#109

Just in case, I opened my Status Window and found a trait I had never seen before.

Unique Traits: [Miracle of the Silver Tongue], [Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme], [???], [System User], [I Record, Therefore I Exist.]

‘…When did this appear?’

Seeing the word ‘Record’ in it, it seemed to be related to the God of Records….

I checked the detailed description of the trait.

[I Record, Therefore I Exist.]

: I am not an error.

I am not an error.

I am an erro….

‘What is this?’

Is it lagging?

I closed the window and opened it again.

[I Record, Therefore I Exist.]

: A record of non-existence written by one who does not exist.

You can leave and read records in the ‘Notepad.’

Click the ink to check the list of notes.

This record is complete fiction. Do not confuse it with reality.

‘…Seriously, what is this?’

Seeing the trait description change gave me an uneasy feeling.

Can the System be hacked?

[What did you just do to me? Something appeared on the back of my hand.]

[…It’s my Blessing? When did you receive that?]

‘If you don’t know, how am I supposed to know?’

[I don’t need it, so take it back.]

[Uh…. Really?]

‘What do you mean “really”?’

[I want you to take it back right now.]

[Sorry. I think that will be difficult.]

‘……?’

[You said it was your Blessing.]

[That’s right. It is definitely my Blessing, but I don’t have the authority. I can feel a very powerful force coming from that ink. Perhaps it was given by me from a lower floor?]

My brow furrowed instinctively.

[How is that possible? I’ve never had contact with you from a lower floor.]

[I don’t know that either.]

[Then what? Do I have to go to the lower floors to get rid of this?]

[All I can tell you is that I don’t have the authority.]

‘This bastard is fucking useless.’

First, he tells me it’s better not to go down, and now he says he can’t help me with anything here—so what the hell am I supposed to do?

Doesn’t this just mean I should go down in the end?

I glared at the pattern on the back of my hand.

‘I was originally planning to go down….’

I changed my mind.

If a record from a lower floor can interfere with the System, then walking into that place willingly is madness.

Especially if it’s some piece of shit who isn’t friendly toward me and is trying to blackmail me by holding my weakness over my head.

I’d rather go find Casimir and plead with tears that I had no intention of receiving any Blessing.

‘…Now what do I do?’

After hesitating for a moment, I decided to check what was written in the ‘Notepad’ first.

‘If there’s something that affects the mind, Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme should block it.’

When I tapped the pattern that looked like an ink smudge, the black color spread rapidly across the back of my hand and transformed into a single sentence.

[0. I am fucked.]

‘…What?’

Is this the title of the note?

When I pressed it once more, the smudge changed shape again.

[I am really fucked. So are you.]

It wasn’t the kind of tone the God of Records would use.

‘…Is this a record left by another player?’

[I should start with a warning.

All names, people, and events appearing in this record are fictional. They have absolutely no relation to real people, places, buildings, or products.

I made them all up, and any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.]

‘A fiction disclaimer?’

Why would someone write this?

I didn’t know the reason, but it became certain that the person who wrote this record was a player.

The letters changed as if a page were turning.

[1. You are standing on the 18th basement floor, looking into a book.]

‘…Eh?’

The 18th basement floor.

That was exactly where I was right now.

‘Is this being written in real-time?’

Just in case, before pressing the next title, I moved up one floor.

[1. You are standing on the 18th basement floor, looking into a book.]

‘It didn’t change to the 17th floor….’

Feeling uneasy, I tapped the back of my hand.

Soon, the next sentence appeared.

[…Just in case, you moved up one floor before turning the page.]

‘Fuck!’

What is this?

Seriously, what is this?

Is someone watching me?

[…You suspect. ‘Is the next page being created the moment I turn it?’ It seemed as if this book knew in advance what you would do. However, this book is already complete. The content does not change.]

‘Really?’

[It is simply that the person who wrote this book knows you very well. Which makes sense, because,]

[2. The person who wrote this book is none other than….]

I pressed the next title.

[…Yourself. To be precise, you on the 24th basement floor are writing this for you, who will be on the 18th—no, now the 17th—floor.]

‘…Me on the 24th floor?’

What kind of nonsense is this?

I’m not a Record; there’s no way I’d be on every floor.

Above all, I have no memory of writing such a thing.

Since Oblivion doesn’t work on me, there is no possibility that this is something I wrote.

‘Unless it’s possible to leap through time….’

But it was certain that Records did not possess the Divine Power to transcend time.

If someone could send information to the past, they wouldn’t have ended up in this state.

I calmly read the previous records again.

‘…Looking closely, there’s nothing to be surprised about.’

What if there was a mechanism that granted a Blessing the moment someone descended to the 18th basement floor?

Naturally, ‘you’ would be the person on the 18th basement floor.

If the person coming down was cautious, it would be entirely predictable that they would try moving up one floor before opening the notes.

‘If you measure the time it took to descend, you can tell whether that person is cautious or bold.’

It’s entirely possible to startle someone using only pre-installed mechanisms.

‘…But I don’t know the reason.’

What does this nameless player who wrote this record want from me?

Do they just enjoy seeing someone get startled?

‘I absolutely loathe people who enjoy that kind of prank….’

[3. You have a question. ‘Why would I send this to myself?’]

‘Exactly.’

There’s no way I would burden myself with a weight like the Blessing of Records.

If there was something that absolutely had to be conveyed, I would have written the main point first.

I wouldn’t have started with such a tasteless introduction.

[The version of yourself on the 24th floor also knows. That receiving a book suddenly is inconvenient and flustering.

However, there was content that absolutely had to be informed.

No matter what cost was required to deliver the book….]

‘…So how the hell was it delivered?’

They should explain the method of transcending time in a way that makes sense.

If they gloss over this part vaguely, the rest will obviously not be worth reading.

The moment I thought that, the final sentence appeared.

[4. ‘So how was it delivered?’]

‘…….’

I felt a bit annoyed that the very content of my thoughts appeared as the next sentence.

Should I say it feels like I’m being swept along exactly as this person wants….

‘…The person choosing the options can never beat the person creating the options.’

But I couldn’t help but press it.

I was too curious about how it was possible.

[How was this book sent from the 24th floor to the 18th? The method is as follows. First, write the book.

And then….]

‘And then?’

[5. Further detailed explanations are omitted.]

‘…….’

Fuck.

Is this bastard for real?

[Come to think of it, you have no need to know the specific method. Why bother knowing knowledge you will never use again? It is better not to know. Truly.]

‘I really want to grab this bastard by the collar.’

They truly have a talent for making people angry.

[The important thing is the fact that someone is currently coming down to find you.

You must read this book to the end and burn it before you encounter another person.]

‘…Someone is looking for me?’

As soon as I read that part, Athanas’s face came to mind.

‘No, it’s probably just a random throwaway line.’

I regained my composure.

If someone was coming to meet a traitor, it’s only natural to be anxious about who might show up.

In such a situation, being told that someone is chasing you would inevitably cause great tension.

It seems they intended to scare me so that I couldn’t judge the situation rationally….

‘Nope, I’m not falling for it.’

If anything, this sentence confirmed that this was definitely not written by my future self.

‘Athanas came looking for me, and I used the traitor’s Blessing?’

That’s nonsense.

While I was writing such a long and useless introduction, would Athanas have just stood there and watched?

‘Above all, there isn’t a single specific description.’

There wasn’t a single detail that would make me certain this was targeted at me rather than a general audience.

It’s not like they’re trying to give a hint to someone else, and if it were a message I sent to myself, there are countless ways I could have written it.

Like writing, ‘The guy who sleeps all day is looking for you.’

Or listing the names of prehistoric creatures I often use as passwords….

[6. You are skeptical. ‘Well, this book probably wasn’t written by me. If I wrote it, I would have included more specific details.’]

‘…Now what reason are they going to give?’

[There is a rational reason for this.

Why do the gods give such vague oracles?

Because the more specific they are, the more the cost increases exponentially. Revelations that are difficult to understand were a kind of tax evasion technique.

For your information, since this is all a fictional novel, no cost needs to be paid. However, please understand that proper nouns cannot be used due to copyright. If such things were written, they would be immediately edited by the Sharp Observer.]

‘Sounds like a lie.’

Didn’t they just make up a plausible excuse?

The evidence that it’s actually true is….

[8. You think. ‘It sounds like a lie. There’s no evidence.’]

[If you thought that, go back to the beginning.

This book is merely telling a story based entirely on fiction.

Read the warning again.

This story is all made up by me. There is no evidence.]

‘…Number 7 is missing.’

Is the setting that number 7 was edited out?

‘The writer must like Napolitano ghost stories.’

But they don’t seem to be very good at it.

It’s not scary, not witty, and not touching.

I read it again, but there seemed to be no hidden message.

‘…The kind of bastard who would give their home address in code when calling 119 for a myocardial infarction.’

This kind of thing is only fun when read as a creative work in your spare time.

The point of a Napolitano ghost story is to enjoy the cognitive discomfort that comes from a lack of information.

If an important document in real life were written like a Napolitano ghost story, I’d feel nothing but irritation, wanting them to just get to the point.

[9. You feel irritated. ‘What on earth is the point of this book?’]

[The reason I wrote this book is simple.

Although all of this is mere fiction, humans can derive lessons even from fictional fables.

And you can apply that realization to your life.

That is all I hope for.

That you gain a good lesson from this fake story.]

‘So, what’s the main point?’

Tapping the back of my hand indifferently, I paused for a moment when I saw the next title.

[10. ???]

‘…Question marks?’

The trait given (or presumed to be given) by Mother God appears as [???] in the Status Window.

Even if I press it, the description only says, ‘Effect unknown.’

Of all things, it’s three question marks, just like that….

‘It’s just a coincidence, right?’

[…Having descended to the 24th floor, I heard a very important story.

How could I have not known such a thing?

I cannot believe it.

Somehow, no matter what price I have to pay, I want to tell this story to myself.

So, I write this book.

What I realized is precisely….]

‘Precisely?’

[11. Maternal love is great.]

‘…Maternal love?’

It felt ominous.

I had a bad feeling.

The composure I had worked so hard to maintain was shaking violently.

‘No, there’s still a chance it’s just a coincidence….’

Before I could find a reasonable explanation, anxiety drove me.

As I pressed the title, the entire back of my hand was stained black, and soon it was filled with densely packed letters.

[…That my mother loves me!

Did they say that maternal love is the greatest love in the world?

Mother will never give up on me.

Mother is desperately searching for me, her lost child.

Mother is listening to my voice.

Wherever I am, if I call Mother’s name, she will find me immediately.

Even death cannot sever the bond between parent and child.

Even if I die, Mother will eventually give birth to me again.

Ah, to think that I could have been embraced by Mother’s arms just by ending my life right now!

Looking back at the moments I thought of death, I feel dizzy.

Nothing could have stopped the reunion between Mother and me….]

‘…….’

This….

‘…Is the description of my trait, isn’t it?’

Chapter 110