The ensuing scenario afterwards proved to be plain sailing. Zhu Bajie had a big role to play in that.

[Current rate of Journey to the West’s progress: 24%]

The Journey to the West had the storyline of overcoming a total of 81 different adversities in the 14-year period. But, as the original work used the stories passed down orally as its foundation, this level of changes didn’t seem to matter one jot.

Even then, I couldn’t help but wonder if the story was progressing a bit too fast when we hadn’t even met Sha Wujing yet. And I also kind of wondered who’d play that role, too.

“Ku-waaahk!”

Currently, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] was busy cutting the heads off the unlucky bandits that showed up as a sort of intermission event.

[A portion of judges are dissatisfied by the viciousness of ‘Zhu Bajie’!]

[Audience members are satisfied with the taste of the Journey to the West’s cider!]

[10 additional points have been acquired.]

Even back in the original story, Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong often killed all human-type villains they came across. That resulted in ‘Tang Sanzang’ lecturing them, or when the matter became too serious, they even suffered expulsion, too.

There were quite a few readers who felt turned-off by the stuffy uptightness of Tang Sanzang, though.

“Jung-Hyeok ahjussi, how about sparing those people….?”

[A portion of judges are satisfied by the reflection of the original work.]

[Many audience members are arrested by Tang Sanzang’s adorableness.]

[20 additional points have been acquired.]

For sure, the question of who was playing the role seemed to make a big difference overall.

The leader of the bandits, beaten up to within an inch of his life by Yu Jung-Hyeok, yelled out as if he was furious about his treatment. “Keu-euh-euk! Who would’ve thought that a mere Zhu Bajie was that strong!”

Surprisingly, he was someone that I knew.

Kids next to me whispered to each other.

“Poor Myeong-Oh ahjussi.”

The department chief Han Myeong-Oh activated [One-legged Swift Horse] and while running away as if his butt was on fire, sent us a knowing wink.

To think that Han Myeong-Oh was one of the players participating here, too.

It seemed that he was hired to perform multiple roles, specifically as leaders of various bandit troupes. Shin Yu-Seung softly muttered as we watched his distancing back. “Hui-Won unni said that it was okay.”

Yu Jung-Hyeok returned to our side while lightly polishing the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword]. He especially paid more attention to the centre of the blade. When I took a closer look, a minute crack could be spotted there.

His sword was broken on the battlefield of the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’.

This would be his second sword to be broken after the [Heaven Shaking Sword]. Even if he didn’t show it, he must’ve been hurting over this whole thing.

It’d be good if he could get himself a new weapon from this ‘Journey to the West’….

But, I couldn’t recall any weapons that might suit him. Sun Wukong’s Ruyi Jingu Bang wasn’t the type of weapon that Yu Jung-Hyeok was familiar with, and Zhu Bajie’s Nine-Tooth Spike Rake didn’t match his taste. No need to even mention Sha Wujing’s Demon Slaying Staff, either….

Maybe he found me, deeply submerged in my thoughts, suspicious, as he suddenly addressed me off-handedly. “Thankfully, you behaved yourself.”

(Interpretation: Senior brother! Are you injured anywhere?)

I couldn’t help but glare at the narration floating up in the air.

What the heck was that now?

“Behave yourself even in the future. Then I won’t kill you.”

(Interpretation: Fufufu, Senior Brother, do not worry. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I shall definitely protect you.)

I became slightly dismayed and glared at the sky.

Hey, there’s just no way he’d be thinking like that. Besides, Yu Jung-Hyeok would never laugh “Fufufu” in his life.

Han Su-Yeong, you dumbass….

[A fair number of audience members are greatly moved by Zhu Bajie’s inner thoughts!]

[A fair number of audience members have fallen deeply for Zhu Bajie’s magnetism!]

[One of the audience members wish to sponsor Coins.]

[Judge, ‘Cleanser of Altars’, is greatly satisfied!]

[50 additional points have been acquired!]

….What an outstanding author she was.

(The journey proved to be rather uneventful. Sun Wukong began thinking. Is this what it means to lead a ‘retired life’?)

In any case, the trip was indeed quite stress-free, as long as I excluded the constant war of nerves with Yu Jung-Hyeok, that was.

As for Yogoes or bandits that periodically appeared, either the kids or Yu Jung-Hyeok took care of them even before I could spot them.

“Oii, Mister Demon King of Salvation. You must be really comfortable, aren’t you?”

“Yes. It’s all thanks to you the Masters.”

I should also thank Han Su-Yeong for me getting referred to as the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ even though my identity hadn’t been revealed yet.

This [I’ve become the retired SSSSS-rank Sun Wukong] had a strange backstory of Sun Wukong being nicknamed the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ in his past. I couldn’t really figure out why she’d use such a nickname here…..

[A portion of audience members like the story where the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is treated poorly.]

[10 additional points have been acquired.]

….Nope, I think I know now.

“Stop picking a fight with someone you’re not familiar with, you dummy.”

“No, that’s not it. I mean, he should earn his keep, right? Dok-Ja hyung told me that even if your body’s relaxing, your head should still be working overtime.”

I definitely never said that. When you were relaxing, you should relax your mind, too.

Yi Gil-Yeong narrowed his eyes to a slit and stared at me while adding a few more words on top. “That’s why you should give up some tasty info already. I mean, you’re supposed to be a second-turn Sun Wukong according to the backstory, right? Don’t you know where we can find some hidden elixirs or something?”

“….Mm. Sure, I know of a few.”

Indeed, the ‘Journey to the West’ did feature quite a few useful elixirs. Such as, the [Peach of Immortality] that Sun Wukong ate, or the [Ginseng Fruit] the group finds during the journey itself.

“One of the best elixirs can be found nearby.”

“Really? Where?”

I didn’t reply and simply stared at Yi Gil-Yeong.

“Where is it? Hurry up and spit it out!”

Before I could explain, the narration began first.

(In the original Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang was kidnapped by Yogoes dozens of times because of the legend that any creature devouring the monk would ascend to the heavenly world. But that made sense, considering that Tang Sanzang was the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, the disciple of Buddha who had gone through ten cycles of rebirth.)

While watching the jaws of the two kids drop gradually, I added an extra explanation on top. “Most likely, you Masters are the best-known elixirs found within the entirety of the ‘Journey to the West’.”

Yi Gil-Yeong and Shin Yu-Seung flinched before taking quick steps away from one another, and glared fiercely at each other.

“Hey, Shin Yu-Seung, you don’t need a finger or two, now do you….?”

“You probably don’t need anything above your neck, though?”

Watching the kids growl at each other like that, I couldn’t help but snicker on the side. The dumpling on my shoulder didn’t seem to be happy with my current actions and whispered to me.

– This is no time to snicker like a fool. It’s you who needs an elixir or two, not them.

Along with his rebuke, a window popped up in my view.

[Outer God transformation progress percentage: 48%]

….The rate of assimilation was chill-inducingly fast. I didn’t expect this one to be quicker than the Journey to the West’s progress.

– It’s because your Incarnation Body’s rate of recovery is too slow.

‘….This was not a part of the deal.’

– And you sneakily cooperating with <Kim Dok-Ja Company> was not a part of the plan, either.

I bit my lip.

As expected, the Wenny King was a scary guy. But then again, he had been fighting the Dokkaebi King for his entire life, hadn’t he? It was highly likely that he even foresaw the current situation.

[999] spoke as he studied my Incarnation Body.

– You only have around four days. You need to fulfil the agreement before then.

‘That’s impossible. I need to finish this scenario first in order to do that, but I don’t have enough time.’

The deal with the Wenny King was to create a Great Fable that contained an ‘Outer God’. I was planning to fulfil that agreement through this Great Fable, but four days simply was too short.

At the bare minimum, I needed over a week.

– In that case, there is only one method remaining. We need to strengthen your frail Incarnation Body.

I nodded my head and checked out my body’s condition.

[Current Incarnation Body recovery rate: 45%]

[Damage to your foundational Fable is critical.]

[You can consume a new type of elixir to boost the rate of recovery.]

The reason for the rate of transforming into an Outer God speeding up was simply because my Incarnation Body hadn’t recovered fully from the damage I suffered during the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’.

[Fable fragment, ‘Young Gold Dragon’s Broken Heart’, is unable to function properly.]

Now that I thought about it, I was too focused on gathering Fables and neglected on enhancing my Incarnation Body’s durability. Well, I half gave up on the idea after I kept dying and stuff, so… As for the ‘Young Gold Dragon’s Broken Heart’, now that was a Fable fragment I acquired a really long time ago.

Just like what the ‘One Invincible Fist’ Yu Ho-Seong told me, though, I needed to train my Incarnation Body if I wanted to bring out the full might of the Fables.

Because, if Fables were ‘words’, then one’s Incarnation Body was the ‘paper’ those words could be written on.

– Every elixir that can be found in here should all be replicas. Still, it’ll be better than not consuming one.

[Score: 2963]

[Currently, five judges are watching the applicable Fable chamber.]

[Currently, many audience members are interested in the upward trajectory of the Fable chamber.]

[Current ranking of the applicable Fable chamber is 31st.]

In a fairly short period of time, the scenario created by Han Su-Yeong managed to earn the support from many people out there. And a story where many were sharing the cost of ‘Probability’ could exhibit pretty strong power as a result.

[As the Fable chamber’s ranking rises higher, the grades of Star Relics found within the applicable chamber will also rise up.]

As the chamber’s ranking climbed up, every item that showed up here would get closer and closer to the grade of their original counterparts, and if we manage to win, then they would become originals outright.

In other words, everything we find in this Fable chamber would become ‘real’ things.

If our chamber’s ranking continues to climb as smoothly as it had done so far, and if I manage to successfully gather the elixirs, then…

[Great Fable, ‘Season of Light and Darkness’, is currently asleep.]

[You don’t have the qualification to use the applicable Fable.]

….Then maybe, I might get to utilise the power of this ‘Great Fable’ that I earned but hadn’t been able to unleash until now.

[Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, is afraid of ‘Season of Light and Darkness’.]

Even the [Torch that Swallowed the Myth] was scared of this Fable. Right now, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how incredible the power of this Fable was.

“Stop.”

It was at that moment when Yu Jung-Hyeok walking out in front came to a stop.

The sky that used to be clear and blue was now dyed in a yellowish hue. I took a closer look to find that the yellowish fog had blanketed the surrounding landscape as well as the sky above.

[You have arrived in Yellow Wind Cave at Yellow Wind Ridge.]

Yellow Wind Ridge, was it?

This was the residence of one of the Journey’s villains, ‘Yellow Wind’ Demon King. If my thoughts were correct, then one of the elixirs I need should be found nearby.

It was here that we heard an incoming message.

[High number of Players are joining this ‘Fable chamber’!]

The original number of Players for this chamber was eight. However, there was a sudden influx of additional Players.

Yi Gil-Yeong muttered as if he was dumbfounded by it. “….But, why now?”

It was logically difficult to explain. The newly-entering Players to a Fable chamber that no longer recruited roles could only become ‘extras’ and not much else. And these extras would not get any proper rewards even after the chamber was concluded successfully.

That was the situation for the top-ten ranked Fable chambers, so there was no need to even mention participating in this 31st…. No, hang on, there was.

[A small number of audience members are wary of the 6731st Fable chamber’s rise in the rankings.]

[A portion of audience members are looking forward to your destruction.]

[Many audience members are paying attention to the Fable chamber’s sudden upheaval!]

The current situation was this: our Fable chamber had shot up from the bottom of the ranking all the way up near the top in a proverbial blink of an eye.

Yu Jung-Hyeok spoke, his expression hardening. “Bastards are trying to ruin our scenario.”

It was unknown who might be the instigator in this case, but I could think of something.

Most likely, these guys were ‘spies’ sent in from the great Nebulas participating in the ‘Journey to the West Remake’, as well as from other top-ranked Fable chambers.

They must’ve been fearing what might happen in the <Star Stream> if <Kim Dok-Ja Company> managed to snatch away yet another ‘Great Fable’ here.

Ku-gugugugu!

The fog rushed forward in an instant and swallowed us up.

The first one to disappear under the fog was Yu Jung-Hyeok’s figure, looking back at us and issuing a warning; and then, the surprised voices of Shin Yu-Seung and Yi Gil-Yeong resounded out next.

“Disciple-nim! Hurry and hide behind us!”

“Stay behind and don’t step forward! Got th….”

Even before I could make my reply, the kids disappeared as well. And the fog came to a stop right before my nose. Soon, I heard the sharp noises of weapons clashing coming from here and there. The dumpling on my shoulder asked in a quiet voice.

– Aren’t you going in?

“I want to, but….” said I, as I felt the presence approaching me from behind. “….I think their aim is me this time.”

I looked back and saw the ‘extras’ hurrying over here on the Yellow Wind Ridge’s pathway. Constellations disguised as the underlings of the ‘Yellow Wind’ Demon King were walking closer while emitting unfriendly auras in my direction.

“So, that’s the ‘Sun Wukong’?”

“He must be a weakling, judging from his Status.”

“Did they really think we’d be scared by them attaching the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ moniker onto a weakling like him?”

Only then did I figure out what their real goal was. No matter what, the main protagonist of the [Journey to the West] was ‘Sun Wukong’. If he dies, the Journey would end, too.

[A portion of judges are worried about your safety.]

[A portion of audience members are worried about your safety.]

I watched the Constellations come closer and felt really conflicted about this whole thing.

(Retired Sun Wukong didn’t want to fight. Why? Because it was annoying.)

[‘Retirement penalty’ has steeply decreased your will to fight.]

Yup, it was all because of that damn ‘retired’ setting.

[Judge, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, is digging his ear as if he can’t be bothered.]

[Judge, ‘Bimawen’, is opening a book to read with a refined expression.]

[Judge, ‘Meihouwang’, is yawning out in boredom.]

Those ‘Sun Wukongs’, feeling sick and tired of hard-carrying the [Journey to the West] by themselves originally, wouldn’t enjoy this type of development at all. Utterly not caring about that, the ‘extra’ Constellations wielding scary-looking weapons finally arrived in my near vicinity.

“Kill him!”

(Interpretation: Hahat, kill that baldy monkey.)

“Kill him!”

(Interpretation: Fuc■! It’s the bastar■ that cleans up the poo of the heavens.)

“Kill him!”

(Interpretation: A roc■-for-brains monkey.)

I was about to throw a tackle, arguing about the validity of such interpretations, but then, the channel was suddenly flooded with an explosion of messages.

[Judge, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, is enraged while holding onto his hair!]

[Judge, ‘Bimawen’, is shuddering angrily at the filthiness of this story.]

[Judge, Meihouwang’, wishes for the heads of those fools to roll.]

[A portion of judges are providing a great amount of Probability towards the progression of the applicable Fable chamber!]

[If this story’s direction is changed, then a large amount of additional points will be acquired.]

….Ehng?

[A private message has arrived from the Scenario Master.]

[“Hey, you said you can fight a bit, right?”]

The narration began even before I had time to reply.

(There was one thing that all these Yogoes rushing in didn’t know. Without a doubt, he was the ‘retired Sun Wunkong’. However….)

(….He was also Sun Wukong that didn’t hide his own strength, either.)

Along with all the messages clogging up my view, the title card for the new episode floated up as well.

~ Episode 3. The Demon King of Salvation isn’t hiding his powers ~

<Episode 81. A dumpling’s reminiscence (4)> Fin.