Yu-hyun had a lot of conversations with Oelo after their encounter.
He didnât explain in detail what he was going to do next, but he made sure Oelo understood enough.
Oeloâs reaction after hearing everything was neither amused nor skeptical of Yu-hyunâs possibilities.
âYouâre crazy.â
Oelo looked at Yu-hyun with an expression of boredom and threw a snack into his mouth.
âYouâre insane. Truly insane. Only you could come up with such an idea.â
âBut, thereâs no better way than this. Didnât you tell me yourself?â
âDonât drag me into this. Youâll contaminate me. I may be proud of living long, but I wouldnât do what you do.â
âYouâre being too harsh.â
âI thought you were a tiger among tellers, not a normal one, but I was wrong. Youâre immeasurable. All I told you was the location of a fragment in another dimension, not on Earth.â
âYes. And thereâs one fragment in âthat placeâ.â
Oelo, who knew better than anyone where Yu-hyun was talking about, glared at him with half-closed eyes.
âYouâll die. You donât have to use that method. There must be another way. But youâre risking your life for this?â
âBut, that would take too much time. The enemies are not easy either. If we give them time, theyâll have the advantage as well as me.â
Yu-hyun thought of Demiarios.
The octopus-headed creature who smiled at him.
But, what was really horrible was not just Demiarios.
There were also the tellers of Exodus who joined him, and more importantly, there was another traitor in the headquarters who was more formidable than Demiarios.
Unless he knew their true identity, Yu-hyun thought his path would be very perilous.
They wanted Yu-hyunâs destruction as much as he wanted Pentagramâs.
âI had to take drastic measures too.â
ââŠI felt it while watching your stories, but hearing your determination in person makes my brain unable to keep up.â
Oelo had seen Yu-hyun as a freak among tellers, a gambler who was crazy enough to risk his life.
His stories always showed that.
From the time he gave up his protection in the Constantinople siege, to when he pulled out the stake of the name list without escaping the collapsing Agido, to when he defeated the mad sea demon.
It was the same afterwards.
When he thought of what Yu-hyun had done, looking back at his footsteps made him wonder how he could do that even with several lives.
But, he survived until now because he succeeded in all those gambles.
âIf he succeeds this much, I wonder if itâs really a gamble at this point. He only succeeded after all. But then when I hear what heâs going to do next, itâs definitely a gamble. A gamble with a very low probability.â
Oelo didnât like those who only cared about their own safety and well-being and stayed in their place, but Yu-hyun was so extreme that even he felt disgusted.
Yu-hyun smiled as if he praised such a reaction.
âThen, Iâll get up now.â
âAre you leaving?â
âYes. It seems like weâve finished talking. Please let me know when you need a name.â
âIs that so? Oh, wait a minute.â
Oelo said that and called his robot secretary again.
Maybe because he gave him a hint beforehand, the robot secretary brought five pieces of stories with him when he came in.
Oelo released the transparent barrier that blocked Yu-hyun and the collectors and got up from his cushion.
âWhat is this?â
âYouâre still a guest, so you should take a gift before you go. I have some pride too, you know. How would it look if I just sent you away after inviting you?â
âA gift?â
âItâs a specially made story. It will be very useful for you guys.â
It wasnât just an empty word.
Even to Yu-hyunâs eyes, the white lumps that the secretary brought were filled with great power.
One of the Tellers of the Beginning, Oelo, had said it himself: that he had something useful for them. Considering his reputation, no one could deny the value of his stories.
âTake these. I chose them to suit each of you.â
âThank you for your generosity.â
To Kang Hye-rim, who could manipulate brainwaves, he gave the story of [Brainstorm], which would greatly increase her output.
To Kwon Jia, who never gave up and craved for endless battles, he gave the story of [Indomitable Berserker], which would amplify her attacks as she got wounded and exhausted.
To Seo Sumin, whose body was still weak compared to his will and inner power, he gave the story of [Limitless Body].
And to Yoo Young-min, who specialized in long-range attacks, he gave the story of [Overload], which would enhance his offensive power.
They were all stories that even high-level collectors could not easily obtain.
And Oelo casually gave them as gifts, making them realize once again how amazing he was.
âAnd for you⊠I donât know if youâll like this, but itâs better than nothing.â
Oelo said that and handed a story to Yu-hyun.
âThisâŠ?â
âYouâve been using some impressive martial arts lately. To maximize their power, you need to go beyond the next level. They call it âwillâ in Murim World, right?â
âYes. Thatâs right.â
âThen this should be somewhat helpful for you now.â
The story that Oelo gave to Yu-hyun was [Will Focus].
It might seem like the most humble story compared to the others, but Oelo didnât think so.
âThe simpler it looks, the more upright and intense its effect is. Besides, considering the crazy things youâre going to do in the future, this might come in handy.â
âWhy? It doesnât matter anyway. Once I get there, these stories will be meaningless.â
âThis one looks like nothing at all, so no one thinks itâs great. And if they donât think itâs great, they canât see its value.â
Oelo only explained that much and closed his mouth.
The rest was up to them now.
Oelo bid farewell to Yu-hyun as he left.
âGood luck.â
âYes. See you again.â
âIf you can call me, that is.â
There was a lot in those words.
He implied that he wasnât sure if Yu-hyunâs plan would succeed and that he might even die.
Yu-hyun didnât feel the need to correct him.
He just chuckled and briefly pondered what he had to do next.
And so Yu-hyun returned to Earth with his companions on the space train.
***
âWhat did you talk about?â
When they came back to the office, Kwon Jia called Yu-hyun aside and asked him that question.
She didnât know what Yu-hyun and Oelo had talked about behind the wall. Even if she tried to figure it out with her poison tongue skill, the transparent wall completely changed their lip movements.
She only knew that the blond boy was a really amazing being and that he had made some deal with Yu-hyun that they didnât know about.
She felt regretful and impatient about that.
Until she called him separately and asked him before they returned to Earth, Yu-hyun didnât say anything about what they had talked about.
âAre we still not enough for him?â
Not only her but also Kang Hye-rim, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min had become stronger.
They had worked hard and harder after seeing his past, not to hold him back.
Their efforts paid off and they grew and became stronger than before.
They were proud of themselves for that.
But they couldnât reach him.
He was so close in front of them, within reach of their hands, but they couldnât touch him.
âIs this not enough?â
Kwon Jia never thought she would regret forgetting her past so much.
Surely her memories from then were so horrible that she wanted to erase them from her mind.
But on the other hand, it was also the time when she was the strongest, when she didnât bow down to anything and worked hard.
Strength gained with pain.
Kwon Jia wanted that more than ever at this moment.
âI amâŠâ
âWe had a lot of conversations.â
Yu-hyunâs voice brought Kwon Jia back to reality.
âIs there something we canât know?â
âYes.â
His short and firm answer made Kwon Jiaâs heart ache.
She suppressed her emotions for a moment and glared at Yu-hyun with slightly raised eyes.
Was it because we were not enough, she wanted to ask, but Yu-hyun spoke first.
âItâs because you all are too precious to me.â
ââŠ!â
Kwon Jia widened her eyes at his response, as if he had read her mind.
âHonestly, I want to tell you too. Itâs hard for me to carry this alone, and itâs also⊠hurting you. But you know, Jia. There are things in the world that we canât do as we wish.â
Yu-hyun also wanted to tell her about the Book of Genesis. He wanted to inform her about the fragments, and gather them all together.
But the world did not allow the existence of the fragments to be revealed.
Especially Kwon Jia, who knew about the fragments and what they had done. If he told her the truth about the fragments, he couldnât predict what would happen when she reacted.
What if her memory didnât recover slowly, but woke up all at once? What if she had sealed her memory herself to prepare for danger, and told Yu-hyun that she should never regain it?
He couldnât tell Kwon Jia everything.
The moment he spoke, he would inevitably affect the memory that she had sealed herself.
âBut the reason why I donât say anything more is because I was asked by you, Jia.â
âI asked you?â
âThatâs all I can say. You shouldnât try to find out more.â
ââŠâ
Kwon Jia put away her thoughts of questioning him when she saw his face.
This man was not indifferent to the collectors, including herself.
He was always consistent.
He always worried and cared for them, and thought of them.
She knew that, but how shameful it was to only receive his kindness and not repay him.
She also wanted to do something for him, to help him, but she had to stay still because of something unknown.
Kwon Jia couldnât stand it.
âI hate it. I hate being only a burden to you and not doing anything.â
She honestly expressed her feelings.
The regressorâs trait rang an alarm and suppressed her from shouting, but Kwon Jia clenched her teeth and endured it.
She hated being dishonest with her feelings because of the trait.
âWhat should I do? How can I help you?â
She was tired of only receiving. What did she go through that hellish regression for?
To save the world, and to break free from this cursed bond.
She saved others with altruism, and came this far even though she was hurt.
It was all her will.
âWhen will I ever stop being a burdenâŠâ
âThen letâs have a serious talk about it.â
ââŠWhat?â
Kwon Jia was stunned by Yu-hyunâs sudden change of tone.
Wasnât this a serious conversation? Didnât Yu-hyun listen to her earnestly?
âI understand your feelings, Jia. So I decided to offer another solution.â
âAnother⊠solution? Is there such a thing?â
âThere is a truth that you shouldnât know, Jia. And I canât tell you whatâs going on because of that. Right?â
âThatâs⊠trueâŠâ
Kwon Jia nodded unconsciously at his words.
âBut you and the others want to help me. Then the solution is simple.â
âThere is a solution?â
âKnowing and helping are two different things. Then there is only one option. Donât try to know, just help.â
âDonât try to knowâŠâ