NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11 – How to Treat a Miracle (2)
—–CROW—–
Seong-ho returned to the hospital room where he had slept the night before. As soon as he sat down on the bed, he stared at the words blinking in his vision.
[Check Fate Intervention Reward.]
Blink, blink.
Seeing the words constantly vying for his attention made him think. It seemed that intervening in fate yielded additional rewards, unlike simply hunting zombies.
After a brief deliberation, Seong-ho spoke the words.
“Check Fate Intervention Reward.”
[Required Rewards]
– 10 Merit Points
– 1 Stat Point
[Optional Rewards]
– Fortune Cookie (x1)
– Invisibility Candy (x1)
「Please confirm your optional reward.」
‘A Stat Point…!’
He had been worried because his Physical Ability hadn’t changed even after leveling up. He hadn’t expected to find the solution in the Fate Intervention Reward. Seong-ho decided to invest the stat point in Physical Ability as soon as he received it.
‘I think I understand what the required rewards, Merit Points and Stat Point, are.’
The optional reward was the problem.
‘Fortune Cookie… isn’t that for telling fortunes?’
He had never actually seen one, but he had heard of it as part of another culture. He pressed the text, just in case, but only a message asking if he wanted to select the reward appeared. There was no explanation of what the Fortune Cookie was. The same was true for the Invisibility Candy.
It seemed he had to choose based on the names alone. He frowned slightly, staring at the words, then muttered in a low voice, “Fortune Cookie for the optional reward.”
「Optional reward confirmed.」
「Receiving Fate Intervention Reward.」
Merit Points were added according to the required reward, and an undistributed Stat Point appeared in his status window. Then, with a bright light, something dropped with a thud. He caught it reflexively, and a new message appeared along with a rustling sound.
[Fortune Cookie]
– Can be used to predict your near future fortune.
– Consuming it recovers both injuries and Special Ability charges.
– Consuming it increases Physical Ability by 100% for 1 hour.
Seong-ho, who had been examining the description with a slightly nervous expression, chuckled wryly. He had chosen it hoping it might tell him about his future. He wanted to know if he could return to his original world, driven by that foolish hope.
However, the Fortune Cookie’s description crushed his hopes.
‘Near future…’
He didn’t think his return would happen in the near future.
‘Still, it’s not a complete loss.’
It came with recovery and stat boost effects. It wasn’t what he had hoped for, but it would definitely be useful, whether inside or outside the hospital.
Seong-ho swallowed his bitter smile and pocketed the cookie. Then he turned his attention back to the status window to check the required rewards. He pressed the text with his eyes, and the message he wanted appeared.
「Do you wish to allocate the undistributed Stat Point to Physical Ability? (Y/N)」
He pressed ‘Y,’ and his Physical Ability increased to 5. Seong-ho immediately checked his physical condition. He threw a few jabs and hooks at the wall and kicked the bed leg. As a result, he reached a simple and firm conclusion.
‘It feels like I’m back in my prime.’
The speed of his punches and the impact they made felt similar to when he was actively training.
‘It was 4 before, right?’
The difference was stark even though it had only increased by 1. If he could continue to increase his Physical Ability by receiving Fate Intervention Rewards, he would be more than capable of protecting himself.
Seong-ho exhaled slowly, feeling a surge of excitement. Even after allocating the stat point, his gaze remained fixed on the status window. He wasn’t looking at his increased Physical Ability or the added Merit Points.
‘Discrepancy Score…’
It was still over 50. If it weren’t for the manager’s intervention, it would have decreased more.
‘I think that manager bastard is messing with me.’
Why? Wasn’t the system supposed to be a neutral mediator? Seong-ho frowned in thought. Based on his experiences so far, the Fate Pioneering Team and the world were in conflict, with opposing goals.
‘One side is trying to prevent the apocalypse, and the other is trying to accelerate it, so their goals are naturally conflicting.’
And the system was positioned as a judge, mediating their actions and announcing rewards. At least, to Seong-ho, the system appeared neutral. But the system manager seemed hostile towards him.
‘This has happened twice already.’
There was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen a third time. Seong-ho, having organized his thoughts, spoke.
“Pioneer’s Cradle.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the massive book unfolded with a loud rustling sound. Seong-ho asked the Pioneer’s Cradle, “What should I do if I suspect the system manager is deliberately disadvantaging the Fate Pioneer?”
「Listening to the answer requires 50 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
「Insufficient Merit Points.」
“Damn it.”
Why was it so expensive? Seong-ho frowned and, after a moment of thought, asked again, “Can the system manager assigned to a Fate Pioneer be changed once assigned?”
「Listening to the answer requires 30 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
「Insufficient Merit Points.」
The number had decreased significantly compared to the previous question, but it was still beyond his reach. It wasn’t a problem he could solve right now. Acknowledging this, Seong-ho shifted his attention to another pressing matter.
“What exactly does the Discrepancy Score mean?”
「Listening to the answer requires 3 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
3 out of his remaining 14 Merit Points was not a small amount.
‘But it’s better to get a definite answer for this.’
He couldn’t continue to be anxious about a score he didn’t understand. He would need to use his power extensively soon, so it was better to clarify this beforehand.
After a brief deliberation, Seong-ho chose ‘Y.’ New text began to appear on the blank page of the Cradle.
“It represents the degree to which events that shouldn’t exist in this world are occurring.”
It was a cryptic explanation, but he understood what it meant the moment he saw the answer. Seong-ho’s existence, and the power he possessed, shouldn’t have existed in this world. But they did, and he was moving around freely, influencing things.
Hunting zombies, healing the infected, saving people who were supposed to die. The Discrepancy Score quantified and recorded all of these actions.
‘So that’s what the Discrepancy Score is. My power itself is a source of discrepancy.’
The higher the score, the more discrepancies he was creating. Having understood the Discrepancy Score, Seong-ho asked his next question.
“What are the ways to lower the Discrepancy Score?”
「Listening to the answer requires 5 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
Seong-ho hesitated and shook his head. 5 points was too much. He had already witnessed a situation where the Discrepancy Score decreased. He could deduce the answer from that experience.
‘The Discrepancy Score is literally a measure of discrepancy.’
If it decreased, it meant things had become more harmonious in some way. Thinking about it that way, he understood why the Discrepancy Score decreased when he used his power in front of others.
‘The system message said the members of the world recognized me and were influenced by me.’
The Discrepancy Score decreased depending on how significant his presence was to the witnesses. In other words, it was influence, or perhaps recognition. Indeed, a message saying his influence had slightly increased appeared when he used his ability and others witnessed it.
‘The reason why that’s the criteria for lowering the Discrepancy Score is…’
Because the people of this world witnessed him, a person who shouldn’t exist, and his actions, which shouldn’t be possible, thus making them a part of this world.
‘Is it like… witnesses who acknowledge that the impossible is possible?’
People tended to disbelieve things until they saw them with their own eyes. But what if they witnessed the impossible firsthand?
‘They call it a miracle and believe in it fanatically.’
This meant Seong-ho had to continue using his ability in front of others.
‘It’s a good thing I offered to treat the people in the hospital after seeing the Discrepancy Score decrease.’
Having organized his thoughts, Seong-ho decided to resolve another nagging question while the Cradle was open.
“To whom is my location exposed if the Discrepancy Score is high?”
「Listening to the answer requires 50 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
「Insufficient Merit Points.」
“Huu.”
Seong-ho sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was slightly afraid that someone might be searching for him or chasing him even at this moment, but there was no point in worrying about something he couldn’t control right now.
‘I have no choice but to gather more Merit Points and ask later.’
Now it was time to find out about the drug, cannibalism, and New Humanity Society incidents.
‘I’ve already prevented the drug incident involving Butterfly, so I should be good.’
Then the remaining incidents were cannibalism and the New Humanity Society.
“Where exactly is the starting point of the cannibal camp?”
「Listening to the answer requires 6 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
It was information he needed, and he had enough Merit Points (11) to access it. However, instead of immediately confirming the answer, Seong-ho pondered the previous events.
‘I asked two questions about the manager, and the required Merit Points were different.’
Why was that? What was the criteria for determining the required Merit Points?
‘Was it the level of detail in the explanation, or a simple yes or no answer?’
Seong-ho, after some thought, slightly rephrased his question.
“Which district is the cannibal camp located in?”
「Listening to the answer requires 3 Merit Points. Do you wish to proceed? (Y/N)」
The required Merit Points decreased when he broadened the scope from a specific location to a district. As expected, the required Merit Points varied depending on the accuracy of the information requested.
He considered reducing the Merit Points further, but…
‘It would be difficult to find if I expand it to the ‘Gu’ level.’
Seong-ho confirmed the answer without changing the question further. Then he asked about the district where the New Humanity Society incident would take place.
‘Cannibalism in Myeongdong, New Humanity Society in Seogang-dong.’
Now that he knew the locations, he could plan his route, but…
‘I need to think about this a bit more.’
Postponing the decision, Seong-ho checked his remaining Merit Points in the status window. He had 5 left. What should he do with them?
‘Is there anything else I need to confirm about the hospital camp?’
He didn’t want to waste Merit Points asking about things he was already fairly certain of, such as Lim Chan’s identity or the intentions of the hospital staff. He didn’t feel the need to double-check.
‘Then let’s save them for the next question.’
Seong-ho closed the Cradle without further thought. And at that moment…
*Knock, knock, knock.*
A knock came, as if on cue. Seong-ho looked up, startled. A human silhouette was visible through the frosted glass of the hospital room door.
“Who is it?”
He opened the door and saw Lim Chan standing there, his eyes swollen almost shut.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Seong-ho. I’m so sorry to disturb you while you’re resting. B-But I really wanted to thank you… could you spare me a moment, even just a little?”
Lim Chan, holding a bag, bowed deeply. Seong-ho tilted his head. He was the one who had suggested a private conversation, so why was Lim Chan being so humble?
As Seong-ho pondered the question, Lim Chan’s eyes darted to the side.
—–CROW—–