Storyteller's lie

What?

'The regressor Yoo Jinsun? Is that the protagonist?'

'Yeah,'

What?! What the hell was going on?! How did these old men know about Yoo Jinsun? More importantly, how did they know about him being a regressor? Unless...

"What are you all gossiping about?"

"Geh!"

They nervously turned their bodies and stared at me while exchanging glances with each other for a while. The old man who had previously attempted to cut my face emerged from the group.

"Could you tell me your name?"

I thought for a bit about his question before answering.

"Yoo Jinsun."

The expressions on the group's face changed from nonchalant to fear and astonishment.

'So he's Yoo Jinsun...'

I felt a bit weird lying to them. Why did I use his name? There was good reason for that, because, for a few minutes I hadn't been able to do something—

"Yoo Jinsun, please join our group."

"Eh."

Huh? My mouth remained open for a while before I could process what he had just said. What? He asked me to join his group...

"What?"

"Oh, did you not hear correctly? I'm inviting you to our group."

"I get that, but weren't you guys on my throat a few seconds ago?"

"We apologize for that. We didn't notice it was Yoo Jinsun-ssi."

Ah. So that's how it was. These bastards were trying to find Yoo Jinsun. But, they made one error.

"I refuse."

"W-What! Why?!"

"There is no benefit in it for me."

I decided to speak like Yoo Jinsun. They should've seen this coming if these guys knew about Yoo Jinsun.

'Dammit, it's just like we'd been told!'

I couldn't make heads or tails of his thoughts. Why were they so adamant about recruiting Yoo Jinsun?

"What is your group." I decided to be blunt.

I couldn't sit around and wait for the answers to reveal themselves.

"Huh? T-That is..."

"Answer!"

I felt a bit cringe. How could Yoo Jinsun keep up this act 24/7? cruel protagonist bastard.

"No use hiding it now."

The old man's mischievous look reappeared and he began to speak with a heavy tone.

"We're the storytellers."

...Hm? Hm?!?

"Stop joking with me. There are only two storytellers, and none of them are in South Korea."

I had to keep my composure. Truthfully, my curiosity was killing me. These guys were storytellers? Don't joke with me. Excluding the other two I was the only candidate for being an Apostle. Yet, these bastards....

"We're aware of that Yoo Jinsun-ssi. What I'm about to say might shock you but bear with me."

I gulped and prepared myself for the big reveal. What was it? What was something so interesting? My heartbeat rose and I struggled to keep my straight face.

"The world we're living in, it's a simulation."

"Pfft!"

Shit.

"Y-Yoo Jinsun-ssi? Did you just laugh?"

"Erm, N-No... I'm feeling a little under the weather."

Shit, I almost blew it. But seriously, a simulation? Was that the extent of their capabilities? Even I came up with a better lie.

"So? What does this simulation have to do with you?"

"Yes, I'm getting to that. You see, us storytellers are people who were given the beta version of this simulation a decade ago."

Hoh, they were quite good. Had it been Yoo Jinsun instead he would've fallen for it. But, I wasn't Yoo Jinsun.

"I see..."

"Yoo Jinsun-ssi, will you join us?"

It was a damn detailed story. Without any flaws, and carefully structured. Almost as if, someone had deliberately created it. For a lie to be this convincing...

"Hrmm... Your story is convincing. It holds value and certainly sounds true."

"Then—!"

"But, what would happen if... Let's say, I do this."

Swoosh—!

"A-Ah!"

"Y-Yoo Jinsun-ssi...!"

"Now, your whole group falls apart."

The station dyed in blood was reminiscent of a certain scene I had seen in the game. A simulation, huh? Was that all it was? Yoo Jinsun's suffering. The tragedy that started with him. The hell that he ventured through. He lost countless companions through his journey and countless times he had to cut down his loved ones. And at last, his lonely pilgrimage through the cosmos. Was all of that so insignificant to these guys? Was it so worthless it could be summed up to be a simulation?

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Why was I feeling angry in that bastard's stead? Maybe, I sympathized with Yoo Jinsun. I, the lone player that completed that game. I understood Yoo Jinsun more than anyone else, and I couldn't stand seeing his tragedy be desecrated like this.

"Yoo Jinsun-ssi! Why are you doing this?!"

I vanished for an instant and appeared in front of the group's leader. I delivered a roundhouse kick to his temple and he fell to the ground.

"You didn't faint?"

"Y-Yoo Jinsun, you bastard..."

Bam—! I got on top of him and continued the assault of punches. I felt enraged. I was glad Jung Eunji wasn't here to see this.

"W-Why are you doing this?! If you had joined the storytellers! You could've completed the calamities!"

"You're not storytellers."

"...How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because for a while..."

[This person isn't registered as a character.]

I decided to make the screen I was seeing visible to him. But, doing this eliminated the option of letting him live.

"What is this...?"

"You were wrong about two things."

"What?..."

"First, I am not Yoo Jinsun. Second, this is not a simulation."

"If you're not Yoo Jinsun! T-Then who are you?!"

How do I answer this? I thought for a while. Right. There was no better way than this.

"Yoo Jinsun's trusted companion, Kim Haneul."

"Wha—"

Stab—! The sky-splitting sword pierced his forehead and his expression changed to disgust and confusion.

I stood up and took several steps towards the direction Jung Eunji had gone to. A strange smell made its way through my nostrils urging me to turn around.

"What the hell is this...?"

Ash started to appear from the stabbed head and the man's body began to disintegrate.

"Shit! I'd been had."

A clone, huh? Which bastard had already acquired this SS-grade skill? But, the event that had played out confirmed one of my fears.

There were players beside me who retained their memory of the game. Although, less than me.

"Storytellers, huh? What storm will brew up now?"

I felt a strange excitement. What would Yoo Jinsun think of this? That bastard would've fallen for their ploys already.

"Dammit, who's the mastermind behind the storyteller's lie?"

Someone who knew the story as much as I did. But, did someone like that exist? The game lost its fanbase a few years into the game. For the final few years till the game's epilogue, I was the only player. Was I feeling jealous? Maybe.

I looked back at the corpses lying in the pool of blood. A sense of guilt lingered. Yet, was I in the wrong? I had expected this to some degree. But, seeing it play out was still hard to swallow.

In the future, I would have to interact with the storytellers. Maybe I'd meet them as an ally, maybe as a foe.

[There has been an issue with the system.]

[The paid settlement has been delayed.]

What? Paid settlement? But, I hadn't complete any calamity or trial...

"Weird..."

I went through the clothes of the dead men. It was scummy but I had to secure resources. You never know when you would run out.

"Oh, this is nice."

I put on the black suit and adjusted the tie.

"It's not much but will do for now."

I covered the corpse with the clothes I had taken off. Well, they were cheap clothes.

[You have equipped a B-Grade armor.]

I was worried for Jung Eunji and the girl. Shit, had to hurry.

I began to run through the station that was flooded. How'd it get flooded? Maybe, a water skill? What kind of monsters had made their way into this subway?

"Please don't turn into a warzone..."

Hilariously in the next second, I found myself become the catalyst for the disintegration of this station into a warzone.

[There was an error in the message being relayed.]

The pygmy's sound resounded throughout the station.

[The fourth calamity has started!]

[The fourth calamity - Warzone]

Category: Main

Difficulty: A

Clear conditions: Kill at least 5 people to secure the mark of survival

Note: If you kill a person who has killed 5 people you will gain the mark of survival.

Time duration: 3 days

Reward: 10,000 coins

Failure: ???

+

[Someone has killed a person!]

[Someone has killed a person!]

[A person has killed 10 people!]

[The name of the person is being revealed.]

[#1 Hunter: Kim Haneul.]

[You have gained 40,000 coins for killing 10 humans.]

[You have acquired the mark of survival.]

"What?!!"