#110
“What happens now? The author’s Twitter was blocked too…”
: Well, you must be anxious, right? Don’t worry! Nine will continue to provide quests that will help Yeonsoo-nim!
“The quests, they’re given by you after all? Not with ???’s help?”
: At first, I received help from ???, but now I can give them with my own authority!
I felt a bit relieved to hear there would still be quests, but at the same time, it felt a bit awkward.
Why were quests necessary? It’s true that following someone else’s instructions feels more comfortable and easier, but I couldn’t understand why quests existed in the current situation.
I thought quests were necessary for me to adapt easily to this world and to respond better to the author… Are they still needed even though the author is in such an ambiguous state?
“What’s the author’s current state? Why are quests necessary?”
: It seems the author is trying to somehow revive the story! We don’t know what they might do next, so let’s steadily build up power through quests!
“Come to think of it… what’s the principle behind giving quest rewards? I’m curious about how they’re selected and given to me.”
It’s ridiculous that I’m curious about such a basic system now, but I suddenly really wanted to know. It was because I found it difficult to properly grasp the relationship between ???, the author, and Nine.
Should I just believe Nine’s words that ??? is a bad entity? Could there have been some misunderstanding?
‘Am I going too far… being concerned just because of a dream?’
I don’t know how I came up with such a gentle voice, but it was really a kind and beautiful voice. To the extent that I felt disappointed that it was just a dream and in reality, it only wanted my power.
‘Come to think of it… it’s very one-sided.’
I felt a bit frustrated that I had no way to gain information or use abilities except through Nine. I don’t think Nine would do anything bad to me, but isn’t the information being provided too biased? Moreover, if Nine disappears again like before, I’d be at a loss…
‘But really, why did it disappear?’
I was about to ask when I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten and quickly lowered my head. Then I carefully asked Nine, floating on the screen.
“Nine, come to think of it… why did you disappear? Were you unhappy about something? You suddenly vanished.”
At my question, Nine stopped spinning and froze. It was as if it was an unexpected question.
: I was using my power to stop ???! But I was still listening when Yeonsoo-nim called!
I see. Thank goodness it wasn’t because it was unhappy with me. I felt a bit relieved and hoped Nine would never disappear again.
“Nine. …Um, never mind.”
Can I really trust you?
I suppressed the words that were about to burst out and changed my expression to be a bit more cheerful.
“So what’s the next quest? What should I do now?”
: For now, to prevent the author from intervening easily, we need to maintain the current state where Kim Sehyun is dead and the situation is up for grabs!
“Well… I guess so? But is that okay? What if the author runs away again because the story isn’t going as planned?”
: Run away again? The author is trying their best to regain control!
“Ah… I keep getting confused with the dream.”
I shook my head to clear my mind, patted my cheeks, and sighed.
“Just show me the quest.”
Then Nine immediately popped up the quest window on the screen.
: *Reclaiming Your Place*
Quest Grade: E
The public has killed the private! Now all that’s left is to reclaim your rightful place!
Go to the Awakened Management Center for a re-evaluation and show everyone your worth!
Reward: ???
“Aren’t there… other things to do? Why give this quest first?”
Of course, this needs to be done too, but… now that the author has disappeared, shouldn’t we do other more urgent things first? When I asked, puzzled, Nine scolded me with a confident face as if it knew one thing but not two.
: No! We need to quickly resolve the main character’s death to prevent the author from doing something rash!
Somehow, Nine’s words felt a bit awkward, but without realizing the exact reason, I ended up accepting the quest. After accepting the quest, I got up to discuss the next steps with the two of them.
***
Reporters were lined up in front of the center. Since we came in Hyun Dowoon’s car, all the reporters chased after the car up to the parking lot.
“I’ll give you a story a little later, so please clear the way for now.”
Hyun Dowoon, who got out first, said to disperse the reporters. There were boos from among the reporters, but when Hyun Dowoon stared at them intently, they soon quieted down.
Taking advantage of this, I got out with Shin Haejun and headed upstairs, sandwiched between the two of them to hide myself.
‘I can feel gazes from everywhere.’
Not just from the reporters, but everyone was sending curious glances our way.
It made sense, given that Kim Sehyun had died in Shin Haejun’s team, there had been an assault incident, and we had secluded ourselves for two days without properly resolving it. Above all, since it was revealed in the video Shin Haejun released that Kim Sehyun had stolen my power and received an unfair S-class judgment, the gazes focused on me, the subject of the rumors, were the most intense.
In this situation, Shin Haejun appeared with his hand casually on my shoulder, so it would have been stranger if we didn’t attract attention. Moreover, Hyun Dowoon, the center director, was with us.
‘It’s like a tank using an aggro skill…’
With all the attention on us, we headed to the grade measurement room. Thanks to prior arrangements, the grade measurement room was empty for me.
“It feels like I come here often…”
“You won’t need to come again after this.”
As I muttered, looking around at the now familiar surroundings, Hyun Dowoon held my hand firmly and spoke.
I sat at the measurement device and followed the instructions. Last time I was very nervous, but this time I felt nothing. It was because I already had an idea of the result.
Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon also watched me take the test with relaxed faces. Unlike us, the examiner received the printed test results with a very tense face.
“Oh…!”
The examiner who had tested me last time exclaimed as soon as he saw the results.
“It’s S-class, right?”
Hyun Dowoon asked lightly, reaching out for the results. However, the examiner shook his head with a pale face.
‘What’s going on?’
Seeing that face, my calm disappeared and I felt urgent. If it’s not S-class, does it still show me as E-class?
I even rested properly for a day specifically for this grade evaluation…
The power I felt in my body also felt too intense to be E-class.
“…Huh?”
Hyun Dowoon, who received the test results first, opened his eyes wide.
What on earth is going on?
My heart started pounding, thinking something unexpected had happened. As I jumped up from my seat, the examiner suggested I take the measurement again.
“What kind of result came out to…”
In a very tense state, I sat at the device again to take the test. This time, with the intention of checking first, I quickly grabbed the test results as soon as they finished printing.
‘Let’s see…’
The test results were written in a complicated manner like before. However, the grade was written clearly and largely.
“…Measurement impossible?”
Where S-class or E-class should have been, it said “Measurement impossible.”
“Isn’t the device broken again?”
I asked the examiner, trying to hide my bewildered feelings. However, the only answer I got was that they had checked it perfectly in advance.
Then what exactly is my grade?
As I bit my lip and glared at the test results, Shin Haejun strode over and arbitrarily operated the measurement device. He measured his own grade and quickly grabbed the results.
“S-class, it’s coming out accurately.”
“Does it make sense that only Jaeha-ssi’s grade comes out strangely?”
It seemed Shin Haejun’s grade came out accurately. As he muttered in a puzzled voice, Hyun Dowoon spoke with a slightly irritated tone. That was certainly true. It was strange that the device would malfunction only when I used it.
“This device is designed to… display results from F to S-class without exception. So…”
The examiner explained haltingly. Then, as if he couldn’t believe it himself, he closed his eyes tightly and exclaimed.
“Could it be that you have power… beyond S-class?”