What does it mean to become a “character” in a story?Even in Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, there had been those who suddenly turned into “characters.”For example—the “prophets,” Lee Seongguk and Jeong Minseob.They, like Kim Dokja, had come from outside the novel. But as time passed, they became part of it—turned into “characters.”The moment they became characters was the exact point when the scenario’s progress surpassed the parts of the novel they had known.In other words, they became characters the instant the story went beyond the section where they’d stopped reading.Then what about Ye Hyunwoo?He was different from Lee Seongguk and Jeong Minseob—he had read Three Ways to Survive all the way through. Fifty times, in fact.And yet, he too had “become a character.”What, then, was the mechanism behind characterification?I decided to check Ye Hyunwoo’s “Character Information” first.+Name: Ye Hyunwoo (???)Age: 17Supporting Star: None (Currently being observed by seven constellations.)Exclusive Traits: Leader of the Silver Screen (Heroic), Marksmanship Expert (Rare), Seer (Rare), ■■■ ■■ (???)Exclusive Skills: [Weapon Polishing Lv.4], [Mental Barrier Lv.5], [Leadership Lv.3], [Mana Sharing Lv.5], [Discern Falsehood Lv.4]...Stigmata: NoneTotal Stats: [Stamina Lv.35], [Strength Lv.30], [Agility Lv.28], [Mana Lv.40]Overall Evaluation: An incarnation showing remarkable growth from the early stage, currently attracting the attention of many constellations. Some constellations express discomfort at the strange current emanating from him.+Aside from the three question marks next to his name and the partially filtered traits, it was identical to the other character windows.The question marks likely hid his true name, while the censored trait must be related to his identity as a reader.Just looking at his stats and skill levels, I could tell how hard he’d been working to grow.I was honestly glad—but at the same time, I couldn’t hide my unease.Why had Ye Hyunwoo become a character now, of all times?No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.Even in Three Ways to Survive, the exact mechanism of characterification was never fully revealed.Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah had also come from outside the novel, but the system didn’t start collecting their “Character List” data until much later than Seongguk or Minseob.I took a quiet breath and, keeping my face neutral, called Ye Hyunwoo’s name.“Hyunwoo.”“Yes?”“You remember the contents of Three Ways to Survive, right?”He looked at me steadily, then lowered his voice.“You mean the Revelation?”“Ah—right.”Come to think of it, the Apostles referred to Three Ways to Survive as “the Revelation.”“Of course I remember. You know how many times I read it.”My heart pounded suddenly.“Inho, you don’t look well.”“You remember what our goal is, right?”“Our goal? To see the end of this world.”“And after that?”“And…”Why did I ask that?I didn’t even know.I just wanted to confirm it—that even if he had become a character, he was still the same Ye Hyunwoo I remembered;that he still remembered the story we’d shared,still knew that this world was a novel.I just wanted to be sure.Then he said—“To be happy?”I froze.“Whatever happens—this time, tell a story where you’re happy.”Kim Dokja’s words came to mind all of a sudden.Ye Hyunwoo gave me an awkward, sheepish smile.“Why are you asking something like that? Inho, are you okay?”“…”“Inho.”“Ah. Yeah.”Ye Hyunwoo reached out and grasped my shoulder.“You really don’t look well. You’ve got a fever, and you’re sweating. Let’s go into the tent and talk.”Half-dragged by him, I sat down on a chair inside the tent.“Here, drink this.”I took the warm herbal tea he offered and felt my breathing ease a little.Herbal tea, in a world like this.“How did you even get this?”“I turned on some charm with the constellations.”Ye Hyunwoo’s grin looked oddly familiar—almost like the Kim Dokja I remembered.Maybe it was because he, too, was one of Kim Dokja’s fragments.“I wonder what happened to the other fragments of Kim Dokja.”I decided to get to the point.“I want a brief rundown of the situation.”I had come to Gwanghwamun because of Ye Hyunwoo’s message—“Failed to secure the Fourfold Calamity Sword.”Considering the climax of the fourth scenario, securing the Fourfold Calamity Sword was essential.So what had gone wrong?“First, I should tell you what happened in Chungmuro after you left.”I nodded, and he summarized the past few days.Right after my departure, the Chungmuro Group began expanding its power.The Flag War had already started; there was no reason to wait any longer.They cleared minor sub-scenarios and seized flags from other stations.“Sunah and old man Kyungsik helped a lot.”Gu Sunah and Kim Kyungsik—readers who had completed Three Ways to Survive eight and six times, respectively.The sheer power of the Chungmuro Group became evident again.With Gong Pildo and Ye Hyunwoo as a pair, they were practically unmatched—at this stage, probably the strongest fighting force in Seoul.“What about Killer King and his brother?”“They left soon after you did.”Right. Killer King always stuck with his brother—like Yoo Joonghyuk with Yumia.That bastard was probably traveling # Nоvеlight # with her even now.“After that, we went to war with nearby stations. The Singijeon you gave us really saved our skins.”The A-grade replica weapon, Singijeon.It seemed my gift had paid off.“Everything went smoothly—until we ran into the ‘Union’ faction at Gwanghwamun Station.”“The Union?”“Yes. The coalition led by the Tyrant King.”The Tyrant King of Dobong-gu.One of the strongest Kings even in Three Ways to Survive.“Even so, with both you and Mr. Gong, he shouldn’t have stood a chance.”Either one alone was formidable, but together, their synergy doubled their power.If Gong Pildo’s [Demilitarized Zone] combined with Ye Hyunwoo’s [Mana Sharing], they’d be nearly unstoppable—except perhaps against Yoo Joonghyuk himself.“Yeah… I thought the same. That was my mistake.”In the end, Ye Hyunwoo and Gong Pildo hadn’t even managed a proper fight against the Tyrant King’s side.“Splitting our forces was the blunder. Part of our main troops got ambushed inside the Palace Museum.”“So that’s why the Palace Museum looks like that…”Before entering the tent, I’d seen the museum—collapsed, as if bombed to rubble.“Yeah. An explosion went off inside, and the entire building caved in. Because of that, we can’t even get in anymore.”They could’ve used Gong Pildo’s turrets to blast the wreckage open, but that might kill their trapped allies.He must have called me because he was stuck in that dilemma.“The fact that they set the trap inside the museum means the enemy also knows about the Fourfold Calamity Sword.”“Yes, someone seems to know the Revelation’s contents.”Whether that someone was a reader or part of the Misinterpretation Faction, who could tell.Still, I roughly grasped the situation now.“Who entered the building?”“Sunah, Mr. Kyungsik, and…”“Even Mr. Kyungsik didn’t make it out?”Reader Kim Kyungsik possessed the skill [Smoke Man], allowing him to turn his body into vapor through his pipe smoke.If even he couldn’t escape, something truly severe was happening inside.“That’s what’s troubling us. He was supposed to get out and report if anything went wrong—but communication’s been cut off.”“Anyone else inside?”“A few others from the group, but none with high stats. And…”Ye Hyunwoo hesitated a moment before adding,“Mr. Dansoo went in too.”“Mr. Dansoo?”I looked up in shock.Dansoo had gone with Lee Jihae and Kim Namwoon to Myeongdong Station.“I saw him leave with Jihae too—but last night, he came here alone.”I didn’t need to ask to know what that meant.If he’d abandoned his assigned mission and come back, there was only one reason.“He said Ji-yoon was inside that museum.”After a quick round of preparations, I stood at the entrance of the collapsed National Palace Museum.“Inho, are you really going in alone?”“I have to.”In the past, I would have gone in with guards.But not this time.To enter that ruined building, I had to use a special item.“Transform into Thousand-Form Stealth Garb.”At my command through [Incitement], Thoughts reshaped itself into a translucent suit covering my body.One of the Thousand-Form Stealth Garb’s functions was Appearance Alteration—it allowed the wearer to change form at will.[Effect of “Thousand-Form Stealth Garb” is activating!]Crack—crrrk—My body shrank rapidly, condensing until I was no bigger than a handspan.[Transformation limit of “Thousand-Form Stealth Garb” reached.][Cannot shrink any further.]Ye Hyunwoo let out a gasp of amazement.[An unmanifested constellation shows interest in your item usage.]Getting this garb during the battle with Representative Kim Dokja had been pure luck.My goal now was to descend through the debris into the museum’s hidden dungeon.As I started toward the gaps between the shattered stones, Ye Hyunwoo called out.“Inho.”When I glanced back, he was watching me with a conflicted expression.Somehow, I knew what he was about to ask.“Inho… you’re not a reader, are you?”By now, he must have some idea of who I really was.This time, I didn’t lie—no matter what meaning he attached to that word.“No. I’m not.”“Then please—come back alive.”I nodded once and slipped into the ruins.Squeezing through the gaps in the stone, I soon emerged into the collapsed marble lobby.Bodies hung from the rubble—some familiar faces among them, though not Dansoo’s or any of the readers’.I lifted my gaze to the shattered lobby ahead—the path leading deeper into the dungeon.[A new Hidden Scenario has arrived!]What I sought lay further below.

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