I raised both hands and splashed my face with cold water. I pressed too hard, and my eyes throbbed, but that wasn’t the issue right now.
I was Ho Cheon-an.
Originally, I was a person living in this Martial World.
So what am I now?
What was the me, □□□, who lived in South Korea? As soon as I lifted my hand from my face, a chat with that guy caught my eye.
[Rebirth Truck: Are you feeling a bit more clear-headed?]
Seeing that chat made me unconsciously place my hands on the keyboard.
[Ho Cheon-an: What am I?]
[Ho Cheon-an: Why was I on Earth, and why did I come back to the Martial World?]
[Rebirth Truck: Chill out.]
[Rebirth Truck: I know it’s not easy to calm down.]
[Rebirth Truck: But now that you’ve realized something important, we can talk more naturally.]
[Rebirth Truck: Earlier, I mentioned receiving a request from someone.]
[Rebirth Truck: Who do you think that request was from?]
My confused mind, shaken by my identity, was forced into focus. There were more pressing matters at hand.
The life or death of my grandfather, mother, and father.
[Ho Cheon-an: More importantly.]
[Ho Cheon-an: What about my mother? My father? My grandfather?]
The Rebirth Truck replied after a brief pause.
[Rebirth Truck: You already know.]
Bang!
Unintentionally, I slammed my fist on the desk with all my might. It was strong enough to crush stone, yet the keyboard and desk remained intact.
…I actually knew.
Two graves outside. And the skeleton collapsed at the entrance.
The clothing the skeleton wore matched what I remembered of my grandfather.
“Ha… Haha…”
[Ho Cheon-an: Why?]
[Ho Cheon-an: Why? What for? Why?]
[Rebirth Truck: Calm down.]
[Rebirth Truck: There’s still a story you need to hear.]
[Rebirth Truck: I said I received a request earlier, right?]
[Rebirth Truck: It was a request from your grandfather.]
Grandfather.
Hearing the word eased the boiling anger swelling inside me.
[Rebirth Truck: Your grandfather, in his final moment… um… yes. He ascended. That’s how he reached out to me.]
[Rebirth Truck: And he entrusted me with you.]
[Rebirth Truck: But back then, you were in a very serious condition.]
…Serious condition.
Even with my head clouded with excitement, it made sense. Was I even someone you could call human at that time?
[Rebirth Truck: Now you know, but your mental state back then was quite unstable. That’s why I temporarily removed you from this Martial World.]
[Ho Cheon-an: Was that Earth?]
[Rebirth Truck: Yes.]
[Ho Cheon-an: That doesn’t make sense.]
Yes. Let’s say I’m considered a person from this world. And let’s assume the game “Martial World” was based on this Martial World.
[Ho Cheon-an: Then why is there a future depicted in that game?]
[Ho Cheon-an: What about “realization”?]
[Ho Cheon-an: How could you know the realization of everyone in the world?]
[Ho Cheon-an: Does your power allow you to manipulate the future as well?]
[Ho Cheon-an: And yet, this all-powerful guy puts me in such a complicated situation and can’t even provide a proper answer?]
[Rebirth Truck: Calm down.]
[Rebirth Truck: First, let’s clear up some misunderstandings to help your understanding.]
[Rebirth Truck: First of all, the game “Martial World” is not the future of this Martial World.]
What nonsense.
[Rebirth Truck: Think carefully, Ho Cheon-an.]
[Rebirth Truck: Has there ever been a time when a bandit union rose up in Sacheon City?]
[Rebirth Truck: Did martial artists become instructors for the Golden Guards?]
[Rebirth Truck: Do you think the futures of the trainees you taught align with what you knew?]
[Rebirth Truck: Did Jeong Cheol’s actions or the founding of Sadoryeon ever occur?]
[Rebirth Truck: Did any of this happen even once in the game “Martial World” you played?]
[Ho Cheon-an: Of course not.]
[Ho Cheon-an: That’s.]
My fingers hesitated above the keyboard.
The listed incidents were things that had occurred since I entered this Martial World.
[Rebirth Truck: Let’s use an analogy.]
[Rebirth Truck: If Adolf Hitler had never been born, would World War II have happened?]
[Rebirth Truck: Well, who knows? Even without Hitler, the immense reparations Germany faced from World War I wouldn’t just vanish.]
[Rebirth Truck: World War II might not have happened, but let’s say it did.]
[Rebirth Truck: If war broke out without Hitler and without the Nazi regime being formed, would the course of history still look the same?]
[Rebirth Truck: In a simulation where you have to assume that such a person never existed, can that ‘history’ truly be called history?]
[Rebirth Truck: It’s the same here.]
[Rebirth Truck: The game “Martial World” is a simulation that excludes the existence of your presence in this Martial World.]
[Rebirth Truck: Imagine it like a fanfiction that starts from a scenario where a character never existed.]
“…”
Yeo Il-ye, Hyeok Gi-rin, Tang So-yeol… these people existed in the game “Martial World,” and their realizations were represented as information within the game.
But their lives as they lived now were entirely different from the game “Martial World.” Why? Because I didn’t exist.
So that meant my belief that the game held the future was nothing but a delusion. The script of the game “Martial World” wasn’t actual future events.
[Ho Cheon-an: Understood.]
[Ho Cheon-an: I was destined to return to this Martial World after being hit by a truck.]
[Ho Cheon-an: And the game “Martial World” is just a narrative that deletes that destiny, meaning it isn’t the future.]
[Rebirth Truck: Exactly.]
…It made sense.
Martial World hadn’t unfolded as I predicted.
Thinking it over, the game “Martial World” hadn’t perfectly realized the current Martial World.
The evidence was Barley Lotus Pool.
It was a thought that crossed my mind now, but the Barley Lotus Pool likely didn’t exist in the game “Martial World.”
Players who were perfectly aware of the harvest seasons of every herb and rare item.
In a world where crazy players could find the Hwari Pond accessible only during a specific year, was it possible none of them stumbled upon Podalap Palace?
In the grand scheme, they likely missed a phenomenal opportunity like the Barley Lotus Pool.
Did that mean the version of Martial World he created wasn’t perfect either?
At this point, a fundamental question arose.
[Ho Cheon-an: Why did you send me to Earth?]
[Ho Cheon-an: If my condition was poor, wouldn’t it have just been enough to hide me somewhere safe?]
[Ho Cheon-an: Did it really require a complicated process of dimensional travel?]
[Ho Cheon-an: And is this convoluted process really necessary to bring me back?]
[Rebirth Truck: Another crucial question has come up.]
[Rebirth Truck: You’re curious why I sent you to Earth.]
[Rebirth Truck: To understand that reason, you need more information.]
[Rebirth Truck: What purpose did your maternal grandfather have in teaching you the great law?]
“….”
Purpose.
Right, I had forgotten about that.
Based on the context, my mother, father, and grandfather inserted impurities into my body.
Did I possess some special talent?
And did my maternal grandfather seek to utilize my talent while my parents were trying to erase it for my protection from him?
[Ho Cheon-an: Do you know the answer?]
[Rebirth Truck: Yes.]
The answer from the Rebirth Truck further muddled my confusion.
[Rebirth Truck: Your maternal grandfather aimed to make you ‘Ho Cheon-an.’]
…That was an entirely unexpected answer.
I thought he would either create a monster like Blood-King or an ultimate talent similar to Cheon Mu-ji to unify the Martial World.
[Rebirth Truck: Incredible thinking, separate from aptitude.]
[Rebirth Truck: What’s more astonishing is that he actually executed it and was close to success.]
[Rebirth Truck: But those who defy the heavens must eventually face the consequences.]
[Rebirth Truck: Was that unnecessary to say?]
[Rebirth Truck: Anyway, you had ‘the ability to see the realizations of others.’]
[Rebirth Truck: That was why I accepted your grandfather’s request and subsequently moved your soul to Earth.]
“….”
[Rebirth Truck: Your mother, father, and grandfather managed to almost erase the potential you had.]
[Rebirth Truck: If just 3-4 years had passed as you were, your ability would have completely vanished. You would have become a completely ordinary person, one who couldn’t even rely on tricks like separating your soul.]
[Ho Cheon-an: So you sent me to Earth to use my abilities.]
[Ho Cheon-an: To use me?]
[Rebirth Truck: You’re not thinking of me as some kind of “Uncle Tom,” right?]
[Rebirth Truck: It’s unavoidable if you feel betrayed.]
[Rebirth Truck: But this wasn’t purely for my gain. It was a rational decision.]
[Rebirth Truck: As I mentioned before, your mind and soul were deeply damaged.]
[Rebirth Truck: If you stayed in that body with your respiratory passages blocked by ‘chaotic blood,’ you would have withered and died.]
[Ho Cheon-an: …Continue.]
[Rebirth Truck: I released the “Martial World” game when I judged that your soul and mind had stabilized sufficiently.]
“Ha.”
I let out a sigh vocally.
Yes. The game “Martial World” itself was an oddity.
If making a martial arts game, where would the primary consumer base be?
China, of course.
But martial arts are subjects of censorship in China. In that scenario, which insane gaming company would invest the capital and technical prowess to create an AAA-grade martial arts game?
[Rebirth Truck: The game “Martial World” was created for various roles.]
[Rebirth Truck: Of course, the main goal was to utilize your ability to see the realizations of others.]
[Rebirth Truck: It was also a learning device to create a basis for a clueless fifteen-year-old child to survive in a small array formation.]
[Rebirth Truck: It also served to stimulate the memories locked in your subconscious.]
[Ho Cheon-an: …So.]
[Ho Cheon-an: You’re saying that me creating “Ho Cheon-an” in the game “Martial World” and seeing the realizations of characters.]
[Ho Cheon-an: That was achieved through the power of my soul?]
[Rebirth Truck: (YES, emoji with a fish).]
I’m feeling dizzy.
It felt like everything I had known was getting turned upside down.
