Chapter 301
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 . . . ” magic
“ . . . ”
“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!”
“ . . . !” 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 .