Ch.153[Chapter 153] The One Not Yet Born

Sir Dominic and v.a.l.l.o.c. were coming out of the entrance of System Industries.

The System Industries building was still floating in the sky, or had land and water inverted, or had trees instead of glass, and seas instead of walls.

However, all of these things were somehow crackling like broken graphics.

“What is that?”

Sir Dominic asked v.a.l.l.o.c.

Despite not having particularly good eyesight, Sir Dominic could clearly see the graphical fractures.

“Do you know what System Industries’ motto is?”

v.a.l.l.o.c. pointed to a stone at the entrance of System Industries.

From the end to the beginning.

Sir Dominic had seen this phrase before.

But what relevance did that phrase have in the current situation?

“The beginning is approaching. Everyone’s beginning is awkward, messy, and clumsy.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. shouted.

Sir Dominic suddenly realized that v.a.l.l.o.c. was speaking loudly.

And only then did he notice the ringing in his ears.

What on earth is happening?

Sir Dominic repeated that question in his mind once again.

That’s when it happened.

With a bang, an explosion occurred in the distance.

The explosion was so large that an entire building jumped up into the air and then slumped back down.

Sir Dominic was startled by the sound and looked toward where the explosion had occurred.

“That’s the direction of the Tanker Union building.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said nonchalantly, but when another explosion occurred, v.a.l.l.o.c.’s body flinched.

“…Wait. Did two explosions just happen?”

Sir Dominic quietly raised his hand, holding up three fingers.

He had become unable to speak properly due to the severe ringing in his ears.

For some reason, he could hear v.a.l.l.o.c.’s words clearly, but Sir Dominic had no time to think about why.

“Three times… three times…”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said, trembling anxiously.

“It seems we’re in big trouble.”

As v.a.l.l.o.c. finished speaking, the world suddenly filled with white light.

“Faster than I expec-“

Even v.a.l.l.o.c.’s voice disappeared somewhere.

Sir Dominic drifted in a white world, on the verge of losing consciousness.

[Copyright (C) 0000 Gachaland Sys Industry, Inc]

And he saw something new that he had never seen before.

Countless codes visible through a window.

And beyond them, an enormous number of 0s and 1s.

Sir Dominic instinctively knew that this was the foundation of Gachaland.

A wave of tremendous knowledge washed over Sir Dominic.

“Strange. It’s not time to ‘be born’ yet.”

“Well, when was I ever born on time? My birth becomes the standard.”

“The moment of my birth is invariable. That never changes.”

Sir Dominic heard someone’s conversation behind him.

Or perhaps it was a monologue.

Sir Dominic slowly turned his head.

There sat a child in a suit and coat, with candy in his mouth, leaning against an expensive-looking sofa.

Sir Dominic looked at him.

In an instant, he aged into a robust old man with a full white beard.

He grew younger again and became a woman who would attract men’s gazes.

He became younger again and returned to being a child with candy in his mouth.

No, perhaps all of these transformations were happening simultaneously, in real-time.

Sir Dominic trembled at this strange sense of dissonance, but soon became accustomed to the situation.

That’s how much amazing affinity the person before him was exuding.

“So-“

The old man said.

“You are Sir Dominic?”

“The new person who just came in.”

The child and the young man each added a sentence.

Of course, since they were one person, the sentences were spoken by one person, but they sounded like several people speaking in fragments.

“Tell me.”

“What’s happening outside right now?”

“Why is it happening a day earlier than even my whim?”

Sir Dominic understood the words of the person before him, yet also did not understand.

What on earth does all this mean?

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Sir Dominic honestly stated the truth.

“Ah.”

“Sorry.”

“I was too harsh on someone who doesn’t yet understand invariability and variability.”

The old man spoke the child’s thoughts through the young man’s mouth.

“I am a being who must be born at a predetermined time.”

“But I was born a day early.”

“And today is the day I was promised to be born.”

Sir Dominic’s head throbbed.

His knowledge capacity was overflowing in this chaotic situation.

“Don’t worry.”

“I was born at the end.”

“I’m just heading toward the beginning.”

“My affection for Gachaland remains unchanged.”

Sir Dominic reached his limit.

The 0s and 1s flowing in the white world began to rise upward.

And the codes that had been hiding somewhere were regenerated, soon passing through the window and arriving back in the white world.

[Copyright (C) 0000 Gachaland Sys Industry, Inc]

Sir Dominic looked at the unfamiliar phrase.

It felt somehow familiar.

Just as that feeling became awkward…

[Alpha Test no.13 has ended.]

[Initialization in progress.]

Sir Dominic returned to his original place.

Sir Dominic gasped for breath.

Something had just happened, but he couldn’t remember what it was at all.

Cold sweat dripped down Sir Dominic’s face.

“Welcome back, Sir Dominic.”

Sir Dominic hurriedly turned his head toward the voice.

There was v.a.l.l.o.c., wearing an apron and frying donuts.

…

“Congratulations on your first regression, junior. It seems you’ve successfully regressed.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said, stuffing a freshly fried donut into his mouth.

It was too hot, and v.a.l.l.o.c. jumped as his palate burned.

Sir Dominic hurriedly fired questions like a machine gun at v.a.l.l.o.c.

“What is all this? What happened?”

“The Unborn President came.”

Came? Had come? v.a.l.l.o.c. pondered briefly before correcting himself.

“No, ‘will come’ would be most accurate.”

“What do you mean the Unborn President is coming?”

Sir Dominic felt like he would go crazy from v.a.l.l.o.c.’s frustrating answers, but since v.a.l.l.o.c. was the only one who could answer, he limited himself to just urging for a response.

“…You don’t remember. Well, everyone’s like that during their first regression.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. nodded as if Sir Dominic’s attitude was expected, then said:

“Gachaland isn’t a perfect world. Rather, it’s closer to an imperfect, sloppy world.”

What fun would a perfect world be? v.a.l.l.o.c. shrugged and continued.

“Do you remember anything at all? During your regression experience, I mean.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. asked Sir Dominic, who was still confused.

“…Alpha Test.”

Sir Dominic mentioned what he had seen at the end.

They were almost the only words that remained intact in Sir Dominic’s mind.

“Good. Alpha Test.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. nodded.

For a first regression, remembering that much was impressive.

“There’s a saying that the Executive branch manages Gachaland, System Industries maintains it, and Black Company operates it.”

“But you know, there’s one big thing missing here.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. stuffed another freshly fried donut into his mouth.

“Direction.”

Sir Dominic looked at v.a.l.l.o.c.

With an expression that said, what does all this mean?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m getting to the real explanation now. So… the Unborn President is Gachaland’s direction. He is born in the distant future and moves toward the past, checking things he likes one by one. And he decides the future direction. For example…”

v.a.l.l.o.c. pointed somewhere with tongs.

There stood Trom and Zesto of Zephyr.

They looked quite different from before. Trom had become a menacing bald man with bombs wrapped around his body and wearing a mask, while Zesto of Zephyr wore a cowboy hat with card symbols engraved on it and had dynamite tucked into his waistband.

“Like that, from changes in character traits…”

The tongs pointed to another place.

“To the expulsion of characters, that’s what happens.”

Only the President has such strong authority with just a word, v.a.l.l.o.c. said.

Where he pointed, there was Hanus’s shell, remaining only as dummy data like a mannequin.

“Above all, the most mind-blowing thing after regression is-“

“Haha! Sir Dominic! Can you really stop the schemes of the great villain Trom?”

[Evil Trom (★)]

“Pick a card. Probably… death. Upright.”

[Vile Zesto of Zephyr (★)]

[Rivalry created! Damage from Trom and Zesto of Zephyr to Sir Dominic increases by 50%. In return, damage they receive from Sir Dominic also increases by 50%.]

“That the world undergoes a complete cataclysm.”

Sir Dominic looked around.

The jumbled System Industries building began to change, classified according to themes.

The chaotic downtown area was separated by themes.

The messy worldview until now had transformed into a somewhat orderly appearance.

“I really like this regression. At least it’s clean.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said with a satisfied expression as he put another donut in his mouth.

Sir Dominic blankly watched the changing world.

Until this tremendous cataclysm was almost over.