SIDE STORY 17
Labyrinth, Floor 150.
Floating above the altar was a golden ticket.
An invitation sent by the Dimensional Administration Bureau, no doubt.
It was completely out of the blue.
Who could have expected this?
In the past, Whitey God-Beast had once speculated that the labyrinth might lie outside the control of Kalzenia's main god.
And now it seemed likely.
Just looking at that golden ticket made it obvious.
"Summoner, what will you do?"
It was a dilemma.
It wasn't compulsory—it was an invitation.
Which meant he could accept it, or refuse.
"Why would a place called the Bureau invite you, Young Master?"
"They said they'd offer the Summoner a chance to take part in some great work… sounds like recruitment."
"Definitely. They're trying to lure you in and make you work."
"Do you intend to accept the invitation?"
"Well…"
He wasn't inclined to.
Why had he decided to become a dimensional traveler in the first place?
It was all supposed to be for fun.
"And now they're talking about correction work…"
Recruitment? A chance to work? Putting him on the job?
A polite refusal was the answer.
"Let's not go. If we get tangled up, it'll just be a pain. Let's pretend we didn't see it and get out of here."
When Juhyeok said that—
"As expected of Summoner Bong. If something feels off, you pull back first. Safety first, right? That's how it should be. We never saw any invitation."
Kosak agreed wholeheartedly.
"This maiden concurs as well. Given who Young Master is, it would barely suffice for them to come in person to escort you—yet they dare summon you with nothing but a ticket. Truly laughable."
Even Gyeondallae chimed in.
"You've thought well. We've accomplished our objective by clearing Floor 150, so let us return to the White Tower and share a drink with this old man."
Even the Mad Demon agreed.
"Captain Veronica Calibur, to be honest, my dreams last night were quite unsettling. Returning now is the wise choice."
What kind of dream had she had?
Anyway, Captain Be and the rest of the summoned ones all agreed.
Don't even go near the invitation.
Let's go home for once, take a hot shower, and get some real rest.
"Let's move."
"Yes, sir!"
They were heading back.
To the White Tower.
"Entering the White Tower—"
That was when it happened.
Flash!
Whirr!
"…Huh?"
In an instant, the golden ticket vanished from above the altar.
At the same time, a rough, papery texture was felt in his hand.
"What the—?"
Before he knew it, the golden ticket was in Juhyeok's hand.
The invitation from the Dimensional Administration Bureau.
Wow.
Unbelievable.
They forced it into his hand.
Whoever was behind this—
"Isn't this straight-up thuggery?"
At the same time—
Fwoooosh!
A brilliant light engulfed Juhyeok and his companions.
"Damn it—!"
"Bastards!
If you were going to do this, you should've just dragged us along from the start!"
The place they were transported to by the invitation was a room furnished like an office.
He felt dazed.
There was no doubt they'd been forcibly moved by grabbing the ticket.
In any case, this seemed to be the Dimensional Administration Bureau.
For a den of shameless thugs, it was pretty shabby.
What kind of high-handed nonsense was this?
If they were going to act like this, why leave an invitation at all?
Suddenly—
Creeeak!
The door slowly opened.
Good.
Let's see who it is.
And then, one woman entered.
"Hello."
"I don't know who you are, but isn't this a bit too much—ah?"
Strange.
His anger instantly subsided.
Somehow, it felt like he shouldn't get angry.
At a glance, she looked like an ordinary Western woman.
Yet she didn't feel human at all.
It was similar to the feeling he'd had when facing Whitey God-Beast.
The Judge's Hammer also sent a signal.
Zap, zap, zap, zap, zap.
The summoned ones felt it too.
All of them stiffened.
"You are Dimensional Traveler Bong Juhyeok, correct?"
Since she clearly wasn't an ordinary person,
it seemed best to answer politely.
Her tone was gentle, too.
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm Aina, Team Leader of Criminal Investigation Unit Two at the Dimensional Administration Bureau. We've been waiting for you."
"Oh! I see. Criminal Investigation Unit Two… wait, crime?"
Criminal Investigation?
That meant police, didn't it?
Was he under arrest right now?
Was that why they'd forcibly summoned him?
"Why would the investigation team want me?"
Juhyeok subtly grasped the Judge's Hammer at his waist.
The summoned ones edged closer, watching cautiously.
At the same time, Kosak whispered to him.
"Summoner Bong, enter the White Tower immediately."
"You think I haven't tried? I shouted it in my head just now…"
"It didn't work?"
"No."
"Hm. Don't worry. Depending on how things go, we'll charge in. There's only one of them—we've got numbers."
As if numbers meant anything.
"Throw Gobang to buy time, then run."
Should we?
"No."
Run, my ass.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"What crime did I even commit, huh?"
If there was anyone who'd lived a cleaner life than him, let them step forward.
"It's definitely because you wrecked the main base Earth, Summoner Bong."
"…Huh?"
"You also set off nukes left and right in the heavenly realm."
"Oh."
"And you were about to wreck Kalzenia too."
"Right."
"That's why they're trying to arrest you, for sure."
No way.
Was he really that guilty?
Honestly, everything he'd done was to save the world.
"Um, Team Leader Aina."
"Yes, go ahead."
"I admit I destroyed a world, but that was self-defense. The Black Tower attacked first."
"Oh! I think there's been a misunderstanding."
"We are not here to arrest you. And we are fully aware of the Black Tower incident."
They knew?
…
"Whether humanity goes extinct due to interdimensional invasion wars or not, the Bureau doesn't particularly care. At most, it's just a war."
What?
"We merely arranged this meeting to ask you a few questions."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm not lying."
Phew.
That startled him.
All because of Kosak's unnecessary panic.
"May I ask the questions now?"
Sure.
Ask away.
"Dimensional Traveler Bong Juhyeok—how do you feel about the life you've lived so far? Was it filled with regret and lingering attachment, or have you lived a satisfying life?"
…What?
What was she even talking about?
Someone who didn't care if dimensions were annihilated—why ask about an individual's life?
"If you have regrets, please answer honestly."
"Is that an important question?"
"Yes. Very."
He didn't understand, but since he'd agreed to answer…
Juhyeok slowly closed his eyes and recalled his past.
The first regret that came to mind?
…
Of course, the cringeworthy black history from his school days.
The humiliating situations and emotions he'd felt back then.
Even as an adult, it was similar.
A timid personality, always reading the room, no friends, frequently bullied.
But—
"Well, it'd be a lie to say I had no regrets. There were so many I used to kick my blankets at night. But now? I'm fine. I'm satisfied."
It was true.
Even with all that black history, he'd lived a fairly smooth life.
At the very least, his family life had been peaceful.
If that wasn't luck, what was?
"What about the Black Tower?"
"…The Black Tower?"
"For example, if you could go back to the past and stop the Black Tower from ever being built?"
"I already stopped it, didn't I?"
"If you had stopped it from the very beginning, all loss of life and property would have been nullified—if you went back in time, that is."
"Uh…"
"If you were given that opportunity, would you take it?"
That was tempting.
But soon, Juhyeok shook his head.
It would never end.
Going back in time just to stop the Black Tower?
Rather than that, I'd go back to the 1950s and stop a war.
No—if I were going to do that, I'd go back before the Japanese colonial period and conquer Japan outright.
Stop World War II, stop World War I.
What about the Imjin War?
The Manchu invasions?
The Goryeo–Mongol Wars?
They're all history that has already flowed past.
Whether bad or good, all of that past became the cause that shaped the present.
So—
"No. Even if I had the chance, I wouldn't do it."
"Are you serious?"
At that, the summoned ones listening nearby spoke up.
"If the Summoner says so, then so it is."
"Clinging to the past is something petty men do."
"That's right. Summoner Bong is a true man who charges straight ahead."
Sometimes I look back, though.
"Our Summoner Bong's only lingering regret is Jin-sook."
What are you talking about?
Aina tilted her head and asked,
"Jin-sook? Is she your regret, Mr. Bong Juhyeok?"
That damn Jin-sook again.
"Nonsense. I don't have even that much regret. Just ignore them."
"Understood."
Anyway—
"Is that all the questions?"
"Yes."
Then can we go?
"Please give me a little more time. There is one more matter for which I invited you here."
Of course there is.
There's no way they dragged me here just to ask about my embarrassing past.
"I'll begin the explanation. Please sit back and listen."
In that instant—
Swoosh!
Soft, plush sofas appeared out of nowhere.
As Juhyeok and the summoned ones sat down—
"I'll have to start from the birth of the universe."
That escalated quickly.
The birth of the universe?
"In the beginning, within the dark void, a massive energy explosion gave rise to countless dimensions. It was the moment when nothing became something."
Like the Big Bang theory?
"The birth of dimensional planets, intelligent beings building civilizations in environments suitable for life—their numbers were as countless as grains of sand on a beach. But there is a secret hidden within."
Juhyeok listened intently.
"…A secret?"
"All dimensions, if you look closely, are similar dimensions that branched off from a single original source."
What does that mean?
Branched off?
"The original core—once a single mass—exploded, creating innumerable similar dimensions. Like cell division."
So their dimensional DNA was similar.
"Of course, not every dimension is exactly the same. Due to the effects of the great explosion, parts of the fundamental structure of dimensions were altered."
That sounded like genetic mutation.
"For example, worlds with magic and worlds without it, differences in material composition, forms of civilization and directions of development."
That made some sense.
Why ordinary Earth, fantasy worlds, and martial realms all looked different.
"The same applies to intelligent beings. In each dimension, similar souls exist. Not completely identical, but close."
Huh?
"Have you ever experienced that while traveling? Encountering similar souls in different dimensions?"
Of course he had.
"So you have."
"Yes."
"Then do you know what happens when similar souls exist in close proximity at the same time?"
He knew that too.
He'd recently heard about it from the dimensional traveler Ralph.
"Because they're similar, they're drawn to each other. Since they were once one, they try to reunite."
Mm-hm.
"And in that process, they trigger an incompatible reaction and explode. On a fairly large scale."
Always an explosion?
"The moment they make contact, it's over."
If Jeon Seong-il and Jeon Gwang-il had crossed space-time and met, both would've gone boom.
"However, the explosion caused by similar souls coming into contact is actually a very minor issue."
What do you mean minor?
People die.
"What the Bureau focuses on is contact between similar dimensional systems."
"…Excuse me?"
"Preventing the actions of illegal dimensional travelers that cause such contact."
Similar dimensional systems?
"…Not souls, but dimensions?"
"Yes. Similar dimensions also explode when they make contact—just like similar souls."
Is that even possible?
How would similar dimensions come into contact?
"Under normal circumstances, it never happens. The physical distance between dimensions makes it impossible."
They are far apart.
Space is huge—
even the nearest galaxy is millions of light-years away.
"However, under special circumstances, similar dimensional systems can come into contact."
How?
"When a dimensional traveler becomes the cause."
So when a traveler does something specific?
"When vertical movement occurs instead of horizontal movement."
Horizontal? Vertical?
"Horizontal movement is normal travel between dimensions. There's no issue with that. But vertical movement—"
Aina frowned slightly as she spoke.
"Is not movement between dimensions, but vertical movement within an existing dimension—along the time axis. We call it dimensional time regression."
Whoa.
Regression.
Simply put:
Horizontal movement = going to another world.
Vertical movement = going to a different point in time in the same world.
"And that's where a serious error occurs."
"What kind?"
"A time-regression traveler can change the future."
Naturally.
They'd know what was coming.
"When you intervene in past events, the time axis splits. From a point in the past, two futures are created."
One world.
Two futures.
He'd heard this before.
Time-axis branching due to regression.
The multiverse theory.
A classic SF trope.
"When an additional future is created, an error occurs."
That error again?
The one that needed correction?
"Due to the law of causality, an entirely new similar dimensional system branches off."
Causality too!
So an error creates yet another world.
"To put it in terms of your world—if vertical movement occurs on Earth and the future changes, an identical solar system would be created."
The original future Earth.
And a newly progressing future Earth.
"The two worlds are similar, but not identical. Their futures differ, so they are incompatible."
"And similar dimensional systems that are created abnormally due to time-axis branching…"
"…are highly likely to be born at a very close distance to the original system."
That's insane.
Close distance?
"With physical distance restrictions gone, the two dimensional systems begin to attract each other simultaneously."
And the result?
"If mere contact between similar souls causes a massive energy explosion, what do you think happens when similar dimensional systems collide?"
He didn't need to hear the answer.
"At first, they slowly pull toward each other. Then once they pass a critical point, they rapidly converge—"
Boom?
"A colossal energy explosion occurs. Not just the destruction of a galaxy, but possibly part of the entire universe."
Gulp.
Just imagining it was horrifying.
"But how does a dimensional traveler even perform time regression—vertical movement?"
"It can occur accidentally, or be caused by an intense obsession to change the past. There are many causes."
"Can't it be prevented beforehand?"
"Not even gods can do that. They probably wouldn't even notice."
Tsk.
Why live clinging to the past?
Better to accept reality.
"And that's why we're asking for your cooperation."
"Ah…"
Cooperation.
That word made him uneasy.
Couldn't he just leave?
"Please take on the role of a freelance investigator for the Dimensional Administration Bureau, Investigation Team Two."
Investigator?
"Apprehending criminals who regress into the past and disrupt the time axis—that is the job of dimensional investigators."
I knew it.
"…I'm not that grand a person. I don't have the ability."
"No, you are more than capable."
"Still…"
"We ask that you accept."
Aina bowed her head.
"This is awkward."
Why me?
"Excuse me, is this offer made to all dimensional travelers?"
"No. We're making this offer because it's you, Mr. Bong Juhyeok."
…Why me?
"Ordinary dimensional travelers are merely subjects of surveillance."
At that moment—
A thought flashed through his mind.
"Wouldn't someone else be better suited than me? I know a truly special dimensional traveler—Sword Immortal and all…"
The Sword Immortal.
A literal transcendent being.
"If you recruit him, he'd be far better than me."
But Team Leader Aina seemed to think differently.
"Immortals are indeed outstanding. We already have three on our investigation teams."
Oh!
They were already active?
From the immortal realms?
"However, this kind of work isn't something that can be handled by strength alone."
Well, strength usually solves everything.
"Apprehending and processing illegal time-regression travelers is an extremely delicate task."
That sounded like something immortals would be perfect for.
"When you become a dimensional investigator, you are granted the ability to warp along the time axis."
To catch criminals, investigators have to follow them.
"And that's why we need someone we can trust."
"Hey, if you can't trust immortals, who can you—"
"Can you guarantee it?"
"Huh?"
"What if, while apprehending a traveler, they cause an accident and end up altering the time axis themselves?"
"…Hmm."
He had a point.
Juhyeok found himself unconsciously agreeing.
Honestly, you couldn't really call the Sword Immortal cautious.
He was more than capable of causing an incident.
"On the other hand, Mr. Bong Juhyeok inspires great confidence. You're extremely careful and timid—no, prudent."
...
When did she get to know me so well?
"We're not asking you to do this for free. We will offer sufficient compensation."
Perk!
Juhyeok's ears twitched.
"…Compensation?"
Now that changed things entirely.