The Author's POV

After Hein's match, there were a couple of more matches, but none interested me, so I just made small talk with the others in order to pass time.

Fortunately, Hein's match was one of the very last ones as the round of 128 finally came to an end after one last big battle.

Though I said big, it was only like that because the two opponents facing each other were of similar strength and so was very entertaining to watch.

"This will be it for today's matches. I hope the contestants will take this time to rest for tomorrow's matches." The elven lady once again said as she showed up on the stage. Following her words, everyone stood up and left the premises.

Similarly standing up, just as I was about to follow the others out, Kevin came up to me. He had a serious look on his face.

Instantly my brows knit.

"...what's wrong?"

"Ren, we need to talk."

There was undeniable solemness in his voice as he spoke to me. Glancing around to make sure that the others had left, I slowly nodded.

Kevin wasn't the type of guy to act like this unless there really was something wrong. As such, I knew that the situation was serious.

"Where should we talk?"

"Your apartment."

"...my apartment?"

"Yeah. It's the place that has the least amount of people nearby."

"Fair."

And so we decided to head to my apartment to talk. The walk wasn't long as within ten minutes we were already there, but it was strangely uncomfortable as I felt this weird tension coming out from Kevin's face.

His face reminded me of someone who was just about to go to war.

Ci Clank—

Opening the door of my apartment and letting Kevin in, I slumped down on one of the chairs of the room.

Kevin shortly followed suit as he sat on the seat opposite of me.

"..."

An uncomfortable silence descended on the room as Kevin leaned forward, with both his arms on his thighs. Interlocking his hands together, Kevin's foot repeatedly tapped onto the ground.

Seeing that Kevin was having difficulty speaking, I decided to break the silence.

"...So? What did you want to talk about?"

Lifting his head, Kevin looked up at me.

"Say..."

His brows furrowed even more tightly.

"...do you perhaps have a secret that you can't tell me?"

"A secret?"

I was taken aback by his abrupt question.

'Did he find something out?...and isn't that rather vague?'

I had plenty of secrets, and so I wasn't really sure about which one he was referring to.

Nodding his head, Kevin's crimson red eyes continue to gaze in my direction.

"Yeah, do you have any secrets that you can't tell me?"

Leaning back, and deeply gazing into Kevin's eyes, I eventually nodded my head.

"...There are."

The fact that this world was a novel, the book, my skills, I had plenty of secrets that I couldn't tell him.

how he would react. There was a high

"I see."

became more prominent. This was an obvious indication to me that

on

up with you? Don't drag it out, tell

been having visions

least bit mad as

"Visions?"

Kevin ever having visions in the novel.

"...Yeah."

Kevin nodded.

of visions

a

from his dimensional space before handing it to

the book.

'Let's see.'

one more time, I lowered my head and directed my focus on the

this serious, it

"...What the?"

would I? I didn't think there would be anything I didn't know, but

records?

more I read, the greater the confusion on my face became. That was because I didn't know any of the things that were written in the

acted as the gods of this world, yet at the same time couldn't be considered gods. It was a confusing concept that I decided to add near the end of the novel, but that wasn't what shocked

supposed to find out about the Akashic records till later

but the visions that he was currently experiencing were also

My head throbbed.

in the world is

a couple of plot points several times ahead of where they should've been.

Flip—!

anything, I flipped to the next page. Reading through the passage, my eyes opened wide in shock, and my mind

resort to this if you hadn't been so compassionate, I hope her death

are, a piece should act as a piece should

this will finally clear your

was looking back at me with

felt as though a lump was stuck in my throat, preventing

head and once again reading the book, my hands

"It can't be..."

as

way of speaking...and

it too

in my direction throughout the whole time,

pointing at

vision was you, wasn't

"This..."

The man described in the book reminded me an awful lot of

"No, it can't be."

muttered out loud as horrifying

figure

I didn't respond. I was too immersed in

'...Monarch's indifference.'

words repeatedly rang inside of my mind as I re-read the passage multiple times. I swallowed a mouthful

had my reservation about using it. Not only did it feel as though I

back, my chess ideology did not stem from meeting the previous Ren but from using Monarch's

implanted inside of my head came from the moment I met the previous Ren, but that wasn't true at

prominent the moment I met the other Ren. Maybe that was why I never noticed it, and only noticed it now that

down

"Huuu..."

to look back at any of the

incident that

to save

a side-effect of Monarch's indifference since my goal was saving Kevin...but was it really

feeling inside

'I'm definitely overthinking things'

my head, trying

too far-fetched to make sense,

felt kind of forced...almost as though someone was trying