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!”


  “ . . . !”


  \r \r \r

  “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 .