Chapter 301: The Oracle
What even!?
Kang Chul-In was shocked by Kwak Jung’s statement . The non-existent past referred to the lost history as a result of Kang Chul-In’s Soul Backup . The one who returned referred to Kang Chul-In himself, did it not?
I’m the one who kills Vilhelm and Ao Xin?
Something was off . If Kwak Jung truly saw Kang Chul-In kill the two Overlords, he would have said ‘your Majesty will kill Vilhelm and Ao Xin’, instead of saying it in such a roundabout statement .
Clench! Kang Chul-In grabbed Kwak Jung by the collar .
“Kwak Jung!”
“ . . . !”
“What did you see?”
“Y-Your Majesty... Urgh!”
“Tell me . ”
“ . . . !”
“What did you see?”
Kang Chul-In could overlook any other prophecies, but not one that mentioned Soul Backup .
“Y-Your Majesty... kuhuk . . . ”
“All of you, leave the room . ”
Kang Chul-In didn’t care whether Kwak Jung was struggling . Since Kwak Jung spoke of Soul Backup, he decided that there was a need for a private conversation .
“P-Please let go of this first... kuhuk...!”
“Shit!”
Kang Chul-In immediately let go of Kwak Jung’s collar . He was almost about to suffocate his cherished subordinate to death .
“Kek! Y-You almost killed me . . . ”
“It’s a misunderstanding . ”
“ . . . ”
“Why would I kill you? You know for yourself how much I value you . ”
Kang Chul-In shamelessly tapped Kwak Jung’s back and smiled, pretending that nothing happened .
Urgh . . .
Kwak Jung thought .
He is definitely a psychopath, no matter how I look . . .
Kang Chul-In was certainly a great boss, but his temper was just incomprehensible .
“Anyway . ”
Kang Chul-In pressured Kwak Jung .
“What did you see? What do you mean by the one who returned from the non-existent past?”
“T-That . . . ”
“Did you see me kill Vilhelm and Ao Xin?”
He asked just to make sure .
“No . ”
Kwak Jung shook his head .
“However . . . ”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you assume that I saw you, your Majesty?”
A good point .
This bastard . . .
Kang Chul-In was caught off guard by Kwak Jung’s question, but he responded fluently .
“I wonder why?”
Heh .
Kang Chul-In smiled .
“Why did I ask that question?”
“Huhh?”
Kwak Jung’s eyes widened .
W-What’s going on?
Kwak Jung was flabbergasted . That question indirectly indicated that Kang Chul-In had something to do with his prophecy . In other words, was Kang Chul-In someone who returned from the past as well?
“Idiot . ”
At that moment, Kang Chul-In criticized his subordinate .
“Sorry?”
“Who else could kill Vilhelm and Ao Xin on this continent? Just name a few . ”
“Well that... aha?”
Kwak Jung scratched his head . The only man capable of killing the two Overlords of the Gullveig Alliance was standing right before him .
So easy .
Kang Chul-In grinned inwardly .
“So what did you see?”
He quickly changed the topic .
“T-That is . . . ”
“ . . . ?”
“I can’t remember clearly . . . ”
“ . . . ”
“I know what I saw, but I can’t remember the scene . ”
“Are you trying to play games with . . . ”
“Not at all!”
Kwak Jung exclaimed .
“I’m frustrated too!”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes . I definitely saw something, but I can’t fathom what it was . . . It drives me crazy!”
“ . . . !”
“But in essence... I did see something . ”
How should Kang Chul-In interpret this?
Kwak Jung only remembered the crux of the story . If Kang Chul-In had not seen Kwak Jung’s strange state, he would have reprimanded him for spouting nonsense .
“A-Anyway . . . ”
Kwak Jung continued .
“My body condition... it’s a little weird now . ”
“Anyone can tell . ”
“Yes, actually... I can see a status window... I’ve never had something like this before . . . ”
“ . . . ?”
“Let me draw it out for you . ”
Kang Chul-In passed a scroll and a quill pen to Kwak Jung .
Scribble, scribble .
Kwak Jung’s hand began to move busily on the scroll .
“ . . . !”
What Kwak Jung had written utterly surprised Kang Chul-In:
[Notification] Job advancement was successful!
Adventurer Kwak Jung’s class changed from ‘tactician’ to ‘Oracle’!
Penalty Option: Muscle Strength -30% / Endurance -30% / Agility -30% / Defense -30% / Magic Resistance -30% / Attack -50%
“What is this bullshit . . . ”
Kang Chul-In cursed . What kind of job advancement decreased so much physical attributes?
Maybe the job advancement was not a wise decision .
However,
“What in the world!?”
Kang Chul-In was shocked once again .
[The Oracle]
Predicts the future .
Cool time: 72 hours .
Penalty Option: After activation, all attributes are decreased by -5% permanently (increased penalty with larger-scaled prophecy)
If Kwak Jung could gain the ability to foresee the future, then the penalty option was understandable .
“Why are you randomly named the Oracle?”
“I-I have no idea myself . ”
Kang Chul-In and Kwak Jung, the king and his subject, stared at each other with puzzled expressions .
“Something seems . . . ”
Kwak Jung spoke .
Immediately,
“Huh?”
His vision began to blur .
Thump!
He then foamed and collapsed onto the floor .
“Kwak Jung!”
Kang Chul-In hurriedly helped Kwak Jung to get up .
***
Kwak Jung struggled to recover .
Sometimes he tossed back and forth with foam at his mouth, and he pulled his hair as if he was having a bad headache . He also had seizures like an epileptic patient . No treatment was successful . Nilus and Arshelly’s mental treatment, Alfred’s Blood Heal, and even Skadi’s occult treatment failed to work .
“God damn it!”
Kang Chul-In cursed as he left the sickbay .
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
He was frustrated . Kwak Jung was his most cherished subordinate and also the pillar of the Valhalla Kingdom . If Kang Chul-In was the symbol of brute strength and power, Kwak Jung was the control tower that efficiently commanded his army . That Kwak Jung was sick . Apart from its impact on Kang Chul-In’s emotional state , this news led to a great loss in Valhalla’s national strength .
“Argh . . . ”
Nilus, who left the sickbay together with Kang Chul-In, mumbled as he passed by Kang Chul-In .
“It seems like there’s some problem with the brain... but it’s not like I can open up the skull and pour potions into it... argh . . . ”
“The brain?”
Kang Chul-In turned around to face Nilus .
“What do you mean?”
“Your Majesty... what I meant was . . . ”
“ . . . ?”
“Isn’t prophecy a product of the brain’s capacity?”
“It is?”
“Well, maybe it could be a spiritual thing, but we magicians tend not to believe in that kind of fluff . ”
It was an interesting remark . Wasn’t magic fluff as well? It was ironic for Nilus, who had devoted his entire lifetime studying magic, to not believe in the spiritual realm .
“In fact, magic may seem unrealistic . ”
Nilus seemed to have noticed Kang Chul-In’s amusement . He began to explain further .
“However, magic is a field of study that becomes more realistic as one delves deeper . This is especially so for elementary mages like myself, who do not acknowledge non-magical entities like black magic and sorceries . ”
“ . . . ”
“If I were to elaborate on the details of the mechanism of magic . . . ”
“No, it’s fine . ”
Kang Chul-In hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt Nilus . Why would he want to know about the mechanism of magic? His brain was already about to explode .
“Anyways, you are saying that the problem lies not in the spiritual realm, but more in the brain?”
“Yes, your Majesty . ”
“The cure?”
“Regarding that... a human brain is more complicated than what you think, your Majesty . Even a spell that erases or alters just 5 minutes of memory requires a high-ranked magician who is capable of chanting level 8 spells proficiently . ”
“Why is that so, Nilus?”
“For a mind control magic to work, the spellcaster’s mental and computing power must be overwhelmingly better than the target’s .
Thump!
Kang Chul-In could feel his heart drop .
In other words, there was nobody who could treat Kwak Jung .
“In that case . . . ”
“Yes, your Majesty . . . ”
Nilus replied regrettably .
“Only an ancient dragon from the archaic texts may alleviate tactician Kwak’s condition... However, where can we find an ancient dragon . . . ”
“ . . . !”
“Huh?”
Nilus tilted his head sideways .
“Y-Your Majesty?”
The only being who could treat Kwak Jung was the ancient dragon that was now being held captive in Kang Chul-In’s training room .
“I just happened to have a dog shit . ”
Kang Chul-In smirked . He was right .
They say when you need a dog shit for medicine [1], there isn’t any . However, Kang Chul-In had the perfect dog shit in his hands .
A gigantic dog shit called an ancient black dragon!
***
“Ah, this . ”
Desdemona, who was still tied up in Podolski’s perverted style, recognized Kwak Jung’s condition at once glance .
“What is this?”
“His brain’s calculation ability improved exponentially, what else?”
Desdemona shrugged .
“Hmm?”
“What I’m saying is that . . . ”
Desdemona began to explain the mechanism of prophecy briefly .
“In this guy’s case, he is highly specialized in analyzing whatever he sees, hears or feels . A great insight, I must say . ”
“And then?”
“A human brain has a definite limit . It fatigues very quickly . ”
“Are you looking down on humans?”
“Don’t be mad . It’s the truth . ”
“Where’s your evidence?”
“Humans go crazy, don’t they? That’s the proof . ”
“That . . . ”
“We dragons never go crazy . ”
“ . . . !”
“We never kill, scream, or run around frantically because we have lost our minds . ”
“Hmm . . . ”
“If you don’t get it, just listen . ”
Desdemona critiqued Kang Chul-In and continued her explanation .
“Anyways, the limited human brain relies heavily on subconsciousness . It’s often termed an instinct . This is a good example . The brain couldn’t sustain the powerful insight, and hence introduced a type of subconsciousness . ”
“And what is that?”
“Survival instinct . ”
“ . . . !”
“This guy’s ability keeps on activating against his own will, so his survival instinct felt a need to control that . To put it simply, it’s like how one exercises to dissipate his/her overflowing energy . ”
“Continue . ”
“His survival instinct created the prophetic ability to pacify the overworking brain . His brilliant insight is now contained in a dish called ‘Oracle algorism’, which analyses the present and predicts the future . It’s because the prophetic ability consumes a heavenly amount of brain power . ”
“Ah!”
Kang Chul-In could finally understand the mechanism behind prophecy . Nilus was right: prophecy had nothing to do with the spiritual realm . It was a sort of deduction, created by a highly developed human brain’s computing power . In other words, Kwak Jung was now a kind of supercomputer!
“Oh well, but it’s unfortunate . ”
Desdemona shrugged .
“Unfortunate?”
“Sigh . . . ”
“ . . . ?”
“Think about it, you idiot! It’s only a temporary measure! Even if this guy’s survival instinct has created the Oracle algorism to suppress his brain power, a mere human can never control it . He will spontaneously look into the future every now and then . Then he will be chronically fatigued, and his body will start to break down . Then he will die . People like him never live long . ”
Kang Chul-In realized .
“Prophets are short-lived . Even if they do live long, they are constantly plagued by sickness . The oriental saying that ‘if one reveals God’s plan, his lifespan shortens’ probably originated from a similar context . ”
Skadi was right .
Moreover, it explained the penalty option that popped up when Kwak Jung had his job advancement from ‘tactician’ to ‘Oracle’ .
“I won’t let that . . . ”
Kang Chul-In was about to continue his sentence .
“H-Honey!”
Lee Chae-Rin hurriedly rushed into the sickbay .
“Something appalling happened!”
Kang Chul-In thought,
Damn it, something appalling this time?
His face crumpled from fatigue .
What did she mean?
Kang Chul-In was sick and tired of the constant flood of problems .
“What is it this time?”
He asked with an irritated voice .
“O-Overlord Albrecht Vilhelm and... Ao Xin . . . ”
“ . . . !”
“They are dead!”
“ . . . !”
“It’s chaos now, honey!”
Kwak Jung’s prophecy had come to fruition .
[1] There is a korean saying: ‘when you need a dog shit for medicine, there isn’t any’ . In other words, when you are in a desperate situation, even the most common/useless thing happens to be unavailable .
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