Surviving Every Worldview

Chapter 3: Playing the Main Character (1)

When I tapped on the name of the first trait I saw, its content descended and unfolded like a scroll.

It felt like it was trying to communicate something to me, rather than explain the trait itself.

—

[NEW GAME]

Your advice has helped shape the Cognitive Revolution System.

This talent is a token of that fact, a reward, and a letter of apology.

But even so, the person who gave you the trait seems to want you to take your time figuring out everything it contains.

Only then, slowly, will you understand that it was a choice you had to make.

Your memory and mental capacity will improve a bit.
You’ll be given some information about the target if you’ve guessed the content of their story or trait.
The existence of the trait is recognized only by you.
?

—

Reward?

What have I done so far?

I’ve just been throwing a few words around like a friend, thinking he was making a real game.

But what he created was not a game, but something that turned reality into fantasy.

And yet, he says I helped him perfect the system?

And he repaid me for what I did?

……I have one more question to ask when I meet Dreams.

I wrote down everything I could remember about the stories he told me, including my questions.

Since there was only one story of hiding and running away, I had to prepare at least one more.

First of all, the story Dreams told me is not complicated.

One day, fictional concepts began to materialize in the world.

In the modern world, where awe has created myths, myths have developed into narratives, and there are as many stories as there are people.

People called this phenomenon the ‘Second Cognitive Revolution’, borrowing the name of the system.

The reasoning was that the awakening of the human ability to imagine was called the Cognitive Revolution, so the ability to materialize imagined concepts was the Second Cognitive Revolution.

Because there were so many concepts to materialize in this world, various phenomena occurred and people awakened superpowers.

However, as the countdown ended, monsters began to appear that attacked humans.

Elves took over cities, robots destroyed factories, and magic took human lives.

Their purpose is to steal reality from humans and become “real” creatures.

The general plot was that the world was being invaded by other worldviews, and the power of stories was used to stop them and protect the world.

So, if nothing has changed from the story as I know it…….

I can’t do anything in the first episode, which comes out in three days.

It’s low-rated, and it’s not a story about stepping up and fighting.

I needed someone to help me.

…I need to find someone, anyone.

I checked my friends list, mentally cataloging the people around me who might awaken.

“Club…….”

For the moment, they came to mind.

The game was made by a group of people, and I only wrote the story in it, so I couldn’t have awakened alone.

There must have been some kind of power distribution setting for a multi-person work.

I forgot about it because it didn’t affect the game at all.

That’s weird. I thought the message said the talent effect improved my memory.

Was it a setting that I paid less attention to something so I didn’t remember it even with the trait?

I wondered if there was any way to figure this out, but then I remembered something and turned my phone back on.

[The other person left.]

The chat room where Dreams disappeared.

All of the picture files and links are gone, but somehow the text is still there.

It’s the only thing that proves that I ever knew Dreams.

“Christmas is almost here, what is this…….”

I scrolled up to find the conversation we’d had about the setup.

The conversation from two years ago kept flashing by, but it felt different now.

The questions he’d asked me, the worries he’d confided in me, the pain points he’d shared.

I wondered if there was some hidden agenda here that I hadn’t realized.

The things I said to Dreams without knowing anything.

I wondered if everything I’ve said under the guise of advice or opinion had somehow influenced his current situation.

Dreams received advice from me to make the world the way it is, so maybe I’m the cause…….

“…Found it.”

The moment I found what I was looking for, I forced the unpleasant thoughts from my mind.

A chat from a year and nine months ago.

It was back when I was excited about the game he was making and asking questions about the setup.

-Yoo Seon-woo: What happens to works made by multiple people in such a setting?

-D.D: The important people who were indispensable to the completion of the work are awakened, while the people who were in a position where it doesn’t matter if they’re replaced are not don’t get anything.

Simply put, only those who had an influence on determining the direction of the work will receive the ability.

Conversely, if you weren’t instrumental in the creation of the work, you don’t get a merit.

If someone else could have been in that position and the result would not have been significantly different, they are not recognized.

…is it peripheral discrimination?

Why is it that although it’s romantic in setting, it feels like discrimination or favoritism because it buries reality?

Anyway, in this setting, the club president would have been awakened.

His position is practically like the director of the game, so there’s no way he wouldn’t have gotten it.

If the story person has awakened, then the general manager needs no further comment.

…But I don’t think I can meet him right away.

He’s already a difficult person to deal with, but since he left the club, he’s been a bit hard to contact.

It’s not like I’m a creep, so it’s not impossible, but…….

Still, I wanted to find another awakened for now.

Maybe someone like…….

Is there one?

There’s only one person, but considering the conditions, it’s a miracle that there is one.

Thanks to the conversation we had just had a few dozen minutes ago, the name appeared at the top of the chat window.

I sent her a DM, wondering how to bring it up.

-Yoo Seon-woo: Hey Do-young

-Seol Do-yeon: ???

– Yoo Seon-woo: What is your home address?

-Seol Do-yeon: ?

-Yoo Seon-woo: I need to talk to you about something, and I think we should meet.

The reply didn’t come back until a minute after ‘read’ appeared.

-Seol Do-yeon: ???

* * *

Seol Do-yeon. 20 years old. Same age as me.

An amateur illustrator who earns a small amount of money from regular patronage.

If she uploads his work to an art site, her clean, thin lines will be well-received ands he will be listed at a reasonable ranking.

An author who occasionally receives compliments such as “It’s delicious” or “Bring more” when he uploads short stories or secondary creative comics, and whose name is known enough to spread throughout related communities.

We’ve gotten to know each other since you were middle school students, attending the same academy and sharing the same hobbies.

Most of the time, these relationships naturally lose touch over time, but luckily, we remained close friends even though we live in different parts of the country.

-Seol Do-yeon: Wait.

-Yoo Seon-woo: I’ll buy you a meal when you come out.

-Seol Do-yeon: That’s nice, but why do you want me to come out?

-Yoo Seon-woo: I have to tell you something important, but it’ll be too long for DM.

-Seol Do-yeon: Uhm.

She’s a little late in replying.

Is there any reason we can’t meet?

-Seol Do-yeon: Are you confessing?

Is she crazy?

-Yoo Seon-woo: I’ll pretend it never happened.

-Seol Do-yeon: I’m just kidding.

-Seo-do-yeon: But I’m not in a position to go out right now.

-Yoo Seon-woo: Why?

-Seol Do-yeon: I’m sorry. I’m not busy, but it’s hard to explain it in words.

I don’t think she has any excuse to not go out.

Does she not want to go out?

No, she’d rather lie and say she’s busy with work.

She’s not going to give a vague “it’s hard to explain” answer to save face.

I wonder if she’s trying to hide her awakening.

But Do-yeon is the only person I feel comfortable leaning on right now.

I’d rather talk about it in person, but if this is the case, I’ll just have to poke around.

-Yoo Seon-woo: Is it because of your qualifications?

Seol Do-yeon: Ugh

Seol Do-yeon: What, how did you know?

I know.

There’s no way the kid in the corner of the room would have other circumstances.

We don’t see each other often because we live in different neighborhoods, but we know how each other lives.

-Yoo Seon-woo: That’s why I’m calling you, so come out.

-Seol Do-yeon: Ah, I told you earlier.

-Seol Do-yeon: I’ll give you the address, so you can come there!

The next chat showed a cafe near Do-yeon’s house.

Yes, this is how it should be.

I had been there a few times before, so I was familiar with the place.

-Yoo Seon-woo: Let’s talk about the details when we meet.

-Seol Do-yeon: I’m coming because it’s you.

-Seol Do-yeon: You shouldn’t be too surprised to see me…….

I’m not sure what kind of story she awakened.

I left the house again with the same clothes I was wearing to meet Do-yeon.

I want to prepare with Do-yeon for three days and solve the first episode by myself.

This was my goal now.

* * *

The subway ride took about an hour and a half, and I got off at a station near Do-yeon’s house.

Because of what had happened a few hours earlier, there were still a lot of people on the train even though it was still daytime on a weekday.

Luckily, there was room to sit down.

In some places, the slot machines blocked the street, so I was lucky.

I’m glad Do-yeon doesn’t live too far away.

I swipe my card, pass through the turnstile, and look around.

For some reason, there seemed to be more people than usual at the station.

It was so crowded that I almost couldn’t find the exit.

[As of 13:00, an unexplained phenomenon has occurred nationwide. We are trying to determine the cause, so please return home as soon as possible or avoid going out.]

My cell phone rang and an urgent text was sent.

I guess I couldn’t tell her directly that the slot machine and status window appeared.

Oh, I just happened to turn on my cell phone.

I quickly informed Do-yeon of my current location.

-Yoo Seon-woo: I just got off the subway.

Seol Do-yeon: Oh

Seol Do-yeon: Why are you so fast?

Seol Do-yeon: I’ll get ready as soon as I can.

…Is she still not ready?

It’s been half an hour?

Yeah. I was going to a cafe near her house, so even if she had prepared in advance, I would have had to wait. Well……

I should be prepared to wait at least five minutes at the cafe.

“Excuse me.”

As I was crossing that narrow alley, I heard someone calling out to me.

It was a male passerby walking toward me from the alley.

Breathing heavily from the exertion, he gave me a friendly smile and asked,

“Are you a student?”

“No…….”

“Oh, well, then I have something nice to say to you, do you have a moment?”

Ah. Damn.

I should have seen it coming at the first question and run.

Normally I would have, but I wasn’t in the middle of the city, so I let my guard down.

…But then again, do people like this hang out on the side streets?

“I have an appointment.”

“But it’s a really good story, do you have time?”

“I’m in a hurry.”

“Well, you can run a little late, but I don’t think you should miss this great opportunity…….”

I took a step back as I listened to the overbearing solicitations.

But then the pseudo-religion took a step forward and didn’t allow me to distance myself.

“…….”

I had an ominous feeling.

I’m not a great psychic, and I don’t have a great sixth sense.

I was used to this feeling that something was about to happen, like I’ve had second-hand experience with games or something.

[Text thief presents you with three choices.]

[You are given two good options and one bad option.]

As if in response to that premonition, the trait triggered and sent me information.

—

PAGE 1

You are walking down the street when you are approached by a person who pretends to be friendly.

He starts off by asking if you’re a student…Oops, you’ve fallen for a trick.

But today, with the world in upheaval, somehow this person seems more suspicious than usual.

Whether it’s a simple cult or something more sinister, you don’t want them around.

What would you do?

Don’t refuse the man’s request.
Run away and go see Seol Do-yeon.
Make a phone call to Seol Do-yeon and walk away.

—

‘This is definitely…….’

This was the effect of [Choice], one of the characteristics of [Text Thief].

It’s like watching a game of choice…but I know that this playful choice holds the power to determine my destiny right now.