Chapter 75

Chapter 75, Exhibition (1)

When the man came back into view, I felt a little anticipation.

I was curious about how the Mystery Protection Association would handle the situation.

I had imagined three possible responses.

Cutting off the tail, ignoring it, or compensating me.

Since it had been a mistake made by someone at the bottom of the organization, they could simply abandon that one person and cut him off.

And from their perspective, I didn't lead any kind of faction, so they might see me as insignificant enough to simply ignore the matter.

I had considered the low possibility that they might compensate me, but only as a passing thought.

I hadn't thought it was very likely.

Even if they did compensate me, I expected something extremely minor and trivial.

The Mystery Protection Association exceeded my expectations in a good way.

“I reported the matter to the President of the Association. ...The President said that if there is any Mystery displayed here that catches your interest, after the exhibition ends, you may choose one and receive it.”

The man approached with guilt and apology written across his face.

My mouth opened slightly.

For a moment, I wondered whether I had heard him correctly.

They're giving me an entire Mystery?

And not some worthless Mystery they want to get rid of, but one of my choosing?

That was an absurd level of compensation.

His mistake certainly hadn't been small, but this was far too heavy a reward compared to the mistake itself.

Mysteries were resources that couldn't be compared to almost anything else.

I immediately realized that the President's reason for giving me such compensation couldn't simply be an apology.

It probably wasn't a trap.

It felt more like an attempt to build goodwill with me.

Unless you were some abnormal faction like the Company, Mysteries themselves were practically a measure of power in this apocalypse.

An individual who possessed twenty-three Mysteries alone would probably seem quite interesting.

The President likely wanted to use this apology as an excuse to create a connection with me.

After thinking it through, I nodded to the man in front of me.

Then, feeling excited, I started walking toward the exhibition.

But he still hadn't left.

He spoke again.

“And... after the exhibition ends, the President would like to arrange a meeting with you, if you are willing.”

“A meeting. Where?”

“Inside this False Utopia. So please keep this with you.”

He handed me a brooch shaped like two laurel branches crossing each other.

There were three of them in total.

I gave one each to Bias and Arlin.

As I attached the brooch to my clothes, the man explained what it did.

“When the exhibition ends, everyone will automatically be expelled from False Utopia. However, if you are wearing that brooch, you may remain here.”

“Understood.”

“Then I hope you enjoy the exhibition.”

Apparently finished with his business, he bowed to me and moved over to the next visitor to resume inspections.

His face was extremely stiff and tense, as though declaring that he would absolutely never make the same mistake again.

With compensation like this, though, I'd forgive him even if he made the same mistake several more times.

I watched him briefly, then headed deeper into the building where the exhibition was being held.

Arlin walked beside me and spoke.

“Yuhyeon, are you feeling better now?”

Apparently, she had been bothered by the irritated expression I'd shown earlier in front of the man.

Arlin looked worried.

I told her not to worry.

“Yes. I was only a little irritated in the first place. I wasn't actually that angry. I deliberately acted more upset than I was.”

Earlier, I had intentionally pretended to be much angrier and released pressure in every direction.

That was why the other visitors had stayed quiet instead of making a fuss.

At first, I'd done it to squeeze some compensation out of them.

But when quite a lot of time passed and the man still hadn't returned, some genuine irritation had mixed in.

Now, though, all of those negative emotions were gone.

The compensation was so overwhelming that my mood had actually become brighter.

Arlin saw my genuinely cheerful expression and her eyes lit up.

“That's fortunate. Then about the compensation the President offered, have you already decided which Mystery you want?”

“I'll think about it while we look around. Oh, I think this is it.”

While talking with Arlin, we finally entered the actual exhibition hall.

I could tell immediately because the interior design changed completely.

According to the map I had seen on the way here, this exhibition was divided into four themes.

The area I was currently standing in seemed to be related to the theme of Stone.

Even the surroundings were decorated with gray stone materials instead of the marble I had seen earlier.

It seemed they had decorated each area to match its theme.

Thanks to that, my concentration and expectations rose sharply.

My companions and I, full of anticipation, faced the first exhibit.

[Scq394, Statue Pretending to Be Enlightened]

The first exhibit was a sculpture depicting a man's face down to just above his collarbones.

The moment it saw us, the statue moved its mouth like a living person and spoke.

“I am the Enlightened Statue. If there is something you wish to know, ask me anything. My wisdom shall provide the answer.”

Its voice was extremely grand and impressive.

But the name and number felt strangely familiar.

Where have I seen this before?

From the looks of it, this Mystery answered questions asked of it.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't remember where I had seen it.

After thinking for a while, I asked the statue.

“Have we met before?”

The statue remained silent for a moment before opening its stone lips.

“Yes. We have met before. At the place where everything began, before you witnessed the miracle.”

“...?”

I blinked at the statue's extremely vague answer.

Still, since it was an answer given by a Mystery, I thought it probably contained some hidden meaning.

So I began carefully breaking down every part of what it had said.

Before you witnessed the miracle.

The problem was that far too many things came to mind when I thought of a miracle.

My reincarnation.

The Regression, Possession, Reincarnation Gallery.

Meeting Lucy.

The day I obtained the method for having a perfect day.

And so on.

I had encountered too many things that could reasonably be called miracles.

Still, if I had to choose the one closest to an actual miracle, reincarnation probably fit best.

Then did I meet this statue before I reincarnated?

And what's this place where everything began?

Just as I fell into serious thought, shocked by the implication, Arlin poked my side several times with her index finger.

I looked at her with a questioning expression.

She used the same finger that had been poking me and pointed toward an explanation plaque.

It contained information about the statue.

[Scq394, Statue Pretending to Be Enlightened, is exactly what its name suggests.

It behaves as though it has attained enlightenment and understands all truths.

In reality, it knows nothing and merely pretends to be enlightened, so please take care not to become deeply absorbed in the statue's meaningless answers.]

“...”

I spent a moment calming the embarrassment and irritation rising inside me, then walked toward the next exhibit.

The statue said something behind me, but I shut it out.

Arlin followed while hiding the faint smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Bias glared at the statue, apparently angry that the wicked statue had made fun of Dad.

Fine.

I suppose this is another kind of fun you can get from an exhibition.

My mood wasn't exactly great, though.

I controlled my expression and looked toward the second exhibit, which was slowly coming into view.

This one was displayed inside a glass case.

Its shape was nothing more than an ordinary roadside stone with strange, unreadable symbols carved into it.

Oddly enough, the symbols engraved into the stone gave off a faint glow.

Its atmosphere was unusually mysterious, which immediately caught my interest.

I read the nameplate and explanation.

[Scq197, Runestone]

[Scq197, Runestone, is a mysterious stone engraved with runic characters.

According to dating analysis, it is believed to have existed for approximately two million years.

Its effect is to instill courage in whoever holds it.

It is believed that deciphering the runic characters engraved upon the Runestone will cause a special effect to manifest.

However, no method of deciphering the runes has yet been discovered.]

This is interesting.

“It makes you want to own it.”

I agreed with Arlin.

Just as she said, its effect itself wasn't especially impressive, but it was the kind of Mystery that made you want to add it to a collection.

It had existed for two million years, and deciphering the runes carved into it would supposedly cause the Mystery to evolve.

How could I possibly resist something like that?

On top of that, it looked incredibly cool.

The runes shone in a five-colored light made from countless colors mixed together.

They looked as though someone had used a rainbow as ink and painted them with a brush.

Visually, it was nearly perfect.

For a moment, I wondered if I should ask the President for this Mystery as my compensation.

The possibility that the Regression, Possession, Reincarnation Gallery might help decipher the runes also played a part in that thought.

I'll remember this one for now.

I added the Runestone to my mental list and moved on to the next exhibit.