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Chapter 182

──────

Sage I

1

Today, let's talk about mirrors. Last time, we talked about the most famous ship in the world, so today’s tale also involves the most famous mirror. It’s the “Magic Mirror,” the one from the Snow White fairy tale. You know the one.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

"As always, for the 3,714th time, there is no one fairer than the Queen, so please stop asking."

In short, the magic mirror contained a database, statistical data, and AI capabilities that could search through all the humans on Earth.

Humanity had invented ChatGPT centuries ago. But instead of using such a formidable lost technology for domestic politics, the Queen used it for ego-searching. The history of politicians getting distracted with smartphones is quite old.

Come to think of it, this fairy tale is quite wise. Even if the most powerful tool were given to a human, in the end, they'd still be obsessed with "searching."

If the Brothers Grimm were alive today and saw social media, wouldn’t they be smugly satisfied with their foresight? “See, I told you so.”

"Sir, Doctor Jang."

"Hmm? What is it?"

But even the Brothers Grimm probably wouldn’t have predicted this.

One day, Yoo Jiwon came to me and said, "I think I've discovered a new anomaly."

"A new anomaly?"

"Yes, but it’s a bit peculiar."

It was during the seventh round. Back then, the Ten Clans still reigned as the final bosses of the Korean Peninsula because the updates hadn't been fully implemented. It was a time when even Old Scho had dreams and hopes.

Initially, I worked under Tang Seorin as a deputy guild leader, but from the seventh round onwards, I began to truly walk the path of independence, thanks to Old Scho coaxing me to start a business together.

Like many who leave successful corporate careers for startups, my life had gotten a bit complicated. But even during this time, Yoo Jiwon would visit me once a week for a chat.

Like an investor who believed that even if Bitcoin fluctuated, it was just a minor adjustment and solidification of the low point. Yoo Jiwon’s expressionless face always seemed to silently proclaim, "The fact is, the regressor is getting healthier."

In fact, because of these frequent meetings, there were many who suspected that Yoo Jiwon and I were dating. Old Scho was one of them. Isn’t it remarkable? That old man was absolutely no help in my life.

"What's so peculiar about it?"

"Hmm. It's hard to explain in words. Ah, why don’t you come and see it after lunch?"

So I went to see it.

The "new anomaly" was surprisingly located in Yoo Jiwon's personal room.

The room, with only a bookshelf as furniture, was filled with books, and right in the middle of that interior was the anomaly.

I frowned.

"A... mirror?"

The mysterious object was a full-length mirror.

"Yes. I found it by chance while walking, so I picked it up. It's rare to find such a spotless mirror these days."

"But... haven’t elders always said never to look at or pick up mirrors found on the street because they're ominous?"

"I don’t believe in such superstitions."

The wise investor who had staked her entire fortune on the regressor coin firmly stated.

At that time, I hadn’t yet discovered the correlation between anomalies and sorcery, so I could only click my tongue.

"But why? Does it open a portal to another world?"

"No. Look."

Yoo Jiwon approached the mirror.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall."

And then, he whispered to the mirror.

Just as I started to wonder if she had developed another mental illness on top of being a psychopath, something rather surprising happened.

$ - Die right now.

"Huh?"

$ - Die right now.

The mirror "responded."

Yoo Jiwon turned to me, startled.

"Did you hear that?"

"Y-Yeah, I heard it."

"I tested it with other guild members, and they all got the same response."

"To die immediately?"

"Yes. All 36 Three Thousand Worlds Guild members received the same answer."

"...This really is a cursed object."

"Is it?"

Yoo Jiwon remained indifferent.

She was clearly different from others, displaying a brain wrinkle pattern unique to someone who would keep a cursed object in her private room.

"Anyway, since it doesn’t seem like an ordinary mirror, I came to consult with you. If we handle it carelessly, it could have adverse effects, so I thought I'd ask the expert in this field, Lord Doctor Jang."

"Hmm."

"What do you think is the best way to deal with this?"

"...How about returning it to where you found it? Unless the mirror has legs, it won’t follow you."

"Indeed. That’s a wise decision, as expected."

Three days later.

"Sir, we have a small problem."

"...Now what?"

"After following your advice and disposing of the mirror, I was at ease. But now, the mirror in my bathroom responds similarly."

"What?"

According to Yoo Jiwon's testimony, she really did throw away the cursed mirror. But then, the bathroom mirror she saw first thing in the morning became cursed in the same way.

$ - Die right now.

The mirror kept repeating the same message.

Naturally, Yoo Jiwon also removed and discarded that bathroom mirror.

The next day, Yoo Jiwon entered Tang Seorin’s office. She had something to report to the guild leader. And when she glanced at the desk mirror on Tang Seorin’s desk...

$ - Die right now.

That’s when Yoo Jiwon realized it.

This anomaly wasn’t confined to a specific mirror.

Any mirror that Yoo Jiwon looked into first thing that day would turn into a cursed one.

"What...? What kind of logic is that?"

As a novice regressor in his seventh turn, I was baffled.

"Why does any mirror you look at become strange?"

"I’m not sure either."

"And the fact that the mirror talks... It’s like something out of a fairy tale...—."

I fell silent. At that moment, I noticed Yoo Jiwon’s appearance.

To be more precise, I noticed the color of Yoo Jiwon's hair as if I were seeing it for the first time.

"......"

"Sir? Why are you staring at me like that?"

$ ← The mirror speaks.

← Her silver hair looks as pure as freshly fallen snow.

← Throughout his life as a regressor, no human's appearance was more refined.

← Not an exaggeration to say she could be called the "fairest in the land." $

"Ah..."

I couldn't help but sigh.

The conclusion came to me instantly.

"......?"

Yes.

Yoo Jiwon.

This psychopath was the Snow White of the Korean Peninsula.

2

The mirror had no eyes.

So, it was hard to ask the anomaly, which had mistaken Yoo Jiwon for a Snow White character, "Are you blind?" After all, if you insult a creature that truly has no eyes, it becomes a derogatory remark.

Except for Yoo Jiwon, Old Scho and Sim Aryeon, I , Doctor Jang didn't swear so carelessly.

$ - Please die immediately.

"Hmm."

$ - Please die immediately.

"......"

But no matter how I looked at it, something was odd.

For an anomaly, it was too quiet.

Even in the 7th and 8th turns, the "magic mirror" didn't cause much trouble. It just passively suggested suicide, which would annoy anyone who listened.

Of course, encouraging suicide isn’t a good thing.

But compared to other anomalies who actively tried to end human lives, it seemed somewhat better, didn’t it?

So I couldn't help but wonder:

'What exactly does this anomaly do?'

From what I know, Snow White's "magic mirror" was an AI that kindly answered human questions, quite different from this suicide parrot.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, what are you?"

$ - Please die immediately.

"Mirror, mirror, if civilization hadn't collapsed, would Bitcoin have surpassed 300 million?"

$ - Please die immediately.

"Mirror, do you want to die?"

$ - Please die immediately.

"......"

Unlike in the fairy tale, the magic mirror responded consistently to any question. It should've been hired as a politician's spokesperson.

But if you ask whether it was just a recording repeating predetermined answers, that wasn't quite the case either.

"Huh? Old Scho, this thing can speak German too!"

Surprisingly, when Old Scho stood in front of it, the mirror suggested suicide in German.

The languages the mirror mastered weren't just limited to Korean and German. Later, when we brought in some magical girls, it answered them fluently in Japanese too.

Hindi, Russian, Filipino, Arabic, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Swahili.

There was no language the mirror couldn't speak. It truly lived up to its reputation as the most powerful AI in history.

‘In short, it means the mirror knows how to recognize who it's dealing with. So why doesn't its response change based on its opponent?’

Time passed.

The clue to my question first appeared hundreds of years later, during the 41st turn.

"Jiwon, how have you been?"

"Thanks to your care, I have managed well in the Three Thousand Worlds."

"Is the mirror still the same?"

"Yes. Even if we try to discard it, another mirror just gets possessed, so we’ve left it alone."

I absentmindedly passed by a full-length mirror. I didn’t even look at it directly, just glanced at it briefly.

At that moment.

$ - Next time, get infected with the Udumbara before dying.

I naturally tried to walk past it but stopped in my tracks.

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

My voice and Yoo Jiwon's overlapped.

Then our gazes overlapped as well.

"Jiwon, just now…"

"Yes. I heard it too."

On a hunch, I approached the mirror properly this time.

And then.

$ - Next time, get infected with the Udumbara before dying.

It had changed.

For hundreds of years, the mirror had given the same response to everyone, but suddenly it offered something different.

"Jiwon, you try."

"Understood."

Yoo Jiwon swapped places with me.

$ - Please die immediately.

And then it returned to its usual answer, as if nothing had changed.

Yoo Jiwon nodded expressionlessly.

"How strange. I'll bring others to test it."

Dozens of guild members from the Three Thousand Worlds, and even Tang Seorin, were brought in to test it.

The result was the same. Everyone except me received the answer "Please die immediately."

Conclusion.

"It seems the mirror only changes its response when addressing Doctor Jang."

"......"

"This once again proves that you are the only special being in the world, my lord. By the way, may I ask what Udumbara is?"

"Ah."

Sharp readers might remember that the 41st turn was when I first defeated the Udumbara.

Naturally, except for the saintess and me, no one else knew about the existence of Udumbara.

I defeated it before it could fully bloom and spread the New Buddha Virus.

"It's the World Tree I defeated without anyone noticing. On the surface, it seems like getting infected grants eternal life, but after a certain point, the infected are all digested as nutrients for the World Tree."

"Hmm."

"But awakened beings must never get infected. They'll lose their abilities."

Yoo Jiwon tilted her head.

"Lose their abilities?"

"Yes. If you get infected, Jiwon, your [Mini-map] ability would disappear."

"Then, if you, my lord, were to get infected by any chance, what would happen?"

"Well, naturally, various abilities would be deleted. [Perfect Memory] and [Continue] too."

"......"

Yoo Jiwon rested her chin on her hand.

She lightly placed her finger on her chin—a habit she showed when deep in thought.

After a moment, she slowly opened her mouth.

"This might be a very irreverent question, but…"

"You’re always irreverent, so it's fine."

"If you, my lord, were to get infected by Udumbara…"

"If I got infected?"

Yoo Jiwon spoke.

"Wouldn't even the [Return] ability be deleted, allowing you to die truly?"