TRPM 269

chapter 269

The talisman on the jiangshi’s forehead was still intact, yet the creature showed no hostility toward the Oracle and the Great Shaman standing before it.

“(Hoo….)”

The Great Shaman let out an admiring sigh at the sight.

It wasn’t unusual for dungeon monsters to be modeled after specific people, but—

(That a monster could regain the memories of when it was still human….)

The Oracle’s spacetime ability must have sent the jiangshi’s mind back into the past.
Back to when it was human.

The awakened jiangshi then looked at the Oracle and the Great Shaman with eyes that seemed able to pierce through everything.

After checking its own condition, it let out a sigh.

“So it seems. I am a jiangshi.”

The jiangshi realized what it was—
one of the countless monsters that existed within the dungeon.

And it understood why it had suddenly regained its awareness.

“What was the purpose of putting me in this state?”

It asked, glaring at the Oracle.
The jiangshi instantly realized she was the cause of its awakening.

“… I simply wished to speak with you, Artist.”
“… Artist? Are you referring to me?”

Naturally, the jiangshi didn’t understand the title “Artist.”
Before his regression, Han Gunwoo had never been called by that name.

“If you’re uncomfortable, I can call you something else.”
“No, it’s fine. Call me whatever you wish. I’m in a rather good mood right now.”

Though it was unpleasant to realize he had become a jiangshi, it felt good to finally meet someone he could converse with.
His memories cut off at a point where he had gone decades without seeing another person.

“So, you want to talk… What kind of conversation did you have in mind?”

The jiangshi sat down to avoid pressuring the Oracle, then asked.

“… Your name is Han Gunwoo… correct?”
“That’s right. You’re well-informed.”
“And… what era are you from?”
“What era….”

After thinking for a moment, the jiangshi stated the last date he remembered, including the year.

“Of course, it’s only a rough guess. I can’t be precise.”
“So, around that time then.”

The date the jiangshi mentioned was decades ahead of the present.

Upon hearing this, the Oracle became certain: the Artist—Han Gunwoo—was a regressor.

“……”

The jiangshi, too, realized that the current era was far removed from the one he had lived in.

The past? Or the future?

He couldn’t be certain.
Since the Oracle knew his name—and even a nickname he didn’t recognize—it was likely the future.

But—

That old man being alive means it could also be the past….

His eyes shifted to the Great Shaman standing behind the Oracle.

He recognized that figure.
Anyone who had studied world history or even had slight interest in shamanism would know the man’s face—he was that famous.

Of course, as the world’s greatest shaman, it’s possible he survived somehow….

Unable to determine whether this was past or future, the jiangshi decided not to choose.
Instead, he would speak in a way that fit either case.

“May I ask you something, then?”
“Yes, please.”

The Oracle had countless questions for the jiangshi, but only pressing him would risk making him uncooperative.
After all, once this conversation ended, the jiangshi would vanish along with the dungeon.

“You speak Korean fluently. Where did you learn it?”
“Oh, Korean?”

There might be unexpected information in his answer.

“As the Awakener System grew stronger, learning foreign languages became easier.”

If anyone should know that, it would be the Artist himself, who had strengthened the system.
Yet the jiangshi looked clueless.

Meaning: before his regression, the Artist had not strengthened the Awakener System.
Or rather, he couldn’t.

That was the conclusion the Oracle reached.

“… Is that so? Then someone must’ve had points to spare.”

The jiangshi seemed completely unaware that the one who strengthened the system was none other than his regressed self.

“Ah, that was you, Artist—your regressed self.”
“…? What?”
“?”
“?”

For a moment, their conversation fell out of sync.

(… He’s surprised at the mention of regression? But as someone with spacetime abilities, shouldn’t that have been an obvious possibility? Could it be that, in his timeline, he never considered regression at all? Or maybe….)

Regression? As in going back to the past? I regressed?

Both of them quickly drew their own conclusions.

(… Maybe the Artist wasn’t actually a spacetime ability user?)

… Then this must be the worldline where I regressed. And she knows that?

And then new questions arose—

(If the Artist wasn’t a spacetime user, then how in the world did he regress?)

If I really did regress… how would I act? Is this woman my ally—or my enemy?

“… I have another question.”
“… Go on.”
“You seem to believe that I—that the ‘Artist’ you speak of—regressed. How do you know that?”

“……”

The Oracle could feel it.
The jiangshi was now growing wary of her.

And the jiangshi could feel it too—
her hesitation to answer meant she was unlikely to be friendly toward his regressed self.

Since I’ll vanish along with this dungeon anyway… I should act for the sake of my regressed self.

He could guess what his future self would do.
He would prevent the tragedy with the demon seed—his mother’s suicide.
He would undo as many regrets as possible.

Then I must side with my regressed self.

That meant helping him now.
But how could he, as nothing more than a jiangshi?

I must pass on information.

Information about the people standing before him.

If they were allies, there would be no problem.
If they were enemies, then his regressed self would still find the information useful.

“(Heh… Empathy Sorcery, is it?)”
“(What?)”
“(It means that jiangshi is trying some trickery.)”

The Great Shaman’s words confused the jiangshi, but he understood enough—
his ploy had been exposed.

Not that he expected otherwise.
He had blatantly used sorcery right in front of the world’s greatest shaman—how could it go unnoticed?

“(Then we should stop him!)”
“(Heh… You can’t stop proper sorcery unless it’s cast improperly.)”
“(This old man—!)”

Angered, the Oracle manipulated space—
and ripped the talisman from the jiangshi’s forehead.

“Ugh?!”

Suddenly, the jiangshi’s whole body felt paralyzed.
That was the weakness of talisman-bound jiangshi.
Without the charm, they weakened and stiffened.

But instead of despair, he smiled.

“(Oh dear. You’ve made a mistake.)”
“(What?)”

Empathy Sorcery worked on the principle that things alike affected one another.
The more alike the jiangshi was to regressed Han Gunwoo, the stronger the effect.

And when the talisman was torn away, the sorcery only grew stronger.
… After all, the regressed Han Gunwoo wasn’t walking around with a talisman on his forehead.

“(Damn it…!)”

The Oracle hurriedly used her ability to sever the jiangshi’s head from his body.

But the expression she saw at the end was a triumphant smile—
on a face that looked uncannily like Han Gunwoo’s.

The sorcery had succeeded.

“(Heh… So everything you told me will now reach the Artist.)”

It meant all her information had been delivered to Han Gunwoo.

While examining the flow of mana, I noticed someone casting sorcery upon me.

“… Empathy Sorcery?”

I had used it before, so I recognized it immediately.

Human-based empathy sorcery usually served two purposes:
either to resemble a target and steal their skills or memories,
or to damage something resembling the target, inflicting a curse-like effect.

This one was closer to the former—
but rather than stealing my memories, it was sending its own memories to me.

… Who could it be?

After a moment’s thought, I decided not to resist.
If it was a malicious attempt to flood me with horrific memories to break my mind, it wouldn’t work anyway.
After all, I had trained my brain by peering into what lay beyond the fissures.

Whether that counted as “training” was debatable, but still.

“……”

The moment I accepted the sorcery, I understood everything.

The me from before regression—manifested as a jiangshi in the dungeon.
The Oracle and the Great Shaman standing before him.
And my pre-regression self, concluding that the Oracle wasn’t friendly with me, choosing to cast the sorcery.

“… So this flow of mana was the Oracle’s doing.”

Thanks to my pre-regression self, I gained critical information.

That the Oracle, whose whereabouts had been unknown since leaving the organization on Mars, was now in China.
And—

“That the Great Shaman is her ally… and that even the Heavenly Demon is likely by her side.”

My pre-regression self hadn’t seen the Heavenly Demon directly, but from the dungeon’s location and traces of battle, it was clear enough that he was involved.

… Even that much alone was serious.

Unlike the old organization, whose members were strong in tech but weak in skill,
the Great Shaman and the Heavenly Demon were opponents even I couldn’t take lightly.

And they had joined forces with the Oracle.

Most importantly—

“The Oracle is now wielding spacetime abilities.”

Her personal combat power could no longer be dismissed.

When Sophia had been spying within the organization, the Oracle had been deemed weak.
But now?

She had awakened my jiangshi self’s human mind, stripped off its talisman, and severed its head.

She wasn’t yet on par with a veteran Awakener,
but she was steadily growing.

And for the Oracle, time won’t be an issue.

Quite literally—
as someone who manipulated spacetime, she could easily create all the time she needed to train.

“… This might actually be something to worry about….”