The Recorder I
These days, I often thought I talked too much about Dang Seo-rin.
Of course, I couldn't tell my story as a regressor without mentioning Dang Seo-rin. However, even the greatest output of the Korean Peninsula, the Great Witch of the railroad, the idol of all people, has a personal life.
Yes, a personal life.
I was not the type to actively dig into someone else's secrets, nor was I the type to interfere with their hobbies.
Even if that 'someone' was a mentally unstable, dual-personality, malicious stuttering keyboard battler.
"Ah. G-Guild leader... G-Good morning...."
Sim Ah-ryeon.
Alias: One of the greatest trolls on SG Net, known as the villain OldManGoryeo.
However, during the 50th cycle, she was praised as the [Healing Angel] for treating ordinary people for free. She even volunteered as an art teacher, school nurse, and librarian for elementary school children.
Fashion style: Prefers brown tops. Especially likes to wear a white doctor's gown over a brown turtleneck. Why? Because she wants to show off that she's an expensive healer.
Even with just this, her character seemed quite amusing, but her awakening skill was even more outlandish.
Ability: Commonly known as Grudge Orb. To put it differently, she drank in all the aggro. The more she was cursed at, the stronger her healing abilities became. Because of this ridiculous ability, Sim Ah-ryeon practically lived on SG Net, attracting all sorts of aggro.
She was practically the Anubis of the Korean Peninsula... but when it came to her personal life, she had some surprisingly wholesome hobbies.
"Yes, good morning. Are you going out somewhere at this hour?"
"I-I thought I'd try painting again after a long time, hehe. You gave me an easel last time, guild leader...."
Sim Ah-ryeon, who was awkwardly laughing, had a canvas and easel tucked under her arm.
Hobby: Painting.
That's right. She was actually an art student. Readers with good memories might recall that when we raided the villain OldManGoryeo's house during the 50th cycle, Sim Ah-ryeon was painting.
And... believe it or not, Sim Ah-ryeon was actually one of the most academically accomplished members of our guild.
Education: Art Department at Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School, and Seoul National University's Design Department—quite the royal road.
Not only that, but she also swept school art exhibitions from a young age and even won awards at various design exhibitions.
She had two minister's awards in elementary and middle school and a president's award in high school. All the aspiring art students born in the same year and preparing for college hated Sim Ah-ryeon. Her talent for attracting aggro was evident from an early age.
Sounds like bullshit? I thought so too, so I snuck into the ruins of her schools and dug through the data. It was true.
How could this be real... Back then, I could only lament amidst the exhibition materials in the middle of a deserted school.
With such a brilliant educational and career background, what Sim Ah-ryeon mainly did was:
-OldManGoryeo: Hm... It seems you've never observed people in real life. Did you draw this with your own body as a reference? Then seriously, I recommend you switch from illustrator to live specimen in a lab.
-OldManGoryeo: Wow, jackpot. If you draw like this in an entrance exam academy, you could get your tuition refunded immediately.
-OldManGoryeo: Seriously, I drew better than this when I was eight, lol.
These kinds of nitpicking comments.
Or she'd draw comics that pissed people off and post them on SG Net.
Right now, Sim Ah-ryeon was smiling innocently in front of me, but just last night, she had once again earned the Triple Crown of curses from SG Net members.
"Where are you going to paint?"
"Ah, the Han River. I thought I'd paint some landscapes while listening to the murmuring water.... The weather is really nice today. Hmm. If I get bored, I might walk around the neighborhood and offer free checkups to any sick elderly people I find...."
"Oh, Lord. Why did you give this child such an ability as Grudge Orb."
"Eh?"
"Nothing.... Anyway, you're going to the riverside in front, right? Give me your bag."
"Eek. Y-You don't have to... Ah. Thank you, guild leader...."
Sim Ah-ryeon followed me timidly, but once we reached the riverside and she set up her easel, her hesitation vanished.
Facing the canvas, she hummed to herself, "Hmm, mmh, hmm," and began to paint with smooth, swift strokes.
"......"
Her hand moved with incredible speed, one of the virtues of a painter being 'speed'. Sim Ah-ryeon's hand was remarkably fast.
It wasn't just her hand that was fast. Having lived as a regressor, my eye for art had grown quite sharp, and Sim Ah-ryeon's painting reached a significant level, even to my discerning eyes.
"Heh... As expected. I'm a genius...."
Her occasional muttering was, well, honestly a bit cringe-worthy.
'Well. It's a much healthier hobby than trolling on the community sites.'
I shrugged.
At least until then, I had no intention of getting involved in Sim Ah-ryeon's hobbies.
The change began in the 95th cycle.
Let me briefly describe the historical flow surrounding us. The first time the Meteor Shower was subdued was in the 42nd cycle.
Unfortunately, due to the law of action and reaction, when the Meteor Shower was defeated, our awakeners also perished.
However, the time of a regressor defies the laws of physics. By the 43rd, 44th, and 45th cycles, the strategies for dealing with the Meteor Shower had become more refined.
By the 95th cycle, it could be said that the strategies were complete.
"Dang Seo-rin, when the Meteor Shower appears, use magic to set up a net below it."
"Huh? A net? Why?"
"Think of it as a meteorite. Destroying the meteorite is one thing, but the debris after destruction is also a problem, isn't it?"
"...Ah."
Listening to my advice, Dang Seo-rin began developing magic. The net magic 'Heavenly Net' solely for dealing with the Meteor Shower was completed. With this, the final desperate move of the Meteor Shower was easily sealed.
And that wasn't all.
The quest list of constellations tempting the awakened of the Korean Peninsula also evolved day by day.
The AAA-grade game 'Growing as an Awakener on the Korean Peninsula,' planned by me and serviced by the Saintess, was an open-world sandbox ultra-real MMORPG. It provided a lot of information about the voids and even offered 'customized growth' automatically.
"Huh. My awakening ability wasn't turning filth into potable water but actual purification?"
"After clearing the dungeon, a build-up guide that optimizes my ability appeared!"
"Damn. The world is shit, but at least there's a sense of growth."
"Quests are invincible, and constellations are gods!"
"Repeat after me! The Meteor Shower is just... a star."
Of course, all these rewards were what I had obtained by struggling as a regressor.
Running an academy and nurturing as many awakener as possible paid off. I developed their potential and optimized builds.
"Huh? The reward is... an Equivalent Exchange Grimoire? What's this?"
Just look at Dang Seo-rin; the Dang Seo-rin of the 4th cycle and the Dang Seo-rin of the 95th cycle were entirely different.
The magic she barely created over several years in previous cycles was now almost given for free.
"...Unbelievable! Such an outrageous magic exists?"
The effect was tremendous.
Not only S-class individuals like Dang Seo-rin, but even most awakeners were growing rapidly like Bitcoin in the early 2020s, following an upward trend.
As a result, while it might not reach the level of the Ten Legs, the Meteor Shower began to join the ranks of easily defeatable strange phenomena.
Udumbara? That was already included long ago.
-Kyuu҉u҉?҉
-So҉ Hu҉ngr҉y҉?҉
-̶͐ͅT̵̬̊w̶͔͝í̵n̴̨̈k̴̫̆ľ̶͖e̶̝͑?̸͒͜
Ah, but alas, the Korean Peninsula's strange trio that drove the early part of my regressor life into despair was now out of service.
Anyway, in all things, benefits come with drawbacks.
As the Saintess's power reached its limit, the probability of the corrupted version, the 'Executioner,' appearing increased. The same went for others.
The awakeners had grown stronger, but they had also become more dangerous. It was safe to say that 'acceleration' was starting.
If this were a character collection gacha mobile game, there would be no problem. Rather, it would be advantageous.
'10th cycle Dang Seo-rin is 2-star, 50th cycle Dang Seo-rin is 3-star, 100th cycle Dang Seo-rin is 4-star! Wow! Multiple Dang Seo-rins!'
'You can sell the same character several times by just changing their outfits?'
'Limited edition pickup rerun! Saintess Alternative version - Executioner appears! Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Time Stop, existing abilities greatly enhanced!'
'If you don't like it... you'll have to draw it, right?'
Etc., testing people's wallets and patience from various angles.
But as you know, this was reality. As a regressor, I had to be mindful of various side effects.
"Um... Guild leader...?"
So, if anyone in reality said such lines, one should be extremely cautious.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Ah-ryeon?"
"I-I don't know if I should say this. Actually, I shouldn't, but... but I thought maybe it might be okay if it's you, guild leader...."
"Mm? What is it? Just tell me."
"T-Then… Lean in a bit."
Sim Ah-ryeon whispered in my ear.
"Um... Guild leader. About the Meteor Shower. Could you maybe, even just a little, subdue it slowly...?"
?
"Why?"
"Because I want to paint it...."
?
"Why?"
"B-Because... it's so cool. Stars that bring about destruction from the sky. Creating waves of darkness. Even a lullaby from the sirens... Honestly, I think it should be preserved forever for future generations in a painting...."
???
If someone claimed that Cthulhu appeared in the sea and said, 'Wow, I must paint it in hyper-realistic detail to ensure as many civilians as possible see it!', they would be treated as a lunatic. My expression at that moment was precisely like witnessing such a lunatic.
"Ah-ryeon, the guild leader is confused right now, but the Meteor Shower is a top-tier anomaly."
"Yes? Ah, yes... According to the library society, it's a continental-class anomaly. It's the most dangerous anomaly observed on the Korean Peninsula. I know that, of course...."
"Yet you want to leisurely paint the Meteor Shower? Are you serious? What if the combat team members die while subduing it?"
"Um... Well, I think sacrifices for the sake of art are inevitable. Last time, I wanted to paint the Ten Legs, but... it's such a pity that the painting was lost. It's an eternal loss for humanity...."
"......"
By the way, the formal identification name for the Ten Legs by the library society is 'crawling baby Cthulhu'. Basically, Sim Ah-ryeon genuinely wanted to paint Cthulhu.
And she actually did.
It was so absurd that I set up a situation for her to paint during the next Ten Legs subjugation.
"Wow, these tentacles! So bizarre, no terrestrial, or even marine, creature has ever evolved to have these in their evolutionary history...! To think such things exist! This is unbelievable! Heh, heh. I must paint, I must paint...."
"......"
I slightly regretted it.
But the surprising fact was... Sim Ah-ryeon's paintings of anomalies posted on SG Net became massively popular.
-Anonymous: (Doodle) Posting a small sketch of the Ten Legs today... ^^
(Image attached)
-This is the Ten Legs that was subjugated last time! I was incredibly lucky to join the subjugation team and got a chance to sketch it! But the team fought so well that I didn't have enough time to sketch... ㅠㅠ
-It's embarrassing, but I hope this helps other awakeners who couldn't join the subjugation get a sense of what the Ten Legs looked like... So I'm posting it here...!
-Postscript: It seems SG Net lowers image quality every time you upload a file, which is always a shameㅠㅠ. Admins, please do your best...!
Hmm.
Yes. I know what you want to say. Unfortunately, this really was a post written by Sim Ah-ryeon (aka villain OldManGoryeo).
She just wrote it anonymously instead of with her official nickname.
Naturally, comments with a completely opposite sentiment to the usual trolling posts of the villain OldManGoryeo flooded in.
-[Baekhwa] SixthGrader: Wow! It's so pretty!! (>_<)!!
-Anonymous: Isn't this too realistic...?
-Anonymous: If you joined the subjugation team, doesn't that mean you're quite high-ranking among the awakeners? Damn. Impressive.
-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: It really looks like the Ten Legs.
└Anonymous: looks like? Really?
└Anonymous: Don't be mean to the talented person.
-dolLHoUse: disgusting
-AhdsLove: Please, talented person, join as a regular member. I always search for your drawings, but it's hard to find themㅠㅠ.
-Anonymous: Really well-drawn.
-Anonymous: I was in the subjugation team, and the Ten Legs really looked like this. The feeling is exactly the same.
└LiteraryGirl: How did you catch such a monster?
└Anonymous: 'Undertaker' and 'Great Witch' did it.
└Anonymous: Just the GOAT.
-Anonymous: But why does the person uploading this drawing always seem so annoying?
└Anonymous: What's annoying about it??
└Anonymous: Don't slander the talented person.
-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: It's a wonderful drawing. It feels more like an abstract painting than a realistic one, but it still feels like I'm really seeing the Ten Legs. You have a natural talent for depicting anomalies!
Hmm.
I nodded at CookingQueen's comment.
There were quite a few awakeners on SG Net who had participated in the Ten Legs subjugation. If even those people unanimously testified that it looked real, then Sim Ah-ryeon certainly had some talent.
Brushstrokes that made even those who didn't know feel like it was real, and those who knew also felt like it was the real anomaly. The vigor that seemed to leap off the screen. Talent. The aesthetics of anomalies.
"Heh... So many compliments about how well I drew...."
"......"
Then suddenly, an idea struck me like lightning.
It was a flash of inspiration that often came to me as a regressor.
"Ah-ryeon."
"Hehe... Yes? Guild leader?"
"You like drawing anomalies, right?"
"Wh-Why do you ask? Y-you're making me nervous. Why all of a sudden....?"
I put my hand on Sim Ah-ryeon's shoulder.
Sim Ah-ryeon, who was tilting her head in confusion, saw me smiling broadly at her.
"Have you ever thought about becoming a constellation?"
"......?"
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