Hajin materialized in his waiting room.
[Welcome to Lv.7 Extra7's Waiting Room.]
[Vitality will recover 50% faster here.]
[Magic power will recover 50% faster here.]
[Light injuries will be healed naturally, and the waiting room's clear air will loosen up tense muscles.]
His waiting room was different than most.
It was 16 times bigger than most Players' waiting rooms, the floor was made of marble, and the interior was decorated with a luxury bed, couch, and other pieces of furniture he personally crafted. A portion of the room was even set aside for Sannuri to run around and play.
Ignoring the other amenities in the room, there was also the [Miniature Hot Spring of Peace].
Spartan teleported barely moving body of Kim Hajin on the bed.
The silence was absolute.
His body felt… strange.
He wasn't in pain.
The full paralysis.
He tried to flex his fingers.
Nothing happened.
'I don't even know how much time has passed…'
Spartan chirped, Hajin didn't hear though.
The bird was perched on the bed near Hajin, holding an empty orb in its beak.
The glass was stained with a glowing, pearlescent residue. [Orb of Regeneration] Next to it were empty wrappers of specialized herbs he had crafted—[Mandragora Root], [Spirit-infused Ginseng].
At least his connection to Spartan was still there.
"You fed me?" Hajin asked, his voice raspy. Spartan chirped inside the thoughts of Hajin. "Good bird." Hajin would pat his head if he could.
He could still see the room. No, not with his eyes. With Spartan's.
[Shared Vision active.]
His own eyes were still blind from the Constraints, but Spartan's vision overlaid his own, granting him a strange, third-person perspective of himself.
Suddenly, a sensation ran through his body. It wasn't magical power. It was colder, more precise. Like oil flowing through gears. He checked his status.
[Potion Digestion Complete.]
[You have fully digested the Sequence 8 'Robot' potion.]
Hajin blinked (mentally (;3)).
"Already?" He recalled the information he had extracted from the [Book of Truth] after he consumed Sequence 9 – Monster Potion.
The acting method for the 'Robot' (Sequence 8 of the Wheel of Fortune pathway) wasn't about pretending to be a machine.
It was about calculation.
It was about treating probability as an algorithm.
[Algorithm]
[Setting Intervention]
[Master Sharpshooter]
His entire existence in this world—calculating bullet trajectories, editing settings, predicting outcomes—was the perfect acting method. He wasn't just a marksman; he was a machine that processed the narrative, yet remaining cold-blooded and predictive.
'Unlike the intuitive, chaotic 'Monster' (Sequence 9), the 'Robot' calculates fate.'
"Sequence 7..." Hajin thought. "The Lucky One." He couldn't move his own body yet, but he could send a thought. He couldn't waste any time, even when constrained.
'Spartan. The blue vial. Pour it.'
Spartan hesitated.
He chirped anxiously, sensing the volatile power in the vial Hajin had prepared days ago.
'Do it.'
Reluctantly, the bird grabbed the vial and tilted it over Hajin's mouth. Although Hajin didn't feel anything, the liquid was thick and tasted like pure luck—sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy all at once.
Hajin swallowed.
CRACK.
His body didn't convulse.
It glitched.
His vision fractured. The white walls of the waiting room dissolved into an endless, gray wall of fog. He wasn't standing; he was floating in a probability stream.
And then, he saw it.
A massive endless Wall entered his vision.
[■■ is looking at you!]
.
..
…
"Gah!" Hajin snapped back to reality. He jolted upright, jumping out of the bed.
Spartan chirped happily, flapping his wings.
Hajin looked at his hands.
[Your Trait 'Robot' has evolved.]
===
「Lucky One」
[Middle rank] [Spirit attribute] [Grade 7 – Proficiency EXP: 100%]
===
They were shaking. He could control his body.
The Constraints were gone.
Then, the messages came.
[Potion Digestion Complete.]
[You have fully digested the Sequence 7 'Lucky One' potion.]
A flood of them.
[Achievement Unlocked: Slayer of Kings]
[Reward: You can meet with the Chief Administrator.]
…
[You have killed the 2nd Devil 'Agares'.]
[You have dealt fatal damage to the 1st Devil 'Baal'.]
[You have defeated 'Demon King of Seduction and Infertility'.]
[You have severely injured the 3rd Devil 'Vassago'.]
[Constellations of 'Absolute Evil' show great animosity towards you!]
[You have severly contributed in defeating 'Devils Alliance'!]
[Calculation of rewards...]
['Corruption Alliance' is showing hostility!]
[Outer Deity 'Mother Tree of Desire' wants you!]
…
[You have shaken the core of the Demon Realm.]
[You did what no one has done before!]
It was not the end of the countless messages. The air in the waiting room shimmered. The polite, blue system windows of the Tower shattered.
[The 'Star Stream' acknowledges the new 'Setting'.]
[The 'World Will' is manifesting its 'Arc'.]
[A new Epoch is being recorded...]
[Arc: The War of Convergence is now in progress.]
[This world's 'Story' is now active. The 'Demon Realm' is invading the 'Main Stage'.]
[Countless 'Sub-Scenarios', 'Dungeons', 'Mirror Worlds', and 'Hidden Histories' will now manifest as battlefields.]
"It's over," Hajin whispered. "The maintenance."
A new presence filled the room.
It wasn't the Dokkaebis.
It was something vaster.
The 'Star Stream' and the 'World Will'.
[New Entity manifests through all the Realms!]
['Star Will' (The Will of the Stars) manifests itself!]
[You have received a Giant Story.]
He used his smartwatch to check his status.
At this point Hajin's vision was fully occupied by large amount of incoming pop-ups.
[New Trait has been registered!]
[Story Name: 'The One Who Shattered the Night's Throne']
[Rank: Myth]
[Description: A story of a single arrow that pierced the heart of absolute darkness, witnessing the Primordial Light and bringing dawn to the Demon Realm.]
[You are the Main Storyteller of this Story!]
[Giant Story has finished germinating.]
[Giant Story 'The Lucky One' greets its owner.]
[New Trait has been registered!]
His head throbbed.
The sheer weight of the stories was crushing.
[The name 'Black Lotus' is spreading across the Realms!]
[The 'Star Will' is shocked by your accomplishments.]
[The 'Star Will' is debating your 'Modifier'.]
Then, the personal messages. Ping. Ping. Ping.
[Tower Community]
[Friend Request Accepted: 'Klein Moretti']
[Friend Request Accepted: #PLAYER NOT FOUND]
[Chat: Klein Moretti]
(10 Unread Messages)
[Chat: #PLAYER NOT FOUND]
(2 Unread messages)
'Player not found? I don't remember such in my 'Settings'. The only other friend request I'd sent was to Dokja. Even if a Player died...'
"Nah, that cannot be, stop jumping to conclusions, I'm sure he's alright."
[Party Chat: Chameleon Troupe]
(30 Unread Messages)
[Chat: CaptainBritain]
…
[Chat: Nayunjajangman]
…
[Secretive Plotter]
…
And finally, a message on his smartwatch.
Not from the Tower.
From the internet.
[Sender: Yoo Yeonha]
…
"A week," he realized. "I was out for a week."
***
(One Week Ago – 6th Floor, Hot Springs)
Steam rose lazily from the natural rock pools of the 6th Floor.
It was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Klein Moretti and Kim Dokja sat in the water, submerged up to their necks.
They were, somewhat awkwardly, naked(;3), surrounded by other relaxing Players who had no idea who they were sitting next to.
"My digestion," Klein murmured, looking at the floating status window. "It's at 0.1%. Just from sitting here."
The hot springs weren't just warm water.
They contained a purifying spirituality that felt uncannily similar to the Gray Fog, but... warmer. Less lonely. It was washing away the residue of madness from his advancement.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Dokja said, leaning back against a rock. "My traits are finally untaxed. 39 of them active." He felt good. Powerful. Suddenly, a voice spoke in his ear.
[Something is coming.] It wasn't a system message. It was a man's voice. Deep, cynical.
Dokja froze.
"Who are you?"
[I am ■■,] the voice replied. [Or, as you call me, the 'Fourth Wall'.]
Dokja was confused.
He didn't have time to ask Hajin about [The Holy Garlic and Onion]. So for now he just ignored the changes of the 'Fourth Wall'.
RUMBLE. The water in the hot springs rippled violently. The ground shook. The sky above the 6th floor—an artificial projection of a heaven—cracked like glass.
[System Alert!]
[A Supreme status intervenes!]
[Emergency Maintanence Concluded.]
The world groaned. A sound like a tectonic plate snapping echoed everywhere.
[Borders between Realms are destabilizing.]
[New Entity manifests through all the Realms!]
['Star Will' (The Will of the Stars) manifests itself!]
[Arc ??? – 'The Forced Collaboration' has been forcefully concluded.]
A massive countdown timer appeared in the sky, burning with ominous red light.
[A new Epoch is being recorded...]
[New Arc: The War of Convergence will begin in: 72:00:00]
Klein stood up, water cascading off his chest. He looked at the cracking sky.
"Hajin," he said simply. Dokja stood up beside him.
Klein raised an eyebrow.
Dokja smirked, though his eyes were serious.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That our 'Author' has a flair for the dramatic?"
Blinding light swallowed the whole Demon Realm and pierced through every floor of the Tower.
Dokja agreed. "And that we're going to have a very busy week."