Chapter 712

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

Episode 26 Star Ladder (8)
The heavens were transforming in real time. One moment they were an inky black, then a blinding white, followed by peals of thunder and driving rain.

On the far side of this chaotic meteorological phenomenon, beyond the shimmering veil of nothingness, supreme entities were clashing with enough force to shake the cosmos.

What in the world was happening over there?

Had Yoo Jonghyuk truly appeared and was now seizing constellations and crushing them underfoot?

—Hey, youngest. A high-quality story fragment is falling from over there.

The head of the 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk, still hanging from my shoulder, lolled weakly.

I couldn’t comprehend the actual situation.

If the being over there was truly Yoo Jonghyuk, why hadn’t he manifested here as a possessor like Shin Yoosoung? Just as Shin Yoosoung had used her 41st-round self, he could have done the same.

—That’s nonsense. If that brat comes here, things will get much worse.

‘Why? If Yoo Jonghyuk arrives, we could eliminate all of them, couldn’t we?’

—What makes you believe Yoo Jonghyuk would assist us?

A sudden, sharp pain prickled the base of my skull. I had been so focused on Shin Yoosoung’s situation that I’d momentarily forgotten the primary objective of <Kim Dokja Company>.

Based on Han Sooyoung’s memories, the company’s goal is to retrieve Kim Dokja.

My presence here might actually be a hindrance to them.

—It would be fortunate if the planet simply didn’t explode from all this.

‘No, but even so…’

I often reflect on this, but Kim Dokja’s perception of Yoo Joonghyuk seems somewhat warped. Would Yoo Jonghyuk truly ever do such a thing?

Yet, a simultaneous wave of concern washed over me.

What if Yoo Jonghyuk, like Han Sooyoung, also sought to reclaim Kim Dokja through the method of ‘swiftly annihilating this world’…

—But shouldn’t you be running right now?

Right. This wasn’t the time for such leisurely contemplation.

Even at this moment, the incarnations from the giant nebulae were pursuing me in real time.

«Rip his legs off!»

«Tear him apart!»

Why were they shouting such things while giving chase?

Regardless, my only thought was that I must not be captured. But my breath was already growing short.

—You need to exercise more.

‘It’s rich hearing that from someone who was born frail.’

—No time for that. We need to borrow it again.

[Stage 3 of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ is strongly activated!]

A deeper synchronization with Kim Dokja washed over me, and the [Way of the Wind] enveloped my feet, propelling me over a hundred meters in an instant.

In the normal world, this would have easily broken Olympic records, but currently, it wasn’t nearly sufficient.

[The character ‘Alexander Mihailidis’ activates the exclusive skill ‘High-Speed Driving Lv.6’!]

[The character ‘Leila Al Hasan’ activates the exclusive skill ‘Runaway Lv.8′!]

Their persistence was truly relentless.

‘Constellation-nim! Back! Go back!’

A dizzying sensation erupted in the back of my head. As Kim Dokja instinctively jerked his head aside, a lethal beam of light grazed past his ear.

An arrow? Or perhaps a spear?

Whatever it was, a moment’s delay would have meant a hole through my skull.

‘Left!’

The instant he swerved direction, an arrow aimed for a blind spot struck his thigh. Luckily, it was Kim Dokja’s body that took the hit, not mine.

—You said left? It came from the right!

‘It looked like it was coming from the right as well!’

Kim Dokja wrenched the arrow free and hurled the broken shaft behind us.

The sound of the arrow, infused with [Way of the Wind], striking its target echoed, followed by a pained cry.

But neither Kim Dokja nor I glanced back.

—Youngest. Look.

I spotted the ladder suspended in the sky.

‘Star Ladder.’

It was the path leading to the ‘eighth scenario’ I had identified upon arriving in eastern Washington.

‘You told me not to use that?’

—Forget that. Survival is the priority now.

‘How is it activated?’

Instead of answering, Kim Dokja thrust his right hand high into the air and shouted.

«I call the Star Ladder!»

Simple enough, I thought.

[‘Star Ladder’ does not respond to you.]

Damn it, of course.

Nothing involving Kim Dokja ever proceeds smoothly.

Absurdly, every other incarnation was ascending to the next scenario via their own ‘star ladders’.

«Get out! If you get trapped here, you’re dead!»
«I call the Star Ladder!»

Amid the chaos wrought by the giant nebulae, incarnations escaped by calling down their ladders. Each ladder varied in shape, size, and condition, yet they descended for everyone except us.

‘Why won’t a ladder come for us?’

Kim Dokja seemed to be investigating the same thing, a faint memory of a conversation with Bihyung surfacing in his mind.

—Constellation. So now… with authority…

Authority?

[The constellations with permission to use the ‘Star Ladder’ are not responding to you.]

[The right to use the ‘Star Ladder’ is restricted to select constellations who contributed to establishing the ‘Recycling Center’.]

The specifics were unclear, but the conclusion was obvious: no one was going to lower a ladder for us.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ frowns, confused by the meaning.]
[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ demands to know what the ‘Recycling Center’ is.]
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ complains that the ‘Star Stream’s System’ has become increasingly complicated.]

At least I wasn’t the only one left in the dark.

I asked Kim Dokja without much hope.

‘Constellation-nim. Don’t you have ladder permission?’

—Do I look like I do?

‘Don’t you know someone who could help?’

—Do I seem like I would?

‘So what do we do now?’

—Just wait a moment.

‘They’ve all surrounded me?’

Before I realized it, the incarnations had formed a tightening circle around us.

Incarnations from <Olympus>, <Ghost>, <Guardian Tree>, and <Veda>.

«We have him trapped! Close in slowly!»

From what I could sense, none had narrative-grade sponsors.
They were all incarnations of great-grade constellations, each having pushed their synchronization rate to the absolute limit.

This scenario operated under ‘probability’ rules. However, with so many constellations maxing out their synchronization, the scale was inevitably tipping into imbalance.

‘Shouldn’t someone come to help us if things are like this?’

Yoo Jonghyuk, or perhaps another member of <Kim Dokja Company>, since Kim Dokja had vetoed Yoo Jonghyuk earlier.
At least one person should be able to make it.

—Do you believe a hundred insects equal the weight of a single lion?

I understood then how formidable <Kim Dokja Company> had become.

Calling them insects was harsh, but they were still constellations in their own right.

—The giant nebulae aren’t fools. This is all calculated within probability’s bounds. The proof is that despite their numbers, none have a narrative-grade sponsor.

So they were also manipulating the probability to their advantage.

I let out a quiet sigh and counted their numbers. Even a rough estimate put them at over thirty.

Meanwhile, we were at our limit.

My body, fortified by the ‘Dragon Heart’, was in tatters from wielding Cheok Jungyeong’s power, and the [Bookmark]’s time had expired.

A mere spear tip from Thebes could make my body give out now. My only remaining trust was in Kim Dokja.

—Youngest.

‘Yes.’

—Buy us some time. Say something.

‘What?’

[Exclusive skill ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ Lv.3 is deactivated.]

This was absurd.

Was he just leaving me like this? What was I supposed to do?

I frantically sifted through the ‘Thoughts of almost everything’.
What items could be useful now?
The ‘Poison Bomb’ was depleted. Should I try hiding with the ‘Everchanging Stealth Suit’?
Or perhaps use [Incite]?

Fortunately, the encroaching incarnations halted about ten meters away. Upon closer look, they were also wary of each other.

One of the incarnations, who had been spewing threats earlier, spoke first. Judging by his Halloween-esque costume, he was from <Ghost House>. The response came from the ‘Gatekeeper of Thebes’ of <Olympus>.

«<Olympus>. You haven’t forgotten our agreement, correct?»

«Don’t concern yourself. You will receive your allotted share. The myth-grade constellations have already reached an accord.»

As the ‘Gatekeeper of Thebes’ answered, the <Ghost> incarnations turned their gaze toward me.

«Then everyone gets an equal portion.»

Eat? What were they planning to eat? Don’t I get a say in this, you bastards?

While the group advanced step by step, I mustered my remaining strength. I had been relying too heavily on my sponsor.
It was time I contributed as well.

«I am Kim Dokja.»

I began, a slight twist to my lips.

«Quite a crowd has gathered. But what exactly transpired in your ‘Ginnungagap’ to cause this?»

«Don’t listen. He’s stalling. Now—»

«Aren’t you curious? Why did ‘Valkyrie’s Daughter’ meet her end?»

«He only handled one great-grade…»

These kids really didn’t know much.

I grinned and snapped my fingers theatrically. It was unnecessary, but it added effect.

«Now, for the first time in the <Star Stream>, the events within ‘Ginnungagap’ will be revealed.»

[The story of a tale whose name has not yet been decided begins!]

My unnamed story began its narration. As if they had been waiting, messages from constellations flooded in.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is viewing the tale!]
[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is viewing the tale!]
[The constellation ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos’ is viewing the tale!]
[A few constellations are startled after reading your story!]

‘Ordinarily, ‘Ginnungagap’ was a stage where no story records remained.
However, I had preserved one thanks to the ‘Recorder of Things That Will Disappear’.

[The constellations of the Nebula <Asgard> are stunned.]
[The nebula <Asgard> petitions the system management to restrict access to the records!]

The truth of ‘Ginnungagap’ was spreading rapidly.
<Asgard>’s shameful conduct to capture me was being broadcast throughout the <Star Stream>.
<Asgard> attempted to block it belatedly, but the constellations had already consumed the rarely heard story.

«Gatekeeper of Thebes, is this accurate?»
An incarnation from the <Guardian Tree>, silent until now, inquired.
«That individual defeated ten half-descended great-grade constellations?»
«It can’t be… Impossible.»
«Didn’t ‘Valkyrie’s Daughter’ go out alone?»

Some incarnations retreated a step. A gap opened in their circular formation.
I could feel the constellations stirring vividly.

Seizing the moment, I stepped forward.
[Exclusive skill ‘Incite Lv.10’ is activated.]

«Now you understand who you are confronting.»

The startled incarnations retreated one after another.

The ‘Gatekeeper of Thebes’, sensing the shift in atmosphere, yelled.
«It’s lies! Don’t be deceived! Even if that tale were true, he exhausted all his strength in ‘Ginnungagap’. If we combine our forces and kill him now—»

I burst into manic laughter. The Gatekeeper of Thebes fell silent, unnerved by the sound.

«It seems you failed to understand the opportunity I offered you.»

«You, what—»

«I eliminated ten great-grade constellations in the seventh scenario. And the story I accumulated still hasn’t received a ‘name’. Do you not grasp the significance?»

I noticed a few quick-thinking incarnations whose eyes widened in realization.

An unnamed tale.
Meaning, my story was not yet ‘complete’.

«If you assist me here, you will receive a portion of the tale I am destined to earn.»

[A very small number of constellations are astonished by the ‘Demon King of Salvation’s’ proposal.]
[The constellation ‘Reclining Dragon’ admires your silver tongue.]
[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is intrigued by your words.]

A confused silence fell among the previously bustling constellations.
They had come to jointly eliminate the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ and obtain ‘Kim Dokja’s Fragment’.
Yet, their expressions showed most didn’t fully comprehend what that fragment truly was.

«Choose. Either foolishly attack me and be ejected from the scenario empty-handed.»

They now had another option.

«Or join me and share in a story guaranteed to be ‘legendary’ grade or higher.»