Beyond the Eternity

[The constellation 'Jugde of War and Wisdom' is pleased that justice has been served.]

[The constellation 'Architect of Absolute Chaos' smiles at your cruelty.]

[500 coins has been sponsored.]

The sponsorship messages of the constellations entered my vision. They must have liked the show. It is very rare to see a 4th grade monster species in a small planet.

['The constellation that likes gender changing' has entered the channel.]

['The constellation that likes gender changing' is displeased.]

Eh?

['The constellation that likes gender changing' is displeased.]

['The constellation that likes gender changing' has left the channel.]

What the heck? Why did this guy seriously enter and leave the channel just like that? More importantly, the constellation had a very peculiar name.

Not all constellations are the same. In fact, new constellations are born every day. The universe is vast, so it's possible that there's a constellation that enjoys changing genders. Upon hearing about a walker capable of gender transformation, he must have entered the channel to see if the rumours were true.

Did he leave because the gender changing was not a natural occurance but an Illusion created by an item? He was a constellation so he must have some resistance to illusions created by someone who even isn't a constellation

With that in mind, I thought the constellations and stars were rather strange people.

How much time has passed?

The journey to the station was a rather quiet one. Nobody wanted to talk because of what happened so the atmosphere was awkward. We stayed on the road for a while before we finally reached the station.

We stopped at the entrance of the Sindaebang station Exit 3. It took us around 15 minutes to reach this place. And if we added the time we wasted dealing with those thugs, it would be 25 minutes.

"We're here."

Kim IIho said as he stopped the engine of the bike.

At his words, everyone stood up from their bikes one by one. I stood up from the back of the bike. I still wore the appearance of 'Soo Jinyoung' so it was necessary that I continued living as Soo Jinyoung.

I opened my mouth with an indifferent voice. "So this is the station? Why this one?"

"That's right. It will be difficult if we used another place for our hideout. Also, it is easier to access food stores than the Exit 2 and Exit 3."

"I see."

"Follow me, the group representative is waiting inside."

I nodded and entered the subway station with Kim IIho as the guard. The rest of the group members followed behind us. Soon, we encountered a few survivors standing on patrol.

Were those people the guards? They seemed to have considerably good weapons— items of C-rank and above. To be able to arm these people to this extent... The boss of this station must really be a great person.

Once the guards stopped us, one of them approached and looked at Kim IIho.

"Who are these people? New members?"

"Not exactly. The boss said I should bring this people."

"I see. In that case, enter inside. The boss is waiting."

"Yes."

The guard gave the signal and the people guards allowed us entry. We were guided inside the station. They were many powerful people gathered on the platform. There were other people with weapons as well but they weren't as good as the main group.

Jung Yunhee looked around and opened her mouth.

"Who are these people?"

"Probably the survivors from other groups. The trial started a few days ago the boss of this place must have absorbed the members of other groups."

"Is that so? I don't really understand the rules of the trials? What's the point of extra pieces? Won't they just weigh you down?"

"You don't know?"

I looked at Jung Yunhee and raised my eyebrow. "Oh well, I guess I should explain everything."

I explained while walking.

"The point of the 4th trial is to have the number advantage. The king with the highest pieces will be strongest king. It's the same as having the highest number of cards so the opponent does not know which 'hand' you're hiding. If you don't know the 'hand' of your opponent, overwhelm them with the numbers and force them to reveal that 'hand'. The king with the best 'hand' will win the war."

"I see. So it's like a deck of cards but in this case, it's a game of chess."

That was Jung Yunhee had gathered from my explanation.

Honestly, I was surprised by Jung Yunhee. Even though she acted indifferent most of the time, she still paid attention to certain details. After all, she had the potential of being a top grade student in her class if she was serious.

"I guess you can say that. But the trial also made use of the Tarot cards so it's a mixture of both. In any case, you could say that the trial is a mixture of both the deck of cards and a game of chess."

"So the extra pieces are additional cards?"

"That's right. The concept of extra pieces is not usually used in a standard chess game. In fact, the concept does not exist but Fate generated such a concept to use it as a theme for the 4th trial. But before I explain further, I would have to explain the game of chess from the beginning. Will you give me your ears?"

"I'm listening."

Jung Yunhee answered in a nonchalant manner and I continued.

"The pieces in a chess game has their own individual strengths and weaknesses.

The Pawns lack any basic abilities but can promote when they reach the enemy base, the Knights excels in speed but lacks strength, the Rooks excels in strength but lacks speed, the Bishop excels in ranged attacks and support, the Queen has all the abilities of the pieces but lacks speciality and finally, the King can use the draw of the Tarot cards but must be protected at all.

Now for the Extra pieces, they usually have the same value and abilities of the pawns."

"Wait a minute..." Jung Yunhee noticed something in my words. "When you say have the same value and abilities as the Pawns, does that mean..."

"Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking." I smiled. "The value of extra pieces are the same as pawns which is one point per piece. However, they also have the ability to promote in any piece on the board. Let's assume there are two parties playing a game of chess, party A and party B. If all the pawns in Party A were promoted into a Queen, what would happen to Party B?"

"Party B will obviously lose."

"That's right. Now what happens when a single group has around 36 Pawns that has been promoted into a Queen?"

"...!"

Jung Yunhee widened their eyes. She must have realised what I was trying to say.

"That's the whole struggle of the boarding games. Fighting and absorbing the pieces of others while also protecting your own pieces. That's why I left Lee Jongho and Kim Sungwoo with the rest of the group members. It would be troublesome if someone entered our territory when nobody is around. They would use it as a breeding base to promote all their pieces."

"I see."

"With that behind us, it looks like we are here."

We stopped moving. Kim IIho stepped forward to speak with someone who was having a discussion with another group.

After a while, that person looked this way and approached. It was a young man with brown hair and a slim build. He had a thin face and pale skin. There were dark circles under his eyes but his facial features were gentle and calm.

I wondered. Perhaps this guy looked like the protagonist from a certain novel I know.

[Exclusive skill 'Omniscient Wall' has activated.]

In the next moment, a message appeared that confirmed my suspicions.

[The Omniscient Wall has failed to read this character information.]

[This character is not registered in the story.]

Would you look at this? My skill failed to read this person's information.

The young man looked at my face and froze like a statue.

How many minutes has passed? This person stared at my face for a long time and finally opened his mouth.

"Haha. Just like it is written, you're really the most beautiful in Seoul."

"What nonsense are you saying?"

I frowned. Was it okay to receive a such a compliment?

[A few constellations are laughing.]

[The constellation 'Architect of Chaos' says you should consider changing your gender.]

Damn you.

My fist shook. I really wanted to give the constellations a good punch. But it was too early.

The man realised his mistake and quickly opened his mouth.

"Forgive me for staying nonsense. Ah, yes. I believe a self introduction is in order."

"I'm Soo Jinyoung. I'm the Director of the Soo Jinyoung's company."

"That's weird. Why would anyone use their own name for a group name? Aren't you a strange person?"

The man looked suspicious and narrowed his eyes. Did he discover my weakness?

At this moment, there was a small reaction and sparks flew in the air.

[Someone has attempted to 'read' your information.]

[Your Aspect has prevented your information from being read.]

The man staggered as if he was electrocuted. His eyes looked at me with bewilderment. I ignored the dumb expression he was making and asked with a cold voice.

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"Ah, yes. Please forgive me. My name is Lee Dokho and I'm the second commanding general of the Sindaebang station."

"A certain person said that you wanted to see me, is that true?"

"That's certainly true but it's not me, it's the representative that wants to see you. The Sindaebang group wants to form an alliance with the Soo Jinyoung's Company. I believe Kim IIho has already filled you in on the details."

I glanced at Kim IIho. He was talking with one of the station residents.

"Yes. I know about the situation."

"That's good so there is no need to explain much."

Lee Dokho glanced at Jung Yunhee who was standing beside me. He was quick but I noticed what he was doing.

He was reading Jung Yunhee's private information. He couldn't read my private information so he shifted his target to the unsuspecting Jung Yunhee. I have already confirmed that he was a reader of the World of Nightmares.

Perhaps he could read the information of the characters with a skill called 'Reading'. But would that skill be able to read the private information of Soo Jinyoung?

Soo Jinyoung had the Eyes of the Yellow Dragon, an SSS-ranked skill that can avoid detection and see hidden truths. It was even possible to see the future three times per day with those eyes.

Would Reading penetrate the defences of the Demon Dragon Eyes?

I gave Lee Dokho time to finish what he was reading and he became confused. I couldn't read his mind but his thought process was probably along something like this.

「 Why can't I read Soo Jinyoung's information? Was it the Demon Dragon Eyes? 」

It was a stalemate. I couldn't see his private information and he couldn't read my information as well. Both of us were blind but he was forced to believe I was Soo Jinyoung.

His gaze noticed my cold eyes and he immediately regained his composure. His acting was good.

"Oh, silly me. My mind wandered somewhere else for a second. Let's go somewhere more private and talk about the details of the alliance."

"I see. But before that."

"Yes?"

"Hand over your card."

Lee Dokho turned around and looked at my face with a confused expression. He looked as though he didn't hear my words.

I don't know how far he read or which chapter he stopped in the novel, but if he was a reader, he would have known how terrifying the reincarnator was.

"I'm sorry but what did you say?"

"Don't pretend like you didn't hear me? Hand over your card. I'll be taking over this station."

"Eh?"

"You're still going to act dumb. Very well then."

My hand reached for the Iron-breaking sword attached to my waist. Lee Dokho noticed this movement and panicked.

"Wait, wait, hold on Jinyoung-ssi. T-That's too unreasonable. If I give you the card, I'll condemn everyone in this group to death."

"You really think I'm stupid, huh? Maybe I should cut off a few limbs before I kick you out."

"W-What?"

"Once a card is given to another king, the people in the surrendering party will be absorbed by the winning party. You think I don't know something so basic?"

"...!"

"I'll give you a choice. Surrender your card peacefully, or I'll take it by force. What's it going to be? Live or die. You can resist if you want but I'll give you this warning. Things won't go your way."

Lee Dokho's face turned pale as the surrounding crowd began to take notice of the commotion. Angelica looked anxious, and a crack appeared in Jung Yunhee's indifferent expression. Why was I acting something so reckless? Their expressions seemed to scream something along those lines.

But if I wanted to impersonate Soo Jinyoung, I had to be unreasonable. To pull off this act, I also needed Soo Jinyoung's strength. That was impossible for the current me, but I could bridge the massive gap in skills with raw stats.

[24,000 coins has been invested in all stats.]

[Physique Lv. 20 –> Physique Lv. 30]

[Strength Lv. 20 –> Strength Lv. 30]

[Agility Lv. 20 –> Agility Lv. 30]

[Magic Power Lv. 20 –> Magic Power Lv. 30]

[Your overall stats has drastically increased.]

My muscles tightened, my senses became sharper and newfound magic power thrummed through my veins. It was a great increase in power that could be felt immediately.

[Exclusive skill 'Soul Purifying Sword Lv. 10' has activated.]

Vrrrmmm—

My sword was filled with magic power and Lee Dokho jumped.

The guards saw the flaming sword in my hand and immediately misunderstood the situation.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Someone, stop that crazy woman!"

The guards approached with their weapons and I swung the sword.

Kwang! The ground exploded and the guards were blown away as if hit by a shotgun blast.

Smoke erupted and scattered around. I approached with the flaming Iron-severing sword and Lee Dokho jumped infront of me.

"Wait, Wait! I'll give you the card."

"It's too late."

"What do you want as compensation?"

What? This guy knows how to use his head in a situation like this.

"Give me the other cards that you have."

Lee Dokho trembled. "T-That is difficult."

"I know you tried to look at my status window before now so give all your cards or there's no deal."

"Fuck."

Lee Dokho became silent and started biting his nails. Perhaps he was thinking about something. Even so, I decided to pressure him even more.

"If you don't decide in the next three seconds, I'll kill everyone here."

"Alright, there's no need for the unnecessary violence."

Finally, Lee Dokho spoke.

"But I don't have the right to give you the cards. I'm just the Queen. Only the representative have the rights of the cards. Would you like to meet the representative?"

"Yes."

I immediately understood the meaning behind his words and replied. This level of violence was enough.

"Before we go, give me your cards. I'll take them with me."

"..."

Lee Dokho was hesitant at first but once he saw the sword, he gave up all form of resistance.

[You have obtained the cards: Ace of Cups, Queen of Swords and Knights of Swords.]

[You have collected five tarot cards without killing.]

Sometimes, it was good to be the protagonist.