An awkward atmosphere hung between us.

Of course, it was expected. After taking the "Hate Pill" drug, I felt a strong dislike for Oh Dokseo, and Oh Dokseo felt the same toward me.

At best, Oh Dokseo probably only felt a slight distaste. After all, there were few events that could have built a liking for me in the first place.

But for me, it was different.

‘…I feel murderous intent.’

I wanted to kill her. I wanted to tear her limb from limb. I wanted to annihilate her existence.

My hand twitched.

Just watching Oh Dokseo yawn and stretch her neck made me want to draw my staff-sword and slice her in half.

Even without trying, dozens of methods to cripple Oh Dokseo, who claimed to be a book-possessing person, came to mind.

It was the result of the goodwill I had shown her suddenly turning into hatred.

‘Is this the feeling that the Tang Seorin or the Yohwa had toward me in the 590th turn?’

I suddenly felt sorry for what I had done to them.

But I could endure it. No matter how much the “Hate Pill” drug manipulated my emotions, it couldn’t distort my memories.

I remembered clearly what kind of kid Oh Dokseo was. Hundreds of years of memories were standing firm within me like a fortress.

Thus, I buried my endless murderous intent toward Oh Dokseo with my memories.

“…Doctor Jang, are you okay?”

“Hmm.”

“You seem to be struggling with something.”

I flinched.

Despite my best efforts to contain my emotions, a tiny shard of murderous intent must have leaked out.

Even that was enough to make Oh Dokseo shrink back and watch me cautiously.

“Don’t worry. Anyway, if we don’t take any action, the status window monster will appear between the 5th and 6th years.”

“Huh? Wait, Doctor Jang. If it’s already been 5 years, isn’t that too late for a speedrun?”

“Exactly. We need to bring the logout game to the surface ourselves. That’s why I brought you to Japan.”

“……?”

After getting enough rest, we resumed our speedrun broadcast the next day.

[All outer god-level monsters have their own territories.]

[Among them, ‘The Admin of All-Play’ influences games and creative works in general.]

[This is evident just by looking at the monsters under ‘The Admin of All-Play’: Hero Syndrome, Salvation Narrative Syndrome, Reincarnation Truck, Chekhov’s Gun. They are all related to creative works.]

“Heh.”

Oh Dokseo mumbled as she tied her shoelaces.

“So that’s why we’re doing this as a speedrun broadcast? Because ‘broadcasting’ is a form of creativity too?”

[Correct.]

As usual, the Saintess conveyed my words to Oh Dokseo.

[The more we become part of a creative work, and the stronger we become, the more likely it is that ‘The Admin of All-Play’ will appear before us.]

“Aha- okay, okay. I get it.”

[It’s a relief that you understand. Now, let’s proceed to transform into magical girls.]

“……?”

I guided Oh Dokseo towards the Noto Peninsula in Japan. The headquarters of the Magical Girl Association was located there.

As she naturally followed the navigation, Oh Dokseo suddenly hit the brakes.

“Wait, hold on! Magical girls? Why do I have to become a magical girl? Aren’t they all crazy?”

[Because magical girls—essentially, the Awakened Ones of Japan—draw their power from ‘creative works,’ making them a very typical profession.]

Indeed.

Perhaps it was partly by coincidence, but in a way, all of the Awakened Ones of the Japanese archipelago were akin to worshipers of [The Admin of All-Play].

Magical girls always fought against evil. Except for a few evil works, magical girls always won.

By relying on these "clichés" of magical girl stories, the Awakened Ones of the Japanese archipelago fought against the monsters that devoured the world.

I cherished comrades like Manyo Neko.

However, if I were to evaluate them objectively from the perspective of the 593rd turn――they had, in order to fight against monsters, become monsters themselves under the name of ‘magical girls.’

It was a typical case of corruption.

[But not all corruption is bad.]

In a speedrun, you have to use everything at your disposal.

[The stronger the innate power of the magical girls, the more closely they are connected to the outer gods. In other words, they can significantly advance the date of ‘The Admin of All-Play’ appearance.]

“Ah…”

[Oh Dokseo. You’ve already used the creative work The Hamel Drift and accepted the cliché of Hate Pill. Moreover, you’ve begun to live according to the creative format of a Speedrun Broadcast]

“……”

[Your entire existence is becoming saturated with creative works. There’s no one more suitable than you to be a shrine maiden for The Admin of All-Play. If you join the association as an honorary member and become a magical girl, even more so.]

Of course, the Magical Girl Association was an extremely exclusive group.

In Oh Dokseo’s case, with her current condition where she was instantly disliked by others, joining the association would have been even more challenging.

However, as had been revealed a few times already, the strategy to register with the association was already established.

Three days later.

“…Thank you. I never thought an Awakened One from Korea would be the one to take down Inunaki Tunnel. As the representative of the association, I express my gratitude.”

The high priestess, the leader of the Magical Girl Association, bowed her head politely.

Oh Dokseo, despite being a hardcore otaku, wasn\'t very good at speaking Japanese. So the Saintess had to run a real-time translator for her.

"But..."

The High Priestess subtly lifted her head.

"Could I ask why you\'re covered in bird droppings?"

It was because the "Law of Luck Conversion" had started to bring us small misfortunes. Not just Oh Dokseo, but both the Saintess and I were also showered with bird droppings.

Oh Dokseo grimaced.

"Ah, it\'s fine. Please don\'t mind it..."

"Hmm, alright."

The High Priestess unfolded her fan.

"But it\'s really surprising that you want to join our association. We\'re a small organization that hasn\'t been around for long. Is it okay to ask why a foreigner from a distant land is interested in us?"

"Ah, well. It\'s because... I sensed potential in you all. Friends! Tomodachi! Friendship deepens when you go through tough times together!"

"..."

"Ugh..."

The High Priestess cast a suspicious glance from behind her fan.

From the very first impression, there was something unpleasant about Oh Dokseo. Even though it was the end of the world, she entered the guest room covered in bird droppings.

It must have triggered a primal aversion.

But Oh Dokseo had successfully carried out my orders to subjugate the Inunaki Tunnel.

If the Magical Girl Association accepted Oh Dokseo, they could claim that achievement as their own.

"Hmm. We\'re not yet ready to allow foreigners to join. It would be difficult to prepare a decent position for you..."

"Oh! It\'s okay! Just being an honorary member is enough. I just want to be recognized as having the qualifications of a magical girl!"

"Oh really? Then it\'s simple."

The High Priestess snapped her fan shut.

"Find a god to contract with. We magical girls fight by partnering with our respective gods."

Although we called them gods for convenience, a magical girl could partner with anything.

It could be a human, a pet, or even a monster—whatever the magical girl desired could be her god.

"Come back to me later with your god, and I\'ll grant you the qualifications of a magical girl. If you can\'t find a suitable god, I could introduce you to one..."

"Oh. That\'s alright."

Oh Dokseo smiled awkwardly.

"I already have one. A god I serve."

"Really? Which god?"

"The Doctor Jang."

I paused as I eavesdropped on their conversation from afar.

Because we had just agreed, before entering this place, that we would serve the "Savior Saintess" as our god.

The Saintess had many constellations under her command, which made it clear that she was deeply connected with the cliché of "constellation-based" stories.

More importantly, if we elevated the Saintess to the position of a god, the telepathy she whispered to us would take on the nature of "revelation."

For various reasons, the Saintess was more suitable as a partner than I was.

But Oh Dokseo had broken that agreement on her own and mentioned my alias.

The High Priestess tilted her head.

"Doctor Jang? I\'ve never heard of that god before."

"Yes. It\'s my personal god."

"Just so you know, you can\'t fabricate a god and still form a contract. The god must be present in this place."

"That\'s not a problem. It definitely exists. It\'s always watching, even now, though you can\'t see it."

"...Oh my, really? It must be quite a high-ranking deity."

The High Priestess chuckled.

"Then I\'ll form the contract right here. But if the contract fails, let\'s forget about this membership discussion."

"By all means."

The High Priestess spread her fan with a snap.

"I, in the name of Tamamo-no-Mae, call upon the god known as the Doctor Jang. Bestow your protection and guardianship upon this human before us."

[PR/N: In Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) genre fiction called otogizōshi, in otogizoshi, Tamamo-no-Mae was a courtesan under the Japanese Emperor Konoe (who reigned from 1142 through 1155)]

There was a sensation of my body floating slightly.

At the same time, I felt something transparent and slender connecting between Oh Dokseo and me.

"...It really existed? And it\'s strong."

The High Priestess was astonished.

"Or rather, should I say, it\'s... The fact that it responded to the contract is unbelievable… Doctor Jang? I\'ve really never heard of that god before, but how..."

"Is there a problem?"

"...There\'s no problem. But you\'re serving a very dangerous deity. The stronger the god, the stronger you\'ll become, but borrowing a god\'s power is never a loan without interest."

The High Priestess closed her fan.

"The more you rely on the god, the more you become merely a tool of the god. Eventually, you\'ll turn into a vessel through which the god manifests in this world. Be careful."

"Thank you for your concern."

Oh Dokseo responded with awkwardly pronounced Japanese.

"But I\'ll be fine. Probably."

After that, Oh Dokseo learned various guidelines from the High Priestess (mainly trivial things like how you must shout "Transform!" when transforming into a magical girl) and then left the base.

That night.

After finishing the broadcast and during our break, I approached Oh Dokseo and asked,

"Why did you say you\'d serve me as your god instead of the Saintess?"

"Um..."

Oh Dokseo scratched his cheek.

After a long silence, Oh Dokseo finally spoke.

"I just thought it made more sense. You mentioned that magical girls are all addicted to the clichés of fictional works... And that they are actually worshippers of a secluded god, the [The Admin of All-Play], right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, what does that make me, someone who read this world through the novel Omniscient Regressors Viewpoint before even entering it?"

"..."

In the distance, the sound of a shrike\'s call echoed softly.

"From the moment I was suddenly summoned to Busan Station, I half saw this world as a story within a fictional work. After all, I had clearly read a novel with you as the main character just recently."

"..."

"So I need to ask you—am I... from the beginning, someone who had already been taken over by an outer god?"

Indeed.

This was why I couldn\'t even think about subjugating the [The Admin of All-Play] until Oh Dokseo appeared.

Just as Cheon Yowha was both an Apostle of the Void and a priestess...

The [The Admin of All-Play]\'s shrine maiden—self-proclaimed as a book-possessed person, destined to view this world as a fictional work...

Was Oh Dokseo.