Chapter 299: |
‘Oelo doesn’t know.’
He didn’t know everything. What Satan didn’t know, Oelo knew, and what Oelo didn’t know, Satan knew.
In the end, they had different pieces of knowledge.
And Oelo told Yu-hyun everything he knew.
He wasn’t being kind, but because Yu-hyun was the only one who could fulfill his wish.
That also meant he was desperate.
He had the qualification to collect the primordial books, and he could also summon the hidden traitor through them.
What Oelo did was a trade and a kind of investment in Yu-hyun.
‘I’m just a mere company employee, and I’m getting such a big investment.’
“Alright, Mr. Oelo. I understand what you want. I’ve already decided to keep collecting the fragments anyway. It’s a good thing if we have the same goal.”
“Of course, I won’t say it in vain. It’s true that I told you the information you wanted, but what I want is not just information.”
“That’s right.”
Yu-hyun wasn’t Oelo’s subordinate who followed his orders, nor was he a contractor who did his bidding.
Oelo said it himself that it was a deal between individuals.
Compared to what Yu-hyun had to do in the future, the information that Oelo gave him was useful but not a fair price.
Oelo knew that too and nodded.
“I don’t expect you to do everything I tell you just because I told you. Well, your president and other guys might be good at exploiting others, but I still have some conscience and morality left.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“So the information I gave you is just information, and if you do me a favor, I’m willing to pay you a fair price.”
“What do you mean by price?”
“Hmm. That’s hard to say. The value of the price depends on how the receiver thinks of it. Do you think giving points to a teller like you who leads a large library and receives huge donations would be a proper price?”
Yu-hyun didn’t bother to deny that.
Points were overflowing for him now.
The more the better, but points were not enough for Yu-hyun who had already become strong enough to move on to the next stage.
“I’m collecting fragments, but that’s limited to Earth. I know there are fragments in other worlds too, but I don’t know how to get them.”
“There won’t be many anyway. Most of the fragments were concentrated on Earth. That world is special like that.”
“Now that you mention it, you said Earth was a bit special. Why is that?”
Oelo had nothing to hide and answered right away.
“It’s because Earth is the huamaek.”
“Huamaek?”
“The place where all the stories flow together, where the flows overlap and create a kind of singularity. Earth is such a place. The ones with low vision don’t know that, but I can tell at my level. No, you don’t even have to be at my level. If you’re in your company, even a manager with some vision would know.”
Yu-hyun was unfamiliar with the word huamaek and heard it for the first time, but he could understand what it meant.
Huamaek was a special space created by overlapping stories.
“The reason why the Divine Spirits were so interested in Earth, why they gave their various seeds of stories to Earth and sprouted myths…”
“It’s all because of the potential of huamaek that Earth has. Yeah. If I have to compare it to your world, maybe it’s like the core area above the yolk in a capital city among countless lands. Earth has that qualification.”
“…”
Yu-hyun understood why Earth had gone through such an ordeal in his previous life.
Exodus had figured out that Earth was huamaek and how valuable it was before Celestial Corporation did.
That’s why they teamed up with Pentagram Department and started their underground work.
Celestial Corporation thought that their value of Earth was great at first.
They thought they could extract more stories from it since the Divine Spirits had invested so much in it.
Exodus used Pentagram Department to blur Celestial Corporation’s judgment.
No matter how much huamaek flowed in the world, if the creatures inside it settled for reality and did nothing, the story would not progress.
A beautiful story eventually becomes boring and repetitive, and loses its value.
That was what led to the end of the world.
“What does Exodus want?”
“They want the world’s tragedy. Lotfiout, Damcheon, Catharsis. The three of them have different genres of stories that they collect. Lotfiout doesn’t care about the classification of stories as long as they have value, but Damcheon and Catharsis are different.”
Damcheon wants a cheerful and pleasant story, and Catharsis wants a dark and despairing story.
Their competition didn’t stop at just picking up what was there.
“After the Codex was torn apart, they went to the point of trying to create stories. At least Lotfiout was stubbornly pushing his role, but Damcheon and Catharsis weren’t.”
They wanted the stories of their favorite genres to dominate the world.
Exodus ruled the earth made of fire veins, and scattered all kinds of despair.
That was why.
If the passages where various stories come and go are contaminated by the ink of despair, then all the stories around it will also be dyed by it.
“That’s horrible.”
“Ha ha. Horrible? For the lower beings living on Earth, it might feel that way. But for the upper beings, it’s a good thing no matter what. For them, it’s just changing the meta of the stories they can see.”
“…I can’t deny that.”
Thinking about what the Divine Spirits did in the end in his previous life, Oelo’s words were not wrong at all.
“Of course, not all Divine Spirits look down on the lower humans. Among them, there are some who are very peculiar and try to guide and nurture the lower beings with love. But if you ask me if that’s right, I’d like to say no.”
“Why?”
“The interest of the transcendent is to ruin the object of interest whether it is good or bad. Their love also, is enough to make the lower world sick.”
“You know well. As if you’ve seen it.”
“Heh heh. Look at this guy. Hey. I’m the King of Bias. I watch and enjoy how the lower, middle, and upper beings live, and understand their lives in my head. That’s why I can say this. You understand. That’s why I want to pay you a fair price. Well, actually, that’s the biggest reason why I’m weird.”
Oelo was definitely weird.
He had no dignity like other kings of stories.
Rather, he had a consideration that relaxed and opened up the other person’s mind.
Usually, if you’re that kind of being, you’d think it’s natural to crush everything with authority and power, but Oelo didn’t.
He was like a being who made up the word freedom.
He valued his own freedom while respecting others’ freedom.
“So, if you’re going to collect fragments, will you accept my offer?”
“What will you reward me with?”
“I can’t fill you up with points alone, but it’s strange not to give you points either. I’m willing to provide you with various information besides points and stories. If necessary, you can ask for my help too.”
“That’s tempting.”
“But I can’t do anything blatant or contrary to the system. Even if I do, it’ll be nothing but trivial things. And actually, considering the fragments you have, you don’t need my help anyway?”
“I don’t know about that. Besides, what about my companions that I brought with me?”
“No.”
Oelo shook his head firmly.
He didn’t even say what he was going to do, but Oelo answered as if he had been looking at it from the beginning.
“Why do you think I installed a wall and blocked the conversation? Fragments are only given to those who are qualified. Even I don’t have the qualification to touch or scatter them. I can see them with my eyes and know their location, but that’s all.”
“Is it not possible without qualification?”
“Yes. Even if they are first-generation Divine Spirits.”
“…”
“I know you care about collectors. Well, I’ve been watching them since your first painting, so I know how talented and special they are. But they’re not enough. I’m not sure if they’re qualified or not, but not now.”
“I see…”
Oelo’s eyes sharpened and he glanced at Kwon Jia behind the transparent wall.
His pupils were piercing through her appearance as a human being now, and looking at her talent and essence.
“Only one thing, maybe Mad dog Kwon Jia could be possible.”
“She can’t do it alone.”
Yu-hyun said firmly.
Oelo shrugged his shoulders, as if he expected that.
“It can’t be all four of them. And I can’t just favor the one who seems more likely, because he also seems a bit suspicious. What a pity.”
“It is a pity. I can’t collect all the fragments by myself. That’s why I wanted to ask you as a proxy.”
“There is a way, though.”
“Really?”
Yu-hyun widened his eyes, and Oelo laughed, amused by his expression.
“Haha. Didn’t you think of it? It’s meaningless for me to talk about qualifications to those kids. I don’t have the right to touch the fragments in the first place, so how can I judge someone else’s right?”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
“But you’re different. You have the right, and you already have more than 10 fragments. That means you have the power to handle the fragments as you wish.”
Handle the fragments as he wished.
Yu-hyun recalled when he made a navigation that could find other fragments with the one he stole from the cult leader.
It wasn’t his intention, but the fragment changed according to Yu-hyun’s will.
“So, as you said, you can also grant them the proxy rights if you want.”
“Can I really use the fragments as I please?”
“Why are you asking me? The Codex is not mine to begin with.”
“…”
“It would have been my father’s, Logos’, but not anymore. In the end, whoever picks it up is the owner, as they say. The fragments are yours to use however and wherever you want. It’s your freedom in the end.”
“But, you asked me to collect the fragments…”
“Did you forget why I asked you to collect them?”
“Oh.”
That’s right.
Oelo asked him to collect the fragments, but he didn’t say to restore the Codex to its original state.
What Oelo wanted was to find and kill the first traitor, Praytion.
The fragments were nothing but bait to lure him out, not Oelo’s real goal.
“What I want is revenge. Revenge on the one who betrayed my father’s expectations, who betrayed us, his brothers. That’s all I want. That’s why I wandered around the world. Well, even then, I couldn’t find any trace of him.”
“But if the fragments start to gather, he will have no choice but to show himself eventually.”
“That’s right.”
Oelo grinned and asked Yu-hyun.
“So, will you do it? Well, to be honest, it would be a shame for me if you refused my offer. Even if you reject me and collect the fragments on your own to summon Praytion, I will keep an eye on you and wait for him to appear.”
“Don’t I have no choice?”
“You do have a choice. You can either accept my terms and get rewarded, or just refuse and get nothing.”
“That’s almost blackmail.”
Yu-hyun chuckled and Oelo didn’t deny it.
“Business should always be done cleanly.”
“That’s true. And for me, it’s something I have to do anyway, so there’s no need to refuse and lose the reward.”
“It’s almost like I’m giving it away. You know that?”
“But, just giving me stories or points is not enough.”
Yu-hyun crossed his legs and snapped his fingers.
Oelo was about to say something about his arrogant attitude, but when he met Yu-hyun’s serious eyes, he realized that he wasn’t just bluffing.
“What do you want?”
“Your reputation may not be as great as your other three brothers’, but your name still has some value, right?”
“It’s a bit awkward for me to say it myself, but yes. It’s true. Even though I look like this, I’m one of the original Tellers.”
“So I want to borrow your name value.”
He had the upper hand anyway.
Yu-hyun was the only one who could do what Oelo wanted, and Oelo was willing to give him whatever he wanted in return for his revenge.
Yu-hyun knew that Oelo had something valuable, and he planned to take as much as he could from him.
The most versatile thing he could use was
the reputation he had as the Primordial Teller.
“What are you going to do with that? Get a loan or something?”
“I’d rather take points from you than get a loan.”
“You don’t even bother to ask anymore.”
“Anyway, it’s not a loan. I just want to secure my position a little more.”
“You…”
Oelo sensed that Yu-hyun was up to something.
There was no reason for a senior Teller, and a possible future manager, to worry about his position.
Oelo, who had always been playful and smiling, frowned and openly doubted Yu-hyun.
“You’re trying to use me for your office politics. Do you want to be the president of Lotfiout, or Celestial Inc.?”
Yu-hyun just smiled and didn’t deny or confirm his words.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I could force you to submit right here and now.”
“But you won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Those who seek revenge usually do.”
“…You’re a cheeky one.”
“It feels strange to hear that from you, Oelo.”
Oelo, who looked like an innocent boy, raised his hands.
It was a sign of surrender.
He had already played all the cards he had at this point.
But the other side still had some hidden cards.
“I’m only after revenge, not some complicated deal or negotiation. If we keep fighting like this, we’ll only waste more energy. I don’t want that.”
“That’s why I can make this offer.”
“You’re such a cunning snake. I’m not a businessman like Lotfiout. Do you enjoy eating this old man alive?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“So, are you going to tell me what you’re up to?”
“A little…”
Yu-hyun smirked and decided to give him a small clue.
“I need to clean up the headquarters.”