Chapter 738

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

**738 Episode 29 Recorder of Fear (5)**

Great Old One.

Certain titles surfaced in my mind the instant the words were spoken.

«Who was it?»

The ‘Great Old Ones’ are likely the highest tier of ‘Outer Gods’, or perhaps the rulers who command them.

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ was one such example—or the avatars who witnessed the apocalypse in the 999th turn.

However, at the conclusion of the 1,864th turn, the ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the gods from the 999th turn encountered the ‘Oldest Dream’ and vanished after achieving their ■■.

There is no cause for them to return now to save Lycaon.

So, does that mean there are more ‘Great Old Ones’ besides them?

【My disciple, I cannot speak of this lightly.】

I had assumed as much.

I pressed him, already guessing the reason. «Why?»

【The moment I speak that name, the ‘Great Old One’ will become aware of you.】

In this universe, a name is a coordinate.

It was a similar principle to the taboo of speaking a true name.

«Even so, what if I insist on hearing it?»

【I apologize, but I cannot.】

«Is even a clue impossible?»

【Yes, I am sorry.】

I shook my head to indicate it was fine.

Truthfully, the information Lycaon had shared so far was incredibly valuable. The details about the 1,864th turn, in particular, were the kind of story one would expect to be heavily censored.

The fact that no such filtering occurred confirmed two things.

First, the ‘scenario progression speed’ on this worldline is extraordinarily fast.
Second, there are others besides me who are intensely interested in this narrative right now.

[The ‘Recycling Center Director’ is listening to your story with keen interest.]

«What is certain is that a ‘Great Old One’ resurrected you. So what mission did he give you?»

I thought this might also be a secret, but surprisingly, Lycaon answered without hesitation.

【To gather the ‘records’ of distorted worldlines.】

‘Distorted Worldline’ and ‘Record’.

Hearing those two terms, a realization clicked into place.

Lycaon met my gaze and gave a slow, confirming nod.

【In the wider world, beings like me are known as ‘Recorders of Fear’. I am the lowest rank among them.】

Recorder of Fear.

I knew I would encounter one eventually, but I never imagined it would be ‘Lycaon’.

My questions multiplied.

What exactly do the ‘Recorders of Fear’ do?
What does he know about this specific worldline?
Does the ‘distorted worldline’ he mentioned refer to this current round?
Why is he still active after his ■■ was supposedly fulfilled…?

【Disciple.】

Lycaon looked at me for a moment, as if comprehending every one of my unspoken questions, and then shut his eyes.

【Forgive me, but I must rest now.】

«Pardon?»

【It seems I have spoken too much.】

The concentration of sparks swirling around Lycaon had noticeably thickened.

The ‘outerworldly covenant’ Lycaon formed with me only permits his existence in Zone 13 for 30 days.

Essentially, Lycaon had no right to answer my inquiries.

Under these conditions, the probability was becoming unstable because he divulged information about other worldlines.

Just before closing his eyes completely, Lycaon added one final thing.

【Be cautious, disciple. This worldline is one of the ‘unknown origins’.】

His voice was soft, filled with genuine concern.

【Many ‘ancient existences’ are observing your decisions. Depending on your choices—】

A sound like a falling wind whispered from nowhere. Simultaneously, Lycaon’s body began to shrink rapidly until he was the size of a dog. Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes, entering a temporary state of probability stasis.

[The ‘Recycling Center Director’ looks disappointed.]

I shared that disappointment, but it would have been far worse if Lycaon had been erased entirely.

His presence is absolutely critical for my plans in this scenario.

Still, discovering Lycaon is a ‘Recorder of Fear’ was a significant gain.

To settle my thoughts, I resumed practicing the [Way of the Wind] technique Lycaon had taught me.

[The story ‘Heir of the Eternal Name’ is starving.]
[You currently have 9 days left to live.]

There was still time.

The next day, and the day after that.
My companions and I continued our training in the [Way of the Wind].
Yet, no matter how much I practiced, I could not manifest the wind from my hands.

「 It seems that [Way of the Wind] has already been recorded within you, disciple. 」

What did Lycaon mean by that?
If the [Way of the Wind] is already inscribed in me, why can’t I access this power?

«You’re trying so hard.»

It was the voice of the young Yoo Jonghyuk. He had been unconscious since the events of 「The Three Little Pigs」, but had finally awoken from his long sleep.

«You’re awake?»

The boy Yoo Jonghyuk nodded and walked slowly toward me.

On closer look, it was becoming difficult to call him a ‘child’. Perhaps he had grown while sleeping; Yoo Jonghyuk was now unmistakably a young boy.

I never thought I’d witness Yoo Jonghyuk’s growth in real time.

«I had a strange dream.»

As he spoke, the boy Yoo Jonghyuk wiped his mouth. Seeing the crumbles of dirt, a belated realization dawned on me.

「 «You bastard, you made me suffer, right?» 」

Kid, did you really just decide it was all a dream?

While it was absurd, I also saw it as a fortunate turn. If Yoo Jonghyuk grew up retaining memories of eating dirt, my future would be bleak.

«[Way of the Wind] isn’t like that.»

«Yeah. I’ve heard that plenty already.»

Yoo Jonghyuk, standing beside me as I muttered in frustration, wiggled his small fingers and attempted the technique.

«Like this.»

A faint, refreshing breeze stirred from his fingertips.
It was unmistakably the [Way of the Wind].
His wind was different from both Lycaon’s and the Demon King of Salvation’s—it felt uniquely lonely and desolate.

I could only offer a wry smile.
The protagonist remains the protagonist.

By his 41st regression, was he already capable of casually replicating fragments of such stories?

«Sadly, I don’t seem to have the talent for it.»

«I saw you communicating with fragments of the Brick House’s story. This technique is the same. You must learn to read the wind as you understood the brick house.»

Easy for him to say. A brick house and the wind are entirely different.

The boy Yoo Jonghyuk added, as if reading my mind. «The ‘wind’ everyone imagines is different. You must define the wind *you* believe in.»

The wind *I* believe in.

I tried to conjure an image of wind in my mind. Even having been a writer, a clear picture of wind was elusive.

«I will teach you a special enlightenment. In my left hand, a gale—»

«—And a storm in your right. That’s not enlightenment.»

«You know it already.»

«Shall I tell you more?»

I began reciting the [Way of the Wind] incantations I knew.
The boy Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression shifted—first surprise, then interest, and finally, a trace of sadness.

«I see. You know too much.»

«Isn’t more knowledge better?»

«You don’t need that much knowledge.»

«Right, people who learn everything effortlessly don’t need to know much—»

«I don’t learn everything effortlessly either.»

«You can use [Retransmission], can’t you?»

[Retransmission. That unique skill was how Yoo Jonghyuk endured the world of Ways of Survival, carrying over abilities from previous regressions.]

Yoo Jonghyuk seemed briefly surprised I knew of it, but then shook his head. «[Retransmission] only alters the starting point slightly.»

A truly silver-spoon-in-the-mouth thing to say.

«You don’t seem to realize that a different starting point is a massive advantage in itself.»

«Perhaps the first time. But as the regressions accumulate, it becomes harder to close the gap with the constellations.»

«That can’t be right.»

I didn’t understand.
Accumulating regressions should mean more total experience. You learn more paths to power and discover shortcuts to higher levels.

But it becomes *harder* to catch up to the constellations?

«Do you know of the ‘Sea of Transcendence’?»

«A ‘ladder’ mortals can choose to ascend toward the stars and greater power.»

Yoo Jonghyuk nodded. «The first step of transcendence is to surpass the body’s limits.»

I know.
Reach 100 in all stats and break through your physical constraints.

«The second process is ‘training all skills to their absolute limit’.»

«Correct. As expected, you are well-informed.»

«Merely aware of the theory.»

If transcendence were that simple, the world would be full of transcendents.

Yoo Jonghyuk continued. «And the final step is—»

«—To forget everything you’ve built and discover your own unique path.»

Forgetting skills, forgetting levels.
Abandoning the countless ‘universal’ paths offered by the system and finding your own story.
That was the methodology of ‘transcendence’ as defined by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.

However, her disciple seemed to have an addendum to this.

«The final step of transcendence is unique, because the process of finding one’s own story requires a new enlightenment every single time.»

«Isn’t it easy for you? You have insights from before.»

«It seems you misunderstand the nature of enlightenment.»

Now that I considered it, ‘enlightenment’ is called such for a reason. It is the insight into something previously unknown.

«It is impossible to transcend multiple times using the same enlightenment.»

This was a problem other transcendents didn’t face. They don’t regress.
But Yoo Jonghyuk is different.
Yoo Jonghyuk, whose level resets each round, must find new enlightenment and reach ‘transcendence’ anew every time.

«It isn’t difficult at first. Once, twice, thrice. New realizations come readily. But after ten, twenty times, as the enlightenments pile up, it grows complicated.»

Now that I thought about it, Yoo Jonghyuk in ‘Ways of Survival’ didn’t always transcend at the same point.
Sometimes it was earlier, sometimes later.
Could this be why?

«After more than 1,800 accumulated enlightenments, transcendence becomes nearly impossible.»

«What nonsense? There’s no reason for that many to accumulate.»

«Ordinarily, no.»

My respects to you, Secretive Plotter.

«So, what did you do when transcendence became difficult?»

«At first, I struggled to find new enlightenment. But eventually, I understood it was futile.»

«That in itself is an enlightenment. You must have transcended once through that.»

I said it jokingly, but Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t smile.
Instead, he answered plainly: «From that point on, I began to forget what I already knew.»

«Forget? How?»

«Sometimes, by striking my own head with [Hundred Steps Divine Fist].»

I couldn’t tell if he was serious. With Yoo Jonghyuk, it was entirely plausible.

«Regardless, once an enlightenment is forgotten, you simply replace it with a new one.»

A kind of ‘overwriting’ of enlightenment.
This was a detail never deeply explored in ‘Ways of Survival’.

«Some enlightenments can only be truly grasped once they are forgotten.»

It was a somewhat profound statement.
If one ignored the part about hitting his head.

«Are you suggesting I forget the [Way of the Wind] that I know?»

Yoo Jonghyuk nodded and fell into a [Hundred Steps Divine Fist] stance, eyeing my head.

I hastily waved my hands and retreated. «No, wait! I’m not looking to forget anything right now.»

«You don’t seem desperate enough. Is there no compelling reason you need to learn the [Way of the Wind]?»

The reason I wanted to learn it.
A face flashed instantly in my mind. A star who had sacrificed himself for me.

I needed to grow stronger.
As much as, or even more than, anyone else, I had to become powerful enough to save him.
This was something only Kim Dokja could do.

Yoo Jonghyuk slowly lowered his fist and spoke. «There’s no need to force yourself to learn something unsuited to you. You must have your own strengths.»

I fell silent for a long moment, never expecting to hear such advice from Yoo Jonghyuk.

«Thank you for the counsel.»

Stars cast a intermittent glow in the lonely night sky.
The boy Yoo Jonghyuk stared upward briefly before turning his gaze back to the ground, as if his sky held no starlight.

«So, what is your next move?»

«We need to secure the support of the prisoners.»

«Do you believe learning things like [Way of the Wind] here will win you that support?»

Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me with something akin to pity. It seemed it was my turn to offer him a new insight.

«How long do you think the prisoners here have been imprisoned?»

«Well…»

The temporal density within the ‘Recycling Center’ is far higher than outside. Some prisoners have likely been here for decades, perhaps even over a century.

«Judging by the city’s atmosphere, it has been an exceedingly long time. There must have been numerous revolutions.»

Zone 13 is where prisoners who failed to join the Zodiac are gathered.
In a place like that, has there never been an uprising? Whether crane, wolf, turtle, or squirrel—anyone would have resisted the <Zodiac> at least once.
Maybe twice. Or three times.
There would be prisoners who rebelled, just as Yoo Jonghyuk repeatedly challenges transcendence.

But.

«Surely, all of them were suppressed by the Zodiac.»

The revolutions failed. Naturally. Because they were not Yoo Jonghyuk.

«Then one day,» I continued, as if beginning a fairy tale. «A group suddenly appears, shatters the prevailing ‘story,’ and defeats one of the <Zodiac>.»

The prisoners must have been astonished. Shocked, even. But likely, it was just that—shock.
As the Crane innkeeper said, they had been in ‘Zone 13’ for an eternity.

«The prisoners surely thought it was temporary. That those interlopers lounging in Zone 13 would soon be eliminated by the other Zodiac signs. Just like always.»

The prisoners would wait.
Another member of the <Zodiac> would surely come.
The rightful owners of the story would return to expel those who dared believe themselves protagonists.

«But what if, no matter how much time passes, no one from the Zodiac comes to challenge them? What if not a single shadow of the Zodiac appears, let alone the full <Zodiac>?»

«You can’t mean—»

Slowly, Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes widened in understanding.

I grinned. «What do you think the prisoners are thinking right now?»

At that moment, a shout echoed from the darkness.
Elongated animal shadows stretched out between the streetlights.
There weren’t just one or two.

A tense Yoo Jonghyuk fell into a [Hundred Steps Divine Fist] stance beside me.
But I felt no particular alarm.

A voice emerged from within the elongated shadows. It belonged to the Crane innkeeper and the other animals who had stayed at the inn.
Everyone who had witnessed our 「Three Little Pigs」.

«You-all. Can you change other ‘stories’ too?»

I nodded.

[Your approval rating is increasing.]
[Currently, 10% of the prisoners in Zone 13 support you.]

It was time to do what I did best.