010. The Era of Great Awakening (3)
“…King?”
The words hit Jaehee like a physical blow. He stared blankly at Jeongwoo, his mind struggling to process it all. The world was ending? And he was supposed to be some kind of candidate for king? It felt absurd, like a bad joke. But beneath the disbelief, a strange tension coiled in his gut.
“Judging by your expression, you don’t believe me.”
“Well…” Jaehee exhaled sharply. “After everything that happened in there, I can’t just dismiss what you’re saying, but it’s not exactly easy to believe. But why am I a Royal Road? I haven’t done anything special.”
“That’s something the system judged based on your potential.” Jeongwoo’s voice was steady, but his eyes were serious. “I can’t say much about it… But the system doesn’t make baseless judgments. And listen—Royal Roads are extremely rare. So don’t ever tell anyone else about this.”
“Oh… Okay.”
“Becoming king isn’t something only Royal Roads can do. While Royal Roads are the fastest and strongest candidates, one way to become king is by killing a Royal Road. So revealing that you’re one is dangerous unless you absolutely trust the person.”
A cold sweat prickled at the back of Jaehee’s neck. If anything, it would make more sense if YOU were the Royal Road…
“It would’ve been more believable if you were the Royal Road… What the hell is all this…?”
Jaehee took a shallow breath. Jeongwoo’s story seemed complicated at first glance, but if he took it at face value, it was actually simple. The world was hurtling toward destruction, and the only way to stop it was to choose a king. Right now, they were in the middle of a “game” to select that king, and he, Shin Jaehee, was a candidate—a Royal Road.
“Come to think of it, when did you become Zero? …How?”
Jaehee eyed Jeongwoo skeptically. This was the part he found hardest to understand in all this madness. When had Woo Jeongwoo, his high school friend of three years, awakened as Zero and learned all this?
Jeongwoo gave him a slightly troubled smile. The truth was, he wanted to tell Jaehee everything. More than that—if Jaehee wanted, he’d give him everything. But this was something he could never talk about.
“Woo Jeongwoo. How did a high school senior cramming for the CSAT suddenly awaken as Zero? You didn’t exactly become Zero while watching lectures and solving calculus problems, did you? How did you become Zero? Were you skipping the CSAT and acting weird all this time because of this?”
Jaehee glared at him, eyes wide. Jeongwoo had never properly explained how he became Zero. He always dodged the question, speaking in vague terms. Jaehee had waited, thinking the tutorial might explain it, but even now that it was over, Jeongwoo still wouldn’t come clean. His face made it clear: This time, you’re not getting away with it.
Finally, Jeongwoo sighed and opened his mouth.
“…For me, it was a mix of coincidence and inevitability. I can’t give you the exact details, but if I had to put it into words, I’d say I was lucky enough to meet a good mentor.”
“…Mentor?”
“Yeah. It’s not exactly a master-disciple relationship, but there was someone who helped me awaken before the tutorial started. I don’t call them my mentor, but…”
“Damn it. Why does everything have to be so complicated? Fine. Then where is this ‘mentor’ now? Are they a Zero too? Can’t we ask them for help?”
“Hmm.”
Jeongwoo knew that even when he did seemingly crazy things, there was always a plan or purpose behind them. He had waited, believing that one day, Jeongwoo would tell him everything. But time passed, and Jeongwoo showed no sign of revealing his true intentions. The worst part was how he’d say, “It’s for your own good,” and then tell him nothing.
“Ah, Jaehee. Check your score.”
“Score?”
“See how many points you earned in the tutorial. Think ‘tutorial score’.”
Jaehee knew Jeongwoo was changing the subject, but he couldn’t help playing along. Pouting, he checked his tutorial score.
***
<<Shin Jaehee>> Tutorial Final Settlement: 3,208 points.
- First Manifestation: +10
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- Defeated a Deceiver: +1
- A protest from the guide and partial misconduct detected in this Seeker’s trial.
- Penalty: -2,000 points.
- External interference detected at the tutorial’s final termination.
- However, the penalty has been borne by the interfering Constellation, so no additional penalty will be applied to this Seeker.
***
“A protest and misconduct penalty took off 2,000 points, so I ended up with 3,208.”
“What? Those damn foxes are petty as hell. 3,208 points is… lower than expected. Damn it. Oh well. Open the shop.”
“Shop?”
As Jaehee muttered “shop,” the shop interface appeared before his eyes.
***
[Galaxy Shop Lv.1> Welcome to the Galaxy Shop!
- Eternal Slumber Potion (P2000): Tasty and effective! Perfect for when you can’t sleep!
- Lethe’s Kiss (P1800): A memory you’d rather forget? Kiss Lethe! Works on yourself and others.
- Health Potion (P200): Restores a bit of health when you’re on the brink of collapse. See more… Search function deducts 1 point per use.^^]
***
“What the hell is this?”
“Search for ‘Moon’s Grace’.”
The shop items were displayed with crude, simple illustrations and descriptions. Since everything was controlled by thought, searching for “Moon’s Grace” wasn’t difficult.
“Moon’s Grace… Here it is. But they deduct points just for searching? These guys are ridiculous.”
***
[· Moon’s Grace (P3200): !Caution! Moon’s Grace can only be purchased once. Protect your fragile body with the cold grace of the Moon. A single breath of the Moon’s essence will repel any poison.]
***
“But if I buy this, I’ll almost be out of points. Should I still get it?”
Moon’s Grace seemed related to poison. Hadn’t Jeongwoo said earning points was difficult? Was it really okay to spend them all like this?
Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo, who nodded firmly.
“If you’re short on points, I can cover the difference. Buy it. Moon’s Grace is a limited-time item—you should get it while it’s available.”
Searching had cost him 1 point, leaving him with 3,207. Buying Moon’s Grace for 3,200 would leave him with a measly 7 points, but Jeongwoo’s determined expression convinced him. Jaehee purchased it. Regardless of how annoying Jeongwoo could be, he trusted him for now.
A message appeared: the item had been transferred to his inventory. Jaehee brought up his inventory again and took out the Moon’s Grace.
“What… is this?”
It was a small, star-shaped object, slightly larger than a ping-pong ball, emitting a faint glow. Jaehee carefully held it up and asked Jeongwoo, “It protects against poison?”
“Yeah. Jaehee, eat it.”
“Poison?”
“Just eat it.”
When would an ordinary high school student ever encounter poison? He wondered if he’d wasted his points, but Jeongwoo’s deadly serious expression left no room for argument. Jaehee reluctantly put the Moon’s Grace in his mouth. How am I supposed to eat this? he thought, but the moment it touched his tongue, it dissolved like sugar. For an instant, his body shimmered like the Moon’s Grace had, but the light soon faded.
Only then did Jeongwoo smile, stepping forward to ruffle Jaehee’s hair.
“Good. Now I can relax a little, even if it’s not perfect. Alright, it’s late—let’s get some sleep.”
Still feeling uneasy, Jaehee shuffled into the tent and crawled into his sleeping bag. Exhaustion must have caught up with him, because he fell asleep almost instantly.
Jeongwoo, however, remained outside for a long time after Jaehee had gone in. He sat motionless, the teacup in his hand growing cold, staring up at the pitch-black night sky.
The sky was littered with stars—so many it seemed they might pour down. Once, he would have called it beautiful. Now, it was terrifying.
He closed his eyes, still gazing at the stars. He couldn’t relax, not even after Jaehee swallowed the Moon’s Grace.
***
[Constellation, Blazing Flame, scoffs at the Seeker of the End, pointing fingers.]
***
Jeongwoo ignored the message as if he hadn’t seen it and finally stood up.
