Infinite Regressor, Chapter 483 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

13. In the realm of terms least compatible with ‘secluded training,’ the word ‘group’ undoubtedly took the prize. If one were to liken martial arts novels to Pokémon, they would form an evolutionary chain: old school, new wave, and web-based, evolving as time went on. Amidst them, MZ martial arts, also known as the Xianxia phase, could be considered a Gigantamax evolution. Anyone familiar with old-school Pokémon would likely exclaim, “What! Is this even a Pokémon?” the instant they glimpsed a Gigantamax evolution. Xianxia found itself in precisely the same predicament. Nonetheless, one rule that remained unchanged from the past to the present was: ’Secluded training’ was a solitary pursuit — an unspoken tenet. Indeed, how could it be called secluded training if a bunch of like-minded individuals joined forces for the same? Even conducted by a forest spring, it warranted the title of a secluded MT experience rather than secluded training. "......Hey." In this sense, Noh Do-hwa, a complete outsider to martial arts novels, could perceive that the current situation was strangely amiss. “We’ve been holed up in this hotel room for over ten days, without even a peek at the sun… Is this right? Huh…?” “Go soak up some rays on the terrace.” The Undertaker replied. In this disgustingly vast suite, besides themselves, many others were sprawled about. Over there was Dang Seo-rin, and over there Cheon Yo-hwa… “Shit,” Noh Do-hwa cursed under her breath. From her perspective, laden with misanthropy, there were far too many people residing here. “Outside. Outside, you bastard…” At that, the Undertaker’s eyes gleamed, flickering like a beast’s in the dead of night. “Why? Do you want to leave here? Are you implying you want to break free from me?” “You, son of a…” It had been ten days since the Undertaker evolved into a madly obsessive being not found in this world. Completely oblivious to any genre conventions, he was calmly committing the atrocity known as ‘MT secluded training.’ Noh Do-hwa, then, realized deeply. Reflecting primarily on herself and her way of loving. Perhaps the visage of a clingy obsession towards another might be unbearable for that person beyond imagination - a realization. 14. To quickly skim through the chaos of events over the past frenzied ten days, it went as follows: For one, Lee Ha-yul found herself bestowed with a plethora of mothers. Even Silence Suzuka wouldn’t dare utter an absurd statement like, “Oh my, you must be so happy with so many mothers,” upon witnessing the current Lee Ha-yul. [Hmm.] Lee Ha-yul’s attitude towards the emergence of surplus mothers was complex. With the likes of Dang Seo-rin, Noh Do-hwa, Jeong Ye-ji, and Yu Ji-won, she was willing to brazenly attach herself, calling out 'Mama.' But her younger sister Cheon Yo-hwa, and elder sister Cheon Yo-hwa? Not easy. Sim Ah-ryeon? Get lost. Oh Dok-seo? Has the world ended? [Upon deep reflection.] Lee Ha-yul dutifully held up her sketchbook. [I’ve come to realize I might have always had just one mother.] “Did you just realize that now??” Oh Dok-seo, Lee Ha-yul’s close friend, was flabbergasted. It was an impious statement likely to shock and appall Lee Ha-yul’s mother, diligently tending to her plants in Busan. [More than that, I didn’t foresee you vying for the role of dad. I believed in you as much as I believed in my friends.] “No. I’m not part of that secluded training fam. The uncle and I share a noble spiritual love, a platonic author-reader bond, you see?” [Gross.] “What’s truly nauseating is the fact that Ah-ryeon unnie walked through those hell gates voluntarily, of her own accord… And even most enthusiastically, to boot….” [There may be a problem with our dad.] Indeed, uniquely, the duo not involved in breaking the genre by joining the group secluded training were Lee Ha-yul and Oh Dok-seo. They delighted in a trip to California. They could write off travel expenses to the religious order, had church members accompanying them as bodyguards and interpreters, and shared a mutual friendship. It was a literal treasure trove. While enjoying their duo escapade. “Hello?” They encountered an unexpected irregular. Seemingly ordinary-colored hair returned to its original shade post-final campaign, yet here sported pink locks once more, was Go Yuri. “Ahh!” [Oh. Hi, Aunt.] Oh Dok-seo was startled, like encountering a tiger in the wilderness, but Lee Ha-yul was instead welcoming. Go Yuri laughed wryly. “Is it because you’re Go Yo-il’s sister that you’re called Aunt? Hmm-. Ha-yul, no, your choice of addressing your niece is truly profound.” “How did you get here?! You shouldn’t be able to use teleportation anymore! And why is your hair color reverted?!” “Ahaha, Dok-seo.” Go Yuri smiled gently. “I’m wealthy. Each major city has its private jet.” “…….” Indeed. Recently, a mysterious investor with the nickname ‘Saintess’ had been steadily gaining renown in the dark halls of Wall Street, boasting astronomical returns. Yet, even this pale in comparison as a mere newcomer to Go Yuri. Accumulating her assets spread across countless organizations and nominee accounts combined granted Go Yuri overwhelming wealth. It wasn’t merely lip service when she spoke of saving the world. Immediately after regaining clarity post-final battle, Go Yuri had said: ‘Hmm,’ ‘I’ll need to visit South America to manage my organizations,’ ‘And clean up while I’m at it,’ ‘There are a lot of useless places now.’ Following which, Go Yuri vanished for a time. Of course, she wasn’t truly missing; they remained in contact via phone. However, with each call originating from a different number like a circus act, Oh Dok-seo decided to cleanly withdraw her interest. Life was precious. Thus, even though it had been quite some time since she last encountered Go Yuri in person, Go Yuri approached lightly, taking a seat across from her at an outdoor café table. As if they had parted only yesterday and were meeting again today. “By the way, Ha-yul, can’t you now communicate using your voice anytime since you have Uehara Shino’s potion and a successful surgery?” [Yes.] [But to liberate my true voice, conquering the Lee Ha-yul exclusive route is necessary.] [When the narrative reaches the climax, the character who has only communicated through sketchbooks and tablets will gradually begin to speak, responding to a proposal...] [Say 'Yes'.] [Gasp.] [This will mark the first time she speaks in her own voice, vividly imprinting that Lee Ha-yul has been won over.] [Legendary. Epic. Totally epic.] [It will be unmistakably revealed to the world that I, Lee Ha-yul, am the top heroine...] [I shall now stand amidst the heavens.] “Haha. That route sounds fascinating; though, your brother Go Yo-il might be killed by other members,” Go Yuri mentioned, smiling. The conversation left Oh Dok-seo, who was observing, looking queasy. As a reminder, Lee Ha-yul and Oh Dok-seo were close friends. Rather than calling Oh Dok-seo 'mom,’ Lee Ha-yul would rather face her demise, and Oh Dok-seo found the idea of traversing Lee Ha-yul's route utterly repulsive. Simultaneously, Lee Ha-yul found Oh Dok-seo's referring to her as 'daughter' and vice versa equally revolting. It was a mutual ouroboros of disgust between them. There was a reason these two could be friends despite everything. "So, why did you suddenly appear like a wild Pokémon? Weren't you busy organizing the scattered global organizations?" “Yes. I’ve just about wrapped that up.” Go Yuri softly covered her mouth with a hand. “Moreover, some rather interesting news reached me through my networks. Yu Ji-won and your brother, not alone, but an entire group traveling together! What exactly happened?” “I’m curious about what kind of network that is, but— well. It's probably a pipeline into the religious order.” Oh Dok-seo shrugged. Despite enlisting an internationally renowned regressor, spies enlisted by Go Yuri seemed to be lurking everywhere. “I’ll explain.” A short while later. “Wow!” Go Yuri clapped her hands together. Her expression could be best described in words as beaming, with a joyful smile spread across her face. “Going with everyone together. I didn’t expect that at all!” “...Really? But the uncle has always had plenty of potential love interests.” “It’s a matter of his personality. To him, the ultimate stage of love is to resolve and determine to spend his life with the person in front of him. No matter how close he might be to someone, once he decides to love, that person becomes his top priority.” Go Yuri chuckled warmly. “Surely you, having observed through your antics with ‘Infinite Metagame,’ understand well. Even when he was with Sim Ah-ryeon, he vowed to dedicate everything for her alone.” “……” “That’s why I predicted that even if he reached a happy ending, he wouldn’t end up with anyone. Ultimately, a no-romance ending or living only with Ha-yul was what I anticipated.” Go Yuri stirred her lemon tea with a spoon, giggling. “Oh my. Indeed. To think Cheon-hwa would use the time when I was killed to make a time capsule. She never fails to exceed expectations!” “……” Watching Go Yuri’s purely intrigued response, Oh Dok-seo realized again. Ah, the person before me truly shares the most similar mindset and emotions with the uncle— she thought. Even if the members ended up with someone else, the Undertaker would purely offer them his blessing, just as Go Yuri was doing. However. ‘The uncle is someone capable of changing his way of thinking for the members’ sake.’ Even though Oh Dok-seo couldn’t have imagined him turning into a crazy obsessive person, the Undertaker willingly abandoned his superior position. Living loftily above the clouds as if disinterested in worldly pleasures, he had intentionally fallen from grace. ‘Awakening means realization. Remaining in the realm of realization like Go Yuri, or sentencing oneself to forsake these realizations like the uncle. That’s the fundamental difference between them, I guess…’ Ultimately. Even though Oh Dok-seo, with help from Cheon Yo-hwa's Laplace, explored all possibilities using ‘Infinite Metagame,’ a 'Go Yuri Route' was nowhere to be found. Naturally. If, at any point, there had been a bad ending with Go Yuri, all world lines would have ceased that very day. “Oh.” A thought struck Oh Dok-seo, and she asked Go Yuri. “Just in case, was there maybe a run I missed? Did Dang Seo-rin have a separate route?” “Hm? No?” Oh Dok-seo immediately refuted. “Sister Seo-rin’s bad ending was when 'Utopia' descended… So, there was already a bad ending in the main story, not in an external tale. There were also minor runs where she hit it off with the uncle…” “There were?” “Well, things didn’t pan out.” It couldn't be helped. Unlike other members, Dang Seo-rin was already ‘dead’ at the time she met the Undertaker. Only the existence of Hecate, who inherited Dang Seo-rin's personality and memories, remained. Her death, unchangeable even through regression, constantly obstructed the ‘Dang Seo-rin Route.’ The deeper their connection grew, the more likely she was to realize her own existence was false. Only catastrophe awaited as a conclusion for this character. No matter how romantic the atmosphere, no matter how much love was present, there existed no route that connected them. In that sense, she was fundamentally a ‘supporting heroine.’ That was how Dang Seo-rin seemed to Oh Dok-seo. “Haha.” After listening to Oh Dok-seo’s insight, Go Yuri chuckled softly. “That’s a mistaken view, Dok-seo.” “Huh? Which part?” “While others connected with the Undertaker through extra stories, only one person’s bad ending was included in the so-called main story…” Grinning gently. “Wouldn’t you say this suggests this world line is precisely the route where Dang Seo-rin ended up with him?” “Ah… Is that so?” “Yes.” Go Yuri quietly stood up. “I’m relieved as well. With Dang Seo-rin by his side, she will surely face any challenge head-on with him. They are the perfect partners.” As she turned her back, Oh Dok-seo hastily called out, “W-wait, where are you going?” “My curiosity has been satisfied. I'm content. Now I must return to my duties.” “It’s been a while since you’ve arrived—aren’t you even going to greet the uncle and the other members?” “We can always stay in touch,” Go Yuri replied with a soft turn of her head to gaze at Oh Dok-seo, the one who had shepherded this tale to its present point. In a way, she was like a child born of both a regressor and a reincarnator. “To me, all of you are immensely precious. Yet, as you know, among all the living souls on this earth, there isn’t one who isn’t precious to me.” “Oh.” “I am not a god, nor could I ever become one. Still, I aim to save as many people as I can.” “……” “Farewell for now, Dok-seo, Ha-yul. Until next time.” With her footsteps echoing softly, Go Yuri’s figure receded into the distance. In this age, where both awakened beings and anomalies had dwindled, her silhouette didn’t vanish in an instant as it might have in older days. Instead, a sleek, black limousine glided seamlessly along the road, stopping intuitively in front of Go Yuri. She opened the back door herself and smoothly slipped inside. The limousine whisked away quietly. Still, as ever, she was a person with a presence as subtle yet profound as it could be. Oh Dok-seo contemplated as much. [Hey, Dok-seo.] “What?” [What you told Yuri earlier—is that true? The simulations you ran. Did you really draft those as ‘side stories’?] “Yeah. I mean, even though Laplace simulated things, that thing’s a washed-up dweeb now. I figured borrowing a bit of Infinite Metagame's power couldn’t hurt.” [Is there a side story route for me too?] “As if!” [Why not?] “What? You expect me to write a segment about you and the uncle lingering as chatterboxes in a ruined world? Even penning ‘The Last Weapon: BUSAN’ had my fingers cringing all inward! Are you mad?” [Not 'The Last Weapon: BUSAN', but ‘The Mobilized Terrestrial Aircraft Carrier Fortress Final Human Defense Ark City "BusaN"'. Don’t get it wrong again.] “Shut up! Get out! Get out of here!” The next day. After fully enjoying their travels, Oh Dok-seo and Lee Ha-yul returned to their hotel in San Francisco and were greeted with news that Dang Seo-rin had purchased a luxury yacht. Following extensive deliberations, the right to name the vessel was bestowed upon Lee Ha-yul. Naturally, the yacht was christened with a grand title befitting a Mobilized Maritime Aircraft Carrier Fortress Final Human Defense Ark City. ‘BusaN’.