#106

I froze right where I stood.

‘…Not Fabio?’

Of course, I am not Fabio.

I am merely a possessor who has taken over Fabio’s body.

‘But to suddenly change the way it addresses me after calling me Fabio until now….’

The Domain of Records expands the further down I go.

That also meant the Record could “read” more from me.

‘…How much has it read?’

The Saintess also realized immediately that I wasn’t “Fabio.”

However, she hadn’t figured out who I actually was.

‘The Saintess read the playlog of the father’s account and misunderstood it as my past.’

The Record might also be mistakenly thinking that I am “Perpetua” instead of “Fabio” right now.

‘Stay calm.’

I took a deep breath and carefully wrote my question.

[Why are you calling me “not Fabio”?]

[Because you are not Fabio.]

[Then who am I?]

[Something that is not Fabio.]

‘……?’

What the.

I’m getting a little annoyed.

[Call me by my proper name.]

[Name? Fabio? But I cannot call you Fabio. Because you are not Fabio.]

[I’m telling you to call me by my real name, not Fabio.]

[Your real name? You speak as if you actually have another name.]

‘No, I take it back.’

I’m not just a little annoyed; I’m fucking pissed.

[Of course I do!]

[Is that so? If you tell me what it is, I will call you by that name.]

‘There’s no point if I’m the one telling you.’

Whether it’s “Perpetua,” “Happy Cult Evangelist,” or my real name on my resident registration card.

Depending on what the Record called me, I could verify how much it had seen through, and I had no intention of wasting that opportunity.

[I want you to call me by the name you read from me.]

[…Something that is not Fabio?]

[Not that.]

[Then there is none. Or perhaps I read it and forgot. I am not sure which it is. From my perspective, it seems you have no name, but since you insist you do, I probably read it and forgot, right?]

‘This bastard’s mind seems to be slipping a bit.’

[If you forgot, can the version of you on the floor below answer?]

[Perhaps?]

‘Should I keep going down trusting a guy like this?’

I started thinking that while intelligence might increase as I go deeper, they might be in an insane state due to contamination or something.

‘…Well, I’ll only know if I actually went there and found out I wasted my trip.’

I started walking again.

It was because I didn’t have the courage to go back up and then come back down here again.

‘Is this the 20th basement floor now?’

The moment I was about to write a question asking if it knew my name here, the Record spoke first.

[Something that is not Fabio.]

‘I’m screwed.’

That one sentence made it unnecessary to ask.

I let out a short sigh.

[How much further down do I have to go for you to call me by my name?]

[There is no need, something that is not Fabio. No matter how far down you go, you are something that is not Fabio. Because there is no expression more accurate than this to refer to you.]

‘What is it even talking about.’

[A record that disappears without being read by anyone is the same as one that was never written. Names are the same. There must be someone to call it that for it to become a name. Everyone calls you Fabio. However, you are not Fabio. Therefore, right now, you can be nothing other than something that is not Fabio.]

My brow furrowed instinctively as I read.

‘What is this vague nonsense?’

This bastard’s intelligence might have gone up, but it seems he’s gotten worse at speaking.

Is it for real that it was more readable when he spoke in five words?

[So in the end, you couldn’t read my name, right?]

[That is because it is no longer your name, something that is not Fabio.]

‘Does it mean that since the current Unit is not Perpetua, it cannot call me Perpetua?’

I gave up on testing it with names and asked a direct question.

[So, what did you see in me?]

[I have read many things. But among the records that became “nothing” that I, who became “nothing,” have read, there has never been a being as pitiful as you.]

My thoughts stopped for a moment.

‘…Is this bastard saying this on purpose?’

The word “nothing” appeared three times in one sentence.

Is it okay for the God of Records to write such a broken sentence?

‘More importantly, I’m pitiful?’

It’s certain that it hasn’t glimpsed the truth about me.

Of course, I think I’m pitiful and unhappy.

To fall into this crazy Medieval-land just because I played a game!

It is so regrettable and tragic.

‘But would others see it that way?’

From the perspective of a Medieval-land resident, I’m just an alien who became a human after playing a game to destroy Earth.

If they saw an alien sobbing, saying he didn’t know he’d end up on such a primitive and backward planet, they’d probably find it annoying rather than pitiful.

Of course, someone with an immense amount of sympathy might feel sorry even for that alien.

‘But they wouldn’t say I’m the most pitiful being they’ve ever seen in their life.’

Perhaps it read Perpetua’s logs?

[Why am I pitiful?]

[You cannot die of your own will. Because the one who imprisoned you does not allow it.]

‘That’s true for Perpetua too.’

Publicly, it was known that Perpetua died at 17, but in reality, she lived while being imprisoned within the family.

Perpetua’s suicide would have been strictly forbidden. Because a “Divine Bloodline” who is still of childbearing age is a very useful asset.

[Even if you die, you cannot find peace. Because a terrible Curse has been placed upon you in the name of a Blessing.]

‘The more I hear, the more it sounds like Perpetua’s story.’

Being born into the Divine Bloodline is a Blessing, but for Perpetua, it became an utterly terrible Curse.

Even if her breath stopped, her remaining body would become a Sacred Relic, so she would have been used usefully by the family even in death.

‘It’s like dying from an industrial accident, but the company takes the insurance money, so the company’s operating profit actually increases.’

Having suffered such a fate, there was no way she could find peace.

[Something that is not Fabio, I pity you so much.]

‘…Even knowing it’s not actually me it pities, it’s strangely irritating.’

He’s the one who got a curse that lowered his intelligence and is going around telling everyone “Get a blessing! Get a blessing!”

Is he in any position to pity others right now?

‘Anyway, if all it looked into was about Perpetua, there’s no need to ask more.’

[So, what is the secret you didn’t tell Order? How many more floors do I have to go down to hear about the contamination?]

Originally, I intended to go all the way to the bottom, but I changed my mind.

‘I feel like I’ll go mentally ill if I stay here too long.’

A basement space that becomes perfectly silent the moment I stop walking.

Endless bookshelves stretch out to the sides, and there are no floor markers.

Since there’s nothing to use as a reference point, I get the strange feeling that I’m looping through the same floor even though I’m clearly descending.

The only person to talk to is the “Record” with a questionable mental state….

‘Above all, I have to go back up as much as I’ve come down.’

I’m already on the 20th basement floor.

Since there were roughly a bit over 60 stairs per floor, over 1,200 stairs were waiting for me if I turned back now.

‘There’s no elevator, so it’s complete madness.’

If I have to go down to the 100th basement floor, I’m planning to give up now.

[Something that is not Fabio. There is something I wish to ask you.]

[Don’t change the subject. I asked how many floors I have to go down.]

[If you answer my question, I will answer yours.]

‘Now he won’t even give a straight answer.’

This guy is like those bait games where five ads pop up during one round….

[If this world is being maintained thanks to someone’s sacrifice, do you believe that sacrifice should be stopped?]

‘What a completely random question.’

Why is it asking this?

A personality interview?

[Is the person making that sacrifice doing it voluntarily?]

[Yes.]

[What do you mean by sacrifice? Dying?]

[I mean continuing to suffer without being able to die.]

[What happens if that person stops the sacrifice?]

[The world perishes.]

‘What.’

Under those conditions, is there any reason to persuade that person to stop the sacrifice?

If they did, the world would perish and that person would die too.

Unless you’re the kind of person who thinks it’s better for the entire world to perish than for even one person to suffer, who would make that choice?

[Is there no way for someone else to share the pain, or a way for the world not to perish even if that person doesn’t sacrifice themselves?]

[There is none. If the sacrifice stops, the world perishes.]

[Then I will respect that person’s will.]

If that person can’t take it anymore, they’ll stop on their own. Why would I persuade them?

It’s like a single cell saying to the heart, “You look too tired, how about taking a break?”

[…I will change the question. If you were the one who had to sacrifice yourself here, what would you do?]

Me?

[I’m a coward, so I think I’d give up immediately because I couldn’t bear it.]

Why should I protect the world while suffering?

I might endure it at first, but later, everyone who hopes the world doesn’t perish will look like bastards who want me to suffer.

If I had a choice, I’d obviously choose for everyone to perish together.

[…….]

‘…Was that the wrong answer?’

There’s no response.

Should I have chosen “I’ll try for now”?

[Are you disappointed?]

[No, my pity has only grown.]

‘Why?’

[When I see someone who is afraid of being pricked by a needle now having to walk barefoot through a path of thorns, how could I not pity them?]

‘…Why do I have to walk through a path of thorns?’

[What do you mean?]

[I do not wish to tell a fragile thing like you the terrible truth. You would not be able to endure it. Just live in ignorance, something that is not Fabio. Realizing it after destruction has arrived will be slightly less painful.]

I narrowed my eyes.

‘Is this supposed to be a warning?’

Should I say the excessive dramatization actually broke my immersion….

Because the shallow trick was too obvious, I stopped being afraid.

‘He hasn’t told me specifically what’s gone wrong from the start.’

This is a typical method used by scammers pretending to be fortune tellers using cold reading.

(The technique of figuring out a person’s inner thoughts without any prior information about them).

Keep the expressions absolutely vague and metaphorical.

That way, even if they are completely wrong, they can escape by calling it a difference in interpretation.

‘And they always hint at an ominous future.’

A terrified person stops doubting, as if possessed.

This is because when the amygdala, responsible for fear and anxiety, is stimulated, the signals from the prefrontal cortex, responsible for reason, are blocked.

That’s why people often fall for scams saying they need to spend tens of millions of won on talismans or exorcism rituals.

‘Of course, this is the Dark Realm, so there might be those who can actually prophesy….’

The way to distinguish the real from the fake is simple.

Just ask them to hit something that can’t be guessed.

‘This is why you end up possessing someone because you only write those kinds of strategy guides, Witopia. You’d believe this story immediately.’

It was obvious that he would soon start saying things like an offering must be made to avoid the ominous future.

‘Still, the fact that he’s using this method means he has no other power.’

It shouldn’t be too dangerous to go further down.

Though there probably won’t be much to gain.

I asked without much expectation.

[If it’s going to happen anyway, I want to know. So I can at least prepare myself. How much further down do I go to hear about the contamination?]

[If you insist, you only need to go down four more floors.]

‘4 floors?’

That’s manageable.

If he had said there were 30 more floors left, I would have just gone back.

[Is there something special on that floor?]

[Starlight does not reach that place.]

[Starlight?]

…Is that a word related to the Othergods?

Since Othergods are usually described as Beings Beyond the Starry Sky.

[You will know once you descend.]

I went down.

21st floor, 22nd floor, 23rd floor, and the moment I was about to step onto the 24th floor.

[

SYSTEM

: Warning! Below this point is an Out-of-Bounds Area of the System. Connection to the System is temporarily severed.]

Chapter 107