Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster-Chapter 326: Memory Record #1

Jane approached, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him over to Julian.

Yet Rael was still focused on that pop-up.

He wanted to accept right away, but the pain and his HP being stuck at 1 didn’t give him much confidence.

However, when he finally approached Julian, he was met with a frown.

"So I didn’t overhear it that day," Julian muttered. "You really are Rael. The only reason you hid your identity from me was because I told you about Melissa, right?"

Rael met his gaze, then sighed before nodding.

He didn’t need to reply to Julian since his silence was enough of an answer.

"I see..." Julian’s expression darkened. "I guess you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. Or was it because you wanted to come off as someone perfect? Anyways... this is it for me. I’ll be leaving your party after we’re back."

"Come on..." Jane mumbled. "At least give him a chance to explain himself. Maybe there were some circumstances that made him abandon her, right, Rael?"

Once again, Rael didn’t reply, and that seemed to further anger Julian as he grabbed Rael by the collar and began healing him.

[HP +250! 251 / 4,930]

[HP +250! 501 / 4,930]

[HP +250! 751 / 4,930]

[HP +250! 1001 / 4,930]

"I’m done," Julian stated and pushed Rael backward. "You’ll heal the rest up with due time. Just drink a lot of water and eat food."

His gaze sharpened. "You know, I might’ve been open to honesty. Sure, I would’ve hated you, but... never mind. I wouldn’t have been open to honesty."

Rael sighed. "Thanks for all that you’ve done for us, and I’m sorry for tricking you."

Julian rolled his eyes and turned around, facing the people, or rather, gods in the stands, who began rising one by one.

And that was when an urgent pop-up suddenly appeared before him, aggressively zooming in and out.

<Accept the fucking meeting already. I don’t got all day.>

<Yes / Yes>

"..."

The Platinum Sovereign... there’s no way that’s me, right?

But it seemed like he was about to find out.

He tapped Jane on the shoulder and, with a wave, he vanished.

His vision darkened, and in the next moment, he found himself sitting on a chair in front of a masked platinum-haired man.

<Ding!>

<You’ve entered the Dimensional Boutique!>

<You may...>

<Permissions Revoked. You may only view the boutique!>

"Finally..." the man in front of him muttered. "You’re so indecisive."

Rael tilted his head. "And you are?"

A faint smirk appeared on the man’s face as he reached for the mask on his face and swiftly took it off.

His appearance was identical to Rael as he brushed his long platinum hair backward, then put a single finger on his chin, narrowing his eyes.

"Rael, I am your father."

"..." Rael’s brows twitched. "You know I can detect lies, right?"

"Tch... so you already got that skill. No fun," the man said as he leaned back in his comfortable chair, then shot Rael a subtle glance. "Which one are you? Rael Altros or Rael Sutekh?"

"What? I guess I’m both," Rael replied plainly. "Is this some sort of tricky existential question?"

"Nope." The man shook his head. "I was just trying to see which version of you I’m talking to. Anyhow, since you’re both, then that means you’re Rael Sutekh. Good, that makes my life much easier."

He’s definitely me, Rael thought in passing. Though if he’s trying to act mysterious, then I won’t pop his bubble.

"Alright, so you’re in the Memory Record right now, yes?" the man asked.

Rael nodded, prompting the man to continue.

"Okay. In short, this was supposed to be a one-time event in the past, but someone accidentally opened up a paradox where this particular scenario keeps repeating. So in the future, you’ll encounter something like this as well, just from my position."

He leaned in, his expression turning serious. "Our goal is to tweak the Memory Record just enough to pass on useful information and steer you in the right direction. In this case, I altered the Memory Record to show you the 12 pieces of shit. Oh, I also showed you dear Melissa as a bonus, hope you didn’t mind that one."

Rael shook his head with a slightly puzzled look. "I didn’t mind it, but by the 12 pieces of shit, you’re referring to the 12 Chosen Heroes, right?"

"Yeah, though it’s more of a play on words," the man replied. "They’re people who exist in your current time, and the reason I showed them to you in this Memory Record was so you’d get used to how their powers worked."

Rael raised a single hand, acting like a student. "By my time, do you mean—"

"After you entered the world of Sketa Online, yes," the man cut him off, then let out a sigh. "You can think of this Memory Record as an alternate timeline where nothing happened after you ate the Beast’s eye."

"So it’s not real?" Rael asked with a slight frown.

"Who knows?" The man shrugged. "It’s as real as you and me having this conversation. This paradox was created god knows how many years ago. But I do strongly believe that the eye you ate was responsible for all of this starting. It might’ve even been responsible for the paradox itself. Though I can’t say for certain. I haven’t figured out that much yet, but I was always known for coming up with pretty good bullshit theories that somehow made sense in the end."

Rael had so many questions, but the man simply coughed, getting his attention.

"In short... think of the life you’re living as the main timeline, and this Memory Record as something that branched off the main timeline, yet coexists at the same frequency. Word vomit, right? I know." The man chuckled.

Rael put a hand up to his temples, slightly rubbing them.

"So is Melissa still alive?"

"I don’t know," the man replied immediately. "I’ve yet to find her, but since those 12 bastards are alive, I’m guessing she is too."

"So how far in the future are you?" Rael asked.

"Hmm... a couple years or so," the man replied with a tilt of his head. "But worry about yourself, Solenne’s about to descend and do some stupid shit. Keep Zafira safe, yeah?"

Rael’s brows furrowed. Solenne? I guess that’s no surprise... the prophecy is probably nearing its end anyway.

"Obviously. I’d do anything to keep her safe."

"I know." The man chuckled. "Anyways, back to the main topic at hand. The 12 pieces of shit have become Gods and started their own evil cult. Their names are the same, and their powers are too. They’re irredeemable, and you’ll have to fight them eventually. I’ve encountered only 1 of them so far. It was that archer you killed earlier. He had become a Grade 6 Commander Class powerhouse."

He leaned in. "But... yeah. I kind of one-shot him. He wasn’t that strong."

A Grade 6 is not that strong...?

"So after dealing with Solenne, you want me to get strong enough to face them, is that it?" Rael asked.

The man nodded. "That’s the gist of it. But I didn’t show you Melissa for no reason. I want you to try finding her. You might be able to... oh, and fulfill that request of hers. It’ll be very beneficial when you finally meet Rael Altros, the one who hasn’t become Rael Sutekh."

Rael tapped his fingers on the table. "You mean when I meet him in the Memory Record?"

"Precisely," the man replied, glancing to the side. "My lovely wife is calling, so I’ve only got a few minutes left. I’ve already said my piece, so ask the questions you’ve been holding back on."

A moment of silence ensued as Rael took a deep breath and began his mini questionnaire.

"Who are Minos and Jane? Are they Kareth and the Colorless Goddess?"

"From what I gathered, Jane might be the Colorless Goddess, yes. As for Minos, no, he isn’t Kareth. He’s another puppet master belonging to the Depths. You’ll meet him soon, I’m sure," the man replied.

"But how does that work then...? How are they—"

"Just blame the paradox," the man cut him off. "This branched timeline is confusing even to me. But no matter how much I altered it to show you the important bits, those beings from the Depths always appeared. It was almost like fate, you know?"

He paused, then added with a serious tone.

"My guess is, the one who was responsible for creating this paradox had deep ties to the Depths, or the inner Void realm in general. Because of that, they wanted you to meet the Colorless Goddess and that puppet master."

The man sighed. "Honestly... just gather the other fragments. My alternate selves will give you more information, because as it stands, I’m as clueless as you are."

Rael chuckled in disbelief. "Alright... two more questions then. The first... who was the person responsible for the world awakening? I saw a glowing figure that looked like Solenne."

The man’s brows furrowed. "I don’t know who it was, but I can say for certain that it wasn’t Solenne. She radiates raging bitch vibes. As for that person, they were way too calm."

Fair enough... Rael nodded, then continued with his next question.

"What should I do about the feats? I came here trying to comprehend them, but so far, I got nothing."

"Uhh... oh, right. Those things." The man facepalmed. "You can’t really comprehend them through normal means, and they’re not something you’ll find in the Memory Record. At least, I haven’t found any information on them yet."

"Then...?"

"After you’re out, use the Premium Shop. You can get a vague answer to at least two of those feats. It might not seem like a lot, but that’d be enough to push you into Calamity Class for your ascension," the man replied and stood up, shooting one last glance at Rael. "Is that all?"

"...What will happen to the Memory Record? When I next enter it, I mean," Rael asked and stood up as well.

The man rolled his eyes. "Leaving the Memory Record is like saving your game, basically a checkpoint. When you get the next Supreme Beast fragment, you’ll enter it at the last checkpoint and then go through a similar Memory Record where more will be revealed to you."

With those words, the man slashed the air, opening a slight crack.

"I believe once you collect all 10 of the fragments, you’ll understand what’s happening and how the paradox came to be. But that’s it for me, have fun, and don’t die to Solenne. See ya."

With those words, the man stepped through the crack, leaving Rael all alone to his thoughts.

The Memory Record seemed like something tied to his own existence, and the man he had just met was himself, but from a few years into the future.

His future self had taken the role of a guide, pointing him toward the important pieces and showcasing his future enemies, and of course, the meeting with Melissa was also something Rael had appreciated greatly.

He still had many questions unanswered, but even so, at least he now knew what the purpose of the Memory Record was, and that was to simply pass along important information to the others.

From what he said, Rael assumed that one day he’d be the one guiding someone else.

But until then, he needed to deal with problems back home.

So with that in mind, he turned to the side, where a few pop-ups had appeared.

<You have reached the end of Memory Record #1>

<When you obtain the next Supreme Beast fragment, you will reappear back on Earth, 1 minute after the Blood Moon Arena has concluded.>

<Do you wish to leave Memory Record #1?>

<Yes / No>

Rael stared at it for a few moments, then without hesitation, he pressed "Yes."

<Ding!>

<Leaving Memory Record #1...>

His vision shifted, and mere moments later, he found himself lying on a comfortable bed.

He felt much more powerful, but that was only because his stats here were thousands of times higher than in the Memory Record.

Even so, he took a few glances around, and only then did he remember something.

The Celestial Ranked Skill... I forgot—

<Hidden Scenario: The Chosen One has been completed!>

<Reward: x1 Celestial Ranked Random Skill>

<Would you like to start the roll? Yes / No>

"Huh..."

Well, ain’t that a bitch.

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