“You’re useless.”The words echoed in my head.“What’s the point of keeping you around? You’re just dead weight.”“Send them into the dungeon. If they come back alive, we’ll let them join.”Was that a line from Annihilation Method? Or a voice coming from within Shin Yooseung?I couldn’t tell. What was certain was that Shin Yooseung, shouting from a distance, was losing confidence by the minute.I raised my voice again, as hard as I could.“Don’t listen to what anyone else says!”No matter what I did now, I couldn’t change the history already written upon that child.A sentence once read cannot be erased, no matter how you try.All I could do was write the next line she would read—make it bolder, clearer.[The effect of your trait is activating!]And when it came to that kind of work, there was no one more confident than me.“You can do whatever you want! You don’t have to kill the monsters! If you believe you can be friends with them—then believe it!”This world wouldn’t be as kind as the sentences I wrote.There are monsters you can never befriend, monsters you can never tame.Some—like the Final Dragon of the Apocalypse—exist for the sole purpose of ending this world.But—“It’s okay to fail!”Right now, what Shin Yooseung faced was the Nagak.Even if somewhere far away lies the cruel truth of the world, there’s no need to trample the small hope before your eyes.The Nagak could be tamed.Shin Yooseung could do it.“I’ll buy you time—try again, as many times as it takes!”[Exclusive skill, Incitement Lv.9, activates intensely!]Level 9 Incitement.After earning my first fable, my Incitement had become far stronger than before.[Under powerful Incitement, the target’s talent temporarily increases.]Encouraged by my shout, Shin Yooseung tried Taming again.After some time, threads of light spilled from her fingertips—and connected to one Nagak.[Character Shin Yooseung has succeeded in taming a Nagak!]Shin Yooseung’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe what she’d done.“Good job! Keep going!”Meeting my gaze, she nodded with a flicker of new confidence.I dodged the Nagaks’ ensemble attacks, hiding beneath their shells whenever there was nowhere left to evade.Thud-thud-thud-thud!Once I’d memorized the attack pattern, avoiding them was manageable.Just as Kim Dokja had said—every scenario had a countermeasure.[Character Shin Yooseung has succeeded in taming a Nagak!][Character Shin Yooseung has succeeded in taming a Nagak!]While I stalled, Shin Yooseung steadily continued her taming.All I needed to do was buy time.But then a problem arose.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, shows strange movement.]The Ancient Nagak was watching Shin Yooseung closely as she repeated Taming.“Hide!”At my signal, the startled girl darted inside a Nagak shell.A moment later, the Ancient Nagak’s ensemble blast tore through the area around her hiding spot.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, grows enraged!]For the first time, the creature that had lingered in the pool began to move its massive body. The Nagaks clinging to its long legs rolled across the terrarium floor.With a rumbling cry, it stepped forward, crushing the dead shells beneath its feet.Crack!That tough Nagak shell was pierced clean through by its sharp leg.Even without the ensemble, its physical power alone was terrifying.Of course—grade-6 sea-types were in the same class as the Titano tamed by Lee Gilyoung.[Constellation, The Insidious Strategist, wears a thrilled expression.]I loosened my wrist and invoked White Blue Internal Energy.[Blade of Conviction activates!]With a resonant hum, a blue blade rose from the broken Conviction.The Blade of Conviction I forged from my mana couldn’t pierce its shell——but perhaps its leg was another matter.I sprinted straight toward the monster and swung.[Fable Tenacious Martial Master hesitates to speak.]The historic-grade fable I received from the Dragon-Headed Leader.In the next instant, his Cudgel Style flashed through my mind; familiar motions followed, seeping through my arms via the fable’s current.The clumsy movements I’d imitated before became those of a true master the moment the fable merged with me.Slash—I didn’t sever it completely, but half of one leg was gone.The creature shrieked in agony, staggering.The realization hit me anew—how incredible the martial world’s skills truly were.Humans who had devoted their lives to refining a single technique.And I wondered—If Yoo Joonghyuk, stronger than even the Leader, had surpassed him… what kind of training had he, the Destroyer Sword, and Kyrgios endured to reach such heights?What kind of world did they see from there?“I want to see—and write—every one of those stories.”When I swung again, another leg flew off and rolled across the ground.KWOoooooh!Its roar thundered through the chamber, snapping me back. The fable’s immersion broke, and I found myself drenched in sea-monster blood.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, prepares Single Ensemble!]The monster inhaled sharply, readying to unleash soundwaves.I instinctively ducked under a nearby shell, pulling it over myself.But—why wasn’t the ensemble coming?A crack like shattering glass rang out as a hole punched through the shell above me. Through the splintered gap, I saw its antennae writhing mockingly.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, begins Single Ensemble!]Too late to dodge.The shell could no longer block sound.It had been waiting for this moment all along.“Mister!”Shin Yooseung was shouting at me from afar.The Nagak’s horn blared.You’ll die.If I die now—Shin Yooseung dies too.I couldn’t let that happen.[Exclusive skill, Incitement Lv.9, activates!]“I am the Nagak.”Perhaps confused by my Incitement, the monster’s melody faltered into dissonance. Still, part of the soundwave pierced the shell, drilling into my eardrums.A shrill whine rang through my skull; the world spun violently.Blood trickled from my ear, but the damage wasn’t fatal.Enduring the stabbing tinnitus, I shoved the shell aside and crawled out.“I’m fine! Keep going!”Seeing me, Shin Yooseung exhaled in relief and nodded.[Character Shin Yooseung has succeeded in taming a Nagak!]Maybe due to the Incitement, the Ancient Nagak seemed uncertain whether I was human or one of its own.But a moment later it didn’t care—it lashed its claw at me again.I rolled aside, dodging narrowly.After consecutive ensembles, its movements had slowed.I didn’t waste the opening—swung once more.Slash—Another leg severed cleanly. With that, it wouldn’t be charging Shin Yooseung anytime soon. The creature’s rage now belonged entirely to me.Kuuuuhh…The air trembled as the Ancient Nagak drew breath.In moments, another ensemble would begin.[Broken Conviction dissipates.][Thoughts on Almost Everything refuses further manifestation.]The transformation time had ended.I could regenerate it by using Incitement again, but maintaining Blade of Conviction was already straining me.I glanced toward Shin Yooseung, still repeating Taming in the distance.In the end, she will become the Calamity of the Flood.Even if I save her here, she will cross into another worldline and become that calamity.I knew it.That was the fate of this forty-first round.Perhaps a universe born as tragedy should never have existed at all.Kim Dokja’s words looped in my mind like a refrain.I converted Thoughts into a Mana Recovery Bracelet and clasped it on my wrist.[The effect of Mana Recovery Bracelet increases mana regeneration.]I looked up at the Ancient Nagak.Kim Dokja had promised—to watch my story.To let me tell the story I wanted.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, prepares Area Ensemble!]Then I would tell the story I wanted.Even if the end of this world was ruin—even if I could never change that fate.Feeling the air thin around me, I clenched my hand as if gripping a pen.[Exclusive skill, □□, activates!][Due to ’s plausibility restrictions, the skill cannot be used.]During the process of gaining my first fable, I had lost a skill.I already knew it from an earlier message.[You currently lack the class to activate this skill.]For someone who had survived countless crises using □□, the message stung.Losing access to it felt like being told I no longer had the right to be this story’s “author.”But then—[Partial function of □□ is converted into a subordinate skill.][Subordinate skill, Sentence Reinforcement, activates!]Sentence Reinforcement?“Cheon Inho is ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) □□...□□.”The moment I saw the line inside the quotation marks, I understood.[You may input an action.][Your chosen action will be reinforced.][Current reinforcement level: 1.][You may spend additional plausibility to raise reinforcement level.][Current plausibility: 515.]In short—a simplified version of the □□ skill.I tried it out.“Cheon Inho used Incitement.”Instantly, I felt a gaze behind my head—someone watching. Then a surge of vitality flooded through me, a power that made me feel capable of anything. Specifically—[Exclusive skill, Incitement, is reinforced!]At this moment, I could incite anything.[Incitement temporarily enters awakened state.][You may incite yourself to mimic a chosen person.]That was already possible, wasn’t it?[When inciting yourself as another person, you may, with a certain chance, imitate that person’s skill or stigmata.][However, inciting yourself as someone of higher class carries a high failure rate and a penalty.][Reproduction rate increases with your understanding of the target.]I froze in astonishment.Until now, Incitement had been a kind of self-suggestion skill.For instance, even if I incited myself as “Kyrgios,” it didn’t mean I actually became Kyrgios.In the Snowfield it was different, but in reality, all I could imitate was their tone or attitude.But now—if the explanation was right, I could actually use that person’s power.Without hesitation, I triggered Incitement.Someone who could resolve this crisis without killing the Nagaks—someone who could escape this dungeon alive.I looked toward Shin Yooseung, still taming in the distance, and thought:“I am the Calamity of the Flood, Shin Yooseung—”Crackle—Even before I finished the thought, I knew.This Incitement was impossible.Meaning—the Calamity of the Flood, Shin Yooseung was far above my level.I’d thought, with two fables under my belt, I might manage it—but no.[Grade-6 sea-type creature, Ancient Nagak, begins Area Ensemble!]I couldn’t afford the risk—if I failed, Shin Yooseung would die.I had to incite myself into someone of a lower class.The Ancient Nagak inhaled fully, its ensemble aimed straight at me.I hid beneath the shattered shells, thinking fast.The Calamity of the Flood Shin Yooseung had failed. But what about a version of her from another time——a Shin Yooseung who’d once been weaker than me?In my head, the pages of Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World began flipping furiously.“‘Mister! Don’t go! Please! Don’t go!’”Shin Yooseung chasing after Kim Dokja, who had become a god of another world.“‘Someone I liked once appeared to me this way, too.’”Shin Yooseung participating in the Journey to the West fable of the .“‘Uh, um... thank you... for giving me this award.’”Shin Yooseung at the Duet of Good and Evil, delivering her acceptance speech to Kim Dokja.“‘...Mister?’”Shin Yooseung—the first to recognize the giant squid that Kim Dokja had become.As the sentences flooded in, so did the emotions, to the point my head felt like it would burst. I climbed back through her history, further and further.“‘Mister!’”Shin Yooseung’s voice calling for Kim Dokja again and again.Maybe it was the sound of the Ancient Nagak’s ensemble, but——even knowing she wasn’t calling for me, my chest ached.I reread the story I’d once written, again and again.“‘Mister, can this... only work on monsters?’”And at last—“Slowly, the color returned to Shin Yooseung’s eyes as she looked at me.”The Ancient Nagak’s foreleg crushed a shell, the ensemble’s roar surging closer.At the same time, the sentence I’d found settled into me.“I am—”“As if nothing had happened, the kid wiped away her nosebleed and said,”“‘I am Shin Yooseung—the one who tamed Queen Mirvad.’”“‘Let’s go, Mister.’”[Incitement effect activates!]

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