Catching two rabbits.
Getting promoted and winning the lottery.
Defeating Baron and scoring a second date after a blind date.
Receiving the senior pension and reopening closed growth plates.
If you could do both at once, that'd be a pretty great thing.
But because pulling that off is almost impossible, people tend to say:
Catching two rabbits is unrealistic.
They say it's more realistic to give one up.
No, they say that's the wise thing to do.
Maybe, even now, it's the same.
"...Ugh."
Kim Jangcheol, seated on the Demon King's throne, clutched his head. His temples throbbed on their own. It was no wonder.
'That damn 3rd Star Master, is he insane?'
Suddenly, what had happened earlier flashed through his mind.
It was when he was planting seed potatoes with the farming corps. A messenger came rushing from the southeast. He had been sent by the 2nd Star Master.
But what the messenger reported was—
"Why the hell is that 3rd Star Master beating up the 2nd Star Master? Why?!"
It was a surprise attack, he said.
A full-scale invasion, he said.
Because of that, the 2nd Star Legion was completely overrun.
"The 2nd Star Master likely tried to resist in his own way, but it must've been impossible to reverse the tide once a massive ambush was underway. Their legions were evenly matched to begin with."
"Well, yeah, probably."
Zephyros' dry voice.
Responding to that comment, Kim Jangcheol pressed his throbbing temples.
"No, but still. Isn't this a bit much? Why did this happen right after I sent a messenger declaring the halt of the human world invasion and the beginning of agriculture?"
"It's probably because Your Lordship sent that kind of message."
"Haa. Tch."
"The 3rd Star Master must have seen your declaration as an opportunity."
"Like, thinking I've gone soft, or got scared and gave up on invading the human world... That kind of thing?"
"Yes."
Zephyros nodded without missing a beat.
With a bitter expression, Kim Jangcheol took in the demon's words.
"The 3rd Star Master is an ambitious one. He would never obediently bow his head under someone else. You know that well, don't you? That's why you had to personally subdue him right after taking the Demon King's throne, to assert your authority."
"Yeah... I guess..."
"Same goes for this time. The 3rd Star Master is using this as an opportunity to eliminate the 2nd Star Master, whom he's always been at odds with, and absorb the 2nd Star Legion to expand his power."
"So now he's trying to swallow all the abandoned land? That bastard?"
"At the very least, it seems clear he intends to take control of the rest of the abandoned land—everything except this Demon King's Castle and the impregnable Cliff of the Dead."
"...."
Kim Jangcheol let out a deep sigh.
He understood the situation now.
'Well, the game mentioned it plenty of times. That the 3rd Star Master is ambitious. That he's on bad terms with the 2nd Star Master.'
Still, he hadn't expected him to make a move this fast.
Kim Jangcheol asked, just in case.
"Let's say, just hypothetically. If I send another messenger now, is there any chance the 3rd Star Master will listen and halt his advance?"
"None."
"Tch. That's cold."
"This is a time for clear-headed realism, not empty hope."
"......"
"If the 3rd Star Master were the type to heed your messenger, he never would have launched a full-scale war against the 2nd Star Legion in the first place."
"...Yeah. That's true."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"That's what I'm stuck on. That's the problem."
Kim Jangcheol furrowed his brow tightly.
Zephyros asked with cold precision.
"Are you going to just sit back and let the 3rd Star Master run wild?"
"Of course not..."
"Then you must mobilize your direct army immediately."
"I know that."
"You must personally subjugate the 3rd Star Master."
"Yeah. I know that too."
"Then what's the issue?"
"Potato farming."
"...."
A flat-out answer.
This time, even Zephyros was momentarily at a loss for words.
Kim Jangcheol turned to him and asked,
"Hey, Zephyros. You're the smartest among all the demons here at the Demon King's Castle, right?"
"It may be a little embarrassing to say so myself, but yes, it's an undeniable fact. I am the smartest. I am the sharpest. I am the most intelligent."
"...You didn't need to say that three times."
"But I am smart."
"Good for you. Then, Mr. So-Smart Zephyros? Do you, by any chance, know how to farm potatoes?"
"I do not."
"Nice, that was refreshingly honest."
"Just stating the facts."
"Right. Exactly. You don't know how to farm potatoes. Even you, the smartest one here, know absolutely nothing about potato farming. You're a blank slate."
"...You didn't need to say that three times either."
"But you don't know, right? Potato farming."
"......"
Zephyros clammed up.
Kim Jangcheol pointed straight at him and said,
"You. Don't know how to farm potatoes. The Four Heavenly Kings? They know even less. And the farming corps? You think they know? No. They know nothing either. Do you know what that means?"
"...It means if Your Lordship leaves to subjugate the 3rd Star Master, the potato farming, which just barely got started, will fall apart. Am I correct?"
"Ding ding ding."
Kim Jangcheol nodded.
That's the problem.
That's the dilemma.
That's the reality of the two rabbits he needs to catch right now.
"But if I stay here just to keep the potato farming from collapsing? And I leave the rampaging 3rd Star Master unchecked? And the 2nd Star Master's skull—no, his whole head—gets bashed in and he dies? And the 2nd Star Legion gets absorbed into the 3rd?"
"Then all your authority as the Demon King will be lost. The entire demon race of the abandoned land will realize—'The Demon King has no will to restrain the rampaging 3rd Star Master. He has no power to stop him. A time has come when no one is protected by the Demon King's authority anymore.' That's what they'll say."
"Exactly. Survival of the fittest. The chaotic Warring States era begins, basically."
That's it, right there.
Let the 3rd Star Master run wild? Lose all authority as the Demon King.
And the entire abandoned land plunges into chaos.
But if he goes out to crush the 3rd Star Master?
The potato farming fails, and everyone starves to death.
"...."
This is insane.
He couldn't afford to give up either of them.
'...Tch. And I can't even send Baal, who only knows how to charge blindly, to command an army. If I left it to another of the Four Heavenly Kings, my head would probably end up chopped clean off.'
Kim Jangcheol tightly shut his eyes.
"...I just barely finished planting the seed potatoes. We're finally starting proper farming. Why can't I be happyyyy."
"But you must make a choice."
"I guess so?"
"Yes. Sitting here on the Demon King's throne, using it like a chair of contemplation, won't change anything."
"Tch. Harsh words, huh."
"Because this is a moment that demands a decision."
"....A decision, huh."
Kim Jangcheol's expression hardened.
One of the two.
Two rabbits.
But it was a situation where he couldn't give up either.
And yet, it seemed impossible to achieve both.
'...Still, think. Remember, Kim Jangcheol. Don't give up so easily.'
Once you give up, it's over.
Once you resign, you lose.
Even if it feels impossible, if you keep pushing, it'll break through.
That was how he had lived.
Even though he was raised by his grandmother and grew up in poverty, he made it through university with scholarships and part-time jobs, even reached grad school. It was the same with games. Even when he couldn't see a path, he kept pushing, and eventually forged one that didn't exist.
Now was no different.
'While staying here to farm potatoes, is there a way I can still go off and crush the 3rd Star Master... What could there be... What the hell could it be...'
He racked his brain.
He lit his cerebral cortex on fire.
The lore of this game world that he knew.
All the information he'd discovered while playing.
He pulled all of it out.
Pieced it together in his mind.
Tested every kind of possibility.
He mixed the realms of what was possible and what wasn't.
And finally, he remembered.
"....."
There was a way.
A way to catch both rabbits, even if it seemed impossible.
A single, slender chance to make it work.
Thud.
Having glimpsed the thread of a solution, Kim Jangcheol immediately stood up.
Zephyros asked him,
"My Lord? Where are you going?"
"The Abandoned Well."
Also known simply as the Well.
It was a location in the game Paladin of Blood that functioned as a save point. Also, it served as a sort of portal scattered across the map, enabling fast travel.
'There was one in each region—the Abandoned Well. That included the Demon King's Castle too.'
Kim Jangcheol dug through his memory.
The well in the Demon King's Castle.
It was located on the floor below the Demon King's throne, in the most remote, abandoned secret chamber. It was also the final save point before the last boss fight against Demon King Credos.
'Let's go. The odds aren't great... but I still have to try.'
If it worked like it did in the game—
He could instantly teleport to the wells located in the 3rd or 2nd Star Master's territories.
And if that were possible?
All his problems would be solved.
He could water the potato field in the morning, hop over to that other well at noon and beat up the 3rd Star Master, then return via the Demon King's Castle well in the evening to check on the fields and wrap up a fulfilling(?) day!
'Please. Please work. Please.'
Kim Jangcheol offered a prayer, one he'd never done before, equally to Buddha, Jesus, and Allah, as he hurried through the corridor. He descended the stairs, turned the corner, and entered the cobweb-and-dust-filled, remote room.
An abandoned secret chamber no one ever visited.
There, the well stood.
"......"
The well looked exactly like it had in the game.
True to its name, it was gloomy and desolate. Completely dry, without even a trace of moisture.
It was in an inactive state.
'It hasn't been awakened by anyone yet. And when a player approaches... that's when it emits light and activates. From that point on, it can be used as both a save point and a fast travel spot.'
So it had to activate.
When he got close, the well needed to respond, glowing with light.
'Please. Please...!'
Kim Jangcheol bit his lip and approached the well.
Just like when he was playing the game.
One step. Two steps.
Right up to the edge.
But—
"........"
The well did not glow.
It showed no response.
Still in an inactive state, it remained silent.
"Hey? Yo? You there?"
Tap tap.
Unable to contain his anxiety, he tapped the edge of the well.
But still, nothing.
It didn't awaken.
"......."
So it won't work, huh.
Because I'm not a playable character.
Because I have the body of Demon King Credos.
That's why it won't respond.
'Haa.'
He'd caught a brief glimpse of hope.
And now the disappointment crashed down on him.
A sigh escaped him.
But it was then—
"...Tibong?"
Maybe it had just woken up.
He felt something wriggling in his arms. Tibong, who had been napping inside his clothes, seemed to have stirred.
"Tibong? Tibobong...?"
Soon, Tibong peeked his tiny head out. Maybe he wasn't fully awake—his eyes half-closed as he crawled out, he missed his grip.
And fell, just like that.
"...Tibong!"
Plop.
There was no time to catch him.
He landed right on the edge of the well with his rice-cake-like cheek. Splat.
That very moment—
...Fwoooosh!
Like a lie made reality.
Or like luck disguised as destiny.
The well that came into contact with Tibong began to emit a mysterious light.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]