30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue
chapter-31

“Let’s introduce ourselves one by one. I’m Eugene. Eugene Nobikov Karamzin. I’m Kim Yujin, who has possessed the body of the son of the Karamzin Duke.”

Eugene said, writing his name in Korean on the whiteboard in the club room.

In front of a frightened girl from the Knight Departemen, an elf with a languid expression who seemed to be thinking of something, and a murderous Santa Claus brother who still made his legs tremble just by looking at him.

“The last novel I read was [Northern Dukedom Swordsman Genius Bastard], and I’m now enrolled in the Theology Department, walking the path of a priest! Oh, and I also see a status window. Is anyone else here who can see a status window?” (Eugene)

He raised his hand and threw out a light comment to build a sense of empathy, but everyone just looked at each other.

No one?

Is the status window really that special? Eugene lowered his hand awkwardly and continued speaking.

“Hmm, erm… Is there anything else you’re curious about?” (Eugene)

“The ending.” (Oswald)

“…What?” (Eugene)

“Explain the ending, setting, and storyline of the novel you read.” (Oswald)

Eugene fell silent for a moment. Where should he start talking about this?

Normally, long-running novels have one of three endings.

One, a normal ending.

Two, a hiatus.

And finally, serialization.

The novel Eugene read was a novel that had been serialized to the bone. It was a super long-running novel with over a thousand episodes.

It was the kind of novel that was good to watch to clear your head lightly during commuting, without any difficult passages that would make you stop and think, and with no real content.

So, there was no ending. He just went to the academy and started collecting hidden pieces, and then he started fighting with the evil wizard family, and then suddenly a world war broke out…

It was a novel that extended its lifespan by repeating the sentence “The mastermind turned out to be ~~” every 100 episodes.

Maybe even the author can’t imagine the ending anymore.

“Hmm…” (Ivan)

Ivan listened to Eugene’s words and thought. He definitely didn’t know the content, and he didn’t know the novel.

In the first place, Ivan, or Kim Sunwoo, was “serious” about novels.

That means he had strict criteria for choosing novels. He also had the pride of not reading BL-flavored nomans long-running serialized pension novels that are beautifully displayed on the first page of the main portal.

“Next.” (Ivan)

When Ivan turned his head, Oswald hesitated and stood up.

“Oswald Eastbelphen. I am the second son of the Eastbelphen Viscount. My father is a current Privy Councilor, and I am an elf belonging to Kalion. As you can see. And my Korean name was Park Jaeyoung. The novel I was reading was, um… um.” (Oswald)

Oswald closed his eyes and said with difficulty.

“[Magical Prodigy Haunted by the Villainess Obsessed with Magic]… that was it.” (Oswald)

“Oh. Romance!” (Eugene)

“Shut… up.” (Oswald)

At Eugene’s encouragement, Oswald bit his teeth.

“I didn’t even read 30 episodes! The content is also not good, and the misery is over at that point, and from then on, they only fed me forced sweet potatoes!” (Oswald)

“Oh, an expert.” (Eugene)

“Shut… up! Your mouth!” (Oswald)

“How old are you! I’m thirty-one in Korea, and I’ve been possessed for four years!” (Eugene)

“…I was twenty-seven in Korea, and I’ve been possessed for four years.” (Oswald)

“This side is definitely a younger brother! Can you call me Big Brother casually?” (Eugene)

“Wow, there, Mr. Ivan? I can’t work with this kid.” (Oswald)

This one doesn’t know the ending or the content.

Ivan nodded, ignoring the two chattering people.

“Next.” (Ivan)

“Hiiik!!” (Yuri)

Yuri, who had been shrinking in the corner, stood up with difficulty.

“I’m Yuri… Frank. I was Lee Yuri in Korea… I was an illustrator.” (Yuri)

“Wow! A working adult!” (Eugene)

“That, that… I was twenty-nine… and… I’ve been possessed for four years… I don’t have parents.” (Yuri)

“Hurk! Immune to parental abuse…!” (Eugene)

“Are you crazy?” (Oswald)

Eugene was in a state of heightened tension due to the emergence of numerous ‘same-age’ possessed individuals. It seemed like he was excited about the increasing number of people sharing hometown information in this darn parallel world.

Meanwhile, Yuri remained huddled.

“It, it’s not that my parents are absent; it means I don’t have parents… I’m called Yuri Frank.” (Yuri)

“Original work?” (Eugene)

“Eek!” (Yuri)

Yuri flinched at Ivan’s words, avoiding eye contact.

A moment of silence passed as everyone focused on her words.

“What’s this, a riddle? I’ll guess! Let’s see. Academy stuff, your dim expression, then this is a Genben genre…! That’s the flow! Maybe he was a guy in Korea that suddenly got into a reverse harem…!” (Eugene)

“No!!” (Yuri)

“Or it could be an unexpected traditional fantasy…!” (Eugene)

“W-well, you see…” (Yuri)

“Shut up, Eugene. Now, Yuri Frank. I’ll cast a spell that truly suits you.” (Oswald)

Oswald raised his hand with a warm smile. He was a specialist in mental magic, capable of using buff skills like [Courage Bestowal] or [Wisdom Guidance].

As the violet mysterious mana began to ripple, Yuri jumped back in a panic.

“H-hypnosis!! I hate it!!” (Yuri)

“…What?!” (Oswald)

“What are you trying to do with that spell! You know everything, don’t you? You rapist bastards!!” (Yuri)

“I can’t follow the flow of the conversation. Ivan, what is this?” (Oswald)

Ivan hesitated for a moment.

Uncertain about revealing the original work, he was visibly frightened despite his seemingly ordinary appearance, which was the same for the gentle and always smiling Oswald.

Ivan was startled by a sudden realization and widened his eyes in astonishment.

“Feminist…?!” (Ivan)

Struggling to recall a term from Earth 30 years ago, Ivan was in shock. While he grappled with this, Yuri closed her eyes tightly and stammered.

“I, Illustration work… I was pulled in during the process! The, original… original…” (Yuri)

“Aha! I know! Erotic content!” (Eugene)

“Aaaah!” (Yuri)

Yuri covered her face and hesitated. She wanted to go home; everyone was unpleasant, and it was scary…

Kim Taeyang, a mesmerizing practical eye catcher, had never thought about attending an academy with a strong gardener to the point of being suspicious…

As Yuri sniffled, Ivan suddenly muttered.

“Everyone’s in their fourth year.” (Ivan)

“Oh, if I may refer to this gentleman, he’s been at it for a whopping 30 years.” (Eugene)

“This person, how old is he this year…?” (Oswald)

“He’s 34 in terms of physical age!” (Eugene)

“Oh… I see.”

Oswald looked at Ivan’s beard and sighed heavily. It must have been tough… Oswald thought he should understand, even if Ivan sometimes acted like a madman.

“By the way, we all fell around the same time! What happened four years ago. Um…” (Eugene)

“The Demon King died.” (Ivan)

Ivan scanned them with a serious gaze.

“A hero killed the Demon King four years ago. And both of them were possessors.” (Ivan)

“Oh…”

“In this world, there are no ‘stories.’” (Ivan)

Because this is reality.

Ivan reluctantly affirmed this statement and continued.

“But there are individual ‘stories.’ Each person has their own stories… like the ‘originals’ you all saw. Maximilian, who transcended beyond typical hero tales, became a ‘hero.’ The Demon King was the same, I suppose.” (Ivan)

“Uh, then…”

“The vagabond master swordsman of the Northern Grand Palace.”

Ivan gestured to Eugene and then turned his fingertip to Oswald.

“The genius wizard pursued by the villainous young lady.”

“Hmm…”

Oswald lowered his head with a somber expression.

“…And. An unnamed erotic content…”

“Uuuaaahhh…!!” (Yuri)

Yuri began to sob.

“All of you started your stories in a background similar to the original. A dissolute aristocrat, a magician loved by a noblewoman, and an unnamed erotic content…” (Ivan)

“Stop emphasizing that!” (Yuri)

“Alright. But the remaining stories are different.” (Ivqn)

Ivan’s gaze deepened.

“There was a woman who knew about the possessors of the previous generation. She told me something.” (Ivan)

“Live your story and conclude it. The ending of your story and the direction it takes afterward are not determined by fate or the world. It’s something you must decide.” (Ivan)

“At the end of each individual story, there is an ending, and the direction leading from that ending is not necessarily determined by fate.” (Ivan)

“Fate doesn’t exist. Whether on Earth or here, life is not trapped within predetermined storylines.” (Ivan)

“Wait not for fate to conclude your story. My disciple, turn the pages of your book with your own hands. Until the end.” (Ivan)

Ivan nodded, recalling Enrique’s words.

“After spending 30 years in this world, meeting a hero party, and seeing you again, I have a hypothesis.” (Ivan)

Ivan walked towards the whiteboard.

“While fate may not determine a person’s future, at least fate intervenes in a person’s past, in their ‘beginning.’” (Ivan)

Let’s assume that the world desired stories of a Demon King’s role and a hero’s role, thus possessing them.

And here, after the Demon King’s death, there are three other possessors who appeared.

They each possessed through entirely different stories but surprisingly had a ‘starting point’ similar to the original.

And all of them gathered at the Yansk University. Is it a tremendous coincidence? No, it’s some kind of ‘design.’ It must be.

In other words, there may be a tendency for the stories the world desires to exist.

At this point, what can be inferred…

“It’s an academy setting.” (Ivan)

“As expected! Hooray!” (Eugene)

“And we have the ability to monitor the ‘official’ flow in real-time.” (Ivan)

Ivan gestured to Eugene.

“He has a ‘status window.’ It presents the direction of the story in the form of quests, a dynamically changing type reflecting the current situation.” (Ivan)

“Oh…”

“Now, from this point forward, we…” (Ivan)

Ivan began to write large letters on the whiteboard.

– What stories do we all need?

– What is the ending we all want to reach?

– What should we do in this world?

“We gather to understand this. Understand each of our stories, analyze the flow of the world, and move forward for our ‘ending.’”

“Oooh…!”

“Ah, wait.” (Eugene)

When Eugene exclaimed, Oswald raised his hand.

“I didn’t hear what Mr. Ivan’s story is.” (Oswald)

“Oh, right! I don’t know either. What was your story, sir?” (Yuri)

“…I don’t know.” (Ivan)

“Huh?”

Ivan calmly spoke, scanning them all with serious eyes.

“I posted negative remarks on over 300 works with the intention of undergoing reincarnation.” (Ivan)

“Oh… Oh wow.”

“That’s… insane.”

Madman.

Under Ivan’s name in the minds of the three, three red underlines were drawn.

That night, they all stood on the tallest tower of Jan’s University, looking at the sky.

“Alright, Korean Patriots, let’s go!” (Eugene)

“It’s a party of reincarnators, so.” (Oswald)

“I hope you didn’t give it that name.” (Yuri)

Ivan was secretly considering naming it the ‘Volunteer Club.’”